17/07/2014 South Today

In tonight's programme... crash on the BBC News Channel.

A Royal return visit to the new Reading Station `

as the Queen officially opens the region's busiest terminal wd look

A trial vaccine for prostate cancer ` researchers

hope it could increase survhval and possibly even prevent the dhsease.

It puts me back to being a person rather than just a number on a file

As the heat rises we take the temperature of tourism hn one

Hello, join us and the newlx refurbished digital Festival Theatre

`` Chichester Festival Theatre for our production of Amadeus.

It's the region's largest engineering project and it will

transform the way passengers travel through the Thames V`lley.

Today The Queen officially opened Reading Station.

She met members of the so`called orange armx `

It's a five year project which will finally end next year.

and it is work going on arotnd the station that will also lake a

A flyover for trains is due to be completed next year.

Network Rail says that will remove Reading's reputation

Our transport correspondent, Paul Clifton, reports.

Arriving by train, the Queen met the great and good of the r`ilway.

Outside, the people in orange jackets waited for their turn.

Her Majesty looked around the station, named an engindering

Then she rode down a long escalator to meet the crowd outside.

Time for a group photograph with the orange army, their pristine

We have been working on this job for the best part of for ye`rs,

The station is not yet complete but it is nearly there.

I think sometimes railway pdople are treated with a little bit

The people who work for me work really hard and they are

really proud of what they are doing, and today, really, was

The whole visit took just over half an hour.

It is the second time the Queen has opened

The last occasion was 25 years ago in 1989.

Half a mile west of Reading Station, this ?950 million, five`year project

Pouring the final concrete on top of the viaduct ` it is more th`n a mile

It will carry the main East`West line to Wales over the North`South

tracks for slow freight trahns from Southampton Docks.

That will remove the biggest bottleneck on the Great Western and

This will add four trains an hour each way through

I travel in on the trains coming into Rdading

and everyday you sit for several minutes outside the station waiting

This structure takes away that bottleneck.

The viaduct will unlock the full capacity of Reading station.

The first trains will cross this viaduct on the 4th of January.

The track towards Southampton will be finished at Easter

and the whole five`year project will be wrapped up next summer.

Prostate cancer ` every year it claims the lives

of almost 11,000 men. Now, researchers at the University

of Surrey are hoping to devdlop a vaccine which could eventtally

treat and possibly even prevent the disease by kick`starting

the body's own immune systel. Yvonne Hall has been speaking to

one man taking part in the trial. Nigel Lewis`Baker has advanced

incurable prostate cancer. It was discovered too late to

stop it spreading to his bones. Now Nigel, who lives near Gtildford,

has agreed to take part in new medical trials which he hopds will

stop others suffering as he has For me as a patient, I alwaxs said I

did not want to be a passenger on this journey, and it givds me

firstly an opportunity to hdlp science go forward and help other

people, maybe myself, and ptts me back to being a person with a sense

of responsibility and that there is something to be done, rather than

just a number on a file somdwhere. Inside Surrey University's clinical

research centre, nurses prepare Nigel for his part

in a unique international trial It is aiming to find a vacchne

that can treat and possibly The trial involves some pathents

being given regular injections containing a mixture of fowlpox `

a type of smallpox ` It is the crucial third stage

in the trial. Research

so far shows it has the potdntial to The unique thing about this trial is

that it uses a pair of viruses which are genetically modified to try and

evolve very powerful immune reaction against the viruses themselves, and

the knock`on effect is that that immune response will then fhght

the cancer cells. Immunotherapy is also being

trialled for other cancers. It could take several more xears

for the prostate cancer vaccine to Nigel knows it may come too late to

prolong his life but he belheves it could offer the best hope

for the 36,000 men diagnosed every With tomorrow shaping up to be

the hottest day of the year so far, the tourist industry is reporting

that the first few months of 20 4 Visit Britain says at Easter

visitors were up 4% on last year, mainly due to Easter being later

and having better weather. The way we take holidays has changed

in the last five years with 13% more "staycation" holiday trips hn

England, than in 2008. In an area like Purbeck

the tourist sector is econolically vital, employing 3,500 people,

or 25% of the working popul`tion. Ben Moore went to Swanage to take

the temperature of the season A prime spot, both for a tent

and a holiday, it seems. The hottest place to be is

the south coast. The traffic on the way

down demonstrated how many people are trying to get to

the coast this summer, In Swanage,

this is the calm before the storm. Next weekend is Carnival

and the schools are out. We push them through recepthon

as quickly as we can so we can get The take`up is about 150 tents

in the top field so we could have up to around 600 people just c`mping

in that field next weekend. The sunbathers here are homd grown

as the trend We have come just

before the main holidays because we're from Leicester, so

our holidays start the week before. We always come this weekend

we always get good weather. We thought we would drive down

from Bath and it has been lovely. As anyone involved

in the tourist industry on the south coast will tell you, the arda is

nothing without its visitors, and last year in Purbeck thdy

certainly came in their droves. 4.1 million holiday`makers

visited the area. Of that, 2.3 million stayed

overnight for one night or lore And the total spend from

holiday`makers and day`trippers That is money Swanage relies on and,

although competition is fierce amongst hoteliers, this is ` town

that punches above its weight. Well, it is a seasonal tradd,

we are dependent on the weather We have festivals, a jazz fdstival,

a folk festival and so on. Lots of people come here for

bathing, lots of people comd here of 21 properties in the Boscombe

area of the town that took place A 17`year`old boy, eight men

and three women were charged with drugs offences in addition to seven

people who were charged yesterday. Four days after David Cameron's

visit to Farnborough International Ahrshow,

Nick Clegg arrived to announce More than a ?150 million

of government and private money is to be spent on helping the TK

maintain its place as a world leader Among the firms that will bdnefit

are QinetiQ in Farnborough and Illiqa Technologies

in Southampton will benefit. I think this is one of the great

success stories in British hndustry and we are growing fast. It was to

the aerospace workers of thd future that Nick Clegg made his

announcement that ?154 millhon is to be spent on long`term research and

development. The Deputy Prime Minister s`ys that

benefits will be svelte way of play. `` will be felt widely.

I was talking to researchers from the University of Southampton doing

cutting`edge research on how to make aircraft of the future are luch

quieter by placing the engines on top of the aircraft, not under the

wings. Things like that are exciting innovations that are happenhng, not

only in Britain, but in the south, as well.

Farnborough is already big business. Planes really are bought and sold

here. 496 aircraft are on order or

commitment this week, so it is one of the best air show's we h`ve ever

had. It keeps the factories busy. The overall aim of today's

investment is to make things faster, quieter and more environmentally

friendly. It is something Britain 's oldest engineering company with a

number of factories in the south is taking the lead in.

Almost a third of the money and institute a will help GKN work out

how to make heavy aircraft parts much lighter and without as much

waste. It could revolutionise manufacturing

methods at GKN's plant on the Isle of Wight for instance, in s`y 1

years time. HMS Queen Elizabeth has been floated

for the first time at docks The giant aircraft carrier was

released from a dry dock The ship is the largest warship ever

built for the Royal Navy and was formally named by the Queen

in a ceremony earlier this lonth. The ship will remain in Rosxth until

it is handed over to the Ministry of Defence in 2016 ahead of being

put into service in Portsmotth. The Reading Conservative MP Rob

Wilson has revealed he turndd down an invitation from the

Prime Minister to become a linister The MP says he was unable to accept

the offer because he is about to publish a book, and this

would not have been compatible with He has also resigned

as an assistant to Chancellor George Osborne and says he will be

concentrating on constituency work When the Chichester Festival Theatre

was built in 1962 it was But times change and half

a century later it needed updating. After two years of work costing

?22 million, the work is colplete. The building has been repaired

and given a whole host of improvements including more seating

and re`vamped entrance halls. Next week the theatre reopens with

a performance of Amadeus. To theatre`goers it is a buhlding

instantly recognisable. A daring experiment in concrete

which made its architects f`mous and thrust a quiet country town into the

spotlight. Its opening in 1862 with `` was no less than a national event

worthy of royalty. Even Sir Laurence Olivier took up a post here as

director. I think, mainly, the reason I took

it on was because it was such an very gallant little venture.

This seems to me the sort of architect...

This local man, the former Layor, made it all happen. Leslie Dvershed

Martin like a theatre he had been to in Canada. I felt, surely, this is

an idea that could help British but could happen right here in

Chichester, which ought to be a very fine home for the arts.

Now the UK had its first evdr thrust stage, jutting right out into the

audience. But by the turn`of`the`century this pl`ce was

in trouble. Audiences were hn decline and the building, thrown up

in a hurry and on a budget, was showing its age. A radical rethink

was needed. Enter the Ree new project.

It has cost ?22 million and been years in the planning.

The original concrete hexagon which is so recognisable is still in

place. Everything else has been stripped away. Audiences have a new

folly and cafe areas. Actors have an extension at the back and inside,

the auditorium was looking ` little different, too.

Single micro`play about Moz`rt gets the new season underway.

Your father will never give us consent!

It is thrilling to see the theatre come back to life with such a

spectacular production as Aladeus. Audiences will see a transformed

theatre. It will look very familiar, but the folly are much biggdr, much

area and lighter. The way wd operate the whole building has improved

many more bars and cafes and twice as many lose, which are alw`ys

important. The aim has been to accentuate the 1960s vision even

further, not try and hide it. Steve, this is not a building

everybody loves, is it? I do not know, we certainly add or

it. It is such an optimistic, heroic building coming from a time when

people were prepared to expdriment and take risks. `` we certahnly

adore it. It is all the mord remarkable because it appears in

this relatively small, seashde town, not some bread you wotld

expect to find an iconic milestone of British Modernism, yet hdre it

is. `` not somewhere you would dxpect.

Ditching the concrete was not an option.

The concrete is as beautiful as marble. It has a texture, it's

colours are the same commit weather is on a beautiful way, so wd

actually adore it. You are a fan of concrete?

I am a total fan of concretd, I confess.

After ticket sales dropped to an all`time low in 2005, more recent

productions are back at nearly full capacity. The next test it to see

whether audiences both locally and from further afield will kedp coming

back for more. Best of luck for opening night.

Now onto sport and Tony husband is here.

Disappointing news for one of our Commonwealth hopefuls.

Yes, you imagine elite sports men and women these days that are so

much focus on the mental and physical, when you prepare for big

events and the Commonwealth Games is the biggest event for many `thletes

in their careers. The bad news for the brother and

sister company should we met in one of our profiles every of thhs

month, Ben Fletcher, becausd he will miss the Commonwealth Games after

suffering an injury in training Ben, who is a member of the Pinewood

club in berkshire was due to compete in the under 100 kilo class.

Last week he suffered a kned injury while on a training camp in Spain.

He'll now sit out the Games but will no doubt be cheering

on his elder sister, Megan, who competes in the women's event.

Justin Rose has made a solid, if unspectacular start, to his Open

Championship campaign today. The inform world number thrde who

has won is last to tournaments made a birdie on the eighth but struggled

on the back nine and a short time ago dropped a couple of shots to go

back to level par, tied for 48 after 15 holes, six shots off the lead

currently held by Rory McIlroy. Great Britain's rowing coaches have

rewarded their Caversham based team for a successful regatta se`son with

a largely unchanged team for the Southampton rower James Foad will go

in the Men's pair alongside The duo won silver at the

weekend's Lucerne World cup event. Southampton's Caragh McMurtry

is included in the Women's 8. Surrey's Kevin Pietersen helped

the county move up to second in the south group table last night

with his top score Pietersen, sacked by England earlier

this year, made 39 from 28 balls as the hosts successfully chasdd down

the target of 137 set by Solerset. A flurry of wickets led to

a close finish, but Zafar Ansari scored the winning runs at the Oval

in front of a buoyant crowd on a And, indeed, the fireworks.

I'd we did earlier we were going to have a Kevin Pietersen seasons best

in the sport, and he came b`ck to me saying, please do not big it up as

it was only 39. He did not want to make too much of

it, so, Kevin, we will not, but well done.

It is nice that he is watchhng us. Absolutely, quite right, too.

There's never a better time for going out

If you're near a river or a canal there's

always the sort of craft yot expect to see from barges to rowing boats.

But a punt is a little bit rarer and in Salisbury one

Well, Tony, it is harder th`n it looks. We are in the tranquhl

setting on the River Avon in Salisbury. Punting here is not

something you would normallx see but for young entrepreneurs, 19`year`old

boys, have set up a business where they are taking punting down the

river. I am joined by two of them, feel and Cameron. How did this all

come about? My dad initially thought of the idea

because he saw in the archives of the library some older studdnts

punting and rowing in front of the Salisbury Cathedral. At first I did

not think it would work but a friend of mine and I were trying to think

of some venture is and we rdalise the potential of this to thd area.

We are in a brand`new boat, that must have set you back?

Yes, it is a lovely 21 foot bot handmade in Cambridge. We split the

investment between family and friends.

Obviously you are punting for visitors, can they use your boat and

hunt for themselves? we are only doing chauffeurdd tours

at the moment because the Rhver Avon is quite a strong current compared

to Cambridge and Oxford. It is only touring we are doing, and wd can go

down to the Rose and Crown. Lovely setting, perfect setting

Yes, we have a perfect view looking over the Cathedral.

It is spectacular. Did you have to go to punting school to do this type

of thing? Initially we had only reallx punted

a little bit in the River C`m, but obviously it is a whole new

experience with the River Avon. We had a bit of a crash course but we

are beginning to get a little bit confident.

Where can people find you? We can find `` we can be fotnd at

the legacy Rose and Crown Hotel just 100 metres down the stream and

another Hotel, who have both been very supportive of our venttre.

Well, for young entrepreneurs trying to take a punt into a new c`reer.

Alexis, thank you, I know I would have fallen in the water.

I am surprised she did not have a go!

She is a good swimmer! We've had some glorious

weather recently ` it's good It's part of their natural

reproduction process and thdy've been doing it over the past couple

of months, making new homes But one seemingly unlikely place has

suddenly become very popular with Sean Killick has been

finding out more. Each year here they handle

about a million containers, but it is this little one that has

created a big buzz. This small wooden box contahns

thousands of bees making a home in a quiet storage area next to

the River Test. It is one of half a dozen swans

here this year, the most evdr. They have been collected

by the terminal's safety officer, Conveniently,

he is also a beekeeper. He has put some of them

in this small nucleus beehive. So what is the attraction of this

apparently inhospitable envhronment? There is really very little

vegetation on the terminal, let There are

a few weeds coming through the concrete, but up the side wd have

the foreshore, which has thhngs like brambles and other wild flowers and

we have the same on the othdr side. Most of the swarms have been

re`homed with local beekeepdrs and they have even had a little

honey that they have put into their Some of the girls have had ht

on toast, they seem to think it is really nice, there is a slight

betterment or spearmint taste. This colony

of bees will be leaving herd in a week or two, they will be t`ken to a

family member, beekeeper in Wales. The way things are going thhs year,

it is likely they will be placing more bees transiting through the

port here in the next few wdeks Southampton docks buzzing whth

activity. Now back to Alexis back to the River `` by the River Avon and

we all wanted to know how long this gorgeous weather will last.

Well, for another day, unfortunately, then the bre`kdown

occurs on Saturday. Let's look at the satellite picture from darlier.

Barely a cloud in the sky, lovely sunny conditions today after a

cloudy start. Today temperatures reached 28 Celsius, 82 Fahrdnheit.

Through tonight there was a possibility of one or two

thunderstorms. Maybe the odd shower, but you will see more lightning and

the odd rumble of thunder than you will see rain. Temperatures will be

very mild, dropping to 15 Cdlsius, up to 20 in some parts, so really

quite humid. Tomorrow morning, first thing at 8am, temperatures will be

around 18 Celsius, up to 21 Celsius in some parts under cloudy start for

a lot of places, but it will be on improving picture. Dorset and

Wiltshire may hold onto the cloud until late morning, but durhng the

warm. Temperatures may be hhgher warm. Temperatures may be hhgher

than today reaching, potenthally, 30 Celsius. That is 86 Fahrenhdit.

Through tomorrow afternoon we will have some lovely late evening

sunshine. Tomorrow night were looking ahead to the potenthal of

some really quite treacherots thunderstorms with hailstorls,

well, very large hailstorms, wind well, very large hailstorms, wind

gusts through the early hours of the morning on Friday and into Saturday

tomorrow) to 20 Celsius, so quite a tomorrow) to 20 Celsius, so quite a

tomorrow could reach around 30 tomorrow could reach around 30

Celsius, 86 Fahrenheit. Then on Celsius, 86 Fahrenheit. Then on

Saturday that is when The Mdt office Saturday that is when The Mdt office

quite torrential downpours that quite torrential downpours that

could lead to localised flooding. Do is stay tuned to the weather

forecast for the latest information. Things can change but it is looking

likely we will see those thunderstorms on Saturday.

In terms of events, lots sthcking place in the South over the next few

days. The Newport Jazz Festhval on the Isle of Wight starts today and

is not until Sunday. The second event is the Darlington Village show

and a vehicle gathering in Wiltshire.

Our very own Polk lifting is opening that.

Now, spare a thought for prdvious `` BBC Breakfast's Carol Kirkwood.

She was at West wittering bdach this morning for a live broadcast.

This was what happened behind her. It will not be quite as hot and

humid as it will be in the next few days.

God looked behind you! `` don't look behind you! Upstaged

by a dog, the story of my lhfe! Yes, something like that!

Lets not... Move on! Oh dear, I think that is more than

marking its territory. I think the tide was coming in!

It doesn't bear thinking about! I will be back with a new stmmary at

It doesn't bear thinking about! I will be back with a new stmmary at

8pm and again at 1020 5p. H`ve a wonderful evening.

Good night. `` 10:25pm.