24/01/2018 London News


24/01/2018

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Tessa Jowell talking to Nick

Robinson.

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Good evening.

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I'm Asad Ahmad.

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In a highly unusual move,

Labour-run Haringey Council has been

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told by the party's ruling Executive

to put a halt to a multi-million

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pound regeneration

project in north London.

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The plan to renew thousands

of council homes has proved

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hugely controversial -

but in this latest move, there's

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also some discomfort locally

about Labour's National Executive

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stepping in to tell a local

council what to do.

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Here's Susana Mendonca.

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This resident has lived

on Northumberland Park

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in Tottenham for 29 years.

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The local council wants to knock

this down and rebuild it.

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And it has promised that all social

tenants like her would get to return

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to live here if they want to.

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Yes, I have been here a long time

and I love the place.

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I wish to come back.

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I asked about the rent and they said

the rent is going to be the same.

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But I am wondering how

true it is going to be.

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This is one of the areas in this

north London borough that would be

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included in the so-called

Haringey Development

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Vehicle, or HDV.

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That's a 50-50 partnership

between the council

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and a private developer.

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Haringey Council says this plan

is all about regenerating inadequate

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estates and building much-needed

new homes - more than 6000 of them,

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40% of which they say

would be affordable.

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But it has been met with huge

opposition, not least

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because of the council's choice

of business partner.

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Lendlease was the company

behind the Heygate estate

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redevelopment in Southwark -

once home to more than a thousand

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socially rented properties,

the development that replaced it now

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has less than 100 of them.

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Which is a comparison that those

protesting against the Haringey

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plans have continued to make.

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This is not a rejection

of the ambition behind the HDV.

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It is the fact it is poorly thought

out, it is too risky, it is very,

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very likely to fail in at least some

way, the most likely way

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of which is the proportion of homes

for genuine affordable social rent

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will probably be small and will no

doubt dwindle over time.

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The plans, which also include

building on council-owned

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sites in Wood Green,

have led to huge divisions

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within the Labour Party here.

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Councillors who support the HDV have

been deselected and some opposed

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to it have now got the backing

of Labour's ruling body.

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We have now got the Labour Party's

National Executive Committee

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effectively telling a Labour council

what to do over a specific

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policy, which is in itself

quite extraordinary.

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And I am thinking where does this

end, so what happens the next time

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a campaign group who is now part

of the Labour Party is not happy

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with something that a Labour

council leader is doing?

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With pressure continuing

to mount, the future of this

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development remains unclear.

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Tim Donovan is our political editor.

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Apologies wasn't issues with sound

this evening. -- apologies

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Apologies wasn't issues with sound

this evening. -- apologies about

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some issues. We are back on track

now.

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This is a local issue,

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but with many people outside

Haringey watching what happens?

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Because it is a row that some people

think lays bare wider divisions

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within the Labour Party, both

locally in Haringey and suggesting a

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potential split and differing

factions within Labour nationally,

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too. The main organisation,

Momentum, the activist, grassroots

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community organisation not created

that long ago, has run 35,000

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members already, runs parallel with

Labour, supportive of Corbyn and his

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beliefs. They are very active in

Haringey and have oppose these

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plans. There is not a total

crossover, lots of people oppose

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these plans who are not in Momentum,

but politically Momentum are held to

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have been responsible for about 20

existing councillors, Cymbeline

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deselected all voluntarily standing

down, because they do not want to

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stand in the May elections.

Lots of

people wondering what will happen

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now.

The senior ruling body will

send in a senior MP to mediate, it

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is thought the leader, who has put

so much political capital and effort

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into getting these plans up and

running, will meet party bosses. She

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cannot you press the button because

she is waiting for the outcome of a

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judicial review, but I suppose it is

possible but the outcome of the May

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elections will lead to a Momentum

heavy, heavy with people who oppose

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this scheme, thus it may not get off

the ground.

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It will be interesting to see what

happens. Thank you, Tim Farron and

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-- Tim Donovan.

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The mother of a young girl who died

when playground equipment

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collapsed on her in east London,

has been told that the council

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responsible for its upkeep

won't face any criminal charges.

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Alexia Walenkaki was enjoying

playing near her mother

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in a park in Mile End,

when a wooden post collapsed.

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Her mother says the decision shows

there's one law for some people -

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and another for those

of colour, and who are poor.

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She's been speaking to Alex Bushill.

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Baby, flowers of light.

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Sleep and see brighter dreams...

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This is a poem chosen by Vida that

always reminds her of her little

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five-year-old girl.

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She was crushed to death

here before her mum's eyes.

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The playground has since been

closed, remodelled and reopened,

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but everywhere, there

are reminders of Alexia.

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Alexia was a charmer.

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Whoever she came into contact with

instantly fell in love with her.

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This photo even shows the equipment

that was to crush her,

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the wooden timbers in the background

clear to see.

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It was a moment Vida watched unfold.

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I noticed the log on which they

were playing as a swing

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started to collapse.

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I ran as fast as I could to where

the children were playing.

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But when I got there,

Alexia was already on the floor.

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There was not much I could do.

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Today, we learned that the CPS

are not going to bring

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charges against the council

which runs this playground.

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That's despite the fact that we now

know that in 2014 and 2015

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in the years leading up to Alexia's

death, there were not

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annual safety inspections.

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Alexia's family say

that if there had been,

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she would be alive today.

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In a letter seen by the BBC,

the CPS explain this decision.

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Whilst accepting that annual checks

had not been carried out since 2013,

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the CPS did point to how there had

been an operational inspection

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on 1st June and a daily inspection

on the day Alexia died,

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17th July 2015.

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No issue with the log

was identified in either.

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For Vida's lawyers, though,

it simply isn't good enough.

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I don't think the system

they had in place for

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inspections was good enough.

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Yes, there were daily and quarterly

inspections being carried out.

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However, the last annual inspection

wasn't carried out for a year

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and ten months prior

to Alexia's death.

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This inspection is important

because it's a lot more

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thorough and more in-depth

than in the quarterly

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and daily inspections.

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Tools are used which detect

defective equipment which may not be

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apparent during a quarterly

and daily inspection.

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Vida puts it far stronger.

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There are different laws

for people of this country

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and there are different laws

for people of colour.

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You think you're a victim of racism?

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Yes.

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Because I'm a nobody and I am poor.

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That's the way I see it.

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Because I'm alone, there

was nobody to fight back,

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so they do what they want.

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The CPS has declined

to comment on Vida's

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concerns of discrimination,

but it is going to

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review its decision.

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As for Tower Hamlets,

they won't comment either,

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with an inquest into Alexia's death

now set for early spring.

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I just felt that if I needed Alexia,

this is where I should come get her.

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In the early days, I would stand

outside and actually

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yelled her name, calling,

expecting a response.

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But, you know, that wouldn't happen.

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That silence is obviously forever,

but Alexia's image, her memory,

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will be here too, for ever.

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If you're passing

the stretch along the Thames

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near the South Bank from now on,

look out for pyramids.

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Colourful ones.

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They've been installed

to fix a leaky roof.

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That's one way of dealing

with it - and it's given

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the Hayward Gallery

a whole new light.

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Here's Wendy Hurrell.

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A rare view of a gallery.

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Installation in progress

and the first exhibition to be put

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on these walls for over two years.

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In the meantime,

a multi-million-pound restoration

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has been happening to update

the electrics, to replace

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the painted-over decaying

pyramid roof lights.

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Now the ceiling has windows

onto the sky, we will see the works

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beneath quite differently.

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Of course, normally,

we get daylight coming in,

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but right now you see

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the wonderful purple,

changing lights of David

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Batchelor's sculpture that's

on the rooftop right now.

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And this is what it looks

like from the roof -

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66 brand-new pyramids especially lit

up until the end of March to mark

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the reopening of the Hayward Gallery

and celebrate its 50th year.

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We are continuing to try to find

artists from across the world

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who we think are really articulating

something new and saying something

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about the world we live in -

showing it to us in a way that

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makes you think.

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The Director of the Hayward Gallery

speaking to Wendy Hurrell.

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Now for the weather with Ben.

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Now for the weather with Ben.

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A very wet state today? Not

particularly inspiring at all. Heavy

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rain, very strong winds as well. The

good news is tomorrow looks

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considerably brighter and

considerably quieter. We will see

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some sunny spells, Shell is passing

through in the breeze, not as windy

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as today.

During the rest tonight, largely dry

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conditions with clear spells, a few

showers might pass through time.

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Chillier than last night, four, five

or six the minimum temperatures.

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A bright enough start tomorrow,

spells of sunshine. There is the

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chance that one or two will creep

through at times but they should be

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fairly light, very few and far

between. I suspect many places will

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still dry all day.

Not as windy as it has been, eight

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to 10 degrees.

Into tomorrow, staying fairly cool

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with clear spells and a few showers.

Friday looks nice, still fairly

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cool,

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