04/11/2013 South East Today

rest of the week. Thank you. That is all

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

Tonight's top stories. An exceptional daughter killed in a

freak accident. The father grieving after last week's storm speaks for

the first time. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to get through the

rest of my life, but you look around and people do that. People make it

through. We're live in Tunbridge Wells with the story. "Stop

dithering". The Mayor of London tells the Government to get on with

building a new airport off the Kent coast. It is the test your re`site

that offers the most phenomenal potential for growth, for Also in

tonight's programme... Housing and for regeneration. Cuadrilla takes a

long race on land at Bolton. Raising a glass to Humphrey Bogart. The

Surrey antiques dealer selling a unique memento from the African

Queen. From the Channel to top C, how Dover's ferry workers are hoping

to be named Workplace Choir of the Year.

Good evening. The father of a 17`year`old Kent girl killed when a

tree fell onto the caravan she was sleeping in during last week's storm

has described the moment he was told of the news. In his first interview

since the tragedy, Piers Freeman told BBC South East Today that his

daughter Bethany was exceptional. He says the family are devastated, but

it was a freak accident and Beth was in the wrong place at the wrong

time. Jon Hunt reports. Bethany Freeman died when a large tree cut

`` /caravanning gale forced winds a week ago today. Her father is

holding on the hope that she didn't suffer. I'd just finished a

conversation with a neighbour about how we'd been with getting away with

the storm. One of my sons called me and said this had happened. From

then on it was get there at all costs. I hope there weren't any

speed cameras because we probably went through with few of them. We

just have to get there. And when we did, the emergency services had

rescued her but she'd already passed away. According to Mr Freeman, Beth

was sleeping in the caravan while her mother's home was being

renovated, and he believes it was a freak accident. She was named after

mother Earth, her middle name was Guy, and she was taken by mother

Earth. I have to be fatalistic about it, it was one of those things.

Tragic, bizarre... Believe me, there's been many an hour in this

house going, wide, wide that tree, why that place, why that day? She

was a pupil at Tunbridge Wells girls Grammar School, played at county

level in hockey, cricket and netball. Last year, she marshalled

during the Olympic torch relay in Tunbridge Wells. She was an Olympic

ambassador. Endlessly happy and fond memories of her, proud memories of

her. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to get through the rest of my

life, but you look around and people do that, people make it through. So

will I. And so will her brothers and her mother, and so will all be

extended family. Mr Freeman hopes some good can come from the tragedy

and is discussing various ways of fundraising in her memory.

Jon joins us live from Tunbridge Wells where Bethany went to school.

Jon, I understand her school have today been remembering her? Yes,

because it's been half term, today is the first day that many of the

pupils have been back at school. They've been holding special

assemblies. After school today, some of Beth's closest friends were

laying flowers aren't holding a two minute silence. On Wednesday, all of

the children will be turning up in their sports kit, rather than the

uniform, as a tribute. Mr Freeman is very keen something good comes from

this tragedy. He's been overwhelmed by the messages of goodwill from

members of the public. He hoped some of that goodwill could be channelled

towards some kind of positive thing. Perhaps somebody committing a random

act of kindness, or maybe a charitable endeavour. He says it

would be great if one person, maybe just one person did something extra

in her memory. The Mayor of London has renewed his call for a new hub

airport to be built off the North Kent coast. Boris Johnson told the

Confederation of British Industry that it's time for the Government to

stop dithering, and to build a multi`runway airport east of London.

So what are the main options for the South East? Well, three years ago,

the mayor backed plans for a hub airport in the Thames Estuary `

nicknamed Boris Island. A year later the architect Norman Foster

announced his own scheme for a new airport on the Isle of Grain. And

this year Gatwick airport announced its plans for a second runway. Our

business correspondent Mark Norman has this report. Heathrow is full,

it is round, bursting at the seams. There is no earthly use building an

extra runway there or at Gatwick. This site, that offers the most

phenomenal potential for growth, housing and regeneration. The Mayor

of London at his most strident, arguing a new runway at Heathrow

with undeliverable, and that his idea of a new multi`billion pound

airport built on the Kent coast is the only solution to the apparent

crisis in airport capacity in the south`east. So Boris Johnson's

master plan is to see a four runway hub airport built to the east of

London, somewhere like this. He has talked about the so`called Boris

Island out in the Thames Estuary. That is Southend heading your way

off into London. Or perhaps you'd like to see the Norman Foster plan

built. Boar runways here on the Isle of Grain. He believes it will create

almost 400,000 jobs in the region and connect industry here to the

rest of the world. But this part of the world isn't convinced he's

right. The implications are placing an airport here has to be seriously

considered before going ahead with it. If you live here it is a bad

thing. People outside of the village, it's a chance for a job. I

think that Boris is just after publicity. I don't really think that

an airport down here would do us and the UK any good whatsoever. Even the

fact that Boris Johnson tells us a hub airport in the Thames could

create 375,000 jobs doesn't sway everyone. I wish Boris would move

on. Clearly the Isle of Grain is a most unsuitable place to build a

large airport to replace basically most of Heathrow are probably

Gatwick. No airlines want it, the operators of Heathrow and Gatwick

don't want it. There's no public money to produce the transport links

across London to the Isle of Grain. As Boris Johnson finished speaking,

everyone could perhaps agree with his final words, if not his

solution. End the dither, cut the cackle. Give London a hub airport

that is adequate and commensurate with the ambitions of the greatest

city on earth. In a moment, creating a buzz. The book about bumblebees

which has been short listed for a major prize. Campaigners against oil

drilling are worried tonight after learning that Cuadrilla has taken a

30 year lease at its test site in West Sussex. They have already been

protest against the possibility of a controversial technique of fracking

there. The firm says it has taken out a new lease so it can continue

its exploration plans. It was a long, hot summer of protest at

Bolcom. Campaigners fearing Cuadrilla drilling there could lead

to fracking in the future. Today, in the chill of autumn, the energy

company isn't active on the site but it's looking to return to work

here. Cuadrilla has signed a 30 year lease on the site. I had stilled

myself to, say, five years, but 30 years, that is such a long time,

it's a complete generation. For the mothers in the village with young

children, it means that their children will be grown`up and left

the village by the time this lease finishes. The energy firm issued a

statement. A small encampment remains near the

site, while there is currently a pause in Cuadrilla's operations

here. Fracking involves injecting a mixture of water, sand and chemicals

into rock at high pressure, which releases gas or oil and allows it to

flow to the head of the well. It has been linked to small earth tremors

in Lancashire. Campaigners in the US say it has leaked gas into the

drinking water. Cuadrilla is now applying for planning permission to

flow test the well at all comb, to see if oil can be extracted. We

believe this debate is important to be had. We think as the debate is

had, a lot of the stories and myths that are put out about fracking are

being shown up for what they are. It is important for the country that we

complete the exploration phase. If you look at opinion polls, the

majority of people are agreeing that exploration should be completed.

Cuadrilla stresses its planning application does not include a

request to carry out fracking. Campaigners are dismayed at the

company taking out a new lease, a commitment that stretches decades

into the future. Two men have each been sentenced to life in prison

with a minimum term of 16 years for the murder of a homeless man from

Hove. Michael Clark and Edward Philips were convicted on Friday of

killing 45`year`old Lee Williams, by hitting him on the head up to 30

times with an iron bar. Their friend, Lauren Bishop, has been

sentenced to 15 years for conspiracy to murder. A disturbance at

Maidstone prison happened after inmates were put on "lockdown" at

short notice, according to the Prison Officers Association. Riot

trained officers were brought in to deal with the disorder on Saturday,

which involved around 40 inmates. One ex`offender told us

communication at the jail for foreign nationals is a serious

problem. He's already a respected conservationist and a professor at

the University of Sussex, now the bee expert Dave Goulson could become

a prize winning author too. His book, A Sting In The Tail, about

reintroducing a species of bee to the Romney Marsh, has been short

listed for a prestigious award. He's up against another Sussex writer,

Charles Moore, and his biography of Margaret Thatcher. We will find out

who wins tonight. Regents Park may be quite a distance from the Romney

Marsh in more ways than one. Dave Goulson is in London for

tonightprizegiving ceremony, and the city bees have caught his attention.

There will be thousands of gardens, so at least some of them will have

some flowers for them. The flip side of that is in the countryside,

sadly, in the summer there aren't many flowers these days, so they

struggle to find food. Hence many B yields are low in the countryside

than they are in town. His book follows the decline of the

bumblebee, much of it due to intensive farming and the attempt to

reintroduce the short head variety, made extinct in the 80s, to the

Romney Marsh. Earlier this year in May, we released short head near

Dungeness. Really exciting. A couple of months later we found their

offspring. These were Queen bees that were released, so they'd

managed to nest. There's a good chance there are now short`haired

bumblebees back in Britain. That's a success story. A professor at Sussex

University, he founded the bumblebee conservation trust. He is used to

writing academic pieces. This, he hopes, will reach a wider audience.

It's a bit of a cry for help, a call for people to join in and do

something, because these animals are declining. We depend on them, as we

pollinate lots of things we like to eat, tomatoes, blueberries and

raspberries and so on. They need our help and we really ought to pay

attention because we depend on them ourselves. In the same way the Man

Booker Prize does for fiction, the Samuel Johnson prize pigs books

about any and every subject against each other. We started off with 188

books. That was whittled down to a long list of 13 or 14 will stop from

that, the judges have gone down to six and then tonight we are going

down to one. Whether or not he wins tonight, his mission to spread the

word about the importance of bumblebees will continue. Nick high

is that the Samuel Johnson prize giving and receiving for us. Two of

the six finalists have got this strong Sussex collection. Charles

Moore with his biography of Margaret Thatcher. What's your best guess and

who is likely to pick up the prize? I'm sure a lot of people will be

rooting for Charles Moore, it will be the definitive work on Margaret

Thatcher and contain some fascinating revelations from her

early life, drawn from letters she wrote to her sister. She had three

boyfriends before Denis Thatcher, she always denied that. But Dave

Goulson's `` Dave Goulson's book is very accessible. William

Dalrymple's story of the first disastrous British invasion of

Afghanistan in 1839, in which an entire British Army was wiped out.

And the book about the Italian poet, playwright, nationalists, who

was essentially the man who invented fascism. That is one to look for as

well. Our top story tonight. The father of Bethany Freeman, the

teenager killed when a tree fell on a caravan during last week's storm,

has paid tribute to his exceptional daughter. In his first interview

since the tragedy, Piers Freeman told us his family is devastated,

and her death was a freak accident. The men and women of Dover port

united in harmony, as they bid to be named Workplace Choir of the Year.

And though it brightened up this afternoon, it will not be staying

dry this week. They're well used to dealing with

rough seas, but can they cope with reaching a high C? Staff from P

Ferries in Dover are battling to prove that they are Britain's best

workplace choir. They're taking part in the latest TV show involving the

choirmaster Gareth Malone, and they'll even give a performance in

French and English. Ian Palmer's been to meet them and joins us from

Dover. We could have seen the Dover

workplace choir take place in the first series. Nonetheless, this time

130 people auditioned to take part in the show and this is what

happened next. # Hey, Mr Miller, what a spring you

bring to the band. Seven of the 23 piece singing group

in Dover. There's no doubt this sweet sound has been honed by Gareth

Malone. I would like all the Sopranos on courtside, I would like

the bases on stoppered side and the tenors midship. When you are one

23rd of a whole choir that is making this terrific noise, you can't help

but be exhilarated. It's almost an out of body

experience. You are taken to another place which you can't do by singing

on your own. But with all of you together, the sound and the feeling

is phenomenal. We will never forget this. It has been amazing. And it

has created such a bond between all of us. We can't stop singing now!

For one session a choirmaster used the cliffs as a rehearsal room.

# Somewhere beyond the sea... The choir members didn't know each

other before the project which, for warehouse supervisor Dean Squires,

made it easier to say no to requests. You now know a few more

faces. Yes, I know Jeff through lack writing on an e`mail. Quite often,

no, you can't have it. I want it, well, you can't have it. That is the

kind of communication we would have. Don't you feel that when you are

singing with someone it is much easier to communicate with them?

When it's rubbish it doesn't, but when it sounds good then you feel

you've known each other a long time. The workplace here in Dover has

never been happier. It's a transformation made possible by the

power of voice and song. The series kicks off at 8pm tonight on BBC

Two. My sources tell me that we will be hearing a lot more from that

choir before the year is out. Just in case you were wondering, the

audition piece they had to sing was I am sailing, by Rod Stewart. If you

had to audition, Rob and Natalie, which song would you choose?

He was around during what many describe as the Golden Age of

Hollywood, and he starred in such films as The African Queen and

Casablanca. More than 50 years after Humphrey Bogart's death, there is

still a great demand for his memorabilia. A set of initialled

small and large glasses that he gave to one of his fans after making The

African Queen film are to be sold by a Sussex antiques dealer. Fiona

Irvine has this report. Know, the other way. The African Queen, the

film that one Humphrey Bogart his only Oscar. He later bragged he was

the only one not to fall ill whilst filming in the Congo, because he

drank whiskey, not the local water. It made sense that a gift to Bill

Rowland Hill, a friend onset, carried on the alcoholic theme,

engraved with his initials. Humphrey Bogart offered him 12 glasses, he

obviously took six large ones and six small. Over the years he has

broken one of the large ones, so we have 11 glasses here. They are part

of history because they belonged to one of the great actors of the

middle of the 20th century. They are associated with a film which was his

only Academy award. The glasses on sale at the Olympia Winter fair in

London ?1000 each. For anyone in doubt that these were Humphrey

Bogart's glasses, they come with a letter. Before I leave for home, I

want to say a big thank you from the bottom of my heart. I wanted to send

you some hooch, but on second thoughts I want you to have

something to put it in. This is the letter that Humphrey Bogart wrote to

his friend, offering from a set of glasses. In letters to fans he would

sign his name Humphrey Bogart. But in this one he affectionately signs

of, Bogie. They are a once in a generation thing. He was making

films at a time that American films were travelling the world. Because

there wasn't a television, video, DVD and the internet to compete with

it, these films would be on repeat all of the time. Some of them would

have a life`cycle of years. They would come back again and again.

People would be tremendously familiar with these films and the

people involved in them. With interest in the glasses from across

the globe, it appears the Humphrey Bogart legend still captivates

people. Still the stuff dreams are made of.

Football now, and it was a good weekend for fans of Brighton,

Charlton and Gillingham, all recording wins. But Crawley didn't

manage to make it a clean sweep for our league teams, slipping to their

third defeat in a row. Here's Paul Siegert. Two late goals earned

brightened their first win since September the 28th, as they beat

Doncaster. This superb 35 yard effort put them ahead after just

eight minutes. It was a lead they held until the 75th minute, when

Chris Brown levelled for the hosts. But with the site is heading for a

point apiece, Leroy Lita bundled home from close range to restore

pride in's advantage. Then David Lopez capped the victory with a free

kick. The wind takes brightened up to 12th place. Charlton extended

their unbeaten run in the Championship to five games, thanks

to a 1`0 win away to Birmingham. Dale Stephens struck 12 minutes into

second time and fired at an open goal at close range. The win takes

Charlton up to 17th place. It was three defeats on the bounce for

Crawley town. The latest defeat was at home to Brentford. The only goal

of the game coming from the penalty spot after Harris was tripped. Adam

Forshaw made no mistake from the spot. Gillingham narrowly beat

Carlisle, also thanks to a penalty. Danny Kedwell converted for his

sixth goal in six games. It is not long to go now until our

annual fundraising for Children in Need. This year there's a new weight

you can help raise money. We've taken to the streets to explain bit

more. # Were raising money for Children in

Need on November 13. # It's a night of comedy, so we are

waving our fee. # To avoid the publicity.

You can join me at the Trinity Theatre in Tunbridge Wells on

Wednesday, November 13th. You can get the tickets online or by

calling the box office. The weather hasn't been funny over the last

week, but today we had a welcome bit of sunshine.

This week it's going to be blustery, cold and we will be seeing

rain at times, too. Staying pretty unsettled. It brightened up nicely

this afternoon. The cloud and rain from this morning cleared. It has

felt rather chilly. The reason for that these north`westerly winds. Not

particularly strong, but really making things feel chilly. A chilly

afternoon but lots of sunshine around. As we go through the first

part of this evening, we've got the clear skies and temperatures will be

tumbling. Then there's lots of cloud cover and rain developing. Clear

skies initially, temperatures dropping to around two or three

degrees. Overnight lows of around five or six degrees. The winds will

be picking up as well. The rain, by the time we get to dawn, could be

quite heavy, particularly for the rush hour. The reason for the rain

is that weather front which clears out of the way. Behind it, it stays

very windy but it will be brightening up nicely. Temperatures

across the board always feeling rather cool. Heavy rain first thing

in the morning. It eases through the afternoon and brightens up from the

West from about 1pm. Temperatures around 11 or 12 degrees. Still 15 to

20 mph for the wind speeds. Through the first part of tomorrow evening

we stay dry. The cloud will be thickening from the West and further

outbreaks of brain as you start the day on Wednesday. It a lot milder,

similar to the daytime highs we will be seeing tomorrow. As you go into

Wednesday, really picture, we could have gale force winds along the

south coast. It stays wet and windy. It's going to be feeling a lot

cooler with that unsettled weather. The rain eventually eases into

Thursday. It will be another wet start to the day and it stays

breezy, brightening up a bit by the afternoon but not as much sunshine

as we are seeing today. Into Friday, some blustery showers. Unsettled

over the next couple of days. The winds staying strong as they go into

Friday as well. Temperatures doing well together dashed back it much

about 12 or 13 degrees. Very wet. Bonfires will suffer as well. I will

be back at 8pm and with the late bulletin at 10:25pm. That's it.

Goodbye. A family memoir that captured

the hearts of millions. A potter telling stories

out of porcelain