Afternoon,
I'd like to start with a request today. If you're a tallish bloke... with mousy brown hair... and were schmoozing someone I presume to be your girlfriend on the Bakerloo Line this morning... could you please wash your clothes? They smell of stale food.
Okay, with that off my chest - let's move on to this evening's programme.
So, who likes surprises? Depends if they're good or bad, doesn't it? Which means one of the men running for Mayor in May will like our top story tonight... another one most certainly won't... while a third, well, he doesn't get much of surprise at all really... and he still won't like it. You see, we've got the result of another poll for you - 'Who do you want to be Mayor?' - that sort if thing. And it seems Mr Livingstone may be losing a bit of ground. Boris has gained some. And Mr Paddick's pretty much a 'non-mover' at number 3. We'll be looking into why people are thinking what they're thinking, and if they'll carry on thinking what they're thinking. That's a lot of thinking.
Now, cast your mind back to yesterday's programme when we reported that Levi Bellfield had been convicted for murdering two women and trying to kill a third. We also told you that Surrey police have him as their prime suspect in the Milly Dowler murder. In fact he's been connected to a total of 20 other attacks and murders. (One of the murders police will question him on is that of 14 year old Patsy Morris who was murdered in Hounslow Heath back in 1980. We've an exclusive interview with her father tonight.)
Well, Levi Bellfield was due in court number 5 at the Old Bailey this morning to be sentenced. But he refused to show. His lawyer said his client wasn't coming because of an "explosion of bad publicity". His victims' families have their opinion on that. So have we. It's the judge's opinion that Bellfield should spend the rest of his natural life in prison.
And on we go to... First Great Western. When we talk about train companies, it's tempting to slag 'em off and whine on about how dreadful their service is. The thing is not all train companies are that bad. Some of them provide a pretty good service. Not First Great Western though. In fact, the service they knock out is so bad the Government gave bosses an ultimatum today: "shape up or ship out". The deal is that if they don't inject £29 million EXTRA into the system and that doesn't produce a marked improvement in the running of the trains, someone else gets the train set. If you're travelling home with First Great Western tonight... pass it on.
Okay, speaking of things that don't move very fast - Fred is a 70 year old tortoise. You might think a 70 year old tortoise wouldn't be much trouble on the pet-care front; presumably, most septuagenarian 'shell-dwellers' just sit there and eat a bit. Fred doesn't. Fred's a fire-starter... Okay, she (yep, Fred's a girl) didn't MEAN to set fire to her owners' house, but she did. Luckily for Fred, her owners are the forgiving sort. Me? I'd be thinking 'ornate Smartie bowl'.
So lots to get through.. not to mention problems at the Blackwall Tunnel and a 21st Century take on Tosca.
See you at six,
Ben & Katie
