Hello, it’s Peter here and welcome to Tuesday’s Levy Letter. I hope your day is going well and I hope you’ll be able to join me tonight for Look North on BBC1 at 6.30pm.
Last night on the programme, I was talking to the woman, who’s only five foot three, but fairly scary and that’s the health guru and writer, Gillian McKeith. She was on the programme last night analysing my tongue and giving me a bit of grief in the trend of ‘you are what you eat’, in other words my diet has been terrible for the last twenty years. I can’t actually argue about it, because she’s probably correct, but things have been a little better since the 1st of January when I started my new diet. But I’ve just been reading about Gillian here and doing some background reading and there’s a quote here from Gillian from an article – “If my husband ate red meat, then I’d divorce him!” Well, that’s a bit strong, don’t you think? Well, it was Gillian last night, but tonight on the exercise front, we’ll be talking to Rosemary Conley. The one and only Rosemary Conley!
So that’s tonight, plus we’ll have all the day’s news and of course Paul will be here with the forecast at 6.30pm. Also tonight, I’ll be looking at acupuncture. Has anyone tried this? I don’t fancy it much myself, but a new study shows that it can help relieve pain – I’ll be looking into that one. I’ll also have an update on the plight of the dairy farmers in our region and the problems they face in competing with the supermarkets. Also, something of interest for residents of Greatcoates in Grimsby – how will the new Grimsby Town football stadium affect the local residents in Grimsby? So a packed programme tonight, I hope you can join me.
Doctor Who
We got onto the subject of Doctor Who last week and of course I made a slip-up when I said William Hartnell was the first Doctor Who, when of course it was Patrick Troughton. A couple more emails on the Doctor Who front. This one from Dick, he says, “Being just a few years older than you, I remember that Zoe was played by the diminutive Wendy Padbury. She wasn’t the original though and since 1992 she’s been an actors’ agent and of course she married the famous actor from ‘It ain’t half hot mum’ Melvin Hayes.” So that’s Wendy Padbury as the Doctor’s assistant.
This one says, “The original assistant was Susan Foreman, played by Carol Ann Ford, who was the Doctor’s grand daughter as the writers thought it wouldn’t be right to have an elderly man travelling through time and space with a young attractive teenager, so she had to be his granddaughter. How things have changed?” Anyway, that’s on the subject of Doctor Who.
And also, I mentioned last week the business of not being able to buy a VHS recorder anymore. This one came in from Tony, he says, “In the Levy Letter, you mentioned about buying a VHS recorder to save so that you could continue to watch your tapes when your present recorder breaks down. Did you know that there is a programme available for your PC that enables the film from your VHS tapes to be recorded onto a DVD?” I have to say I don’t know anything about this, but any more details would be great. He says, “I know this is possible, because I have this programme on my PC.” Presumably Tony, you mean that you have a lead from your video into your PC, do you? Any help on that one would be gratefully received.
Don’t forget if you want to drop me a line about the Levy Letter or about anything else, then you can get me direct at [EMAIL PROTECTED].
Diet
I was talking there about Gillian McKeith and healthy eating, but I see that I’m not alone – one in three men are on a diet, according to a new survey. The poll of more than 2100 adults reveals that 39% of men have dieted over the past twelve months compared to 61% of women. That’s quite high for men really – one in three men are on a diet. One in ten women have said that they have tried up to five diets in the past year, while 11% have lost count of their weight lost regimes. Reasons for over-eating include being unable to resist sweet treats and feeling stressed. Did we really need a UGov survey to tell us that? If you are trying to lose weight and eat healthily, then all the very best of luck.
Wedding
If you are planning your wedding in the next few months or in the next year or so, then the cost of a wedding dress in this country is apparently £826, which is a lot more than many people can afford. When Renee Zellweger got married on a Caribbean beach, she did so in a designer dress that cost £7000! Now a well known supermarket has launched a copy of the dress and a bridal outfit for just £60! So there you are. If you fancy going to get married in a wedding dress that looks like Renee’s dress, then pop off to the supermarket and it’ll only cost you £60! For another £128 you can also kit out the groom as well. So the groom’s outfit actually costs more than the bride’s wedding dress, but you have to go and get it from a well known supermarket – you can guess which one I’m sure!
Chat Show
I see that Grace Jones’ assault on Russell Harty has been named as the most shocking TV chat show moment. The singer and model slapped Harty live on the air back in 1981. Gosh was it really 1981? She thought that he was being rude and ignoring her, when in actual fact he was talking to another guest. Russell Harty of course is no longer with us, but what a sad loss. He was a lovely man and a great performer.
In second place was Terry Wogan’s 1991 show with David Icke, in which the former sports presenter announced he was a son of the godhead, commonly misquoted as the son of God. Meg Ryan’s sullen appearance on Parkinson, when she suggested he called time on the interview, was third on the survey by two thousand TV viewers. So there you are. What is your favourite worst TV moment? You might like to let me know.
Amanda Holden
I interviewed her a few years back. She was married to Les Dennis then, who I also interviewed last year when he came to Hull. He certainly is a nice man, Les Dennis, who’s gone up in many peoples’ estimations since he did an episode of Extras on the TV just before Christmas. Well, Amanda Holden has just given birth to her first child. The star of TV’s Cutting It and her music producer fiancé, Chris Hughes, were said to be overwhelmed and completely thrilled following their daughter’s arrival. So there you are. So congratulations to Amanda Holden. I’m not sure really why I put that in, but why not!
Street Crime
I see that street crime has gone up 50% in some areas over the last twelve months. Why? Because many yobs are trying to get their hands on the must-have items, the Ipods. Home office statistics this week are expected to reveal the biggest surge in street robberies for three years with a nationwide rise of 12%. Gun crime is also on the up with firearm attacks rising by a fifth in inner city areas. Teenagers carrying expensive digital items, such as Ipods and MP3 players and mobiles, were the most common victims and were often attacked by other youths. It was just last week that the Home Office Minister, Hazel Blears, admitted that teenagers and adults in their early twenties faced an increased risk of being mugged. She said that about 40% of all robbery involves a victim and an offender under the age of twenty-one. That’s why it’s so important that young people focus on their personal safety.
Give The Dog A Phone
Just finally today, it’s the ultimate fashion accessory for any self-respecting pampered pooch – it’s a bone-shaped mobile phone. It hangs off the dog’s collar so that owners can talk to their dog over a two way speaker even if they are at work. I think I’ve heard everything now. And if the pet refuses to obey, then it can still be found, because the phone emits a GPS tracking signal. The manufacturer of the five inch by three inch phone said it’s sturdy and slobber proof!! So, if you’ve got a dog and you think it had everything it wanted, then perhaps it hasn’t got everything it needs just yet. Get him a mobile phone so that you can talk to him or her at any time.
Well that’s it from me for today. Join me tonight on BBC1 at 6.30pm and look out for your Levy Letter tomorrow.
Take care, bye for now
Peter
And for the latest news and more where you live, go to:
http://bbc.co.uk/humber and http://bbc.co.uk/lincolnshire
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