:00:10. > :00:15.Welcome to Midlands Today. The headlines.
:00:15. > :00:18.How important is Europe to the West Midlands? We talk like to the MDP
:00:18. > :00:23.that triggered the debate going on now in the House of Commons.
:00:23. > :00:28.son is about ordinary people instigating this new process to
:00:28. > :00:33.force a debate in Parliament. 1 in 10 sixth-formers are thinking
:00:33. > :00:38.about -- thinking twice about university. I am thinking about
:00:38. > :00:42.doing a course from home so that I get a qualification at the end but
:00:42. > :00:45.I don't go to university to get into debt.
:00:45. > :00:47.JCB invest �5 million in an exhibition to tell potential
:00:48. > :00:57.customers exactly what they are about.
:00:58. > :00:59.
:00:59. > :01:04.The secret world of the wild ponies Good evening and welcome to
:01:04. > :01:09.Monday's Midlands Today from the BBC. Tonight:
:01:09. > :01:11.The Midlands MEP who's forced the biggest debate on Europe for years.
:01:11. > :01:16.Nikki Sinclaire became a Member of the European Parliament purely to
:01:16. > :01:20.push for a referendum on whether we should be in or out of Europe.
:01:20. > :01:22.We'll speak to her in just a moment, but first Sarah Falkland has been
:01:22. > :01:30.talking to Black Country businessmen to weigh up the pros
:01:30. > :01:33.and cons. What does Europe do for She's travelled the length and
:01:33. > :01:36.breadth of the country for this. A moment of victory for Nikki
:01:36. > :01:42.Sinclaire as she hands in another 20,000 signatures to add to the
:01:42. > :01:44.100,000 already delivered to Downing Street. In pushing for a
:01:44. > :01:52.referendum on Europe, the independent MEP has sparked
:01:52. > :01:55.possibly the biggest rebellion of the prime minister's leadership.
:01:55. > :01:58.The ripples are felt 100 miles away in the Black Country. Garrick
:01:58. > :02:03.Groves runs a plastic bag manufacturing firm and, in his view,
:02:03. > :02:05.it's far from rosy in the European garden. When he invested in new
:02:05. > :02:15.machines, like this printer, he qualified for a European grant,
:02:15. > :02:18.albeit a small one. We spent �1.5 million and we had about a quarter
:02:18. > :02:25.of a million pounds in grants against capital equipment. If we
:02:25. > :02:28.had a comparison of Eastern Europe, they would get three or four times
:02:28. > :02:31.as much grant as we would. He wants Britain to claw back some of its
:02:31. > :02:37.powers from Brussels. Down the road at Merry Hill, at one time Europe's
:02:37. > :02:40.biggest shopping centre, shoppers are divided. Parliament has lost
:02:40. > :02:44.its powers and everything is being dictated to us by the European
:02:44. > :02:50.Union, which wouldn't be so bad if the other countries in the union
:02:50. > :02:54.actually abided by the Rules. They don't. I want to be part of the
:02:54. > :02:59.Union but no so financially tied up with it. We are only a little
:02:59. > :03:04.island, so it is good. I think we should take a leaf out of France's
:03:04. > :03:08.book. What they do is say, yes, we like that, no, we don't like that,
:03:08. > :03:11.and they don't take any messing. Eurosceptics say the huge cost of
:03:11. > :03:18.the EU is now outweighing the advantages for Britain. So how much
:03:18. > :03:28.do we pay? Some organisations say That's thousand pounds per man
:03:28. > :03:30.women and child. -- that's �1,000. What is fact is that between 2007
:03:30. > :03:39.and 2013, the West Midlands will receive �345 million from the
:03:39. > :03:47.But some business experts agree with the PM and say now is not the
:03:47. > :03:52.time. Certainly not now. Not in this economic climate. And
:03:52. > :03:58.certainly not whilst the banks are frightened of their own shadows and
:03:58. > :04:02.while the industry is considering whether or not to help development
:04:02. > :04:04.and growth. We need calm and collected thinking. Europe paid for
:04:04. > :04:08.better roads around Merry Hill to avoid snarl-ups. Could pulling out
:04:08. > :04:12.of the EU bring us as a nation to a standstill?
:04:12. > :04:15.As you can see, the debate continues right now in the House of
:04:15. > :04:17.Commons and will continue right up until the vote at 10 o'clock. Rebel
:04:17. > :04:20.Tory MPs are expected to include Aldridge Brownhills' Richard
:04:20. > :04:22.Shepherd, Stone's Bill Cash, The Wrekin's Mark Pritchard, Dudley
:04:22. > :04:29.South's Chris Kelly, Tewkesbury's Laurence Robertson and Dan Byles,
:04:29. > :04:39.the MP for north Warwickshire and Bedworth. Labour's Edgbaston MP
:04:39. > :04:41.
:04:41. > :04:47.Gisela Stewart also intends to vote in favour of a referendum. We hope
:04:47. > :04:52.to talk to Nikki Sinclaire later on. After their second consecutive
:04:52. > :04:56.defeat, Villa manager Alex McLeish urges fans to be patient.
:04:56. > :04:59.A survey of more than 1,000 A-level students for the BBC suggests one
:04:59. > :05:03.in ten are being put off university by higher tuition fees coming in
:05:03. > :05:06.next year. Half of the students questioned said they would think
:05:06. > :05:10.about studying closer to home, while two-thirds said they would
:05:10. > :05:13.consider an apprenticeship. The survey is released on the day UCAS,
:05:13. > :05:18.the admission service for students, said the number of applicants to
:05:18. > :05:24.West Midlands universities for next year had fallen by 11%. Jackie
:05:24. > :05:27.Kabler reports. It might not be the high-flying
:05:27. > :05:31.fashion career she once wanted, but Zoe Jackson decided against
:05:31. > :05:34.university and couldn't be happier. The 18-year-old from
:05:34. > :05:41.Worcestershire's working in a supermarket and has no worries
:05:41. > :05:46.about debt. Financially, it was a good decision because it means I'm
:05:46. > :05:51.getting money in for Christmas and stuff, and I want to go travelling
:05:51. > :05:54.next year as well. I am thinking of doing a course from home for events
:05:54. > :05:58.planning so that I get a qualification at the end but don't
:05:58. > :06:00.go to university and get into debt. So, for Zoe, no university was the
:06:00. > :06:03.right decision. But a survey commissioned by BBC Inside Out
:06:03. > :06:12.suggests more than 80% of students still believe the benefits of a
:06:12. > :06:17.university education outweigh the costs. Are they right? One person
:06:17. > :06:20.that disagreed was Coventry born Pete Waterman. He paid a visit to
:06:20. > :06:23.Staffordshire University to argue his case. Pete thought university
:06:23. > :06:25.was a waste of time with many degrees not equipping students to
:06:25. > :06:29.get jobs. Lecturer Ellis Cashmore disagreed and introduced him to
:06:29. > :06:38.students, graduates and their prospective employers. So did it
:06:38. > :06:43.work? I think that learning is vitally important. And, in fact,
:06:43. > :06:46.there is not enough learning in this country. I believe we are too
:06:46. > :06:50.focused on universities and not focused enough on general education
:06:50. > :06:55.of. What can you do? You present evidence and hope people change.
:06:55. > :06:58.When they don't, you think, they are entitled to their opinion.
:06:58. > :07:01.going to university can be done on the cheap. Shropshire student
:07:01. > :07:06.Harriet Moore is doing her degree in Slovakia, where the cost of
:07:06. > :07:11.living is so low she spends only �100 a month. I am trying to save
:07:11. > :07:16.money on my flight, so hand luggage it is! Financial expert Alvin Hall
:07:16. > :07:22.says it's a great way to avoid university debt. And Harriet agrees.
:07:22. > :07:25.If you're considering it, go for it. It is worth doing. Get on a plane.
:07:25. > :07:28.So while debt's a big worry, there are options - combining work and
:07:28. > :07:35.study like Zoe, apprenticeships, studying abroad. But most, it seems,
:07:35. > :07:39.still think university is And there'll be more on university
:07:39. > :07:43.tuition fees on Inside Out tonight. The programme also looks at a
:07:43. > :07:47.support group which helps twins when a sibling dies. That's on BBC
:07:47. > :07:50.One at 7:30pm. A Staffordshire company with a
:07:50. > :07:54.major contract for work at London's Olympic Village has closed with the
:07:54. > :07:56.loss of 150 jobs. Parry Bowen, a building cladding specialist based
:07:56. > :08:00.at the Burntwood Business Park in Chasetown, has ceased trading with
:08:00. > :08:03.a view to going into administration. A spokeswoman blamed what she
:08:03. > :08:13.called the "dreadful state" of the construction industry for the
:08:13. > :08:15.
:08:15. > :08:18.company's collapse. Now, let's take you back to the big debate over a
:08:18. > :08:22.referendum on Europe going on right now in a House of Commons.
:08:22. > :08:26.Listening to the debate has been the West Midlands MEP Nikki
:08:26. > :08:32.Sinclaire who led the campaign for it to take place. She joins us now.
:08:32. > :08:37.Good evening to you. Good evening. You are an MEP working in Europe,
:08:37. > :08:40.supposedly for our benefit. Why I use a passionate about it? I am
:08:40. > :08:45.working for the benefit of the West Midlands and the first thing I said
:08:45. > :08:49.when I was elected is that I was working for the redundancy of every
:08:49. > :08:53.other MEP and former M. I think that we have been arguing about
:08:54. > :08:58.Europe for all of my adult life and the debate has been going on and on.
:08:58. > :09:02.What I would like to see is a full national debate about the pros and
:09:02. > :09:06.cons of our membership of the European Union and a binding
:09:07. > :09:10.referendum so we can decide our future. Three years ago our The
:09:10. > :09:13.Politics Show did some fact-finding on you and it was interesting. It
:09:13. > :09:20.was found the West Midlands got more out in the EU grants then we
:09:20. > :09:26.put in and it has created 15,000 jobs between 2007-2013. That is not
:09:26. > :09:30.true and I will give you are example. We lost more than 2000
:09:30. > :09:36.jobs because the EU subsidised the jobs in Pershore and send them to
:09:36. > :09:40.Slovakia. I would challenge them again. I would love to come on your
:09:40. > :09:47.programme to argue that because I have got the fact that refute those
:09:47. > :09:51.figures which are bogus. What about that this is not the right time?
:09:51. > :09:59.This petition was started one year ago but there is always a crisis in
:09:59. > :10:05.Europe. We cannot negotiate our membership because if we do, you
:10:05. > :10:09.have to have a unanimity of 27. But is one of the problems. We took
:10:09. > :10:18.invoke Article 15 which allows withdrawal and you need the vote of
:10:18. > :10:22.this place. The people... Polls show that 66% of people want a
:10:22. > :10:26.referendum and 52 want to leave the European Union with only 30%
:10:26. > :10:32.wanting to stay in. Why are they so afraid of the people? The
:10:32. > :10:37.politicians... Let me ask you this. Isn't this black-and-white? People
:10:37. > :10:42.don't want to say yes or some to magnetic everything you.
:10:42. > :10:50.understand that. All I am talking about is a national debate about
:10:50. > :10:54.the pros and cons. I'm not -- I have called for a national debate
:10:54. > :10:58.about the pros and cons to let the people decide. We employ these
:10:58. > :11:02.people behind us and I am employed by the people, not the other way
:11:02. > :11:06.around. Trust the people with this to a decision. If the motion is
:11:06. > :11:10.going to be defeated, haven't you set back the cause for this
:11:10. > :11:15.referendum? No, because we will start another petition tomorrow and
:11:15. > :11:20.we will keep going because in 1996, only 8% wanted to leave the
:11:20. > :11:24.European Union and it is now 50%. We will leave the European Union
:11:24. > :11:26.one day, and we will make sure it is sooner rather than later.
:11:26. > :11:29.Digger maker JCB has opened a multi-million pound exhibition
:11:30. > :11:32.designed to generate new business across the globe. It's hoped the
:11:32. > :11:36.permanent display will be pivotal in helping the company win orders,
:11:36. > :11:39.particularly in emerging markets. Our Staffordshire reporter Liz
:11:39. > :11:44.Copper has been to see the exhibition at the company's World
:11:44. > :11:46.Headquarters. This exhibition charts the
:11:46. > :11:51.company's industrial heritage, beginning in Staffordshire in the
:11:51. > :12:00.1820s. But, as the chairman explained, it's not just a museum,
:12:00. > :12:04.chronicling history. Its purpose is to win new business for the future.
:12:04. > :12:08.It shows you have been in business for a long time and been through
:12:08. > :12:13.all sorts of recessions, and products have developed through
:12:13. > :12:16.that time. In our case, we managed to compete and win all around the
:12:16. > :12:19.world as well. This is a �5 million investment at the firm's
:12:19. > :12:22.headquarters in Rocester. It's taken a year to construct and
:12:22. > :12:29.involved craning in diggers through the roof. The models on show go
:12:29. > :12:33.right back to the company's roots. In the early 19th century, the
:12:33. > :12:39.Panthers were blacksmiths. This exhibition highlights the work of
:12:39. > :12:44.Bamford Ltd, famous as agricultural engineers. Henry Bamford famously
:12:44. > :12:47.sacked his nephew by sending him a note saying his services were no
:12:47. > :12:50.longer required. Of course, Joe Bamford's subsequent success led to
:12:50. > :12:53.the founding of a company which now employs ten thousand workers around
:12:53. > :12:57.the world. It's not just been a family business for the Bamfords,
:12:57. > :13:01.though. This family, the Boots, can trace their history at the firm
:13:01. > :13:09.through four generations. Today, they were amongst the first to view
:13:09. > :13:13.the exhibition and reflect on more than 400 years' combined service.
:13:13. > :13:18.In the early years, Mr Bamford himself was involved. He was always
:13:18. > :13:22.on the shop floor. He was the sort of man that would never ask you to
:13:22. > :13:29.do something he couldn't do herself. My great-grandfather -- great-
:13:29. > :13:32.grandfather started, helping Joe out. I am the 4th generation, still
:13:32. > :13:35.carrying it on. It's expected 20,000 business visitors a year
:13:35. > :13:37.will view this exhibition. There'll also be some opportunities for the
:13:37. > :13:47.public to see the attraction, which it's hoped will secure lucrative
:13:47. > :13:50.
:13:50. > :13:55.Still to come, the orchestra at putting their classical
:13:55. > :14:00.performances to one side and going on tour with Nineties chart act but
:14:00. > :14:10.And it has been a link to eventually almost all day but does
:14:10. > :14:13.
:14:13. > :14:16.that mean we are next in line? Find Autumnwatch is in full swing on BBC
:14:16. > :14:21.Two and all this week we will be joining in with a series of films
:14:21. > :14:23.looking at wildlife in the region as it prepares for winter.
:14:23. > :14:30.Today our environment correspondent joins us from Sutton Coldfield.
:14:30. > :14:34.What are you looking at tonight? are here in a Sutton Park because
:14:34. > :14:38.here the landscape all around me is partially shaped by a herd of wild
:14:38. > :14:41.Exmoor ponies that were brought here at more than 10 years ago. We
:14:41. > :14:48.thought we would come back for Autumnwatch to try to film the
:14:48. > :14:51.ponies become -- because it is the best time to film them. Let us try
:14:51. > :15:01.and find them in some of the secret places they go due to get away from
:15:01. > :15:04.
:15:05. > :15:14.some of the human visitors to this This is something most people never
:15:15. > :15:17.
:15:17. > :15:22.see. It is a place of refuge. A lot of the time, especially in the
:15:22. > :15:27.summer, you get flies, or they are skittish and get spooked. They tend
:15:27. > :15:33.to go in there and that they will spend hours and there. Sutton Park,
:15:33. > :15:37.north of Birmingham, is home to the largest herd of Exmoor ponies
:15:37. > :15:40.outside of Exmoor itself. There was a lot of opposition when I first
:15:40. > :15:50.drew up the scheme and it took a lot of convincing to persuade
:15:50. > :15:52.people that this was the right thing to do for the park. 14 years
:15:52. > :15:57.since they first arrived and the parkland it is now flourishing.
:15:57. > :16:00.That is thanks to the herd of 30 at small ponies. The Spencer is
:16:00. > :16:05.designed to keep the ponies away from a nearby road but it also
:16:05. > :16:11.allows be to show you the difference between the grazed aside
:16:11. > :16:16.and the and grazed side here. It is covered with tough grass. You can
:16:16. > :16:21.see the positive impact the ponies have all over the park. Around the
:16:21. > :16:29.water's edge, you can see the different indents in the mud, it is
:16:29. > :16:33.called poaching. It creates a great habitat for dragonflies.
:16:33. > :16:38.In autumn, the ponies are getting ready for winter, laying down fat
:16:38. > :16:43.reserves and growing a winter coat. It is almost like a weatherproof
:16:43. > :16:49.Pope. It is durable and keeps them warm -- weatherproof coat. It is
:16:49. > :16:56.ideal for the conditions. They are twice the size as they are in the
:16:56. > :17:01.summer months! Bhopal on the weight and that takes them through the
:17:01. > :17:06.winter. -- they pile on the weight. If you are lucky, you might stumble
:17:06. > :17:10.on this, their secret place, where they go after a hard day looking
:17:10. > :17:18.after the landscape. Of course, you might just as easily walk right
:17:18. > :17:21.past and never see them at all. Beautiful film! On a completely
:17:21. > :17:26.different subject, I understand you have an update on something we
:17:26. > :17:31.asked our viewers to help with last year? This was back in June last
:17:31. > :17:35.year, on a Springwatch. We asked viewers to tell us what they were
:17:35. > :17:40.feeding their garden birds. We did a report on research by the
:17:40. > :17:44.University of Birmingham that appeared to show that birds had
:17:44. > :17:49.fewer eggs and fewer checks obviously if people put out food
:17:49. > :17:54.for them. Hundreds of youth took part and that is going to be really
:17:54. > :17:58.useful for the researchers. experiment is really about why we
:17:58. > :18:02.feed garden birds and the effects upon their reproductive biology.
:18:02. > :18:05.This questionnaire has provided us with lots of details about the
:18:05. > :18:08.extent of garden bird feeding and whether what we are doing
:18:08. > :18:13.scientifically reflects what is going on on the ground for the
:18:13. > :18:17.general public. The advice is still to keep feeding your garden birds.
:18:17. > :18:20.But longer term, the research might come up with smarter bird feeding
:18:21. > :18:28.plans for our garden to make sure we are not doing them any harm.
:18:28. > :18:37.There is more on my block including a full analysis. -- on my block.
:18:37. > :18:42.Tamara, we look at crayfish. A moody setting. Very spooky. But
:18:42. > :18:46.it does not Hallowe'en yet. Now the sport.
:18:46. > :18:49.The Villa manager Alex McLeish is asking the fans for patience after
:18:49. > :18:54.they were beaten at home why we as Bromwich Albion for the first time
:18:55. > :19:00.in 32 years. Several thousand supporters were back at the Lampard
:19:00. > :19:04.this morning to watch a training session. -- back at Villa Park.
:19:05. > :19:09.Patience is usually in such as the -- short supply in football. All
:19:09. > :19:13.the more heartening that so many turned up to watch the training
:19:13. > :19:17.session despite the home defeat on Saturday. We were not very happy
:19:17. > :19:23.with it but that is the way it goes. We are looking onwards and upwards
:19:23. > :19:28.to the next game. They had no fight about them. It was not for the
:19:28. > :19:31.first time. I am not worried. My son is! The men are worse than the
:19:31. > :19:36.women. You have got to stand by your club and you will always
:19:36. > :19:41.support them. You win some, you lose some. Many of those at Villa
:19:41. > :19:48.Park were not around when Albion first one at the tail-end of the
:19:48. > :19:53.70s. Darren Bent scored a penalty but this was the moment that's
:19:53. > :19:57.caught at -- changed the fortunes. Chris Herd was sent off. Villa will
:19:57. > :20:03.try to get that overturned. We have been told that it was not a good
:20:03. > :20:07.decision so we are going to appeal it. We think we have got a
:20:07. > :20:12.watertight case. Even there are being missed the resulting penalty,
:20:12. > :20:16.they went on to dominate with goals either side of half-time. That
:20:16. > :20:20.ended the long wait for a victory. I am so delighted for the
:20:20. > :20:30.supporters because we get amazing support, especially away, and it is
:20:30. > :20:30.
:20:30. > :20:35.a decent result. You could see their celebrations! Hopefully, we
:20:35. > :20:40.will get the understanding and a bit of patience. It is about
:20:40. > :20:45.results, I know that as well as anyone else. Attendance was also
:20:45. > :20:50.down on last year's equivalent game. That makes building community ties
:20:50. > :20:56.through games like this even more important for the future.
:20:56. > :21:02.What about Wolves? You have covered them since Mick McCarthy has been
:21:02. > :21:10.there. You know him well. How is he going to feel about fans screaming
:21:10. > :21:20.his name? When he arrived at Wolves back in delighted 1006, he
:21:20. > :21:20.
:21:21. > :21:25.appointed initials M M and said he was not known in addition. --
:21:25. > :21:31.Merlin magician. He believes he deserves more respect. Surely, the
:21:31. > :21:37.fans are frustrated. But when his own supporters started singing, you
:21:37. > :21:42.are getting sacked in the morning. He must have been very angry indeed.
:21:42. > :21:48.They were trailing when he made his substitution. But then they drew
:21:48. > :21:52.the match. It was not a bad outcome. We will hopefully hear from a Mick
:21:52. > :21:56.McCarthy on Midlands Today tomorrow. Birmingham City have now five wins
:21:56. > :22:01.on the spin with two home games coming up, Leeds United a Wednesday
:22:01. > :22:07.and then Brighton on Saturday. Chris Burke scored both the Blues's
:22:07. > :22:11.golds. The manager Chris Hughton said we are on a roll right now and
:22:11. > :22:15.who knows how long it will continue. The Blues are now four points
:22:15. > :22:19.outside the play-offs with at least two games in hand on all their
:22:19. > :22:24.promotion rivals. You can watch extended highlights of all our
:22:24. > :22:27.football league teams. Have a look at the BBC football website.
:22:27. > :22:31.The format Villa boss Martin O'Neill is the bookie's favourite
:22:31. > :22:38.to replace then Goran Eriksson as manager of Leicester City. We will
:22:38. > :22:42.have more on that tomorrow. Interesting! A classical orchestra
:22:42. > :22:45.are swapping Beethoven for some good old rock and roll. The
:22:45. > :22:49.Orchestra of the Swan from Stratford upon-Avon have been hand-
:22:49. > :22:53.picked to tour with a Nineties indie rock band James. They are at
:22:53. > :22:59.the Symphony Hall in Birmingham tonight.
:22:59. > :23:02.Or inspiring, isn't it? I think it is one of the best concert halls.
:23:02. > :23:11.They are used to having classical bombers is here and a number of
:23:11. > :23:15.bands. It is rare to have both on the same night. -- used to having
:23:15. > :23:25.classical performances here. I have been finding out how this
:23:25. > :23:28.
:23:28. > :23:31.It is not often that classical and rock musicians perform together but
:23:31. > :23:36.when James take to the stage at the Symphony Hall in Birmingham this
:23:36. > :23:40.evening, they will do it with a choir and a 25 piece chamber
:23:40. > :23:45.orchestra from Stratford upon-Avon. It is sounding fantastic. We stand
:23:45. > :23:50.there, sometimes you can see band members peering up, getting very
:23:50. > :23:55.moved. There is more emotional heft with an orchestra, with a choir,
:23:55. > :24:02.with the violins, the cellos. You get carried away. It is easier to
:24:02. > :24:08.lose yourself. The idea came about when James and an orchestra played
:24:08. > :24:10.a one off charity concert two years ago. The Orchestra of the Swan were
:24:10. > :24:16.specifically selected by the man who has written all of the
:24:16. > :24:19.arrangements for this -- these songs. They are a lot of hard
:24:19. > :24:23.working great classically-trained orchestras of which this orchestra
:24:23. > :24:26.is one. I have worked with them in the past. I love their spirit and
:24:26. > :24:30.their playing and everything about the way they go about the business.
:24:30. > :24:35.I thought they would be an ideal group to work with. It is something
:24:35. > :24:41.different to get our teeth into. We always tried to find a different
:24:41. > :24:50.edge on it so working with James is great because it allows us to work
:24:50. > :24:54.-- let our hair down. If # Sit down. This is a long way from the early
:24:54. > :24:57.Nineties when it James were at the height of their success. For
:24:58. > :25:04.Orchestra of the Swan, it is a chance for them to play it some of
:25:04. > :25:08.the biggest of its -- concert halls in the country. It is very
:25:08. > :25:12.different compared to having music on the page. It is very liberating.
:25:12. > :25:18.A they are having great fun and I think they are enjoying being
:25:18. > :25:22.taking it out of the penguin suit straitjackets. Just how much fun
:25:22. > :25:27.the audience at the Symphony Hall will have, we will find out later.
:25:27. > :25:32.With me is the artistic director of Orchestra of the Swan. How big is
:25:32. > :25:38.the orchestra? This is a UK-wide tour, finishing up in the Albert
:25:38. > :25:43.Hall. It does not get any bigger than that. It does not get any more
:25:43. > :25:49.beautiful than Symphony Hall. It is great to collaborate with James.
:25:50. > :25:54.puts you on the map, doesn't it? The orchestra has a growing
:25:54. > :25:56.national and international reputation. I hope the audience
:25:56. > :26:02.tonight will hear the orchestra and a break down some ideas about what
:26:02. > :26:11.an orchestra really is. It should be a great night in Birmingham.
:26:11. > :26:17.We have escaped the rain today. The focus has been on Wales, Cornwall
:26:17. > :26:23.and Devon. They have had torrential downpours there. Low-pressure is
:26:23. > :26:28.dominating this week so you will find it is unsettled. The winds
:26:28. > :26:32.will increase and decrease as the France move across. We have some
:26:32. > :26:37.rain to come tonight. It will clear later on. The question is how much
:26:37. > :26:42.we will get an where it will fall? It is still raining quite heavily
:26:42. > :26:46.across Wales. As the band up news our way, it will become lighter.
:26:46. > :26:54.Parts of Hereford and Worcestershire will get persistent
:26:54. > :26:58.rain this evening. As it take so East with, it will clear. -- as it
:26:58. > :27:03.heads eastwards. It will be relatively mild overnight, with
:27:03. > :27:07.minimum temperatures of 11 degrees. There will be a fair breeze blowing
:27:07. > :27:12.overnight. The winds will be higher tomorrow. It will be quite dusty,
:27:12. > :27:17.especially over the hilltops. To start with, it will be dry with
:27:17. > :27:21.some sunshine. Then at the cloud will increase from the south-west,
:27:21. > :27:25.introducing a scattering of Light showers. Temperatures only up to 15
:27:25. > :27:31.degrees. In combination with the dusty winds, it will feel colder
:27:31. > :27:35.than today. The outlook, cold and clear. More showers on Wednesday.