Hello and welcome to Fridays Levy Letter. Its the last day of the week, I hope youve had a good one, and if youre planning anything for the weekend I hope it goes well. Dont miss the weather forecast for the weekend on the programme today, its been very changeable so if youve got something planned for the days ahead youll want to get all the details. Coming up on the programme today, we ask is it art or is it an eyesore? We have a special report on claims that Spalding Town centre is being ruined by graffiti. We'll be out with the local council as they try to tackle the problem.
We'll have the very latest on threats of a series of strikes to bus services in Hull, starting next week. We'll meet the Lincolnshire couple finally tying the knot tomorrow after their wedding was cancelled due to a car crash. 25 years on, we take a look back at the Falklands conflict as veterans gather on the East Coast for a reunion. We'll take a look behind the scenes at the KC stadium as they prepare to host 2 games in 1 day tomorrow. The first is a football game, then theyve got to change the pitch for a rugby game being played within a matter of hours! And finally, we'll meet the man who was the inspiration for the Robert Redford film - The Horse Whisperer. Thats all coming up at half past six on BBC One as always, I hope you can join me then. Thank you for all the comments on our story yesterday about the Red Arrows. Theyre a big local favourite of course, and we had dozens of comments saying how much people would love to see the Red Arrows opening the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Theres an online petition calling for them to be included in the ceremony, tens of thousands of people have signed up. So thats a big talking point in our region at the moment, I wonder that the next one will be? If you have any comments on anything on the programme or you want to say something about one of our stories then we give out our contact details on the programme, have a pen and paper ready, or maybe your computer switched on. You can email the programme at [EMAIL PROTECTED] We read every comment, and listen to every message. Thank you for all of those, and keep it up. Expensive Dessert Are you a dessert person? A lot of people love saving a little room at the end of a meal for something sweet, its a bit of an indulgence and can make a nice end to a dinner, and they dont often break the bank. Thats unless the dessert in question costs $14,500 dollars, or around £10,269. Yes, its the most expensive dessert in the world I should hope so! Another surprising thing about this is that its not available in Rome, Paris, London or New York, but in a hotel in Sri Lanka, a war torn country that suffers from high levels of poverty and was badly hit by the tsunami in 2004. So, what does it contain? Its basically a chocolate pudding, with champagne, caramelised sugar, and it has a little model of a man fisherman clinging to a stilt, a traditional Sri Lankan image. The main reason it costs so much is the inclusion of an 80 carat precious stone, about the size of the head of a soup spoon, it says here. Im not sure what use a precious gem is in a dessert, but there you go. So next time youre over in Sri Lanka, staying in a luxury hotel, and you fancy something a little special to round off a good meal, you can get your chequebook out and order the $14,500 dessert, complete with luxury gem stone. I wonder if they clean it up for you after youre eaten around it, or if you have to fish it out with you fingers at the end? Centenarians According to new official figures, the number of people living to over a hundred is at a record high. Thats good news to those of us who hope to live a long life, isnt it? There are now 9,000 recorded centenarians living in England and Wales, and that is apparently a 90-fold increase on the numbers in 1911. This is the incredible part - experts predict that by 2031, there will be 40,000. Thats an amazing number, and I suppose by then it wont be that remarkable to live to over a hundred. Its not all good news though as the increasing number or elderly people will put a massive strain on the health service due to the cost of caring for them. At the moment, youre still more likely to live longer if youre female, although the article Im reading says the gap is closing. The population change is happening in other industrialised countries as well, and the number of over 100s in England and Wales is set to rise by 6% every year from now on. So good evidence there that if you live a healthy lifestyle, you can now expect to have a good chance of a long life. Good luck for reaching that 100 year mark! Well thats about it from me for this week. Next week Ill be away on holiday, but dont fear, the Levy Letter will continue as my colleague Tim Iredale will step in to write your daily letter. If you have anything you want to say about the letter next week, anything you want a quick plug for if its a good cause or maybe a story, send it to [EMAIL PROTECTED], and Im sure Tim will pick it up. So Ill be back with the letter again in a weeks time, enjoy your weekend, and join me for Look North tonight at half past six on BBC One. 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
