26/01/2017 Look East

Hello and welcome to Look East. so it's goodbye from me

In the programme tonight: Living with ME and how research in Norwich

It is very promising, it gives hope now for the first time that there

could be a treatment for this devastating disorder.

The merger which is about to create the biggest district

Ratty as you've never seen him before.

And I am in Stevenage where astronaut Tim Peake is inspiring the

next generation. An international centre for research

into the causes of ME Scientists told Look East today

they are making real breakthroughs in finding a treatment

for the condition, which is also It's thought 250,000

people across the country are affected by ME and so far,

there is no effective treatment. The most common symptoms are severe

fatigue, painful muscles and joints, Now scientists in Norwich

are planning to trial a cancer drug, which has been found to help

patients with ME in Norway. The research in this region has been

crowdfunded by ME sufferers like Rosalind Amor from Bury St

Edmunds. She's so affected by the illness,

she spends her life Arriving at Rosalind's home, the

first thing you notice is the sign on the door. That is because

Rosalind cannot tolerate too much noise or too much light. Rosalind

was diagnosed with envy at the age of eight. She is now 25.

Conversations have to be conducted in a whisper. It's awful. Feeling

tired and weak and heavy. Rosalind's health improved when she was 15. She

could walk, stand and use a wheelchair outdoors but four years

ago, Rosalind had a relapse and today she cannot get out of bed, is

fed by tube and users hand gestures to communicate. You must get down

about how you feel. I don't want to waste my entire life in bed. Despite

everything, Rosalind remains positive. She writes a blog for the

invest in N E research charity and helps to raise money for them. Now

she can use an iPad and connects to the rest of the world again,

immediately she is back in touch, part of the team and the fact that

she can contribute to the blog and writing is what she loves to do. I

want to be a journalist. I want to be a journalist since I was 17. Do

you think that might come one day? Rosalind loves the outdoors but has

not been in the garden for years. She is following the developments in

research closely but is also realistic about what the future

might hold. In Norway they've found that a drug

normally used to treat cancer Now those scientists

are here in Norwich to talk about carrying out a trial of that

same drug here. Ian Barmer reports on the research

that's giving a real hope of finding ME has always been seen as a

condition in the mind but now scientists in Norway are confident

they could be on the verge of a breakthrough to show it is a

physical disorder. Until now there have been no effective treatments

but a commonly used cancer drug has delivered a big improvement in

symptoms. We had a view patients who had long-standing, severe ME who got

lymphoma and we saw that when they got lymphoma treatment,

chemotherapy, they seem to have a benefit from that treatment in their

symptoms. The research looks at the way sugar is converted into energy

in the blood and that is closely related to research in ME underway

in Norwich. The experts from Norway are in Norwich now to help plan for

a big upcoming trial here. It is very exciting, very promising. It

gives hope for the first time that there could be a treatment for this

devastating disorder. Knowledge is becoming a national centre for the

study of ME. Next year the work will move to the quadrant Institute. And

by the end of 2018, the major trial using the same drug will start at

the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital with patients from Norfolk and

Suffolk. That is good news for people like Charlotte. She is

desperate for an effective treatment for ME. It has been a long time

coming and I have lost the last ten or so years of this, of my life to

this, so I just hope they have a breakthrough and can help us out.

Scientists are more confident now that ME could be reversible. For

Charlotte and the quarter of a million sufferers, that cannot come

soon enough. A plan to merge two councils

in Suffolk completely is expected If the tie-up between Waveney

and Suffolk coastal is agreed, the new authority will become

the largest district But what will it mean

for people who live there? Our political correspondent

Andrew Sinclair is outside the meeting at Melton

near Woodbridge. Good evening. Meeting will get

underway in about 20 minutes. Last night, Waverley Council approved

these plans. If Suffolk Coastal approve them tonight, history will

be made because this is the first time that two councils have voted to

merge. District councils are responsible for more than 100

different services, maintaining beaches, public toilets, car parks

and collecting the rubbish. In two years' time in Waveney and Suffolk

Coastal comedy names on the jackets will change but that should be all.

I hope residents will not notice anything. We have been working with

Waveney District Council and Suffolk Coastal District Council in

partnership for ten years and so I hope they have noticed anything so

far. It has saved these two authorities ?16 million so a

complete merger was the obvious next step but among residents in

Lowestoft, there was a lot of scepticism. I think the more local

the better. Bad enough getting them to do something in this town N

adding a feud more. -- few. The new council will stretch from Lowestoft

to Felixstowe with the two headquarters at Lowestoft and Mt.

The move will save ?1.3 million every year. The council says there

will be few job cuts as most services are already emerged but

there will be up to 30 fewer councillors, something which worries

the opposition. If councillors are reduced, you will not have people

who know what is going on in their communities so how can you represent

people properly. What would happen if you did not do this? We would

have to cut services because of the finances that would not stack up,

because as a District Council, we are struggling to set budgets. And

this probably won't be the last merger. Other councils in Suffolk

are thinking of following suit as the pressures on local government

finance growth. That though it will take place shortly.

Andrew, while you're here, can I ask you about some other

political news tonight involving the Norwich MP Clive Lewis?

Clive Lewis has spent the last week telling colleagues and journalist

that because he represents a constituency that booted to remain

in the referendum last year, he cannot bring himself to vote for the

triggering of Article 50. Today, Jeremy Corbyn ordered all his MPs to

vote for the triggering of Article 50 and anyone that doesn't will be

sacked. At one stage there were rumours that Clive Lewis would

resign over this. Tonight he said he would be voting for Article 50. I

respect the result of the referendum, he said. In an interview

tonight he said he may yet change his mind when he goes back to

Parliament next month. who was subjected to lewd comments

from the master of a hunt, has told Look East they have

received an apology. who was also a local Conservative

councillor in Norfolk, making the comments

to 41-year-old Linda Hoggard during a hunt in North

Yorkshire on Monday. Mr Carter resigned from Breckland

District Council last night. Today's tabloids will not have made

comfortable reading for Charles Carter, but sex and hunting make for

a saucy headlight. It is now 12 years after the hunting act was

passed but the battles between the pro-and anti-hunt lobby still wager

on. Charles Carter's lewd comments captured on social media. Pardon? I

shall tell my husband that, shall I? A former Master of the West Norfolk

Hunt, Charles Carter was also a reduced rate councillor. His

behaviour condemned by the local Tory party and the local council

leader. He contacted the protester to apologise to the husband and made

it clear it was meant in no way to be rude. I spoke to Linda Hoggard's

husband tonight. He would not say whether he would accept the apology.

In Charles Carter's form award, mixed views. We used to call him a

hooray Henry. He spoke with an Oxford twang. Does what he's saying

disqualify him from being a councillor? I would have thought so.

It would not go down well in disparaging. People get wound up

about hunting and it is nothing to do with the village and being a

councillor. Should he have quit? No. Perhaps like the proverbial fox,

Charles Carter has gone to ground. He has not responded to requests for

an interview. People tell me that while he has not lived in the area

for several months, he has been a good counsellor. But this sort of

behaviour both angered local councillors and voters. Even Charles

Carter accepted he had to go. with temperatures struggling

to get above freezing. It comes after freezing

fog earlier this week. the big problem now

is how to stay warm. Today the weather is bitterly cold.

Temperatures struggling to rise above freezing, a wind chill of -4,

minus five. It's a time when agencies are busy helping the

vulnerable and older people stay warm. We have been providing room

thermometers, we have provided newsletters that have had how to

stay warm in winter information. Occasionally our advice team might

hear from someone who's heating has broken down, particularly in a cold

snap like this and they may not get an engineer for a couple of days so

we have a few space heaters and blankets and we can to a drop-off.

Coffee mornings and lunch clubs like this one in Chelmsford which provide

hot meals can be a lifeline. It is essential. I do a bit of cooking at

home. But first of all, there is the mail and the company. Just eating

with others is wonderful and you cannot wait to get here. The cold

weather can cause us problems. It has been a busy time for plumber

Chris who has been called to fix a boiler in school. In the mornings,

phones don't stop. Normally get calls coming back in around half

past four when people get home from work. We do get a lot of water leaks

from tanks in lofts. Pipes splitting, that sort of stuff. It is

still chilly but in Chelmsford, they are enjoying a hot lunch. The

temperature at the moment is -2, however, from tomorrow, it is

expected to get milder, seven or 8 degrees, but the information about

keeping warm is not just for older people, it is for everyone, having

spare food in the cupboard, checking heating and layering up when you go

outside. Still to come tonight: ?1,000 a week

- the care homes passing And the moment this Essex

photographer thought he'd never see. Around 20 lucky children had a day

they'll never forget today. They met the astronaut Tim Peake

in Stevenage at a new educational centre aimed at inspiring

the scientists of the future and today, we were told he's

going back into space sometime But in Stevenage, it was all

about getting young hands For a man who was blasted into

space, it was a suitably out of this world opening. Strand putting us

from Stevenage to Mars. This testing yard at the heart of the interactive

centre, all about inspiring the next generation. It is all hands on with

a teacher with unique qualifications. It's really exciting

meeting him and everything is very fun to play with. He is a bit famous

so that is really exciting. I asked him about the Northern lights and he

sought them about to authorise -- two or three times a week. What more

expiring for these children than to be standing next to someone who has

been into orbit, looking out to the future of space exploration. If you

can get them excited about science at that early age, that is when they

will make the decision to study those and we can grow our workforce

for the future, which will be of huge benefit to the UK. And there

was a nod to today's news that he is set to return to orbit. Space is a

wonderful place to live and work. Every astronaut would love to get

back up there. The Airbus Centre will be won by North Hertfordshire

College. Access to live space research and extraordinary asset. It

is rare to see a business open the doors of its most incredible

projects to help inspire the next generation. These would-be

scientists filling an important void. For our burgeoning industry in

the UK which is the right thing we need a good strong pipeline of our

own engineers and scientists and technicians coming through, and

these sort of programmes are an excellent way to create that talent

for the future. When he was a boy, Tim Peake dreams of being a pilot. A

message to these youngsters, anything is possible.

When the national living wage was brought in last year,

there was a warning that it would have an effect on care

there's evidence that it's forced up the cost of care

and been a factor in some homes closing.

The living wage came in last April and will go up by 30 pence an hour

One nursing home in Essex has already put up its weekly charge

to more than ?1,000 to pay for the increase in the cost

This from our business correspondent Richard Bond.

Rising wages are always good for morale and when the living

or minimum wage rises in April, many of the 80 staff at this nursing

Lucy Young works in the kitchen and is chuffed by the prospect

I enjoy working here, but getting more money would be brilliant.

Cheviot nursing home has 31 residents and is

It's run on a not-for-profit basis, but as wages rise, it

A year ago, the price of a new bed place here was ?939 a week.

That has had to rise this year to ?1,036,

an increase of 10% and the boss says that is down to the living wage.

The national living wage has gone up by 11.5% in the last two years,

so it has had an impact on the amount we charge people.

I'm sorry about that, because it must sound

like an enormous amount of money if you are in the position that

you are looking for care for someone you love.

Yes, and believe me, we are not making a profit.

The strain of higher fees falls on people like Ken.

His wife Maureen has been here for 18 months

She needs round-the-clock care, but it's hard for the couple to pay

the fees with interest rates on savings on the floor.

If you have made sensible plans for retirement and relying

on and investment income and the income from the investments

drops to virtually zero and yet your commitments continue

to rise, I cannot see anybody being in a position where they can

It's part of a charity and has the resources to survive,

but many smaller homes may not be so lucky.

Everyone likes the idea of higher pay, it's just footing the bill

The cost of caring for the elderly is high and rising, and those people

paying the full cost themselves are actually subsidising

Most homes are a mixture of people who pay for themselves and those

whose care is paid for by councils. The cost is going up and councils

have been unwilling or unable to pay the full increases, so we have been

in this situation for some years were bills for Private people have

been rising at a faster rate than for councils. It has reached a point

where each private residence is subsidising each publicly funded

resident to the tune of up to ?8,000 a year and clearly the increases in

the living wage are going to add to that number and it's a situation

that many argue is unfair and unsustainable.

Norfolk's Alfie Hewett has made another major tennis final.

who won his first Grand Slam title with Gordon Reid

has now reached the final of the wheelchair doubles

He'll play against his British doubles partner

Alfie and Gustavo Fernandez from Argentina

beat the number one seeds in the semifinals.

This region has another World Champion.

has won the Ladies World Indoor Bowls Championship

Ellen Falkner from Cambridgeshire in the final at Hopton

She first won the title three years ago,

making her the youngest ever champion.

Coming back here every year has been an absolute pleasure. This is the

start of the year, could not be a better start. It was an incredible

fame and to be up against Alan, it is what a lot of people would have

asked for. I am a bit lost for words but rather than talk about my

performance, I would rather talk about Catherine and say well done,

well played and enjoy the moment. If you saw Winterwatch last night,

you'll have seen the Wind in the Willows character Ratty

as you've never seen him before. The remarkable wildlife

pictures were shot in Essex They were taken by local Film

maker and photographer it took a lot of time

and a lot of patience, we thought you'd like

to see them again. We're on the River Colne,

it's a chalk stream. I knew that it was a special site

when we first arrived here. A lot of people walk past this place

and don't understand Spend a few minutes,

observe and it comes to you. The voles are fairly

nervous and you've got to be incredibly still,

so you are freezing and being very cold in the water, but just don't

move about and as time goes by and you do more days of it,

they'll become more relaxed and then Sitting right in front of you,

you know, chewing away, they are always here,

every single day, but some of those special shots you need,

they happen just once and you've got One of the most satisfying things

is, because we have this beautiful chalk stream,

you can see these little silver bullets which are the water voles

underwater with the air trapped The life of the water vole is very

short, most of them don't get very far into a second year,

so a huge steep learning curve. On first coming to the site really,

it was this idea that possibly, possibly we had caught water voles

that were climbing trees. The evidence on the tree really most

people would put it down to squirrels and I think

it was worth spending some time, and then they started to climb

and they were going up along the branches and I think

they were probably six I thought that was

quite interesting. Maybe not so steady on their feet

and then to my commencement they just kept climbing

and climbing and climbing. I don't know what the difference

was between bark at the bottom and the bark at the top,

but they just like to go higher. And the last programme in this

season of Winterwatch is on BBC Two It was very cold today. Yes, we have

all been complaining about the cold today. These were our top

temperatures. Some places not getting higher than minus two

Celsius and then factor in the wind-chill, it felt colder. Another

cold night on the way. Not many photographs today because not many

braved the outdoors to take them. Grey and overcast through much of

the day but just as the sunset, the glimpse of a blue sky. Over much of

the region there will be clear skies developing, so another sharp

tonight. It looks as though many of us will get down to minus two

Celsius but you can see on the map, a bit more cloud coming to the south

by the end of the night and the possibility of light sleet or snow

into counties like Essex. Gradually tomorrow we will see something

milder coming our way. Although it will be a cold start to Friday, with

a widespread frost, it will recover. This weather feature heading

northwards through the morning. A very light covering of sleet or

snow, not expected to settle. It clears the way. The middle part of

the day dry and bright and then it tends to cloud over again.

Temperatures around four or 5 degrees but by the evening, we could

be up at around seven or 8 degrees as that milder air works its way

northwards. We still have the chance of patchy rain arriving by the end

of the day and overnight, and then we're into an unsettled weekend.

There is a bit of uncertainty about this weather feature but it looks as

though it will bring us strong winds, cloudy at times with the

chance of rain and shall this. I had this dream that we were going

upstairs and the boss said, tonight, we will go somewhere warm to present

the programme. Don't think it will come true. Good night.

Einstein replaced Newton's theory of universal gravitation

with a more accurate theory - general relativity.

So, why's my apple falling? Well, it's not.

It is the ground that accelerates up to meet the apple.

So that's why the chair that I'm sitting on now

that actually feels as if it's accelerating up

It's really changed my relationship with this chair. Mm-hm.