Hello and welcome to todays Levy Letter for Friday. I hope youve had a very good week, and I hope youll be able to join me tonight at the usual time of half past six on BBC One for tonights Look North.
Thank you for all the response weve had on the programme this week, as always its been busy on the texts, emails, and hotlines. We go through every single one, and as youll know if you watch regularly, if you have a good story then it could end up on the television. Keep them coming in. We had this email from Adele after our coverage on the Vulcan aircrafts return to Lincolnshire yesterday: Dear All. Great Show! I met my husband, a Flight Lieutenant at RAF Finningley on the 21 Sept 1991 - the last time I saw the Vulcan fly! Awesome. I have just driven our 9 year old son George home from school in Lincoln, past RAF Waddington and was thrilled to be able to catch the last 5 minutes of the Vulcan's flight this evening and it was a special moment to share with George - he now knows what his Mum and Dad rave about when we talk of this iconic aircraft. We pass the static Vulcan every morning. Great news from Hannah Moffat just now, to hear that the Vulcan has clearance to fly! We will be at the Airshow on Sunday - rain or shine. Thank you Adele, and its quite clear the aircraft has a very special place in many peoples hearts. Good to see it back flying in our part of the world. Happiness Does the country you live in affect how happy you are? It might seem quite a strange question to be asked, but an American science foundation has just released results of a study to find the happiest country on earth. People in 97 countries were quizzed about their happiness and satisfaction in life, and the winner in the table was Denmark! I dont particularly think of Danish people as any more happy than the rest of us, but the country came out top. Puerto Rico and Columbia completed the top three happiest nations. Bottom of the table was troubled African country Zimbabwe, with Russia and Iraq also in the bottom few. Im not sure where Britain comes in this, but it doesnt look like were at the bottom or the top. According to researchers, while wealth and prosperity do contribute to happiness, personal freedom is more important to keeping us cheery. An interesting part of the research is that since the study was first carried out in 1981, happiness levels have actually risen in general. Its thought this might be due to gender equality and rising social tolerance. The worlds wealthiest nation, the United States, lies in 16th place, and all the countries at the bottom of the table are struggling with poverty or totalitarian regimes. Some interesting research there, and it makes you think about how your country might affect your happiness levels. Perhaps theres going to be an influx of people moving to Denmark, Puerto Rico, and Columbia! Worse off Well after that, a new report out today claims UK households are 15% worse off than five years ago! Thats not likely to boost our happiness levels. The study showed that after tax and household bills, the average family has just under 20% of its income left to spend, compared with 28% in 2004. Apparently costs are increasing, along side relatively small increases in income. The average household now has £772.79 to spend each month after their monthly outgoings, compared with £909.84 in 2003/04. Yet another story in the news about the economy, it seems to be what everybodys talking about these days. Well thats it from me for today. Dont forget, if theres anything you think we should know about, perhaps a story for the programme or a picture you think we can show, then send it in to me at [EMAIL PROTECTED] And if you know anybody whos not receiving the Levy Letter, and you think theyd like to receive their free daily email from me, then send them to www.bbc.co.uk/looknorth and click on Levy Letter where they can sign up straight away. Have a very good weekend, Ill be on BBC One with Look North at half past six tonight, and well have the all important weather forecast for the next few days. If you get up to anything interesting, let me know about it. 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
