:00:00. > :00:00.Welcome to Wales Today - our top story: Empty stations -
:00:00. > :00:10.up to 100,000 passengers left in the lurch.
:00:11. > :00:13.Arriva train drivers strike brings the network across the country
:00:14. > :00:25.I left the house at 7:30am to hopefully start work at 10am but we
:00:26. > :00:30.still might be late. With services not returning
:00:31. > :00:32.to normal until midnight, there could still be disruption
:00:33. > :00:48.for passengers tomorrow. The fire that burnt out this school
:00:49. > :00:53.in Cwmbran - the four teenage boys Dorina's performance
:00:54. > :01:00.hits all the high notes but so too does Monmouthshire's
:01:01. > :01:02.groundbreaking care of older people Disney's version of Roald Dahl's
:01:03. > :01:08.Big Friendly Giant. Does Wales need to do more
:01:09. > :01:23.to reclaim the author in this December was the warmest and wettest
:01:24. > :01:27.on record. I will be finding out of farmers and businesses across Wales
:01:28. > :01:32.have been coping with the extreme weather and what is causing it.
:01:33. > :01:36.Staff at Arriva Trains Wales are staging a 24 hour walk out,
:01:37. > :01:39.causing travel chaos on the first day back to work after
:01:40. > :01:46.Up to 100,000 passengers have been affected -
:01:47. > :01:48.as more than a thousand services across the country are cancelled.
:01:49. > :01:55.Live to Cardiff Central Station and our reporter Nick Palit.
:01:56. > :02:04.This station is probably the busiest in Wales
:02:05. > :02:07.at rush hour but this morning like now it was all but deserted -
:02:08. > :02:12.all the services running on the Valley Lines down
:02:13. > :02:14.to the capital cancelled causing widespread disruption
:02:15. > :02:19.for tens of thousands of commuters right across Wales.
:02:20. > :02:29.Monday morning rush hour and Wrexham real station was deserted. It is a
:02:30. > :02:36.similar station up and down the country where Arriva usually run
:02:37. > :02:42.trains. With services affected across Wales at 247 stations,
:02:43. > :02:50.passengers had to find other ways of getting to work. On this rainy first
:02:51. > :02:56.day back after the festive break, the rotor appointed me busy anyway.
:02:57. > :03:02.The traffic swelled by many who would normally let the train take
:03:03. > :03:10.the strain. Both unions voted to strike. The dispute is over
:03:11. > :03:20.reductions of working hours and structures of shifts.
:03:21. > :03:26.We don't see why things should be different in Wales.
:03:27. > :03:29.Arriva say they have been in contact with unions on a daily basis to try
:03:30. > :03:36.and avert this strike. We have got more talks on tomorrow
:03:37. > :03:46.and we are happy to discuss conditions cause we value their
:03:47. > :03:50.welfare. Buses were left to fill the gap but
:03:51. > :03:55.many find it was a slower method of transport.
:03:56. > :04:00.I left the house at 7:30am to hopefully start work at 10am. But we
:04:01. > :04:07.still make the late. Two and a half hours.
:04:08. > :04:12.The bus was packed out. We could have done with another bus.
:04:13. > :04:16.I'm going to be late for work and when I got on the bus they did not
:04:17. > :04:27.take change so I had to get change. Finally getting on the bus.
:04:28. > :04:35.With trains not running, many companies so staff members depleted.
:04:36. > :04:42.It took me an extra 45 minutes to get in and a number of my colleagues
:04:43. > :04:48.have been delayed. One left at 6:15am to make sure she could get
:04:49. > :04:52.into the office. The impact is if people are not available for
:04:53. > :04:56.client's business then we lose money.
:04:57. > :05:01.So it is quite serious. The piece I'd of this dispute has been settled
:05:02. > :05:05.but the unions in management of trying to push through changes to
:05:06. > :05:09.terms and conditions. Arriva say they are disappointed and put a
:05:10. > :05:13.renewed proposal to the unions just before Christmas.
:05:14. > :05:15.This dispute is due to end at midnight tonight but Arriva
:05:16. > :05:18.is advising passengers that some very early morning trains tomorrow
:05:19. > :05:21.could also be affected as they try to get services
:05:22. > :05:25.You can get up to date information about any further disruption
:05:26. > :05:27.to services tomorrow on BBC Radio Wales,
:05:28. > :05:40.The families of two teenage friends who were killed in a car crash
:05:41. > :05:43.in Hengoed last night say they'll be sorely missed.
:05:44. > :05:49.his smile would light up any room -- while 17 year old Connor Williams'
:05:50. > :05:53.Another 18 year old, Cameron Nicholas, is in hospital
:05:54. > :05:57.Their former teacher says they were both popular students.
:05:58. > :06:11.They were both very decent, pleasant, friendly, happy boys. We
:06:12. > :06:15.were very proud of them. They were all there is very happy and had a
:06:16. > :06:21.great sense of humour. They will be a terrible loss.
:06:22. > :06:24.Gwent police say the four people arrested
:06:25. > :06:26.following a fire at Coed Eva Primary school in Cwmbran
:06:27. > :06:28.are teenage boys from the local area.
:06:29. > :06:31.A fifteen year old and three fourteen year olds have been
:06:32. > :06:33.arrested on suspicion of arson and released on police bail.
:06:34. > :06:35.Demolition contractors inspected the site today
:06:36. > :06:37.and although the school is aiming to reopen next week,
:06:38. > :06:40.it could take two years for the site to be fully restored.
:06:41. > :06:50.Coed Eva should have been welcoming pupils back through its gates today.
:06:51. > :06:53.Instead the school is empty the infant classes gutted
:06:54. > :06:57.by a blaze that happened in the early hours of new years day.
:06:58. > :07:01.The steel frame - a cruel reminder of a building that was ready
:07:02. > :07:03.to welcome back two hundred children.
:07:04. > :07:08.The only people in the playground today - demolition contractors.
:07:09. > :07:11.Police say four teenagers from Cwmbran not much older
:07:12. > :07:14.than those due to return to the school have been arrested
:07:15. > :07:21.on suspicion of arson and released on bail.
:07:22. > :07:28.We have made the decision to close the school this week. I understand
:07:29. > :07:32.forensics have completed their inspection. We are looking to work
:07:33. > :07:35.towards opening on Monday. We will do the best we can.
:07:36. > :07:39.This is the fire - filmed by eyewitnesses -
:07:40. > :07:44.crews fought for three hours to save the junior school next door.
:07:45. > :07:47.The infants' school burned down in less than twenty minutes.
:07:48. > :07:49.Today the school's senior teachers met here
:07:50. > :07:52.a council official said the preferred option is to keep
:07:53. > :07:54.all the children together in the existing buildings.
:07:55. > :07:56.But there is the option of sending the children elsewhere.
:07:57. > :08:02.How soon pupils return to Coed Eva partially depends on the weather,
:08:03. > :08:05.as contractors need dry weather to install temporary classrooms.
:08:06. > :08:07.Parents will have to find alternative child-care.
:08:08. > :08:09.It's hoped the classrooms will be installed within two weeks.
:08:10. > :08:15.And the power supply returned to the junior school.
:08:16. > :08:18.Until then, pupils at Coed Eva, will have to continue their 2016
:08:19. > :08:22.Patients are being asked to avoid the emergency departments
:08:23. > :08:24.at Morriston Hospital in Swansea and the Princess of Wales Hospital
:08:25. > :08:30.Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board says
:08:31. > :08:32.both sites are extremely busy and experiencing
:08:33. > :08:38.They're asking people consult their GPs before
:08:39. > :08:41.Councillors in Carmarthenshire have agreed to withdraw some community
:08:42. > :08:45.education courses for adults because of budget cuts.
:08:46. > :08:49.The executive board has agreed to focus on courses such as adult
:08:50. > :08:54.basic education and English classes for speakers of other languages.
:08:55. > :08:58.Classes for art and crafts are among those which will be withdrawn.
:08:59. > :09:01.The new Aberavon Leisure and Fitness Centre has opened
:09:02. > :09:04.The new facility - which cost 13 million pounds -
:09:05. > :09:07.includes a swimming pool, gym and sports hall.
:09:08. > :09:13.The Afan Lido was destroyed in a fire seven years ago
:09:14. > :09:20.They help vulnerable people with the most basic of daily tasks -
:09:21. > :09:23.getting dressed, having a shower, or something to eat.
:09:24. > :09:25.But too often there have been examples of home
:09:26. > :09:29.Now an innovative scheme in Monmouthshire has won the praise
:09:30. > :09:32.of the Older People's Commissioner - for improving the working lives
:09:33. > :09:34.of staff and transforming the service they provide.
:09:35. > :09:47.Paul Heaney has this exclusive report.
:09:48. > :09:56.Brightening the mood at daycare centre in Abergavenny. 94-year-old
:09:57. > :09:59.arena gives up her time as part of a council run scheme linking
:10:00. > :10:03.volunteers with those at risk of becoming isolated and unwell.
:10:04. > :10:10.We need this sort of thing for the elderly population. To keep them in
:10:11. > :10:16.view and make them feel that they are still wanted.
:10:17. > :10:19.The council increasingly looks for people to support their neighbours
:10:20. > :10:32.instead of relying solely on its Keir Starmer. -- care staff.
:10:33. > :10:41.Before a new way of working was brought in, a manager with the site
:10:42. > :10:51.how much time people would be a route -- allowed to spend. Less help
:10:52. > :10:57.means fewer hours and that means less he because they are paid by the
:10:58. > :11:03.hour. That means there is little incentive to support people to live
:11:04. > :11:07.independently. Rules were rules and you just
:11:08. > :11:14.couldn't. If it was not on the care plan, we couldn't do anything extra.
:11:15. > :11:22.Now they are in charge of their own hours. He salary instead of hourly
:11:23. > :11:29.pay. They've told me about the remarkable difference that has made.
:11:30. > :11:34.I used to feel like a nobody. Since working on the project, I feel like
:11:35. > :11:37.a somebody. I feel like I have been promoted.
:11:38. > :11:40.Because we have the continuity now, I think it stops people going into
:11:41. > :11:49.hospital, because we stop things like water infections. We can get
:11:50. > :11:53.touch with the doctors. In the past, clients of different
:11:54. > :11:56.caterers. Now it is a dedicated team rather than strangers coming into
:11:57. > :12:07.the home. I had the lady is nice and chatty?
:12:08. > :12:10.Yes, they are very familiar. We know everybody on the team.
:12:11. > :12:21.And it is the same people you have seen?
:12:22. > :12:25.Yes, thank goodness. Local authorities are under
:12:26. > :12:35.financial measure but if they can make it work then so should other
:12:36. > :12:44.communities in Wales. Not everywhere follows the same
:12:45. > :12:53.tune. Good care prevails elsewhere despite the system. Success here is
:12:54. > :17:40.only possible as part of volunteers supporting people's
:17:41. > :17:51.And he survived because as uncle drove her to safety and for -- feel
:17:52. > :17:58.of Glamorgan. They wouldn't allow us on to
:17:59. > :18:11.Glamorgan Street. When we got to the cross, they would not allow us to go
:18:12. > :18:19.any further. We got up the back way and then it was just like daylight
:18:20. > :18:30.looking down. Everybody was looking down on Cardiff.
:18:31. > :18:34.Joyce Lloyd's grandmother survived. She remembers her shock when she saw
:18:35. > :18:39.what had happened. When you walked down somewhere and
:18:40. > :18:44.see if there every day and the next year ago and there is nothing there.
:18:45. > :18:51.Just everywhere is damaged. Just rubble was left. It was very
:18:52. > :18:56.strange. The damage to the cathedral was
:18:57. > :19:00.extensive. The blast was so amazing that it
:19:01. > :19:04.literally lifted the roof off and it dropped into the building and blew
:19:05. > :19:09.the windows out. The level of destruction was quite colossal.
:19:10. > :19:14.The building was carefully restored and a garden of remembrance now
:19:15. > :19:15.stands with a bomb fell. A memorial to the night they changed so many
:19:16. > :19:21.lives for ever. Wales is being urged
:19:22. > :19:23.to reclaim Roald Dahl He was born in Cardiff in 1916,
:19:24. > :19:27.and went on to become one of the world's best-selling
:19:28. > :19:29.children's writers. Celebrations described as 'epic'
:19:30. > :19:31.are planned throughout the year to celebrate his life as our Arts
:19:32. > :19:47.and Media Correspondent, Roald Dahl wrote some of the best
:19:48. > :19:54.loved books for children. He had been turned into musicals and there
:19:55. > :20:04.will be a film of the BFG later this year. In 2016, some of Wales' Beck
:20:05. > :20:09.arts companies are coming together for a huge celebration.
:20:10. > :20:14.How could we not celebrate the centenary of one of Cardiff's Themis
:20:15. > :20:30.sons? He is probably quite under rebel edged -- it is almost a chance
:20:31. > :20:34.to reclaim him as one of our own. The celebrations for his centenary
:20:35. > :20:46.will spread across the city. There will be events at the church that he
:20:47. > :20:51.and his family used to visit. And the streets he knew would be
:20:52. > :20:55.transformed by an Australian theatre director whose previous work
:20:56. > :20:58.includes the Sydney Olympics opening ceremony. It will be full of
:20:59. > :21:07.surprises. Nothing is as you expected.
:21:08. > :21:14.Characters chasing through the city, huge pieces of fruit roll down.
:21:15. > :21:19.I think she felt a fair she never felt before.
:21:20. > :21:26.Matilda is under discussion at this book club and Robbie at the heart of
:21:27. > :21:31.the celebrations. I think he is creative and his
:21:32. > :21:35.characters, their personalities are different.
:21:36. > :21:40.It is good to be an exciting year for Roald Dahl fans. For some it may
:21:41. > :21:48.be the chance to find a quiet corner and read a good book.
:21:49. > :21:50.Let's get tonight's Sport now, here's Iwan.
:21:51. > :21:53.The opening weekend of 2016 brought mixed fortunes for
:21:54. > :21:57.And after losing to Manchester United, Swansea City's search
:21:58. > :22:00.for a new manager goes on with little sign of an imminent
:22:01. > :22:09.Since taking over as caretaker manager,
:22:10. > :22:12.Alan Curtis has guided his side to 5 points in 5 games.
:22:13. > :22:14.Reports suggest he could stay in the job until the end
:22:15. > :22:25.The New Year but no sign of a new manager just yet. Swansea City are
:22:26. > :22:34.entering a fourth week without a permanent boss. Some fans want
:22:35. > :22:37.clarity over the position. I think they need some clarity as to
:22:38. > :22:41.who is going to continue to the end of the season then hopefully push on
:22:42. > :22:49.from there. I think they would have more
:22:50. > :22:54.confidence with a permanent manager. I think they have got respect for
:22:55. > :22:58.Alan Curtis because he has been there 40 years.
:22:59. > :23:01.Swansea are seemingly in no rush to appoint a manager and the directors
:23:02. > :23:12.could wait until the summer when a big pool of potential applicants
:23:13. > :23:16.could take over. Alan Curtis so his side lose at Manchester United over
:23:17. > :23:20.the weekend. He has taken five points from five games in charge,
:23:21. > :23:25.leaving Swansea two points above the relegation zone.
:23:26. > :23:36.Elsewhere, Cardiff started the New Year without their striker Ken Wynne
:23:37. > :23:44.Jones. He is expected to move on. Joe Mason overtook Jones as the top
:23:45. > :23:52.scorer at the club with the school. Kids John Sheridan believing
:23:53. > :23:56.already? Some bookmakers have suspended betting on him becoming
:23:57. > :24:03.Notts County manager. Newport say they have not been approached and
:24:04. > :24:09.are mystified by speculation. The Lakeside Country Club
:24:10. > :24:15.in Frimley Green is once again the venue for the BDO
:24:16. > :24:19.World Darts Championships. Cardiff's Dean Reynolds was knocked
:24:20. > :24:22.out of the tournament by Number One seed Glen Durrant over the weekend,
:24:23. > :24:25.losing 3 sets to nil. Tonight, 10th seed Martin Phillips
:24:26. > :24:27.from Dolgellau is up against two time champion Ted Hankey
:24:28. > :24:35.in the last 32. The former Wrexham,
:24:36. > :24:37.Swansea and Wales defender John Roberts has died
:24:38. > :24:39.at the age of 69. He was part of arguably Wrexham's
:24:40. > :24:42.greatest ever team that won Tributes have also been paid
:24:43. > :24:48.to a four times Welsh Winter Olympian who died yesterday
:24:49. > :24:56.at the age of 68. Malcolm Lloyd from Penllergaer
:24:57. > :24:59.in Swansea - known as 'Gomer' - represented Great Britain at four
:25:00. > :25:02.Olympics in the 1970s and '80s. Derek has already been
:25:03. > :25:19.reporting on the wet weather. We could really do with several
:25:20. > :25:27.days, if not several weeks of dry weather. Wednesday is the driest day
:25:28. > :25:34.this week but otherwise there is more rain. Rain in the form of heavy
:25:35. > :25:42.showers. Five or ten millimetres in places. Tonight, the North is try
:25:43. > :26:02.for a while but showers in the South tomorrow's chart shows more rain and
:26:03. > :26:09.showers. 20 of cloud, more showers, heavy in places, especially in parts
:26:10. > :26:16.of the middle, the North and west and Wales. A few brighter spells
:26:17. > :26:27.mixed in. Temperatures are around average with a late to moderate
:26:28. > :26:33.breeze. Tomorrow, if you mist and fog patches. Wednesday promises to
:26:34. > :26:40.be a better day. Mostly dry bar the odd shower. The wind will pick up
:26:41. > :26:46.with more rain reaching temperature around dusk. We will see another
:26:47. > :26:53.spell of wet weather on Wednesday night. That will clear to sunshine
:26:54. > :27:06.and showers on Thursday, some of the showers heavy. It remains unsettled
:27:07. > :27:08.into the weekend. Temperatures are around average or a little above in
:27:09. > :27:10.the South. It's coming up to seven o'clock,
:27:11. > :27:12.the headlines again. Staff at Arriva Trains Wales
:27:13. > :27:18.are staging a 24 hour walk out. Up to 100,000 passengers
:27:19. > :27:20.have been affected - as more than a thousand services
:27:21. > :27:23.are cancelled across the country. Early morning trains tomorrow
:27:24. > :27:25.could also be disrupted. You can get the latest travel
:27:26. > :27:28.information on BBC Radio Wales, I'll have an update for you here
:27:29. > :27:37.at 8 o'clock and again after the That's Wales Today,
:27:38. > :27:44.thank you for watching, from all of us
:27:45. > :27:54.on the programme good evening. You'd better come in
:27:55. > :27:58.with a brilliant product.