in to watch the strictly final last night — we'll discuss who waltzed away with the glitterball. good morning. quite a mixed day coming up. some areas are really called with fog to start with. further west, rain moving in. called with fog to start with. furtherwest, rain moving in. join me laterfor a full furtherwest, rain moving in. join me later for a full weather forecast. good morning. first, our main story. every worker aged 18 or over will begin saving into a workplace pension — unless they opt out. that's under government plans being unveiled today. at the moment, employers must enrol staff aged 22 and over into a pension plan if they earn more than 10,000 pounds a year. ministers say they want to reduce the minimum age to 18 — a move that could affect around 900,000 young people. but the changes won't kick in until the mid 2020s, as our business correspondent joe lynam reports. 0lly browning is 21 and like many young people, he hasn't started saving for his retirement. if the government has its way, he would soon be automatically enrolled for a pension at his company. it's not really crossed my mind yet. maybe i am a bit relaxed about the whole thing but i have always, especially in london, moved jobs quite frequently, i tend not to stay in one place too long, so pensions have always been low down the list of things i have been conscious of. at the moment, only those aged over 22 are automatically included in a pension scheme by their employers but this consultation could see that age lowered to 18. that could mean 900,000 additional people will be saving for their pensions. but, is that a good thing? it's important that people are educated about their options because if they don't understand what a pension is, they are far less likely to know what their rights are. to an 18—year—old, retirement must seem a very long way off. especially if they don't earn much and saving for a house is a lot more pressing. if this plan proceeds, it could help younger people financially in decades to come. joe lynam, bbc news. mps have expressed serious doubts that the ministry of defence will be able to afford all the new military equipment it plans to buy. a report by the commons defence select committee says the mod will struggle to make the necessary savings it needs to pay for newjets, warships and armoured vehicles, as ian palmer reports. she is the flagship of the royal navy. hms queen elizabeth, commissioned by her majesty the queen earlier this month. at 218m long, she has space for a0 jet planes but defence in this century doesn't come cheap. the biggest warship the british navy has ever had cost more than £3 billion. another aircraft carrier is being built in scotland. the ministry of defence wants to spend £178 billion on more military equipment over the next ten years but it has to make savings to achieve that goal. to do that it will have to sell buildings and make efficiencies. however, the defence committee is extremely doubtful the mod can make those savings from an already stretched budget. the committee says funding pressures will inevitably lead to a reduction in the number of warships, jets and armoured vehicles the mod can buy. the government is currently carrying out a defence review. it is widely expected to recommend more cuts. with the changing nature of and increase in global threats, it said britain needs to strengthen its armed forces but will the government have the cash to pay for it? ian palmer, bbc news. theresa may says the government is proving the doubters wrong with its brexit negotiations. she's written in two national newspapers, saying she won't be derailed from securing an ambitious deal. let's speak to our political correspondent jonathan blake. jonathan, comments today not only from the prime minister but from the foreign secretary too? some stirring words from the prime minister. for anyone enthusiastic about brexit, reminding us in the papers of what the government has achieved so far. she singles out citizens rights. she is proving the doubters wrong, as she says and amid all the noise, getting on with the job. looking ahead to the next phase which could potentially be more difficult and as a reminder of the potential roadblocks in her way, the foreign secretary, in an interview with the sunday times, setting out his stall the morning, saying that over time that britain should not simply mirror european union rules and regulations. he says if that was the case of britain would be going from a member state to state. that isa from a member state to state. that is a big reminder that the government has yet to formally agree it is negotiating position and what it is negotiating position and what it wants the end state of brexit to look like —— vassal state. the prime minister says she will not be derailed but it will be tricky to get it on track. more people have been ordered to evacuate their homes in california, as raging wildfires continue to spread. flames have now reached santa barbara — home to many celebrities. the fire is the third largest in the state since records began. fresh northerly winds are expected to drive the flames towards the pacific coast. the un security council is to consider a proposal declaring that any unilateral decision on the status ofjerusalem would have no legal effect. it comes after president trump's decision to recognise the city as the capital of israel. the resolution is likely to be vetoed by the united states. south africa's ruling party is set to elect a new leader to replace president jacob zuma. mr zuma is stepping down as leader of the anc ahead of the party's campaign for the 2019 general election, and he's faced several allegations of corruption during his decade in charge. there are fears of bitter infighting could split the party. severn trent water says most customers who were cut off in the tewkesbury area of gloucestershire have now been reconnected. 10,000 homes were left without water when a main burst on friday. the company said repairs to the pipe — which lies underneath flooded fields — had been difficult. if you haven't caught up with strictly come dancing yet — then go and make yourself a cup of tea — because we're about to reveal the winners. we can now reveal the strictly come dancing champions to 2017r.. joe and katya! former holby city actorjoe mcfadden and his partner katya jones lifted the coveted glitterball trophy after seeing off competition from fellow finalists alexandra burke, gemma atkinson and debbie mcgee. the 42—year—old, who won the public vote, is the oldest champion of the show, which has been running for 15 series. not in a million years. it feels completely surreal and i'm so in awe of everybody who started all those weeks ago. we have all become such a tight unit and i love them all to bits and every one of us are winners because we've gotten here and i love every single one of them to bits. the show dances last night were so brilliant. debbie mcgee was brilliant. debbie mcgee was brilliant that joe brilliant. debbie mcgee was brilliant thatjoe mcfadden won the popular vote for whatever reason. unscheduled admit, i've not watch it. i have a feeling you will convince me. ——i am scared to admit. we will talk about that a bit later. let us know what you think. tell me why i am wrong to miss it. or maybe you agree with me, i don't know. when the modern state pension was introduced in 19118, a 65—year—old could expect to spend 13.5 years receiving the payment. now that figure is nearly 23 years — around a third of a person's adult life. that's why ministers are keen for people to start saving for retirement earlier. under plans being unveiled today, every worker aged 18 or over will start saving into a workplace pension — unless they opt out. we're joined now by the financial journalist, annie shaw. good morning. we can also describe you as a pension agony aunt. people will put it off and then they come to you for advice. this proposal makes it much earlier that people would start saving but you might say, look, when you're 18, would start saving but you might say, look, when you're18, you have other things to consider. that is the snag. people that are 18 don't haveit the snag. people that are 18 don't have it and they probably have quite low wages and are not really thinking about pensions. the thing about auto enrolment has been a big success. about auto enrolment has been a big success. in the old days, if you joined a firm, they would hand you the pension pack and they enjoy you if -- the pension pack and they enjoy you if —— enjoy this if you want an people's eyes glazed over and not many people would join. this auto enrolment means you are automaticallyjoin in enrolment means you are automatically join in unless enrolment means you are automaticallyjoin in unless you need to opt out. the current rules says everybody needs to give that provision if they are 22 but the new proposal is to bring the age down to 18. it is to encourage people to think about their pensions. 0bviously people that are 18 wouldn't be putting much in but there is a miracle of compound interest and long—term saving. the longer you leave it, the harder it is. and of course, when you get older, you have family and a mortgage so actually, anything you put away really early is a really good thing. what numbers are we talking about? what is affordable foran talking about? what is affordable for an 18—year—old? talking about? what is affordable for an 18-year-old? it will depend on your wages. it is 1% at the moment. that is the minimum. on your wages. it is 1% at the moment. that is the minimumm on your wages. it is 1% at the moment. that is the minimum. it is tiny. but as you you can put more in if you want. it is about the mindset. yes, that is the key thing. it will embrace many more people. they have kept the floor steady at £10,000. again, that is not very high. they haven't brought it down 01’ high. they haven't brought it down or put it up. thejury is out high. they haven't brought it down or put it up. the jury is out as to whether that should be changed but it is about changing mindsets and making people actually think about it. because people have felt quite co mforta ble it. because people have felt quite comfortable and may be too co mforta ble comfortable and may be too comfortable about relying on the state pension and as we know, the age is really soaring. it is 68 and people are looking at not getting their state pension until 68. are you going to be doing thejob you are doing today when you are 68? you may still be working and lots of people are that if you are and u nfortu nately you people are that if you are and unfortunately you become ill or you have other commitments, you are made redundant, something like that, you will have no funds until you are 68. you will be on benefits. unless you have a nest egg, it will be a big help. will businesses be able to afford it? this is the key, it is all about affordability and who is going to pay for this. if you haven't got any money, either you areafirm haven't got any money, either you are a firm who are stretched for its profits or you are an individual who has low wages, are you going to really be thinking about opting out? well, employers can't but the employees, saying they can't want it —— don't want it, i would say that anybody wanting to opt out should wink again and not do it if they absolutely have two. —— unless they have to. —— think again. this is giving more consideration. there are no firm proposals of out how the self—employed can be brought into the scheme. even older people as well who have perhaps lost their jobs and then started out doing something on their own. how to embrace those people is a big problem because if you don't have the money, you don't have the money. it is all about mindset, nudging and getting people to think about it. if you have any spare cash, don'tjust big about putting it towards a holiday. stick it in your pension. there is a tax relief on it so it is a good deal. it is a good deal. so many competing interests about making the decision early. the interest will add up. this time last weekend we had dreadful weather. snow and ice through the country. much more calm today. hello, snow topped mountains. i was on last weekend. it was very busy. a much more quiet weekend, thankfully. a messy picture today. eastern areas starting dry and cold and chilly. look at the temperature contrast. rain in the west, six, seven, eight. be further east, cold, 44! seven, eight. be further east, cold, -4! mist seven, eight. be further east, cold, “11! mist and fog. dense fog. also, ice on frozen surfaces, southern scotland, northern england, watch out. the rain will be heavy in the western hills. clear in most of ireland. temperatures, nine, ten. slightly more mild with this rain band. some of it getting into south—west england. cold and dry to start. fog and frost. watch out for theice start. fog and frost. watch out for the ice first thing. the rain turning lighter in the south—east. lightening up behind it. cool air again. single figures. 10 degrees in scotland. lots of sunshine. that rain clears away this evening and overnight. a ridge of high pressure. a quiet night. light wind. rural places, mist and fog. the ridge of high pressure greets us for monday to start the new week with a fine and dry note. a cold start. frost around. sunny spells. more in the way of cloud in north and west scotland. a breeze picking up. this is what is going to herald a change monday night on. 4—9. we lose the blue colours. the cold air is moved out of the way replaced by milder airfrom out of the way replaced by milder air from tuesday out of the way replaced by milder airfrom tuesday on. out of the way replaced by milder air from tuesday on. double figures on tuesday and wednesday. mid—teens. a mild one up until christmas. back to you. i like that. double figures until christmas. it is beginning to look a lot not like christmas. shh. the christmas season is a time forjoy and celebration for many, but for those who've lost a loved one, it can be one of the most difficult periods of the year. so, what's the best way to cope if you're one of the millions who'll have to deal with grief this christmas? we'rejoined by linda magistris who lost her partner, graham, three years ago, and is the founder of the good grief trust. good morning. good morning. tell us about your story. i lost graham to cancer. i thought i was going crazy. could not find any breeze meant support targeted for what i needed. ——i could not find any bereavement. we do have good support, we just need to bring it together. my gp could not find anything for me. hospitals did not even do it. many people will be surprised. exactly. these are big london hospitals, globally renowned, they don't have bereavement support. we focus on and off lights and palliative care, which is amazing, and we need it. —— end—of—life. we have brought all of these services together on a website, goodgrieftrust.org. hopefully no one will be able to say no one understands what i am feeling. we need to bring people together who have been through the same experience. that is key to finding a way forward in your life. what were your first couple of christmases like? really difficult. i wanted to hide and stay under the duvet and not go anywhere. the advice i would give is try and do what is right for you. many people say you should do this and that. go with your gut feeling. grief is exhausting. did you want input from family? did you want them to invite you? they did that. but sometimes you? they did that. but sometimes you cannot. many people do not understand that. here is a quote, one of the most popular on our facebook, something to call at the friends and family, it says "if you know someone who has lost an important person in their life and you don't want to mention them because you don't want to remind them, they remember they died, you are reminding them of someone they loved. that is important." please talk about them. engage with them. says my name, say their name. as many times as you can. thank you. we will talk later on. if you have lost someone, will talk later on. if you have lost someone, let us know how you are coping. it is difficult, especially around this time of year. let us know if you have any traditions that help you deal with loss. you can send us your stories on [email protected], or by using the hashtag, bbc breakfast. you're watching breakfast from bbc news. time now for a look at the newspapers. poet and broadcaster, ian mcmillan, is here to tell us what's caught his eye. we'llspeakto him in a minute, good morning. good morning. there is a lot inside the newspapers. a quick run through, first. the sunday telegraph reports that the prime minister is confident she's silenced doubters in her cabinet, after securing britain a deal in the first stage of brexit negotiations. the sunday times on the other hand quotes the foreign secretary boris johnson, who says theresa may should do more to maximise the benefits of brexit by making sure britain has the power to scrap eu laws. the observer, highlights our top story today about new plans to extend automatic pension enrolment to people aged 18 and over. and the mail on sunday highlights another example of the abuse mps and their families face from on line trolls. the prime minister tweeted late last night, saying the threats were "unacceptable." it is interesting to contrast those stories. the prime minister tweeted last night that threats were unacceptable. ian mcmillan, welcome. what have you picked out? call off brexit bullies orface defeat, tory picked out? call off brexit bullies or face defeat, tory mps tell the prime minister. that story, variations of it, are on the front of every newspaper. my resolution for next year is not to use the "b" word because it reduces a complex issue to two syllables. i will call it withdrawing from the eu. we should be thinking about it, but we reduce it. i think it is stopping us thinking about it. it is on the front of every paper. everyone has a different view. yet we shrink it to a reductive sound bite. i know why we talk about it like that. because if we had a big word for it brea kfast would if we had a big word for it breakfast would last all day. but we have to be more subtle in the way we talk. how do you feel about terms like brexiteers and remoaners. they will end up in the dictionary and people in 100 years will say i wonder what that was. we need a shorthand for processes. the only b word i'll use is beetroot. there is too much beetroot in the world. we know we have an issue with grave space in this country. this is an alternative. apparently, they will reduce the body to water through clever science. in the end, you might end up, as it says in the paper, have a glass of grandad. i don't mind that. i think it is hilarious. it is reinventing itself. it isa hilarious. it is reinventing itself. it is a green thing to do. they also say when you have a drink of water you are drinking the same molecules from the dinosaur years. if we can get away from our distaste it, it would be a good thing. there is a lot of drinking water that we would rather not know what is in it.|j have gone off of my coffee this morning. from one story to another ridiculous story. we have all had terrible haircuts from time to time. how about this one? a husband accused of wasting police time by calling 999 to complain about this haircut from this wife. how do we get around that? even in the days of police cuts, we could have a special unit that dealt with that kind of thing. i thought how about that for a kind of colombo series, would someone a kind of colombo series, would someone doing the same thing. a person here has a haircut that he doesn't like. and another thing, put more jam on it. we could write it together and be millionaires. more jam on it. we could write it together and be millionairesm more jam on it. we could write it together and be millionaires. it is a wonderful story. tell us more about this. it is a trope, in a way, and inanimate object saving a life ina war. and inanimate object saving a life in a war. this watch, this box, saved my grandad's life to be this quy saved my grandad's life to be this guy went into the second world war, a sniper bounced off of his ring and missed his face. he keeps his ring and looks at it. it is like a what—if. what if he scratched his ear when the sniper fired. it is the opposite, in a way, of the haircut, this is a small thing that is a big thing. what if the ring saved your life and it did it again? super powers! that is another story we could write! we have a lot of work to do in the next 12 months! thank you. the andrew marr show is on bbc 0ne you. the andrew marr show is on bbc one this morning. what have you got? it is the last show of the year. we are looking back at the whole year. politics as well. a bit of brexit with diane abbott or talking about police cuts. i will talk to the work and pensions secretary, david gauke, about the pensions announcement and welfare at christmas. a lot to talk about. and the actor, james norton, the villainous tommy lee royce, he is now being discussed as the next james bond. and of course there will bea james bond. and of course there will be a christmas carol. good start. if you are doing a review of the year, it will be a long shot. i challenge him to do that without saying the word brexit. it will not happen to be stay with us. —— good morning, here's a summary of today's main stories from bbc news. every worker aged 18 or over will begin saving into a workplace pension — unless they opt out. that's under government plans being unveiled today. at the moment, employers must enrol staff aged 22 and over into a pension plan if they earn more than 10,000 pounds a year. ministers say they want to reduce the minimum age to 18 by the mid 2020s — a move that could affect around 900,000 young people. mps have expressed serious doubts that the ministry of defence will be able to afford all the new military equipment it plans to buy. a report by the commons defence select committee says the mod will struggle to find the money it needs to pay for newjets, warships and armoured vehicles. the department says it's making good progress towards making 7.3 billion pounds—worth of savings. theresa may says the last ten days have marked a watershed in the uk's departure from the european union. writing in the sunday telegraph and the sunday express, the prime minister says she will not be derailed from securing an ambitious brexit deal. meanwhile, the foreign secretary borisjohnson has told the sunday times that it's vital the uk doesn't mirror eu laws in the long—term. south africa's ruling party is set to elect a new leader to replace president jacob zuma. mr zuma is stepping down as leader of the anc ahead of the party's campaign for the 2019 general election. he's faced several allegations of corruption during his decade in charge, and there are fears that bitter infighting could split the party. the un security council is to consider a proposal declaring that any unilateral decision on the status ofjerusalem would have no legal effect. it comes after president trump's decision to recognise the city as the capital of israel. the resolution is likely to be vetoed by the united states. severn trent water says most customers who were cut off in the tewkesbury area of gloucestershire have now been reconnected. 10,000 homes were left without water when a main burst on friday. the company said repairs to the pipe — which lies underneath flooded fields — had been difficult. we're here on the bbc news channel until nine this morning, and coming up in the next hour. it's one of our most ambitious challenges yet. can we get the nation singing? as our bbc breakfast sings series nears its crescendo, we'll check in with the choirs getting ready for the big day. should mobiles be allowed in classrooms? as france bans the use of phones in schools, we'll ask if it's something the uk should consider too. all that to come on the bbc news channel. but this is where we say goodbye to viewers on bbc one. bye for now. if you are just waking if you arejust waking up, and other terrible day for england. they are three wickets down in their second innings. australia 662-9. it has got to the stage where i want it to happen really quickly. england have to bat for happen really quickly. england have to batfor1.5 happen really quickly. england have to bat for 1.5 days to save the series. it is the highest total by australia in australia in ashes series ever. england losing key wickets, how will they last? that is the question. it is not looking good. their ashes hopes are fading fast. what could come to their rescue? perhaps the rain. is it a glimmer of hope? let's ask our sports correspondent andy swiss who's there, andy it's not looking good for england. is the rain going to save them as they look to hold out for a draw? ifear not, john. as i fear not, john. as you ifear not, john. as you can i fear not, john. as you can see, ifear not, john. as you can see, it has stopped raining. it rained for 30 seconds. enough for the players to leave the pitch and now they are back out. a few showers are around that nothing heavy enough to influence the result at the moment. england 76— three in their second innings. a long way behind australia. they began their day with bowlers in succession. steve smith went for 239, mitchell marsh for a a late order hitting took australia to this massive total of 662— nine it declared. england got off to the worst possible start. they lost mark stone an early. then they lost alastair cook. another quick dismissal for alastair cook. another quick dismissalfor him. he went alastair cook. another quick dismissal for him. he went forjust 14. dismissal for him. he went forjust 1a. brilliantly caught and bowled by josh hazlewood. a superb piece of athleticism but cook's richard cork can saint —— continues. —— wretched. joe root will be wondering why. they are currentlyjoint keep england going but they have an awful long way to go. they will be pinning their hopes on the weather. the weather is not playing its part at the moment. it is unlikely we will have heavy showers which could help england out. you talk about the batting, joe root and alastair cook in particular. where do we start? where has it gone wrong to england? why have they struggled so much?” think in this match, you go back to day to and you forget what an extraordinarily strong position england were in at one point. it was 360-4. england were in at one point. it was 360—4. from there, they would have liked to have got 500 or 600. that batting collapse set in motion the display we have seen over the last couple of days. there are problems with the pitch. there are cracks opening up. it is not easy for acting but to be honest, the wickets that have fallen england have been down to poor shot selection rather than the pitch. joe root will be wondering why they —— why he played a rash shot early in the day. the way they have been batting over the course of this series, you wouldn't be surprised if the ashes were lost today but as i said, there are a few spits and spots in the air and we may have another rain delay. sorry that andy couldn't bring you better news. manchester city showed their unstoppable best yesterday, thumping tottenham 4—1, to make it 16 wins in a row. they are now 1a points clear at the top of the premier league, for the time being at least. pep guardiola says his side is ‘becoming a better institution'. james burford was watching all of yesterday's action. the rain may be falling in manchester but so are the records. this winning run that city are on, 16 games, is the longest in english top division history. tottenham are not used to being dismantled like this but no team seems impervious to pep guardiola's players. the boss knows his next target — beating the 19—game winning streak he managed at bayern munich. that's happened because i was with three amazing clubs. all three clubs, they support me and all the decisions we believe and they provide me no standing players. without good players and club support, your ideas, it is impossible to achieve these kinds of things. such is being made of city's form, nobody seems to be noticing that chelsea won eight of their last ten. marcus alonso's winner against southampton set them level on points with second—placed manchester united. arsenal, meanwhile, made it 13 wins out of 1a home games thanks to mesut 0zil's rocket against newcastle. they drop into the bottom three without a win in nine premier league matches. 0bviously keep working this way. after, we can get the results, totally different. and then try to go to january and bring some addition and that will give a lift to the rest of the team. crystal palace, on the other hand, jump out of the relegation zone, scoring their first league away goal since april in a 3—0 win at leicester. roy hodgson then battling through the pressure. someone in the spotlight is mark hughes, his position as stoke manager is under threat. the 3—0 defeat against west ham leaves his side hovering just two points above the relegation zone. who knows what records manchester city will break this season. it's not even christmas yet and already they are 1a points clear. aberdeen are up to second in the scottish premiership, narrowing the gap on leaders celtic to just two points. gary mackay—steven scored a hat—trick in their 4—1 victory over hibs — who hadn't lost at home since march. elsewhere there were wins for dundee, hamilton, kilmarnock and stjohnstone who won in the league at ibrox for the first time since 1971. it's a pivotal weekend in rugby union's champions cup with the second of the pool stage double headers going some way to decide who will make the quarterfinals. bath got revenge for their late defeat to toulon last weekend by beating the french side 26—21 in a thrilling game at the rec. that win moves bath above their opponents to the top of pool five. scarlets are back in contention to qualify from the same pool. they sit third, a point behind toulon after beating benneton 31—12 in italy. premiership champions exeter have their work cut out to qualify though after dropping to third in pool three after letting a 14—point lead slip at leinster. at one stage the chiefs led 17—3 but luke mcgrath's late try sealed a comeback for the home side in dublin. leinster stay top of the group and look sure to go through. two of the tournament's surprise packages will contest snooker‘s scottish 0pen final this afternoon. neil robertson beat the home favouritejohn higgins 6—3 to set up a meeting with the world number 67 china's cao yupeng who stunned judd trump earlier in the day. robertson has fallen outside the world's top 16 recently, but has been in much better form in glasgow. gary anderson is into the second round of darts pdc world championship. the 2015 and 2016 winner easily overcame jeff smith in straight sets, hitting seven 180s along the way at ally pally. later today james wade and dave chisnall start their first round campaigns. with the winter olympics on the horizon, some of britain's athletes are continuing their preparations across europe. andrew musgrave took bronze in the 15 kilometre freestyle at the cross country world cup in italy. while britain's women's bobsleigh team finished 10th in the latest race in austria. the team have done well to even make it to these race meetings though having secured most of their funding this year through crowdfunding appeals. britain's olympic and world champion adam peaty has won his fair share of medals in his time, and it would appear he's got so many he's happy to give a few away.. after winning gold in the 100 metre breaststroke at the european short course championships. he took his gold medal over to a very lucky young girl in the crowd. this event's being held in copenhagen and clearly peaty has made one spectator very happy indeed. what will she do with it? wrap it up and put it under the tree? looking at those pictures, when was the last time you meet someone that happy? to be fair, john has got exciting events coming up in his life because your baby is due on christmas day. that is so exciting! well, you hope christmas day. it could be any minute now. imagine how broad that already broad grin will be. this weekend is better than last weekend in the weather. much milder. a beautiful sunrise. a mixed picture. a bit of sunshine across a eastern areas where it is called and a lot of rain across western areas. that is giving a big divide in temperatures. milder across the north and west. frost with fog north and east. this is the weather system pushing in from northern ireland, scotland and the northern ireland, scotland and the north of england. he described, called and foggy. some of the rain will be heavy. —— it is dry. frozen surface is east. watch out about. the rain will be gradually clearing from northern ireland from nine or ten o'clock. further east, really cold. the rain and dampness arrives here in the next hour or so. sub zero values. closer to eight or nine further west. the rain will spill eastwards through the course of the day. an unpleasant afternoon. much of england and wales, the rain will be persistent and it will be breezy. temperatures lifting. double figures in the south. cooler but brighter across scotland and northern ireland behind the rained band. —— rain band. a rich of high pressure builds and that is light winds and clear skies. a recipe for a chilly night. not quite as cold but at touch of frost in rural places with mist and fog. at least we have the sunshine to start off the working week with the reach of high pressure. it will be —— bring sunshine but a cold start in western areas. a cold but bright start in eastern areas. the cloud thickening up in parts of scotla nd cloud thickening up in parts of scotland and northern ireland. a bit on the chilly side. but you will have the sunshine to compensate. as we had three tuesday and wednesday, very mild in places. a lot of cloud and this is what we get when we pick up and this is what we get when we pick up the moisture off the atlantic from the south—west. double—figure values but for many of us, a bit of rain at times, particularly over western hills. but the most, dry and bright. that isn't what we ordered. come back with something else. whether it's relucata ntly, whole—heartedly or even drunkenly, christmas is the time for a good sing—song, and as we've been proving this week on breakfast, it's actually good for you! really good for you. as part of our "bbc sings" series, on tuesday, we'll host a mass sing—a—long, with choirs from across the uk taking part in a special rendition of "oh come all ye faithful." and we want you tojoin in, whether it's at home, at work, or even on bus ride in. if you need any more encouragement, here are the bbc singers with their take on the christmas classic. # 0 come all ye faithful # joyful and triumphant getting over the nerves and getting over the feeling of being a bit self conscious is the best feeling in the world and there's an achievement to standing up and being counted when you come to sing. # come and behold him. i think we will struggle to find anyone who doesn't at least know the tune to this one. 0 come all ye faithful is one of the great carols of christmas along with away in a manger, hark the herald, these tunes have been going for years. we don't actually know when it was written or where the words came from, but the great thing about it is that everyone can sing it. there is a big bit at the end that you have to fill up your lungs for and just go for it. that's the wonderful thing about singing, you can literally do it anywhere. you have the voice, you've got some lungs. just absolutely go for it. it is something that will be different to your normal routine in the morning. everyone can sing. you can sing at home, you can sing in the bath, you can sing round the breakfast table, you can go and sing in the garden with your friends. literally, anywhere. it is one of those christmas carols when you really know christmas is here. fantastic. yeah, i had a singing teacher who used to call singing happy shouting and that would work really well in this song. just go for it. be happy. # christ, the lord. all: hello, from the bbc singers! get singing! we would love you to join in on tuesday. you can start practising! whether you are in the bath, brushing your teeth... well... hum along. we'll be back with the headlines at eight o'clock. now it's time for this week's "travel show." coming up on this week's show: we travel to georgia to pay a visit to a town that's the birthplace of one of the 20th century's most controversial figures. rajan meets an artist in dubai creating a unique fusion of traditional arabic calligraphy and street style graffiti. and i discover that santa makes it look easy when i hop on a sleigh for an early slice of christmas in finnish lapland. let's go, son, let's go! but first, this week, we're going to georgia. with its black sea coastline, forested landscape and world—famous wine, it's not hard to see why tourism is booming in the once soviet state. but one city there is attracting tourists for a very different reason. in many ways, gori is an unremarkable post—soviet town. if it wasn't for a former resident, it might not be so firmly on the tourist trail. but tourists do come and in their tens of thousands every year, and today that includes me. in 1939, my great—grandfather, a polish official, was arrested as the soviets invaded under the leadership ofjosef stalin. like so many other poles, my great—grandfather was sent to a forced labour camp and died, leaving my family to flee, eventually reaching the uk. today, in gori, a flower bed lies in the place where a statue to the city's most famous son once towered in front of the government building. but i've heard some locals want it put back up. so i came here, to the former hometown of stalin, where he remains such an important but controversial figure. for many in the former soviet union, stalin was a great leader. 0ver his 30 year rule, he established an industrial and military superpower, brought victory against the nazis and respect on the international stage. but he also oversaw the starvation, imprisonment, execution and ethnic persecution of millions of people across the ussr. for lia zautashvili's guest house, stalin is good for business. but for many here, stalin represents far more than potential profit. you can see here originalfurniture from stalin's first office in the kremlin. given my family history, i have mixed feelings when i walk around the museum. for me, its interpretation of stalin's life feels far too positive. apparently the guides in this museum do tell their tour groups about stalin's victims, but i'm sat right now in a room dedicated to his victory in world war two and there's no similar room in this museum talking about his political oppression or mass famines. but museum officials maintain that they're fair in their representation of how many suffered under stalin. i'd heard that a local taxi driver knew where the stalin statue had been dumped, facing the elements in a scrapyard next to a military base. he agreed to take me. in many ways, georgia has yet to decide for itself how to remember stalin. in many ways, georgia has yet to decide for itself how to remember stalin. although his statue remains hidden away, the museum which seemingly venerates him is actively promoted as a tourist destination. but while the nature of stalin's future in the city remains unclear, what does seems certain is that for better or worse he will continue to bring travellers to gori for some time to come. finnish lapland is as close as it gets to a winter wonderland. over half a million people come here each year in search of father christmas and his reindeer. you can not say you have truly experienced the delights of lapland until you have been on a reindeer safari. and that is what i'm about to do. i have been told that if i am good, i may be able to ride my own sleigh with my own reindeer. before i do that, i need to learn how to use one of these. eric is my instructor today. is there anything specific i should know? do you have a tip? just be careful. move slowly, not quickly. how do we start? take a seat. like many herdsmen here in lapland, eric supplements his income with tourism. he takes small groups of tourists into the forest on a reindeer safari. it is so beautiful out here. everywhere you look at is just a postcard. it is getting close... 0h, he shook me off. he does not like me. there are more reindeer in lapland than people. around 200,000 of these animals and most of them roam free. some of them, like these ones, are tamed and specially trained for the reindeer safaris. reindeer are powerful and that is why i am not allowed to use them on my own yet. we will drink something nice, chill out and he would teach me to use one of the sleighs. i have had a taste of the power of the reindeer and i'm a little worried. do you get more people coming around christmas time? yes. it is one of the seasons. it is a high week, christmas week. they want to spend their christmas holiday in a winter world. today, reindeer sleigh safaris give tourists like me a taste of what life used to be like here before cars and snowmobile. finally it is my turn to have a go. if you want to go you just say go. as simple as that? reindeer, go! he is not listening to me. go, reindeer! in 200 yards, make a left. i can't say i didn't try but this reindeer is just not interested. maybe we will try the next one. 0k. we would try the next one. we're going! look at this. controlling this powerful beast. oh my god, he is picking up speed. go, go! it still may not be the fastest of rides but it seems to be the smoothest and most magical way to enjoy this landscape. it feels quite christmassy. very christmassy. that is it for this week. join us next week when i take a look back at some of my personal highlights from this year's travel show including my trip to ghana where i met some of the country's cheekiest residents. look at him here. so that's next week. if you want to see what we're doing on the road between now and then, signup to our social media feed. the details should be on your screen right now. but for now from me, ade adepitan, and the travel show team here in finnish lapland, farewell. hello, this is breakfast, with rachel burden and ben thompson. helping hundreds of thousands of people save for retirement — the government says it will extend automatic enrollment in workplace pensions. under the plans, every worker aged 18 or over could begin saving — but it won't come into effect until the mid—2020s. good morning it's sunday the 17th of december. also this morning... "serious doubts" over military savings —