X Factor or Xplosion for Theatre Industry?

Lighthouse Arts Programme Director Robin Cave claims theatre industry is dying from competition shows like ‘The X Factor’.

Shows like ‘How do you solve a problem like Maria?’, recently aired on the BBC and ‘The X Factor’, to be seen on ITV are ruining the industry.

Traditionally, the best actors would graduate from acting school and become centre stage of the West End within a few years, now amatuers are flocking the stages, some who have had no previous experience in the arts.

Mr Cave said, ‘How do you solve a problem like Maria?’ is damaging the industry. It’s been felt here, production teams charge more now than they ever have before – there are just less jobs available now, the industry is shrinking.’

‘We are trying to bring younger audiences to the theatre here, and as an entire community the theatre world wants more young people to get envolved – but television is making it harder.’

The entertainment industry is suffering as a whole according to Mr Cave, ‘record companies don’t spend money, they make much more than they used to from gigs and tours – but next to nothing from record sales.’

Mr Cave has been in the industry for over 25 years – about the same time since Hewlett Packard announced their first personal computer.

Starting out as a theatre technician, Mr cave began his career in Nottingham. He moved to the Crucible in Sheffield to begin his education in theatre design.

He ran a company ‘Theatre North’, for ten years, moving to the Lighthouse Theatre, Poole fifteen years ago.

Court Reporting 2009

A thief who stole over £18,000 in goods from a local salon was yesterday convicted of burglary.

Harry Francis Camp was arrested by Dorset police when he was found breaking into the salon with accomplices.

Mr Camp went into the property via the rear entrance, and helped in the robbery of hair care products and electrical equipment to the estimated value of £18,989.

Defence lawyer for Mr Camp, Rob Griffiths QC, said ‘my client is in full time work and knows the value of working hard. If he was handed a custodial sentence, it could impact of the lives of his girlfriend and mother – both who are dependant on him.’

Mr Camp has been in full time work at McDonalds for eight years now– obtaining the role of Shift Manager.

Judge J. Fuller said ‘you knew what you were doing was wrong and you have seen the damage your actions have had on the livelihood of a local business. This business has lost clients because of the damage you have caused.’

Mr Camp was handed a suspended sentence of six months, 200 hours community service and was ordered to pay a further £300 compensation to the salon.

Bear Shooting in Bournemouth

Two seven-foot North American Brown Bears have been shot and killed following a dangerous rampage through Bournemouth.

The bears were released from Tinsel Town theme park in Bournemouth by animal rights activists.

Superintendant Des Daubery said ‘we were forced to shoot them as they had a bad reaction to tranquilisers – we could not risk the 500 pound bears rampaging in anger around Bournemouth.’

‘This is a sad occasion, we do not like shooting animals but were left with no choice, he said.’

Owner of Tinsel Town Bob Staten, 70 is described to be ‘distressed’.

‘I am deeply upset that someone could do this not only to me, but to the people of Bournemouth.’

‘There is a real lack of amusement parks in this area of Bournemouth and we were hoping to plug a gap in the market with Tinsel Town.’

One of the bears attacked a man last night. Steve Bond, 32 was eating at a kebab house in Boscombe when the animal bit him.

‘I was only able to stop the bear by throwing my food at it and distracting it.’

‘I think it is irresponsible and dangerous to have these kind of animals roaming around.’

Police arrested one animal rights activist, who dressed up as a bear in an attempt to hinder the Police investigation.

The animal rights activists are believed to be part of the Bear Unity Movement.

Disaster at Bowleaze Cove

Jamie and Louise Redknapp today rescued six people trapped up to their necks by a mountain of sludge.

The celeb couple used their powerful Sunseeker speedboat to haul the trapped victims to safety at Bowleaze Cove, Weymouth – far more effectively than the emergency services, who had over 60 people involved.

Twelve people went on the field trip to Bowleaze Cove when a natural landslide forced the group apart – trapping five teenagers and one teacher.

The group were from Woodruffe School in Lime Regis. There are believed to be no major casualties but some individuals are suffering from mild hypothermia, shock, lacerations and bruising.

Speaking from Dorchester Hospital, Shelley Osborne - one of the trapped teachers – said, ‘we were walking along and then we heard a colossal noise and lots of rumbling. All of a sudden we were covered in slime and debris.’

‘Some people were covered up to their waist, others up to their necks. There were panic attacks and we honestly thought we were going to die.’

She said, 'we just want to thank Jamie and Louise so much for saving our lives, they really did save us.’

There were complications when rescue helicopters caused too much downdraft - hindering emergency services. A weak mobile phone signal caused further problems.

The whole operation is believed to have used over 60 rescue staff from the fire, ambulance, police, RNLI and coastguard services.

The field trip to Bowleaze Cove - on the Jurassic Coast of Dorset - is a popular field trip for geography students at the school. Woodruffe School headteacher said, ‘this is a very surprising incident, we run this field trip twice a year and nothing like this has ever happened during my ten years at the school.’

Credit Crunch - The People of Bournemouth

The credit crunch has significantly affected spending with 48% of retailers reporting lower sales than last year.

We travelled to Bournemouth Town Centre and spoke to Patrick Rowson, 36, from Alum Chine. 

‘As a Curry’s Team Leader, I get paid twice in December so the credit crunch is not affecting me as much as some.’

Best friends Branya Hayward and Steff Warall, are both 14 and from Sandbanks, Poole.

Branya said ‘spending is definitely on the up towards Christmas, my dad is an estate agent and says work is rubbish, but we are not going to let it spoil Christmas.' 

Whilst Steff whose only source of income is a paper round, complains, ‘my dad isn’t giving me pocket money any more, it’s not fair!’

Chris Martin, 31 from Trowbridge, Wiltshire, has been selling the Big Issue in Bournemouth since last April. 

He said ‘I have noticed that people are buying less Big Issues now.  When I ask people I often get replies like “I would usually” but people are trying to cut back on their spending.’

Bournemouth Square News Stand owner Dianne Dellar, 50, from Charminster has got the impression that people ‘aren’t spending anything’. 

She has spoken to other retailers and said ‘people just aren’t buying anything this year, so the credit crunch is definitely affecting the high street.’

Anthony Hall, 44, owns an accessories shop, Lianta on Old Christchurch Road, Bournemouth. 

Anthony said that ‘business was good over summer but it has slowed down now.  Hopefully people will feel a bit more festive over Christmas.’

Ann Medcalf, 67, from Romsey, Hampshire, works in Sweet City in Burlington Arcade, Bournemouth.

She said, ‘the credit crunch hasn’t affected business for me.  People feel good eating sweets and don’t really miss spending a few pounds on the occasional treat.’

Adam Costa works with her during his time off school.

The 10-year-old, whose parents own the business said, ‘lots of my friends still like to come in and spend their pocket money.’

Market place vendor, Paul West, hasn’t felt the effects on his fresh food stall.

The 41-year-old from Lower Parkstone said, ‘Buying fruit and veg’ isn’t a luxury so the credit crunch hasn’t really affected me.’

Anita, 52, from Surrey has a daughter at Bournemouth University.

She said that she hasn’t been affected and as long as she had enough money to support her daughter, she would be happy.

The face of Meridian South Today, Debbie Thrower reflects on the need for persistence, stamina and patience.

The face of Meridian South Today, Debbie Thrower says persistence, stamina and patience are all required to be a good reporter.

Debbie, 50 is a well qualified journalist, ‘although it may look like an easy job, knocking on people doors and asking questions, you still have to be persistent, patient and determined – there is a lot of hanging around sometimes.’

Debbie highlights some of the more important skills in the job, ‘you have to be a people person – curious, inquisitive. You mustn’t ever take things at face value. The best journalists are those who are curious about the world, how it works and what makes people tick – if that doesn’t sound like you, then journalism probably isn’t the best career.'

For Debbie it is the small attention to detail that outlines a truly successful broadcast reporter, ‘local news is a very different style from national news but small things like looking up from your monitor back to the camera are very important. Do it too quickly and you come across fidgety, too slowly and you look pompous.’

It takes time and patience to learn, ‘it is very important to learn from others in the industry that are good at what they do. You want to have your own style, but you must take some technique from successful journalists. Look at the Dimbleby’s and Jon Snow. We don’t all ad-lib to fill 15 seconds and sound perfectly natural at it.’

Debbie started her career in newspapers, working for a free weekly newspaper - the Wimbledon Guardian. From there she moved through several publications to working on BBC Radio 2, where she eventually started work with Meridian South Today, co presenting with Fred Dinenage.

Debbie now lives in Southampton with her husband Peter and her two children Bryony, 10 and Samuel, 7.

Earliest Memory of Mrs Sheppard

Mary Sheppard, 82 talks about her earliest memories of playing in the street as a child.

Born in November 1926 ‘the best thing about growing up in the 20’s and 30’s was the simple fun we always had, explains Mrs Sheppard over a cup of tea. ‘We would play chase, play with hoops and help my father fix cars whenever he had a new one to repair.’

The games were numerous and varied, often keeping all the children out well after dark. ‘Sometimes we would run and hide and give our parents a scare as a big joke!’

It was an era in Britain where you could leave your front door unlocked and not worry about being burgled. When asked about this, Mrs Sheppard was defensive, ‘we always had to have our door locked as my father was so paranoid of people stealing his tools and materials.’

Mrs Sheppard’s father John was a mechanic who served as an engineer in World War One. ‘We had a garage attached to the house and there was always a broken car outside.’

She began her career as a secretary in a car showroom. ‘My father encouraged me into the job, saying I should be grateful. My heart was never really in it though.’ A few years later she became a vet. She said, ‘I always loved animals but never wanted to treat them until I was much older.’

Now a grandparent to four and a parent to three, Mrs Sheppard prefers quiet weekends with her husband, also called John, where they care for their four cats Molly, Mog, Meg and Baby.