Well, as I sit here writing this Ms Hyndman is over to my left, seeing off some soup. She's not feeling 100% you see. Bit of a cold. Still, she's going to soldier on through the afternoon and evening. The needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few, eh? That's the spirit.
It certainly was the spirit that may have saved the lives of countless Greenwich residents back in the 2nd World War when an airman found his Spitfire heading for the ground. Instead of bailing out, Robin 'Bubble' Waterston (great name - great man), stayed in the plane to steer it away from housing and point it at open ground. He died so others might live. We'll remember his ultimate sacrifice on the programme tonight in the hope that someone watching may actually remember it themselves. If you do, or if your Grannie ever talked about the magnificent man who stayed in his flying machine to save people's lives... Woolwich Artillery Museum wants to hear from you.
We're featuring another appeal tonight, actually. A church appeal, in fact. Okay, churches are always asking for cash to mend the roof, restore the organ, replace the cassocks etc. But this is no ordinary church. St Margaret's - slap bang next to the Abbey - has quite a few claims to fame. Diarist Samuel Pepys was married there. And poet John Milton. And Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill. Oh, and a certain explorer, Sir Walter Raleigh, is buried there. The problem is the roof and walls are crumbling, and £2 million is needed to repair them. We'll take a look around later.
Changing the mood entirely, we'll be reporting on the 15 year old who was murdered by an ex-boyfriend after she dumped him. Thomas Nugusse stabbed Arsema Dawit more than 30 times. He's been sent to a mental hospital. But for Arsema's mother, this has not offered any sense of closure. She's still furious as she claims she'd told the police that Thomas was stalking her daughter and believes that if they'd acted on her complaint, Arsema would be alive today.
We'll also have the latest on a looming "Tube strike... the why's, the when's, the "are the unions right on this one"?
Sticking with the Tube... do you feel safer riding on the Underground? Safer than you did last year, that is? Figures out today show the number of reported crimes has fallen. There's some good news on the Overground too. Overall, reported crime has fallen. But, and it's a big but, the number of violent crimes committed has gone up on certain lines. We'll look at where and why.
And to show that we represent a very broad coalition of interests, we'll be talking to Graham McPherson. Yes, the Graham McPherson*. Live in the studio.
See you at six,
Ben & Alex
*Oh, alright, Suggs from Madness will be here. With Chas Smash too.
