22/10/2013 South Today

pretty soggy. Thank you. That is all from the BBC. We can

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

A kick in the teeth ` Meals on Wheels volunteers unhappy at their

changing role. I think we have really been treated abominably. Not

only me, everybody am the older volunteers.

Feeling less than Grand, the Isle of Wight hotel who's future is in

doubt. Coughs and sneezes spread diseases,

so will this entice hospital staff to get their flu jab?

And Gordon the Great is back, signing up to a new venture at

Hampshire Cricket. It's a lifeline to the vulnerable

that relies on the good deeds of others. Meals on Wheels is not just

about delivering decent food but the chance for a chat with the person

who brings it. The service in West Sussex, run by the Royal Voluntary

Service, is being upgraded with more hot meals. But the food will no

longer be delivered by volunteers ` and some are so upset at the changes

they're called it a "kick in the teeth". Sean Killick reports.

You have got chicken and vegetable pie today. Lunch has arrived today

for this 89`year`old man. The Meals on Wheels service has been a

lifeline for him for some time now. I started when I lost my wife. So it

is quite important to you? Absolutely, I rely on it completely.

The food was prepared at this site in Bognor Regis. This site will

close next month as the charity brings a renewed contract with just

one site remaining. In future, meals will only be delivered by staff

drivers such as Gerald. Not volunteers, whose role will be

restricted to carrying out safety and well`being checks while helping

heat food. Many of the volunteer drivers, such as this man, are angry

at the change. He has been delivering meals for several years

and believes the new stuff delivery drivers will not have as much time

for the elderly clients. They get used to coming in, doing little

things for them. They are going to miss us. I do not think the van

drivers that are coming down now have got the time to do what we do.

The Royal Voluntary Service has a long history of helping older people

independently. The man who runs it says he hopes the West Sussex

volunteers will continue with them and enjoy greater flexibility for

how long they visit the elderly. Instead of somebody having to zoom

around, but we can find a way to be more flexible and give more time.

West Sussex county council says this is not a cost `based decision.

Meanwhile the existing staff will have to apply for one of the 39 new

kitchen or van driver jobs. Let's get some answers to the

volunteers' concerns by speaking to the RVS Chief Executive David

McCullough who joins me live from London. Thank you very much for

joining us. You may not have intended it, but you do seem to have

upset some of your valid tubal `` valuable volunteers. If we manage to

do that, that is bad. Nothing that we do can be done without our

volunteers, they are the lifeblood of the organisation. We have got a

job of work to do, myself and my team, to make sure that we explain

things more clearly and better for the volunteers, because the last

thing I want is to lose people. The key thing we are trying to do is

what the older people are asking us for, to have more time with the

people that visit them and more conversation, as well as a great

meal. On the face of it, it looks as if you are asking them to be carers?

We are absolutely not doing that. There is a real misunderstanding

here. Volunteers can deliver the meals are they want to but the right

training. We are adding people is not to be social workers, but spend

time, going, have a chat. If we can make that valuable two minutes of

time valuable ten minutes of time, 12 minutes of time, that is normally

the only person somebody will see in the day. Do you think there has been

a lack of June invitation on your part? `` communist nation. It is

down to me and my team to communicate properly with

volunteers. If we have not done that, I need to get down there and

chat with everybody and understand what they feel we can do to make the

service better make sure the part our volunteers play is the part we

want to play. I will go and see them next he `` next week, absolutely.

Thank you very much indeed. The navigator of a yacht which

collided with an oil tanker in the Solent has described the chaotic

moments surrounding the impact. Michael Shrives was part of the crew

racing the Atalanta during the 2011 Cowes Week. The yacht's skipper and

owner, former Royal Naval officer, Lieutenant Roland Wilson, denies

three charges of contravening maritime regulations. Alex Forsyth

reports. Like rabbits in headlights, that is

how the navigator of this yacht described the moments on board

before it collided with an oil tanker. One crew member jumped

overboard and was rescued. Another suffered head injuries. Michael

Shrives was part of the crew racing the Atalanta during Cowes Week. He

says she was doing around seven knots when, possibly because of a

wind change, she came to a sudden stop before the collision. He said

there came a point it was too late to do anything to avoid it. The

court heard that Michael Shrives is a Royal Naval Commander and

experienced sailor. He said the crew had seen the tanker as she made her

way up the Solent. They expected her to turn as she headed towards the

oil refinery. He said the Atalanta took a course that they thought

allowed her to pass a safe distance away. The court heard that the

tanker had taken action to avoid a motor cruiser that it had trouble.

Today, the jury were told: The prosecution say the skipper,

Lieutenant Roland Wilson, was sailing too close to the tanker. He

denies failing to keep a proper lookout. The trial continues.

West Sussex County Council is to vote on plans to cut its youth

services department by nearly a third. The council has already made

cuts to its youth support and development service ` but it says it

needs to save a further 50 full time posts, which will affect more than

100 people. The council says it has to make difficult decisions and will

still help vulnerable young people in the areas of highest need.

Extra carriages have been unveiled by South West Trains. But they're

not exactly new ` passengers may remember these on the Gatwick

Express a few years ago. They're being used to make longer trains on

services from Berkshire to Waterloo, adding more than 20,000 rush hour

seats every morning. And they will use the former Eurostar

international terminal at Waterloo which reopens tomorrow. Our

transport correspondent Paul Clifton reports.

Dragged into the depot by a diesel. The newly refurbished carriage. 60

of these will be added to trains between Berkshire and Waterloo.

Today, most have eight carriages. Soon they will have ten. They are

just now designed for commuter routes, so there would be less

baggage space but more passenger space. In terms of the regular

users, there will certainly be more space. These were some of the first

trains built after the railways were privatised in the mid`1990s. On the

Gatwick express, these distinctive noses give them the name Darth

Vader, after the character in Star Wars. This is a less flashy,

utilitarian carriage. This first carriage had been expected last

June. Or supplier underestimated the complexity, especially with

rebuilding the cabs. 60 platforms have also had to be made longer and

new electricity substations installed. These refurbished trains

will bring an extra 23,000 seat in the morning rush`hour, as they are

introduced over the next year. They will use the former Eurostar

platforms at Waterloo International. It's been revealed that Southampton

City Council spent a quarter of a million pounds last year cleaning up

after fly tippers. New Government figures show nearly 8,000 incidents

were reported in the city ` ranking it in the top 10% in England. Most

of the fly tipping involved household waste.

Still to come in this evening's South Today: The youngsters

preparing to go on court with some of the world's biggest tennis stars.

With winter approaching, the flu season is just around the corner and

it's likely to affect tens of thousands of people. Hospitals have

been told to give vaccinations to their own staff. Last year, many

struggle to get anywhere near that figure, so they are now using a

range of incentives to hit their targets. Our health correspondent

spent the day at a hospital near Portsmouth where teams of nurses are

on the prowl. Emma Fisher is a nurse with a list.

It is her job to get all 130 staff vaccinated on her ward. Once you

approach people and explain it, I try to ease their worry. It is just

talking them through it, making them comfortable as you would with

patients. They are your patient for that moment in time. Vaccinating

staff also protects vulnerable patients like this baby, 15 weeks

premature. But getting people to have the jab is not always easy. So

far, 35% of staff have been done, nurses have the best rates, junior

doctors have the worst. The target is 75%, which is very ambitious. We

have 52 clinics across the trust. We are working, early and late

clinics, weekend clinics, to try and get as many staff as we can. The key

issue is that we need staff to come in and have their vaccine to protect

themselves and their patients and families. All hospitals are trying

new ways to get staff to have the jab. At Poole, they have made a kung

fu fighting video. Back in Portsmouth, every case of suspected

flu, inpatient or staff, is tested here. This will give us a result,

somewhere in the region of three to three and a half hours, the sample

had been taken. It is very accurate and sensitive and specific. It is as

a result we can believe. For Emma, the work goes on. So far, 60 staff

of food vaccinated `` 60 staff have been vaccinated.

The future of staff and inmates at Reading Prison will be discussed

tonight. The prison is due to shut in December. However, since learning

of the closure last month, Reading Borough Council says it has had no

contact from the Ministry of Justice. This evening, the council

will start drawing up a plan looking at possible future uses for the

Grade Two listed building. May contain nuts. You have seen it on

food packets, but not for much longer. From the end of next year,

new food labelling rules come into force which change the way

information is displayed. Including specific details of ingredients

which might cause allergies. It is a big change, in particular for

restaurants. And food businesses today got a chance to find out what

it will mean at a conference organised by a campaigner from

Eastleigh. Choosing where to eat out can be a

frustrating process for allergy sufferers. Campaigner Michelle

Berriedale`Johnson says restaurants who give detailed allergy

information are in the minority. But that will have to change from next

year. Customers will have a legal right to know if what's on the menu

contains allergens. They don't have to have it written, they can tell

them about it, but they have to be able to tell them accurately. This

EU legislation will govern all of our food regulations and come from

Brussels. It means that it is slow and clunky to get there, but at

least it means anywhere you go in Europe now the regulations are

exactly the same. The list of 14 includes some established allergens

such as all types of shellfish. Peanuts and other nuts will both

have to be listed and not lumped together, and less well known

allergens include sulphur dioxide used as a preservative and

ingredients derived from the lupin plant. Today's conference in

Southampton aimed to spread the word about the changes. The organiser,

Eastleigh food allergy sufferer Caroline Benjamin, was to be found

in the kitchen overseeing a lunch menu designed to show off food free

from allergies. Her new business offers training to those who'll be

affected by the regulations. I think it is great to be a struggle,

especially for smaller businesses, because there is going to be a cost

implication for them. They are going to have to follow it through. They

will have to start thinking about it now. It possibly clears up some of

the grey areas. When you know what you must do rather than may do, it

offers clarity. We are cooking everything from scratch, we know

what is in our food, we can happily offer customers what they are

looking for. Trading Standards will enforce the law, which will also

require clear labelling of allergens on packaged food. They admit

policing the changes won't be easy. In Southampton, we have hundreds of

takeaways, restaurants, sandwich shops. It applies completely across

the board. There is a lot of them and not many of us. Maximum fines

for breaking the law will be around 5,000 pounds but today's conference

focused on avoiding the penalties and making the most of the business

opportunities in serving the UK's 21 million allergy sufferers with the

right food combined with the right information. Millions of pounds will

be poured into improving Wiltshire's roads. The county

council has decided. 150 miles of road is to be resurfaced every year

for the next six years. It will cost an extra ?52 million. It is hoped

this move will clear the maintenance backlog in the county.

It's called the Grand hotel and in its heyday it was. But time and the

elements have taken their toll on the Art Deco building which occupies

a prominent site in Sandown. Campaigners want it restored but the

owners want to demolish it and build a new hotel. Today the Isle of Wight

council was asked to decide it's fate. James Ingham reports.

It's a building well past its best ` to some an eyesore, to others a

unique piece of history that must be preserved. The Grand hotel has stood

on Sandown's seafront for 75 years. It was a premier destination. But

it's been empty for more than a year. Pat Lutley's father and uncles

built the hotel. She remembers the Grand in better days. At that time,

when it was new, it was all pink and white. And the awning all around the

edge was pink and white stripes. It was very grand. And there were lots

of palm trees and plants all around it as well. You could have been in

Nice. It was quite beautiful. It wasn't long finished when the Second

World War broke out. The basement was taken over as a control room for

the Pluto project, overseeing fuel pumping through pipelines to the

Allies in France. But nothing remains of that hub, and planning

officials say the Art Deco features aren't particularly noteworthy so

there's no reason the building can't be demolished. This has been an

important building, a very nice building, but just no longer fit for

purpose. Sandown is a beautiful town, but one of the problems we

have got is we have a small number of derelict or semiderelict

buildings that are letting the town down. We can start the regeneration

process here if this application is approved today. But it hasn't been.

In the past hour, councillors rejected the plans, Devin

campaigners hope that the hotel will one day be restored to its former

glory. This year's warm summer has brought

a welcome tourism boost to the region. The Isle of Wight saw a ?21

million increase in the amount of money spent by tourists, thanks to

the high temperatures. VisitEngland said more than half of attractions

nationwide saw a rise in bookings over the holiday months. Onto sport,

we will start with one of the greatest in cricket.

It was a great summer for cricket. It was back in 1973 as well. Gordon

Greenidge spent a lot of his youth in Redding as well, but one of that

great Caribbean generation. Greenidge was at the Ageas Bowl to

see one of the newest projects by the Hampshire Cricket Community

Trust. And to mark his appearance there was a Caribbean feel to the

occasion. Gordon Greenidge is one of the faces

of the Calypso cricket era, an era which saw West Indian players on top

of the world. My word. His exploits for Hampshire are the stuff of

legend as well, a championship winner and a welcome choice to open

the new centre. A project from the Hampshire cricket community trust.

Being back at Hampshire and opening the centre which I know will be a

great benefit to the schools and pupils within the area. And also, it

is hoped that by opening the doors, that they will take a bigger

interest in cricket. The centre has cutting`edge technology, and one of

the scheme is already in place sees these youngsters teaching older

generations more about an increasingly online world. It is

time we start contributing back to our community. It is just another

step in that direction. The centre is showing off Caribbean cricket's

influence on Hampshire during Black history month. I hope it is not just

players from the Caribbean, but the relationship that is formed which

will continue. That's championship success, time flies. I can't

remember that far back. It was good to be part of the championship team

of that year. I think we won the championship with perhaps the least

team Hampshire have had over the years. It was good, and I am very

pleased to have been part of it. Very pleased to see Gordon Greenidge

back in the South. In football, Portsmouth bid to make

it five games unbeaten in all competitions when they play their

second home game in four days tonight. 15,000 saw them beat Bury

on Saturday. Tonight, Wycombe are the visitors. John Marquis should

feature having extended his loan spell for another month from

Millwall. Away from Fratton Park, Oxford are

at Exeter who are a place above them in the table. There's also League

One home games for both Swindon and MK Dons. It's all live on BBC Local

radio. Tucked away in a sports centre in

Hampshire this week, a group of school children are being put

through their paces as they prepare to be ball kids for the world's top

men's tennis players. They'll be on court at the O2 Arena next month and

Ed Sherry reports on their training. This is Boot Camp, tennis style. The

youngsters on Hampshire this week have been short listed from 14

regional trials. They are ready to serve the world's best tennis

players as ball kids at the ATP finals. We have been learning

different ball skills, balance, skill, stamina, speed skills as

well. You have to stay in focus and if you mess your bit up, you will

muck up for the whole team. You have to stay alert the whole time and

just make sure you don't make a mistake. The kids will be mixing on

court with superstars like Rafa Nadal. I am excited about going but

in front of all those people you are wondering, can you do this? I want

them to be moulded into a lean machine. A real inner confidence

that they know exactly what their job is on court. And that they will

enjoy the experience. The tournament begins on November the 4th, these

ball kids will be ready. They will need to be. It can be

quite fiery on court if you make a mistake. I would pay money to be a

ball kid if Rafa Nadal is playing. It's a bit of a celebration now, it

started life as a pilot idea when there was a demand for local radio

stations. 30 years ago, BBC and Eyton `` BBC Radio Brighton began

broadcasting. A special programme was broadcast today live from the

city where it began. The current host was joined by the original

breakfast presenter. Congratulations to them. Onto the weather forecast.

It could be quite a noisy night weather`wise? Yes, we have already

had a lot of flashes of lightning. Pumpkin picking in the rain at

Sopley in Hampshire. This photo was taken by Chris Grimmett. Autumnal

colours in the rain at Winkworth Arboretum near Godalming in Surrey

by Nicky Morgan. That is beautiful. This one is not bad either. Richard

Johnston took this photo of the sun shining in Christchurch this

afternoon. Many thunderstorms on the cards

through the course of tonight. Heavy thundery showers, bands of showers

pushing up from the south, which is why the Met Office have issued a

yellow weather warning for heavy rain. That is valid until 6am

tomorrow morning. Through the course of tonight the showers will work

their way up from the south, claps of thunder, lightning as well, with

heavy torrential downpours in places, and with it, very squally

winds. Costs along the south coast of around 60 mph, potentially

damaging wind gusts along the coast. Inland gusts of 40 mph.

Temperatures stay mild despite the rain, lows of 14 to 15 Celsius. A

wet start tomorrow, some showers initially, thunderstorms will die

out and the sun will make an appearance. A lovely afternoon in

store. Temperatures rising nicely. In our towns and cities, up to 15,

16, potentially 17 Celsius. Winds will ease tomorrow. It will feel

pleasant, winds coming in from the west tomorrow afternoon. Through the

course of tomorrow night, mist and fog will form in places. That could

cause disruption on the roads. Reduced visibility, temperatures

falling to around eight to 13 Celsius. A complete contrast in

temperatures from the north to the south of the region. I'll start the

day on Thursday, a dry start. `` eight mild start. This area of low

pressure springs and rain `` swings in rain. Quite heavy rainfall on the

cards on Thursday night into Friday morning. The Met Office are keeping

close eye on the situation. At the end of the week we will see showers,

temperatures will rise nicely in the afternoon, the winds will gradually

ease. A cloudy start to Thursday, a decent day, some sunny spells, any

showers will be few and far between. Heavy rain on Thursday

night into Friday morning, on Saturday, probably the best day of

the weekend with bright spells. Thank you very much. Keep those

pictures coming in. Tomorrow's sport, something really interesting.

We told you the story of the former Southampton youngster who had a very

serious bout of illness. His life was in danger, and the doctors

described his recovery as a miracle. The era of Gareth Bale and Theo

Walcott. He was part of that era. He could be talking with us tomorrow

night so be with us for that. Thank you for watching. Good night.