18/07/2011 South East Today


18/07/2011

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Welcome to South East Today, I'm Rob Smith.

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And I'm Polly Evans. Tonight's top stories:

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They may have to sell their home - the parents facing a bill of tens

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of thousands to fly their seriously injured son back from Bali. It's

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like the most awful nightmare, you know. You know... I just want

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Richard home. We are live in Westminster asking what the Foreign

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Office can do to help. The primary school pupils

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distraught their Canadian teacher is facing deportation in a row over

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her visa. Also in tonight's programme:

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engaged to be married - the woman who had her face rebuilt in Sussex

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after an acid attack left her terribly scarred.

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The Margate beach boys - celebrating the dudes who pioneered

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surfing in Kent. And making his public debut at just

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three months old - Tsito, the rare baby black lemur at a Sussex

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Good evening. The parents of a man from Kent

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seriously injured in a motorbike accident in Indonesia say they may

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have to sell their home in order to get him back home. Richard Plummer

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is still in a coma in a hospital in Bali. His pregnant girlfriend is

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with him. But his travel insurance had lapsed

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- and Richard's parents Eric and June Plummer have already spent

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more than �20,000 in medical bills. They could end up having to pay

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another �100,000 to have him flown home. Lynda Hardy reports.

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The pain of her son's situation is clear. It is like the most awful

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nightmare, you know. You know... I just want Richard home.

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After first travelling there two years ago, Richard returned to Bali

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from a visit home to Maidstone in February, back to his pregnant

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Indonesian girlfriend. But discovered two weeks ago

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unconscious by the roadside after a motorbike accident, he's now in a

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coma, stranded in a local hospital in the country, without travel

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insurance. It's so far cost his parents over

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�7,000 in medical bills, �15,000 for a medical air fare to a

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specialist hospital in Singapore - an option which eventually fell

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through - and they now face a bill of �96,000 to repatriate their son

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If there is an option, it is selling the house. To be quite

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honest, I don't know. I haven't got an option. I am 75, there are not

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many people going to have blown me much money at the age of 75. It is

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going to have come to the stage where I can't pay any more -- and

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loaned me money. What will happen to Richard, I don't know. Whether

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they will just ceased to treat him, I don't know.

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Richard had let his travel insurance lapse, after apparently

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failing to renew it due to a lack of money. As this case highlights,

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medical bills, if you fall seriously ill while abroad, can be

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horrendous. As can the cost of getting someone back to the UK in a

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specially adapted air ambulance. Tens of thousands, even hundreds of

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thousands of pounds. It is this risk alone that makes travel

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insurance essential for anyone travelling overseas. His parents'

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local MP is now trying to help the couple to travel out to Indonesia

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to see their son in hospital. have been with the family for much

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of the weekend and it is a dreadfully sad situation, although

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they are brave, strong people and they want their son home. The

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response to the local community has been absolutely amazing ended less

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than 48 hours, we have raised �4,500 to get Mr and Mrs Plummer

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and their son on a plane to go and see Richard and when they are there,

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they will assess the situation and determined what we need to either

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get Richard home or getting to the better facility in another country.

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-- get him. Meanwhile, the family have set up a

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website to appeal for donations to help raise what seems to them like

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an unachievable amount of money to bring Richard home.

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Lynda Hardy joins us live now from Westminster. We heard in your

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report that the family's MP is helping. Is there anything more the

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Foreign Office can do? Well, Helen Grant, who as you heard

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in my report, the MP for Maidstone, told me that she and the family are

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liaising with the foreign office but they will not pay to repatriate

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Richard. She did say however that they were providing consular

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assistance out in Bali in the form of an Indonesian interpreter who is

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contacting the hospital and translating medical report back to

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the family in Kent. Tomorrow, Eric and June Plummer and their eldest

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son will fly out to Indonesia to see Richard in hospital. While they

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are there, efforts will continue back here to try and get Richard

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home, despite the cost. Parents at a Kent school are

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fighting to save one of their teachers from being deported. Kylie

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Wheatley from Canada has been teaching on the Isle of Sheppey for

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two years. But when she tried to prolong her

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stay at West Minster Primary School, the Home Office said her visa

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couldn't be extended and she'd have to go. Simon Jones reports.

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Protests at the school gates, to try and save a teacher who will

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leave the country on Sunday. I am devastated, to be honest. I know it

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is going to be an emotional roller- coaster. I want to stay, it is not

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ready my choice at all, I would rather continue my life here -- if

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not really. She has three degrees from Canada, but that, it seems, is

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not enough. When we found dead, we were really upset and I don't think

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it is fair that she has to go -- found out. She is one of the top

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teachers. We feel Robb, considering she has already been here two years.

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Before she taught me, I didn't believe in myself and I was one

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year behind. But now she has stepped into my education, I am one

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year ahead of what I am supposed to be. I really don't want her to go.

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Kylie Wheatley came here on what is called a youth mobility visa, which

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allowed her to work for two years. Now that time is up, the UK Border

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Agency says the only option is for her to return to Canada. She can

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apply from there to come back to England, but she says she has been

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told that because it is a different kind of visa, her qualifications

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she has used for the past two years will not be significantly

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recognised. Their ideas to give British people a chance rather than

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relying on people from abroad. have to abide -- make sure that we

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can make a realistic problems too young school leavers.

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Department for Education's says the proposals make it easier for

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schools to it employee Bonn EU Those proposals could take effect

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next year. But it is too late for this teacher.

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In a moment: Celebrating a successful open in Sandwich after

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Darren Clarke's win at his 20th Sundeep was just 22 when she was

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terribly scarred, after acid was thrown in her face in an apparently

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random attack. It was feared she would lose her right eye after the

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incident near her home in Kenya. But her uncle, who lives in Britain,

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put her in touch with the pioneering McIndoe Surgical Centre

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at East Grinstead, in Sussex, and over the last six years they have

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rebuilt her face - and helped rebuild her life. Sara Smith has

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been to meet her. Sundeep had been in the car with

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her father when somebody threw acid over have. That person has never

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been identified and she has never found out why she was attacked. Her

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eyelids, her top lip and part of her nose burnt away. The rest of

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her face and her shoulders and chest were terribly scarred.

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first time I saw it, it was a shock. It was really upsetting. It felt

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like the world was coming to an end. There was no hope that I would get

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better. Everything felt like it has gone in a second. For had she

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stayed in Kenya, she would almost certainly have lost her sight

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plummeted. But her case was taken on by surgeons at McIndoe Surgical

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Centre in East Grinstead. More than 30 operations later, the results

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were clear. She needed operations on her upper eyelids, surgery to

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her neck, and subsequently to her upper lip and to her hair, to try

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and expanded, because she had a large bald patch. The -- expand it.

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They have done an amazing job and I feel really lucky that I got them

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to treat me and help me to reach this far. It makes me feel like I

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still can live like a normal person. Just that, going back to work and

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marrying her fiance. She admits while in hospital, he was good --

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he was going to tell her it was over. Good times and bad times, why

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can't we be together? It never came across my mind that I would say

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that. Because she is the same person? Yes. While the medical

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staff gave their time for free, the rest was pay for by a a McIndoe

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Surgical Centre support group and Sundeep's family. Now they are

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trying to raise more to continue the surgery.

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A friend of a woman accused of murdering her two young children

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told Lewes Crown Court today that she had seemed "nervous" when she

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saw her a day earlier, but that nothing she did made her concerned

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for the youngsters' welfare. The bodies of three-year-old Harry and

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two-year-old Elise Donnison were found in the boot of a car near

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their former family home in Heathfield in January last year.

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Fiona Donnison denies two counts of murder.

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A conman nicknamed "Champagne Charlie", who is believed to have

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tricked people out of more than �11,000, may be in Brighton,

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according to Sussex police. The man offers people bottles of Bollinger

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at a bargain price, but when they hand over cash, he never returns.

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The man has the name "Sharon" tattooed on his forearm.

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It is claimed that cuts to Border Agency staff are allowing some

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lorries to pass through Calais without undergoing sufficient

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checks for illegal immigrants. The Immigration Services Union says the

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number of UK Border Agency staff dedicated to freight checks in the

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French port has been halved from 160 down to 80 Bishop. -- this year.

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The evidence shows up, the statistics show, there has been a

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70% reduction in the number of their legal getting through in the

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last two years. -- illegals. So we have seen a sharp reduction.

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The Bishop of Tonbridge has entered the assisted dying debate. The

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Right Reverend Dr Brian Castle says "society has forgotten the art of

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dying". He also says many people are no longer willing to submit to

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the mystery of death. The comments are in response to a

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BBC documentary which showed a man taking his own life at the so-

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called Swiss suicide clinic, Dignitas. Ian Palmer reports.

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He believes in an afterlife, but the Bishop of Tonbridge feels some

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of us are not treating this life with enough respect. So often, we

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have forgotten that death is a mystery. We often treated a bit

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like an ordinary everyday event, and it is something so much more

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mysterious and significant. I and 62 and I was diagnosed with

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Alzheimer's three years ago -- I am. Terry Pratchett wants assisted

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dying to be legalised in this country. The author followed a man

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with motor neurone disease to Swizterland. The last moments of

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Peter Smedley's life were shown on British television. Although he

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didn't watch the programme, the documentary prompted the Bishop of

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Tonbridge to write a letter to the Church Times. I think that we live

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in a society which tries to encourage us to try and control

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everything we do from the moment we get up until the moment we go to

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bed. And it is encouraging us to think we can control everything.

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Ultimately, death is something we cannot control, and I think that

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what the assisted suicide debate tries to do and what clinics like

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Dignitas try to do is show us that we can control death. We may be

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able to control the moment of death, but we cannot control the process

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of dying. But Jon Bray disagrees. His son

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Simon died last month. The father of two endured months of pain. Mr

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Bray says Simon wanted to end his life in Swizterland but wasn't

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strong enough to make the trip. had the necessary drugs to put him

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down, and I was too frightened to use them. Subsequently, I learned

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from my GP that in fact, they would not have worked, because if he was

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so full of morphia. But I felt very guilty that I couldn't help him in

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his hour of need, because he was a lucky boy. -- lovely.

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Two men - two arguments,disunited over death. Both had the courage to

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speak out. Will the nation follow A Maidstone couples so they may

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have to sell the house in order to get their son home from Indonesia.

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He was left unconscious after a motorcycle crash two weeks ago.

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Also in tonight's programme. Celebrating 50 years of going on a

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surfing safari in Thanet. And he is at baby black lemur. He

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Families in an East Sussex town struggling with their shopping

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bills are being offered free food. The food bank in Eastburn is the

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first in the South East but is one of 117 in the country. Between them

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last year they fed 61,500 people. That is a rise up of 50% on the

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previous year. In tonight's special report, we met the people who say

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the food bank is an invaluable service.

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Daniel is 16 and living in a hostel for young homeless people. Without

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the food bank, he would have gone hungry. His benefit payments have

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been delayed so he does not have enough money for food. It is so

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simple. You just get referred there. They are so nice there. They give

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up their own time to give you the whole -- to give you the food.

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donated food is collected from schools, churches and supermarkets.

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In the last few weeks, they have stockpiled almost a one-ton. Some

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people have brought carrier bags full of stuff. It has been quite

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amazing. The people who had been receiving the food, they have been

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so grateful. It has been amazing. In a lot of instances they have

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nowhere else to time. This is the first food bag in the South East

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outside London. Another is planned for the Medway towns. The food is

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stored here and sorted into boxes like these. Each box contains three

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days' worth of food. It is designed to be quick and helpful. If the

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adventurers are distributed by health visitors and parents'

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support -- parent support advisers. The EC demand here is huge.

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significant number of the family is that we are working with our

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suffering real financial hardship. It is really good to know that

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there is an organisation that is devoted to getting some real

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practical help for these families. Daniel is returning to college in

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September and eventually is hoping to join the Army. Until then, the

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feedback is helping him through a difficult time. -- through to bank.

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Malibu, Bondi, Broadstairs, at the names of the world's great surfing

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beaches just chip off the tongue, do they not? Perhaps this that

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coast does not have quite the same international cachet but people

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have been surfing here for a long time.

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They were first inspired by the sound of the Californian beach boys

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and an exhibition celebrating this Meet the Beach Boys. Bronzed, up

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bare-breasted, this is the 1960s and the surf is up along the east

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coast. East coast of Kent, that is. Et it was the music of the Beach

:18:13.:18:23.
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Boys. It is the magic of the waves and meeting your friends and all

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the things that go with it. That whole complex of lifestyle.

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Interaction of surfboards, music, the beach, fashion and going into

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sour. This is the story of the pioneering at surfers of Thanet,

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told in pictures, music and of course through their surfboards.

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This is the first surfboard that came to Kent. Yes. In 1966. Being

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seen driving around with this on the roof was so cool! People could

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not understand, they thought we were just showing off. But we had

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discovered some awesome serve nearby and suddenly everyone around

:19:11.:19:21.
:19:21.:19:27.

Some people who make their way here will be surprised to find that

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there is a surfing theme here. They are calling it the Bechtel and that

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will be the way that many people remember it out there. -- the Big

:19:38.:19:44.

Chill. We all share the same experiences. Freezing water cold

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wind, chilblains! There is something about the surface. They

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were all smiling then and gathering round today, they still seem to

:19:54.:20:01.

have the last laugh. Brave or crazy?

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Freezing rains, it sounds like the Open!

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Speaking of which, it may have read a lot but it was most certainly not

:20:09.:20:18.

at damp squid -- squib. Darren Clarke one of the title at his 20th

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attempt. Our correspondent has been there

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all way through and is still there. He is with two people who have

:20:25.:20:31.

their own reasons were smiling. It is hard to believe that just 24

:20:31.:20:34.

hours ago this stand was jam-packed with people waiting to celebrate

:20:34.:20:44.

with Darren Clarke. That is where he picked up the Claret Jug. Many

:20:44.:20:47.

people watched some wonderful golf and endured some terrible weather,

:20:47.:20:50.

but by common consent this was one of the most wonderful open

:20:50.:21:00.
:21:00.:21:17.

I have never done anything anywhere near as good as this. It is just

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incredible. I have loved it. I have been to every Open since 1981 that

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:21:36.:21:41.

they have had down here. It is We have time that today and my

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friend who is with me has gone back to the Bar because he has had

:21:45.:21:52.

enough. I will plonk myself tenure for an hour to and see our goal. --

:21:52.:22:02.
:22:02.:22:06.

down here. I was hoping that if I was hit by anyone's ball, it should

:22:06.:22:16.
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Fish it -- the support that you have shown me has helped me to

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stand here, so to you all, thank you so, so, much from all my heart,

:22:30.:22:36.

thank you. For Darren Clarke it was a fairy-tale but there were plenty

:22:36.:22:41.

of other wonderful stories as well. This man qualified from one of the

:22:41.:22:47.

local clubs. It was incredible. You cannot put into words how it felt

:22:47.:22:51.

out there. They cried watching you and applauding your moves and

:22:51.:22:56.

family and friends what you, it was just incredible. And it has

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revitalised a golfing career? Massively. I have got sponsorship

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and I'm going out to the States later in the year to try and

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qualified for the PGA tour. I hope to have a good year next year.

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you have impressed some American golfers. Yes. I have played a

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couple of practice rounds with them. One let me stay at his house. He is

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also going to pay for me to go out to the States. David, at great

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golfing success. Commercially? We know that the last Open produced an

:23:33.:23:36.

economic impact of around 100 million times. I do not think we

:23:36.:23:43.

will be far from that this weekend. The shops were beamed all over the

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world. This is the close as part of the country to northern Europe so

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we expect holidaymakers and tourists to come here. Thank you

:23:52.:23:58.

very much. It could be 10 years before it returns but in the

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meantime we have some terrific memories.

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He is only three months old and has been born at a zoo in East Sussex.

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He is a Madagascar and black lemur, they are very rare. He has just

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started to come down off his mother's back to explore.

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Claiming to mum. The orderly of faith, but then back to claim to

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mum. Here are some vital stats. He was born in April and his favoured

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foot, despite what you see here, is peer. It is plain. That is all he

:24:41.:24:46.

is interested in. He goes around the other lemurs to try end Errity

:24:46.:24:56.
:24:56.:25:20.

them and have a good time. -- Black lemurs usually carry their

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children for up to six months. He is now a two-month old and he is

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getting increasingly confident. His dad came to this to -- to this do

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from Tunis the app and his mum from Portugal, as part of the European

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endangered species programme. Here though, life is good. Dad is at

:25:42.:25:50.

hand to fend off the masses Welsh he puts up his own fight for food.

:25:50.:25:56.

-- whilst he puts up his own fight. He is almost as cute as Michael

:25:56.:26:06.

I have found our summer. The trouble is that is 1000 miles away

:26:06.:26:11.

and it is not coming away. Today, we had a giant swirling Catherine

:26:11.:26:17.

wheel across the country. Loads of cloud and showers sweeping around.

:26:17.:26:22.

That is an area of low pressure. That will drift away northwards in

:26:22.:26:27.

the next few hours, at the weather will hardly change it will be cool

:26:27.:26:33.

and sherry. Hardly anything is going to change for the last at --

:26:33.:26:40.

rest of the week. -- cool and showery. Moore low-pressure will

:26:40.:26:49.

come in from the south-west. That will trigger some heavy rain. We

:26:49.:26:55.

have had a fair number of showers. They will keep going into the

:26:55.:27:02.

evening. Those showers will continue through the evening, they

:27:02.:27:07.

will fade away in the early hours so that most places will have a try

:27:07.:27:12.

end to the night. Actually might also, temperatures down to 11

:27:12.:27:20.

degrees in some places. A chilly night. There could be the odd heavy

:27:20.:27:25.

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