Hello and welcome to Fridays Levy Letter. Its the last letter of the week, and if youve got anything planned for the weekend I hope it goes well. I mentioned once before in the Letter that research suggests Friday is the least productive day for people at work, no surprise there! So if you receive the Levy Letter at work, enjoy reading it between your long lunch and early finish! Of course I may be wrong, if Friday is your busiest day of work then set me right and tell me about it. As always, if you have anything you want to comment on in the letter, or a story or picture for Look North then drop me a line at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Coming up on this Fridays Look North at half past six, theres a stark warning from the Fire Brigades Union that lives could be at risk when 999 calls are dealt with from a call centre in Wakefield instead of in our area. Would staff be able to cope if there was a repeat of the June floods? We'll have a special report tonight. As Birdseye's remaining staff in Hull are made redundant, I'll be speaking to local MP and senior government minister Alan Johnson about the future of jobs in Hull. We had that story on the programme yesterday of course, and well be following it up today with all the latest information. As residents continue to protest in Grantham against noisy recycling lorries, we'll hear from residents who say they haven't been able to sleep properly in a year. We're live in Belchford near Horncastle ahead of this weekend's downhill soapbox challenge. We'll have the racers and their machines, and find out what it takes to be a winner. And we'll have a celebration of traditional song on the programme tonight, and a special performance in the Look North studio. Siblings Well sibling rivalry is something you may have experienced at some point in your life, especially if youve got an older brother or sister who always seems to do better than you. Unfortunately, new research suggests that if youve got older siblings, they may have an edge on you for life. The findings presented this week at a science festival revealed that having an older brother or sister can actually stunt your growth! Apparently, children with three siblings are about one inch smaller than the average for their age, can you believe that? Scientists claim this could be due to biological factors such as the effects of a first pregnancy on the state of the womb and the mothers health, but also because parents with more children might find less resources such as money, time and attention to lavish on younger siblings. I didnt know this, but children from larger families are also expected to do less well in school. The researcher does say that they didnt do any research into how happy children would be in larger families, so I suppose its possible you could be a diminutive academic underachiever, but still happy Well there are always plenty of exceptions to studies like this, it does sound unbelievable and I know some people who are taller than their older siblings, so dont panic just yet if your big brother or sister is towering over you, although research suggests you might have a number of factors against you... Gum Just a quick story I see in the news today, scientists have invented a non-stick form of chewing gum that its claimed could save £150 million a year in street cleaning costs. It contains an ingredient that coats it in a thin layer of water from your saliva, making it easier to remove, and apparently its been tested in the hair of the company CEOs daughter! I cant believe they spend £150 million a year removing chewing gum from the streets, its incredible. The article doesnt mention if the gum works equally well on trouser bottoms, shoe soles, and cinema seats, but perhaps the sight of sticky gum plastered over pavements could soon be a thing of the past. Dont forget, if you know somebody whod not signed up to the Levy Letter and you think theyd like one, get them to go to www.bbc.co.uk/looknorthhull and click on Levy Letter and they can sign up and start receiving their free daily Levy Letter from the very next day. Thats it from me today, have a good weekend, join me for Look North tonight at half past six on BBC One, and Ill be back with the Levy Letter again on Monday. 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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
