Hello, its Peter here and welcome to Wednesdays Levy Letter. I hope your day is going well and I hope youll be able to join me tonight for all the days news on BBC One at half past six.
Also on the programme tonight - following a spate of vandalism and anti social behaviour, I'll be asking what's being done to keep our local parks safe. Residents, who live near these parks say theyve being taken over by yobs and that they no longer feel safe walking through them. Ill be asking what needs to be done to give these parks back to local residents. And after a Hull travel agent goes bust, I'll be getting advice from the Association of British Travel Agents on how to protect our holidays. More on that later. Plus I'll be speaking to renowned local playwright, Alan Plater, about how he feels at the demolition of Paragon House in the centre of Hull. Its been called an eyesore for years, and will be demolished next week to make way for the massive St Stephens development and renovation of Hulls railway station. Its a relief for many, but Ill be asking Alan if theres any reason for us to feel sad at the demolition of a local building. I hope you can join me that. And we'll be finding out why our region is home to the only miniature donkeys in the UK. And talking of small - the diminutive weather man will be here with the forecast as usual. I hope you can join me on BBC One for tonights Look North. Speed Whenever we talk about speed limits on the programme, I always get a huge response from you. Its a subject thats close to many peoples hearts. So for many people, who live in rural areas, and particularly in Lincolnshire, you will be pleased about the story thats just come out that some speed limits across the country could be reduced dramatically in a major new safety campaign. Residential areas could go down to twenty miles an hour and the sixty mile an hour limit on country roads, where almost two thirds of accidents happen, could be brought down to as low as thirty or forty miles an hour. The changes would be brought in by local authorities, who are responsible for over sixty-seven thousand miles of British A and B roads. The Transport Minister, Stephen Ladyman, has issued new guidelines yesterday and he wanted them to look at appropriate limits. He pointed to the success of twenty mile an hour speed limits around villages and schools. If you live in a village area, ! then Im sure youll welcome that new ruling. Your views on speed limits, if you want to get in touch with me on that, then theyre gratefully received as always. Its the usual address of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Probiotics Bursting with friendly bacteria, theyre promising to boost our health by keeping rival bad bacteria at bay, but many probiotic products are a waste of time and money and some may even be harmful according to an expert. Glen Gibson is a professor of food and microbiology and he warns that up to half of probiotic drinks, yoghurts and powdered capsules on the market do not work. Theyve got the wrong bacteria or the wrong amount, according to the Reading University scientist. Foods, regularly eaten by two million Britons, claim to enhance digestion and overall health by boosting the friendly bacteria in our guts. I must admit that when they first came out, I did buy them for at least the first six months I think. I took one every morning, but the only thing that I noticed was that the supermarket bill was higher than normal, so I stopped taking them. I certainly cant say I felt any better for them. Whether thats irresponsible or not, I dont know! But there you are. Probioti! c drinks do you drink them? Are they worth the extra money? Do get in touch on that one and let me know. Pictures Dont forget, were always on the look out for pictures and photographs to show on the Big Screen on the programme. If youve got one that you think I would like to see and that we could use, then send it in to me, either electronically or as a hard copy in the post. Also, if youve got a problem or an issue that you think I might be able to tackle on the programme in Leave it to Levy, then get in touch. We will be having another Leave it to Levy on the programme tonight at half past six. Ring Tones This is something close to my heart. I was listening yesterday in the office to a couple of peoples mobile phones and their most annoying ring tones. People like them at the moment, so I think were stuck with them. Mobile phone ring tones can be irritating in the office and in the train, but imagine how they are looked upon by members of the angling fraternity. Not only do they shatter the tranquillity of the river bank, but they frighten off the fish as well. With this in mind, Richard Hewitt, whos a keen angler, was inspired to record the gentle whirrs and clicks of classic fishing reels to be used as a ring tone. The sounds were initially snapped up by fisherman, who thought they were a very good idea, but now theyre popular with a wider audience. So you can get a ring tone now that is the gentle whirrs and clicks of classic fishing reels! One there for all anglers everywhere. I still think it might be a bit irritating in the office though! What do you reckon? Comedy Theres just been a list published in the Radio Times of the top ten Queens of Comedy. At number one there - she won New Faces back in 1973. I remember seeing that as well. Shes been going strong ever since with Wood and Walters, Pat and Margaret, Dinnerladies and the list goes on. Shes of course Victoria Wood. Shes been voted by the viewers in the Radio Times as the funniest lady. At number two is Dawn French and I must admit that Im not a fan of her really. At number three is Kathy Burke, number four is Julie Walters. And Julie is fab shouldnt she be higher in the list? Jennifer Saunders is at five, Jo Brand at six. Shes been on the programme a couple of times and was great to chat to. At seven was Joyce Grenfell. Joyce of course was a huge hit in the 1940s and Catherine Tate is in there at number nine. Her stand up show was her big break at the Edinburgh Fringe and that was only five years ago. So there you are. Those are the top Queens of Comedy! Theres another subject here that always gets a lot of interest on the programme and also in the Levy Letter and thats house prices. House prices have reached a new landmark, with an average property now worth £199,184. And thats for an average house across the whole of the UK. So, in effect thats £200,000 for an average price of a house in this country. What is interesting is thats nine times the average annual salary, which leaves potential purchasers having to save up even bigger deposits. The average salary in this country is £22,290, so thats frightening isnt it? Anyway, thats it from me for today. Join me tonight on BBC One at 6.30pm for tonights Look North. Look out for your Levy Letter tomorrow and if theres someone you know, whos not signed up and you think they would like a daily email from me, then point them in the direction of where to sign up. Its as easy as that. Take a look at the two addresses below. 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
