:00:03. > :00:06.Hello, I'm Sally Taylor. Welcome to South Today. In tonight's
:00:06. > :00:09.programme: An inquest hears evidence that the
:00:09. > :00:14.actions of a pilot in a fatal air crash may have avoided a much
:00:14. > :00:19.greater tragedy. Testing times - ticket sales and
:00:19. > :00:21.the weather prove a challenge for Hampshire's first ever Test match.
:00:21. > :00:29.A personal crusade - the father appealing for donations for
:00:29. > :00:33.research into a cancer which hit his daughter.
:00:33. > :00:35.She was not well at all and could easily have died. It is a living
:00:35. > :00:41.nightmare. And all aboard - the commuters
:00:41. > :00:45.determined to arrive with a smile on their faces.
:00:45. > :00:55.You are never quite sure if people want to join in, and it is quite
:00:55. > :00:55.
:00:55. > :00:56.An inquest has been told of eyewitness accounts of seeing a
:00:56. > :01:04.light aircraft spiralling vertically downwards before
:01:04. > :01:09.crashing and bursting into flames. Two men, both experienced airmen
:01:09. > :01:12.from Dorset, were killed instantly in the accident in April last year.
:01:12. > :01:15.At the inquest in Winchester today, their families were told the pair
:01:15. > :01:17.may have chosen to deliberately avoid making the recommended
:01:17. > :01:20.emergency landing at Thruxton race circuit because a motor sports
:01:20. > :01:30.event was being held there, and they feared attempting to land
:01:30. > :01:32.
:01:32. > :01:35.could have put many more lives at risk. Allen Sinclair reports.
:01:35. > :01:39.The blackened wreckage give some idea of the force of impact and
:01:39. > :01:44.ferocity of the fire which followed it in April last year when the
:01:44. > :01:50.light aircraft came down, ironically as the two men on board
:01:50. > :01:55.flew home from an air safety show. At the controls was a local
:01:55. > :02:01.hospital consultant who had held a pilot's licence for several years.
:02:01. > :02:04.His passenger, Richard Wheeler, had previously held a pilot's licence.
:02:04. > :02:08.Several eyewitnesses described seeing what they first took to be a
:02:08. > :02:12.model aircraft nose-diving towards the ground before disappearing
:02:12. > :02:16.behind trees. A number rushed to the scene when they saw smoke
:02:16. > :02:21.rising from the site, but it was clear nothing could be done.
:02:21. > :02:25.Moments before, the pilot had put out a mayday reporting the cabin
:02:25. > :02:28.filling with smoke. Air accident investigators concluded an
:02:28. > :02:33.electrical fault may have given off perfumes, leaving the men
:02:33. > :02:38.disorientated. It was an unavoidable accident. As the
:02:38. > :02:43.coroner said, we are confident he wasn't able pilot and did
:02:43. > :02:47.everything he could. He was an excellent father, excellent husband,
:02:47. > :02:51.and has left a big hole in our lives. Their men were committed
:02:51. > :02:58.Christians who met through their church. They were two honourable
:02:58. > :03:03.man of great stature, and they were well respected and looked up to buy
:03:03. > :03:06.a large number of people. coroner said the pilot, Mr Hoskins,
:03:06. > :03:10.had shown considerable presence of mind and may have chosen
:03:10. > :03:14.deliberately to avoid the recommended emergency landing at
:03:14. > :03:18.Thruxton in order to minimise the risk to the many thousands of
:03:18. > :03:23.people attending a motorsport event there that day. In recording a
:03:23. > :03:25.verdict of accidental death, he expressed hope that the families
:03:25. > :03:33.would take some comfort from the fact the men did not suffer and die
:03:33. > :03:36.doing something they left. -- died doing something they looked.
:03:36. > :03:39.The world of international cricket is gearing itself up for a first
:03:39. > :03:43.tomorrow - a test match at Hampshire's Rose Bowl. But with
:03:43. > :03:46.just a day to go before England take on Sri Lanka, only two thirds
:03:46. > :03:49.of the tickets for the opening day have been sold. Hosting the match
:03:49. > :03:52.was a sealed bidding process, but it is understood the Rose Bowl paid
:03:52. > :03:56.more than �1 million to secure the event. There are 15,000 tickets on
:03:56. > :03:59.sale per day across the five days. But, at the moment, only 10,000
:03:59. > :04:03.tickets are expected to be sold for the first day. Roger Johnson is at
:04:03. > :04:11.the ground tonight. Has the game really caught the appetite of the
:04:11. > :04:16.paying public? I am not sure that it hasn't, but
:04:16. > :04:20.you are quite right, there are plenty of tickets available. But,
:04:20. > :04:24.for me, this is one of the finest arenas around for watching cricket,
:04:24. > :04:30.no doubt, and that is why Hampshire build the Rose Bowl and moved out
:04:30. > :04:34.of Southampton a decade ago. Sri Lanka are not the biggest draw. The
:04:34. > :04:38.weather is rotten, and England, Kevin Pietersen aside, do not have
:04:38. > :04:43.any big star characters any more, they are in a state of transition,
:04:43. > :04:47.so everyone here is hoping the next five days pass off effectively
:04:48. > :04:52.smoothly and with a good game of cricket. Here is Tony Husband.
:04:52. > :04:56.10 years, tens of millions of pounds spent. Test cricket is
:04:56. > :05:00.Hampshire's prize. The Rose Bowl was billed with international
:05:00. > :05:04.cricket in mind, and now gets its chance at the sport's top table.
:05:04. > :05:08.But on the eve of the ground- breaking Test there are still
:05:08. > :05:12.thousands of tickets available to come and watch. Bidding for a Test
:05:12. > :05:16.match in the expensive business. Counties like Hampshire pay in
:05:16. > :05:20.excess of �1 million to stage the Games, but there is only so much
:05:20. > :05:23.top-quality international cricket to go around. I think it is the
:05:23. > :05:29.wrong game for the Rose Bowl in the same way the first match was the
:05:29. > :05:33.wrong game for Cardiff. The Rose Bowl, Cardiff, Durham, they are new
:05:33. > :05:37.grounds, fantastic grounds, and it is always a pleasure to go
:05:37. > :05:40.somewhere new and different, but in order to capture the public's
:05:41. > :05:44.imagination, they need to be staging the bigger games. But as
:05:44. > :05:49.final preparations are made in the lounges and hospitality boxes,
:05:49. > :05:52.Hampshire know that England against Rwanda is a key moment for them.
:05:52. > :05:56.certain amount of Test-match cricket is enormously popular with
:05:56. > :06:00.the public and we need to keep on cannot -- keep on providing that in
:06:00. > :06:04.the best facilities that we can. Exposure to international cricket
:06:04. > :06:08.is an important part of the business mix. The Rose Bowl came
:06:08. > :06:13.top in a poll amongst cricket supporters last summer. The England
:06:13. > :06:18.team had to perform to the fans this week. We want to play in full
:06:18. > :06:23.of full houses. We realise our responsibility is to provide enough
:06:23. > :06:27.entertainment for people to want to come. We do not want to be playing
:06:27. > :06:31.in front of empty stadiums, that his first shop. Hampshire are
:06:31. > :06:35.waiting on final combination of a �30 million loan from the council
:06:35. > :06:40.to help complete this ground. Future Test status is uncertain
:06:40. > :06:49.without it. Equally uncertain is the weather. After years of hard
:06:49. > :06:51.work, it is one element no one can control.
:06:51. > :06:57.For all our hard work and preparation and high hopes, the one
:06:57. > :07:01.thing they cannot control here is the weather, which is why they have
:07:01. > :07:04.got 20,000 ponchos ready to give out to be able over the next five
:07:04. > :07:08.days if they are needed. Later in the programme, we will be hearing
:07:08. > :07:12.from the man who is trying to make sure the playing surface is perfect
:07:12. > :07:14.whatever the weather. Thank you.
:07:14. > :07:17.The rubbish keeps mounting, and so do the associated problems.
:07:17. > :07:21.Striking bin-men in Southampton are entering the second week of their
:07:21. > :07:24.latest strike. It is all part of the growing industrial action in
:07:24. > :07:27.the city over plans to cut jobs and the salaries of other local
:07:27. > :07:32.authority workers. And as the rubbish piles up on the streets,
:07:32. > :07:35.there have been reports of a rise in rats as well. This strike by
:07:35. > :07:38.refuse collectors is the third to hit the city. Workers are now one
:07:38. > :07:42.week into this latest stoppage, with another week to go before the
:07:42. > :07:47.bins will be emptied. In total, more than 100 of the council's
:07:47. > :07:50.refuse workers are on strike. As Roisin Gauson reports, one business
:07:50. > :07:58.has even had to hire in its own private rubbish collection, fearing
:07:58. > :08:01.it could face action from the very council whose staff are on strike.
:08:02. > :08:07.One week in and Southampton is littered with rubbish. But today in
:08:07. > :08:14.St Mary's, a rare sight. The Edge nightclub called in a private firm
:08:14. > :08:17.to clear the waste which had built up outside its main entrance.
:08:17. > :08:21.a health and safety side, my customers leave this place late at
:08:21. > :08:25.night because we close late and some of them have had too much to
:08:25. > :08:28.drink. If they fall into that and you do not know what is in the
:08:28. > :08:31.rubbish, they could damage themselves and who is liable for
:08:31. > :08:34.that? The owner contacted Environmental Health on Monday. She
:08:34. > :08:38.is yet to hear back. The council can bring in other contractors to
:08:38. > :08:40.clear the waste if it is a health and safety risk. After three days
:08:40. > :08:47.waiting for a response, this business decided to swallow the
:08:47. > :08:50.cost, even though the rubbish was not theirs. Southampton City
:08:50. > :09:00.Council says that any waste being dumped outside of businesses is
:09:00. > :09:07.
:09:08. > :09:16.fly-tipping and will not be Since the strike began, some pest
:09:16. > :09:20.controllers have reported a 20% increase in call-outs. Because
:09:20. > :09:23.there is so much rubbish on the street, the rats have got free food,
:09:23. > :09:29.so whilst the numbers have not increased, the incidents of rat
:09:29. > :09:37.activity are on the up. The bin-men are not due back for another week,
:09:37. > :09:40.so in strike terms this one is literally still building up.
:09:40. > :09:44.When HMS Invincible left Portsmouth for the final time it was to a
:09:44. > :09:48.glorious send-off. The axed aircraft carrier was once the
:09:48. > :09:52.flagship of the Royal Navy. Now, three months on, she is at a
:09:52. > :09:56.Turkish scrapyard. Workers have been dismantling her for two months,
:09:56. > :10:01.but it will take a further six months before all the steel is cut
:10:01. > :10:03.into small pieces ready for recycling.
:10:03. > :10:06.Still to come in this evening's South Today:
:10:06. > :10:16.An appetite for success - the Olympic hopefuls surviving with a
:10:16. > :10:17.
:10:17. > :10:21.A 66-year-old man has appeared in court accused of stabbing his wife
:10:21. > :10:24.to death at their large country home in West Sussex. William Allen,
:10:24. > :10:27.of West Chiltington, is charged with the murder of his wife Linda,
:10:28. > :10:30.who was found with head and chest injuries last week. He has been
:10:31. > :10:40.remanded in custody and will next appear at Lewes Crown Court in
:10:41. > :10:43.
:10:43. > :10:46.August. A father from the New Forest has
:10:46. > :10:48.launched a personal crusade to raise money for medical research
:10:48. > :10:51.into a childhood cancer which nearly killed his daughter. Minna,
:10:51. > :10:56.who is now ten, went through years of exhaustive treatment for a
:10:56. > :10:59.disease called neuroblastoma, which affects the nervous system. And
:10:59. > :11:03.though she is out of the woods now, Ed Dubois, who is a luxury yacht
:11:03. > :11:05.designer, has now appealed to all his clients in the sailing world to
:11:05. > :11:08.give generously so other children can have a greater chance of
:11:08. > :11:11.survival. Dani Sinha went to meet the family.
:11:11. > :11:14.A picture of health now, but six years ago when Minna was just four
:11:14. > :11:22.she was diagnosed with an advanced form of neuroblastoma, a cancer
:11:22. > :11:28.which affects the nervous system. It is every parent's nightmare to
:11:28. > :11:33.be told your child is unlikely to survive, because Minna's chances of
:11:33. > :11:36.survival were about one in three if you look at the National Statistics.
:11:37. > :11:38.It is like flicking a coin. Playing with her siblings now, it is easy
:11:39. > :11:41.to forget the chemotherapy and radiotherapy and complicated
:11:41. > :11:49.surgery Minna has had throughout the years, despite being rid of
:11:49. > :11:54.symptoms for two years. I got quite cross sometimes. Sometimes now I
:11:54. > :11:58.still get quite cross about it. do you get cross? I just feel like
:11:58. > :12:01.it is not fair and things. Minna's father Ed is not taking Minna's
:12:01. > :12:06.current health for granted. He has now launched a dedicated fund so
:12:06. > :12:09.more research can be carried out into this devastating condition.
:12:09. > :12:12.Working as a luxury yacht designer, Ed has friends in high places, and
:12:12. > :12:21.is now encouraging his clients to pledge big amounts of money as well
:12:21. > :12:24.as donating funds himself. I am not wealthy like Bill Gates, but we
:12:24. > :12:30.have clients who are extremely wealthy. I am able to look at them
:12:30. > :12:34.and say, you gave me �1 million, thank you very much, this is how it
:12:34. > :12:37.is being spent, these are the results we are getting. I am
:12:37. > :12:40.involved for life. The Dubois Child Cancer Fund has an initial
:12:40. > :12:42.fundraising target of �10 million, but it is this special father and
:12:42. > :12:51.daughter relationship that has inspired this man to think of the
:12:51. > :12:59.future. We wish Minna all the best, and
:12:59. > :13:02.let's hope they raise a lot of money for the fund and the research.
:13:02. > :13:04.Fossil experts from Portsmouth have confirmed the discovery of what may
:13:04. > :13:07.be the world's smallest non-flying dinosaur. The discovery is based on
:13:07. > :13:10.the finding of a single tiny vertebra by an amateur fossil
:13:10. > :13:18.hunter in Sussex. The bone stayed in his bedside table for two years
:13:18. > :13:23.until he realised how important it might be. Lynda Hardy reports.
:13:23. > :13:29.The creatures that roamed the land many hundreds of thousands of years
:13:29. > :13:33.ago still caused great excitement today. This time, it is the finding
:13:33. > :13:38.of the tiniest bone that has led to the discovery of what is believed
:13:38. > :13:45.to be the world's smallest adult land dinosaur found by fossil
:13:46. > :13:51.fanatic Dave. The most exciting thing is finding the fossil.
:13:51. > :13:56.Looking at it for the first time in 140 million years especial, and to
:13:56. > :14:03.go on to find what it is from and that it is nuke, it spurs you on to
:14:03. > :14:07.get the next one. At 7.1 mm long, the vertebrate is tiny, but as was
:14:07. > :14:12.the dinosaur it came from because that measured about 45 centimetres
:14:12. > :14:16.in length, which is about as long as a chicken. This specimen
:14:16. > :14:20.basically shows we had small dinosaurs running around in England
:14:20. > :14:24.during this time, so it helps to add to the roster of species that
:14:24. > :14:29.we have got not only from the UK but also from East Sussex. It would
:14:29. > :14:35.have been covered in feathers, it would have been bird like. The find
:14:35. > :14:43.will now be given a place at Bexhill Museum. Small in size
:14:43. > :14:49.alongside the other bones, but hugely significant.
:14:49. > :14:53.It is so small! Extraordinary story. On to sport now, and as you may
:14:53. > :14:57.know there is a burst at the Rose Bowl tomorrow as it hosts its first
:14:57. > :15:02.Test match. England are playing Sri Lanka and there are worries about
:15:02. > :15:07.the weather and the number of tickets that have been sold. Roger
:15:07. > :15:12.Johnson is there. Real concerns at this stage, Roger? Minor ones,
:15:12. > :15:17.Sally. You have to look at this as an opportunity. You could come and
:15:17. > :15:21.sample the first Test match at the Rose Bowl. It is the weather which
:15:21. > :15:24.is the biggest headache. The outfield here is pretty dry, and
:15:24. > :15:29.has had a lot of sunshine ahead of the rain that has fallen over the
:15:29. > :15:33.last few days, said that is not to worry. The square, the covers are
:15:33. > :15:38.on, lots of standing water there, but we have been speaking to the
:15:38. > :15:42.man who is in charge of making sure the pitch is tip-top, and he says
:15:42. > :15:47.all precautions had been taken. have got more ground staff on duty
:15:47. > :15:51.for this game, a dozen or so people, who can cover the square quickly.
:15:51. > :15:57.We had the outfield relayed a couple of years ago, and it does
:15:57. > :16:02.drain well. If we get some rain, we will be able to drain it quickly,
:16:02. > :16:08.get the square uncovered and start play promptly. Play is due to get
:16:08. > :16:12.underway tomorrow at 11am. We will have a full forecast shortly.
:16:12. > :16:17.Friday is not looking too good, Saturday may be the best day. They
:16:17. > :16:26.are hoping England could finalise a series victory against Rwanda at
:16:26. > :16:29.the Rose Bowl's first Test match. - - against Sri Lanka.
:16:29. > :16:32.Sussex are back to second place in the Twenty20 South Group after
:16:32. > :16:35.beating Somerset in a low-scoring match at Hove last night. Spinner
:16:35. > :16:37.Ollie Rayner took five for 18, including this spectacular catch by
:16:37. > :16:42.Luke Wright to dismiss Marcus Trescothick, as the visitors were
:16:42. > :16:45.bowled out for just 90. Sussex then sneaked home with 15 balls to spare.
:16:45. > :16:53.Rayner was only playing due to skipper Michael Yardy's absence, as
:16:53. > :16:55.he continues his recovery from depression. Well done to Sussex. In
:16:55. > :16:57.football, Portsmouth's new owners, Convers Sports Initiatives, seem
:16:57. > :17:01.set to complete the first signing since their takeover at Fratton
:17:01. > :17:06.Park. David Norris, the former Ipswich Town captain, has agreed a
:17:06. > :17:09.deal to join Pompey for the new Championship season. The winger is
:17:09. > :17:15.a free transfer after his contract at Portman Road expired at the end
:17:15. > :17:19.of the season. The Great Britain women's
:17:19. > :17:23.volleyball team are in the south this week as they continue along a
:17:23. > :17:32.very difficult road to next summer's Olympics. The team lost
:17:32. > :17:35.all of its funding in a review of financing for Olympic sports. But
:17:35. > :17:45.they are being helped along by friends, families and businesses as
:17:45. > :17:48.
:17:48. > :17:51.they tried to keep a long -- keep alive the dream of Olympic glory.
:17:51. > :17:54.Meal times have been mad times in this household this week. Great
:17:54. > :17:56.Britain's players are being put up by parents and neighbours during
:17:56. > :18:00.their stay in Poole. We are looking after them. They are training, but
:18:00. > :18:04.we have given them some treats as were. How does it feel to be
:18:04. > :18:08.outnumbered? I am used to it with three daughters and a wife, but it
:18:08. > :18:12.is an increase on that. To be told we were not found it was
:18:12. > :18:16.devastating, but we said, we have to move on, take charge of our own
:18:16. > :18:22.destiny and we will make it to the Olympics and be the best we can
:18:22. > :18:24.possibly be, with or without funding. The girls have been given
:18:24. > :18:27.training facilities and meals out by businesses keen to help them
:18:27. > :18:34.stay on the road to 2012. They have been coaching local schoolchildren
:18:34. > :18:38.in return. It is really good to directly get involved and
:18:38. > :18:43.contribute to that legacy. It is great to not just be playing for
:18:43. > :18:46.ourselves. The players will spend most of the next year honing their
:18:46. > :18:49.skills in foreign leagues. And the team is improving all the time.
:18:49. > :18:52.They have beaten top South American nations already this year, and they
:18:52. > :19:00.are hoping to beat the odds by securing a top eight finish at
:19:00. > :19:04.London 2012. It would be a great achievement for British volleyball
:19:04. > :19:09.because there has never been a British team in the Olympics, so we
:19:09. > :19:14.are making history just being there. And you are doing it the hard way?
:19:14. > :19:17.We are giving it the hard way! Losing their funding was a bitter
:19:17. > :19:24.blow, but strength can often come from adversity. And, in a sport
:19:24. > :19:29.where togetherness is key, few can be as united as this team.
:19:29. > :19:33.Best of luck to them as they continue on the road to 2012.
:19:33. > :19:38.Volleyball, of course, is played indoors, so it does not matter what
:19:38. > :19:43.colour the clouds are. Cricket, on the other hand, is in -- is in the
:19:43. > :19:46.hands of the elements, so they will be hoping that the first Test
:19:46. > :19:50.passes off really successfully. We will keep our fingers crossed for
:19:50. > :19:54.that. We well, thank you for that. We
:19:54. > :20:04.will have the weather forecast in a moment.
:20:04. > :20:06.
:20:07. > :20:09.How about this, Cromarty, white and Portland. For many here in the
:20:09. > :20:12.south, the daily Shipping Forecast is an essential source of
:20:12. > :20:15.information. And for nearly 90 years, the list of names, even for
:20:15. > :20:18.those who are not seafarers, has been an evocative roll call. Now, a
:20:18. > :20:26.composer has set them to music with the help of choristers from
:20:26. > :20:32.Portsmouth. David Sillito reports. Fair Isle, Faeroes, South-east
:20:32. > :20:37.Iceland... Sole, Shannon, Rockall... Variable four, becoming mainly
:20:37. > :20:43.north-easterly five. North Utsire, South Utsire. Cromarty, variable
:20:43. > :20:48.four, occasional rain, moderate or good. The Shipping Forecast, a
:20:48. > :20:57.daily reminder of the hazards around this windswept island. But,
:20:57. > :21:07.to some, it is also poetry. It is rhythm, it's strange words, words
:21:07. > :21:09.
:21:09. > :21:12.depicting amazing, spectacular places. Fair Isle, Faeroes...
:21:12. > :21:14.now it is the inspiration for this new musical work by the composer
:21:14. > :21:24.Cecilia McDowall, who, like many others, finds the forecast both
:21:24. > :21:28.beautiful and baffling. All ll these things, I know they mean
:21:28. > :21:38.something to somebody. But even though they don't mean anything to
:21:38. > :21:42.
:21:42. > :21:48.me, I enjoy them. But those words, out here, mean rather more. For
:21:48. > :21:55.Alan Gick, it is reassuring. It is a reassuring view that people are
:21:55. > :22:00.still collecting the data and telling you about it.
:22:00. > :22:10.There is something hypnotic about listening to it. They have a very
:22:10. > :22:20.special way of saying the shipping We have the general synopsis for
:22:20. > :22:21.
:22:21. > :22:24.the South at 18: 51! We have had some lovely pictures, actually.
:22:24. > :22:27.A scene from Bambi in David Townsend's garden in Headley near
:22:27. > :22:34.Kingsclere this morning. Two alpacas in Grendon Underwood
:22:34. > :22:38.this morning after their fleece had been cut.
:22:38. > :22:42.Not a good day to lose your fleece. It has been a dull and damp day
:22:42. > :22:49.with a risk of showers, which is ever present this evening. Some of
:22:49. > :22:52.those showers could be heavy. The first band of showery rain has
:22:52. > :22:57.eased eastwards before the second band pushes in from the Far West,
:22:57. > :23:02.giving us a chance of the low cloud lifting to do this not a clear view,
:23:02. > :23:07.but a chance of seeing the lunar eclipse at 9:30pm tonight. Some
:23:07. > :23:14.heavy showers for western areas, and more rain pushing in from the -
:23:14. > :23:18.- by the Western powers. A wet start for Thursday morning with the
:23:18. > :23:22.rain tracking eastwards, and we will have a gap before further
:23:22. > :23:27.showers bubble up, and these will be rather big, quite lively, with
:23:27. > :23:33.than the mixed in and perhaps the risk of Hale. It is quite blustery
:23:33. > :23:36.around the showers, temperatures lower than today, 18 sells it at
:23:36. > :23:44.best. Into the evening, the temperatures drying in the north
:23:44. > :23:47.and east, but for the south coast it is still damp and drizzly. Why
:23:47. > :23:54.is it happening? It is because of low pressure, which has been
:23:54. > :24:00.dominating the scene. It is quite a vigorous low, quite a lot of
:24:00. > :24:05.significant rain, with the Ice Bars tightening in time for Friday. On
:24:05. > :24:09.Friday, we start the day with some rain, which could be fairly heavy,
:24:09. > :24:13.significant rainfall. On Thursday at the Rose Bowl, play may get
:24:13. > :24:18.underway, but we may lose a few overs because of the fund which
:24:18. > :24:22.hours later on, and Friday looks to be a bit of a washout, I'm afraid.
:24:22. > :24:27.On Thursday, a bit of respite from the showers at midday, but then
:24:27. > :24:32.they begin to bubble up. Friday, the winds fairly noticeable and a
:24:32. > :24:40.lot of the day taken up by the rain. Saturday, not totally dry, showers
:24:40. > :24:42.mainly affecting the West at first. It is rare to find anyone who truly
:24:42. > :24:45.enjoys their commute. According to the labour force survey, people
:24:45. > :24:48.living in the South East and those travelling into London have the
:24:48. > :24:51.longest commute in the country, with the average journey taking up
:24:51. > :24:58.to 78 minutes - that is nearly half an hour more than the national
:24:59. > :25:02.average. However, one group of city workers travelling on the Arun
:25:02. > :25:05.Valley line in Sussex, decided to make the most of their journey and
:25:05. > :25:11.now they are spreading the word to encourage others to follow their
:25:11. > :25:16.example. Catharina Moh has the story.
:25:16. > :25:24.It is a social club of sorts. The location, carriage one on the train
:25:24. > :25:28.from Bognor Regis to London. Train gang, as they are sometimes
:25:28. > :25:34.affectionately called, are always having social events, this time
:25:34. > :25:38.celebrating Roland's that day. It began a few years ago, when Jane
:25:38. > :25:43.said hello. The City worker was bored of her commute so decided to
:25:43. > :25:47.make it fun by getting to know the person next to her. A commuter
:25:47. > :25:51.community soon engulfed. It is always exciting when we have a
:25:51. > :25:55.recruitment. Normally it takes a bit longer. You are never sure if
:25:55. > :25:59.people want to join in, and it is obvious when a dead, but sometimes
:25:59. > :26:04.the quiet ones take a while to reel in, but when they do they are solid
:26:04. > :26:07.members of the grey. They have launched a campaign called talk on
:26:08. > :26:11.the train, with a belief that commuting to work can be happy,
:26:11. > :26:19.even if you are not a morning person. They are calling on all
:26:19. > :26:24.commuters to try to do something similar. As a result of this
:26:24. > :26:29.journey, I am friends with someone who works for a Tory MP, which is a
:26:29. > :26:33.challenging friendship, but it is because we have got to know each
:26:33. > :26:37.other and look beyond the surface. With up to 26 members depending on
:26:37. > :26:41.the stock, it means there are always enough people to celebrate
:26:41. > :26:45.anything and everything. At Christmas, they performed a
:26:45. > :26:50.Christmas pantomime before the train pulled into London. Before
:26:50. > :26:54.this group, I got on, and it took about 1.5 hours to get to work, and
:26:54. > :26:59.it was boring, no one talked to each other. I get on now and it
:26:59. > :27:02.seems to go in about 10 minutes. Some people think they are mad, but
:27:02. > :27:12.they say going to work in a good mood have a positive impact on
:27:12. > :27:16.
:27:16. > :27:20.their day, and they want others to take part.
:27:20. > :27:25.I think I had a moment to there. You were distracted by the K X.
:27:25. > :27:29.like the idea of bringing cakes into the studio. If they can do it
:27:29. > :27:33.on the train carriage, why not bring them into work? The cameraman