Shadowing Practice: 260826 BBC Spotlight, Evening News - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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Thank you Jane.
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On Spotlight tonight an anxious wait continues for expectant mothers as talks take place over maternity services in North Devon.
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But a date to reopen wasn't decided today as the Trust works towards a solution.
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Also this evening it's full steam ahead though for a renewal of mining at Hemmerdon.
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After securing a £71 million government grant, they're on track to be back in full production by the first quarter of next year.
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He's a legend of the lakes.
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A North Devon man conquers ten Swiss lakes to raise awareness of his son's condition.
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And it's been a record breeding season for the Cornish chuff and I'm at a spot in West Cornwall,
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one of the best places to see the famous blackbird with its red bill and legs.
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Pregnant women in North Devon are still in limbo tonight about where they will give birth.
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The Royal Devon NHS Trust says it still can't confirm when birthing services will resume at the hospital in Barnstable
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after they were suspended on the 11th of August, leaving women facing long journeys to have their babies.
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Following a meeting today, the Trust says it's still cautiously optimistic that services will resume at the hospital
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at the end of September.
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Claire Woodling has the details.
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As the NHS Trust board met today, we waited for news.
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And waited, and waited.
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We didn't know how it would come or what it would be, not unlike the expectant mums of North Devon.
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Then at 2.39pm, the Trust announced there was still no concrete date for reopening services in Barnstable.
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I'm feeling really optimistic about the end of September as our proposed opening date for the service.
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We have got the temporary and permanent staff in place today to be assured around that.
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We have some further checks
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and balances to agree as a team next week at our
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board meeting where we will be giving final confirmation of what that reopening plan looks like. For now,
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mums in labour will have the concern of the long drive to Exeter to add to the unknowns of
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when it will happen and how it will go.
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It's a vital service.
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These are women giving birth to babies.
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Even low-risk pregnancies can change.
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And it's not acceptable that women are expected to travel 55 miles
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or so with a two-hour journey before you even consider congestion, roadworks, accidents.
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Roads haven't been stress-tested properly over a period of time.
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And women are worried, they're frightened, and they're wanting answers and solutions.
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Jenny Henderson lives on Exmoor and had baby Phoenix in Exeter.
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She had intended to have an induction, but her waters broke spontaneously, so they just went straight away.
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And it's a good job that we decided to go early because, yeah, had we have waited for contractions to start,
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which is kind of the norm for most deliveries, yeah, we probably would have had him in the car park.
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You know, they should never have to choose between something that's close and something that's safe.
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You know, by rights, everyone deserves both.
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As of today, 51 women have given birth in the Exeter site who would have given birth in North Devon.
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We've not had any safety incidents that we need to share.
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We've had no women or birthing people give birth before arrival.
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And we do see that in normal times because of the rurality of where we work and live.
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I have to say I'm quietly pessimistic
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that these changes are going to come in the timely sense
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that they are insinuating because it seems to be we're getting the same messages over
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and over again and dodging dates and sufficient reopening timescales.
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For now, like so much of pregnancy then, it's watch and wait.
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Claire Woodling, BBC Spotlight, Exeter.
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next tonight
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and a huge tungsten mine on the edge of dartmoor with
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one of the largest deposits of the critical mineral in the
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world is just weeks away from production after a 71 million
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pound government investment tungsten west secured the backing from the uk
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national wealth fund for its operation at hemmerden near plymouth yesterday the project should create 350 direct jobs
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and more than 2 000 supported roles when it's in full operation our business reporter scott bingham has more
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This huge hole in the ground at Hemmerden has lain largely untouched for the past eight years or so, since the last operator, Wolf Minerals, went bust.
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The new operator, Tungsten West, has been slowly working towards reopening the mine since then,
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and now the government has stepped in with up to £71 million to back the project, they're pretty much ready to go.
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It literally is a perfect storm for us at the moment.
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The world of tungsten is massively different to what it was in 2018, where the price was around US$300 a metric ton unit for tungsten.
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We're now seeing a market where it's US$3,000 a metric ton unit.
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So very fundamental difference outside the project, but most importantly for us, we've done everything we can to make the project much more robust within our control.
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They've learned lessons from mistakes made in the past.
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They're building new crushing plants and changing major parts of the process.
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But it's been a long road to get here.
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Tungsten West has been constantly battling to secure the funding to keep going.
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Now the government has finally come forward with support, but I asked the Minister why it took so long.
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We hear politicians over a long period of time promising re-industrialisation.
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I think one of the things that's changed is we're putting our money where our mouth is.
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So this £71 million investment brings it up to a total of,
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I think just short of £350 million into critical minerals and associated industries.
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It's fantastic.
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It's come at the exact right time for the project
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and also very important to us is it shows an incredibly
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strong level of support right up to number 10 in the UK government.
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So we're incredibly pleased to have the National Wealth Fund as a long-term equity partner for the project.
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150 staff are already working at the site.
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That will rise to 350 once they're in full production by the end of the first quarter of next year.
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Each of these gigantic tipper trucks costs around a million pounds, so it's easy to see where the money goes,
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and the company is currently looking to recruit people to learn to drive them.
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Tungsten is widely used in the aerospace and defence industries, but 80% of the world's demand is currently met by China.
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This mine will make the UK a major player, boosting both the nation's security and economy.
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Scoppingham, BBC Spotlight, Hemmerden.
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A basic skills programme for young people in Devon is to close after losing its funding.
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Young Devon runs courses for those not in employment, education or training.
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The charity says over the last decade it's helped more than
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a thousand 16 to 25 year olds turn their lives around
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and it has more than a hundred young people on its waiting list.
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Janine Janssen has been to meet some of those who've used the service in Exeter.
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Imogen went to college at 16 but it didn't work out.
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She suffered with FND and non-epileptic seizures.
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As a last resort she came here to Young Devon.
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I was so low, I didn't leave my room, I didn't really speak to anyone and then
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when I came here for the interview I didn't speak to the person interviewing me at all, I just stared at a wall, my dad had to speak for me and then when I left I just,
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I gained so much confidence that now I feel like a completely different person.
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And now she's doing so well at college, yeah she's been incredible, the journey she's been on without young Devon,
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I'd hate to think how she'd be now.
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She's really on a very good track now
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and young Devon I think has been absolutely at the core of that journey and helping us as a family.
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Three years on, she's now at Exeter College doing health and social care.
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The chief executive says they help around 200 youngsters a year, but funding ends this September.
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There are already more than a hundred on the waiting list.
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Young people come to us often they've not been in school for two or three years, they don't have maths or English
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and in a period of two lots of 12-week courses the
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team get them from not knowing where they're going to getting into college, getting into work and we have a 95% success rate in doing that.
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19 year old Jack loves wildlife and photography
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but college didn't work out for him and he was at a dead end
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so i came here because at the time i was just doing some volunteering work
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so like i wasn't in any form of like mainstream education
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or like job so it was just something extra to do
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then i did the work-based learning course and then from then there was a um day out doing tree planting.
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Staff here say the work they do is life-changing.
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So it is genuinely amazing like I yeah I think like for example Jack on the course
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if I can use a specific example he did our courses
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and he's gone into a traineeship with the Wildlife Trust
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and just we've supported him in both and just like the growth
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and his confidence and he's found what he wants to do
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and that's really invaluable isn't it to support people to find what they want to do and they're passionate about.
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It is very life-changing because my life has changed for the better
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because of this work-based learning course so you know without doing
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that you know because our access like a stepping stone for people.
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17 year old Michael found college overwhelming he says here it's more one-to-one.
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It helped me a lot like my confidence I'm getting the bus now
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which which is a massive improvement because I wouldn't do that before.
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And then I'm just socialising more with people, I'm talking more, I'm being myself more, which is just massive.
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Because when I was younger, I'd just, I'd mask.
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I wouldn't show who I really was because I was scared of being criticised because of that.
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But here, I can just be myself and be happy, really.
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He's now doing creative media at college.
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But staff say losing funding for these courses is desperately sad.
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There just isn't provision out there that I can see.
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There's not lots of other things that people can access.
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So when I ring people on the referral sheet, they are sometimes like, people have said that to me, you're our last hope.
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Latest figures show more than a million young people between 16 and 24 are not in education, employment or training.
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Young Devon says youngsters need a stepping stone and this one is about to disappear.
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Janine Janssen, BBC Spotlight, Exeter.
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Well, Western College in Somerset, which subcontracted the courses and funding as part of its outreach work,
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told Spotlight the change followed a strategic review of learner demand and funding priorities
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and that the decision hasn't been made because of any concerns regarding performance, quality or impact.
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Now a major new research project led by researchers from the universities of Exeter
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and Bristol is seeking to improve understanding of heavy periods and their impact on women's daily lives.
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The study will follow participants on a daily tracking app and will monitor energy levels, sleep, mood and overall well-being.
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By gathering samples from thousands of women scientists hope to find ways to help women who suffer every month.
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Matthew Hill reports.
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horrific.
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I'm in pain every day.
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For Marie, heavy periods have been a part of life since she was a teenager.
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I'm currently not on any pain management because I have so many other conditions going on.
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And I'm looking at getting a uterus-only hysterectomy so that I can come off of contraception.
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Now she's supporting a major new study she hopes could help other women get answers faster.
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Heavy menstrual bleeding affects up to half of women worldwide.
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For some, it can mean periods lasting more than a week, needing to change protection every couple of hours,
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passing large blood clots and suffering exhaustion caused by iron deficiency.
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But despite affecting millions, researchers say menstrual health remains poorly understood.
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At the Universities of Bristol and Exeter, scientists are launching what's expected to become the world's largest biobank of menstrual fluid samples.
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from women in their mid-30s.
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Thousands of volunteers will track symptoms, sleep, mood, energy levels and well-being through an app and questionnaires.
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They'll also provide menstrual fluid samples using specially designed sanitary pads.
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So when this area in the middle is full, they can just remove this, they can dispose of that like they would any other type of pad,
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and then they just take this sample and then stick it in this box.
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The samples will be linked to health and genetic information already collected through long-running studies, including children of the 90s.
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Researchers hope that combination of biological samples and real-time health data will reveal new clues about what's happening inside the body.
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So we're looking at menstrual fluid, comparing people with heavy menstrual bleeding, for example, to people who don't have heavy menstrual bleeding.
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And then any signature that we see there might tell us something about what's causing that symptom.
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The hope is that identifying biological markers in menstrual fluid could eventually lead to earlier diagnosis,
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more personalised treatments and better support for women living with heavy periods.
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They're the professionals, they're the scientists, but anything can help, whether you just give, like, if you've got some what's known as spotting, so literally just a spot of blood,
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versus having an extremely heavy period.
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At this stage it's only women from the children of the 90s and born in Bradford who'll take part.
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But once the biobank's established, it's hoped more volunteers can also take part to help shed light on an area that so far has been mainly ignored.
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Matthew Hill, BBC Spotlight.
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Welcome, if you're just joining us this evening.
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After watching us here on Spotlight, there's plenty more to read online of course and volunteers are stepping up wildlife patrols in Dorchester.
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Ducks have been attacked with catapults on the River Froome.
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Police received clear footage of young people believed to be involved.
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Tim Beers on a mission to reinstate cast iron boundary posts used in the 1900s.
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The Somerset Road sign enthusiast is crowdfunding to restore them.
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He says we can't afford to lose our historical items.
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And speaking of signs, new ones at Jersey Airport, they're designed to celebrate Jersey's unique identity.
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They're including a greeting in Gerier, the traditional language of the Jersey people.
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And for all of those stories, for more of that and plenty of other things, check out the BBC News app.
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Sport Now
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and Plymouth Argyle are out of League Cup at the second
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round stage following a defeat at the hands of Premier League newcomers Coventry City.
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Argyle found themselves 2-0 down inside the opening five minutes but fought back to level the game at 2-2.
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But Frank Lampard's side showed their quality to score two more to come out comfortable for two winners.
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but manager Tom Cleverley says there were still plenty of positives.
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This is what you want from these cup ties that leading into Saturday I've got headaches.
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Leading into Saturday, you know, a lot of players made my picking the team decisions tough this evening which is a healthy place to be.
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So yeah, we've lost the game tonight which we never want to do
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but I think we're in a better place for it.
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Now to a legend of the lakes, a title of father of three from North Devon has just
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earned himself after becoming the first person to swim 10 of the largest lakes in Switzerland.
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Neil Gilson has spent more than 100 hours in the water and covered a total distance of 237 miles.
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He's done it all to raise awareness of a cause very close to his heart.
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He started the challenge in June last year and today he finally completed it with a 45-mile swim across Lake Geneva.
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We'll be hearing from Neil in just a moment, but first let's take a look at what he's achieved.
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I'm learning that these lakes have each got their own sort of character, so each one is different.
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Every time I do one of these, I'm like, why?
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Why am I doing this?
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When things get hard, I always go back to that time when it was really difficult for Jack, and I think to myself, I'm in this lake by my choice.
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That's like an inspiration to me.
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First of all, congratulations.
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How are you feeling?
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First of all, relieved that it's all done, because that was the big one.
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And secondly, really proud that I've managed to get it done.
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You're doing this for a very special reason.
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Just remind our viewers why you've done it.
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Yeah, so I'm doing this for a charity that supports my son.
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When he was three years old, he developed a condition called Pans Pandas.
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And he developed the pandas side of it that affects a part of the brain.
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And it's not a rare condition, it's rarely diagnosed.
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So my aim of this challenge is to raise awareness and hopefully open people's eyes to it.
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I bet Jack is super proud of his dad, isn't he?
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Yeah, yeah, he is really proud.
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It was lovely at the finish today because Jack and my daughter Lily got in and swam the last 200 metres,
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so it really rounded everything off and I teared up in my goggles when I saw them waiting for me.
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Oh, how lovely.
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So listen, when you're doing a challenge of this magnitude, what goes through your mind when you're in the water and what keeps you going?
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It was really tough today, actually.
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Well, today and yesterday, because it was a 22-hour swim.
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I just had a really tough night of current.
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So it was 10 hours in darkness with current head on.
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And what got me through was knowing that my family and friends were at the end waiting for me.
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We've actually got 25 of us out here supporting me.
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So having that moment to finish the challenge was what kept me going really.
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Was there ever a stage where you thought, I can't do this?
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Yes, yeah, definitely.
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I think if they weren't there, I probably, I was very close to quitting.
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I was in so much pain and I actually got tired to a point where I fell asleep.
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And then my core body temperature dropped and I got cold.
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So I think if I didn't have that moment at the end to drive me on, there's a potential that I might have stopped.
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Gosh, I mean, you say you've got 25 people out there supporting you, but do you have a support team in the water as well?
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You must do.
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Yeah, yeah.
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So we've got three guys on the boat, and that's whose families are out here, and obviously my family, because they've supported me throughout the challenge.
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So we thought it'd be nice for this last one to all come together and enjoy it as a team.
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Oh, it's a massive achievement, Neil.
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Thank you so much for talking to us.
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It's probably the last thing you felt like doing today.
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What is it you feel like doing now?
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What is the first thing you're going to do?
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Definitely have a sleep.
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And then hopefully, at the moment I can't really stomach any food just
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because your diet when you're swimming is just all over the place.
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So hopefully I can get some food down later.
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We'll see.
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Well done.
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Thank you so much for taking the time out to talk to us.
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Enjoy the rest of the time with your family and congratulations again.
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Thank you so much for having me.
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Incredible.
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Now it's been a great year for fans of The Chuff.
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A record number of the famous black bird with its dainty curved red bill
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and striking red feet have fledged on Cornwall's coastline.
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It's a far cry from the 70s
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when the bird died out in the county and from 25 years ago when just three returned.
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Well, Tamsin Melville has been chuff spotting near Xenna.
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Gurnard's Head in West Cornwall, a prime chuff spotting location and it doesn't take us long today.
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Great that they just popped up at the right time, as if we'd booked them.
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In fact, it's been a record breeding season for the Cornish chuff.
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As well as that cliff over there, we've got Gurnard's Head here.
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All really good habitat for chuff feeding.
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It's got short, sward grassland.
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The dung from the livestock allows the chuff to come down and feed in the soil for invertebrates.
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It's not just here that's seen chuffs go from strength to strength, it's also the lizard, the roseland and increasing numbers in mid and north Cornwall.
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So there are three chuffs at the moment down there on the cliff face
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and one of them we think is a fledgling
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and that's one fledgling of 161 young chufflets that have fledged from nests around the Cornish coastline this summer.
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They were extinct from Cornwall until 2001 when three came back from Ireland, they returned to Cornwall.
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Passersby enjoy the history and the success 25 years on,
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getting a glimpse of the chuff with its acrobatic displays and distinctive red bill and legs, and it's often heard before it's seen.
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says it's down to good nesting sites, good land management and volunteers protecting the nests.
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And that protection has continued for the last 25 years.
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We've still got an absolutely passionate network of volunteers that look after them to this day,
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that look after them, protect their sites and report on their numbers.
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Cornwall's national bird is much loved and the fact it's thriving a source of pride.
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It's just so good to actually have a positive conservation story these days.
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Normally when I'm talking about birds, it's which bird is dying and decreasing and where the problems are,
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but the chuffs, it's a real success story.
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Cornwall birds want to hear of any sightings.
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There may now be around 400 chuffs in Cornwall, but to see one is still special.
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Tamsin Melville, BBC Spotlight.
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We'd both like T-shirts saying chufflets, wouldn't we?
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I think it's such a great word.
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Yeah, isn't it?
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Chufflet.
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Little chufflets.
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Thank you, Victoria.
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Hello, good evening.
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Yeah, we've had a lot of fine weather around today.
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It's been generally rather cloudy, but earlier today we did have some blue sky in quite a few places
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and there's a bit more of that to come for tomorrow.
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However, there is the risk of some quite heavy rain turning up overnight tonight.
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It'll be around first thing tomorrow morning, then it clears and they're mostly fine and dry.
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The sunshine will come back tomorrow but a few isolated showers are certainly possible.
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This was Truro from earlier today where it did look a bit grey in places.
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It did brighten up here and there and actually for many of us today it has been again a dry day.
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But poised to move up from the south will be some much more widespread rain
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and potentially some of that rain could be thundery.
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So there is a risk tonight of the odd rumble of thunder thunder
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and lightning possible but more importantly because we
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so desperately need some rain there could be some heavy rain
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overnight as well this line of cloud is a weather front coming up from the south it's embedded within
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that that we've got the thunderstorms they won't be everywhere
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but just the risk here
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and there the whole lot is steadily moving northwards taking with it the heavier bursts of rain
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so most of that clearing quite swiftly early in the day tomorrow
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but we've got low pressure right over us in fact two areas of low pressure
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so a complete change in our weather pattern now we've got
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westerly winds developing as we move through Friday into Saturday
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and Sunday so lower temperatures but also these bands of cloud will produce some appreciable rain
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so much so in fact
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that by the time we get to the end of the weekend
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and the early part of next week our rainfall totals are going to start to add up.
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It's certainly not enough rain compared to how dry we've been, but we could be between 40, maybe 50 millimetres of rain by the time we get to Monday or Tuesday of next week.
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This evening and tonight, here comes the rain.
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It's initially a bit patchy, but later on in the night, perhaps it becomes a bit more widespread.
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There's some moderate to heavy bursts of rain associated with this as well, and it'll turn quite misty overnight tonight.
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Really quite a humid night.
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Look at the minimum temperatures.
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no lower than between 16 and 18 degrees, so very muggy, quite misty early in the day tomorrow.
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The remnants of that rain last to clear from Exmoor, North Somerset, the western part of Dorset as well.
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Then the rest of the day, I think, will be predominantly dry.
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There could be a shower, it'll be fairly isolated, but most of us getting away with a largely dry day.
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But with the rain comes slightly cooler air, So temperatures will be down compared to what we've seen recently, 20 to 23, the temperature range for tomorrow.
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Ours are silly here.
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I think we'll have showers early in the day, perhaps most of the day dry, but then a few turning up late in the day and into the evening as well.
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These are our times of high water, Falmouth 5.45, Portland 7.18 and Padstow 5.51 tomorrow morning.
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and the winds are going to be predominantly from the southwest, force four, but occasionally five with those showers, otherwise fair with good visibility.
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Disappointing again for our surfers.
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The surf will pick up, though, later on this week, but one to two feet on the north coast, similar height of waves on the south coast.
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But with westerly winds developing, there'll be bigger waves.
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There'll also be some further outbreaks of rain.
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Have a nice evening.
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Victoria.
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Thank you, David.
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Heidi Davey will be back with the late news at 10.30.
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If you have a story for us, do get in touch, spotlight at bbc.co.uk.
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But thank you for joining us from the team.
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Good night.

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 342 sentences and 4480 words to shadow. The speech runs for 27:35. The speaker talks at a natural 162 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 83% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

WordPronunciationMeaning
spotlight noun/ˈspɒtˌlaɪt/A bright, directional light or lamp, especially one used to illuminate the focus or center of attention on a stage.
volunteer noun/ˌvɑlənˈtɪɹ/One who enters into, or offers themselves for, any service of their own free will, especially when done without pay.
fluid noun/ˈflu.ɪd/Any substance which can flow with relative ease, tends to assume the shape of its container, and obeys Bernoulli's principle; a liquid, gas or plasma.
swim verb/swɪm/To move through the water, without touching the bottom; to propel oneself in water by natural means.
awareness noun/əˈwɛɹ.nəs/The state or level of consciousness where sense data can be confirmed by an observer.
wildlife noun/ˈwaɪldlaɪf/undomesticated animals, especially mammals, birds, and fish, which live in the wild.
overnight adverb/əʊvə(ɹ)ˈnaɪt/During or throughout the night, especially during the evening or night just past.
mineral noun/ˈmɪn.ə.ɹəl/Any naturally occurring solid material that has a (more or less) definite chemical composition and characteristic physical properties; especially, an inorganic…
researcher noun/ˈɹiˌsɝ.t͡ʃɚ/One who researches.
bleed verb/ˈbliːd/To shed blood through an injured blood vessel.
cloud noun/ˈklaʊ̯d/A visible mass of water droplets suspended in the air.
charity noun/ˈtʃæɹɪti/An organization, the objective of which is to carry out a charitable purpose.
legend noun/ˈlɛd͡ʒ.ənd/The life story of a saint (such stories are often embellished, but any kind is called a legend).
mood noun/muːd/A mental or emotional state, composure.
congratulations/kənˌɡɹæt͡ʃəˈleɪʃ(ə)nz/Expressing praise and approval, expressing approbation.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

WordPronunciationMeaning
turn up verbTo show up; to appear suddenly or unexpectedly.
add up verbTo take the sum of; to total.
check out verbTo record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
come back verbTo return to a place.
come back from verbTo become successful, confident or effective again after an injury, setback, failure, embarrassment, etc.
come down verbTo descend, fall down, collapse.
come out verb/ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/To be discovered; to be revealed.
come together verb/ˈkʌm tʊˈɡɛðɚ/To assemble; to congregate; to combine.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 109 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, we've, they're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

  • The “th” sounds: thunder /ˈθʌndɚ/, gather /ˈɡæðɚ/, mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/, southwest /saʊθˈwɛst/
  • The “sh” and “zh” sounds: congratulations /kənˌɡɹæt͡ʃəˈleɪʃ(ə)nz/, passionate /ˈpæʃənɪt/, inspiration /ˌɪn.spɪˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, sheet /ʃit/, occasionally /əˈkeɪʒənəli/
  • Long words — get the stress right: congratulations /kənˌɡɹæt͡ʃəˈleɪʃ(ə)nz/, incredibly /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/, operator /ˈɑpəˌɹeɪtɚ/, biological /ˌbaɪ.əˈlɑ.d͡ʒɪ.kəl/, importantly /ɪmˈpɔɹ.tənt.li/

How to practise with this video

  1. Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
  2. Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
  3. Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like spotlight, volunteer, fluid.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

StructureIn the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters nowhaven't been · have waited · have given
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does itwasn't decided · were suspended · be assured
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thingwhich which is · more, which is · women who suffer

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →