Brave

If ever there is a week of releases that highlight the problem with mainstream cinema, this is it. Each of the major releases, in their own way, show that originality and craft are more on the wane than ever in commercial cinema.

That might be a controversial thing to say about the latest from Pixar, a company renowned for quality and integrity, but alas it is clear that what was once a formidable attention to originality is being replaced by more cynical approaches.

With sequels to Monsters Inc and Finding Nemo on the way, and another Toy Story mooted, the brilliant studio is more and more interested in lowest common denominator output.

Brave is a beautifully animated film that tells the story of a young princess who wants to fight for the right to be independent.

Admiral as this is, the film relies on too many cliché moments in telling the story, from jokes to plot points.

As much as it looks incredible, it feels like we have seen it before, and coming off the back of the lamentable Cars 2, this is a sad thing to say about the people who gave us so many incredible original works and characters.

Sadly, yet again it’s the girls who get short shrift with the first Pixar female lead having to fill a role that so many of her predecessors have already filled. Worrying signs from a once unstoppable force.

The Bourne Legacy

You’d think if you’d made something as satisfying as the Bourne trilogy was, with a star like Matt Damon who made that role his own, you’d just leave it alone.

But Hollywood doesn’t like to do that, it likes to make money.

So here we have the excellent Jeremy Renner as one of the ‘others’ in the programme that spawned Jason Bourne, now fighting for survival when nasty Edward Norton wants to wipe out the existence and the memory of it all.

It has some great moments, some great action and as usual the cast is top notch, but due to lazy, over-explained exposition it never escapes the feeling that it’s just trying to bleed an idea dry.

The Expendables 2

Look at that line up – the dream team for an entire generation of boys. And smartly, it includes the cream of modern action cinema bumping pecs up against a formidable who’s who of the genre. It gels the massive cast together and sets up action scene after action scene and quickfire quip after quickfire quip. What’s wrong with it?

Well, like The Bourne Legacy and Brave, it’s not as good or as much fun as it should be because it’s shot through with desperation to please existing fans. It doesn’t help that before the film is even out producers are talking up which stars they want next time.

Rail commuters from Luton’s three train stations face fare hikes of at least 6.2 per cent from the beginning of next year.

The Retail Prices Index (RPI), which is used to calculate train fares, increased to 3.2 per cent in July. And rail users across England will face fare increases of that figure plus a further three per cent.

That means commuters from the area’s four stations – Luton Airport Parkway, Luton, Leagrave and Harlington – could pay as much as £278 more for a season ticket per year. For example, a standard season ticket from Leagrave train station to any station in London zones one to six would have cost £4,484 this year, but will set passengers back at least £4,762 from January.

Commuters voiced their anger at the proposed price increases. Kim Taylor Gouck said on our Facebook page: “All they are doing is forcing us back into our cars as it would now be cheaper.”

Laura Farrar added: “What a ridiculous price hike! How are commuters going to be able to pay out that?” On our Twitter page, Kev Lennon said: “Are they offering reductions for standing fares or being crammed in like an animal off to the slaughter house #ripoff”

> Do you think rail fares are good value for money? Would you be happy to pay an extra 6.2 per cent? Our contact details are on page 2.

The number of unemployed people in Luton and Bedfordshire has fallen in the past three months, figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed yesterday.

In Luton North, unemployment has fallen by 4.5 per cent, (2,741 people). In Luton South, unemployment has fallen by 5.5 per cent (3,652 people).

This follows the national trend which shows that the jobless rate fell by 8 per cent in the three months to June compared with the previous quarter. That’s 46,000 in the UK who appear to have found work, during a period when national output is supposed to have shrunk by 0.7 per cent.

In the Mid Bedfordshire constituency, unemployment fell by 1.7 per cent (1,114 people), and in South West Beds it fell by 3.3 per cent (2,175 people).

Nationally, the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance fell by 5,900 to 1.59 million in July.

A man living in a tent in a Luton cemetery claims the council is leaving him out in the cold.

Gavin Lockyer, aged 35, has been homeless since he says he was forced to leave his family home at the age of 14.

Since then his main companion has been his white German shepherd dog, which he has had since it was a six-week-old pup.

He had been staying with a girlfriend but says he was forced to leave her council home when Luton Borough Council officials told him he could not keep his 14-year-old pet, and two others he has acquired.

“The council told me to get rid of my dogs and they’ll provide me a bed and breakfast but that’s all they offered me”, he said.

The dogs, who are well conditioned and house trained, are a huge part of Gavin’s life, and he said: “All I want is to keep my dogs and my girlfriend and settle down.”

Home for the past three months has been a tent in Rothesay Road cemetery. He bathes using the water facilities at the graveyard and he and his three dogs are a familiar sight around Luton town centre.

He had hoped to settle in a flat in Upper George Street where he claims other residents have been allowed to keep pets, but he says he was told he could not keep the dogs there.

“It’s been one thing after another,” he said. “The council don’t seem to be bothered and I just want to give up on them.”

Gavin added council benefits would entitle him to £475 rent per month but prospective landlords would not accept his dogs and he was not willing to give them up.

“They just make it really hard work,” he said.

Luton Borough Council state that they “do not have a statutory duty to secure accommodation for an individual, if they are assessed as not being a priority need”.

But they said they do have an “effective housing solution service, which provides advice and assistance and is open every day between 9am and 5pm in the Town Hall”.

>What do you think? Have your say, our contact details are on this page.

Health experts from around the wolrd will be told about Luton’s successful stroke survivors centre at a conference in Brazil.

The Chaul End Community Centre stroke service was initiated by Luton Borough Council in 2010, when day service manager Polly Parrish saw the potential for improving the service.

It now provides special gym facilities and training as well as helping stroke survivors learn new skills and regain their confidence.

Polly Parrish, now the council’s business and vocational development manager, said: “The real reward has been seeing the difference this has made to people’s lives. I remember one woman throwing her arms around me and telling me that she’d been able to dress herself that morning for the first time in four years. Just as importantly, her increased independence meant that her husband, who had been acting as her main carer, was able to return to work.”

As well as aiming to raise general awareness about strokes, the service includes specialist therapies by Action for Rehabilitation from Neurological Injury (ARNI) instructors.

The project is so successful that ARNI’s Dr Tom Balchin and Cynthia Van As will now present details of the service to the World Stroke Congress in October.

The Congress provides leading medical professionals with the opportunity to discuss all aspects of strokes and to discover late-breaking research from world experts.

Cllr Mahmood Hussain said: “We already knew that this was a first class centre because of the families it has helped get back to normal life after a stroke. However, it is still a huge honour for it to be recognised on the international stage.

“Having a stroke can lead to feelings of isolation as well as loss of confidence and independence. The service offers support to people whose ability to communicate has been affected by stroke, so they can learn new skills and regain their confidence through group and one-to-one support. We have received so much positive and inspirational feedback about the centre.”

The Beds and Herts Heart and Stroke Network provided funds for personal trainers to undertake ARNI training. The Stroke Association, Luton NHS and the Luton Clinical Commissioning Group have also been involved in setting up and running the service.

Facilities within the centre include cross-trainers, treadmills, recumbent cycles, an upright cycle, parallel bars and an ergometer. There are also plenty of mats, medicine balls, gym balls, a neurogripper, sticks and a variety of handheld soft balls to help clients with their rehabilitation.

Additional funding was recently acquired to purchase a Biometrics system for the centre. This includes patented electro-goniometers that measure human joint movement so users are able to track their progress and improvement, which is a great motivator.

Students at sixth forms and colleges in Luton were celebrating another year of bumper success as A Level results were issued this morning.

Teens at Cardinal Newman RC School sixth form and Luton Sixth Form College whooped and cried with joy as they nervously opened their results envelopes.

For the first time students at Barnfield West and South Academies also celebrated a successful bunch of AS Level grades.

Many of the students at Cardinal Newman and Luton Sixth Form College are now looking forward to going off to pastures new to study a variety of courses at university.

Luton Sixth Form College principal Chris Nichools said: “It has been another outstanding year and we are delighted with the fantastic achievements of our students.

“We are particularly pleased with the improvement in our pass rates enabling our students to take up their places at some of the best universities.”

Top performer at Cardinal Newman was Ciaran Cassidy, who scored an impressive three A* grades in chemistry, maths and further maths.

He will now go on to study maths at Oxford.

He told the Luton News: “I’m really pleased, all the hard work has paid off. It was really intense leading up to the exams and it’s been a long summer waiting for the results.

“I’m really looking forward to going to university.”

“Jason Bourne was just the tip of the iceberg…”

The Bourne films have to date been a pleasing mix of crunching hand-to-hand action, chases and general other spy-em-up thrills.

So here we are with part four, with a new lead character – Jeremy ‘Hawkeye from Avengers’ Renner’s Aaron Cross – taking over from Matt Damon’s iconic Jason Bourne.

Why is Aaron so erm, cross? Well, he’s part of the super spy programme which is being wiped from the records by the CIA under orders from retired colonel Eric Byer to keep the nasty truth from probing investigators.

Cue visceral and white-knuckle scenes of tension as Cross tries to evade his former bosses and travels around the world in a bid to make his super-enhanced powers permanent.

There is stacks of dialogue and lots of confusing plotlines converge, and there are some nods and mentions of Jason Bourne, who is apparently still running about in the US even if we never get to see him this time.

Tony Gilroy, who takes over director’s duties from Paul Greengrass, tries to keep the plot moving along at a frenetic pace but simply doesn’t have enough action scenes to make that happen.

Gilroy does his best but for every bit of exciting gunplay or fisticuffs we get two dull office scenes, where Norton and crew talk tactics and generally worry about which agents are still active.

The Bourne Legacy does at least ‘feel’ like a Bourne movie, albeit a minor one featuring more than its share of cliches.

Renner, who was great in The Hurt Locker, is a fine leading agent, bringing enough charisma tinged with humour and the requisite swagger to make him a believable human walking weapon.

He’s a nice contrast to the fairly straight-laced Jason Bourne, whiled Rachel Weisz looks good at 42 and brings some love interest as brainy Dr. Marta Shearing – the only woman in the world who can get Cross to his necessary medications.

It’s a shame that The Bourne Legacy isn’t at least half an hour shorter because it is never a good sign when you find your mind wandering due to what seems like endless tech and espionage babble from suited bores.

The one stand out scene comes when an ‘even more super spy’ is dispatched to take out Cross and a massive chase tears across Manila.

So the franchise is semi successfully ‘Bourne again’ and, if they can hold back on the endless exposition, a fifth chapter might be on the cards to deliver a more satisfying menu of thrills.

A murder victim who died in hospital after an incident in his Stockwood Crescent home has been named as Wlodzimierz Jablonski.

Cause of death was due to a brain injury, a post mortem of the 51 year old confirmed.

Janusz Przystani, 48, and Konrad Kaczysky, 30, both of Stockwood Crescent will appear before Luton Crown Court on Tuesday, August 21 charged with murder.

Both men have been remanded in custody.

A FULL emergency was declared at Luton Airport when an easyJet plane was hit by a flock of birds.

The bird strike caused engine damage to the plane, an Airbus 319 carrying 156 passengers and crew, but it landed safely.

Crews from Luton, Stopsley and Bedford were called to the airport just before 7pm on Friday (August 17).

A resident who contacted the Luton News said he had witnessed the plane flying over his garden as it came in to land.

He said: “The sound was the strangest I have ever heard.”

The fire service response included an aerial ladder platform, a water carrier and foam unit.

A spokesman for Beds Fire and Rescue said: “We got the call saying a plane was in trouble so we sent appliances but it turned out that it landed safely and we weren’t required to take any action.”

The plane was escorted to the airport’s stand-by fire service.

Fire ravaged a family home in Burford Close for over three hours this morning (August 20), leaving the first floor and roof almost entirely destroyed.

Fire crews from Luton and Stopsley were called to the scene at 2.39am but it was too dangrous for them to enter the building.

The three occupants of the house escaped unharmed, and neighbours in adjoining properties were evacuated for their safety while firefighters tackled the blaze .

Station commander Mark Barter said: “The fire had spread very quickly by the time we got there and firefighters used our aerial platform to literally get on top of the fire and get control of it. I’d like to congratulate those involved for doing such a good job.”

Mr Barter said one of the people in the house was awoken by the smell of smoke and shut her door to prevent smoke getting into her room before banging on the walls to alert others in the house.

Two people escaped by climbing out of windows and another left through the front door.

It took firefighters half an hour to get the blaze fully under control and a further three hours to fully extinguish it.

Mr Barter said: “This was a very serious fire that did a lot of damage to the house and took a while for us to get it under control. It’s amazing that everyone got out safely. The occupants were lucky that they woke up and had the presence of mind to climb out of the windows.

“I’d like to re-enforce our message that people should think about their escape routes from their house if there is a fire. It is also vital for people to have smoke alarms on your stairs and other escape routes and to regularly check they are working.”

A neighbour who did not wish to be named said: “It was very frightening the way the fire spread so quickly. Thank goodness they all got out safely, that’s the most important thing.”

Fire crews remained at the scene for several hours during the morning damping down and turning over debris from the fire.

Three quarters of the roof and first floor of the house were destroyed by fire and the rest of the property suffered from water damage.

It is thought the fire started accidentally and there are no suspicious circumstances.

Prompt police action helped save the life of a man who suffered a heart attack at the wheel.

The 51-year-old victim is recovering in hospital after crashing into a wall in Barton Road on August 11.

Four police officers on their way home from working at Luton Town Football Club were first on the scene and administered CPR, assisted by two officers from the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Collision Investigation Unit.

Spokesman Inspector Colin Bonner said: “Incidents like this that makes us proud to be members of the police service.”

TWO fires in Dallow Road late on Sunday night are being treated as possible arson attacks.

Fire crews were called to one property just before 10.30pm after rubbish was set alight in a front garden. The items had been placed in the garden while the landlord was decorating the house.

About 45 minutes later crews the fire service was called to another house a short way along the road, where a divan bed base that had been left outside had been set on fire.

A spokesman for Beds Police said anyone who witnessed the fires being started should call 101.

Frontline services in Luton could be at risk as the council may have to save an extra £20million in the next three years.

This is due to new Government proposals to change the business rates and benefits system, which could push the council’s savings target to £48million.

Council leader Hazel Simmons said the latest targets present a major threat.

She said: “These latest plans will be a real game changer. We have worked hard to protect local people from the worst effects of the government’s public spending reductions so far but these additional measures present a major threat. We are potentially dealing with a total reduction in planned spending of £84 million in a period of just five years.”

Around six per cent of the savings made to date have affected the frontline services in Luton.

Cllr Simmons said: “We are doing our best to protect local services in Luton but it’s clear from these latest proposals that it’s going to be almost impossible for us to continue to do that.

“We are already asking people to comment on the impacts of reduced spending through the Luton Your Say consultation, in order to inform decisions based on the original target, but this new demand will greatly reduce our options. Some really tough decisions now look inevitable from this autumn onwards and consequently the impacts are likely to be greater.”

The idea is to make local authorities more ‘self-reliant’ financially and encourage them to attract more businesses to their area, but at the same time the Government intends to make further reductions to the local government support grant and make big changes to the benefits system.

The Government says its plans to put councils in charge of providing support for council tax are part of wider reforms focused on ending a culture of benefit dependency and making sure that it always pays to work.

Rail passengers face a hike in rail fares for a worse service, it was claimed this week.

Trade union the RMT has spoken out following delays over the contract to build a new fleet for the Thameslink route, which runs from Bedford to Brighton via London.

The contract was originally signed in June 2011 but no new trains have been built yet, despite commuters facing a 6.6 per cent increase in rail fares from Bedford from January.

It is claimed that the decision to hand the contract to German firm Siemens, rather than British firm Bombardier, will affect up to 10,000 British employees, and that Bombardier would have already had trains ready for use.

An RMT spokesman said: “From January passengers will be kicked in the teeth. With a six per cent increase on their fares to travel on rail carriages that should have been replace years ago. They will be paying more for a worse service.

“Thameslink’s own contract to run the route is up next year anyway, so there’s no pressure on them to get on with this.

“This is down to a government who signed this deal with Siemens.”

They added: “We will continue to batter away at this government, who awarded this contract in June last year which still hasn’t managed to put a single carriage on the tracks.

“If Bombardier had been awarded the contract then there would already be new trains on the tracks.”

The Thameslink route is currently run by First Capital Connect. Stops include Flitwick, Harlington, Leagrave and both Luton stations.

A spokesman for the Department For Transport said: “We are making progress with Siemens and their consortium and expect to reach financial close by early autumn.”

Total Recall

Memory is a funny thing. There was uproar when it was announced that they were remaking Total Recall – you’d have thought they were set on a new version of Terminator, or a true sci-fi movie classic.

It’s a response that doesn’t tally with the initial reception for the original upon its release, which those with long memories may recall was lukewarm at best.

The original was deemed too violent, too confusing, too camp, all of these things.

Yet over time it has grown into a cult classic, one seemingly impervious to a remake.

It was also criticised for the way it deviated from its Philip K. Dick source material. Yes, remember in the ‘let’s save Total Recall’ hyperbole that it was an adaptation, not an original story.

This remake/updating/reboot is closer in content and tone to Dick’s original story.

There’s no Mars for a start. It is also a much more straightforward science fiction action movie.

Farrell is Quaid – the Arnie role – a factory worker who believes he is actually a spy, after visiting Rekall, a company that supplies fake memory implants.

He goes on the run to uncover the truth, escaping from his (not real?) wife Kate Beckinsale with the help of his (not real?) girlfriend Jessica Biel. It’s a hard life Colin.

It’s less confusing, but also less fun, than the Verhoeven version. It commits the great crime of remakes – it doesn’t improve or offer a decent alternative to the original, so despite being different, it never feels like more than a cash in.

The Possession

Horror is a genre that never falls foul of the cyclical nature of other genres. It’s always there, clogging up movie screens with its awful, derivative schlock. This is absolute, seen it all before nonsense, with a schlocky cast telling a well worn tale. Young girl buys cursed trinket. Estranged parents try to solve the curse and save their child. It’s yawnsome, boring, trite garbage. We deserve better.

Berberian Sound Studio

Peter Strickland’s Katalin Varga was one of the most refreshing British films in years when it came out in 2009. It was an Eastern European set revenge thriller that was both a classically derived genre piece but full of mysticism and cultural originality. It was a brilliant, little seen gem, and he has followed it up with one of the best films of the year.

Toby Jones (Captain America) is brilliant as a lonely sound engineer working on an Italian horror film whose life unravels as life imitates art. It is a fantastically unsettling film, full of mystery and tension that recalls the best audiofreak films such as Blow Out and The Conversation as well as classic Italian horror, particularly the work of maestro Dario Argento. Seek it out, you won’t be disappointed.

A group of seven sprucely turned-out young men and one woman swore their allegiance to queen and country at a special ceremony at Luton Town Hall yesterday.

The eight new recruits were praised by Major Geoff Woodcock of the Royal Signals as “eloquent and confident candidates” who would now be joining the Army family.

Watched by their proud parents, the aspiring soldiers received their certificates from Luton mayor Cllr Sid Knight.

They included four young people from Luton, one from Dunstable, one from Bedford and two from Hemel Hempstead.

The only girl in the group, 18-year-old Jodie Bradley from Broughton Avenue, Luton, has her heart set on becoming a military police woman.

The former Icknield pupil said: “I’ve been thinking about it for three years.

“It’s a really good career move. There are so many different opportunities for travel and progressing up the ranks.

“As a military police officer, promotion prospects are really good.”
She added: “I had thought about joining the police but the army offers the best of both worlds.”

It will be Jodie’s first time away from home and she admitted: “I’m going to miss my little dog Millie, who’s a cross Chihuahua/Jack Russell.

“But I’ll also miss my mum and dad and grandad and sister, who’s studying law.”

Curtis Lewis, 16, of Tower Road in Luton has the Royal Artillery in his sights.

“I wanted to be a soldier when I was younger, but I only really looked into it when I was in Year 11,” he said.

“I’m the first in my family to join the Forces but they’ve all been very supportive.”

Curtis claimed he couldn’t wait to start training and wasn’t scared by the thought of fighting: “It’s just one big adrenalin rush.”

Sixteen-year-old Jack Stone of Evelyn Road in Dunstable described signing on for the 1st Royal Tank Regiment as “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
He said: “I’m looking forward to training and learning new skills, the sort of things you won’t learn anywhere else.

“Most kids want to join the army. I went to the careers office and it spiralled from there.”

The former Queensbury student admitted the thought of going to Afghanistan was a bit scary: “But I’m up for it.”

> For more information on joining the British Arny visit http://www.army.mod.uk/join/21445.aspx

Protestors armed with placards marched across Barnfield College playing fields to campaign against plans to build on the land.

About 200 people attended a public meeting of Bushmead Community Centre on Thursday before proceeding to the site where they marched with banners and placards.

They object to plans to build a new primary school, 88-bed care home, dependency unit, housing and floodlit sports pitches on the site, mainly on the grounds of increased traffic congestion and loss of green space.

Campaign committee member Sue Gold said: “It was a brilliant turnout for the meeting and protest – over 200 people which was great considering it’s summer holidays.

“We are just making sure everyone is submitting their objections. We are a community and we are coming together.”

The deadline for objections to the planning application is August 31, but Sue said there is a glitch on the council’s online system which means people are unable to register their objections properly.

She said: “The council are aware of the issue, it makes it even harder for us to object properly. It’s clear everyone is still quite fired up though given the attendance at the second meeting.”

Barnfield College said they are consulting with residents about the plans and take residents’ concerns very seriously.

However, residents who attended the meetings say they have never been approached by Barnfield for their views.

Sue said: “Putting a notice up telling us what they plan to do is not consulting.”

Alan Euinton, interim principal at Barnfield College, said: “Residents’ views are being listened to and taken into consideration and we plan to address these issues via the consultation process. This plan is intended to benefit our students and the local community as well as offer better quality sports facilities for all.”

David Hoffmann of Sherborne Avenue in Luton is objecting to the proposed development on the grounds of it not complying with the council’s street naming and numbering policy.

The policy states that buildings, including those on corner sites, are numbered according to the street on which the main entrance or letterbox is found and the manipulation of numbering in order to sescure a ‘prestige’ address or to avoid an undesired address will not be sanctioned.

Mr Hoffmann said: “Barnfield College, by giving its address as New Bedford Road, is clearly using this as a ‘prestige’ address and therefore it must provide its main entrance on that road. All its entrances in the proposed plans are on Barnfield Avenue.”

Luton lecturer Chris Salvary is providing sports massage to Team GB’s Paralympic football teams.

The University of Bedfordshire’s physical therapy and rehabilitation guru (pictured bottom right) will be on hand for the seven-a-side cerebral palsy and five-a-side blind teams.

She said: “We’ve found sports massage to be very beneficial. It helps improve muscle function and is very important to the players between matches.”

The blind footballers face Spain tomorrow (August 31) while the seven members of the cerebral palsy side battle Brazil on Saturday.

Councillors in Luton have discussed plans to build more than 28,000 new homes and 27,000 jobs in Bedfordshire before 2031.

At a meeting on Wednesday night, Luton Borough Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Board debated a formal response to Central Bedfordshire Council’s draft development strategy which was released back in June.

The plans could see almost 3,000 homes built to the north of Luton with a further 5,600 dwellings built to the north of Houghton Regis.

A draft response prepared prior to the meeting said that there is “much in the proposed draft strategy to welcome”, in particular the emphasis on creating jobs to match housing, quality design standards and the importance of securing supporting infrastructure, the authority did raise a number of concerns.

The report asked Central Beds Council for clarification over the contribution the planned number of houses will have to Luton’s housing needs.

It also raised concerns on the impact on the area’s roads prior to the completion of road links including the Dunstable bypass and a link road between the M1 and the A6.

Finally, it also called for any development to the south of M1 Junction 10a to compliment Luton’s employment and housing needs.

The committee recommended that the final response call for no development to the north of Luton until the M1/A6 Link Road and Junction 11A of the M1 are in place, that there be no urban extension anywhere around Luton or Houghton Regis without the full infrastructure already being in place, and that any urban extension to Luton should ensure that there is at least a 250 metre wide open green space, between the existing urban areas and any new development, where appropriate, to enable enhancement of green space.

A seven week public consultation on the Central Beds Draft strategy finished on August 8 with further consultation expected before Christmas.

The scheme could begin to come to fruition as early as February 2014 if the plans are approved.

Luton’s final response to the strategy will be discussed by the council’s executive committee at a meeting on September 10.

A man has been arrested for suspected assault on a pregnant woman in Tennyson Road yesterday (August 29).

Police were called to the house at 4.40pm following reports of a domestic incident.

The woman was taken to A&E but her injuries were mainly cuts and bruises.

The 30-year-old male suspect was missing after the incident but was arrested this morning.

Enquiries are ongoing.