:00:18. > :00:21.Good evening. Welcome to North West Tonight with Roger Johnson and
:00:21. > :00:24.Annabel Tiffin. Our top story: The state of our health. Why people
:00:24. > :00:26.here are more likely to die early than anywhere else in the country.
:00:26. > :00:28.The Health Secretary says the findings are shocking.
:00:28. > :00:31.Also tonight: A teenager goes on trial accused of
:00:31. > :00:34.killing four siblings in a house fire at Freckleton last year.
:00:34. > :00:37.The gambler jailed for a vicious attack at a bookmakers after he
:00:37. > :00:42.lost 200 pounds on a gaming machine. Lending a hand, the local high
:00:42. > :00:45.school taking over a Manchester library to save it from closure.
:00:46. > :00:49.think it is the way forward for a lot of buildings now, that they are
:00:49. > :00:54.shared by different groups, different partnerships and they
:00:54. > :01:00.think it is great. And it may be half-past six in most of the
:01:00. > :01:10.country but I will be reporting from the town where it is always
:01:10. > :01:19.
:01:19. > :01:23.five to 10. A teenager has gone on trial
:01:23. > :01:26.accused of murdering five brothers and sisters. Dyson Allen is accused
:01:26. > :01:32.of setting fire to a wardrobe where children were sleeping. Their elder
:01:32. > :01:37.brother died trying to get to them through the smoke. Our chief
:01:37. > :01:42.reporter has been following proceedings at Preston Crown Court.
:01:42. > :01:46.The fire broke out during the early hours of the morning on 7th January
:01:46. > :01:50.last year at a three bedroomed bungalow in Freckleton. The
:01:50. > :01:54.bungalow was home to the Smith family. There were four-year-old
:01:54. > :01:58.twins and a two-year-old brother that were fast asleep in an attic
:01:58. > :02:04.room when the fire started. Their teenage brother fought desperately
:02:04. > :02:08.to try to get to the children to save them but sadly all four
:02:08. > :02:12.perished. The prosecution here says that the four children died because
:02:12. > :02:17.someone deliberately set fire to or wardrobe in the bedroom. The
:02:17. > :02:21.prosecution say that that person was Dyson Allen, a family friend.
:02:21. > :02:26.He denies killing the for sale billings. These children died in
:02:26. > :02:31.the place that they should have felt the safest, their bedroom.
:02:31. > :02:34.They stood little chance as the smoke filled the room during a fire.
:02:35. > :02:39.Their 19-year-old brother died as he tried to save them. The fire
:02:39. > :02:44.started in a wardrobe in the bedroom. That fire was lit, say the
:02:44. > :02:48.prosecution, by Dyson Allen. The children's mother had thrown a
:02:48. > :02:51.party to celebrate her birthday on the night the fire started. Most of
:02:51. > :02:56.the guests had left before they broke out and of those that
:02:56. > :02:59.remained, everyone was downstairs apart from Dyson Allen. He was a
:02:59. > :03:09.family friend and he had been planning to spend the night and he
:03:09. > :03:17.
:03:18. > :03:21.was upstairs when the fire began. The prosecutor went on to say there
:03:21. > :03:25.were inconsistencies in the accounts that Dyson Allen had given
:03:25. > :03:29.about the events leading up to the fire starting. He said that months
:03:29. > :03:35.later during a conversation over the internet Dyson Allen had said,
:03:35. > :03:41.I did something bad in my past and now the police on my back. Dyson
:03:41. > :03:45.Allen denies four counts of murder and for alternative counts of
:03:45. > :03:47.manslaughter. He will have his say at the trial progresses and the
:03:47. > :03:50.trial is expected to last eight weeks.
:03:50. > :03:55.Thank you very much. You are more likely to die
:03:55. > :03:58.prematurely in the North West than anywhere else in the country. And
:03:59. > :04:05.your local NHS and council are least likely to help you make life-
:04:05. > :04:08.saving choices. That's the message in a new league table out today.
:04:08. > :04:11.The Health Secretary has described it as shocking that life expectancy
:04:11. > :04:13.is so much lower in parts of the North West and, he says social
:04:13. > :04:19.deprivation can no longer be used as an excuse.
:04:19. > :04:22.Our Health Correspondent Nina Warhurst is here with more.
:04:22. > :04:26.Thank you very much This map might not come as a big
:04:26. > :04:29.surprise. Out of 150 councils in England, nine of the areas where
:04:29. > :04:33.you're most likely to die before you're 75 are here in the North
:04:33. > :04:38.west. We thought we knew why. High levels of poverty, unemployment,
:04:38. > :04:40.low levels of education and exercise. But this new table
:04:40. > :04:46.directly compares areas with the same levels of social deprivation
:04:46. > :04:48.and the results are striking. For example, Manchester has the
:04:48. > :04:51.same concentrated populations with high levels of social deprivation
:04:51. > :05:01.as Birningham, and Hackney in London and yet they have much lower
:05:01. > :05:01.
:05:01. > :05:10.rates of premature deaths. So an area being poor is no longer an
:05:10. > :05:15.excuse for people dying young. So what are they doing differently?
:05:15. > :05:24.Why do we seem to care less about our health than in other parts of
:05:24. > :05:29.England? This is the big help us which tours Manchester, one of the
:05:29. > :05:32.most deprived parts of England. lot of people do not access the
:05:32. > :05:36.health services so we come to them and provide them with the
:05:36. > :05:39.information they need to make health changes. Despite the healthy
:05:39. > :05:44.messages not many people are listening, why is that?
:05:44. > :05:49.Government will help those who want to be helped. Scotland and the
:05:49. > :05:52.North of England are much more and healthy eaters and the self-. --
:05:52. > :05:55.much more unhealthy eaters than the South.
:05:55. > :05:58.Compare it to Rotherham in South Yorkshire, also an area of high
:05:58. > :06:00.desperation, but when Jamie Oliver came to town authorities were so
:06:00. > :06:03.embarrassed by pictures of parents sneaking fast food through railings
:06:03. > :06:07.that they invested millions in a health awareness campaign. And it
:06:07. > :06:10.paid off. Between them 2,000 people, young and old, shed six tonnes of
:06:10. > :06:13.fat in the space of a year. So why is Rotherham winning while
:06:13. > :06:19.we continue to die younger? Perhaps it's the North West's turn to be
:06:19. > :06:23.embarrassed. It is pretty obvious that despite all of the variables
:06:23. > :06:27.something is going wrong in this region. What needs to happen?
:06:27. > :06:32.that is the challenge for local authorities. We can only achieve
:06:32. > :06:36.these by working with local people. We must initiate new programmes in
:06:36. > :06:39.the schools without the population and voluntary section - receptor
:06:39. > :06:42.and the local authority of the best place to do that.
:06:42. > :06:45.Councils in England now between them have �6 billion to spend on
:06:46. > :06:51.Public health. And of course we make choices too, every time we
:06:51. > :06:54.drink alcohol and smoke or decide to eat well and take exercise. But
:06:54. > :07:03.is it fair that some authorities are so much better at getting the
:07:03. > :07:06.message across when the cost to us is dying younger.
:07:06. > :07:08.Thank you very much. To discuss this report in greater
:07:09. > :07:18.detail, we're joined by Professor Paul Johnstone, the Director of
:07:19. > :07:19.
:07:19. > :07:22.Public Health for the North of England.
:07:23. > :07:28.Whatever you're doing to make us healthier, it does not seem to be
:07:28. > :07:33.working. Well, it is working and we have a long track record of success
:07:33. > :07:39.for public health interventions. There is still a lot to do. This
:07:39. > :07:45.publication today shows that there are areas, and councils have only
:07:45. > :07:49.just taken the responsibility for public health and some areas have a
:07:49. > :07:53.better legacy of intervention than others. This is about putting that
:07:53. > :07:59.on record and allowing a conversation to understand why some
:07:59. > :08:05.areas are doing better than others. It is not just down to deprivation,
:08:05. > :08:10.there are other factors here as well. The deprivation point is
:08:10. > :08:13.interesting. In its -- give another one to -- in another part of the
:08:13. > :08:17.country with similar areas of deprivation are faring better, then
:08:17. > :08:20.people here are being let down. I said the local authorities have
:08:20. > :08:29.only just taken on the responsibilities and they are very
:08:29. > :08:32.excited about taking on the new role for improving the public's
:08:32. > :08:36.health. It comes down to three things at the end of the day. It is
:08:36. > :08:40.about personal choice, it is about the environment that people grow
:08:40. > :08:44.and living and have access to health care, and it is about
:08:44. > :08:48.government policy. Those three things interact. It is a very
:08:48. > :08:54.complex area but there are a lot of reasons why there is deprivation in
:08:54. > :08:57.some areas than others. It might be due to inability to get a job or
:08:57. > :09:04.poor schools or not being able to buy fruit and vegetables in the
:09:04. > :09:11.local area... Sorry to interrupt but surely you can buy fruit and
:09:11. > :09:14.vegetables. Surely you can get them everywhere. This is a huge
:09:14. > :09:24.variation. As you said, there are places that are doing better than
:09:24. > :09:28.
:09:28. > :09:32.others and this is an opportunity for local areas to learn. It is my
:09:32. > :09:36.role as regional director with my colleagues in public health to
:09:36. > :09:39.support my colleagues and local authorities you are taking on these
:09:39. > :09:47.new roles and we must understand why there is this variation are
:09:47. > :09:56.really to know what to do about it. Thank you very much.
:09:56. > :09:58.Other news from around the North West now:
:09:58. > :10:01.The Trust that runs Aintree Hospital, which has been criticised
:10:01. > :10:03.for failing to meet a number of targets, says improvements have
:10:03. > :10:06.already been made. The health watchdog Monitor said it was
:10:06. > :10:08.concerned standards had not been met for Accident & Emergency
:10:08. > :10:11.waiting times, treatment waiting times and the control of C
:10:11. > :10:13.Difficile and MRSA. Focusing on things like hand hygiene and making
:10:13. > :10:17.sure we keep up the cleaning regimes because we have a really
:10:17. > :10:23.good and clean hospital and we need to make sure it stays like that and
:10:23. > :10:26.in particular we are looking at the way that we use antibiotics.
:10:26. > :10:32.A new scheme to protect young and vulnerable victims from the trauma
:10:32. > :10:35.of appearing in court will be tested in Liverpool. It's aimed at
:10:35. > :10:37.preventing cases like that of Frances Andrade, who took her own
:10:37. > :10:40.life after giving evidence against her former music teacher at
:10:40. > :10:43.Manchester Crown Court. The scheme will enable some witnesses to be
:10:43. > :10:47.questioned on video before trials begin.
:10:47. > :10:52.Nick Griffin, the BNP leader has thrown out to meet representatives
:10:52. > :10:54.of the Assad regime in Syria. He said he was invited as part of a
:10:55. > :10:58.fact-finding mission and he wants to warn against Britain being
:10:58. > :11:02.dragged into another war in the Middle East.
:11:02. > :11:12.Spectators who were injured in a crash at the TT races are lucky to
:11:12. > :11:12.
:11:12. > :11:16.be alive according to the surgeon who operated on them. Isle of Man
:11:16. > :11:19.police say this was the first year since 2006 that no-one died on the
:11:19. > :11:21.open roads. But ten spectators were injured when a rider crashed into
:11:21. > :11:24.the crowd during Friday's senior race. If parts of a motorcycle
:11:24. > :11:28.flying at 150 mph catches you in the head of Chick -- the head or
:11:28. > :11:35.the chest then it will do a lot of damage. Because the impact was
:11:35. > :11:36.below waist height, there were no fatalities but there were a lot of
:11:37. > :11:39.injuries. The Culture Select Committee is to
:11:39. > :11:41.investigate plans which could result in the closure of
:11:41. > :11:51.Manchester's Museum of Science and Industry. It's one of three
:11:51. > :11:56.
:11:56. > :11:59.northern museums facing being shut down because of budget cuts.
:11:59. > :12:02.A Liverpool man has been jailed for viciously assaulting two staff at a
:12:02. > :12:05.betting shop after losing heavily on a gaming machine. 40-year-old
:12:05. > :12:07.Mark Rutter stabbed one man with a pair of scissors and punched
:12:07. > :12:10.another at the shop in Edinburgh. Morag Kinniburgh reports.
:12:10. > :12:12.Mark Rutter is seen here at the top cent of the screen. He has just
:12:12. > :12:16.lost �200 playing roulette at William Hill in Edinburgh. He
:12:16. > :12:20.becomes so angry that he pushes the machine over and he is shouting and
:12:20. > :12:24.demanding his money back. He makes his way up to staff and tries to
:12:24. > :12:30.get at the tills and then climbs over, behind the counter. He grabs
:12:30. > :12:33.money and scissors and then punches one man and stabs another member of
:12:33. > :12:41.staff. 40-year-old Mark Rutter has a string of previous convictions,
:12:41. > :12:46.including theft, assault and rape. He is branded a highly risky
:12:46. > :12:50.offender. He showed a complete and utter disregard for the witnesses
:12:50. > :12:55.in this case or the victims of. That is reflected on the sentence
:12:55. > :13:00.imposed on him today which is welcomed. It is happening every 10
:13:00. > :13:05.or 15 seconds and you have the adrenalin rush... The High Court
:13:06. > :13:09.heard that these super-fast gaming machines can rake in �10 a minute
:13:09. > :13:14.but the lawyer blamed it to a spate of violence across Britain which
:13:14. > :13:24.bookies do not report because they are concerned it will affect
:13:24. > :13:30.
:13:30. > :13:35.business. Bookmakers reject these Mark Rutter fled from here and was
:13:35. > :13:39.caught by police using tracker dogs. They found bloodstains is as near
:13:39. > :13:43.by. He has been given an order of lifelong restriction and he will
:13:43. > :13:47.spend at least two years and eight months in jail before the Parole
:13:47. > :13:49.Board will have to decide if he continues to provide a danger to
:13:49. > :13:52.the public. The region's largest property
:13:52. > :13:55.company is defending itself against criticism that it's avoiding tax.
:13:55. > :13:57.Yesterday MPs on the spending watchdog, the Public Accounts
:13:57. > :14:07.Committee, visited our building here at Media City and attacked
:14:07. > :14:08.
:14:08. > :14:11.Peel. They questioned its corporate structure which means some of its
:14:11. > :14:14.many companies are based on the Isle of Man where corporation tax
:14:14. > :14:22.is much lower. But Peel says all its operating businesses are based
:14:22. > :14:30.in the UK. Our political editor Arif Ansari reports. The Peel Group
:14:30. > :14:39.It owns the Manchester Ship Canal and MediaCity, where yesterday the
:14:39. > :14:44.powerful Public Accounts Committee proved to be awkward guests.
:14:44. > :14:49.company pays a maximum 10% corporation tax. That is totting it
:14:49. > :14:53.up. They do not pay their fair share of corporation tax. This is
:14:53. > :14:56.what she's got her eye on. The little known Tokenhouse Limited is
:14:56. > :14:59.the ultimate parent company of the group. A clutch of other companies
:14:59. > :15:06.form its core, largely based on the Isle of Man. And clustered around
:15:06. > :15:12.dozens of interlocking companies. It is a way of maximising tax
:15:12. > :15:15.efficiency is, as they like to call it. It is a way of ensuring there
:15:15. > :15:18.is as little corporation tax as possible paid. This is what Peel
:15:18. > :15:20.does best, regenerating and driving forward the regional economy. Its
:15:20. > :15:30.expanding Liverpool Docks, and with the government's ringing support
:15:30. > :15:45.
:15:45. > :15:55.dredging the Mersey for new ships. But critics say its affairs are
:15:55. > :15:57.
:15:57. > :16:01.simply too opaque. So, this companies say they are
:16:01. > :16:04.doing nothing wrong even though they have come in for criticism.
:16:04. > :16:09.Yes, certainly nothing illegal here but the question is one of morality
:16:09. > :16:12.and how much tax you pay and how much tax you should pay. They must
:16:12. > :16:17.have seemed Margaret Hodge out of the building and felt they would
:16:17. > :16:20.not have her back because she has taken research that already exists,
:16:20. > :16:24.done by a research group in Liverpool, she has shone a light on
:16:24. > :16:26.it and the amazing complex web of companies and said that in her view
:16:26. > :16:29.they need to pay more corporation tax.
:16:29. > :16:37.Thank you very much. Still to come on North West
:16:37. > :16:40.Tonight: I am really sorry, you cannot film this.
:16:40. > :16:43.Design a secret. The Preston firm kitting out Team GB for the
:16:43. > :16:49.Commonwealth Games. And the town where it's always five
:16:49. > :16:52.to ten. We find out why time stands still in Stalybridge.
:16:52. > :16:55.In just over a fortnight, the local library in Levenshulme in
:16:55. > :16:58.Manchester was due to close, the victim of council budget cuts.
:16:58. > :17:02.Protests and press campaigns all fell on deaf ears.
:17:02. > :17:10.But now Levenshulme High School is to lend a hand and keep the library
:17:10. > :17:13.open in return for using the space for lessons out of hours. Our
:17:13. > :17:19.reporter Abbie Jones is at the library now. Abbie, is this what
:17:19. > :17:24.the Government means by the big society?
:17:24. > :17:27.Yes, we have been hearing a lot over the last few years about the
:17:27. > :17:32.need for communities to get involved in local projects,
:17:32. > :17:36.services and so on, especially in tough economic times. The city
:17:36. > :17:40.council believe this partnership between the high school and the
:17:40. > :17:44.library, due to close on 29th June, is a prime example of that and the
:17:44. > :17:47.way forward. Is it really the duty of local businesses, schools and
:17:47. > :17:50.local people to step up when councils won't?
:17:50. > :17:53.One's a high school with over 1,000 pupils, in desperate need of
:17:53. > :17:57.somewhere to teach children who need extra help away from school.
:17:57. > :18:06.The other's a small local library threatened with closure. But
:18:06. > :18:09.they're on the same page about the way forward. It is a win/win
:18:09. > :18:12.situation for everybody. We get the facilities that we need a we do not
:18:13. > :18:16.have room for beer and the local community gets to keep the library
:18:16. > :18:18.open a week and have an extension of classes as well and we can
:18:18. > :18:21.provide more than is currently there.
:18:21. > :18:24.The school will pay 32,000 to maintain the library and cover the
:18:24. > :18:30.staff's wages. But it gets the building rent free, saving around
:18:30. > :18:34.�50,000. Classes will take place there out of hours. Library users
:18:34. > :18:38.today thought the partnership was a good news story. If that is the
:18:38. > :18:43.only way to keep it open then definitely. I think it is the way
:18:43. > :18:46.forward for a lot of places now. long as it is still go to use for
:18:46. > :18:48.people who do not have all the access at home then I think it is
:18:48. > :18:51.great. But should it be up to the
:18:51. > :18:55.community to step in to save public services? These are tough economic
:18:55. > :19:00.times and we want to make sure that the services remain open so we are
:19:00. > :19:03.working with everybody who wants to work with us. The city council says
:19:03. > :19:07.it is looking at running five other libraries in this way, perhaps with
:19:08. > :19:11.GPs' surgeries or housing groups. This is not the first time
:19:11. > :19:14.communities have stepped in to take over local services.
:19:14. > :19:17.In Heysham in Lancashire local people took over the public toilets
:19:17. > :19:20.after the council wanted to close them. And in Storth in Cumbria
:19:20. > :19:23.villagers bought shares in their local post office to keep it open.
:19:23. > :19:30.The deal in Levenshulme should be signed soon. Both the school and
:19:30. > :19:34.the local community now hoping it will provide a happy ending.
:19:34. > :19:36.Levenshulme is due to get a brand new swimming pool and library and
:19:36. > :19:41.2015 and if this partnership does not go ahead then this library
:19:41. > :19:47.would shut in June until then. If it does then it will close in just
:19:47. > :19:50.a few weeks for redecoration and reopen in September. Will this be a
:19:50. > :19:54.start of new partnerships between libraries and doctors' surgeries
:19:54. > :19:59.and leisure centres. Like the plot of a good book, we will have to
:19:59. > :20:03.wait and see how it develops. customer there was trying to get
:20:03. > :20:06.Now, there's just over a year to go until the Commonwealth Games in
:20:06. > :20:09.Glasgow. Athletes like Mo Farah, Bradley Wiggins and Jessica Ennis
:20:09. > :20:12.are getting ready for the big event and a company from Preston is
:20:12. > :20:15.making its own preparations because it's just won a contract to design
:20:15. > :20:22.and produce the kit for Team GB. But, as Elaine Dunkley found out,
:20:22. > :20:25.every detail of the design is being kept strictly underwraps!
:20:25. > :20:35.There's plenty to shout about in this office but everyone is keeping
:20:35. > :20:37.tight lipped. I am really sorry, you cannot film
:20:37. > :20:40.this. Under lock and key, the kit for
:20:40. > :20:47.Team GB for the Commonwealth Games. It's a big contact and an even
:20:47. > :20:51.bigger secret. What can you tell us about it? It is England colours but
:20:51. > :20:55.hopefully we will add a bit of a twist and it will be different from
:20:55. > :21:00.previous kids they have had. These are some sketches that we had done
:21:00. > :21:03.by the athletes down in London when we met them. Athletes have helped
:21:03. > :21:06.with of the design. Over 30,000 items of kit will leave this
:21:06. > :21:11.warehouse in Preston, destined for the locker rooms of our sporting
:21:11. > :21:15.stars. I think for us is is it -- it is about making athletes feel a
:21:15. > :21:18.part of the process and they belong to the team. There are a team
:21:19. > :21:28.sports and won them to look and feel very much part of the same
:21:29. > :21:30.
:21:30. > :21:33.team and I would like them to feel really proud. Kukri is a Preston
:21:33. > :21:36.Company on a fast track to success. All the designers are graduates
:21:36. > :21:38.from the University of Central Lancashire. Really excited. It is
:21:38. > :21:43.worth going to university and having a job and having something
:21:43. > :21:46.to be proud to tell your family and friends. We have done a lot of
:21:46. > :21:51.designs for Australian netball and Lancashire County Cricket Club but
:21:51. > :21:56.to do England is just amazing. can't wait to see Mo Farah in our
:21:56. > :21:59.kit, that would be amazing to see. So here's hoping for some gold
:21:59. > :22:04.accessories to go with the kit which will be officially unveiled
:22:04. > :22:07.in 2014. Elaine Dunkley BBC North West Tonight.
:22:07. > :22:11.As long as they win, it doesn't really matter.
:22:11. > :22:13.We almost got a sneak preview, didn't we? Not quite!
:22:13. > :22:16.Sport now and Liverpool City Council have bought Everton's Finch
:22:16. > :22:19.Farm training ground for �13 million. They say they expect the
:22:19. > :22:22.deal to provide them with an income stream worth tens of millions of
:22:22. > :22:25.pounds over the 40 year term of the agreement, which will see the
:22:25. > :22:27.ground being leased back to the club. The land's previous owners
:22:27. > :22:30.went into liquidation. The 20-times TT winner John
:22:30. > :22:34.McGuinness says crowds at this year's event were bigger than he's
:22:34. > :22:44.ever seen. McGuinness, who's known as the Morecambe Missile, gained
:22:44. > :22:44.
:22:44. > :22:46.his 41st podium finish, an all time record. The Senior TT, the amount
:22:46. > :22:50.of Tayyab Subhani and Mohammed Safdar cause was just incredible. I
:22:50. > :22:55.have never seen so many people out on that track. The Isle of Man was
:22:55. > :23:05.bouncing out of the Irish Sea on Friday and we have had no
:23:05. > :23:08.
:23:08. > :23:11.fatalities and that is a fantastic thing for the Isle of Man.
:23:11. > :23:16.But maybe not if you live in Stalybridge, where time has stood
:23:16. > :23:19.still for months. The clock on the town's Civic Hall is broken and
:23:19. > :23:22.there are no plans to repair it. Many people there say it's an
:23:22. > :23:24.embarrassment. Stuart Flinders reports from the town in a
:23:24. > :23:27.different time-zone. At the top of the hour it will be
:23:27. > :23:32.seven o'clock in London. Two o'clock in New York. Three o'clock
:23:32. > :23:36.in Tokyo. Five to ten in Stalybridge.
:23:36. > :23:40.It is always five to 10 in Stalybridge because the clock on
:23:40. > :23:46.top of the famous Civic Hall has not worked for ages and the council
:23:46. > :23:54.says it cannot justify �6,000 on repairs at a time of cuts. I say 5-
:23:54. > :23:57.10, but on this time it is actually 10-2.
:23:57. > :24:01.You can get married in this grand old building, hold a meeting here
:24:01. > :24:05.or a conference. As long as it's at five to ten. Or ten to two,
:24:05. > :24:10.whichever's more convenient. It's not as if you can rely on the
:24:10. > :24:13.church next door. They gave up on their clock years ago. There's a
:24:13. > :24:19.giant sundial nearby, but on a day like today, well...
:24:19. > :24:23.What use is a clock that doesn't tell the time? When you are
:24:23. > :24:28.standing at the bus-stop, I stand over there, or I am going to work
:24:28. > :24:34.in the morning, it is the first thing I look at to see what time it
:24:34. > :24:40.has. It doesn't matter to me. because you haven't got a watch on!
:24:40. > :24:42.Ask anybody on the streets it is, what time is it? I just check my
:24:42. > :24:47.phone. Not everyone agrees, but some say
:24:47. > :24:51.it reflects badly on the town. market has closed, the clock has
:24:51. > :24:56.gone, toilers have gone, the market has closed on Friday, it is just
:24:56. > :25:00.another thing that makes the town kind of look, like per se, like
:25:00. > :25:02.people don't care, when they actually do.
:25:02. > :25:12.Time waits for no man except, it seems, in Stalybridge. They'd
:25:12. > :25:13.
:25:13. > :25:19.rather it didn't. You know what they need? They need
:25:19. > :25:21.to do Lorian and some lightning and Michael J Fox and it will be fixed!
:25:22. > :25:28.And as one of our regular correspondence has pointed out, at
:25:29. > :25:30.least it is right twice a day. Always on time, here she is!
:25:30. > :25:34.Always on time, here she is! Saved the �6,000 on by everyone in
:25:34. > :25:38.the town a cheap watch! That is my suggestion. Everything has changed
:25:38. > :25:42.weatherwise in the last 12 hours and the cloud cover has become very
:25:42. > :25:47.stubborn. This is how we currently look. Quite a bit of cloud cover.
:25:47. > :25:51.It tried to break in the last couple of hours and where it did
:25:51. > :25:56.break the temperature shot up to 20 degrees. That was generally in
:25:56. > :26:03.areas of Merseyside. Tomorrow is mostly the same. There will be
:26:03. > :26:07.cloud and outbreaks of drizzly rain from time to time. This was the
:26:07. > :26:10.last few hours with a stubborn cloud cover. But that halls have
:26:10. > :26:14.developed in it. If you have sunshine at the moment you will not
:26:14. > :26:18.hold on to it for very long because this is the next weather system.
:26:18. > :26:23.Like the rain throughout today, this is very fragmented. As it
:26:23. > :26:26.starts to move their it falls apart across many of us so it is
:26:26. > :26:29.dampening the ground and not much more of a matter overnight. The
:26:29. > :26:33.breeze is still coming towards you from the south so the air is warm
:26:33. > :26:37.and humid and I would not be surprised if temperatures were
:26:37. > :26:41.around 13 or 14 degrees. You will get up tomorrow and the story will
:26:41. > :26:46.be the same again. A huge amount of cloud cover and quite a bit of rain
:26:46. > :26:48.in the Isle of Man. For the rest of us away from Cumbria it is very
:26:48. > :26:53.hit-and-miss all over again. Even though it looks as though it clears
:26:53. > :26:56.up there is still more to come through in the tail-end of the day.
:26:56. > :27:01.Waiting in the wings once the sun has gone down there is another line
:27:01. > :27:06.of rain coming towards us. A bit of everything in the forecast. You
:27:06. > :27:10.might just catch a glimpse of sunshine in the afternoon. With the
:27:10. > :27:13.breeze continuing to come towards you from the south and bringing the
:27:13. > :27:16.continental end the temperatures are not too bad. If you get it done
:27:16. > :27:21.so sunshine it will be a little bit higher but the rain makes its
:27:21. > :27:24.presence felt tomorrow night. Never mind. Thank you very much.
:27:24. > :27:30.Whenever you say weather system changing it makes your heart sink!
:27:30. > :27:34.Yes, it is rarely anything good. On the subject of town clocks which