Hello and welcome to todays Lever Letter. Its a nice sunny and warm Thursday as I write this in Hull. Lets hope it stays for the weekend.
Coming up on tonights Look North, we'll hear from the mother of a three year old girl killed in an accident on a mini motorbike, as she pays tribute to her daughter, and asks for witnesses to come forward. One year on, we'll speak to the families of five British men being held hostage by Shiite militia in Iraq. We'll hear from the family of Peter Moore from Lincoln about their hopes and fears. Well also hear from Lincoln Cathedral as they send their hopes and prayers for the hostages. More than one hundred workers from a Grantham factory are heading to London today to protest job losses outside Marks and Spencer's biggest store. We're with detectives opening a murder inquiry after a man is assaulted in North Lincolnshire. And could Hull KR make it three teams from our region heading to Wembley this year? We'll speak to Justin Morgan as Rovers prepare to face St Helens in the Challenge Cup. And we'll have some great pictures as a Dakota and a Spitfire fly out of Conningsby to celebrate the anniversary of the Berlin Airlift 60 years ago. And youll be able to see the latest weather forecast tonight on the programme at half past six on BBC One. I hope you can join me then. House Prices The news for the housing market continues to be a bit glum lately as May saw the largest monthly fall since 1991. House prices fell 2.5% according to the UKs second biggest lender, which means prices are over all 4.4% lower than the same time last year, a drop of about £8,000. That leaves the average house price at £173,583. Apparently, price falls are now accelerating, and have continued for seven months in a row. Its extraordinary how quickly these things can turn around. Continued falls are predicted for the rest of 2008, and heres a frightening bit if they continue to fall at the same rate then well end the year down 13%. So some gloomy news for property owners there, but if youre planning to buy into the housing ladder the future could be looking inviting. Space Toilet Now its one of those things you might wonder about, but probably never ask. Now astronauts on the International Space Station are having to take in hand, so to speak, the issue of waste disposal. The stations urine collection unit has been malfunctioning for a number of days. Luckily, their solid waste unit is functioning correctly. Thank goodness for that. Its a fascinating as well as strange story, because as I said, its one of those unglamorous things that dont tend to be discussed in films or on the news, but its got to be done, and when its not working correctly youve got a problem. According to Nasa, the three male crew members currently on board have fixed a urine bypass, but the agency have given no more details. Its a very evocative phrase to leave to the imagination. Its a temporary solution until the Space Shuttle Discovery can dock with the station at the end of this week, and hand over a new pump. The pump has had to be flown from Russia to Florida in time to be loaded up on the shuttle for its Saturday launch. Well I hope you join me in wishing them all the best for that repair, and lets hope the solid waste unit continues to stay healthy. They do use some wonderful terminology. Dont forget if you want to have your say on the programme, or if you have a story to let us know about, or a picture to show on the television, get in touch with us and email in to [EMAIL PROTECTED] We look at every single message, and as always, we want to know about the stories that are important to you. And just a reminder as well that if you know somebody whos not signed up to the Levy Letter, get them to go to our website www.bbc.co.uk/looknorthhull where they can view the latest stories and programme online as well as sign up to the free, daily Levy Letter. Tonights Question Time on BBC One is coming from Lincoln Drill Hall. If youre going to be at the recording of that then have a very good time and Im sure itll be a very interesting night. And if you want to watch that, its on BBC One tonight at 10.35. I hope you can join me tonight at half past six on BBC One for tonights Look North, enjoy the rest of your day. 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
