:00:03. > :00:06.Hello, welcome to Midlands Today with Mary Rhodes and Nick Owen. The
:00:06. > :00:09.headlines tonight: Christmas is cancelled. Hundreds
:00:09. > :00:18.are left disappointed as their festive parties are called off in a
:00:18. > :00:21.row over money. It is a shame. I mean, that time of the Year
:00:21. > :00:24.Christmas, you don't expect people to do stuff like that.
:00:24. > :00:26.Caught on camera, the carer found guilty of trying to steal from a
:00:26. > :00:29.severely disabled man. A Michelin-starred chef gives
:00:29. > :00:37.Birmingham City Council a roasting over the future of the wholesale
:00:37. > :00:40.market. If the market is closed, it will have a massive impact on the
:00:40. > :00:43.city but on a smaller businesses in and around the city, more important
:00:43. > :00:53.leave. And for Wembley read Villa Park,
:00:53. > :00:56.
:00:56. > :00:59.the ground could host next year's Good evening, welcome to Friday's
:00:59. > :01:02.Midlands Today from the BBC. Tonight, hundreds of people are
:01:02. > :01:06.left disappointed and out of pocket after their works Christmas parties
:01:06. > :01:09.are cancelled in a dispute over money. Around 800 people were due
:01:09. > :01:12.to attend the festive events at Birmingham's New Bingley Hall
:01:12. > :01:15.tonight and tomorrow. Dozens of local businesses handed over
:01:15. > :01:21.thousands of pounds in deposits to the organisers, a Solihull-based
:01:21. > :01:24.company called Special Events and Parties Ltd. Managers at the New
:01:24. > :01:27.Bingley Hall say that cheques paid to them from the company have been
:01:27. > :01:32.cancelled so they've been left with no alternative but to call the
:01:32. > :01:35.parties off. Bob Hockenhull reports. Workers at this design company at
:01:35. > :01:44.Digbeth in Birmingham are among hundreds who've had their Christmas
:01:44. > :01:52.party cancelled. We had guys from Cambridge coming all the way here
:01:52. > :01:57.and we had heard tells booked, and we went out of our way and bought
:01:57. > :02:01.expensive outfits. For 40 years hours' notice, this is pretty poor
:02:01. > :02:06.for an organisation. We have been trying to get hold of them all week.
:02:06. > :02:16.Nothing. This dental surgery in Erdington paid �650 for 13 staff to
:02:16. > :02:16.
:02:16. > :02:20.go to the same event at New Bingley Hall. It has put a bit of a back
:02:20. > :02:29.cloud over the practice because everyone was looking forward to
:02:29. > :02:32.enjoying ourselves out of the practice for Stock -- out of the
:02:32. > :02:35.practice. Tonight and tomorrow nights' cancelled celebrations were
:02:35. > :02:38.organised by Solihull-based Special Events and Parties. They promised a
:02:38. > :02:41.meal and entertainment including this fun fair at the back of New
:02:41. > :02:44.Bingley Hall. Managers at the venue say they've been unable to contact
:02:44. > :02:47.the party organisers and have called in the police. It is a big
:02:47. > :02:51.thing. I was talking to a client and they are coming from a very bit
:02:51. > :02:56.-- big company, and they have already bought their outfits. And
:02:56. > :03:02.they are really upset, and she was in tears. That has upset as. It is
:03:02. > :03:07.not just party goers that have lost out, New Bingley Hall estimates it
:03:07. > :03:10.has lost thousands of pounds by not being able to stage the event. And
:03:10. > :03:13.bar and security staff that have been hired still need to be paid.
:03:13. > :03:16.The BBC made attempts to contact Special Events and Parties director
:03:16. > :03:19.Elaine Reeves this afternoon to no avail. In an email to clients, she
:03:19. > :03:22.apologised but said, "We simply cannot cover the cost of running
:03:22. > :03:27.these events, we will be issuing refunds to customers who have paid
:03:27. > :03:29.as soon as possible." Trading Standards officers have also been
:03:29. > :03:39.trying without success to contact the party organiser and gave this
:03:39. > :03:44.advice. I think the first thing to do is to put the complaint in
:03:44. > :03:49.writing via e-mail or letter. State what the problem is, how much you
:03:49. > :03:54.paid for the ticket and when the meal was due to go on. If you don't
:03:54. > :03:57.get any joy, if you are in Birmingham, come to us, or your
:03:57. > :04:00.local Trading Standards department. New Bingley Hall did manage to
:04:00. > :04:03.stage one party organised by the same company last weekend. But it
:04:03. > :04:07.looks like the events have come to a premature end, disappointing
:04:07. > :04:10.hundreds of would-be Christmas revellers.
:04:10. > :04:13.And Bob Hockenhull joins us from outside the New Bingley Hall in
:04:13. > :04:22.Birmingham now. What are the chances of people getting their
:04:22. > :04:26.money back? Well, the company itself is
:04:26. > :04:31.promising refunds in the new year. Trading Standards have given advice
:04:31. > :04:36.and they say that people have got a good case if they want to take
:04:36. > :04:39.action, not just to get money back, but also for the inconvenience, and
:04:39. > :04:42.the police are investigating, so this could become a criminal
:04:42. > :04:46.inquiry. This company, Special Events and
:04:46. > :04:50.Parties Ltd, it is still taking bookings for Christmas party events
:04:50. > :04:55.on its website, not just these ones at New Bingley Hall. What should
:04:55. > :04:59.people do if they are worried? I think the best advice is to ring
:04:59. > :05:03.the venue where the party is due to take place to see what they have
:05:03. > :05:09.got to say and whether they believe the party is going to go ahead. We
:05:09. > :05:15.know that Solihull rugby club... Sorry, Solihull Land Rover club is
:05:15. > :05:21.due to hold an event in a week, and the ICC are also expected to stage
:05:21. > :05:26.an event, so the best thing is for people to ring up and the managers
:05:26. > :05:31.here have been on hand in case any partygoers turn up. They haven't
:05:31. > :05:35.done so far, but the band did, and they have been turned away and they
:05:35. > :05:38.are on their way back to Shropshire. A care worker has been found guilty
:05:38. > :05:41.of trying to steal from a severely disabled man she was supposed to be
:05:41. > :05:44.looking after. Trevor Thomas from Birmingham relied on 36-year-old
:05:44. > :05:47.Michelle Warburton. That was until she was caught on CCTV cameras
:05:47. > :05:54.repeatedly trying to crack the code to his safe where he kept his
:05:54. > :05:57.benefit money. Ben Godfrey reports. This is care worker Michelle
:05:58. > :06:04.Warburton. This footage shows her trying to steal from the disabled
:06:04. > :06:07.man who thought he could trust her. Inside this wardrobe is his safe.
:06:07. > :06:13.Trevor Thomas is 44 and has dystonia, a neurological disorder
:06:13. > :06:16.which means he's confined to a wheelchair. Warburton, from Druids
:06:16. > :06:20.Heath, was one of four carers employed privately by his mother
:06:20. > :06:30.Pat to provide support at his adapted home. But they suspected
:06:30. > :06:36.she was taking money. We have invited her in to Trevor's home,
:06:36. > :06:40.and if they person cannot be safe in their home, they cannot be saved
:06:40. > :06:44.anyway of. When the family became suspicious, they fitted CCTV
:06:44. > :06:48.cameras and it was this technology that exposed Michelle Warburton as
:06:48. > :06:50.the carer who did not care. In March, the single mother of two is
:06:50. > :06:56.seen entering Trevor's spare bedroom, often closing the door,
:06:56. > :07:01.and reaching for his safe containing hundreds of pounds.
:07:01. > :07:06.pretended to be vacuuming, trying to get into the safe. She is
:07:06. > :07:11.crawling on the floor, looking at my son, to see where he is, before
:07:11. > :07:15.she tries that again. I mean, it is so undignified for somebody to do
:07:15. > :07:20.that to them. Warburton claimed she was just trying to find a phone
:07:20. > :07:26.number. The jury didn't believe her. It has been hard work. And a lot of
:07:26. > :07:31.strain on the whole family. It is wicked, really. Trevor says she is
:07:31. > :07:40.evil. Because she has manipulated us all. Trevor Thomas has been in
:07:40. > :07:43.his own film. Trevor sat through the trial, eager to see the woman
:07:43. > :07:45.he once trusted face justice. She'll be sentenced next month.
:07:45. > :07:49.Members of Birmingham's Congolese community have been protesting over
:07:49. > :07:51.delays in announcing general election results in their homeland.
:07:51. > :07:55.Around 100 demonstrators marched through the city to the Mailbox
:07:55. > :07:58.complex. It follows clashes in the Democratic Republic of Congo
:07:58. > :08:04.between police and opposition supporters, who claim the recent
:08:04. > :08:12.election has been marred by fraud. They also accused the BBC of not
:08:12. > :08:17.giving enough coverage to events there. We are standing here,
:08:17. > :08:20.protesting against things that are happening, the rapes, the killing,
:08:20. > :08:25.every single unfairness, and we need our message to come across and
:08:25. > :08:31.we have been watching the BBC, and nobody is talking about the Congo.
:08:31. > :08:35.Everybody is talking about Russia, Libya, Tunisia, but Congo is not
:08:35. > :08:39.mention. Where is the most dangerous place to be right now?
:08:39. > :08:41.a statement today, the BBC said BBC News has reported on the elections,
:08:41. > :08:44.including pre-election and polling day coverage on radio online and
:08:44. > :08:47.correspondents have been sent to cover the story.
:08:47. > :08:52.Police in Coventry have launched a murder enquiry after the discovery
:08:52. > :08:57.of the body of a woman. Two men, aged 50 and 54, were arrested at
:08:57. > :09:06.the scene in Trentham Road in the city. Both remain in police custody.
:09:06. > :09:13.A post mortem will be carried out tomorrow. Workers at the Marmite
:09:14. > :09:16.factory have been on strike today. It's part of a national day of
:09:16. > :09:19.action by staff over changes to the company's final salary pension
:09:19. > :09:22.scheme due to be introduced next summer. The company says the
:09:22. > :09:23.changes are necessary for the scheme to remain sustainable in the
:09:23. > :09:25.future. A Michelin-starred chef says
:09:25. > :09:31.Birmingham's flourishing reputation for fine food could be destroyed
:09:31. > :09:33.over uncertainty for the future of the city's Wholesale Market. Glynn
:09:34. > :09:37.Purnell hit out after a report suggested the market also supports
:09:37. > :09:40.thousands of jobs in related industries. Birmingham City Council
:09:40. > :09:46.says a consultation over the future of the market is underway, but
:09:46. > :09:49.stresses there are no plans to close it. Joanne Writtle reports.
:09:49. > :09:56.A regular produce delivery from Birmingham Wholesale Market to
:09:56. > :09:59.Purnell's restaurant in the city centre. But the Michelin-starred
:09:59. > :10:01.chef, nicknamed the Yummy Brummie, says uncertainty hanging over the
:10:01. > :10:04.market could have a dramatic effect on the city's growing gourmet
:10:04. > :10:14.reputation and thwart small businesses who depend upon it for
:10:14. > :10:17.
:10:17. > :10:23.supplies. For me, it is going to be a massive threat on ruining our
:10:23. > :10:27.reputation. It has taken us years to get the standard. Birmingham has
:10:27. > :10:32.been mocked for being the culinary desert and everybody used to drive
:10:32. > :10:36.through Birmingham. But now customers, we are a national
:10:36. > :10:44.destinations. This is the biggest integrated wholesale market in
:10:44. > :10:47.Europe. 1,100 people work here but a study suggests it supports 15,000
:10:47. > :10:50.jobs in the wider economy. The study was for the Birmingham
:10:50. > :10:53.Wholesale Fresh Produce Association as it fights for its future. The
:10:53. > :11:03.author says the 70 businesses here have a global reputation, as well
:11:03. > :11:05.
:11:05. > :11:10.as turning over �275 million a year.? The business operation is
:11:10. > :11:16.the leading one in the world. When we went to a conference in China,
:11:16. > :11:20.we expected to be treated as a poor relation, when in actual fact it's
:11:20. > :11:24.markets in Sydney, Helsinki and in China have adopted the Birmingham
:11:24. > :11:27.City model as a way of integrated wholesale market into the urban
:11:27. > :11:37.environment. Birmingham City Council said there are no plans to
:11:37. > :11:48.
:11:48. > :11:55.We want to meet with them, get around the table and sort something
:11:55. > :12:02.out. We want to be here for the next 150 years. The study claims
:12:02. > :12:04.uncertainty has caused occupancy to fall by a quarter. So have plans
:12:04. > :12:06.for expanding rural broadband in Herefordshire stalled? That's what
:12:06. > :12:09.one organisation is claiming tonight. The Countryside Alliance
:12:09. > :12:13.says a year after the announcement of plans, there's still no cash
:12:13. > :12:15.from the Government. So far, Herefordshire Council has spent
:12:15. > :12:19.�50,000 on a tendering process looking for someone to run the
:12:19. > :12:26.scheme. Our Science Correspondent David Gregory is here. David,
:12:26. > :12:32.remind us what the Government announced about this.
:12:32. > :12:36.OK, so 12 months ago, the Government said there were going to
:12:36. > :12:39.be four areas in the UK to be invested in rural broadband, to
:12:39. > :12:45.bring up speeds and access. The money is coming out of the licence
:12:45. > :12:51.fee. If you cannot remember, here is the answer and. Pilots will go
:12:51. > :12:55.ahead in Cumbria and Herefordshire, in the Highlands, and all of this
:12:55. > :12:59.will encourage the growth of industries as a key part of the new
:12:59. > :13:05.economy we are seeking to build. But that was 12 months ago and
:13:05. > :13:12.since then nothing has happened, especially in Herefordshire.
:13:12. > :13:17.what is the problem? We wanted to find that out, so they work -- so
:13:17. > :13:21.as far as the Countryside Alliance say, things have stalled. The whole
:13:21. > :13:24.system is stalling and that we need to look at it again urgently,
:13:24. > :13:29.because the need for super-fast broadband is not going to go away
:13:29. > :13:35.but it is going to become more urgent. We need to kick-start this
:13:35. > :13:39.thing. They have found that the tendering process has cost �15,000
:13:39. > :13:45.-- �50,000, but there is no cash coming from the Government to do
:13:45. > :13:49.anything. What is the response from the council? Basically, they say
:13:49. > :13:53.that nothing has happened yet but by late spring next year, they
:13:53. > :13:59.hoped to have something in night in the tender process. Of is the,
:13:59. > :14:03.there is huge demand for this. Thanks, David. -- obviously there's
:14:03. > :14:06.a huge demand for this. The man who brokered the deal which
:14:06. > :14:09.took Jaguar Land Rover into the ownership of the Indian giant Tata
:14:09. > :14:12.says the company's at the start of a great revival. JLR went from
:14:12. > :14:15.being on the verge of needing a Government bail out, to making
:14:15. > :14:17.billions of pounds in profit in just two years. Lord Bhattacharyya,
:14:17. > :14:23.who founded the Warwick Manufacturing Group, says he's
:14:23. > :14:26.confident other Midlands firms can be equally successful. Cath Mackie
:14:27. > :14:29.reports. From bust to boom. Jaguar Land
:14:29. > :14:34.Rover is arguably the manufacturing success story of the past five
:14:34. > :14:44.years. And the man who helped make it happen is confident the best is
:14:44. > :14:46.
:14:46. > :14:49.yet to come. I think we are at the start of a great revival. Three
:14:49. > :14:52.years ago, Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya, an engineer by trade who founded
:14:52. > :15:01.the Warwick Manufacturing Group, was key to the transfer of JLR from
:15:01. > :15:05.Ford ownership to Rattan Tata of India. When I speak to Tata, they
:15:05. > :15:10.always say this is a Midlands icon, and we need to preserve it. He's
:15:10. > :15:14.right to be optimistic. In 2008, JLR was on the brink. Now 1,000 new
:15:14. > :15:16.jobs have just been announced and a new �335 million pound engine plant.
:15:17. > :15:21.That factory on the i54 site near Wolverhampton will create a further
:15:21. > :15:24.2,000 jobs. Lord Bhattacharyya says other Midlands firms can be as
:15:24. > :15:32.successful as JLR. What's needed now is more leadership and courage
:15:32. > :15:35.and there are calls too for a rebalancing of the economy. We need
:15:35. > :15:41.to rebalance the economy because manufacturing needs to be a bigger
:15:41. > :15:45.part of that. We hoped that Government would help export our
:15:45. > :15:50.way out of recession. It has come grinding to a halt. MP Geoffrey
:15:50. > :15:54.Robinson was chief executive of Jaguar Cars in the 70s. If you want
:15:54. > :15:58.to get a general improvement in manufacturing, and in the economy,
:15:58. > :16:02.you have got to get away from the cuts, from the deflation and
:16:02. > :16:06.recession. This government isn't turning its back on manufacturing
:16:06. > :16:10.but in order to rebalance the economy, you need to recognise
:16:10. > :16:15.first of all the Government itself cannot do this, they can only
:16:15. > :16:17.create the environment. In which these companies can do well. Just
:16:17. > :16:21.today, the car component firm Metafin Group Holdings in Walsall
:16:21. > :16:23.announced an extra 50 jobs. But 220 jobs are under threat at Tucker
:16:24. > :16:30.Fastners in Birmingham. Manufacturing hope for 2012 will be
:16:30. > :16:33.a delicate balancing act. And there'll be more from that
:16:33. > :16:36.interview with Lord Battacharryya plus a look at the economic outlook
:16:36. > :16:39.for the region in Sunday's Politics Show which starts at midday on BBC
:16:39. > :16:42.One. Still to come in tonight's
:16:43. > :16:46.programme: He may be a pop star but he's also
:16:46. > :16:50.an artist. In fact, if it hadn't been for art, we might never have
:16:50. > :16:53.heard of the Specials. And we've had a bit of everything
:16:53. > :16:56.from the weather this week. Rain, gales, sunshine and even some snow
:16:56. > :17:06.in the Staffordshire moorlands. And next on the menu is the coldest
:17:06. > :17:09.
:17:09. > :17:12.night of the season so far. Join me On to sport now and Ian Winter is
:17:12. > :17:16.here with news that a football showpiece event could be on its way
:17:16. > :17:20.to Birmingham. Yes, Villa Park looks set to host
:17:20. > :17:23.to next season's FA Community Shield. The game's normally played
:17:23. > :17:28.at Wembley Stadium but next year the date clashes with the final of
:17:28. > :17:34.the Olympic football tournament. Nick Clitheroe's at Villa Park now.
:17:34. > :17:39.This would be quite a feather in Villa's cap, if it comes off.
:17:39. > :17:44.Absolutely. This was the story that came out today that VeloPark was
:17:44. > :17:49.set to host the FA community Shield August well for next year. That
:17:49. > :17:53.date is important because the final of the Olympic football is at
:17:53. > :17:58.Wembley August 11th, so they couldn't use Wembley for it. Aston
:17:58. > :18:01.Villa have had no comment on this to date. I spoke to the Football
:18:01. > :18:05.Association and they said they didn't want to talk about the
:18:05. > :18:10.process, except to say they were not looking at any cities which
:18:10. > :18:15.were already hosting Olympic football. That rules out Cardiff's
:18:15. > :18:19.Millennium Stadium,, it rolls up Manchester and Newcastle, so
:18:20. > :18:25.realistically that leaves you with the Villa Park at or Anfield in
:18:25. > :18:33.Liverpool. It seems like this is the front-runner in this. Is it too
:18:33. > :18:37.early to say? Let's put it this way. Nobody has laughed at me today.
:18:37. > :18:42.There is a firm no comment all round, but it is not laughed out of
:18:43. > :18:47.court. So I think it is going to happen, but a matter of when. It is
:18:47. > :18:52.a 43,000 seating capacity stadium, it is used to hosting major events
:18:52. > :18:57.from euro 96 to the last cup final, and if you get a London team
:18:57. > :19:01.playing a Manchester team, it is in the middle, the perfect place for
:19:01. > :19:07.the host stadium for that match at the beginning of next season, and
:19:07. > :19:14.if they get that, unlikely as it may seem, there will be no problem
:19:14. > :19:17.with them playing in the Community Shield by the. -- either.
:19:17. > :19:20.If you're amongst the 1,400 Wolves fans heading north to Manchester
:19:20. > :19:23.tomorrow, here's a question for you. What's the biggest crowd that Old
:19:23. > :19:25.Trafford has ever seen? Today, I met a man who gave me a most
:19:25. > :19:28.unexpected answer. Hidden away, deep inside the
:19:28. > :19:30.Wolverhampton branch of Santa's grotto, you'll find a man who's
:19:30. > :19:33.written many weird and wonderful things about his favourite club.
:19:33. > :19:43.Jim Heath is a lifelong fan who's got 20-20 vision about everything
:19:43. > :19:52.and everybody connected with Wolves. We hold the record attendance at
:19:52. > :19:58.Old Trafford, 76,000. That was in 1939, beating Grimsby five-Zil --
:19:58. > :20:01.5-0. In an FA Cup final. there's no way that record will get
:20:01. > :20:04.beaten tomorrow. 13 months ago, Wolves came so close to earning a
:20:04. > :20:06.point at Old Trafford, only for United to score the winner in
:20:06. > :20:09.stoppage time. Huge frustration for Mick McCarthy which was transformed
:20:09. > :20:18.into big satisfaction three months later, when Wolves got sweet
:20:18. > :20:23.revenge with a 2-1 victory at Molineux. How much do you enjoy the
:20:23. > :20:29.challenge of pitting your wits against Sir Alex Ferguson? Always.
:20:29. > :20:34.It is not a tactical battle between me and him. I think the battle is
:20:34. > :20:37.out on the pitch. I enjoy watching my team are pitting their wits
:20:37. > :20:44.against those players because there are some wonderful players. And
:20:44. > :20:48.last year was a wonderful year. It was a fantastic result. I used to
:20:48. > :20:52.watch Man United with my kids and my family and friends, and I have
:20:52. > :21:00.been a fan, so to play them was unbelievable and hopefully tomorrow
:21:00. > :21:05.we can get a good result. It would make my year if we can pull it off.
:21:05. > :21:08.12 months ago they won at Liverpool, now they hope to complete the hat-
:21:08. > :21:13.trick against Manchester United. And if they were to pull it off,
:21:13. > :21:21.the festive season is sure to start with a bang in Wolverhampton. Let's
:21:21. > :21:24.hope so. Is it 31 years since wolves won at Old Trafford? What
:21:24. > :21:31.are the chances? There is no good time to play
:21:31. > :21:34.Manchester United. Mick McCarthy smiled and shook his head, he knows
:21:35. > :21:38.United are always dangers, because of the fact they have been knocked
:21:38. > :21:44.out of the Champions League, they don't have Nemanja Vidic, but they
:21:44. > :21:49.have threat up front, and he has scored many many goals. There is
:21:49. > :21:52.never such a thing as a lost cause with Mick McCarthy. Never a dull
:21:52. > :21:55.moment, either. Port Vale say they're taking legal
:21:55. > :21:58.advice over the collapse of a deal with an American company to invest
:21:58. > :22:00.�8 million in the club. Vale announced in September they were
:22:01. > :22:03.planning to use the money from Blue Sky International for ground
:22:03. > :22:06.improvements and other projects. But the Americans claim they only
:22:06. > :22:10.offered half a million and the deal is now dead.
:22:10. > :22:13.And to keep up to date with how your club gets on over the weekend,
:22:13. > :22:16.including the build-up, full match commentary and reaction, tune in to
:22:16. > :22:20.your BBC local radio station. Finally, the Warwickshire batsmen
:22:20. > :22:26.Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott are both in the England Squad to play
:22:26. > :22:29.three tests against Pakistan in the New Year.
:22:29. > :22:32.Good for them. Nice to think about cricket and
:22:32. > :22:35.sunshine. Horace Panter is best known as the
:22:35. > :22:38.bass player with The Specials, but in his spare time he's also an
:22:38. > :22:41.accomplished artist. In fact, without his love of art, the band
:22:41. > :22:44.would never have existed. He met Jerry Dammers when they were both
:22:44. > :22:46.art students in Coventry and together they formed the band.
:22:46. > :22:56.Tomorrow, Horace's first art exhibition will open in Leamington
:22:56. > :23:06.
:23:06. > :23:09.Horace Panter has two passions, art and music. When he's not touring
:23:09. > :23:18.with the Specials, the chances are you'll find him painting at his
:23:18. > :23:23.home in Coventry. There is a yin and Yang. The
:23:23. > :23:27.Specials is frantic and physical activity, whereas I come back here
:23:27. > :23:30.and I can just relax. After leaving the Specials, Horace became an art
:23:30. > :23:38.teacher, a job he remained in for 10 years until the band reformed in
:23:38. > :23:43.2008. But why has it taken so long for him to show his work? I did a
:23:43. > :23:47.couple of paintings, then a few more. And then the attics started
:23:47. > :23:52.to get filled up with bits of board and stuff so there was a question
:23:52. > :23:55.of you have done this, you might as well show it to people. That is
:23:55. > :24:05.what you do with music, isn't it? Tomorrow, Horace's first exhibition
:24:05. > :24:08.
:24:08. > :24:12.opens at the White Room Gallery in We had the opportunity to visit
:24:12. > :24:18.Beijing earlier in the year. And I asked her if I could take a photo,
:24:18. > :24:22.and she was thrilled. So I took her photo and then painted her.
:24:22. > :24:29.Sometimes the paintings work and sometimes they don't. But I think I
:24:29. > :24:33.got the essence of this lovely lady. One day, I want to get a print of
:24:33. > :24:40.that and find her, and say, thank you very much. Who do you think
:24:40. > :24:46.will come to see this exhibition? Regular folks. I do not like art
:24:46. > :24:51.being an elitist thing. People are loath to go to galleries, but I
:24:51. > :24:59.want people to go, that is nice, I would like one of those. Horace's
:24:59. > :25:05.exhibition is on until the 24th January.
:25:05. > :25:12.Why are some people so talented? You would have thought that would
:25:12. > :25:22.have been in black-and-white... I will explain later.
:25:22. > :25:22.
:25:22. > :25:27.Now, the weather. We hear of It will be an icy night, and a
:25:27. > :25:33.chilly night. The chilliest night of the season coming after what has
:25:34. > :25:39.been a topsy-turvy week. Tonight, it is cold, very cold, and frosty
:25:39. > :25:46.for all of us. There have been some showers around. They have been
:25:46. > :25:53.driven in on a north-westerly breeze. Some of the showers fell as
:25:53. > :26:00.snow. After that, with temperatures plunging away, there is a real risk
:26:00. > :26:05.of ice on pavement so take care. After further South, where we have
:26:06. > :26:11.seen the cloud and clear skies, we will see some haze of blue
:26:11. > :26:15.spreading right across the map, a harsh frost with temperatures
:26:15. > :26:21.around minus three. Out in the countryside, even colder, so a
:26:21. > :26:27.chilly start, cold and frosty but bright and sunny. We will see a lot
:26:27. > :26:33.of sun. After such a cold start, temperatures struggled to recover,
:26:33. > :26:38.so no better than 5 or 6. The next change comes through tomorrow
:26:38. > :26:44.afternoon and tomorrow evening with the cloud thickening, the breeze
:26:44. > :26:49.strengthening. That rain is associated with some weather France,
:26:49. > :26:57.muttering their way in through Saturday into Sunday. -- some
:26:57. > :27:03.weather fronts. That rain clears the way to the South, leaving
:27:03. > :27:08.brighter skies and milder. Next week, another change. A yellow
:27:08. > :27:12.warning for wind, the potential for some gale-force wind late on Monday
:27:12. > :27:18.into Tuesday and some wet weather as well. We have some bright
:27:18. > :27:21.weather, some windy weather, a bit of everything. A topsy-turvy week
:27:21. > :27:24.continues. A look at tonight's main headlines:
:27:24. > :27:27.Standing alone, Britain vetoes a new EU treaty though all of the
:27:27. > :27:30.other 26 countries sign up. And Christmas is cancelled.