Vera still has fighting spirit

You've got to salute the fighting spirit of Forces sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn.

Now 82 and widowed, she's had to face burglars ransacking her home at Ditchling for the third time.

The painting and antiques they've stolen will fetch them a few hundred pounds if they are sold to fences.

But they are of huge sentimental value to Dame Vera, who started collecting them at the height of her fame.

If these burglars had any heart, they'd return the stolen goods to Dame Vera who is herself one of Britain's national treasures.

No one who served in the Second World War will forget the huge boost to morale given by her sentimental, patriotic songs which perfectly fitted the national mood.

But they won't, so she'll have to rely on their stupidity and good detective work.

Dame Vera won't want to meet these villains again unless it happens to be in court.

The right track

The seven million passengers a year who use Brighton Station will soon be able to see the great roof again as work on restoring it nears completion.

But most of them will be more interested in what's on the ground and there's good news about that today from Connex South Central.

Improved catering, toilets and a new creche will all be welcomed by travellers at one of the busiest rail stations in the south east.

People will only switch from road to rail if the service offered, both at stations and on trains, is truly excellent. Today's news shows Connex is on the right lines.

Aim at the top

Hotel bosses Clive and Tanith Cummings often surprise some of their guests at historic Amberley Castle.

For instead of walking round the castle to reach the office from their home next door they usually go up and down a rickety ladder to save time.

They're proving in an unusual way that in running a flourishing business you often have to take risks.

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