03/01/2017 South Today - Oxford

Coming up: Protests over rail fare rises.

The passengers angry about the increases that add

Also, are businesses looking less rosy

Why some firms have seen their costs grow.

And this week will be chilly at times

I'll have the weather for the week ahead shortly.

There have been protests against fare increases at rail

Ticket prices are going up by an average of 2.3%.

Campaigners say some passengers spend up to 14% of their income

on a monthly season ticket to London - far higher than comparable

But the government insists it's spending billions of pounds

In Oxford this morning, opinion was split about whether

I feel that the train service over here is actually pretty poor.

The prices that we pay over here are completely outrageous.

I am dependent on public transport and I understand both sides

of the story but it does feel in other places

I think it's great value for money taking the train, given

the growing cost of cars, gas and car ownership.

The average increase of 1.9% in the Thames Valley means

the annual cost for some passengers will go up by around ?90.

Great Western Rail passengers travelling from Oxford to London

will now pay ?4920 per year - previously it was ?4830.

Meanwhile if you are from Swindon travelling to the capital,

it will now cost more than ?4300 per year.

Campaigners have claimed it's a "kick in the teeth" for passengers.

They say public ownership would be better than

If you're a commuter often you haven't got a choice,

you've got to take the train, but for some people it probably

will affect their decision, especially if the price of petrol

goes down because that is what they're measuring it against.

Rail prices still remain very competitive when compared to the car

It says it's spending millions on modifying the railway

and with everyone's wages going up, it's good value for money.

Police are hunting for two Asian men in their 30s after a man

was threatened at knife-point at a restaurant in High Wycombe.

It happened at the Lane End Tandoori on the high street,

A 50-year-old man was tied up and threatened with a knife.

Two men stole cash, a driving license and bank cards.

Some businesses claim they're already being hit by price

The fall in the value of the pound since the EU referendum has made it

more expensive for some companies to buy products

There are concerns the extra expense could now be passed on to shoppers.

Here's our political reporter, Bethan Phillips.

Shoppers are busy hitting the January sales in Oxford.

But could we be on the verge of a price shock

Experts have been telling me that most companies

buy their stock in advance, so the things we're picking up

in the shops now were originally purchased before

But that change is inevitably catching up with businesses

and it's predicted by many that price rises will be passed on

Rosa Ashby runs a flower shop in Witney.

She says she's already being hit by price hikes

At the minute we are trying to shoulder it, but obviously

there's only so much you can take as a small business.

Therefore we don't have the wherewithal to go on.

We have to pass some of it on eventually.

But others say Brexit is a big opportunity.

I think the fall in the value of the pound,

which I don't think will be long-term, is an opportunity

for people to get out there and sell their products.

And we're doing exactly that and we're looking at

opening a retail premises in Singapore, of all places.

Shoppers in Oxford say so far they haven't noticed much

Most of our shopping's being done in the last week

so we got a lot of bargains, haven't really seen any

A lot of sales around before Christmas, which usually

there isn't, so before Christmas we got a lot of sales,

In the food department, yeah, I've noticed price rises there,

but not clothing, because everything seems to be discounted.

It's still not known how exactly leaving the EU will affect prices

and our economy and how long the pound will remain weak.

But in times of uncertainty, the message from experts

is to pick up bargains now while they're still around.

A fire at a school in Bicester on New Year s Day is being treated

The storage space at Bardwell School was completely destroyed.

Teachers say the play equipment lost in the fire is vital to students

People have been donating bikes and thousands of pounds has been

raised to replace the toys and storage unit.

A sports pavilion in Oxford, worth ?800,000,

Windows and doors of the building in Cutteslowe Park were

The pavilion only opened in September.

It was paid for by Oxford City Council, the FA and Premier League.

It's home to Summertown Stars AFC - the biggest young people's

A song written and performed by a vocal coach from Witney has

been viewed a hundred thousand times around the word.

Shukrananda Gant's mother secretly filmed her at Lincoln Cathedral

Shukrananda, also known as Shuk, came into the studio earlier

and I asked her how she reacted when she found out

I just thought, I'm going to roll with this,

I need to just roll with it, so I rolled with it

How does it feel that tens of thousands of people have seen it?

It's pretty mind-blowing, I've been quite stunned but also

so grateful for all the lovely support I'm getting from people.

It's wonderful and I'm really grateful.

It's really lit a fire up my backside!

Because until now it was you supporting other people

because you're a vocal coach, so you've been the one giving

all the encouragement and support and now you're getting a bit

Yes, in a big way, I do love my students and they have

been very supportive, the ones who have seen it,

This isn't your first adventure into the music industry, is it?

No, I've had quite a journey with my musical career.

Ten years ago now I was in a little band of travelling monks

because I became a monk, which is where my name

Shukrananda comes from, we were travelling around Mexico

singing about love and we were offered a record deal there and it

unfortunately turned out to be not at all what we thought it was,

so it was very disappointing at the time and it's just one

of those things, but I'm really happy, I've been

writing for the whole time, it's wonderful to get

And when you say you're a monk, you're not a monk in a conventional

No, this is called a shai monk and it's kind of a modern-day monk,

so you're living in the world, like a normal person,

wearing normal clothes but you have an intense commitment

in your life which kind of is your main thing and for me

that commitment is love, which is, I guess, reflected

in the song I wrote, it's all about love.

So tell me about the future because you wrote this song,

Yes, do you know what would be so wonderful, and I'm just

going to put it out there, is I would like to find my Yoda,

so I would like to find a manager, someone to work with who I can just

really get out there, I'd like to find my dream team

of creative people to work with and just explode love

Alexis will be looking ahead to the rest of the week.

it was a very chilly night last night with a low of minus six and

tonight will not be as cold but tomorrow we are looking at a

widespread frost, so this week, a chilly start to the week, we will

see some frost and four, some sunshine and the possibility of

tonight there is a risk of frost and tonight there is a risk of frost and

for in the countryside but the cloud is already starting to arrive for

Northern areas, spilling south during the night with those in most

places around three Celsius. Outbreaks of light and patchy rain

tomorrow morning, cloud will disappear and sunny spells will make

an appearance in the afternoon with a high of eight Celsius at the keen

north-westerly breeze will take the edge of temperatures. A lovely end

to the day tomorrow and under clearing skies tomorrow night we are

looking at a widespread frost, maybe some mist and fog patches, patchy

eyes on untreated surfaces with temperatures dropping even in towns

and cities to 2-3 C, so minus six is a possibility in the countryside.

Cold and frosty to start Thursday, the wind is lighter than recent days

and in the sunshine temperatures will struggle to a height of maybe

four Celsius and in some parts a height of just two Celsius, so

bitterly cold but it will be pleasant in sheltered spots in the

sunshine. Through Friday, a weather front moves in bringing some rain

during the day. After a dry but potentially frosty start to the day

on Friday, another ridge of high pressure will start to build in in

time for the weekend, so as we look ahead to the rest of the week,

tomorrow sunny spells, a cold start to Thursday, Friday cloud will

increase later milder later in the week. That is it

from me but coming up next is the national picture. Good evening. But

frost or not of frost, that is the weather question for tomorrow and

the answer is no, probably not because of this weather front that

is slipping south from Scotland, maybe towards the south-west where

we might have one or