Weather blog

 

Good evening,

 

I decided to make the most of today's dry weather (it's not going to last) & walk from my morning office near the Houses of Parliament to my afternoon office in Holborn. I won't bore you with the reasons for this peripatetic lifestyle but it provides a great opportunity to keep fit & get to know the city even better. It was very pleasant as I walked along the river. The streets were busy without being crowded & London was looking good. Up ahead I noticed a blue flashing light & as I approached it became clear that the police had pulled over a van driver. It all looked very amicable. The van driver & two police officers were talking & smiling while two other officers were standing next to the police vehicle & a final two policemen were examining the van. There hadn't been a crash. Nobody else (pedestrian/cyclist/etc) was involved & without wanting to rubberneck, it was difficult to establish what was going on. I did notice one rather bizarre detail, however. All the police officers were wearing gloves. Not unusual in itself you may think, but these were latex gloves. And not standard issue medical ones but eyecatching bright blue latex gloves. As blue as the Aegean sea in August. It's an image that will stay with me for a while because it struck me as so odd. There's no doubt an entirely reasonable explanation, but if I'm honest I'm not really interested. I'm happy to savour the Python-esque scene & leave logic to one side.

 

Stronger winds with rain later tomorrow & then a mixture of sunshine & showers.

 

Hope to see you later,

 

Robin

 

London Tonight Tonight

Hello

Last night, Simon Harris told you how Mayor Boris Johnson was likely to announce hefty fare increases on London's transport... today. Well, guess what - Simon was right. The 2010 fare package for Tfl says that bus and Tube fares will go up 12.7% and 3.9% respectively from the New Year and the congestion charge is likely to go up from £8 to £10 at some point soon as well. Some services will be cut with a reduction in bus schedules and fewer off-peak trains in outer London.

There are various caveats, price-freezes and some pre-paid savings to be had but the bottom line is that a single tube journey in zone one using a pay-as-you-go Oyster card will go up from £1.60 to £1.80 and single bus journeys using an Oyster card will go up to £1.20 hitting Londoners where it hurts at a time when they can least afford it. Boris says this is a necessary evil, blaming 'mistakes of the past' as well as the recession. The scheme is expected to raise £125m a year as Boris looks to shave five BILLION pounds off the Tfl budget by 2018. He says if we don't pay up now we'll end up having to shell out more later, but you can't help thinking there will be loads of Londoners who feel the '2010 fare package', should be re-branded the '2010 unfair package.'

Have your say at six.

Also tonight, we report on the nun who has crowds flocking top see her more than a century after she died.... and Ronke Phillips tells us how healthcare in east London has been ranked as the worst in Britain in a nationwide survey of the NHS.

On the lighter side of life, Sally Rourke - who can always be relied upon to unearth a good story - is literally digging into London's past later with a group of young archeologists. Apparently, everything from Roman artefacts to dinosaur fossils and sharks' teeth (?) have been found beneath the city's streets and Sally will be getting her hands dirty with her literal interpretation of how to make television history, later.

Someone else who would be quite happy getting hands-on with her assignment today is our Entertainment Correspondent Lucy Cotter. She's on the trail of Hollywood A-List artefact George Clooney. Lucy's interviewed him before and was, shall we say, quite taken with him. In fact, she asked him to marry her live on air and he said yes, but she's heard nothing since which is, frankly, rude Mr. Clooney! He's in town at the London Film Festival with his new movie, "Men Who Stare At Goats" premiering in Leicester Square later. Lucy will be staking her place in the media huddle tonight after scouring the city for a glimpse of her betrothed all day. Don't forget to tune in later for the Leicester Square premiere of Lucy's new movie: 'Women Who Stare at George Clooney!'

Matt and Katie

London Tonight Tonight

Good afternoon,

Coming up on the show tonight, news of a fairly uninformative, but fascinating Mayor's Question Time today with Boris Johnson seemingly having taken a vow of silence. We'll find out in the next 24 hours if Londoners are to face a treble whammy of transport charges with a hike in bus fares, Tube fares and the C-charge possibly be on the way. The normally verbose Boris was giving nothing away today, though, much to the annoyance of his London Assembly questioners. Let's hope that Simon Harris is more talkative than Boris, later!

It's sometimes easy to get a bit de-sensitized when watching the news on tele, but I defy anybody not to watch our next story with a degree of disbelief. 62 year old Ian Baynham was walking through Trafalgar Square with a friend two weeks ago when he was confronted by three youths. A woman was shouting homophobic abuse at him and when he stopped to talk to them, she and a man she was with are said to have attacked him. Mr. Baynham was left with severe brain damage and doctors had no alternative than to turn off his life support machine last night. The most shocking part, though, is that two of the three young people the police are looking for in connection with Mr. Baynham's senseless murder are teenage girls.

Now, many motorists already feel they get a pretty rough deal in the capital (see our top story!): speed, cameras, the congestion charge, maybe more road tolls on the horizon...the list goes on. So, being told that London has been named as Britain's car crime capital, may not come as a surprise to many. There are blackspots dotted around East London and if you live in Romford or Ilford, you're particularly at risk of having your car stolen or broken into. Chislehurst is statistically the worst area in the entire country where one in 25 people have been victims of some sort of car crime in the last year alone - double the national average. Marcus Powell reports on why and what's being done about it.

Also tonight: eight thousand young people have had a go at making sweet music together as part of the Primary Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. Very commendable...but I'm glad I wasn't there to hear it! Don't get me wrong - I'm all in favour of little ones taking up an instrument, but the early days of scratching around on a violin or hammering away on a piano like a blacksmith can be a little tough on the old ears. My seven year old's just started keyboard and recorder lessons at school. The keyboard has a volume control and a headphone socket, so that's fine, but her early attempts at the recorder may well result in their dog-loving neighbours phoning the RSPCA. As for the Primary Proms, Sangeeta Kandola went along to find out if it was all tuneful symphonies from the youngsters or more like deafening sympathies to the parents!

See you at six...keep the volume control handy, just in case!

Matt and Katie

Weather blog

Good evening,

 

I got a telling off last night.

 

I drive to the station each morning to catch the train & as the car park is often full I park on a street nearby. I don't do this regularly & wouldn't choose to as it's not hugely convenient, but needs must....

 

As I unlocked my car on my return I was aware of a curtain twitching & then the rapid fire of purposeful footsteps. I was prevented from easing myself gratefully into the driving seat by what can only be described as a diatribe;

Did I know how selfish I was?

Did I know it was a residential street?

Didn't I know there was a car park?

Did I know that people like me made living in that road a misery?

And on it went.

I'm proud to say I didn't give in to my instincts but instead remained calm & apologetic but it made no difference. I did point out that I wasn't breaking the law & had parked as considerately as possible but to no avail. It was a stalemate so I decided to leave a question of my own hanging in the air;

Did my angry friend not know there was a station a quarter of a mile away when buying the house?

 

Not ideal, I know, but I was tired & hungry & getting cold -   talking of which, brighter but chillier by the end of the week. I must confess that any fleeting sense of victory I might have had was quickly replaced by dread at the same old parking dilemma this morning....

 

Hope to see you later,

 

Robin

 

Weather blog

Good evening,

 

It was a really beautiful start to the day today.

 

Clear blue skies (dotted with the now obligatory hot air balloons), mist along the riverbank & pockets of frost. All classic fare following a fine & chilly night but I'm left feeling worried. In all honesty I have to confess it's a very minor worry. My concern centres not around global warming or meteorological predictions for the coming winter, but rather my raspberries. When we moved into our current house we were delighted to discover raspberry canes in the garden. They are my favourite soft fruit & our plants seem to pay no heed to the weather yielding plump, magenta berries from early summer through to autumn. However, everything shudders to a halt with the first frost; the berries turning to black mush which even the birds ignore.

 

So it's last night's frost that has me worried. A sliver of hope comes in the knowledge that our garden escaped the worst of the frost & that the next couple of nights won't be as chilly, maybe permitting an extension to the growing season. But before long clear skies & low temperatures will return, meaning I'll have to accept the inevitable & settle down to the long, 9 month wait for the start of next season's harvest.

 

I promise you'll be the first to know when the 2010 crop is ripe for picking....

 

Hope to see you later,

 

Robin 

 

London Tonight Tonight

Good afternoon to you. Right - lots on the programme, as ever, but the 'talking point' is what I want to concentrate on for a minute or two...

A 14-year-old Sikh boy has been told he can't wear his "holy dagger" to school and so has been withdrawn by his parents. The Compton School in Barnet say they fear the 5-inch long 'kirpan' could be used as a weapon, while the parents say it's no more dangerous than a pair of scissors. A blow to religious freedom or a victory for common sense? Discuss...

Info first...and the 'kirpan' is one of the five 'articles of faith' in Sikhism that must be carried at all times by those baptised into the religion. Symbolically, it represents the power of truth over lies, but also reflects the wearers' commitment to protect the defenceless. The school has suggested the boy wears a smaller version of the kirpan, with the blade safely welded into the sheath, a compromise that has been reached in similar cases in America. But the family say that isn't acceptable.

Two short arguments for you to consider.

1) The school has got it absolutely right. The knife may not be any more dangerous than canteen cutlery, as has been suggested, but it's the message that allowing anyone to carry a knife in school gives off. You've seen us report on the increasing numbers of knife related deaths and injuries in the capital over recent years as well as the subsequent initiatives trying to stop young people carrying knives. There is, of course, no suggestion that this A-grade student is anything other than a responsible young adult, but while we're imploring young people not to carry knives, to allow anyone to do so, for whatever reason, at best sends out mixed messages and at worst is irresponsible.

2) When we heard that cub scouts were no longer allowed to take penknives to camp for fear of accidental amputation, 'Political correctness gone mad' was the cry from much of Middle England. Trusting them to carry and use a knife safely and responsibly was an integral part of their outdoor education, we were told, and banning them from doing so was to judge them by the actions of others. Similarly then, doesn't banning a committed Sikh from carrying what is a key symbol of his religious commitment to truth, honour and decency, show a similar level of prejudice and preconception? Maybe his are exactly the type of values we should be trying to promote in schools?

Over to you. Get in touch and we'll bring you a snapshot of London's opinions later.

Other areas of note tonight, quickly? Murray Dron has donned (or should that be 'dronned'?) his wellies down on one of the nearly five hundred farms in the capital. Plus, award-winning rapper "Chipmunk" joins us on the show. His real name is Jahmaal, by the way. I'd rather hoped it might be Simon, Alvin or Theodore.

Matt and Katie.

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London Tonight Tonight

Hello. Welcome to another working week.

We start tonight's programme with news of London Mayor Boris Johnson's vision for London over the next quarter of a century. I've just been looking at it on the City Hall website and it really is a monster of a document, covering everything from from economic development and housing strategies to transport and environmental policies. It's only a draft at the moment and Boris is calling for our input (go to www.london.gov.uk).

More of a wish list of we'd like to projects than a firm commitment to all of them, a lot of the stuff in it sounds perfectly reasonable: more affordable housing, better transport links etc but as ever, the devil is in the detail...and there is plenty of detail. Thankfully, we have the ever meticulous Simon Harris on the case and we'll have Simon Milton, the deputy mayor for policy and planning on the programme to answer some of the issues raised. There are plans for Crossrail 2, despite the funding issues still surrounding Crossrail 1. There are proposals to extend both the Bakerloo Line and the Northern Line, but is south London again missing out on investment? What's happened to plans for an airport in the Thames Estuary? Oh, and that thorny perennial - road charging. The Mayor's Office has dismissed the notion of a toll of up to £1.34 per mile on some of our busiest roads, but the report clearly says it's under consideration. And, apparently Boris is offering a bar of chocolate a week for staff with the best ideas? So, I have a well known celestially named confectionary item on my desk that I'll award to the member of the London Tonight team that comes up with the best idea before I've finished the blog.

Elsewhere today, The Old Bailey trail of teenager Tulay Goren, allegedly murdered by her father and two uncles continues. Her boyfriend at the time of her disappearance ten years ago gave evidence from behind a screen today, telling of the strained relationship she had with her family. It's alleged she was murdered because of the couple's 'inappropriate' relationship in a so-called 'honour killing'. The girl's father and two uncles deny murdering her. Also, news of a man awarded over a million pounds in compensation after suffering serious head injuries when he fell from a night bus and Ronke Phillips reports on the part-time medics who put their lives on the line to treat our wounded soldiers in Afghanistan.

Now, I was a bit surprised at the station on my way in earlier to hear an Evening Standard seller shout the not very catchy slogan, "Anyone want a free Standard!?" As you might be able to work out, the Standard is free from today after 180 years of it costing Londoners. Phil Bayles - who's always happy to pick up a bargain - is on hand to see what changes, if any, we can expect. All that plus Keith Allen, Matthew Kelly, the Queen and a group of Bollywood dancers (not all in the same story) See you at six.

Matt and Lucy.

Oh - so who wins the chocolate? Well, technically producer Neil who suggested a cup of tea to go with the biscuits left over from the weekend shift, but as he went into a meeting leaving me to brew up - I've snaffled the Mars Bar and the chocolate Hobnobs!

end
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London Tonight Tonight

Afternoon all.

Lots to come tonight including: the start of a court case at the Old Bailey into the disappearance of a 15-year-old girl ten years ago. It's alleged that Tulay Goren was murdered by her father and two uncles in a so-called 'honour killing' after entering into a relationship with an older man. The men deny murder and also deny conspiracy to murder her boyfriend, Halil Unal. Tulay hasn't been seen alive since January 1999 and her body has never been found and now, a decade after the case was first investigated, the girl's mother is preparing to give evidence for the prosecution.

Also on the programme later: news of how the Government could end up in court and be slapped with unlimited fines if the River Thames isn't drastically cleaned up. The European Commission could take action over the amount of sewage pumped into the river on a daily basis. Apparently only five of the 6 thousand or so rivers in England and Wales are deemed clean enough according to a report by the Environment Agency, despite dramatic improvements and millions of pounds invested over the past ten years. The Government - which of course ultimately means us - could end up having to fork out a fortune in fines if 2015 targets aren't met. Phil Bayles, will be up to his wellies in...water...later on.

In the studio tonight - Olympic heavyweight boxing champ Audley Harrison, but he's not in to promote his next fight or to plug a book. Instead he's in talk about post-natal depression. Harrison was due to fight Reading's Michael Sprott at the Prizefighter series on Friday, but Sprott withdrew because his sister tragically committed suicide after suffering from the illness. Now, the fighters have come together to promote a new PND charity.

And none other than Shakespearean actor and Hollywood A-lister Patrick Stewart's on the show after talking to our very own A-List newshound Murray Dron. The more cultured among you probably know Mr Stewart best for his roles with the RSC - but for me, his star turns as the follically challenged Professor 'X' in the 'X-Men' movies and as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in 'Strar Trek' make him a bit of a Sci-Fi legend in my book. His latest mission? To boldly visit a group of enterprising London school children to give them a rare insight into his career.

Finally, how's this for a story? A 13 year old girl has beaten off competition from seasoned farmers to claim first prize in a ploughing competition. That's it in a nutshell - so how many puns do you reckon Producer Neil has worked into the script so far? Well, he's been having a field day, I can tell you! Farmers left with furrowed brows? She knew she could carve up the field? Unearthed as a ploughing star of the future? All those and more at six by which time Katie and I hope to have our groove on for you and if not, well, we'll just plough on regardless!

Matt and Katie

Weather blog

Good evening,
 
The neighbour who pumps water out of the river to irrigate his garden (remember? he's the one whose pump -operational noise of a coffee grinder crossed with an elderly vacuum cleaner- provided the soundtrack to our summer) evidently pays no heed to the weather forecast.
 
I don't take this personally, the media after all provide a huge daily selection of meteorological information. My mild irritation is not, therefore, fuelled by hurt feelings but by a degree of exasperation that prior to the last 3 days of accurately predicted leaden skies & outbreaks of rain, the pump had been on for 36 hours without a break. 2 days & 1 night of background mechanical buzzing which ultimately served very little purpose.
 
So as I huffed out with the dogs this morning enjoying the first blue sky since Sunday, I was grateful that our paths didn't cross obliging me to swallow my true feelings & offer a cheery (albeit tight lipped) 'Good morning'.
 
After a damp blip tomorrow afternoon things look pretty good for the weekend so there'll be a spring in my step again. Unless, of course, the pump is put back into service.
 
Hope to see you later,
 
Robin 

 

London Tonight Tonight

Good afternoon to you.

Now, my friends, it's the middle of the week already - and we find ourselves with a very full Wednesday programme on our hands. So, let's crack on.

Sharon Shoesmith is a name that is instantly recognisable to a lot of people. In charge of Haringey Council's Childcare services when Baby P met his appalling, and appallingly early, fate, Ms Shoesmith was sacked last December. The question is: should she have been sacked? She feels that she was treated unfairly and is taking legal action against the council. It is a highly emotive subject. After all, what no one questions is the fact that an entirely innocent baby boy died. It will be a difficult case for all involved. Ronke will bring us the details later.

Okay. Indicate. Mirror. Manoeuvre. Or try to. Just wait a bit. Wait a minute... the junction's closed. Getting anywhere on the M25 can be a challenge, some might say, that rivals journeying to the North Pole on your ownsome, carrying nothing but half a Twix and an extra vest. Until today, we all thought that (yes, we did). Well, now we know that. It's official. The AA says it is Britain's worst motorway for road closures. If it's facts and figures you're after, Lewis will have them for you.

Mr Harris, meanwhile, is looking to the skies. Who wants a new skyscraper built next to Canary Wharf? Tower Hamlets Council doesn't. Boris Johnson does. So does Crossrail. You see, if the developers get their way and West India Quay does get built, those same developers have to cough up a not inconsiderable £4,000,000 for the Crossrail coffers. Hardly a make or break donation, perhaps, when the overall bill is north of £16,000,000,000. But have you got £4,000,000 to spare? Should that be a deciding factor in granting the planning permission? You'll get your say on this tonight.

You'll probably have your own thoughts on another of our stories. Chantal McCorkle has just been moved to Holloway Prison after being held in an America jail for 11 years. She and her husband, William, were found guilty of fraud and money-laundering and jailed for 24 years in Florida back in 1998. But William said his wife's role in their property scam was minimal and there's been a concerted campaign first to cut her sentence and then get her sent home to Britain. Her family in Slough are delighted she is back in the country but they're now fighting to get her released altogether. Has she done the right time for doing the crime? Marcus will have the low-down.

What else? What else?

Well, we've one story that offers hope born out of the sort of heartache none of us want to face but so many have to. This afternoon, down at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane, 25 models took part in a fashion show. So far, so good. But every one of them has had or is now living with breast cancer. The point of what is a glitzy, glamourous, event is to 'recast' people's perception of breast cancer: both those suffering from it and others close to them. We're expecting Sally Rourke to come back with an inspirational report.

Finally, we have two 'piano' stories. Two very different piano stories. One involves a 10 year old boy in Woking who writes and plays music about his budgies. The other involves a hugely popular and flamboyant pianist from, er, beyond the grave. I know, I know. But with Glen Goodman covering it, it should make some great television.

Tune it for it at six.

Ben & Katie

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT

Right - be warned. I have a cold, I think it might escalate into full-blown man-flu and am in a bit of a grump because of it. On the show last Friday, we heard from Chris Evans who, in his new book, suggests that people in London walk faster than those anywhere else. Nonsense, because today people in my vicinity seem to be wandering around aimlessly in a complete and utter day-dream. My daily routine involves getting off the train at St Pancras and hiking up the hill to ITN Towers, but it's becomming a daily gauntlet that has to be run between groups of people who insist upon stretching themselves across the width of the pavement, like some kind of police cordon, while they saunter along at a snail's pace. It's annoying. Single file or pick up the pace, people!

A speedy look through the running order then and the day after Boris Johnson appeared at the Tory Party Conference to outline £5b of savings, one of his former deputy mayors has pleaded guilty to misusing his expenses. Ian Clement quit as deputy mayor for external relations in June. He admitted three offences under the Fraud Act when he appeared in court, effectively coughing up to cheating London taxpayers. Ben Scotchbrook has the details for is.

Also tonight, the latest development in the hunt for the killer of Surrey schoolgirl Milly Dowler. 13 year old Milly vanished on her way home from school in Walton-on-Thames in March 2002, her body was found six months later in Hampshire woodland. Today, police have been searching a small fishing lake near Heathrow airport after a tip-off that the car used to abduct Milly may have been dumped there. The main suspect of her killing, Levi Bellfield, is now serving life for murdering two students. Marcus Powell will fill us in.

Now, I took a bit of a double-take at this next story...Heath Ledger's new film? I thought his role as 'The Joker' in the last Batman movie - for which he won a posthumous Oscar - was the last work of the actor who died of an accidental overdose in January 2008? In fact, he was part-way through shooting 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus', directed by Terry Gilliam. Following Ledger's untimely death, the movie was almost abandoned, but a hasty re-write and the inclusion of three of Ledger's close friends - Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell, no less - saw the project saved. The three Hollywood heavyweights fill the void in the fantasy adventure story by morphing into Ledger's character whenever he steps through a magic mirror. Sounds like typically surreal Gilliam stuff. Lucy Cotter will be walking up the red carpet in Leicester Square for us later, but I shall be telling her not to saunter - you know how it annoys me!

Footnote: Katie's just brought me a piece of lemon drizzle cake...I wouldn't normally partake, but the sugar might help me make it through until 6.

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT

Hello all. Hope you had a good weekend? I spent part of mine at my niece's 5th birthday party where my son invented a new dessert that he's proudly named 'Chocolate Hedgehog Cake'. It's a fairly simple recipe - all you do is get a massive piece of chocolate birthday cake - gooier the better - and stick loads of choclate fingers in it. Then - and this bit is crucial to the overall enjoyment, it would seem - you have to eat it in no more than three bites. It really was a sight to behold...and absolutely nothing to do with tonight's programme, sorry.

Last week Brighton, this week Manchester as our politcal correspondent, Simon Harris's whistle-stop Party Conference tour of the country continues. It's the Conservative Party's turn this week and while they are keen to discuss welfare reform, everyone else seems to want to discuss Boris Johnson. It looked like our Mayor was on course to put a spanner in the works over Europe yesterday, but today he's the conference darling....although, admitedly it is only day one! He's outlined £5b of savings from Transport for London over the next 9 years by "reducing office costs, restructuring and more efficient working". Popular in the conference halll, not so with the Unions who say such savings are bound to have an effect on frontline services. So, is Boris just headline-grabbing or do his sums add up? Simon's on hand with a big red pen to check the maths!

Ten years ago today, 31people died when two trains crashed head on near Ladbroke Grove in West London. At 9 minutes past 8 on October the 5th 1999, the driver of a Thames train accelerated through a red signal - which an inquiry later ruled was hard to see - with tragic consequences. Survivors and relatives of those killed gathered in silence at a memorial to pay their repects this morning. We report on what was an emotional day for all of them.

Reading the stories of survivors of the Paddinton crash and the heroic actions of the emergency services and members of the public is inspirational stuff, which brings us on to tonight's Pride of Britain Awards. The Prince of Wales and the Prime Minister will be on hand later to honour the winners including that of ITV's Feelgood Factor Award. Just a few weeks ago, a panel of experts chose London's candidate: Andrew Amers-Morrison, who founded Samba Street Soccer to get youngsters playing football. You may remember the scenes of elation when we told him he was our nomination a couple of weeks ago. He's been to Downing Street today and is gearing up for tonight's celebrity-studded ceremony where the real stars are the award-recipients themselves. It's on ITV1 on Wednesday at 8pm...and be warned - you will need tissues!

And Lucy's been talking to Shakira. Lots for them to talk about, including Shakira's new song and video "She Wolf" - nuff said.

See you at six.

Matt and Katie.

London Tonight Tonight

Afternoon.

Lots on the programme, as ever, including more on the row we brought you yesterday about the locations of 2012 Olympic events, a shocking murder in Croydon and a fascinating exhibition by a Dalston-born photographer whose subjects have included Bob Marley and the Sex Pistols.

First up, though, a topic that will no doubt provoke a huge response on emails when we ask for them later - London-wide road tolls. The RAC say asking drivers to fork out more will significantly ease congestion in the captal. Boris Johnson has dismissed the idea, but the RAC says he should stop focussing on cyclists and his plans to scrap bendy buses and concentrate on road tolls. Anyone have a view on this?

Showbiz - wise, Ricky Gervais is the celeb to grace the show tonight as he promotes his new movie, 'The Invention of Lying'. The premise of the film is fairly simple: It's set in a world where nobody lies...ever. Not even polite little white ones. Gervais plays a hapless screenwriter who tells the world's first ever lie and then wields his new-found power to fib his way to fame and fortune. Miss Cotter went to meet Mr. Gervais and says he seemed a really nice fella (unless she was telling porkies). The killer question from Lucy was: 'What's the biggest lie you've ever told?' Now there's a thought. A quick ask around the office reveals that when Producer Neil was in short trousers, his school used to fine children who didn't do their homework. Whenever Neil transgressed he used to dip into his pocket money for the £1 fee and forge the return slip from his parents so they would be none the wiser. More of a deceit than a lie, though, I would say - plus he was doing himself out of sweet money? When I asked the Angelic-faced Miss Cotter the same question her response was, 'how many do you want, there've been sooooo many!' Me? Well, if we're sticking to harmless school days lies (which is probably best!) - I had a PE teacher who used to get me confused with my asthma-suffering older brother. When asked if I wanted to sit out cross-country runs week after week on account of my wheeziness - I, for some reason, never felt the urge to put him straight?!

See you at 6....honest!

Matt and Lucy.

London Tonight Tonight

Hello again,

Our top story tonight is about a murder, the details of which read like something out of a film. Quiet caretaker Charalambos Christodoulides was brutally killed for no other reason than the pure greed of a playboy property developer who saw him as standing in the way of a big bucks deal. The killer, Thanos Papalexis - who once held a fundraising event for Hilary Clinton - stood to go bust owing millions unless a deal to sell on a near-derelict warehouse in Kilburn went through quickly. The body of Mr. Christodoulides, who'd lived there most of his adult life, was found in a garage inspection pit. He'd been tied to a chair, tortured and strangled. London-born Papalexis confessed his crime to a former lover and was arrested in Palm Beach, Florida, in November following years of police investigations. Marcus Powell will have the full details.

Also tonight, a massive row is brewing about Olympic funding. Put simply - Boris Johnson wants to shave 32 million pounds off the budget, unsurprisingly the organisers of London 2012 don't. Boris says he can save the cash by insisting certain sports take place at certain venues. He wants to move shooting from the Royal Artillery barracks in Woolwich to Barking, and wants badminton and rhythmic gymnastics to take place in Wembley Arena rather than building a purpose-built 6,000 seater stadium. Sports bodies say Wembley is too far from the Olympic village, but Boris says not to use Wembley Arena would be ludicrous. Add to that the fact that Tory leader David Cameron has come out in support of Bozza today and the Olympic authorities, particularly Lord Coe (the Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee and a former Conservative MP, of course) could be put in a tricky position if the Tories win the next election. To save or not to save...that is the question. Simon Harris will try to find the answers.

As well as the rest of the day's news, we'll have our usual blast of showbiz and I'm genuinely excited about the guest in the studio tonight - none other than Motown soulstress Gladys Knight is in town and popping in to say hello. She's had an amazing career, both with 'The Pips' and as a solo artist, but says her upcoming concerts are part of a farewell tour. I confess I'm not a total Motown officianado, although various family members are, so I'd better do the interview justice! Even I know, though, that Gladys Knight has had a hand in some seminal musical moments. Hits-wise, did you know that 'I Heard it Through the Grapevine' was a hit for Gladys Knight and the Pips before it was a hit for Marvin Gaye? Also, did you know that 'Midnight Train to Georgia' was originally called 'Midnight Plane to Houston' before Gladys changed the lyrics? On the list of questions has to be the claim that it was Gladys Knight who persuaded Motown boss Berry Gordy to sign 'The Jackson 5'. Apparently he wasn't keen, saying he already had the cute young male singer market sewn up with 'Little Stevie Wonder'. One other question for Gladys, if there's time...'Who's your favourite James Bond?' Everyone berates me when I say mine has always been Timothy Dalton. Gladys, of course, sung the theme song to Dalton's 'Licence to Kill'. Is that the best Bond theme...another good question. But after a quick straw poll in the office, no would appear to be the answer. Katie says, 'Goldfinger', as does Ben Scotchbrook. Producer Neil says, 'Live and Let Die'. I'm with Neil. 'Diamonds Are Forever' is another candidate. So, 'Licence to Kill' is everyone's second favourite Bond theme, then. Sorry Gladys! If only they'd made a Bond film called, 'Midnight Plane to Houston'!!!

See you at six.

Matt and Katie

Weather blog

 

Good evening,

 

I've been talking to someone in the office who's planning a wedding. Luckily she's reasonably sensitive to the limited interest this topic holds for everyone bar the bride & groom, so a fork in the thigh in a bid to stay awake wasn't necessary. The current quandary is which month to hold it : December or May. The favourite is May because the venue boasts beautiful terraced gardens which should be bathed in glorious late  spring sunshine providing the ideal setting for perfect wedding photos. I pointed out - in a practical rather than killjoy kind of way - that logic has no place where weather is an important factor.

 

December can yield a day of blue skies & bright sun just as May can offer up howling wind & horizontal rain, so she'd be better off organising it all around availability of favourite guests & cheap flights to honeymoon destinations. Or do it tomorrow afternoon because it's looking good, not as mild as it's been recently but still nice enough for a glass of bubbly on the lawn.

 

I've a feeling I won't be on the guest list....

 

Hope to see you later,

 

Robin 

 

London Tonight Tonight

Good afternoon all.

There can be little worse than your child falling seriously ill, but when there's a suspicion that their illness is the result of them being given medication that was designed to protect their health, I can only imagine the sense of anger, frustration and responsibility you'd feel as a parent. Ahead of my children having their MMR jabs, there'd been a lot said in the media about the possible side effects and links to autism. We read all the literature, listened to the doctors and weighed up the potential risks of them having it and not having it. In the end, we put our faith in the vast majority of medical experts who said it was safe and went ahead with it to no ill-effect.

If you currently have daughters around the age of 12, you may well be having similar concerns about them being vaccinated against HPV, the virus that causes cervical cancer. Our top story tonight is that of 13-year-old Rebecca Ramagge, from Reigate, who's now in a wheelchair after having three injections of the Cervarix vaccine. As you've probably seen in the papers today, 14-year-old Natalie Morton from Coventry died shortly after she received the jab at school yesterday. Medical experts are keen to stress the validity of mass-vaccination programmes and rightly point out that the number of cases of severe side effects is incredibly small. Still, questions about the safety of Cervarix remain. Other, more expensive vaccines are available and indeed preferred in other countries. We'll bring you Rebecca's story, ask how safe Cervarix is and put your concerns to medical experts.

Now, if you got to open your post while you nibbled on your toast and marmalade this morning, you were one of the very lucky ones. London's postal services ground to a halt on the 14th day of strike action this year. Ninety nine per cent of workers were not at work today and not a single sorting office was open (according to union leaders) while the pile of undelivered mail simply gets bigger and bigger. Glen Goodman's all over this story and will keeps us...well...posted...at six.

On the lighter side - a 15-year-old girl from London is being tipped for stardom at the 2012 Olympics. At 5 foot 3 and petite, you'd think Zoe Smith would be a gymnast. But no, Zoe is a weightlifter and a very good one, already able to lift three times her own body weight, which sounds a lot to me?! She set nearly a hundred British records last year and won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Youth Games in India. She was voted 'Athlete of the Year' by the British Olympic Association - a title normally reserved for the likes of Sir Chris Hoy and Andy Murray. Nothing like piling the pressure on our young hopefuls, eh?! Luckily she seems to have her feet on the ground. Sally Rourke will have more on Zoe's uplifting story...sorry!

Matt and Katie.

London Tonight Weather blog

Good evening,

If I'm honest I feel more inclined to say Goodnight. Yesterday was busy & long & I'm mainlining sugar & caffeine today in a bid to stay alert. Obviously at the end of a normal working day I'm a spent force having channelled all my energy into crafting immaculate weather bulletins, but yesterday -as I mentioned- I had to dig deeper still & channel Bob Fosse for charity.

Suffice to say it wasn't about winning but about taking part & I don't regard the hours of rehearsal as a waste of time nor do I begrudge the winners their trophy. I hope they enjoy it. Well done them.

In truth we got very positive comments from Arlene Phillips & Ulrika Jonsson (as a fellow weathergirl I expected nothing less) & the audience were on their feet (not in a heading towards the exit kind of way) at the end of the number. As for Piers Morgan, I feel he's still finding his way as a judge.

In terms of weather, tomorrow's will be the same as today's. And so will Sunday's. Happy days.

You have my word that my dancing career is over; a dim & distant memory. With the occasional exception of a jazz hand....

Hope to see you later,

Robin.
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London Tonight Tonight

Good afternoon.

Before we get to the programme, those of you who were watching last night might have heard Robin spill the beans about a bit of a charity 'do' the London Tonight team were involved in last night. Basically, the great and the good of various tv newsrooms were involved in 'Newsroom's Got Talent' - an attempt to show off the singing and dancing abilities of the on-screen 'talent' and production staff of the BBC, Channel 4, 5 and, of course - ITV news teams. Thankfully, I joined too late to be roped in, but Katie, Robin and Lucy Cotter were some of those brave enough to take part. Katie joined ITV's other network presenters for a stunning performance of some Grease numbers, with Katie brilliantly playing the part of Sandie.

Now, this wasn't your average works' karaoke. This was a full on musical extravaganza! I mean, Piers Morgan, Ulrika Jonsson and Arlene Phillps were the judges - this was serious stuff! I'm proud to report that Katie led her troop to victory and helped raise tens of thousands of pounds for two very deserving charities: the Leonard Cheshire Disability organisation and Helen & Douglas House, which provides hospice care for children. And we should also mention the fact that New Look and Diageo sponsored the event .. thanks guys!

Unfortunately, those involved are currently in the process of trying to seek and destroy all evidence of last night's escapades...so take a sneaky look at the Daily Mail's website or Google 'Newsroom's Got Talent' while you can (but you didn't hear it from me!)

As another aside...I've had two female presenters fighting over me this afternoon. Ok, that's not true, but both Katie and Nina turned up for the programme. Scheduling error - or fuzzy heads from last night? Anyway, a coin was flipped and Nina's on the sofa at six. No one will tell me of she won or lost the toss, though!

Oh, the programme!

Tube strike, E-Coli, speed humps, James King on the latest movies and a film about morris dancing? What more could you want on a Friday?!

Matt and Nina

London Tonight Tonight

Good afternoon.

Loads on the show, as usual, but in terms of a start a middle and an end...try these stories.

First up, we'll let you know what happens to the BNPs representative on the London Assembly... as I write, he's facing a six-month ban after making up stories of murders to increase fear of knife crime in Barking and Dagenham - an area where, according to police, the number of murders has actually come down. Richard Barnbrook is accused of bringing the authority into disrepute and faces suspension. His comments appeared in a video on his website and on YouTube and he later claimed that he'd simply got his words jumbled up. His opponents have accused Mr Barnbrook of lying to 'whip up fears in the London community'. But he claims he's the victim of a witchunt. Simon Harris has this one covered for us.

Also on the programme, with complaints against our police officers reaching an all-time high we'll have Kit Malthouse, London's Deputy Mayor for Policing, facing up to questions about the performance of the Met. The Metropolitan Police are facing a record number of complaints and complaints against Essex Police have jumped by an astonishing 44 per cent in the last year alone. According to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, complaints against the Met are going up at twice the national average. So, just three weeks after Mr Malthouse said the Mayor's office had 'their hands on the tiller' of the Met, we'll ask him if they're finding the steering of it harder than they thought.

Now, Lucy - as a girl (I'm perceptive!) might not be able to comment on this, but I have many fond memories of playing armies as a young un'. I was brought up in the countryside and we'd spend hours playing in the woods at the back of our house. It's classic boy stuff, the sort of thing my 4-year-old does now, either using a stick as your weapon of choice, or just taking out the enemy with a lightning fast finger point! We'd generally either be cowboys or soldiers or as 80's tv took hold, our favourite member of The A-Team (I always fancied myself as 'Face' - the good looking one, but usually ended up having to play the part of 'B.A. Baracas' on account of my slight heftyness) Anyway, a nine-year-old boy has been forced to apologise to all of his schoolmates after pointing an imaginary gun at a friend and saying he wanted to 'shoot the German Army' shortly after being taught about the World Wars. Now - and I say this without having yet seen Sharon Thomas's piece yet - this sounds utterly daft to me. The school say his behaviour was 'inapproprate' but deny the mother's claim that they said her son's actions were 'racist'. Sharon will fill us in at six, but if this story is how it's just been described to me in the afternoon meeting, then I think the school has gone completely overboard. What do you think? Email in later.

We'll have a bit of entertainment for you, as ever, and one of our most acclaimed directors is back in the West End. In movies, Stephen Daldry has brought us some crackers: 'Billy Elliot', 'The Hours' and 'The Reader' -- all of which he received Oscar nominations for. But he is also credited as the architect of the most sucessful British theatre revival in history with his production of 'An Inspector Calls' in 1992 leading to tours around Britain and the globe. Ben Scotchbrook went to meet him for us and will report back later, as will we!

Matt and Lucy.

Weather blog

 

Good evening,

 

I drove into London this morning. This was not done willingly as the commute by train at least provides a chance to do admin/read the papers/sleep, whereas I can't help but think of a car journey as wasted time at best & stressful & claustrophobic at worst. However, I drew comfort from the fact that it was a glorious morning. I went cross country as much as I could & stayed calm & positive as I made steady progress across a landscape bathed in early autumn sun.

 

I even remembered to offer up silent prayers of thanks to keep the Gods of traffic happy & was enjoying the ride & also beginning, if I'm honest, to feel a little smug. Until I reached West Hill in Wandsworth on the A3. This spot is usually a bit of a bottleneck, but this morning it was a car park. Nothing seemed to be moving other than the vehicles grinding to a halt in the queue behind me. As my shoulders started to rise & my heart rate increased I tried to occupy my mind by guessing what could be the cause; accident/roadworks/burst water main etc. etc.

 

Eventually things started to move & after what felt like an eternity (probably no more than 15 minutes) I was at the source of the problem. A census. 'Please pull in if directed' said the signs. Of course I was 'directed' & when I stopped - yet again - was handed a questionnaire to be completed later.

 

A traffic census. From Tfl.

 

I was sorely tempted to methodically tear it into a million tiny pieces in front of them but I didn't. I didn't have the time. I needed to continue my drive to work....

 

Hope to see you at 6,

 

Robin 

 

London Tonight Tonight

Good afternoon

First tonight, Simon Harris reports on a potentially major U-turn by London Mayor, Boris Johnson over his commitment to scrap the western extension of the congestion charge. It was one of the key promises of his election campaign, but now those in charge of the City Hall purse strings could be leaning on him to back down and let it go ahead. Officially, it's still earmarked to be scrapped, but doing so could cost over seventy million pounds.

Here's another story that most of us will have a strong opinion on: Wheel clampers, blighters that they are! Well, one council think it has hit upon the answer to this scourge of modern motoring. From now on, anyone found clamping in Windsor and Maidenhead could be slapped with an Asbo. Piers Hopkirk will be treating this story with his usual impeccable sense of journalistic truth, balance and impartiality, but a great idea, I say!

Continuing the motoring theme, learner drivers. Loads of us have been there and let's face it, it's no more fun being the one that's holding up the traffic than it is being stuck behind them while they undertake their 87 point turns. But four hundred learners on the road in your area each day?! That's what's happening in South Woodford, apparently, so no wonder the residents are getting fed up. I mean, there's only so much kangaroo-hopping, stalling and revving the engine to the point of explosion during a hill start you can witness before you dump your car and get a push bike instead...hang on...maybe Bozza's behind all this! Lewis Vaughan Jones investigates.

The big showbiz coup of the day though is the arrival of a musical megastar to the London Tonight studios. Do you want some clues? He's a two-time Grammy Award-winner who's sold 53 millions albums worldwide. He's immortalised on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and has worked with everyone from Ray Charles and Luciano Pavarotti to Ne-Yo and Lady GaGa. Got it yet? Ok, think long flowing 80's hair and massive power ballads? Michael Bolton, of course! Actually, when you read his biog, he's had an astonishing career. He has millions of devoted fans around the world and is coming to London for gigs at the The Royal Albert Hall on November 2nd and 3rd. We'll be having a chat later.

Matt and Lucy

Weather Blog

 

Good evening,

 

I wish that, when he banned the consumption of alcohol on public transport, Boris Johnson had extended it to eating food as   well. The smell of food in a confined space when you are not necessarily feeling hungry yourself can be pretty offensive. That coupled with the motion of a moving vehicle is almost guaranteed to cause queasiness. Today I shared a tube carriage with a clown, a class of approximately 30 seven-year-olds & a woman eating a Chinese banquet out of a pale pink tupperware container. The weather's reasonably warm above ground & below ground it is inevitably a few degrees warmer. Effectively it was like being trapped in the warming drawer of a gently rocking oven with a soundtrack of screaming children. A step closer to Hell than I care to go.          

 

The relief of stepping out into the fresh air at my destination was priceless.

 

Maybe I should turn this negative into a positive & resolve to walk everywhere while the weather is good. I may end up being late for everything but I won't feel nauseous & my fitness will improve. I'll let you know how I get on.

 

Hope to see you later, 

 

Robin 

 

London Tonight Tonight

Hello there,

Our top story tonight is about an American martial arts expert who's using the scene of Ben Kinsella's murder in Islington to promote his self-defence workshops. Tim Larkin (who doesn't just teach defence, but apparently also trains Navy Seals to kill in four moves) says Londoners need to know how to protect themselves against violent crime. Some though, are critical of his methods, as well as the use of the location of Ben's death to get his message across.

Ben's family have made it clear that they don't want to be drawn into the debate in any way and completely coincidentally, I was listening to a podcast of an interview with Ben's sister, Brooke, on my phone on the way in today. She's written a book about her family's tragedy called: 'Why Ben?' She spoke really touchingly about her brother, how he sometimes drove her mad, how he was a practical joker and how he randomly wanted to become a famous tattoo artist. She said he was just a normal lad who, on the night of his death, was out celebrating the end of his GCSE's with friends (he passed them with flying colours, by the way). After leaving the pub after a fight broke out, Ben and his friends were chased by three men. Ben was stabbed eleven times, including in the heart and was left for dead. Brooke really struggles with the fact that there was no reason for the attack that night. Ben had nothing to do with the men who attacked him at any point during the evening, he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I haven't had chance to see Lewis Vaughan-Jones's report yet and wait to hear what Mr Larkin has to say with interest, but after hearing what Brooke and the rest of 16-year-old Ben's family have been through - and are still going through - since the 28th of June last year, I'll take some convincing that their wishes should be anything other than respected.

Also on the programme tonight, Phil Bayles updates us on the situation at Godstone Park. The owners of the petting zoo are said to be bracing themselves for a flood of legal claims following the outbreak of E.Coli. There are, to date, 67 confirmed cases linked to the park with eight children still in hospital. One of the families considering legal action is that of three year old Harry Dolby, who has thankfully now returned home. But now it's his sister who's in hospital.

Now, was anyone else left completely bemused by the recent goings-on in F1? To recap - and Piers Hopkirk will do this much more thoroughly at six - but Renault were handed a two-year suspended ban yesterday for their role in fixing last year's Singapore Grand Prix. They asked driver Nelson Piquet Jr to crash so that team-mate Fernando Alonso could win the race. That's the crux of it, I think, unless I'm missing something? In doing so, they put their driver, the other drivers, the stewards and the fans at risk and that's before you even start talking about how they cheated the other teams, the paying spectators and the millions watching on tv out of a legitimate race. And for that...Renault get a suspended two-year ban? I must be missing something?! So, what's all that got to do with us? Well, Queens Park Rangers part-owner and former Renault team boss Flavio Briatore, was banned from F1 for life, for his role in the scandal which now calls into question his future in the Loftus Road hotseat. So, what with all that plus rumours that Briatore's shares could be bought by the Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, Piers has got his work cut out!

Finally, on the show tonight we'll be talking about The Beatles' iconic Abbey Road album which was released forty years ago this week. Now, I like The Beatles. Neil, the Producer, REALLY likes The Beatles, but I defy anyone not to at least recognise the famous album cover of the band crossing a zebra crossing in St John's Wood. Well the authorities are now selling off the famous Abbey Road sign...not the original one, but AN Abbey Road sign nonetheless and it's expected to fetch a pretty penny on eBay. Ben Scotchbrook will be hanging out on this most famous of street corners for us later on!

Oh, and some breaking entertainment news...Chas 'n Dave have split up. We'll be rabbiting on about that a bit too.

Weather blog

Good evening,

 

As a dog owner it's easy to forget that your cosseted, well-fed family pet is actually a close relative of the wolf. Most of the time your canine companion is regarded as another member of the family; always loyal, happy & devoted with their day-to-day demands revolving around food, exercise & attention.

 

Occasionally this bubble is burst by your four-legged friend doing the unthinkable & actually behaving like an animal. This happened yesterday afternoon as we were out enjoying the fine weather & walking the dogs. Suddenly they emerged at high speed from the woods seemingly joined at the nose.

 

It turned out they'd discovered a dead baby squirrel & were determined to play tug of war with it. It didn't end there because the ultimate victor then settled down to eat the unfortunate creature from head to tail & no amount of reprimanding or cajoling was going to distract him.

 

The children watched in awe struck horror as bones crunched & limbs disappeared from view & although they are very forgiving, they are still struggling to forget the carnage. In fact they're hoping for bad weather (they'll be disappointed) over the next few days so they have an excuse not to go out with the dogs & witness a repeat performance. I can't say I blame them, I'm still a little queasy myself....

 

Hope to see you later,

 

Robin

 

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London Tonight Tonight

Good afternoon.

Now, as no one's actually ever laid out exactly what I'm supposed to talk about in these blogs, I'm going to digress a bit before we get to tonight's programme - sorry!

As you'd imagine, our office is full of tv monitors. Most mainstream channels are on somewhere and all news outlets are kept an eye on, as you'd expect. On each computer, you can open up a box and watch whatever channel you like. Most people have their 24-hour news channel of choice on quietly in the background and dip into it when something catches their eye. Today, they're showing the memorial service of Sir Bobby Robson live from Durham Cathedral. He's famous, of course, for managing England, Newcastle, Barcelona and Ipswich, but also played for and very briefly managed Fulham. The great and the good of the football world were at the service and the speeches were moving but understated - a befitting tribute to a man widely regarded as one of the nicest in sport and someone I had the honour of interviewing.

I was working on a series of football documentaries and he agreed to be interviewed about his successes at Ipswich Town. He arrived for the interview, which was in one of the directors' boxes at St. James's Park and politely asked how long it was going to take. I told him about half and hour? He politely replied that he was very busy and could give me just 15 minutes. I was nervous, this was Bobby Robson, after all!? I had a lot of ground to cover in just 15 minutes, I'd done my research and had a lengthy list of questions to ask. Sadly, I only got to ask about three of them...not because he had to go or because we ran out of time, but because when Sir Bobby started talking about football, there was simply no stopping him. He covered every conceivable topic with boundless enthusiasm with me barely having to ask a question. Three tape changes, two batteries and an hour and a half later and we were done. We could have made three documentaries out of the stories he told that day or we could have thrown the tapes in the bin on the way out and I would still have been completely thrilled to have spent an hour and a half in his company. My favourite story in two sentences was the time he took the FA Cup to a school fete after winning it with Ipswich Town in 1978. He forgot to get it back to the local police station in time for it to be kept under lock and key for the night so he slept with it under his bed. "Safe as houses, there", he said.

Tonight's programme then and Simon Harris has our lead story and there are doubts over London's Crossrail project fewer than two weeks after we reported on a one billion pound loan that appeared to secure its future. Lib Dem Treasury Spokesman, Vince Cable, says cross-party support for the project to link Berkshire and Essex is waning in the light of growing pressure for wholesale spending cuts. Simon asks how secure the £16b project is. Transport Minister Sadiq Khan MP joins us live.

We've also got the story of a worried London mum whose daughter contracted meningitis twice before her first birthday. Mum's now fronting a campaign to raise awareness amidst fears that at an upsurge in swine flu could lead to doctors misdiagnosing meningitis. Phil Bayles will tell us more.

Our talking point for the day is about the size of catwalk models after one designer snubbed the accepted 'wisdom' of using size zero models in his show at London Fashion Week. Mark Fast used size 12 and 14 models to show off his latest collection, but not everyone liked Mr Fast's decision (namely two senior members of his creative team) and beat a speedy retreat to the door. We'll be asking for your thoughts.

All that plus Newton Faulkner's on the show to talk about how an accident almost put paid to his chart-topping career and how doctors put back together the man whose first album was the retrospectively spookily titled "Hand Built By Robots"!?

Lucy went to meet him and she'll also be on hand in the studio to explain further!

Matt and Lucy

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT

Good Evening to you...

Well, I'm a very lucky lad in many ways. This evening is no exception, with Nina not only making a very welcome return to the fold but taking her place front and centre on the sofa. It's as if she'd never been away.

As for what we'll bring you on the programme... let's start with a bit of showbiz. No, scratch that. A lot of showbiz. We've got Lulu. And Chaka Kahn. And Anastacia. All together on the sofa. Seriously, we could fill the programme right there. I'm they'd love us to. They're in to talk about a show they're taking round the country this Christmas. It's going to be loud and I'm looking forward to it. We're looking for that Friday feeling.

The other 'lighter' element to this evening's show comes in the shape of a curtain-raiser for London Fashion Week. Sangeeta Kandola's been mixing it with the likes of Jimmy Choo (he makes shoes), Joan Collins (she wear's shoes) and Boris Johnson (he puts his foot in things*).

There are some more serious developments we're reporting on tonight.

A young man who took on some thieves at a Costco shop in Croydon last night is fighting for life in hospital today. The gang came in with hammers to rob the place. When he gave chase, one of them produced a shotgun.

We'll also tell you about the end of a court case which saw a young man found guilty of stabbing someone to death. The victim had challenged the killer and his gang of drug-dealers to stay away from his 14 year old brother who was rapidly getting sucked into their underworld of crime.

One more major, serious, item we have for you is an interview with the Mum of one of the children who's seriously ill after allegedly contracting e-coli from a farm in Surrey. She says she's now ready to sue the owner of the farm.

So once again, a real mix. But that is the world we live in. Our job is to bring it to you.

And we start, as usual, at six.

See you then.

Ben & Nina

*This is clearly a bit of Friday afternoon fluff. Before the Mayor's press officers pick up the phone.
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London Tonight Tonight

Good afternoon. What's the definition of a pessimist? Someone who looks both ways crossing a one-way street. Not very funny, sorry, and possibly no longer true either. Boris Johnson's on the show tonight answering questions about a new cycle scheme that allows people to ride the wrong way down one-way streets?? The crazy-sounding idea's being tested in Kensington and Chelsea and could eventually be rolled out across London. Apparently, the theory is to make journeys quicker and easier, thus encouraging more people to ditch the car. Safety for cyclists must obviously be paramount. But there are cyclists, of course, who are only too happy to ignore the traffic laws already, but apparently, nervous newbies are reluctant to flout the rules and so decide to leave the bike in the garage instead. But how safe is the idea, not just for cyclists but for drivers? And what about the optimists among us who only look one way when crossing a one-way street? We'll ask Boris.

Now, what do Boris Johnson and Lenny Henry have in common? Well, you could argue that both are men SOME people struggle to take seriously. (Not all - ed!) And they're both on the show tonight. Lenny is playing the lead in Othello which starts previewing tomorrow at Trafalgar Studios in London. It's quite a departure from The Delbert Wilkins Show or Comic Relief. It's certainly quite a departure from Tiswas, which I remember cracking up at while watching Lenny ply his early trade. I went to one of the recordings once, my brother won a competition to be on the show. I remember it being a big family day out in Birmingham! They asked me if I wanted to be on the show too, but as a painfully shy 4 or 5 year old, I refused. Good job too, my brother ended up being pulled up from under the desk by his ears by Alvin Stardust?! Anyway, Lenny's come a long way since then and has been winning rave reviews for his first attempt at Shakespeare. We'll chat to him later.

Matt and Katie

Weather blog

Good evening,

 

We were recently sent a free air freshener disc by our car insurance company. In truth this is not something we would normally consider using so it was put on a shelf & forgotten about. Until this morning, that is.

 

Like many households ours is pretty busy first thing with breakfasts & packed lunches being organised & preparations for the day being made, so it was a while before I noticed smoke coming out of the toaster. I noticed a weird smell -   a mixture of burning & what I thought was cheap talc - but it wasn't until I was rescuing what I imagined would be a piece of carbonised bread that everything became clear. The toast wasn't burnt but the air freshener disc, which had fallen off the shelf & into the toaster & was now welded onto the inside of it, was. Even with the power off it continued to smoulder polluting the entire house with 'Alpine Breeze'.

 

In fact an Alpine breeze would have been very welcome (can you see where I'm going with this?) but the current settled conditions & light winds mean that despite open doors & windows the house remained strongly scented, and not with a fragrance we have chosen. The toaster's ruined as well. Evidently there's no such thing as a free air freshener....

 

Hope to see you later,

 

Robin

 

London Tonight Tonight

Hello again.

I'm doing the blog today because Katie has been deeply engrossed in top secret meetings about the ITV Feelgood Factor award. Our nominee will be announced on Friday -- and the overall winner will be announced at next month's Pride of Britain ceremony. Katie reckons we could have the overall winner in our midst!

So far this week, we've profiled two of London Tonight's shortlisted nominees, another one on the show tonight. All, of course, would be thoroughly deserving of the gong but we can only put one forward so the panel have a tough decision to make. Just so that you know, I've been trying to get the inside track on who might get the nod. I've made the tea and am currently considering a trip to the vending machine to get Katie a Mars Bar (she has somewhat of a weakness for them) but so far she remains tight-lipped. Actually, I don't think a final decision has yet been made. I reckon she's just holding out for free confectionery!

Right, to business: First tonight we have more on the E.coli outbreak at a Surrey Farm Park and an admission from senior health officials that they may have got it wrong. The head of the Health Protection Agency has admitted that Godstone Farm may have stayed open for longer than was safe. He's now apologised to the parents of the children infected, but that will be of little consolation to mums like Tracy Mock, whose twins Aaron and Todd are still seriously ill in hospital. Phil Bayles has our top story.

We've also got the news that Chelsea Football Club are parting company with chief executive Peter Kenyon. On the face of it, it sounds like a bit of a 'so what' story, but Peter Kenyon was not only one of the most influential men at one of the world's richest clubs, he was one of the most high profile figures in world football. He was at the top table of Chelsea (and previously Manchester United) at a time when football went through massive change - not all of it for the good, some would argue. Details about why he's leaving are sketchy, but he's seen the club through a number of recent controversies. Ben Scotchbrook has the task of trying to get more information. And as a former sports reporter, I know that won't be easy!

Finally, I want to bring your attention to Lucy Cotter's latest exciting showbiz expose! It's been a couple of years since Mika burst onto the scene with a host of smash-hit singles and a dazzling stage swagger. Well, the flamboyant king of camp is now back with his second album....I have to confess, the boss wrote that last sentence. I'm sure it's true, but I can't lie, I'm not entirely familiar with his work. I know the singles - you probably would too if you heard them - irritatingly catchy. But I don't own the first album. Lucy says he's great though and she knows about these things so I'll take her word for it!

See you at six.

Matt and Katie.

London Tonight Tonight

Afternoon all. A packed programme today, so onwards and upwards:

If you watched yesterday's programme, you'll have seen the disturbing pictures taken outside a bar in Brentwood of a man being sprayed repeatedly in the face by police with CS gas despite already being handcuffed with his ankles bound together. His face was covered with blood. Rules on the use of CS spray state that it shouldn't be adminsistered from close quarters and should only be used when there is the threat of harm to officers; i.e. not when a suspect has already been detained. The man has been charged with assaulting a paramedic and being drunk and dissorderly, but the question of whether the police were heavy handed remains. Today, we hear from the 28 year old - Alan Lethbridge - who says he will be making an official complaint. Essex Police are already investigating.

Also on the programme, the remarkable efforts to help the families of soldiers killed in action by the bereaved mothers of three servicemen from our region. Rifleman Daniel Simpson from Croydon, Rifleman Daniel Hume from Slough and Private John Brackpool from Crawley died in Afghanistan and their mums have formed a charity to help other families whose loved ones don't return from combat. These incredible women have been telling Ronke Phillips how something really worthwhile has come out of their despair.

Now, Simon Harris has spent the past few days in New York with Boris Johnson who's been working to foster greater business and tourism links with the Big Apple. Today, the glad-handing comes to an end, but what has actually been achieved? - Not by Simon, by Boris.... Simon always achieves loads! So was the trip a vital next step in our recovery from recession, or a completely pointless jolly?! Simon will assess and report live for us.

And while the Mayor's been running up the Air Miles on his trip to promote London in New York, comedian Eddie Izzard's been running up the miles around Britain in aid of Sport Relief - eleven hundred of them to be exact. 43 marathons in 51 days is an astounding achievment for anyone, let alone a man who we're more used to seeing in high heels than trainers! He's just finished his epic journey and joins us live from Trafalgar Square, where I hope we've at least done him the courtesy of providing a chair!

More at six...oh, and you may remember yesterday I was telling you about my forgotten train ticket disaster? I remembered the ticket today, only to find that the train was cancelled. Joy!

Matt and Katie

London Tonight Tonight

Good evening

Nearly didn't make it in today - a nightmare start to the week. In brief, I managed to complete my routine twenty-minute walk to the station minus my ticket. I ran home, found ticket, drove back to the station and made the train by approximately 4 seconds. I was sat feeling annoyed and relieved in equal measure when I realised that I hadn't paid for the parking fee, at which point I had to get my other half to duck out of work to go and sort it for me (she was very impressed as you can imagine). All sorted now, as long as I don't forget to pick up the car when I get back to the station tonight! Totally pointless story, but thought I'd share...

Right, our top tale tonight is that of alleged police heavy handedness in Essex. I've just looked at the shots and they aren't pretty. They show an officer from Essex police using CS spray on a man after he'd been arrested and handcuffed for common assault and being drunk and disorderly outside a bar. Rules on the use of CS state that it should only be used in the process of detention, not after a suspect has been detained, which clearly seems to be the case here. A police investigation is underway. Reaction to the footage is likely to be mixed between those who say the police went way over the top and those that think they acted as necessary at the time. We've all seen enough tv shows filmed around our city centres at chucking out time to know what the police sometimes have to put up with and you probably have a pretty good idea already of what the pictures show, but take a look and decide for yourself. I think you'll be surprised.

Next, more on the story that you've probably seen over the weekend about an outbreak of E.coli at a Surrey farm park. Parents, schools and nurseries are on alert after it emerged that Godstone Farm stayed open for two weeks after the virus initially struck. There are 36 confirmed cases of the infection including 12 children. The farm finally closed on Saturday, but we speak to a woman whose two-year-old twin sons have suffered kidney failure and says it should have been shut a fortnight ago. Glen Goodman has the details.

Also tonight, the three London men found guilty of planning to blow up transatlantic planes with liquid bombs have been have been jailed for a combined total of 108 years. They will serve at least 40, 36 and 32 years behind bars for their parts in the plot. The judge paid tribute to the police and security services and warned that had the terrorists' sick plot been successful, the loss of life would have exceeded that of the September the 11th attacks.

A much needed uplifting story now and we meet someone who could be in line for a major honour. We're going to be profiling four extraordinary people this week who all have a chance of becoming London Tonight's official nomination for the ITV Feelgood Factor Award. You've nominated countless unsung heroes -- people who go out of their way to keep others fit and healthy. The final four are now short-listed for that prize, which will be presented at the Pride of Britain Awards next month. Our first candidate is David Hogg, a fitness instructor who devotes his time to helping elderly people stay active. He makes a difference to countless lives -- not least, the teenager who nominated him. Sally Rourke has his story.

Programme departs our studio at 6pm. Let's hope I make it with more time to spare!

Plenty more at six!

Matt & Katie

Weather blog

Good evening,

 

The North Downs is a really beautiful part of the country. If I'm not in London wearing a suit & talking to a camera, I'm on the North Downs; wellies on my feet, cap on my head & dogs at my side.

 

It's a fantastic vantage point for observing the weather & the seasons & provides a perfect escape from the more stressful elements of day to day life.

 

I have a favourite spot where I can see right across the Weald to the South Downs & the sea beyond. The vista is constantly changing  -   never more so than at this time of year   - & it's always a pleasure to be there, regardless of what the weather's doing.

 

It turned chilly yesterday afternoon so we wrapped up warm & made the most of it, dodging the weekend cross country cyclists who travel in packs, talking loudly whilst narrowly missing mowing everyone down in their path (I'll nip that rant in the bud or perhaps save it for a later date) & it was glorious.

 

We've now got a 48 - hour dose of cloud, wind & rain to contend with but then calm should be restored....

 

Hope to see you later,

 

Robin