Hello and welcome to the Levy Letter at the start of another week, I hope your days going well and youre keeping warm. Coming up on Look North today, we'll have the story of Julie Parkhouse who's trying to rebuild her life after losing her son and her sister in a motorway pile up, while also looking after her nephew who was also in the same car crash.
What's the future for the NHS in Lincolnshire? A new report today will outline what patients can expect from their services... We'll have all the details. Bacon might be cheaper than ever in the supermarket but hundreds of our pig farmers say they're the ones paying the real price. Also tonight, she may be one hundred and two years old but that hasn't stopped Nora Hardwick from stripping off for a charity calendar! And we'll have the Hull University invention that could make cosmetics more eco-friendly. Of course well have the detailed weather forecast for the region as usual. Thats all coming up at half past six on BBC One. I hope you can join me then. If you managed to watch it, I hope you enjoyed this years Children In Need night. We had a big outside broadcast from Lincoln, events in our open centre, and of course there was a night of great entertainment on BBC One with some memorable sketches and performances. The show on Friday night raised a fantastic £19 million, which is more than last year, and of course theres still more money to come in and be counted, so thank you if you took part in anything or donated some money. There were lots of events and fund raising efforts across our region. It appears to have been a huge success once again. Blondes Now this is a story thats likely to infuriate men and women alike, but Im just reporting some new research so dont blame me. According to scientists in Paris, when men are with blonde women, they suffer reduced mental performance. Its thought that men are unconsciously influenced by stereotypes of dumb blondes, and act less intelligently as a consequence, adjusting to the perceived level of the other person. I told you, I didnt make this up, I dont endorse it, Im just repeating it. In tests conducted over two trials, men did worse on general knowledge tests after being shown pictures of blondes. I assume brunettes or other colours of hair didnt have the same effects. Its quite extraordinary, isnt it? Apparently its all more evidence that were powerfully influenced by stereotypes even if we dont realise it. Other research has shown that we talk and move slower in front of the elderly as well. The most worrying thing about this is the possibility that it might be true. I think most people would be horrified at the thought of treating people differently based on their hair colour, especially if it was impairing your mental abilities! But as always with these bizarre pieces of research, I take it with a pinch of salt. In the article I was reading, it also had some interesting claims including that women evolved to have blonde hair and blue eyes at the end of the Ice Age to help them in the fierce competition for males. It doesnt explain why men would presumably have evolved blonde hair and blue eyes as well, or what evolutionary benefit they would have gained as a result, but there you go. The research is more damning for men than women of course as its not suggesting that blondes are any less intelligent, just that men think they are, and were victims of our own prejudices! One frightening possibility for us men is that women may use blonde hair to take advantage of us, especially if just looking at a blonde saps our mental abilities. Another possibility is that its all a load of rubbish Comet Holmes If youre interested in sky gazing, you might want to get out into the street or your garden tonight as the Comet Holmes should be visible to the naked eye. Its 150 million miles away from earth, between Mars and Jupiter, and will tonight be glowing brightly as it crosses the constellation Perseus. If the skys clear, you should be able to spy it high in the northeast area of the sky this evening, where it will rise to almost directly overhead. If you miss it tonight, it should be visible for the next few days as well, so get your telescopes ready, although as I said, its supposed to be visible to the naked eye. Well thats all from me today. Dont forget to watch the programme tonight at half past six on BBC One as always. I hope you have a good day, and enjoy the rest of your afternoon. 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
