Hello and welcome to todays Levy Letter for Friday, and what a week its been with the largest earthquake weve had for over 20 years. Its still the topic of discussion for many people, I think were all still a little shocked that it could happen to us here! I hope life is settling down for you and we can all start sleeping soundly again. And can I say thank you for all your stories and information weve received at Look North this week, I had some of them in the letter yesterday, and we started receiving messages and emails right after the event, which helped us keep on top of what was going on and how people were doing. So thank you again, and dont forget if you ever have anything you want to let us know about, or any comments to make on the programme or a picture for us to show before the weather, get in touch at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Coming up on tonights Look North, Lincolnshire Police promises to recruit 200 extra officers after they received an inflation busting tax rise earlier this week. And as hundreds of people lose money from their bank accounts following credit card scams, we'll see what Lincolnshire Police are doing to tackle the problem. We'll speak to one victim of the crime. Well hear from one of the country's top earthquake experts after seismologists lay a network of instruments in our region to establish what caused Wednesday's tremor. Theres a special report on the Flamborough RNLI crew being honoured for their bravery after saving a swimmer who would have died but for their actions. We also reveal the tribute Lincoln City fans have in store for Peter Jackson this weekend. Plus Match of the Day star Mark Lawrenson talks to Look North about how to get involved in Sport Relief. All that and of course the detailed weather forecast for the weekend coming up on Look North tonight. It looks like a busy programme, I hope you can join me for all of that at half past six on BBC One. Leap Year Yes today is the 29th of February, a date that exists only every four years. If youre one of the people who count the 29th as their birthday, Im sure its a very big celebration as you dont often get the chance! However, if youre at work today you might be feeling a little miffed as in leap years we do an extra day of work for no more annual salary. That is unless you work for the National Trust this year. The organisation has decided to give its workers today off, on the condition they use the day to do something for the environment. Its an interesting idea. The next leap year will be in 2012, and incredibly it was introduced by Julius Cesar in 46BC to make the calendar tidier, making the average year 365.25 days long. However, the system is now slightly more complicated because that system made us lose days over long periods of time, so now every fourth year is a leap year unless its divisible by 100, but not by 400. Are you still with me? So have a good 29th of February whatever youre doing today, and if youve got the day off, enjoy it even more! Freeconomy I dont know if youve heard of the freeconomy movement, I hadnt until today. Thats until I read a story in the news about a man who attempted to walk from Bristol to India with no money, relying entirely on the kindness of strangers. Hes a member of the movement which wants to get rid of money altogether, although on this occasion it didnt get very far. He made it as far as France with two companions, then had to give up and return home. Why did he give up so early? Well he realised he didnt speak French, and people thought they were a bunch of freeloading backpackers. After failing to get anywhere to sleep or food to eat, they returned home, defeated. Apparently, the man hopes to walk around Britain next, learning French for his next attempt. What occurred to me, and Im sure it will occur to him at some point, is what happens if he manages to get through France? Surely the next country wont be populated by fluent English or French speakers and hell face the same disappointment? Maybe he can rely on the kindness of somebody to give him a few language phrase books before he heads out next time. Is depression good for you? It might seem like a strange question to ask, but a new report claims that milder forms of depression can actually have a positive effect on your life, and that it might not always be an illness but a human defence mechanism which can provide new perspectives and changes of direction. According to the argument, the fact the depression has existed for so long, and not been eradicated by evolution suggests it has made the human race stronger. Dame Kelly Holmes and Alastair Campbell are among the celebrities who claim depression has helped them achieve in life, while many sufferers report that in retrospect it was a factor in some positive developments. Its an idea that seems to go against common sense, and the idea that depression is a modern disease. This also comes on the back of the story we featured this week that research done in Hull suggests many anti-depressants are no more effective than placebos. Im sure its a very controversial claim that depression might actually be good for you in some ways, but its a fascinating way of looking at things. Well thats it from me for today, I hope you have a very good day and enjoy your weekend. If youve got anything planned for the weekend then I hope it goes well, and if its particularly interesting then let me know about it and maybe take a picture for the programme. You can get in touch with me at [EMAIL PROTECTED] as always, and dont forget if you have something interesting for the letter then send it along. I hope you can join me for tonights Look North at half past six on BBC One as usual. 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
