Hello and welcome to Thursdays Levy Letter. I hope your days going well and youll be able to join me as usual for Look North tonight at half past six on BBC One. Coming up on the programme tonight, is the property market bubble in Hull about to burst? A London developer is warning his investors not to buy flats in the city centre. He might be pessimistic but others are still spending millions on developing city centre living. Well have a full report tonight.
With IVF units warning about a severe shortage of donors since new laws meant a loss of anonymity, we'll hear from a couple in Lincolnshire who had to travel to India to get a donor embryo. They say it was the only way they could realise their dream of becoming parents. A circus owner says he's planning a legal challenge to the ruling from councils banning shows with live animals. Martin Lacey believes a new government report supports his claim that the animals don't experience cruelty. Well pry into the world of the big top tonight. Also tonight, shes been dishing up school meals for almost three decades. Now as dinner lady Valerie Edwards prepares to retire we'll find out what changes she's seen and just what she thinks of Jamie Oliver! And we'll be experiencing a medieval Christmas at Tattershall Castle. Paul will be here with the detailed weather forecast as well, thats all coming up at half past six tonight on BBC One. Well we had a lot of comments from viewers about our piece on local tourism last night, a bit of rivalry between Lincolnshire and the East Riding! But there are lots of lovely places to visit in both counties and lots of people enjoying the scenery and attractions the region has to offer. Thats good to hear, and let me know if youve got any favourites I might not have visited. We also had lots of interesting messages on the debate over drinking from plastic or glass in pubs and clubs. If youve got anything you want to let me know about or a story or plug for the letter, drop me a line at [EMAIL PROTECTED] and itll go directly to me. I get lots and lots of messages every day and of course I read every single one, even if it would take me forever to respond to them all personally. So thank you for those, and even if I dont reply, I do see all your comments! House Prices Well where would the Levy Letter be without stories on house prices? Probably a lot shorter! As I mentioned, well have a story about house prices in Hull on the programme tonight, and reading the national news today I see things could be on the slide. After a long time where the only thing to report was ever rising prices in the housing boom, there are fears that the bubble might be about to burst. One of the biggest mortgage lenders in the country has reported that in November, UK house prices saw their biggest fall in 12 years. The cost of an average home dropped 0.8% from a month earlier. That doesnt sound a lot, but given that the average house price now stands at £186,044, that small percentage comes to almost one and a half thousand pounds lost in one month. However, house prices are still up on average nearly £12,000 from the same time last year, so I wouldnt call it a disaster yet. Of course this is all potentially good news for first time buyers or people hoping to move, and in Hull were below the national average already. Thats the latest news on house prices, and Im sure Ill follow any developments as usual in the letter. Bling Babies How much do you think it costs to raise a baby? You might start adding up the cost of clothing, toys, a cot, nappies, and all the little things prospective parents develop a need for when a childs on the way. Apparently, it costs an incredible £180,000 to raise a baby. Im not sure if that includes the costs until they leave home, but its a huge amount. Of course if you really want to go to town you can blow all that while the childs still too young to appreciate it. I saw this in the paper and its quite eye opening to say the least, and it doesnt make me want to rush into parenthood any time soon, its a list in one of the broadsheets of some of the more luxurious things you can buy for your baby. Perhaps youll want your child to travel in style with a £895 pram from one of Londons luxury department stores. Its been dubbed the Bentley for babies, and with that price tag Im sure it should be. I can imagine the little ones sneering over the side at other children in less ostentatious transport. For the well heeled baby, why suckle from anything less than an Armani bottle and dummy set? Or perhaps a little princess could toddle about in a £209 vest, also from a certain luxury store. One of the really extortionate ones, if these werent bad enough, is something described as a Corsican Paris Iron Canopy Baby Crib which costs a mere $3,349, promising to help your little one drift off to dreamland. And what do upwardly mobile infants dream of? Why a $465 chandelier of course, with hand painted ceramic bunnies and butterflies. If youre a parent or parent to be, youd better get saving. Or you could spend a lot less and still provide everything your child will need. Incredible, isnt it? Well thats about it for today, just a quick plug for the Celebrity Carol Concert which is being held for the Lord Mayors Charity next Thursday evening at 7.30 at the Street Life Museum in Hull. Its always a great evening and for me is a sign that Christmas is nearly here, less than a month away now. So join me if you can next Thursday 6th Dec at the Street life museum if you can. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day, and dont forget to join me tonight on BBC One for Look North at half past six. Take care, 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
