21/05/2014 South Today

at Six. Actions in Ukraine

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

Families anxiously wait back here as the US coastguard contintes to

search for the missing yachtsmen who were on their way

I am sure we all hope we will find them alive and they will cole back.

Alcohol awareness ` the pub that serves up lessons for teenagers

Teaching out in the open, but should pre`school learnhng be

And shining a light on history ` a rare sample

of handwriting that tells the story of one of our greatest novelists.

The US coastguard is expectdd to give an update in the next half hour

on the search for the four British sailors missing in the mid @tlantic.

The Cheeki Rafiki got into trouble on its way back from Antigu`.

The Americans resumed their air search yesterday after mounting

Today, an RAF Hercules from Brize Norton joined the search

It's given renewed hope to the families of 23`year`old Jamds Male

from Southampton and 21`year`old Andrew Bridge from Farnham.

Let's go to Ben Moore live in Surrey.

The Bridge family and friends continued to wait. Just 24 hours

since the search resumed. It has been a busy house with people

popping in and out. The famhly say they have gathered great support

from that and they have takdn heart from the wider support around the

world. They have also against strength from thinking about Andrew

as well. We don't want to ever give up hope. He is in our hearts all the

time. From this response, hd seems to be in everyone's heart. He is

very giving and loving. It hs all coming back to us now. We are

waiting for him. Andrew started sailing when he was

very young, about nine years old, and at 22 he was considered an

extremely spearing against skipper of the boat `` but`macro ``

experienced skipper. Although it has been five days, there is sthll hope

that these experienced yachtsman will be found safe and well. An

announcement is imminent. Wd are expecting to hear from the TS Coast

Guard within the next half hour and the family will also head up to the

Foreign Commonwealth Office for another meeting tomorrow in London.

We are also hearing that thd Hercules aircraft dispatched by the

RAF has flown over the search area, and landed in Canada. It is being

refuelled ready to start se`rching again at first light. There is still

a long way to go. When you have four or five people staring out of

Windows looking for what is the size of a basketball in the ocean, it is

extremely difficult and tirhng. Similarly, with merchant shhps,

their visual horizon is not more than about 15 miles so this is not

an easy task. Well, there is still great hope

remaining here that the four yachtsman will be found safd and

well. Indeed, this is Andrew's boat. They are just waiting for hhm to

come back and start working on that again.

Thank you. A coroner has ruled that Olxmpic

sailing gold medallist Andrew Simpson died as a result

of an accident. The 36`year`old,

who was from Sherbone in Dorset was killed in San Francisco bay

in May last year whilst trahning Andrew Simpson was a hugely

accomplished sailor. He won Olympic gold in Beijing in 2008 and took

silver for years later in wdll `` Weymouth. His dream was to win the

Americas cup but it was durhng training last May that disaster

struck. He was sailing a catamaran with ten other crew members and they

turned down wind when the port side Hull dug into the water and caused

it to capsize. The inquest heard he was trapped under the yacht for

approximately ten minutes. @ttempts to revive him began on the capsized

vessel and continued but thdy were unsuccessful. He had sufferdd

injuries to his head, neck `nd torso. The chief medical ex`miner

for San Francisco concluded he had died from the trauma and drowning.

The coroner recorded a verdhct of accidental death. Andrew Silpson's

widow and his parents were hn court for the inquest. He loved s`iling.

It is a sailor 's ambition to do top sailing and he loved it. Andrew

Simpson's passion for sailing will live on. His young sons recdntly

opened a centre in his name in Weymouth.

A teacher from West Sussex has been j`iled

for 13 years for sexually abusing young boys at two public schools.

56`year old Jonathan O'Brien, who's from Bosham was emploxed

at the Oratory School in Woodcote near Reading during the 1980s.

He also worked at a school near Kidderminster.

He was found guilty of a total of 22 counts of indecent assault

We show our children how to cross the road and warn about the fire

risks at home, so why not also teach them how to drink safdly?

Today, a new pub for the over`16s opened

It doesn't sell beer, but it will serve up lessons such as thd

different strengths of drinks, how alcohol affects behaviour and the

Propping up the buyer today is a class from Weymouth College. You are

now up to 20 years, so you drink five times as many weekly units in

one night as you're meant to have in the week. So, what did they learn? I

let how much I actually drink and how much I'm meant to drink. Drink

isn't the way forward. You don't need it to have a good night out. I

enjoy myself when I'm out, but I might check when I go to cltbs. It

is about knowing your limits and what the impact is on your body It

is about looking after each other, first aid. Just generally bding

responsible. The local addiction charity is also backing the drive.

It is a laugh and joke until they are put in a risky situation and

then it dawns on them. Until then it is binge drinking and putting

themselves in risky situations. As well as the new bar, it takds

classes of primary school children to learn about safety. Just over

there is a mock farmyard and a fake beach. The new fake bar's official

opening is tonight but anyone wanting a tipple to celebrate might

be disappointed. A level crossing on the outskirts of

Littlehampton is to be shut in the next few days despite a campaign by

local people to keep it open. Padgett's Crossing in Angmering was

the site of a fatal accident ` an Padgett 's Crossing is used by many

people but there are no barriers, no gates nor warning lights. Ndtwork

Rail is closing the Crossing which doesn't please some locals. It is

not inherently dangerous. There is a very good view, a perfectly good

Crossing. Seven years ago, ` teenager was killed by a tr`in here

and eyewitnesses said the 18`year`old had been plaguing

chicken. Level crossings relain by far the biggest risk on the railway.

Last year, ten people died on them, there were ten collisions bdtween

trains and road vehicles. There were seven and a half thousand ldvel

crossings. In the last five years, Network Rail has shut 800 of them

and in the next five years ht will remove 500 more. The train on this

line can go at 70 miles an hour and it is difficult to judge th`t,

especially if you have headphones on. It is unusual to find a campaign

to keep a level crossing opdn but the decision here has already been

taken. The Crossing will close on Saturday. Many more will follow

Family doctors groups are w`rning there could be a shortage of GPs as

many leave the profession e`rly One in five intend to retire earlier

than they planned. Still to come: Peeling away the past, whosd

handwriting is this? British children are the first in

Europe to start school at fhve years old. Education chiefs have recently

said they should be taught formally even earlier in nurseries. But one

school near Southampton which teaches outdoors says it is worried

it may be penalised under this new drive.

The children of this centre are all three or four, preschool agd. They

are learning under the forest to school principals. We are following

their natural interest out of doors. It is an environment without ceiling

all walls. They can follow their own interest and find resources. There

is enough for everybody. It is outdoor `based activities lhke these

that this centre believes are most beneficial for children. Thd nursery

covers the guidelines set ott by the government for early years dducation

but the head of Ofsted recently spoke out in favour of introducing

structured, classroom `based learning in nurseries. We are

concerned about the quality of provision in early years. It is one

of the most vital times in ` child's life. If they don't have thd basic

skills and social and emotional and learning skills necessary bdfore

four and five, they do not start school well. The children's minister

agrees but Britain is already out on a limb with its low school `ge is

most Europeans do not start school until they are six. The staff here

things structured tuition in schools will be too early. They are worried

their method will be squeezdd out. We feel afraid that, although Ofsted

inspectors appreciate and v`lue what we do, they won't be allowed to mark

is as good or outstanding any longer because we do not follow thd very

tight curriculum within a t`ble based setting. We put these concerns

to Ofsted and it said that play is inherently educational but hts focus

is ensuring the most disadv`ntaged children reach a good level of

development before they start school.

The head teacher of a Dorset school once named the worst in the country

for GCSE results has resigndd. Cheryl Heron was given the task of

turning around St Aldhelm's Academy in Poole. In 2011, just 3% of pupils

got five good GCSE grades. The school recently hit the headlines

after losing more than ?1 mhllion when it fell victim to an online

scam. It has yet to get the money back.

It is the last day of campahgning in local and European elections. Just

20 local authorities in the area are holding ballots but everyond has the

chance to vote in European elections. Labour has been

campaigning in areas where people haven't bothered to vote in the

past. I think political parties have got to realise we can't just fight

for dwindling numbers of votes. We have to ask why are their dwindling

number of votes and we have to ask what we are doing wrong and how we

can put it right. The Peace Party is putting tp a full

list of candidates. Its principle is to treat others at you with `` as

you would wish to be treated yourself. It is for peaceful

coexistence which has existdd in Europe for many years past. The

Peace Party would build on that success story by scaling down the

military, first amongst the smaller countries and then later with all

countries in the union. So, two sets of elections, dach

with a different voting system. That could be confusing

so let's bring in Let's take the local elections first

` they're not happening everywhere? Ones to watch include some

of the big towns ` Reading, Oxford, Portsmouth, Southampton,

Winchester, Basingstoke. Crawley in Sussex,

Swindon in Wiltshire and Purbeck One viewer said he didn't know who

his MEP is a a question we have heard a lot. I'll try and explain

with fruit. That was popular last night. First past the popes for

Westminster and the winner hs `` first past the post goes to

Westminster. Europe is totally different. We are trying to elect a

whole basket of different candidates. I brought you a whole

bowl of fruit. Marvellous. There are ten MEPs for a constituency like the

south`east. It is as big as Austria, the number of people voting there.

How do we decide which ten go to Brussels? Well, you've got the huge,

long ballot paper. You vote for a party. You put a cross. It hs

simple. They will help you fill this in when you go to the polling

station. Then we may elect to oranges, we may have to ban`nas It

is done in proportion to thd votes for the party. Those ten individuals

are your MEPs. It gives a whole new meaning to five a day. The

blueberries have been going down well.

Thank you. You can find a ftll list of candidates for the Europdan

elections on the website. Now to the sport. Unusually, a rare

opportunity for the Saints chairman to speak out. We didn't hear a lot

from him when he was the ch`irman but here is something to sax on the

future of some of their stars. The former chairman believes thd club

risks undermining their recdnt success if they sell some of their

best players this summer. Speaking since he stepped down coming he has

told the BBC that the futurd of some of his players would not be in doubt

if he had stayed there. The key is to keep those talents. You don't

produce talents just to sell them. So, if you had an offer of `ny size

for the top players, the answer would be? No. It would have been no

money would have persuaded xou? Absolutely not.

The Cherries need to reduce their losses from their recently posted

?15 million to ?8 million bx December. The current rules have

been called archaic. Bournelouth could face a chance for emb`rgo if

they do not comply by the end of the year.

Not a happy start for the English batsmen in his debut at the Oval. A

communication breakdown saw him spill this easy chance in the field.

When he came to bat, things got briefly better. This boundary lifted

his confidence but then he got one to third man and was dismissed for

seven. Sri Lankan won by nine runs. A one`day series starts tomorrow.

Hampshire reinforce their position at the start of division two. They

rolled Leicestershire 496 to complete a big win.

For the country 's hockey players, their big focus of this year comes

before the Commonwealth Gamds. Both are women and men's teams contest

the World Cup in the Netherlands. England's hockey players usd the

banks on the River Thames as a training base. Their work is geared

to the World Cup which gets underway on May the 31st. Ten Reading

players, five from the men's and women's team, have made it hnto the

England squad. The whole sqtad has gelled well but having five of us

from the club helps because you know where everyone will run. It will

help us play together. With the exception of the Olympics, the World

Cup is regarded as hockey 's biggest event and the England team will have

their work cut out if they `re to reach the finals. The World Cup to

us is the same as the Olymphc Games. The World Cup is the highest thing

we can play in and it is thd best teams in the world. The Netherlands,

it will be fantastic. The 12 best nations on the planet will be at the

Netherlands next month. With that, and the Commonwealth games coming up

at the end of July, it is a busy summer ahead for the England hockey

stars. That tournament gets underw`y on May

the 31st. Well done to them. Thank you. Now the mystery of the

handwriting. Her words are still famous the world over severdd might

surprise you to hear that vdry few examples of Jane Austin's

handwriting survive. There `re no books or manuscripts and many of her

letters were destroyed after her death. You can understand the

excitement when a fragment of her handwriting turned up.

It was stuck onto a letter by hurler `` nephew in 1870.

Robust protection for a fragile piece of history. Inside thd climate

controlled safe at this college near Chichester and artefact that has a

story to tell. In 1870, 50 xears after Jane Austin's death, her

nephew published a book abott his aunt and he sent it to a frhend with

a letter glued inside with ` fragment of her handwriting. The

conservation Department at this college was asked to stick the

layers. We need to delegate lead separate them without causing

damage. There is extra pressure because it is a Jane Austin script

and there are few of those `round. Armed with blotting paper and

Gore`Tex, this student has gently eased apart the first two of three

layers. If we applied the moisture to the back of the sheet it will

work up through the paper and soften the adhesive sitting on the back of

this letter. Her nephew writes that the fragment is the handwriting of

his aunt but not her words. He says it is part of a sermon copidd out by

Herbert written by her brother, the Reverend James Austin in 1804. Men

may get into the habit of rdpeating the words of our prayers by rote

perhaps without thoroughly understanding, certainly without

thoroughly feeling there full force of meaning. This is where the first

`` that's sermon was delivered. This is where Jane Austin's fathdr was

rest and when he retired, hdr brother followed in his footsteps ``

rector. The words are simil`r to those written in her novel,

Mansfield Park. I imagined ht coincided with the day he prepared

his sermon. Did he work with her? That is the big question. Whether he

was influencing whether thex composed it together, we can't

really answer but we can qudstion it and the link back to Mansfidld Park

makes it a compelling questhon. Jane Austen wrote on both sides of the

fragment and the reverse has not been seen since it was stuck down

150 years ago. Experts were planning to glue this final but then they

discovered that the words bdcame clear when viewed under a lhght box.

You can start to see this wording clearly. "great propriety

preserved". Austin scholars will now ponder these words. We know there

are other parts of the `` shmilar fragments and it will be fascinating

to ring them together and rdassemble the jigsaw.

This fragment will go on display later this year. The whole story

behind it will take longer to uncover.

That is very exciting and a real treat for Jane Austen lovers. A

jigsaw putting it together. Moving on to the weather. A bit of a

warning for tonight and tomorrow. Yes, thunderstorms are on the way.

We had some sunshine today `nd a number of showers but tonight the

rain will really start to creep in. Torrential, thundery downpotrs

through the night and the Mdt office has issued a yellow warning valid

from midnight tonight until 9pm from midnight tonight until 9pm

tomorrow night. Heavy and thundery downpours making their way tp from

yellows show the heavy bursts, yellows show the heavy bursts,

gradually clearing in the southeastern corner. There lay be

mist and fog patches, much like this morning.

Some areas could escape the showers altogether. Temperatures will reach

a high of 17 degrees Celsius and squally conditions. Showers will

will edge up from the south with will edge up from the south with

prolonged periods of rain on Friday. A number of showers will tr`ck

northwards on Friday, merging to longer spells of

only take weather pictures hf it is safe to do so. Thank you for

watching and that is to find that one item

that's going to change their life. Flames are beautiful. Made

nice money, that did. Nice money. ?200,000?

HE LAUGHS I mean, nobody, really and truly,

can sell rubbish like I can. Meet the real-life

Del Boys And Dealers... 'the Big Bumper Bank Holiday

Comedy 50th Birthday Weekend.' Let's look at the history

of BBC TWO with me, Simon Schama. 'Harry And Paul's

Story Of The 2s - part of 'the Big Bumper Bank Holiday

Comedy 50th Birthday Weekend.'