Browse content similar to 04/04/2012. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Hello and welcome to Midlands Today with Nick Owen and Mary Rhodes. The | :00:09. | :00:12. | |
headlines tonight: Winter's sting in the tail, as snow descends on | :00:12. | :00:17. | |
the region. But startled holidaymakers carry on camping. | :00:17. | :00:23. | |
Didn't come away on holiday expecting this. It is different. | :00:24. | :00:29. | |
is typical British weather. A first look at the new truck which could | :00:29. | :00:33. | |
bring dozens of jobs to the Potteries. To have something from | :00:33. | :00:35. | |
Britain released in the market at this time I think is really good | :00:36. | :00:40. | |
news. The stroke victim who says he is being neglected by his council. | :00:40. | :00:44. | |
He has only been washed four times in three months. And why the Royal | :00:44. | :00:54. | |
:00:54. | :01:00. | ||
Shakespeare Company is recruiting in Winson Green. | :01:00. | :01:02. | |
Good evening and welcome to Wednesday's Midlands Today from the | :01:02. | :01:07. | |
BBC. Tonight: After last week's mini heatwave, winter returns with | :01:07. | :01:09. | |
a vengeance. Snow fell today over Shropshire, Birmingham and the | :01:09. | :01:14. | |
Staffordshire Moorlands, some of it heavy. Drifts in some areas were | :01:14. | :01:17. | |
knee-deep. Strong winds brought power lines down, while snowploughs | :01:17. | :01:19. | |
were needed to clear the worst affected roads. The wintry blast | :01:19. | :01:21. | |
caught some holidaymakers by surprise but, undeterred, they | :01:21. | :01:30. | |
carried on camping. Andy Newman reports. | :01:30. | :01:36. | |
The British weather - full of surprises. This was the scene in | :01:36. | :01:42. | |
Staffordshire today - well over six inches of snow. The Leeds to Buxton | :01:42. | :01:49. | |
Road had to be closed in places. All of this happened with Easter | :01:49. | :01:52. | |
just around the corner and the hot sunshine of only a few days ago | :01:53. | :01:57. | |
still fresh in people's minds. What a difference a week makes! Last | :01:58. | :02:03. | |
week it was deckchair weather, today it is this. The temperature | :02:03. | :02:08. | |
is forecast to drop well below zero overnight. Not the conditions that | :02:08. | :02:13. | |
campers had been expecting when they checked into this site for an | :02:13. | :02:18. | |
Easter break. Butane gas cylinders are definitely in demand as they | :02:18. | :02:25. | |
try to keep warm. I wasn't expecting it. Were you hoping for | :02:25. | :02:30. | |
the weather we had last week? definitely. We were out on Sunday | :02:31. | :02:35. | |
and the weather was glorious. We were wearing T-shirts. For it is | :02:35. | :02:40. | |
different! It is lovely, really. I have never been away in a motor | :02:40. | :02:45. | |
home when it has been snowing, so it is a bit different. Glorious, | :02:45. | :02:55. | |
isn't it? After the last fortnight, this is typical British weather. | :02:55. | :02:59. | |
Typical yet unpredictable. And for many of us today, a sharp reminder | :02:59. | :03:04. | |
of that unpredictability. In fact, it is forecast to get milder as we | :03:04. | :03:10. | |
head for the bank holiday weekend. That is just in case all this has | :03:10. | :03:20. | |
got you dreaming of a white Easter. Well, as you saw in Andy's report, | :03:20. | :03:22. | |
the roads in north Staffordshire were severely affected. We're | :03:22. | :03:24. | |
joined now by Dean Sargeant from Staffordshire County Council's | :03:24. | :03:27. | |
gritting depot at Leek. So what were the challenges you faced today | :03:27. | :03:34. | |
as a result of the bad weather? Well, we have been faced with many | :03:34. | :03:40. | |
challenges today - trees that have fallen on the roads, snowdrifts | :03:40. | :03:43. | |
because of the high winds and in some areas abandoned vehicles, | :03:43. | :03:47. | |
which has caused a few problems when we have been trying to plant | :03:47. | :03:57. | |
:03:57. | :04:04. | ||
sold some of the Ritz. -- supply 0 and put salt on some of the routes. | :04:04. | :04:08. | |
-- to use snowploughs. We have been out since three o'clock this | :04:08. | :04:12. | |
morning gritting the roads across the county. We have had snow | :04:12. | :04:17. | |
blowers and snowploughs out to try to keep people on the move. What | :04:17. | :04:27. | |
:04:27. | :04:28. | ||
are the plans for this evening and overnight? We have already had | :04:28. | :04:31. | |
their gritters out this evening. We will continue to monitor the | :04:31. | :04:34. | |
weather forecast for the rest of the evening and into the early | :04:34. | :04:41. | |
years of tomorrow. I would encourage any motorist who | :04:41. | :04:44. | |
experiences hazardous conditions to get in touch with the council and | :04:44. | :04:48. | |
we will try to rectify the situation as best we can. | :04:48. | :04:56. | |
Thank you for joining us. So how much longer is it going to go on | :04:56. | :05:01. | |
for? Shefali can tell us. Not for much longer. The worst of it is | :05:01. | :05:04. | |
practically over, and that was bad enough, with snow depths in excess | :05:04. | :05:07. | |
of 20cm and the worst affected areas. At least it won't be | :05:07. | :05:10. | |
affecting us over the Easter weekend, but I'll have more on that | :05:10. | :05:14. | |
later. One of the country's most wanted | :05:14. | :05:17. | |
men has been arrested in Birmingham after a vehicle was car-jacked with | :05:17. | :05:19. | |
two toddlers still strapped in the back seats. It happened in | :05:19. | :05:22. | |
Erdington following reports of a burglary. Anthony Bartram is near | :05:22. | :05:25. | |
the scene for us this evening. So tell us more about what happened, | :05:25. | :05:32. | |
Anthony. It must have been a terrifying oil | :05:32. | :05:37. | |
or -- ordeal for this young mother, caught up in the middle of a major | :05:37. | :05:40. | |
police operation. They were on the trail of three suspected burglars | :05:40. | :05:47. | |
who fled the scene of a burglary which was reported. They chase | :05:47. | :05:52. | |
their getaway car to hear. Three men got out of the car, one of them | :05:52. | :05:56. | |
then dragged a woman out of her car and sped off with a two young | :05:56. | :06:01. | |
children - a one-year-old boy and a two-year-old girl - still strapped | :06:01. | :06:09. | |
into their seats in the back. The police changed -- chase that | :06:09. | :06:13. | |
vehicle and, that about a mile down the road. The children are safe and | :06:13. | :06:19. | |
well, thankfully. Police now have a suspect in custody from both the | :06:19. | :06:23. | |
burglary and the car jacking incident. | :06:23. | :06:33. | |
What do we know about this man? The man involved -- allegedly | :06:33. | :06:38. | |
involved, is 44-year-old Cedric Brown. He is already on the police | :06:38. | :06:43. | |
wanted list in connection with a burglary two years ago in Bristol, | :06:43. | :06:48. | |
a violent incident, we're told, which featured on Crimewatch. He is | :06:48. | :06:58. | |
now being questioned in connection with all of those incidents. Truck | :06:58. | :07:01. | |
dealers and service centres have been getting a first look at a new | :07:01. | :07:04. | |
truck which it is hoped will bring dozens of jobs to Stoke-on-Trent. | :07:04. | :07:07. | |
The Longton Avia is being backed by a group of Staffordshire | :07:07. | :07:10. | |
businessmen who are aiming to set up production in the city once | :07:10. | :07:13. | |
sales are high enough. An order has already been placed ahead of its | :07:13. | :07:17. | |
official launch to the market. Liz Copper reports. | :07:17. | :07:20. | |
Arriving in Longton, the truck that bears this town's name, and with it | :07:20. | :07:23. | |
hopes of economic rejuvenation. Dealers who will be selling and | :07:23. | :07:26. | |
servicing the Longton truck were in Stoke-on-Trent to see it on the | :07:26. | :07:29. | |
road for the first time. But how confident are they that there is | :07:29. | :07:35. | |
room in the market for this new marque made in the Potteries? | :07:35. | :07:41. | |
very exciting because, to have something that is from Britain to | :07:41. | :07:46. | |
be released in the market at this time, I think it is really good | :07:46. | :07:50. | |
news. I think they're coming in difficult conditions but if they | :07:50. | :07:54. | |
can crack it while it is like this it should be good in the future. | :07:54. | :07:58. | |
Initially, the trucks will be made here at a factory in pride in the | :07:58. | :08:08. | |
Czech Republic. But it is planned to shift production to Stoke-on- | :08:08. | :08:13. | |
Trent as soon as next year. industrial history that this town | :08:13. | :08:19. | |
has, I think there is an ethos of manufacturing in Longton. I think | :08:19. | :08:22. | |
people associate that if a truck is built over here it will be built | :08:22. | :08:32. | |
well. Are there signs that this sector is seeing a recovery? The MP | :08:32. | :08:35. | |
for Longton also chairs the all- party Freight Transport Group, and | :08:35. | :08:39. | |
he believes the outlook is encouraging. The response that we | :08:39. | :08:43. | |
have had from across the country has been incredible. People have | :08:43. | :08:48. | |
been saying, about time, we have been waiting for a British truck to | :08:48. | :08:54. | |
be launched. They want details. moving assembly to the Potteries | :08:54. | :08:59. | |
would generate jobs and benefit the city's economy. Adventure like this | :08:59. | :09:07. | |
is going to add millions of pounds -- ventures like this will add | :09:07. | :09:10. | |
millions of pounds to the local economy and employ more people. | :09:10. | :09:13. | |
Already, the first orders have been placed for these trucks. It is | :09:13. | :09:16. | |
hoped it is part of a long and illustrious route ahead which will | :09:16. | :09:19. | |
boost the region's economy. Liz Copper, BBC Midlands Today, Stoke- | :09:19. | :09:25. | |
on-Trent. And in Midlands Today at 10:25pm, we will have news of a | :09:26. | :09:28. | |
significant announcement being made this evening by Jaguar at the New | :09:28. | :09:31. | |
York Motor Show. Detectives investigating the murder | :09:31. | :09:34. | |
of a 92 year-old man in the Black Country have arrested a 35-year-old | :09:35. | :09:38. | |
woman. William Davis, a decorated war veteran, was found with head | :09:38. | :09:41. | |
injuries at his home in Willenhall on Sunday. Police are now | :09:41. | :09:49. | |
questioning a woman, believed to be local, on suspicion of murder. | :09:49. | :09:53. | |
The jury's been sent home for the night in the case of Tariq Jahan, | :09:53. | :09:56. | |
whose son was one of three men killed in last summer's riots in | :09:56. | :09:59. | |
Birmingham. Mr Jahan's accused of an unrelated assault on a road in | :09:59. | :10:02. | |
Handsworth last July as he picked up his wife from work. He denies | :10:02. | :10:05. | |
assaulting a factory worker, Sajjid Ali, and the jury will resume its | :10:05. | :10:11. | |
deliberations tomorrow. A 33-year-old man has been | :10:11. | :10:14. | |
sentenced to 16 months in prison after sending a hoax bomb report to | :10:14. | :10:18. | |
MI5. Ghulan Kibria used the name of his estranged wife to tell security | :10:18. | :10:21. | |
service officials there was an explosive device at Prince Albert | :10:21. | :10:27. | |
Junior and Infant School in Aston in Birmingham. The school was | :10:27. | :10:36. | |
evacuated of more than 800 pupils and staff as a precaution. | :10:36. | :10:39. | |
A hundred new jobs are being created in the region's computer | :10:39. | :10:41. | |
games industry. Codemasters are expanding their headquarters in | :10:41. | :10:44. | |
Warwickshire as well as their development studio in Birmingham. | :10:44. | :10:47. | |
The company's one of a growing number of high-tech gaming | :10:47. | :10:55. | |
companies now based in the West Midlands. | :10:55. | :10:58. | |
A stroke victim says he has been abandoned in his own home. Colin | :10:58. | :11:02. | |
Bird lost mobility in his arm and leg two years ago he gets 30 | :11:02. | :11:05. | |
minutes of care every morning and evening and says his house doesn't | :11:05. | :11:07. | |
provide suitable accommodation for his condition. His friends and | :11:07. | :11:17. | |
:11:17. | :11:20. | ||
family now say that's got to change. Louise Brierley reports. Friends | :11:20. | :11:25. | |
say that it is hard to believe that people are living in these | :11:25. | :11:29. | |
conditions in 21st century Britain. Colin Bird is only 46 years old and | :11:29. | :11:33. | |
has had two strokes in four years. He has been living in this flat in | :11:33. | :11:37. | |
Yardley Wood in Birmingham for the last few months. Terrible. I can't | :11:37. | :11:42. | |
do nothing myself any more. city council provide him with half- | :11:42. | :11:45. | |
an-hour's care in the morning and evening. But friends say that's not | :11:45. | :11:52. | |
enough. He needs fully assisted living, which is doctors say is | :11:52. | :11:58. | |
fully agreed. For a man with that level of disability to be left | :11:58. | :12:03. | |
wanting and starving in modern-day Britain is an absolute disgrace. | :12:03. | :12:06. | |
Colin has told us he's only been washed four times in the last three | :12:06. | :12:10. | |
months and has sores around his legs as a result. He also says he | :12:10. | :12:17. | |
has just �96 a month to live on, which means he often goes hungry. | :12:17. | :12:22. | |
It's disgusting. Colin should not be here. He should be an supported | :12:22. | :12:25. | |
housing where he can get the care that he needs. He cannot handle his | :12:25. | :12:29. | |
finances. I was upset about it yesterday because I hate seeing him | :12:29. | :12:34. | |
like this. The flat is also not designed for someone in his | :12:34. | :12:42. | |
condition. Colin's door is double lot. Because of a stroke he cannot | :12:42. | :12:46. | |
use his arm and that means he cannot lock his door at night. His | :12:46. | :12:51. | |
bed is broken in two places. Inside his kitchen he has very few | :12:51. | :12:56. | |
amenities and has to live off of a microwave and a toaster. Birmingham | :12:56. | :13:00. | |
City Council say this is a complex case and they are satisfied with | :13:00. | :13:02. | |
the care provided in very difficult circumstances. They say they are | :13:02. | :13:05. | |
trying to find him more suitable accommodation that would suit his | :13:05. | :13:08. | |
needs. Colin, meanwhile, is having to rely on the kindness of people | :13:08. | :13:18. | |
:13:18. | :13:19. | ||
like Chris to get by. I get fed up. I can't do nothing myself. I can't | :13:19. | :13:26. | |
walk out beside myself. -- out side by myself. Do you think you need | :13:26. | :13:32. | |
more help? I do, yeah. Luoise Brierley, BBC Midlands TOday, | :13:32. | :13:35. | |
Yardley Wood. We're joined now by Patrick | :13:36. | :13:41. | |
Olzowski from the Stroke Association. Thank you for joining | :13:41. | :13:45. | |
us. What challenges do stroke patients face when they leave | :13:45. | :13:50. | |
hospital? They want to get back to the sort of life that we all | :13:50. | :13:54. | |
actually take for granted, whether it is actually saying a loved one's | :13:54. | :14:03. | |
name were being able to type in a PIN number at the shopping till or, | :14:03. | :14:06. | |
as one gentleman said to me, he wanted to get back to the Royal | :14:06. | :14:11. | |
Marines. There is a huge variety of impacts and recovery is possible | :14:11. | :14:16. | |
but it needs the right support. I gather that the Stroke | :14:16. | :14:22. | |
Association is releasing a report in the next few weeks - are the | :14:22. | :14:26. | |
problems among those who need care? I absolutely. We will be releasing | :14:26. | :14:36. | |
a report at at the start of May. It will be highlighting what is a one- | :14:36. | :14:41. | |
off largest surveys carried out -- carried out of survivors and their | :14:42. | :14:45. | |
carers and what the barriers are to recovery. Survivors are telling us | :14:45. | :14:50. | |
that they are not getting assessed. Assessments should cover the health | :14:50. | :14:53. | |
and social care needs of individual and they should result in | :14:53. | :14:57. | |
meaningful action, but survivors are not -- are telling us they are | :14:57. | :15:02. | |
not getting that. If that places a huge burden on the survivor, | :15:03. | :15:06. | |
pushing back the possibility of recovery, and also on carers who | :15:06. | :15:11. | |
are being forced to sacrifice -- sacrifice their own health and | :15:11. | :15:15. | |
economic well-being to care for a loved one. What impact are the cuts | :15:15. | :15:19. | |
in social care having? Stroke survivors are finding it | :15:19. | :15:24. | |
increasingly hard to get access to show to -- social care. Those who | :15:24. | :15:28. | |
are getting it are actually getting less and less. I would encourage | :15:28. | :15:33. | |
people who are interested in this to visit our website. | :15:33. | :15:41. | |
Thank you. There will be more on this on BBC | :15:41. | :15:51. | |
:15:51. | :15:58. | ||
Radio West Midlands with Adrian Goldberg tomorrow at nine o'clock. | :15:58. | :16:02. | |
Still to come: Giving people from Birmingham the chance to tread the | :16:02. | :16:10. | |
boards in Stratford. Time for sport now, and Ian - big news from Port | :16:10. | :16:13. | |
Vale as they try to move on from their financial troubles. Yes, we | :16:13. | :16:16. | |
now know that Lancashire businessman Keith Ryder is the man | :16:16. | :16:19. | |
in pole position to buy Port Vale out of administration. And he's got | :16:19. | :16:22. | |
a plan to lift the club from the bottom division of the Football | :16:22. | :16:25. | |
League to the Championship within five years. Nick Clitheroe reports. | :16:25. | :16:27. | |
I am delighted to announce this morning that the preferred bidder | :16:27. | :16:30. | |
is Keith Ryder. After a month of uncertainty, today at last Port | :16:30. | :16:33. | |
Vale supporters learnt the identity of the man who's been chosen from | :16:33. | :16:36. | |
five bidders to buy the club out of administration. We are sure he has | :16:36. | :16:39. | |
got the money. He is asking the right questions and has the right | :16:39. | :16:42. | |
ideas about how to take the club forward. We believe he would be | :16:42. | :16:48. | |
very good for Port Vale as well as giving us the best price. We are | :16:48. | :16:52. | |
may not get the full details of his plans until he meets supporters on | :16:52. | :16:54. | |
the 18th. We do know that he has a programme | :16:54. | :16:57. | |
to get this club into the championship within five years and | :16:57. | :17:01. | |
is planning to sit down with the manager, Micky Adams, and talk | :17:01. | :17:11. | |
:17:11. | :17:24. | ||
about building the team. Mr Ryder For the fans who continue to raise | :17:24. | :17:28. | |
money to keep the club going in difficult times, it's a welcome day | :17:28. | :17:30. | |
of positive news. We want to encourage people to go | :17:30. | :17:36. | |
out and buy season tickets. Let's try to get them up to 5,000. Mr | :17:36. | :17:39. | |
Ryder now has two key issues to overcome: First, he must convince | :17:39. | :17:43. | |
75% of the club's creditors to accept his offer, then he has to | :17:43. | :17:46. | |
pass the Football League's fit and proper person test. Do both and he | :17:46. | :17:49. | |
should officially be the owner by the end of June. Nick Clitheroe, | :17:49. | :17:53. | |
BBC Midlands Today, Stoke-on-Trent. Fans will be dying to know more | :17:53. | :18:03. | |
about him. Yes, and we will, too. He's from | :18:03. | :18:05. | |
Lancashire, has interests in financial services and the property | :18:05. | :18:09. | |
business, and he did try to buy into the club last year but was put | :18:09. | :18:17. | |
off by the boardroom politics. Chris Hughton admitted Birmingham | :18:17. | :18:22. | |
City had to ride their luck against Burnley last night. But the Blues | :18:22. | :18:24. | |
manager thought his team deserved to win. On a rain-soaked, blustery | :18:24. | :18:27. | |
night in Burnley it was Birmingham who scored first, through Marlon | :18:27. | :18:34. | |
King, his 16th goal of the season. In the second half, the home side | :18:34. | :18:44. | |
:18:44. | :18:46. | ||
hit back to make it 1-1. But two minutes later the Blues were back | :18:46. | :18:50. | |
in front, thanks to Jordon Mutch, and they went on to seal a 3-1 away | :18:50. | :18:53. | |
victory for the second time in five days when David Murphy scored from | :18:53. | :18:56. | |
close range. Just six games left, the Blues are fourth and still with | :18:57. | :19:06. | |
:19:07. | :19:07. | ||
everything to play for. There was a major disappointment for | :19:07. | :19:09. | |
Bromsgrove's Jess Varnish in her Olympic preparations today. Varnish | :19:09. | :19:12. | |
and Victoria Pendleton could only qualify in fourth place for the | :19:12. | :19:15. | |
finals of the team sprint at the world cycling championships in | :19:15. | :19:18. | |
Australia. They were then beaten in the bronze medal match by China and | :19:18. | :19:26. | |
saw their world record broken by the Germans in the final. On the | :19:26. | :19:29. | |
eve of the new cricket season, some disappointing news for | :19:29. | :19:31. | |
Worcestershire. Spin bowler Saeed Ajmal looks unlikely to return to | :19:31. | :19:34. | |
New Road this summer because of Pakistan's proposed tour of Sri | :19:34. | :19:36. | |
Lanka. Nevertheless, Worcestershire are still in confident mood after | :19:36. | :19:44. | |
narrowly avoiding relegation from division one. Ah, the pre-season | :19:44. | :19:47. | |
photo call. It's just not cricket without one. As traditional as | :19:47. | :19:50. | |
April showers and Easter eggs. Every year, a few new faces, a lot | :19:50. | :19:53. | |
of new shirts, and not a single grass stain in sight. Normally, | :19:53. | :19:57. | |
they take the pictures out here but this year the snappers are forced | :19:57. | :20:02. | |
to their snapping indoors. And that is because it is cold | :20:02. | :20:12. | |
:20:12. | :20:13. | ||
outside. Welcome to English county cricket. Michael, what was the | :20:13. | :20:22. | |
temperature in Adelaide yesterday. It was mid- twenties. | :20:22. | :20:24. | |
Michael is the captain of South Australia. A prolific batsman who's | :20:24. | :20:27. | |
just scored the third double century of his career. Now he's | :20:27. | :20:30. | |
joined Worcestershire for the next couple of months until his fellow | :20:30. | :20:33. | |
Aussie Phil Hughes arrives at the end of May. Luckily for the men | :20:33. | :20:36. | |
from Down Under ,the April weather's not always this bad. | :20:36. | :20:39. | |
Exactly twelve months ago New Road was full of sun cream... And ice | :20:39. | :20:42. | |
cream. Cold beer... And bare chests to welcome Yorkshire on the opening | :20:42. | :20:45. | |
day of the new campaign. Six months later, Worcestershire stayed up on | :20:45. | :20:48. | |
the last day of season. And the Head Coach said it was the biggest | :20:49. | :20:52. | |
achievement of his cricket career. I always felt that if they could | :20:52. | :20:56. | |
just survive then they would be a year older, better experienced. | :20:56. | :21:05. | |
That will be the acid test now. When Steve rang me up, I saw it as | :21:05. | :21:11. | |
a challenge. There are some great teams playing in this division. | :21:11. | :21:14. | |
Inside, in the warmth of the Graeme Hick Pavilion... The lads had | :21:14. | :21:17. | |
changed out of their whites and into their greens. And outside, the | :21:17. | :21:25. | |
wind howled, the rain blew, and the coach shivered with anticipation. | :21:25. | :21:33. | |
think it is going to be a day for three sweaters tomorrow, isn't it. | :21:33. | :21:37. | |
They will be struggling out there if it is like this. Let us keep our | :21:37. | :21:40. | |
fingers crossed us up I do not like to be pessimistic about anything, | :21:40. | :21:45. | |
including the weather. Bring it on. Let's hope it's a bit warmer | :21:45. | :21:48. | |
tomorrow for Worcestershire away to Nottinghamshire in division one. | :21:48. | :21:54. | |
Likewise for Gloucestershire away to Essex in division two. | :21:54. | :22:01. | |
I would say take a jumper tomorrow. It is not that unusual for it so be | :22:01. | :22:05. | |
-- for it to be so cold at the beginning of the season, is it? I | :22:05. | :22:12. | |
believe there is ice on some of the pitches. Yes, some of them are | :22:12. | :22:18. | |
frozen over. I cannot remember ever seeing my hot breath on a day in | :22:18. | :22:21. | |
April. Now, as the countdown to the | :22:21. | :22:23. | |
Olympics continues, some of the many associated cultural events | :22:23. | :22:26. | |
tied to the games are gathering pace. The World Shakespeare | :22:26. | :22:29. | |
Festival 2012 is one of them - it'll be launched later this month. | :22:29. | :22:32. | |
The Festival will celebrate the Bard's work in more ways than one, | :22:32. | :22:42. | |
:22:42. | :22:51. | ||
as Kevin Reide reports. The Winson Green area of Birmingham | :22:51. | :22:54. | |
may seem a million miles from Shakespeare's Stratford but this is | :22:54. | :22:57. | |
where the Royal Shakespeare Company is recruiting it's latest talent. | :22:57. | :23:00. | |
They want an all Black cast for a version of Julius Caesar to be set | :23:00. | :23:04. | |
in Africa. The inspiration has come from a number of places. One is | :23:04. | :23:06. | |
Nelson Mandela's known appreciation of the play, and another | :23:06. | :23:09. | |
comparisons between the Ceasers rule in Rome and that of other | :23:09. | :23:12. | |
African rulers right up to the present day. Recruiting from one | :23:12. | :23:15. | |
ethnic group may be contentious but the RSC say it needs to to make the | :23:15. | :23:18. | |
play authentic and realistic adding that it's acting within the law. | :23:18. | :23:21. | |
One volunteer who hopes to be selected is George Gordon.. Julius | :23:21. | :23:23. | |
Caesar feels very fitting, given some of the uprisings that have | :23:23. | :23:33. | |
:23:33. | :23:35. | ||
been happening in Africa. George's one volunteer who could | :23:35. | :23:45. | |
:23:45. | :23:46. | ||
soon find himself on stage alongside leading black actors. | :23:46. | :23:48. | |
Shakespeare is associated with using the English language very | :23:48. | :23:53. | |
effectively. That is my perception, anyway. So it has relevance where | :23:53. | :23:58. | |
we are in Great Britain. Winson Green is no rent -- no exception to | :23:58. | :24:08. | |
:24:08. | :24:11. | ||
that. Nor is Birmingham. This incarnation of Julias Caesar will | :24:11. | :24:13. | |
form part of the World Shakespeare Celebrations much of which are | :24:13. | :24:16. | |
about spreading the Bard's word as far and wide as possible, for | :24:16. | :24:20. | |
example there will be performances in his name as far afield as Brazil | :24:20. | :24:24. | |
and Baghdad. Obviously this year is the Year of the Olympics, and you | :24:24. | :24:29. | |
would think that is all about sport, but is it it -- but it is actually | :24:29. | :24:36. | |
about the arts and theatre as well. And just like the Olympics, the | :24:36. | :24:41. | |
events do not just belong to Britain. The African version of | :24:41. | :24:44. | |
Julias Caesar is due on stage in Stratford at the end of May, there | :24:44. | :24:47. | |
are more details on the RSC's website. Kevin Reide, BBC Midlands | :24:47. | :24:50. | |
Today, Birmingham. And the star of Homeland, David Harewood returns to | :24:50. | :24:53. | |
Birmingham to work with a group of teenagers from his old school to | :24:53. | :24:56. | |
perform a section of scenes from Macbeth as part of the World | :24:56. | :24:59. | |
Shakespeare Festival, and you can see how they get in a special | :24:59. | :25:08. | |
programme here on BBC 1 at ten past eleven on Sunday 22nd April. | :25:09. | :25:11. | |
Well it wasn't just the snow that caused problems overnight, the | :25:11. | :25:14. | |
gable wall of this house in Stoke on Trent collapsed early this | :25:14. | :25:17. | |
morning. Investigations are now underway to see if the strong winds | :25:17. | :25:25. | |
affected the structure. But are we heading for better weather? | :25:25. | :25:35. | |
:25:35. | :25:37. | ||
We had up to 20 centimetres of snow in the worst affected areas. Along | :25:37. | :25:41. | |
with the wind, it really was awful. Let us not forget that we had some | :25:41. | :25:45. | |
decent bouts of rain that were desperately needed at the moment. | :25:45. | :25:50. | |
There is more to come over the weekend. It should be warmer by the | :25:50. | :25:57. | |
weekend. This is where we are currently at. The isobars will be | :25:57. | :26:02. | |
listening up in the process, so no more damaging winds after today. | :26:02. | :26:06. | |
Let's take a closer look at tonight. We can see that the band of rain is | :26:06. | :26:15. | |
moving to the south. We will see some showers gradually dwindling, | :26:15. | :26:24. | |
leaving dry and clear spells. Temperatures could get down below | :26:24. | :26:27. | |
zero again. We could have some frost and ice by the morning | :26:27. | :26:37. | |
tomorrow. It could be cloudy start to the day, a bit chilly as well. | :26:37. | :26:41. | |
It will be brighter and drier by lunchtime. The big difference is | :26:41. | :26:44. | |
the lighter wind, still coming from the north-east, but considerably | :26:44. | :26:51. | |
lighter. Temperatures will be a couple of degrees higher, up to | :26:51. | :26:55. | |
about eight or nine Celsius. The cloud will continue to break up | :26:55. | :26:59. | |
tomorrow night. Temperatures will plunge down to zero in towns and | :26:59. | :27:07. | |
cities, perhaps as low as of minus four in rural spots. The cloud is | :27:07. | :27:12. | |
increasing from the north. It will be fair rain -- fairly bright on | :27:12. | :27:16. | |
Friday, a little rain entering the North Letter Road. It turns cooler | :27:16. | :27:25. | |
but warmer as we head into the weekend. A look at tonight's main | :27:25. | :27:27. | |
headlines: Road disruption and power lines down as snow and | :27:28. | :27:30. | |
blizzards hit parts of the country. There are queues of traffic across | :27:31. | :27:34. | |
northern England - as tens of thousands are left without power: | :27:34. | :27:38. |