News organisations descended onto a street in London to report on the latest terror attack to strike Europe recently.. A women in her 60s lay dead and 5 other people suffered stab wounds. Professor Charlie Beckett is Head of Polis a journalism think tank at the London School of Economics, and he spoke to Jason McCrossan on 106.9 SFM
Prince Charles has “mini Buckingham Palace” built at Poundbury, in honor of his late Grandmother.
A block of luxury flats, built as part of Prince Charles’ architectural project in the village of Poundbury village in Dorset, have been likened to Buckingham Palace.
Prince Charles styled the building as the centrepiece of Queen Mother Square, in honour of his late Grandmother, the Queen Mother, whose Father, Claude Bowes-Lyon was the 14th Earl of Strathmore.
The building is yellow and white, which separates it from Buckingham Palace in London, however the façade shows the true resemblance, with the same pillars, a classical and traditional style and the same doorways and shape. Strathmore House also features a large open balcony and the Royal crest.
The eight properties each have two or three bedrooms, high ceilings large windows and “rare attention to detail”, designed by the leading classical architects Quinlan & Francis Terry.
Simon Conibear, from the Duchy of Cornwall, said: “The square has been planned since the inception of the project. It is physically in the centre of Poundbury and will include a statue of the Queen Mother. His Royal Highness wanted to commemorate his grandmother.”
The luxury flats were quickly sold, at a price ranging between £575,000 – £650,000 each.
A spokesman for Parkers estate agents said: “The building has attracted a lot of attention, both locally, nationally and internationally. The apartments have sold to a variety of purchasers, with over half of them moving from within Dorset, and two others international.”
Once the square is completed, a statue of the Queen Mother will be placed in the centre.
Poundbury sits on 400 acres of land owned by Prince Charles, who created the traditional British village due to his strong ideas on environment and architecture.
A separate block of flats and a spa is being built on the other side of the square, and will be named the Royal Pavilion.
The Poundbury plan will result in a total of 2,500 homes when it is completed, which is expected to be 2025.
On the show tonight:
We start with sport and hear from three-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome. Prime Minister Theresa May has said that “nobody wants to return to the borders of the past” during her first visit to Northern Ireland. We hear from Mrs May in The World Tonight.
Mick Jagger is our featured artist tonight. He’s one of the most influential figures in the history of rock and roll as frontman of The Rolling Stones and celebrates his birthday on 26 July.
After 8pm Jason we hear how Shamed Sir Philip Green has threatens to sue MP Frank Field who said he was ‘much worse’ than Robert Maxwell for ‘plundering BHS’. We have the latest report.
Paul Doust trained as an actor at the Guildhall School, London and then took to play writing and TV scriptwriting (BBC’s Eastenders / Holby City). He now now runs theatre workshops all over Kent. He joins Jason live in the studio in the final hour.
London-based folk singer-songwriter Lir Shilton is marking her debut single release with ‘Flower’, taken from her upcoming debut album, ‘Nothing But A Ghost’, mixed by John Cornfield (Neil Halstead, The Verve). ‘Flower’ is a slow-core alternative folk song, written about Lir Shilton’s beloved dog and lead by her classical guitar fingerpicking style and a soft downtempo drumming. Lir’s pure troubadour songwriting skills and soothing voice tells an honest story that immediately pierces the listener’s heart.
Jill Dando was a BBC journalist and presenter who for 14 years worked on successful programmes such as the flagship BBC Breakfast Time, Breakfast News, the BBC One O’Clock News, the Six O’Clock News, the travel programme Holiday, and the crime appeal series Crimewatch (from 1995 until her death). She was named BBC Personality of the Year in 1997.
On the morning of 26 April 1999, Jill was fatally shot outside her home in Fulham, London. No one has ever been successful found guilty of her murder. Local loner Barry George was jailed for her murder in 2001, but his conviction was overturned in 2008 following the emergence of new evidence. No one else has been charged. Her killer still remains at large.
Jason McCrossan spoke to Criminologist Dr James Treadwell from Birmingham City University about this peculiar and extremely sad case.
Monday Matters with Jason McCrossan is broadcast on 106.9 SFM in Kent.
On the show tonight: Our featured artist tonight is Gary Numan who produced commercial electronic music and had hits with “Cars” and “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?”. He is 58 this week.
In the music Kyra brings news about John Lennon, Massive Attack and music from Years & Years.
Also, we hear of a new virus directly targeting Apple computers – which locks users out of their files until they pay a ransom – 1 bitcoin (£200).
We sent Reporter Bonnie Britain onto the wet and windy streets of London where she bumped into Dan from the band The Feeling – who invited her into his home to discuss music, and the band’s new album which was released on FRIDAY – called The Feeling.
The latest stolen vehicle recovery (SVR) figures for 2015 from TRACKER reveal that London continues to top the list of regions where cars were most stolen and recovered. Year-on-year TRACKER saw a 12% increase in the number of stolen vehicles recovered across the UK in 2015, equating to nearly £12.5 million worth of vehicles being returned to their owners.
Londoners love Land Rover. Three Range Rover models dominated SVR figures within London – the Sport, Vogue and Autobiography – but they also appear in TRACKER’s ‘UK top 10 most stolen and recovered’ table demonstrating the popularity of the brand with thieves across the UK. The highly desirable Range Rover Sport was the UK’s most stolen and recovered vehicle in 2015.
Greater Manchester held the second highest number of stolen and recovered cars in 2015 after the capital, knocking Essex off the number 2 spot that it held in 2014. Models from the Mercedes-Benz range of vehicles were the most commonly stolen and recovered in Greater Manchester. The Mercedes Benz C220 and the Mercedes Benz C63 both feature in the UK’s top 10 most stolen and recovered’ table. The Mercedes Benz C63 climbs six places to number four, having entered the top 10 last year.
West Midlands retains 3rd position for the second year in a row, where BMWs were the most stolen and recovered. The BMW X5 had held the number one most stolen and recovered spot across the UK for the last 6 years, until the Range Rover Sport knocked it off poll position. The BMW 3 and 5 series make a re-appearance in the league table after a number of years’ absence, last listed in 2013 and 2009 respectively.
Regions in the south east of England dominated the list including Essex, Kent, Surrey and Hertfordshire, where BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Land Rover were favoured in equal measure by thieves.
West Yorkshire and Merseyside represent the north of England; Merseyside reappears in the league table for the first time in a couple of years where Audi was most recorded as stolen and recovered; The Audi Q7 also makes its first appearance in the nationwide league table, coming in 10th. In joint tenth place for regional hot spots were Lancashire and Leicestershire; Leicestershire replaces Lanarkshire which disappears from the top ten list in 2015.
Comments Andy Barrs, Head of Police Liaison at TRACKER. “Our analysis highlights some interesting consumer manufacturer preferences by region, as well as an overall shift in the most desirable makes and models that thieves are stealing to order, with 4x4s dominating our top ten.”
“However, whilst it’s common for car thieves to target premium marques, we should not underestimate the massive appetite for Ford, Vauxhall, and VW models which are stolen in even greater numbers, but which most owners do not protect by fit tracking devices.” Concludes Andy Barrs; “A Home Office Report published in January this year suggests that fitting a tracking device could be the best solution against criminals succeeding in selling on stolen vehicles.”
By using its unique VHF technology, TRACKER stolen vehicle recovery (SVR) units can overcome potential theft recovery hurdles such as concealment in underground garages or shipping containers. Crucially, the use of GPS/GSM technology also means it can beat signal jamming, a common tactic employed by professional criminals.
TRACKER’S TOP TEN MOST STOLEN AND RECOVERED
Top ten cars by make and model most frequently stolen and recovered:
2014 2015
1. BMW X5 1. Range Rover Sport
2. Mercedes C Class 2. BMW X5
3. Range Rover Sport 3. Range Rover Vogue
4. Mercedes Benz E Class 4. Mercedes Benz C220
5. Land Rover Discovery 5. BMW 3 Series
6. BMW M3 6. Mercedes Benz C63
7. Range Rover Vogue 7. BMW 5 Series
8. Audi RS4 8. Audi RS4
9. Mercedes Benz ML 9. Range Rover Autobiography
10. Mercedes Benz C63 10. Audi Q7
TRACKER’S TOP TEN REGIONS WHERE CARS ARE STOLEN AND RECOVERED
2015
1. Greater London
2. Greater Manchester
3. West Midlands
4. Essex
5. Kent
6. Surrey
7. West Yorkshire
8. Hertfordshire
9. Merseyside
10. Lancashire/Leicestershire
On Jason McCrossan’s Saturday Breakfast Show on 106.9 SFM, ahead of Valentines day he spoke to flirting expert Jean Smith about the art of flirting successfully.
Jean shared her hints and tips to improve how we communicate with each other – using the art of a flutter and a flirt.
A video has been doing the rounds which shows an arrest made British Transport Police in St Pancras in March.
On the face of it the video makes uncomfortable viewing. The man being arrested repeatedly asks “why” he is being arrested and gets no response other than to get repeatedly shouted at and hit with a stick by the policeman, who actually sounds a bit out of control and appears to be using riot squad techniques on this single man. The man also is heard to say “I’m not a criminal” which result in him being shouted at and beaten by a stick by the policeman who seems determined to get the man to lie on the floor.
The other police officer in the video appears to be more stand off-ish and not as aggressive and then more officers arrive and take the man to the side – all in full view of the public and, as it happens in St Pancras, foreign visitors to our country.
In 2016 I find it incredible that a any man can be hit by a stick by police. It wouldn’t of made it less painful viewing had he been a white man – but one wonders if this is the treatment that we hear about from the black community who often feel they are unfairly singled out and hit upon (in this case literally) by the police. No matter what the colour of the person, it cannot be acceptable to be treated like this by the police.
When contacted their press office a spokesman for British Transport Police (BTP) said: “We continue to investigate the incident involving BTP officers detaining a man at St Pancras station on Tuesday, 8 March.
“Our Professional Standards Department (PSD) has been informed and the matter has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).”
Monday Matters reporter Bonnie Britain returns with a look at an event aimed at breast cancer awareness called Coppafeel. Boobball is a charity game held in the olympic park and Bonnie managed to get interviews with some of the players. Tom Fletcher from Mcfly, Ashley James, Gaby Roslin, Dan Edgar and Kate Write from TOWIE and Kristin Hallenga all spoke to our Bonnie.
Jason McCrossan 