Hello, its Peter here and welcome to Wednesdays Levy Letter. I hope your day is going well. I hope youll be able to join me tonight on BBC1 at 6.30pm.
Paul will have the forecast, plus well have all the days news and tonights special guest will be the singing superstar, Katie Melua. Katie has sold more records last year than any other artist. Shes playing in Sheffield and shes also just been nominated for a couple of Brit awards and I shall be talking to Katie on the programme tonight, BBC1 at 6.30pm. Our top story tonight will be looking at the threat to another of our community hospitals. Were investigating the Health Unions claims that Bridlingtons hospital is being deliberately rundown with staffing levels cut. Will this affect the quality of service at the hospital? Will patients lives be put at risk? Well, well be talking to the Hospitals Trust to get their side of the story. Im sure this will be a dynamic interview! Dont miss it. Also tonight, well be announcing on the programme another exclusive Levy Letter competition. If youre a fan of Jo Brand, then tune in and find out how you can win tickets to see Jo in York. More details will follow for this competition, tomorrow in the Levy Letter. So another busy programme! I hope youll be able to join me on BBC1 at 6.30pm as usual. Emails Thanks very much for all the emails on a variety of subjects that weve talked about on the Levy Letter over the past couple of days. I mentioned yesterday the subject of plastic surgery. What an emotive subject! says Roja Jackson. What an emotive subject. My views are simple. If you need it for physical disfigurement for serious or psychological reasons, then fair enough, but for vanity reasons, anyone considering such surgery should undergo psychiatric testing and pay well over the odds for it. Once done, there should be no going back, even if they dont like the outcome or its not as expected. Extreme? Well, maybe, but perhaps it would free up resources for more necessary operations. So there you are. Very strong words from Roja there. But thanks for all the emails. I also touched on the subject of weddings yesterday and wedding dresses. This one here from Andreas, and this one comes all the way from Germany! Dear Peter, its a lot to spend - £826 for a bridal gown. I think I would prefer to spend the money on a nice honeymoon, maybe in the Yorkshire Dales! I love the landscape, even though Ive never been there! And just another one here from Paul, he says, No wonder getting married is so expensive if the price of the dresses keep rising at a rate of £10 in the time it takes to read two lines on your Levy Letter. The average was £826, then it jumps to £836 in the following line! Does it really? Well, that must be my mistake then! You dont miss a trick, do you? I cant get away with anything! Thank you very much indeed. If you want to email in on any of the subjects weve mentioned or indeed on anything else, then drop me a line [EMAIL PROTECTED] House Prices Always a good subject this one. Home owners are already around £2000 better off this year after a sudden surge in house prices. The value of an average three-bedroom semi has jumped £2048 in the first week of this month. Can you believe that? £2048 in the first week of this month! It was the largest weekly rise since May 2004 and a positive sign for a resurgent property market in 2006. The revival was kick-started by first-time buyers seizing the opportunity to get on the property ladder. So there you are. Your views on house prices gratefully received. Doctor Who Who is your favourite Doctor Who? Im old enough to be able to remember Patrick Troughton and of course I was weaned on Patrick as the Doctor. I think he was the first Doctor actually, but certainly the best for me. People always seem to have a particular favourite Doctor and the former time travelling Doctor Who, Colin Baker, doesnt dwell in the past though. Colin Baker had the keys to the Tardis for two years, from 1984 and is full of praise for todays latest incarnation and current Doctor, David Tennant. He doesnt understand why people harp back to past shows. Ive been astounded when die hard fans have an expressed preference to the old series. Its hard to imagine how the present Doctor could be bettered. He praises Tennant for a great self-awareness, vulnerability and humour than previous Doctors. He says that, Tennant has been blessed with acting ability as well as compelling looks and innate charm. You dont often get that from one actor about another do you? ! But interesting all the same. And of course, Frazer Hines, who lives in our part of the world near Lincoln, was in Doctor Who many years ago. He played Ed Jamie. Does anyone remember that or is it just me? Levy Letter Thank you very much indeed to everyone whos signed up to the Levy Letter just recently. If youre a new reader to the Levy Letter, then thank you. If you signed up initially back in the summer, then thank you for all your support. If theres anyone you know who is not getting a Levy Letter, but you think they may like one, then get them to go to either of the two addresses at the bottom of the page, click on Levy Letter and follow the instructions through. If they do it today, then they should get their first Levy Letter tomorrow, just in time for the exclusive Levy Letter competition, free of course and every lunchtime from tomorrow. Womens Pay Women are paid nearly 30% less than men, who do the same job, because apparently they are too scared to ask for a pay rise, it has been claimed. A survey of more than 5000 men and women rejected the common tendency to blame the pay gap on sex discrimination. Its claimed that the majority of Britains 13 million female workers are horrified by the idea of having to seek a rise. In other words, ask for a pay rise! Two thirds of women, who took part in the research, said they had never put in a request for more money, even though 80% believe that they are actually underpaid. A handful of women, who dared to ask for more, admitted it was the most stressful thing they had ever done. Men, however, do not suffer from the same inhibitions according to the research, published by a magazine. Men dont mind asking for a pay rise, and women do, and that is apparently why they are being paid less than men. Women are apparently being paid nearly 30% less than men, who do the same job. Plumbers I must admit that when I first read this story about a year back about plumbers, who were earning £70,000 a year, I thought there would be a rush to join the profession and I was not wrong. Stories about brain surgeons and Oxford University scholars becoming plumbers earning £70,000, prompted a rush to join the trade. But now there isnt enough work to go around, the industry is moaning. Theyre always moaning about something arent they? A record 26,000 hopefuls are training for qualifications, but only 1,500 jobs await them. There cant be that much of a shortage in the first place, can there? 26,000 people are learning to be plumbers, so in the future, it shouldnt be as difficult as it is at the moment to find a plumber. Well, thats it from me for today. Join me tonight on BBC1 at 6.30pm and look out for your Levy Letter tomorrow lunchtime. Take care Peter And for the latest news and more where you live, go to: http://bbc.co.uk/humber and http://bbc.co.uk/lincolnshire ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the BBC Look North newsletter, go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/england/looknorthhull/newsletter/newsletter_index.shtml, enter your email address in the unsubscribe box. 1.94.4
