23/12/2016 North West Tonight


23/12/2016

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And on BBC One, we now join the BBC's news teams where you are.

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Good evening and welcome to a special festive edition

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but we've got nothing but Christmas cheer.

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and the people who make the North West the great place it is.

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who's always there when she needs her most.

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She's like my guardian angel, like a little helper.

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We'll meet Ben Ashworth - his will to live is unshakeable

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as he's prepares for the Christmas he thought he might never see.

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I'm really, really looking forward to waking up

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with all my girls on Christmas Day and seeing their faces.

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as she says the one word her mum has waited 12 years to hear.

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# You who sang creation's glory now proclaim the Messiah's birth. #

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And there's the choir who spread the Christmas joy.

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Could one of them be our final Christmas Star?

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It is looking like and is Bristol evening, so stay with us.

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Forget about the wind, forget about the rain -

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Manchester Inspirational Voices gospel choir with us,

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# Let earth receive her King

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We will be hearing more from them at the end of the programme.

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It is the season for giving and your generosity is making

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a massive difference to young carers in Blackpool this Christmas.

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?1 million raised by Children in Need has been spent

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transforming Blackpool Carers Centre into an inspirational place to be.

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Tonight, it's hosting a Christmas party

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and our reporter, Ian Haslam, is there.

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Hello, welcome to the centre, where the party is in full flow. They have

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had the disco and a visit from Santa and the obligatory party food. We

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will meet some of them in a short while. Last year, this building was

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derelict and in disrepair. Thanks to your money and a lot of hard graft,

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it looks fantastic, as you can see. We will hear from some of these

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carers in eight short while. But first we hear from Dave Guest, who

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has the story of Chloe and Luke. Do not be afraid,

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God has shown you... Seven-year-old Luke's big moment

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as the angel Gabriel But it's his big sister, Chloe,

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who is the real-life angel in their family,

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according to Mum, Faye. She's like my little,

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like, guardian angel. Faye has epilepsy, which causes her

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to have frequent and often

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frightening seizures and fits. What did you think when you first

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saw her having a fit? I was really scared -

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I was, like, shaking. So if she has a fit

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now, what you do? You have to lay her down

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in a position so she doesn't choke, Dad works shifts, so it often falls

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to nine-year-old Chloe to deal with the situation

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when Mum has a seizure. She's really, really responsible

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and mature for her age. At school, Chloe and Luke

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get on with life like any other nine

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or seven-year-old. But teachers at Our Lady

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of the Assumption Primary in Blackpool realised

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the children would benefit And this is where Chloe and Luke

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get that extra help - It's possible the place looks

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familiar because it recently starred in a special edition

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of the BBC show DIY SOS. We have removed thousands of bricks,

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knocked out 16 doorways... The team took on their biggest

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project to date, transforming the derelict former health centre

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into a state-of-the-art haven for young carers to enjoy

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some "me" time. Everything in this

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building has a purpose, That's essentially the goal

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for this place, a home from home. and just know that there's people

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here to support you. At school, there's people

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all crowding around me. When I'm upset, they don't

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really understand. Well, it is hard for people

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to understand, isn't it, if they don't have

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to go through that? Like one of the times I got upset,

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my mum had had a fit, and I got upset because I got

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really worried about her. I suppose, though, if you're

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upset when you're here, other people here will know

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what it's like for you. I do think that especially Chloe

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is more open about things, and she does talk about things

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a little bit more. What would you really

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like for Christmas? I want a dressing gown

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that's way too big for me, and it will be more comfy,

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and I can grow into it. What would you like for

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your mum for Christmas? If you could have anything

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in the world, what would you want? And, as Christmas wishes go,

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that one's pretty special. Some truly inspirational stories

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everywhere here. Let's speak to one of the youngsters, playing this game

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with a snowman. How you getting on? Good. This is Margaret, who is

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seven. Who do you care for? My whole family. You are doing a great job.

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What do you want for Christmas? I am getting a laptop and a printer. Oh,

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that sounds good! Have a lovely Christmas. I am sure your mum is

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proud of you. This lady here is they, who is the young carers lead

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worker. Thank you for joining us. How much of a transformation has

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there been in 2016? We did not think that anything would happen like

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this. We are so lucky. Last year, we had a small building with an office

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and that was it, we could not do any respite sessions on-site, we had to

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do them in the community, which meant we were restricted. What does

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it mean for the youngsters at Christmas to have a place like this,

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they need this respite, don't they? It means so much because we don't

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get donations of presence and toys so children can choose things. We

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can have families in to provide food parcels. Here is the personal

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Christmas card from Lawrence the well above, the designer of the

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centre. We have two sisters here, aged ten

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and 11. Quickly, what do you want for Christmas? And Xbox. You two

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look after your mum, don't you? How vital is this place? I love coming

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here because it's a good place to make friends and the people that

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have gone through the same thing as me and stuff. It's nice. Are you

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having a great time at the party? Yes. Some of the kids have got

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presence. What have you got? I forgot. I can see what you got, you

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are Manchester United fan as well, aren't you? I got a football,

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because I'm a huge football fan. The man himself, Santa Claus. You have a

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big few nights ahead. As long as I keep to my diet of sherry and mince

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pies, I should be all right. Go easy on the sherry! That is it from me.

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Anyone want to say a big response? Happy Christmas! There you go.

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He's got them well organised, hasn't he? Happy Christmas to you all as

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well. We think you are having a great party.

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We went to town a little bit to night with this Christmas tree! Just

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to let you know we are in the spirit. It took us all to noon!

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There are some people who are in hospital or working, but for those

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who are unwell, it is a difficult time of year.

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One person who wasn't sure if he'd be here this Christmas

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is Ben Ashworth, a father with a young family,

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Ben's positivity has helped him defy his illness,

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and he has high hopes for the New Year.

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When Ben was told he had six months to live,

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his youngest daughter was just five months old.

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Now she's at school and the family is preparing

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to spend another precious Christmas together.

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I'm just really, really looking forward to waking up

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with all my girls on Christmas Day and just seeing their faces.

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I really want for them to have a lovely, lovely time.

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There's some statistics that suggest you've got a 6% chance of living

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five years with stage four bowel cancer, and I'm almost there.

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So celebrating another Christmas with my family,

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Since his diagnosis, Ben's thrown himself into running -

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completing 24 marathons in 24 months to raise money and awareness

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Knowing that, one day, my cancer is probably

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going to kill me is hard but, at the same time, it motivates me

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because I want to do as much as I can, I think,

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but we've had so many opportunities to do things.

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a strength that he puts down in part to his Christian faith.

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I felt full of love and I always felt that came from God.

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Having an illness has held me to reconnect with my faith.

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God has given me the tools I need to cope with any situation.

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but I feel he led me to exercise in a way.

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Exercising and staying strong, I think, has really helped me.

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And he's given me the tools I needed to cope.

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Do you think it's going to snow at Christmas time?

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For now, a family Christmas is the priority,

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but there is another New Year's wish on the horizon for Ben.

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I'm not going anywhere yet, and I've got so many...

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You know, I would love to run a spring marathon in 2017.

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You know, I've just started running again and I feel

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I want my girls to know that I wasn't ever beaten by my disease.

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That my spirit endured, that I tried to live my life around that.

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I just want to show them that you can find good things

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We wish them all the best. We will keep our fingers crossed for that

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marathon next spring. He is a truly inspirational man.

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This is pretty much the last day for a lot of people work wise.

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For many people, tonight marks the start of the Christmas holidays.

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Time off work to spend with friends and family.

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But spare a though for the people who work through the festive break.

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As you can see, we've come outside. We have a fine bit of hardware,

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which we might have beaten off. People like the volunteers

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from the North West Blood Bikes. There are 350 of them who deliver

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emergency blood to hospitals - outside office hours -

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at no cost to the NHS. And Paul Brooks set

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the charity up in 2012. You established yourselves, took the

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cost away from the NHS, all self funded. How many call-outs did you

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do? 800. How many have you done in four yes? We're just coming up to

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30,000. So this has been fairly successful? I think so, yes. Way

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beyond our wildest dreams. And many lives saved thanks to you?

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Hopefully, yes. We have only got some of you here

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tonight. I have been a motorcyclist for 30 years, and being able to ride

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one of these to put something back into the community, it is so

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special. You will have helped so many people, I'm sure. You helped

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set this up with Paul all that time ago and I believe you have something

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special you want to say to him. Indeed. What the charity has done

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and achieved in the last 4.5 years is incredible, and it is down to the

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volunteers that we have got, and we have over 300 controllers, not just

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riders, fundraisers and everything. But it is the drive and

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determination and passion about German. -- of our chairman. You have

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got something special for him that regular viewers will know all about.

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You are a Christmas star winner. Well done. We have given some out in

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the last few weeks, but no more deserving than you. Thank you so

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much. What can I say? They are a great bunch will. You deserve it and

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they obviously feel that you do. Keep up the good work. Enjoy your

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Christmas. That is in your eyes say it all. Thank you.

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A few weeks ago, when we started the Christmas Stars,

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we asked you for your good news stories.

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Lots of you got in touch, including Kathryn McComas.

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She contacted us to tell us about her daughter, Melissa.

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When Melissa was born, doctors said she would never be able to talk.

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2016 was the year for Melissa's little miracle.

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RECORDED VOICE: Nice to meet you, Annabel.

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13-year-old Melissa from St Helens communicates

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When she was diagnosed at three years old with Angelman syndrome,

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doctors told her mum she would probably never speak.

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And she didn't, until March this year.

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When, out of the blue, she said her very first word - "Mama".

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Just thought I'd misheard what she said.

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I sort of looked at her and my phone was sitting next to me.

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So I picked that up and pressed record and said,

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"Say what you just said again for Mummy."

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And she said it again, which was quite amazing.

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She probably astounded herself, really, when she said it,

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and then she must've thought, "Oh, I'll do that again!"

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I mean, it's a small thing but, for you...

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I mean, some people might just say,

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"Fine. And? There's nothing remarkable about that."

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But it is, it is really a huge, huge thing.

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So what are your hopes now for the future?

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I just want to give Melissa the best life she can possibly have,

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with any advantages that any technology can give.

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And just say she loves me one day, would be really nice.

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RECORDED VOICE: Merry Christmas, everybody.

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Merry Christmas to Melissa and her family. She was so lovely.

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Time for the last of this year's Christmas Stars.

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Christmas is often a time for families

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But for some it can be a very lonely time.

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That's where the Nether Alderley Carol Singers come in.

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they've not only sung at people's doors,

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to meet the carol singers making a difference.

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# In heaven the bells are ringing... #

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These carol singers don't just go door to door.

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There was an old lady on her own, we turned up on her doormat,

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we sang carols and she said, "Please, please, come in.

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Come in, I never have anyone in my house."

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"Don't worry about mud on your boots, just come in,

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I just want to have you in my house."

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And that just gave us the idea of having carol singing

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I've nominated Jenny, quite simply, because she is the one

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that put in all the hard work for the organising

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About ten years ago, it started to wane and Jenny volunteered.

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She said, "I will do all the organising of the houses

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If it hadn't have been for Jenny, we wouldn't be here today.

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So it's thanks to her that we been able to continue

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The St Mary's singers have also raised over ?25,000 for charity.

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I've not been totally honest here with my friend, Jenny.

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In recognition of all the time and effort that you have put in

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over the last 20 years or so, we would like to present you with

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this BBC North West Today Christmas Star.

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No, not even a glimmer of suspicion at all.

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They kept it from me very, very well.

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It will have pride of place on my mantelpiece.

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# Good tidings we bring to you and your king

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# We wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. #

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Beautiful sound and congratulations to Jenny. We have got our own choir

:20:25.:20:29.

coming up in just a moment, but the weather has been a talking point

:20:30.:20:35.

today. Storm Barbara has gone, but what is the forecast looking like?

:20:36.:20:40.

We do have more difficult weather in the next couple of days. It looks

:20:41.:20:47.

wet and windy. Storm Barbara worked through the region and most places

:20:48.:20:51.

were not affected too badly but we did have some high sided vehicles

:20:52.:20:54.

blown over. We had tree branches down on cars. On the Isle of Man,

:20:55.:21:00.

they made the best of the bad situation. The ways were tall enough

:21:01.:21:04.

for most people, and surfing conditions were not brilliant. But

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you make a while the sunshine is or not is the case may be. As we go

:21:10.:21:13.

through the next couple of days, the Christmas forecast is very

:21:14.:21:16.

unsettled. Wet and windy. This is the picture earlier, two lines of

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rain that moved through the region, torrential downpours in places. We

:21:24.:21:26.

have seen the back of that and seen the winds starting to ease off. It

:21:27.:21:34.

should get better. It stays a blustery night. Not as bad as to the

:21:35.:21:40.

day, but still a notable feature. For most places, dry and clear. One

:21:41.:21:44.

or two showers will pepper in throughout the morning. This keeps

:21:45.:21:49.

the temperatures at around five or six for towns and cities. Perhaps

:21:50.:21:53.

down to two Celsius in the countryside. Another wild and windy

:21:54.:21:59.

one on Christmas Eve. Not as bad as the day, squally showers working

:22:00.:22:03.

through. Over the tops of the hills, there may be some sleet but that is

:22:04.:22:07.

the exception rather than the rule because the temperatures will be

:22:08.:22:10.

very mild, with sunshine popping up every now and again. But that is in

:22:11.:22:15.

short supply was the tail end of the day, you can see the rain start to

:22:16.:22:20.

get its act together. A brainy one, a show -- a brainy one, some

:22:21.:22:29.

showers, and a glimmer of sunshine. Into Christmas Day, the rain keeps

:22:30.:22:33.

coming. Overnight temperatures around eight or 9 degrees. As we

:22:34.:22:37.

pushed through and get up on Christmas morning, we are under

:22:38.:22:41.

another yellow warning for the more northern part of the region, the

:22:42.:22:44.

Isle of Man, Cumbria and Lancashire. Once again, with rain coming

:22:45.:22:50.

through, more really strong winds humming through. 50 or 60 mph in

:22:51.:22:58.

gusts. You could have 12 or 13 degrees. Boxing Day, still blustery

:22:59.:23:05.

but things will settle down. As you go through Tuesday and Wednesday and

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the rest of next week, the high pressure returns. Back to you.

:23:09.:23:15.

Could be a good day for getting up for a Boxing Day walk.

:23:16.:23:21.

I don't like a mild Christmas! It is not cold enough!

:23:22.:23:28.

Over the past few weeks we've heard some inspirational stories

:23:29.:23:32.

about people who really make a difference to other people's lives

:23:33.:23:38.

We started giving out our Christmas Stars in December a few years ago.

:23:39.:23:47.

this year, we've had more suggestions than ever.

:23:48.:23:57.

We try to mention as many as he could. We could not mention them

:23:58.:24:02.

all. MUSIC: Merry Christmas Everyone

:24:03.:24:03.

by Shakin' Stevens We all love you,

:24:04.:24:06.

and you really are a Christmas Star. I kind of don't need this award

:24:07.:24:10.

because you're all so lovely! # Time for parties

:24:11.:24:15.

and celebrations... # You've won a BBC North West

:24:16.:24:30.

Tonight Christmas Star. Well done, we're all

:24:31.:24:34.

very proud of you. # Time for presents

:24:35.:24:36.

and exchanging kisses... # # We're going to have

:24:37.:24:41.

a party tonight... # I'm going to miss those! We will

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have our first full programme in January. Lessons throughout the

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period of course. And from all the team here

:25:24.:25:29.

to you wherever you are tonight, We'll leave you with

:25:30.:25:32.

Manchester Inspirational Voices gospel choir singing O Come All Ye

:25:33.:25:35.

Faithful. Christmas is about family.

:25:36.:25:37.

I'll have that. Let's get this Christmas party

:25:38.:28:08.

started! Oh, my...

:28:09.:28:25.

Dai! Your gays have arrived.

:28:26.:28:50.

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