Hello and welcome to the start of the week on the Levy Letter. Its Monday, and only just over a week to Christmas. If youre planning a big celebration I hope youve got everything prepared. Coming up on the programme today, as the Christmas party season gets into full swing across East Yorkshire, on Look North tonight we'll be finding out what it's like to be on duty at this time of year as a member of the Ambulance service in Beverley.
We'll hear Humberside Fire Brigade explain why it's planning to shut 4 stations across East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, and we'll speak to the communities in line to be affected by the proposals. On the day that another major flood report is published, Ill speak to its author and ask what needs to be done now in Lincolnshire to prevent a repeat of this years damage. And on tonight's sport, Damian will speak live to Ricky Hatton in our region after his Las Vegas boxing match with Floyd Mayweather. Plus well report on Grimsby Towns plans for a new stadium now that theyve received planning permission. And well have the weather forecast for our region as always at half past six on BBC One tonight, thats all coming up in Look North. If you havent been able to see it, this week is your last chance to see the BBC Pantomime. Its in Hull at the Middleton Hall, Tickets are available from the Hull City Council booking office and their number is 01482 226655. Tickets cost £8 and £7, and thats on until Wednesday with performances at 7.30 pm. I hear its a very good show this year. Fresh Poultry Well its at this time of year that shops will be full of people scouring poultry sections and butchers shops looking for that perfectly plump fresh turkey or piece of meat for the centrepiece of the Christmas dinner, but disturbingly, meat labelled as fresh might actually be months old. Its all been revealed in a campaign by the Food and Farming Minister to have a clear official definition of just what can be called fresh. Its incredible because I always just assume that fresh means fresh, but apparently under EU marketing regulations fresh just means poultry not stiffened by the cooling process. Sounds delicious, doesnt it? What this means is that meat that we think of as fresh could have been imported many months ago from as far away as Thailand and Brazil, and kept in cold storage until its moved to shops. The meat in a sandwich or ready meal could already have been thawed and refrozen several times by the time we eat it, and although the same is forbidden in poultry labeled as fresh, it could still have been traveling for weeks before it reaches supermarket freezers. Its worrying, but there is no actual time limit on the definition of fresh. So next time youre looking for a nice chicken or turkey, think a little more about where its come from and hopefully youll get a bird thats only been in storage for less than a few months. Its incredible, isnt it? Christmas memories If youve got children and theyve handed over a list of requests for Christmas presents, you might have spent quite a lot of time tracking down the perfect toy, or if theyre particularly lucky, paying over the odds for a hard to get games console. But according to charity The Childrens Society, the best Christmases, the ones theyll always cherish, are the times they spend with parents and family doing activities and enjoying time together. The charitys published a 16 page guide with a list of low cost suggestions to make Christmas a truly special time, rather than a time when we just look forward to getting the new gifts we wanted. Research done by the organization reveals that the number one priority for children at this time of year is spending time with their parents, and that lots of parents spend money buying expensive gifts as a substitute for not spending time together. Thats very sad I think, and the charity spokesman goes on to say that although Britain is materially richer, that doesnt always translate into happiness for children. Although I think you do remember certain gifts from your childhood, it is true that the important things are the memories of times spent together and fun and games at Christmas. A few of the suggestions in the guide are baking cakes and sweets together, watching films as a family, and making gifts, cards and decorations. If you do a few of those this Christmas Im sure itll make the gifts and money spent all the sweeter. Hopefully well all find the time to do something with relatives and friends this year. Well thats it from me for today, I hope you have a good day and enjoy the rest of your afternoon. Next week is the shortest day of the year so soon we can look forward to more light, in the meantime stay safe on the roads if youre planning to drive anywhere. I hope you can join me tonight for Look North on BBC One at half past six. 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
