freya cole reports.e iconic notre—dame isn't structurally sound, a hardhat is a necessity. the intimate service is a first since a spectacularfire spread through the cathedral in april, devastating parisians and sending shockwaves around the world. translation: a monument such as the notre—dame continues to live on even if there was a fire. it's not a lost monument, it continues to have life. just 30 people were invited for a mass led by the archbishop of paris. translation: it is with strong emotion that we find ourselves here celebrating the consecration of this cathedral but we are profoundly happy to be able to celebrate the eucharist. it's why it was built. authorities now know the fire started near the base of the spire. flames spread through the roof within a matter of hours, consuming more than 800 years of history. what was lost will never be exact to the same but it can be rebuilt and replicated. donations for the cathedral‘s reconstruction have hit nearly $1 billion. it's the beginning of a ne

freya cole, bbc news. hello there. things are warming up this weekend right across the board.reas, where the humidity will also gradually increase, and into next week, certainly late on sunday, the threat of thundery showers increases as well. for the weekend, fine for most of us. lots of dry weather around. we start this morning on a cool note outside town. the single digits in one or two places. the pressure chart reveals high pressure. this will be the driving force for the fine weather, certainly for the first half of the weekend, but this low pressure system will come into play later across the south—west. lots of sunshine up and down the country this morning, into the afternoon, cloud will tend to build up in places. could see an isolated shower pretty much anywhere, but northern scotland will see a scattering of showers, i think, through the morning and into the afternoon. temperatures higher than we have seen over the last few days. high 20s for england and wales. 19 or 20 in the central belt of scotland. into saturday evening and saturday night, most places will stay

freya cole, bbc news.and an expert on the artist's life — he explains why he devotes his career to the singer. (tx sot) well, eltonjohn was the inspiration that made me want to be a piano player. i was a drummer for ten years, and in freshman year in high school, god benny and thejets came out and that was it, for me. i went home and taught myself to play the piano and i have loved elton‘s music and everything that is elton ever since. one of the reasons eltonjohn has been given this particular award, which is quite something, from france, is for his musical genius, essentially. and i have heard so much about it, apparently he comes up with these songs, these hits, in minutes. how much can you tell us about eltonjohn as the musician? he is amazing. his music is in—depth, in such a way, i mean, when he wrote this stuff, for him and his band, to write such classics in15 minutes' time, and then in 15 minutes' time the band learns it and records it, and they are standing to this day as amazing songs, they are

freya cole reports.ous service but given the iconic notre—dame isn't structurally sound, hard hat a iconic notre—dame isn't structurally sound, hardhat a necessity. the intimate service is a first since a spectacular fire intimate service is a first since a spectacularfire spread intimate service is a first since a spectacular fire spread through the cathedral in april, devastating prescience and sending shockwaves around the world. translation: i say around the world. translation: i say a monument such around the world. translation: i say a monument such as around the world. translation: i say a monument such as the notre—dame continues to live on even if there was a fire. it's not a lost monument, it continues to have life. just 30 people were invited for a mass led by the archbishop of paris. translation: i say it is with strong emotion that we find ourselves here celebrating the consecration of this cathedral but we are profoundly happy to be able to celebrate the eucharist. it's why it was built. au

freya cole, bbc news. for more on this, let's speak to kenny metcalf.top elton john impersonators and an expert on the artist's life. hejoins us from his studio in los angeles. thank you so much for your time. we can see you in your eltonjohn impersonating get up, which looks fantastic. thank you. first of all, why have you decided to devote so much of your life to this particular artist? well, elton john was the inspiration that made me want to be a piano player. i was a drummerfor ten years, and in freshman year in high school, benny and thejets came out and that was it, for me. i went home and taught myself to play the piano andi home and taught myself to play the piano and i have loved elton‘s music and everything that is elton ever since. one of the reasons elton john has been given this particular award, which is quite something, from france, is for his musical genius, essentially. and i have heard so much about it, apparently heard so much about it, apparently he comes up with these songs, these hits, in minutes. how much can you tell us about el

freya cole reports.ron and the legendary sir eltonjohn. bonjour! sir elton has been in paris for his farewell yellow brick road world tour, but before he departs the country, he picked up france's highest civilian award, the legion of honour. i have a huge love affair with france. i have a house here, i have always loved coming here. i love the french culture, the way of life and the french people. and as a musician, to receive this award on the day of the festival de musique makes it even more special. the ceremony was held at the elysee palace, the president describing him as a melodic genius, but also paying homage to his lifelong work championing gay rights and raising billions of dollars to ending the plight of hiv/aids. translation: we have to continue to finance the research, to finance treatments and to continue to allow access to treatments for everyone, and so this commitment to music and the fight against aids has been your entire life, dear elton. the top accolade comes less than a month afte

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