Hello, its Peter here. Thank you very much indeed for reading the Levy Letter. I hope your day is going well and I hope youll be able to join me tonight on BBC One at 6.30pm. Ill have all the days news and of course Paul will have the forecast.
On tonight's programme, I'll have the latest on the new ratings figures for our hospitals and health trust, which have just been published. I'll be speaking to the organisation, which has put together these figures and will find out what it means for patients in our region. Ill have the full story on that one. And The Apprentice star, Michelle Dewberry, is back in her home town today. We'll be finding out what she's been up to since she quit her job for Sir Alan Sugar. Im sure her family and friends are glad to have her back home and of course we wish them all well. Also tonight, when a Lincoln man found out that a First World War battle site in France was to be turned into a rubbish dump, he began a campaign for a memorial to be built. Well be finding out how he got on. And a gym in Hull is offering new mums and dads a very unique way to keep fit. Im not going to give anything away there, but I'll have more on that later tonight. Emails Thanks for all the emails on a variety of subjects. Im most grateful for all of them. There were a couple of things that seem to be uppermost in your mind at the moment, mainly who is going to be the new presenter for Countdown. Of course, Des Lynam is not continuing doing the programme. Hes stepping down, because he doesnt want to travel to Leeds to record the programme. So now theyre looking for a new presenter. All sorts of names have been mentioned, but well just have to wait and see. But thank you for your emails on that. On another subject, which I havent seen anything about, theres one email here from Maggie. She says, I cannot believe the new directive from Brussels that we may soon have to drive with headlights on in whatever conditions and in broad daylight. What a stupid idea. I find it difficult enough to drive in darkness with the other car headlights on dazzling me. I can understand motorbikes having their car headlights on, but dipped during the day, so that they can be seen more easily, but cars no. Apparently, it is in line with Sweden, Denmark etc. They have total darkness during the winter and would need to keep them on, but why in summer in broad daylight? I cant think why this would be necessary. So there you are. Ive had several emails on the subject. I hadnt heard about that one, but we may have to keep our headlights on even in the summer and during the day. What do we think about that one? Get in touch on that and indeed about anything else as well. Email me in to! [EMAIL PROTECTED] And if youve got an issue or a problem that you think we might be able to tackle on Look North as a Leave it to Levy, then give me the details and also a contact telephone number as well. The address is [EMAIL PROTECTED] Stamp Duty Its one of the things that everyone hates the most at the moment. Thats the subject of stamp duty. It goes up in layers and slabs and some people have to pay a fortune when they move house. Its been given as the reason why more and more people are extending their property or are building extra space to their home instead of moving. Well, record numbers of first time buyers are being forced to pay stamp duty, according to a new study. More than half are forking out, on average, £1500 in the tax to get on the property ladder. The number, being caught in the tax trap, has risen despite the Chancellors insistence that he is helping young buyers. Over the last two years he has increased the threshold for which theyre exempt from stamp duty from £60,000 to £125,000. But this has failed to offset the effect of soaring house prices for first time buyers. So there you are. So now stamp duty is charged at 1% on all homes between £125,000 and £250,000. Stamp duty, of course, affec! ts nearly everybody. Photography We had a photographer on the programme last night Paul Arro. Hes just won a competition on a BBC television programme. There were twelve thousand entries and his photograph was picked to be the winner. His photograph was of holiday makers on the beach at Bridlington. So well done to Paul. And that reminds me that if youve got some photographs that youre particularly proud of and youd like me to show one of them on the programme, then send it in for consideration. Either send me a spare hard copy or send it to me electronically to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Single Men Britains single men have become the male equivalent of Brigit Jones searching for their true love. Thats so they can leave their bachelor lives behind them. This is according to a new survey. Far from looking for casual flings, almost three quarters of men interviewed said that they were focused on finding Miss Right and settling down for a lifetime of bliss. And even more of them, 79% admitted that they would not hesitate to tie the knot as soon as they found the love of their life. The results were carried out in a survey for the womens magazine, Cosmopolitan, and it showed that the majority of men were far from being the commitment-phobes of popular legend and that they actually want to settle down. 83% believe sex is much better in a long term relationship and would always choose committed sex over a one night stand. So there you are. Thats a survey from Cosmopolitan magazine. Whether you agree or disagree with that, then let me know. PC Well, the politically correct stories that weve had in the Levy Letter over the last year have been many and varied. Many more are sent in, which I dont get around to using. But this one I read in the newspaper and its hard to believe, but let me put it to you in case you didnt see it. A team of council workers are to strip an entire city of its conkers. The move, in the name of health and safety, has annoyed residents, who claim that their children are being made victims of the nanny state. The conker grabbing squad have been set up in Newcastle by the city council. Its remit is to remove conkers from all Horse Chestnut trees before children can take them and this is so that children dont get hurt. The headline was Conkers Bonkers! And thats certainly true! Autumn Watch I said a sentence yesterday, implying that I wasnt really bothered about Autumn Watch or its contents. A couple of people thought that that was a little bit mean and harsh. Well, I certainly didnt mean it like that. I dont know much about the actual subject matter, but Im learning from watching it since and what a great watch it is. Judging by the huge amount of email Ive had on this subject, then you love it as well. Bill and Kate on Autumn Watch and thats on BBC Two at eight oclock. Join me tonight just before that for tonights Look North. Have a very good afternoon. 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
