Hello and welcome to the Levy Letter for Monday. I hope you had a very good weekend, we had a bit of rain so if you had something planned I hope it went well anyway. Looking ahead to this week well have the first detailed weather forecast on the programme coming up at half past six on BBC One. I also look forward to seeing what we receive on our email, text, and hot line numbers this week. If youve got a comment to make on something, or if youve got a story you think we should know about then get in touch with us. You can email in to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and if you have an unusual picture to show on the programme then send that in as well by email, or you can put a hard copy in the post and send it to me at our newsroom in Hull.
Dawn Chorus If you heard about the BBCs Breathing Spaces campaign then you might have been switched onto the joys of natures dawn chorus, or bird song. The campaign encouraged you to open your windows and listen to the natural music in the morning, and you might think its something that comes naturally to birds, but you might be wrong. Theres a story in the news about baby birds being reared in captivity in RSPCA wildlife centres, and how theyre being taught to sing with CD recordings of the dawn chorus. This comes after a study discovered that the CDs can help birds become good singers, which in turn will help them survive in the wild. Since the birds are being raised in captivity they dont get the opportunity to learn from their parents, and it can also help in the birds mating process as females will choose a male partly on the quality of their singing. It also helps males form and defend their territory. I didnt know bird song was so important, as well as easy on the ear. The fledgelings stay in RSPCA centres for an average of 50 days, listening to recordings twice a day, during which theyll presumably practice until they become virtuoso singers and learn how to attract birds of the opposite sex. It sounds a bit like Fame Academy. Brits Abroad What is it that you miss most when going abroad? I would guess you probably wont say the weather, but according to a new study we just cant live without a taste of home. When Britons leave their home country they dont like to go without some of the staple British products like Marmite, tea, Oxo cubes, and baked beans. In fact, one of the first things people do when moving to Spain, France, or Portugal is stock up on supplies. Food and drink exports were worth a huge £11.5 billion last year, while ex-pats living in Dubai, Singapore, and Hong Kong have created a large demand for cake, biscuits, and bread in those countries. According to research, one of the things we miss most abroad is the traditional cooked breakfast, leading to sausages being among the top exported items. Now its often said that British food doesnt have the greatest reputation on the continent, but obviously somebody likes to eat those traditional products, even if it is other Britons living abroad! Some of the other interesting products on the list of top exports are Love Hearts and Refreshers, remember those? And British chocolate is also very popular, as are ready meals from a certain up-market department store. Some surprising facts there, and it seems that while lots of people prefer the weather and lifestyle in other countries, they just cant do without their comfort foods. Well thats it from me for today, I hope you have a very good afternoon, and dont forget to join me at half past six on BBC One tonight for Look North. In the meantime, if you have anything you want to let us know about, drop us a line, and if for some reason you cant watch the programme live or you want to watch something again, you can visit our website. Go to www.bbc.co.uk/looknorthhull and youll be able to watch our top stories as well as the most recent bulletins, so theres no excuse for missing anything thats going on in our part of the world. If theres anybody whos not signed up to the Levy Letter they can also sign up quickly and easily at that website by clicking on Levy Letter and putting in their email address. Enjoy 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
