Hello and welcome to Fridays Levy Letter. I hope your days going well, and youre getting all your Christmas shopping done. I expect there will be a bit of a mad rush this weekend, so if youre heading out, good luck! Coming up on the programme tonight we have the very latest on the Michael Barnett inquest. We're live at the scene, and we'll have a special report from Hessle where the fatal incident occurred earlier this year. We'll hear from Michael's father, the coroner, and former neighbours about the lessons to be learnt after he died in the summer floods.
On the day a report is published into how government funds were given to our local councils after the floods, we'll hear appeals for the system to be overhauled. And well speak to the Canon of Lincoln Cathedral as we continue our coverage of a local man held hostage by gunmen in Iraq. Of course Paul will be here with the weekend weather forecast. As I say, if youre heading out, I hope it stays dry and not too cold. Thats all coming up on Look North at half past six on BBC One. I hope you can join me then. Just a reminder that this Sunday is the annual carol service at Lincoln Cathedral. Several of the Radio Lincolnshire presenters will be there and I will also be doing a reading. I hope you can make it down to Lincoln Cathedral at 7.30 this Sunday for some seasonal carols, just the thing to get you in the Christmas mood. Its always a wonderful event and a special time of year, I hope to see you there. JK Rowling Well shes the incredibly successful author of the Harry Potter books and her latest work is just out, but I dont think youll find this one in your local bookshop. JK Rowlings latest book is handwritten and illustrated by the publishing phenomenon herself, and there are only a handful of copies in existence. If youre a big Potter fan and just have to have it then youd better start saving up because the only copy on sale was purchased at auction yesterday for an incredible sum just under £2 million. All proceeds are going to charity, and the other six copies will be given away. I cant believe how much the book sold for, especially when you consider its not exactly an antique, and its not even the only copy, but it seems anything Ms Rowling touches seems to turn to gold at the moment, or worth more than its weight in gold in this case. The book is called The Tales of Beedle The Bard, and is a collection of fairy tales which apparently plays quite a major part in the last Harry Potter book. I dont know if this affected the bidding price but the book is bound in brown Morocco leather and mounted with semi-precious stones, although if it was covered in £2 million worth of semi-precious stones I think youd need a fork lift truck to pick it up. Anyway, if youre lucky enough to receive one of the books as a gift from JK herself and youre short of a bit of cash then you know what you can do Shark vs Kangaroo Who would win in a fight between a shark and a kangaroo? Its probably not a question youve pondered that much, I admit, but now we know the answer. Of course it depends heavily on which animal is in which environment, but at least in the ocean there can be only one winner. An eyewitness in Southern Australia saw the unfortunate marsupial hop down to the sea front, jump in, then start swimming out to sea. It didnt last long though before a shark was seen leaping out of the water in the vicinity. The eyewitnesss report was later backed up by another report, and the discovery of a mangled kangaroo carcass. Its a bizarre story, and one that seems to have little explanation as kangaroos are not generally known to swim unless theyre ill or in danger. But as I said, at least now we can put that previously hypothetical battle to bed. Shark wins. As a footnote to this story, the witness claims to have been sober at the time he witnessed the event, in case you were wondering about that part. Thats about it from me for today, but thank you for all the responses weve had lately on our stories on the programme, we had a big response on our coverage of post office closures yesterday. Of course it affects lots of people and its something Im sure well return to frequently on Look North. If you have comments to make on the programme you can email in to our Look North email at [EMAIL PROTECTED], and of course well be giving our telephone and text details out on the programme as usual. If theres anything you want to have a say on in the letter or anything you want to let me know about for the programme, or if youve got an unusual picture for us to show then you can email me direct at [EMAIL PROTECTED] I read every one. Have a good weekend, take care and wrap up warm, and I hope you get all your Christmas shopping done. 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
