13/06/2013 South Today

Hello, I'm Sally Taylor. Welcome to South Today. In tonight's programme:

Thames Water announces 100 job cuts - unions say it's bad news for staff

and customers. Blessing a Royal Princess: The

Duchess of Cambridge performs her last solo duty before the birth of

her baby. What does your Moggy get up to at

night? The secret life of cats revealed, including the antics of

Thomas the tom! I quite like to have a cat with a bit of attitude, so I

am very pleased that he can and up for himself.

And what goes around comes around. How those little bits of fluff are

made into a work of art. It is horrible to work with, I had

to wear a mask. I get it all my A hundred people have been told

their jobs are going at Thames Water and the company is warning there'll

be more redundancies in the coming months. Thames Water, which has

already shed nearly a thousand posts in the last five years, this week

revealed it paid no corporation tax last year while announcing healthy

profits. Unions have attacked the lay-offs. Joe Campbell is in our

Reading studio - what detail do we know?

Sally, these jobs are going as the firm carries out a top to bottom

review of staffing. It's got rid of one director and a number of senior

managers already. In the last few days, redundancy notices have gone

out to other staff, many based here in Reading at the firm's Thameside

HQ. They're not the first and won't be the last.

This is the latest jobs cut to hit Thames Water. In September 2006,

leaked internal documents revealed plans to cut the then 6,000 strong

workforce by 1,500. A formal announcement at the start of 2009

said they wanted to get rid of 300 jobs. This month, a hundred

redundancy notices were sent out to staff. But when you add in posts

that are going unfilled and natural wastage, the Unison union says, in

total, some 400 posts will have gone by the time the process is over and

there's no way you can make cuts like that without the public feeling

the effects. Most of the staff are working in the

offices within Thames Water and very busy people trying to offer a

service customers. Our great fear is that with more people exiting the

visit -- business, the customer will get a poorer service and ultimately

people will be less satisfied with how the company is performing and

those people will be without a job. Now Thames Water insists the jobs

are not going in places where customers will notice - be it people

answering calls when we report leaks or those who dig up the road to fix

them. The firm knows customers aren't happy and that was before its

tax affairs got all the recent attention. But it says it can't

afford not to cut costs with profits down dramatically in part due to

flooding during the recent wet winter.

Councillors in Wiltshire are being asked to approve a swathe of

measures to improve the way they look after vulnerable children. It

follows a critical Ofsted inspection last year which found significant

failings in safeguarding services, particularly with children who had

already been identified as being at risk of harm. It said there was a

lack of robust oversight by managers and councillors. A special task

force has now made 41 recommendations, including more

rigorous monitoring, reducing the number of agency social workers and

giving special training to councillors.

A short time ago I spoke to Councillor Jon Hubbard, who led the

task force, and asked him how embarrassing the inspection report

had been? I have to be honest, it did come as

a bit of a shock. We hadn't anticipated the report to come up

with some of the stuff that it did. It was certainly very challenging.

You have identified some of this challenges yourself in that a high

number of agency staffs, you have tried to reduce caseload for social

workers, but surely these should have been in place since baby P,

which was some time ago? One thing I would like to clarify on that is

that the high number of agency staff really was a consequence of the

report, rather than the cause. One of the actions that the council did

take immediately after the Ofsted report came out was, it brought in a

lot of additional staff to help deal with the increase in the number of

referrals that were being received and also because it chose to take an

audit of recent cases, just to make sure that everything should -- that

should have been done had been done. It is fair to say that the number of

cases is still rising? Swindon just down the road is just at 20 cases

per social worker. Can you get it, is it just a case of playing catch

up rather than getting ahead of the game?

In my opinion, the number of cases our social workers are carrying is

still too high, but it is heading in the right direction. I think we

invest and that has been made and the efforts to make sure we have the

right staff in the right place, is a good thing. I would prefer to see a

lower number of cases and I think that is something that the task

group identified, but it is important to make sure we have the

right people doing this, not just any people. You have put in an extra

�3 million, haven't you? Is money no object to get this right given the

tough economic times? I give credit to the administration that they have

said, if we need to put money in to put right the problem is, that is

something they are prepared to do and I am pleased they have taken

that attitude. Thank you very much. It's the world's newest cruise ship,

but the crowds who'd gathered in Southampton today hadn't really come

to see that. All eyes were on the Duchess of Cambridge who was naming

the Royal Princess in her last solo public engagement before she's due

to give birth next month. There was also considerably media interest in

the event. Let's join Laura Trant who's live on board.

-- dockside. It has been a royal day to remember.

The Duchess of Cambridge choosing Southampton as her last official

solo engagement before her debut is born. From a business point of view,

today has been a real coup for Princess cruises to have the Duchess

as godmother of the ship. It is expected to help boost the American

market because they are part of the American Carnival Corporation. The

ship is not expected to be in the UK again and only one in ten passengers

are British. Everybody here was delighted to see our future queen.

Celebrating the two royal princesses. As godmother to the

ship, the Duchess of Cambridge officially named her earlier today.

I named the ship Royal Princess. May God bless her and all who sail in

her. The Magnum of champagne soaked

cascading met with a squeal of delight from the Duchess and what

was her first ever ship naming. Kate was given a tour of the 550

million euros Royal Princess. It has been called a new generation ship

because of its state of the art facilities. All eyes were on Kate

who looked flawlessly fashionable. It is a fantastic experience. To

meet her and have a chance to say something was great. She mentioned

she had never been on a ship. We discussed coming on a cruise one

day. We were also talking about children. Today Mirror 29 years ago

when Diana was godmother to the first Princess ship. That focus has

now shifted to the Duchess of Cambridge. I am joined now by the

captain of the Royal Princess. This has been a special day? It has been

wonderful. It is a great honour that the Prince -- the Duchess came down

to open the ship. It is a great moment for the family.

As you would expect, there has been much foreign media interest. Many

journalists say there is a factual -- fascination with our Duchess.

In Spain, we always interested in Royal family. New Zealand is still a

constitutional monarchy. Even though there is debate about ties with the

monarchy, people are still fascinated with the Royal family.

Kate Middleton is the woman of glamour for the Royal family. New

Zealand is interested to hear what is going on with her. Very

interested and very much wants to keep up to date. It is a lot calmer

than earlier when there was a complete frenzy. The sun is also out

now and that was not the case at Leo. Southampton is celebrating the

royal visit today on two counts, the ship looked radiant and so did the

Duchess of Cambridge. A �6 million plan to improve the

school has been approved. The school will get improved dining facilities,

a library. The school has more than 1000 pupils.

Still to come in this evening's South Today: Have you thought about

recycling what's left over from your laundry? Meet the artist who's all

in a spin. Five people have appeared in court

charged with the murder of a jewellery designer in West Sussex.

The body of 59-year-old Michael Griffiths was found at his home in

Fernhurst in January. He'd been seriously assaulted before he died

and his house had been set on fire. Five people aged between 22 and 52

have been charged with murder. Sean Killick sent this report from

Worthing magistrates' court. Today's hearing before magistrates

was the first quarter period is of those charged in this investigation.

It follows the death of Michael Griffiths, jewellery designer and

antiques buyer. Is body was found by fire crews after a fire at his home

on January the 24th. He had been seriously assaulted. Five people

have each been charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder. They

are Damian Craft, aged 26, Gary King, 52, Harvey Mumford, 22 and

Simon Penson and carry and Rudder, both 42. Rebecca Rodgers, age 39

faces a single charge of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

All six defendants were remanded in custody to appear in the Crown Court

on Monday morning. A 32-year-old man from Redding has been convicted of

murdering a teenager last July. To roam small stabbed the 17-year-old

in the in Chatham Street. Detectives described the killing as

premeditated and senseless. They say he has shown no remorse claiming it

was an accident. People worried about the

multi-million pound development of Bournemouth's Winter Gardens are due

to meet in the town in the next 15 minutes. There are plans to build a

�150m leisure complex that'll include flats and restaurants. Some

local residents say that's not a suitable replacement for such a

historic site. Ben Moore reports. This summer could be a winter of

discontent in Bournemouth. We should have an indoor leisure facility.

Many are worried this site will end up in non-descriptor retail Park.

Bournemouth needs a cultural and educational indoor leisure facility

as opposed to a large development that you can see anywhere in the

country. This is not a development that will put heads on pillows and

attract people. The original gardens played host to the original Beatles

and the Rolling Stones. A company called APB Park wants to head the

�150 million redevelopment that includes two hotels that will top

these trees. Big schemes in Bournemouth have had a chequered

past, to say the least. The IMAX was demolished in April and further up

the close -- coast, the �3 million surf reef is still out of bounds.

The developer has already had to scale back plans and some residents

have questioned its financial credibility as well as that of its

agent. In a statement, ABB Park development here, there is no way it

can be bought back and demolished. The council votes on the plans on

Monday. We've got two already, but should

there be a new national park for the South? That's the idea being put

forward by a group calling for a brand new Park, stretching from

Exmouth in Devon to Poole in Dorset. The Jurassic Coast already has World

Heritage status. But the group argues it deserves more recognition.

They're claiming National Park status would benefit the economy by

attracting more tourism, and also protect the countryside from

development. If the figures stack up, basically it will be brilliant

for this area bringing more tourists. It is the tour is that we

need, especially in the climate at the moment.

Onto the sport now and starting with sailing. It was windy, wasn't it?

Britain's sailors won a huge haul of medals at the Sail for Gold regatta

in Weymouth and Portland. Almost a year since the National sailing

academy hosted the Olympic and Paralympic regattas, this event

highlighted the strength in depth we have going forward to Rio. I went to

the Dorset coast earlier today. Wind and a lot of it on medal races

today. So much so the Paralympic classes did not get out of the

water. Results so far stored so it was gold for Megan Pascoe in the 2.4

M class. Finishing ahead of Helena Lucas. It has been a bit of a match

between me and Helena. A bit of a two horse race halfway through the

week, but another gold medal so very happy. The boat yard is quieter than

this time last year. What this has done is unable many emerging British

talent to impress. Among those prospects, Ben sacks and Hannah

Dimond. One of the new mixed Olympic classes. Probably the most powerful

and quickest class in the Olympics so that changes the style for us a

lot. It means days like today of full on when it is windy. Weymouth

has also seen Olympic veterans at the top of their game. Bryony Shaw

continuing an excellent year in the women's event. If I was in good form

last summer, I could have put on a good show and come away with a

medal. To win here will show that, yeah, I can impress here on these

waters. Britain won 21 medals including six

golds. Good work, but a harder challenge awaits.

London Irish winger Marlon Yarde will make his England Rugby Union

debut on Saturday. Yarde has been called up to a youthful back line

for Stuart Lancaster's side and joins fellow London Irish player

Jonathan Joseph in the starting line up against Argentina in the second

test, which is live on BBC television. Crickets play began on

day two of the county matches. The leaders bowled out what -- for 295.

The visitors may have to bat for short time this evening. Hampshire

got going in Gloucestershire. Playing catch-up for lost as well.

You might want to check your washing machine or tumble dryer after this

next piece. It's an unusual piece of art that

was on display in New York last year and it's now being shown at the

Hackwood Art Festival near Basingstoke. Ritual Accumulations is

made by Julie Parker from Hook in Hampshire.

It's far from conventional. It's not a painting. Nor a sculpture. It's a

quilt, made out of fluff from tumble dryers. Mark Sanders has been to see

this masterpiece of the spin cycle. This is Ritual Accumulations and

this is the artist who made it. This has been constructed out of fluff?

That is right, it is tumble dryer limped. I have been wanting to make

it for 15 years, but did not have enough.

What sort of things do you find in here? Toe nails, hair, particles of

skim, interesting things that people have left in their pockets. I think

there are some little bits here that might be bits of tissue. Bus

tickets. Isn't there a danger it just becomes a gimmick and people

talk about what it is made of rather than the final product? I do get a

lot of people that are just interested in the gimmick side of

it, but children seem to understand, maybe even more than

adults. To get a critique of fluff as an artistic medium, we found some

connoisseurs at this launderette in Southampton. Well, it sounds like

arts. Ridiculous things become arts now. It is original, I will say

that. Delightful or discuss them, or perhaps both? You can decide. The

pieces on display from tomorrow. Just the idea of her picking those

bits. We won't go there. There are eight million cats in the

UK and while many owners think they really know their pet, a BBC

programme tonight will reveal a few surprises. A team of researchers

descended on Shamley Green near Guildford to monitor the entire cat

population of the village using GPS trackers and mini cameras fitted to

their collars. One of those involved was cat expert Dr John Bradshaw from

Southampton and he joins me now. Nice to see you, John. Why Shanley

Green? There are more cats in the south-east of England than anywhere

else, so that was a good dart. And particularly because it was the most

dense village centre where there were lots of houses and lots of.

Around and about there were more isolated houses where cats can get

out and room for miles. There was a lot of setting up of this. These

cats are wearing cameras, GPS trackers, that must have taken some

time? It did, but the incentive of being TV got the owners going. The

colours and cameras were originally developed for bigger cats, cheetahs

and African wild dogs, but the Royal vet Americana to develop them

thought they could scale them down and pretty -- quickly produced 16.

So you followed 50 cats? You did not just get consent forms from the

owners, and this is the bit I find very funny. First of all we had to

just use the GPS trackers so we would know where every was going. We

did not want to have the cameras from something they shouldn't

without consent, so first put the collar on the, find out where it is

and then get the right people to sign the forms. They are going into

homes so there is a privacy thing. It is interesting because people

think they know what their captors that night, but sometimes it comes

as a surprise. Have a look at this clip of the programme.

Embarrassingly we have been finding out that he fights and I think that

has possibly been caught on camera. He does seem, there is quite a

strong possibility that he goes to other people's cat flaps. Again,

slightly embarrassing. I fill some of these people were

almost disappointed. What were you hoping to find out? They were hoping

to find out how cats regulate their social life and that involves going

into other people's houses. What patterns have started to emerge?

There were some cats raiding other cats food bowls and we were able to

set up hidden cameras. Not even to the owners, but hidden to the cats,

to find out which cut it was coming through the cat flap and stealing

food. That happened in a lot of houses. A lot of other cats seem to

go in houses just to say hello. they hunt? Some of them were, but

fewer than we expected. They are so lazy now, aren't they? Well, yeah,

they only spent 20% of their time outdoors. Are you a man?

Absolutely! I think they are fascinating animals.

If you want to see more about the secret life of cats - watch Horizon

tonight on BBC Two at 9pm. You can also find out more about the study -

and see what the individual cats in the programme get up to at

www.bbc.co.uk. Thank you so much for coming in and talking to us. I bet

it was really good fun watching all those hours of. Catwoman is here.

You have the, Alexis? You have to get a little camera to put on it.

Definitely. We have some weather pictures.

Peter Field captured this blustery scene at East Preston beach in West

Sussex. Reflections after the rain in

Salisbury taken by Alan Smith. And Dan Smith captured a Damselfly

in Petworth in West Sussex. in Petworth in West Sussex.

So we did see a few showers today, but also sunny spells to end the

day. If you have a shower out there this evening, they will tend to fade

away. There are those showers drifting towards the east. Clear

skies initially, but increasing cloud from the early hours.

Temperatures could dip to eight or nine Celsius, but in towns and

cities, nine to 12 degrees. A dry start tomorrow. There will be some

espouse initially. Through the afternoon we see some showers pop up

and the odd rumble of thunder. You are more likely to see showers in

northern and western areas. Probably some sunshine and a high of 16 or 17

Celsius, but the wind still stays brisk tomorrow. They will increase

over the weekend. One or two showers tomorrow night before a band of rain

arrives. Friday night and then it will clear first thing Saturday

morning. That they should not predominantly dry apart from eastern

areas. Temperatures down to 10 Celsius. To start the weekend we

have a dry start on Saturday, the weather front clears away, maybe

some rain in Oxfordshire and then this rain edges its way in on

Sunday. An increasing chance of a shower late on Sunday. A dry and

bright. If you are heading out for any events, the first one we have

for you is the Dorset docs Festival. -- Dorset Dogs Festival. That is

this Saturday in Bournemouth. Your next event is the Boat Jumble at

Littlehampton. I hear there are lots of bargains to be had. You should be

dried to start off, but maybe a shower pushing him. The rest of the

week, rain tomorrow in the afternoon. A dry day on Saturday

with the risk of a shower first then, Sunday May be made later on

but a dry start on Monday. but a dry start on Monday.