transplants and whilst i was in there, another two lads were in the hospital waiting as well. and that was only over a space of four months. and that is without the u nfortu nate months. and that is without the unfortunate ones which never got the opportunity. well, you did, and we wish you very good health, and thank you so much for being with us. richard tyler who had a heart transplant three years ago, speaking to us on the 50th anniversary of the first heart transplant. thank you. if all is state in the way through the rest of this week, as you should make the most of it. there is a lot of cloud around for some of us mad. a lot of cloud around. areas have been struggling with grey, damp conditions, but this should improve

before the date is done. through this evening, clear skies to central, eastern regions. further west, more cloud, and the odd spot of rain. temperatures are generally holding above freezing. tomorrow, there could be the odd fog patch, so ta ke there could be the odd fog patch, so take it easy when you are driving. very large areas of cloud floating around as well. light winds and temperatures, as they have been today, not too bad at all for the time of year. big changes as we headed deeper into the week. after that quiet, and mostly fine start, we will have wet and windy weather in the middle part of the week, and then at the end of the week it will time much colder. some of us will see some still. —— well see some snow. hello, this is bbc news.

the headlines: all four board members of the government's social mobility commission have resigned, in protest at what they see as a lack of progress towards a "fairer britain" the government, probably for understandable reasons, is focused on brexit and seems to lack the bandwith to be able to translate the rhetoric of healing social division and promoting social justice into reality. the government sets out plans to make it easierfor children in england to get access to mental health services. schools and colleges will be encouraged to appoint staff who'll work with the nhs to provide specialist support. it's 50 years since the world first successful heart transplant. the surgery revolutionised the way heart disease is treated. severe disruption for rail passengers on routes to and from london euston for emergency repairs on downed overhead power lines. now on bbc news it's time

for the travel show. this week, we meet some people taking on their own special travel challenges. man, you look hench, man! you've been working out! yeah! i'm in the usa to catch up with competitors taking part taking part in a unique international championship. we find out how this woman plans to take her wheelchair into the skies. and wejoin the blind backpacker on a mission to visit every country in the world. i travel alone because it's the biggest challenge i can get. we start in washington, dc. this place claims to be one of the most accessible cities in the world, which makes it a great

place to start our special programme marking international disability day. how you doing, brother? it's an annual drive to raise awareness about the issues faced by disabled people across the globe. i have never let using a wheelchair hold me back in my sporting career or my tv career, but there's no doubt travelling can be daunting, even the great lincoln memorial has its issues — the lifts been vandalised. you can go on a virtual tour. not quite sure what the great abraham lincoln would have made of it, though. this week we'll meet travellers who refuse to be restricted by their physical disabilities. first i'm heading half an hour north to the university of maryland where a yearly sports event has drawn disabled competitors and spectators from all over the world. the working wounded games has

adapted athletes compete across a range of bodybuilding and weightlifting challenges. wesley hamilton has been working out for just over two years. this is his first time competing at the games. i travel pretty far, i stay in kansas city, missouri, further west, about a three—hour flight. wesley ended up in a wheelchair after a life changing incident. january, 2012 i was shot multiple times, which caused me to have a spinal—cord injury. it was traumatic because it was actually a stranger who shot me, i was walking back to my car, it put me in a place of depression and at that time i was 230lb, so i went through a lot. tell me how you found out about this. social media, man.

i was just going on youtube one day and i saw the working wounded games video from 2015 and i was emotional because being in a wheelchair and working out, i thought i was the only one and it gave me a community. best of luck. you ready? i'm ready. man, you look hench, man, you've been working out! eye of the tiger, man! most parasports categorise by ability, but the working wounded games are different. by modifying the rules for each individual athlete, they encourage people with a range of capabilities to compete together. it's called the working wounded games, so who is allowed to compete in these games? anybody that has some kind of prominent adaptive need that affects them physically. so you're really inclusive and open to everybody?

yes, we actually really get excited when we have first athletes, first—time competitors. this is the calm before the storm. everyone's all chilled out and then the madness begins when they start competing. come on! come on, you're a beast, come on! up, up, up, up! did you do some extra reps there? i did do extra reps. are you just trying to show off? i'm always trying to show off. he's saying it's too easy now. since sports people of all abilities take part, wesley challenges me to a light workout. i've got to use that skiing machine to burn some calories and then i've

got to tow this sled and then i've got a kettle bell i've got to lift up and down and i've got to keep doing that for 12 minutes. it's going to be sheer hell. wesley, you know what time it is, brother, i'm going to give that's hard, really hard! let's see that sweat, bro, that's what you need! right on! have they unstrapped me? right, it's your turn, do some work. this is the first year the games have introduced a separate bracket for their elite spartan athletes, and one 18—year—old competitor

is gathering a lot of attention. so, tell me what you were trying to do? me and my cords are and it's mainly because of your right hand? nora has travelled here from norway. it's her first time in the united states and just getting here has proved a challenge. it was really hard to stamp my fingerprints when coming to the us. you don't think about that. they're pretty stringent and strict, aren't they? "four fingers, two thumbs." so what did you do? i had to turn all around and i stood there for 15 minutes because they couldn't scan them. nora has never been able to complete a pull up. unless she can now figure out a way, she'll finish last in this round.

this is going to be a real challenge for her physically and mentally. so there's another lady next to nora. she's got an arm impairment and she can do the one arm pullups, and she has been mentoring nora and giving her advice. that's what i love about this place, it's a real community atmosphere. go, go, go, go, go! yeah! two in a row! how many has she done? so ten. for the first time in her life, she manages notjust one pull up but 22. there's no letup, though, it's then onto the rest of the workout. relentless, relentless, never—ending.

go, nora, go, nora! yeah! cheering you're crying, you had tears, your coach was hugging you. tell me about the emotion, why were you so emotional? it's just... it's ok, take your time. was that the first time you've been able to do pullups? it's norwegian power. most definitely.

cheered on by a crowd of international spectators, the competitors push the limits of their capabilities. it weighs a ton! mc: so next up is our seated catergory, we only had males competing this year. our first—place winner is wes. wooo! yeah! brap, brap, brap, brap! cheering and applause in second place, all the way from norway, miss nora! cheering and applause worth coming all the way from norway?

yeah. well done, congratulations. thanks very much. 2i pullups, i expect 22 next time. this event is about more than just physical exercise and pumping iron, it's empowering people with impairments and it's also showing that you don't have to be an elite paralympian to compete and do great things in sport, these people now have a community, a sense of belonging and for some of them, it's become a life changing event. next up, you might remember this beautiful piece of performance art commissioned as part of london's cultural olympiad back in 2012. now the artist, sue austin, is setting her sights

on what could be another world first. we travelled to her home in devon in the uk to meet her. the artwork is all about communicating the fact that a wheelchair is my freedom. access is at the heart, that's the reason for making the artwork, so following on from the underwater wheelchair, the natural extension was to think how i could create even more unexpected imagery. it's still a little bit under wraps in terms of the actual physicality of it, i am actually going on a journey to find out if i can fly. the flight training in france was the hardest thing i have ever chosen to do. my instructor from day three was thinking that i would not be able to manage. i knew i had motor co—ordination issues, but i haven't realised that those neurological issues affected my hands and my perception as well. i think my hands are straight

but they are actually like this, and that's really critical. there's ways around it, you just learn and train your brain, now i can't imagine how i didn't know that. you know, we find barriers, whether they're physical ones within me, or attitudes about the right way to fly, and then we find ways to negotiate around them, and i really think that is hopefully a parallel with travel and accessibility as well. that organisations need to think outside the box and they can open up their venues and their environments. i really hope that i will be flying a wheelchair by next summer if not before. the travel show, your essential guide to wherever you're headed. it's always good to have a buddy! finally, this week, we head

to israel to meet a man who's clocked up more than 120 countries on his travels. but what's even more remarkable is that he's done all of this without being able to see. to find out how he experiences the world, we caught up with him in a city known for being both holy and hectic, jerusalem. shouting and commotion i see a place with my senses, i see a place by the sounds, by the smells, by the textures. shouting and commotion the hustle and bustle, people shouting, "buy this, buy this, come look at this." i feel the atmosphere, the energy, the buzz. shouting and commotion my name is tony giles, i'm from england, i'm totally

blind and severely deaf in both ears, and i'm travelling around the world trying to visit every country. we're in the old city! israel is country 124. i was born with my eye condition, so i don't have any vision apart from sunlight sensitivity. and i have gradually gone deaf as i've got older, i'm now 80% severely deaf in both ears, but i use digital hearing aids. 0ops. i travel alone because it's the biggest challenge i can get. and travelling by myself... excuse me! ..i get to interact with more people. if i travel with someone, particularly someone sighted, they'd be doing all the work, they'd be doing all the guiding and i wouldn't get to touch as many

things and find as many things i do by myself. today i'm going to catch a bus into the old city, to go to the western wall. western wall? western wall, yeah. ok, let's go. i need a bus. ok, i will help you. let me hold your arm like that. where are you from? i'm from england. i was lucky that the bus driver was nearby waiting, so it was very easy to find the bus. yeah, i got it. let go. new orleans was the first place i went to by myself. i was in a foreign city by myself. didn't know where i was going, i was blind, and ijust froze. and i took a couple of deep breaths and said to myself, "tony, this is what you want. if you don't want it, go home." couple more deep breaths, turned down the street and the rest is history.

excuse me. this is your stop. this is my stop? you can take... all right, thank you. want any help? i'm good. just trying to get my bearings, trying to work out which way the traffic‘s going, and if i can use any sunlight... i can't sense any sun at all. you have to be patient, you get lost all the time. it's very difficult if you're looking for something specific when you can't see, because obviously you can't pinpoint it. excuse me. you might get ten people walk past, and somebody will stop, "0h, are you lost, or you need help," then you interact with them. that's how it works. excuse me, is this damascus gate? yeah.

which way? straight in front of me? no? you want help? yeah. shouting and commotion i like this. i like the atmosphere and the smells, it's all close and compact, feels authentic. shouting and commotion i'm going to the western wall, and on the way i'm going to hopefully explore some of the via dolorosa, which is the stages of the cross thatjesus walked. good morning.

how are you? you want to see my shop, souvenir? i can have a brief look, why not? what do you sell? plays flute very good. beautiful. this is for coffee. yeah, i'll get this. what is it, ten shekels? ten shekels. about $3. five... two fives, yeah? two fives, yeah. thank you! i write a blog once a week, i document my journey and my travels, i want to share it with the world really, and try and inspire people to believe in themselves, they can overcome whatever their challenges are. and i add pictures that i've taken.

0riginally i did it because i thought it'd just be funny, someone seeing a blind person take photos. but it is an extra way of sharing, i can show my family and friends, the idea is to share it all with everyone. 0ops. thank you. excuse me, excuse me! don't leave him, don't leave him. over here. 0k. behind the street. thank you. a motorbike coming through, not very clever. hello. looking for the station of the cross. this way, this way. this is the station of the cross? back, back, back. here is where he put his hand.

this is where christ... here is where he put his hand. up, up, up to the right. exactly. 0h, 0k, thank you. apparently i'm at one of the stages of the cross wherejesus put his hand on the wall and leant against the wall. sort of a defined handprint. very smooth. also quite rigid, quite bumpy. it's a lovely texture. there's some barrier here... is this the way in? she speaks hebrew

it is woman's... the machine? woman? it's not men. they have separated male and female, a guy took me up to the male section. the took me up to the wall. there's all these notes in it. massive blocks. very smooth. the texture, the shapes of the wall, the bricks, from the historical and spiritual point of view it's worth visiting. tony at the western wall. next week, we'll continue following tony on his travels

as he crosses into the palestinian territories to explore the holy town of bethlehem. so join us for that if you can. and don't forget, you can keep up—to—date by following us on social media, all the details should be rolling across your screen right now. but until next time, from me and all the travel show team here in maryland, it's goodbye. runa

run a story for the week ahead sta rts run a story for the week ahead starts off on a mundane dot actually. the sun beginning to come out for this the cloud has been making for drizzly conditions, but some sunshine as well. hi cloud making this sunshine tan hazy, but it is plain sailing for the rest of the day. an central and eastern areas, we will have clear skies, and perhaps fog patches too. cloud further west, and is part of rain. temperatures just above freezing, but some places in the east will see frost. east anglia and the south—east cannot be relied frost patches, so bear that in mind. cloud into the south—west and wales, and

the odd spot of rain and drizzle. temperatures around five, six, 7 degrees. telephone zero england and eastern scotland with some more cloud into northern ireland. a very wea k cloud into northern ireland. a very weak band of cloud, just the odd spot of rain, and this will add further eastwards as we go through the day on monday. some sunny spells as well, and those temperatures are doing pretty well for the time of year. 7 degrees in newcastle, 11 for plymouth and the channel islands. jay-z plymouth and the channel islands. jay—z bobby a dry day, could seat fog patches into the south beast, but if change is beginning to take place. rain and to western scotland, and the rain keeps on coming across north—western corner as a frontal pre—season from the west. it will also bring us some very mild air, nine to 12 degrees. as the lowell

swings through, it will bring some very heavy rain, some very strong winds, and then be get back onto the back edge of that law, and that is going to plunge as back into the deep freeze. cold air right across the country, and worth that some of us the country, and worth that some of us could see some snow. it turns much colder with some snow showers and places. take the details for radio are online. this is bbc news. i'm annita mcveigh. the headlines at 2.00pm: all four board members of the government's social mobility commission resign — the chairman says he has little hope of achieving anything when the government is so focused on brexit. the government, probably for understandable reasons, is focused on brexit and seems to lack the bandwidth to be able

to translate the rhetoric of healing social division and promoting social justice into reality. a new scheme to make it easier for children in england to access mental health services is outlined by the government. it's 50 years since the world's first successful heart transplant — the surgery revolutionised the way heart disease is treated. i was a second—year medical student in london, and it was of similar