成人快手

Olympic hopefuls

Water babes - Olympic medallist and Olympic contender

There has been a rise in the popularity of British diving since British medal wins in the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002 and the Olympics in Athens.

As a sport it聮s a mix of gymnastic ability and real daring.

Thirteen-year-old Ashton Hockham-Marshall only started diving four years ago, but was identified as a potential Olympic talent early on.

He聮s already won some medals in junior championships a few years ago and he聮d love to do the same on home ground in 2012.

Olympic medallist, Sharron Davies met him at the national sports centre in Crystal Palace, where he told her of his Olympic dreams.

Olympic dreams

"I would like to go to the Olympics one day, that聮s my dream anyway. It would be very special because you would have everyone clapping for you and raising the roof," says Ashton.

Wally Clark is Ashton's coach. He's been training divers for 50 years and he thinks Ashton has what it takes to go all the way.

"I think he聮s got tremendous talent," says Wally "he聮s extremely agile and he聮s good at picking up things. He聮s diving mad."

Ashton belongs to the Merton School of Diving but Wally brings him to Crystal Palace because it聮s the nearest pool that聮s close to international standards.

Top talent - Ashton Hockham-Marshall

If Ashton wants to be a member of Great Britain聮s 2012 Olympic team, then he needs to train at least 20 hours a week in good facilities - at the moment this is the best that London has to offer.

Unfortunately because it takes him an hour to get there Ashton only manages to get to Crystal Palace twice a week.

The rest of his time, he聮s training at two other pools and trying to find some free moments on a school trampoline.

He also has a personal gym trainer and does ballet classes, which means a lot of travelling from place to place for Ashton聮s parents Nikki and Michael Marshall.

聯It is very, very hard, it would be great to have it all in one facility," says Nikki.

"Obviously Ashton聮s got a talent and we聮ll take that and embrace it as much as we can really. As his mum and dad we will always know we聮ve done the best for him.

" If it works out it works out but if it doesn聮t at least he聮LL knows that he聮s tried his best and he聮s had the support to do that."

Ashton is spending so much time travelling that it聮s cutting into his training time.

He only manages 12 hours a week at most, which just isn聮t enough as far as Wally is concerned:

"It聮s very frustrating he should be able to get his homework done and have a least some time for himself but because we聮ve got to shop around for facilities he聮s at a very great disadvantage."

Medal hopes

Ashton is not the only Olympic hopeful having to put up with London聮s lack of diving facilities.

Sharron spoke to other children training as part of the Crystal Palace Diving Team to find out why want to win a medal in the Olympics:

"I聮d like to win a medal at the Olympics because it would be nice to think that you聮ve done something quite amazing. And it would be something you could treasure in your life for quite a long time."

"It would be quite good because you can win it and be proud and be proud to... represent your country in the sport that you love."

The Crystal Palace diving team has an Olympic standard coach from China but what they really need is a proper dry-land facility as Gill Snode from the Crystal Palace Diving Team explains:

"Young divers should be doing 75% dry-land and 25% water work, so we need a good dry land facility more than just trampolines.

"We need two dry boards and meter spring boards. We need platforms which simulate the platforms over at the diving pool and the large crash mats that they land.

"We need rigs over the diving boards so that the children can learn all their different somersault movements聰, says Gill.

Training facilities

As an Olympic Champion Sharron Davies knows the importance of access to the right facilities for training.

"We聮ve got the talent out there but unless we聮ve got the facilities, we cannot develop that talent."

Training facilities are crucial say experts

Gill believes that we have the talent base in London to produce the Olympic diving champions of the future:

"We need the facilities and we need the good coaches, and we need the combination of all of those to produce champions and we can do it 聳 it聮s not something we can聮t do, we can do it.聰

The nearest pool with the kind of facilities young Olympians need is three hours away in Southampton.

We took Wally and Ashton to see just what they聮re missing.

The Quays Eddie Read Swimming and Diving Complex has the best diving facilities in the South East.

Since it opened in 2000 it聮s been attracting some of the best divers and coaches in the country including Lindsey Fraser who used to be based at Crystal Palace.

She shows us all the dry-land facilities that they have in Southampton:

"We have a dry-board in the studio, we have a trampoline, we have somersault boxes from which the divers do their dry-land work and in addition we have the use of the weights facility just around the corner."

Wally watches all the divers train in these facilities.

"I聮m quite envious," he says.

"They can do this work and then go up to the pool. What they聮ve just been doing on the trampoline they can then put into practice within a few minutes they don聮t have to traipse over to another pool 10, 20 miles away."

Golden opportunities

The dry-land area is not the only way that Southampton trumps over London.

Just upstairs is one of the country聮s best equipped diving pools.

With boards on both sides of the pool and bright lighting it's worlds away from the 40-year-old dimly lit facilities at Crystal Palace.

Ashton decides to try out the pool and meets an old rival - Max Brick who started diving at the same time as him.

Good facilities have made all the difference

"Back in 2003 we had the intermediate national age groups where Ashton was actually in first place, thrashing Max quite convincingly," says Lindsey.

"Max is now an international and one of the chosen 2012 athletes."

Max puts in 25 hours a week of training here in Southampton, which is helping him stay on track to be a competitor in the Olympics.

Ashton can also see how much better the facilities are at The Quays: "The facilities in the pool are much better than at Crystal Palace so it would be brilliant if something like Southampton was in London for me to reach it."

Wally agrees: "He would be much further ahead than he is now, if we had these facilities at Crystal Palace - it would have made a difference even though it聮s difficult to get to at least it would have been worth going for.

"As it is at Crystal Palace you聮ve got some boards in a very dark and dingy atmosphere and no dry-land facilities at all.聰

Future plans

An Olympic standard Aquatic Centre is being built in Stratford but it聮s not set to open for another four years.

Until then the Chris Snode from the Crystal Palace diving team are pinning their hopes on getting a grant of 拢22,000 for dry-land facilities

"We need these facilities now, we need the whole infrastructure now, and otherwise in 2012 we聮LL be saying why did we miss this opportunity why haven聮t we got a medal?

"London deserves it聮s own centre producing London divers for 2012,"says Chris.

There are plans to build a new pool at Crystal Palace but draft proposals do not include a 10 metre board necessary for training to international standards.

In the meantime with only six years to go the Olympics, time is running out for Ashton.

"What do you think you need to get the best performance possible 聳 out of you when you stand on that board in 2012?" Sharron asks him.

"I need closer facilities and better facilities for me to get to an Olympic level really," says Ashton.

Sharron fears that we can聮t build the facilities quick enough to help out athletes compete at their best.

"At the moment there聮s a big question mark over what happens next here in Crystal Palace with London聮s divers 聳 whether they actually relocate with or without their 10 metre board or whether they get their indoor training facility.

"The Olympic venue won聮t be finished until at least 2010 - meantime they聮re left high and dry trying to get in the necessary training."

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Chapel uncovered - revealing the past

Tudor treasure

The Naval College in Greenwich is one of London's most famous riverside landmarks.

It was built by Christopher Wren in the late 1600s and was originally designed to be a hospital.

It was constructed on the site of a much older Tudor Palace built for Henry VII.

Read the guide to the chapel's history

For many years archaeologists knew the palace remnants included an ancient chapel where the infamous Henry VIII married, but until now it had lain undiscovered.

It's official title is the Palace of Placentia - it's one of London's lost palaces, and at its heart was the Chapel.

It was found again a few weeks ago thanks to some routine maintenance when contractors were building a drainage trench.

They dug away the earth and started seeing Tudor brickwork and tiles.

Julian Bowsher is the senior archaeologist at the Museum of London, and whenever any work is done here, he has to be on site - just in case they find something special like this.

"We have found the remains of the chapel we've only got this eastern end of it because the rest of it has been taken away by Christopher Wren's building," he said.

Exciting finds

Construction work was halted and after two weeks of digging they managed to excavate not only the chapel but the vestry and other surrounding buildings.
For Duncan Wilson the chief executive of the Greenwich Foundation it was an exciting sight.

"There's nothing quite to match the experience of seeing something emerge from the ground that's 500 years old.

"Henry VIII assembled a group of craftsmen and artists which was unparalleled in Europe for a brief period in the 16th century. The court painter Holbein was based here and it was an amazingly lively place of European significance for that period."

Nearly 500 years ago, the palace would have been the capital of Tudor England.

For ships that sailed up the Thames it would have been one of the most magnificent sights.

It's unique because it was the Buckingham Palace of its day and at its very heart was the chapel royal.

"Each Royal Palace has its own private chapel," says Julian Bowsher.

What the scientists have found here is the original layout of Henry VIII's chapel from his riverside palace in Greenwich.

But why is the Chapel Royal so exciting?

Simon Thurley is the Chief Executive of English Heritage said:

"We now know that the chapel was the centre of court life. Sundays where obviously when mass was celebrated in the chapel was the biggest day at court everyone wanted to see the king."

The ruins of the chapel in Greenwich are genuinely Tudor.

Small pieces of decorative leaf have been found which give a real idea of the interior of the palace and the ceiling which has long gone.

So now the chapel has been found the process of restoration begins.

But it's clear this palace and its chapel have many more secrets to tell.

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Art classes can kick start a life long interest

Prisoner art

Art has been an intrinsic part of prison life for as long as there have been jails.

For many inmates it's a way to indulge in a pastime that's an escape from captivity.

But recently an interest in the art produced by prisoners has spread from behind bars into galleries and collections. Why?

Prison pastime

At Holloway prison - Hilary Beecham has been teaching art to prisoners for more than a decade.

Her passion has rubbed off on many of the inmates over the years.

Some have taken art simply for an easy life others to get away from the monotony of jail, but for some it sparks a real passion for painting and drawing which they take back into their lives once they're released.

Her classroom looks like any other apart from the signs on the door reminding prisoners they must ask permission for a pee and the craft knives kept under lock and key.

But there are paints and brushes and pencils everywhere and most importantly dozens of art books to inspire.

Nicola is a remand prisoner who loves Hillary's class, "It's good to come in here to be able to escape and enjoy time for myself. I studied art years ago at school but this is a much better standard of teaching."

Hillary says it doesn't matter what ability pupils have.

"You have to understand the women who come in her don't want to be here. No one wants to be in prison so it's not like any other adult education class.

"They are waiting - waiting to be released, waiting for solicitors or court cases. And they find this a non-threatening class. Some get a chance to express themselves in ways they never thought possible."

Looking around you can see some prisoners have real talent. There's even an inter prison art competition run each year and many of Hillary's pupils have entered.

And that's the challenge - to keep a prisoner's interest in art going once they are released.

Art beyond bars

In Bounds Green, Arts Alive is a project where ex-offenders get a chance to carry on painting.

Richard Ponniah was in jail until very recently.

Art for life - some prisoners go on to sell work

He has real talent and is currently busy painting a picture of his son.

Richard said, "I had a photo of him in prison and that was all I had to work from.

"I missed his first birthday because I was inside. This started it all."

Lanre Olagoke is the founder of Arts Alive:

"This gives ex-prisoners a chance to sustain their interest. To ensure they don't go back into crime. Something that will keep them on the right path."

Some prison artists are enormously successful.

But of course many achieve nothing more than art for the sake of their own interests.

One thing is clear there is a growing market in prisoner art and in small galleries and art fairs all over London it is becoming more and more common.

Who knows maybe one day a print might even find its way onto your wall.