Hello, its Peter here and welcome to Tuesdays Levy Letter. I hope your day is going well and I hope youll be able to join me tonight on BBC1 at 6.30pm. Ill have all the days news and Paul will have the forecast.
Also tonight, I'll be finding out why residents in one part of our region claim their bin collections aren't up to scratch! I'll be looking at their claims that rubbish is building up on their streets, encouraging rats and other vermin to move in! I'll be looking at that in more detail and also speaking to the man in charge at the local council to find out what more can be done. The Health Minister, Patricia Hewitt, has said that the NHS has just had its best year ever. Well, I'll be asking if that's true when hundreds of jobs are in threat in Lincolnshire. I'll be speaking to the woman in charge to find out if Patricia Hewitt's comments are true in regard to our region. Also tonight, I'll be meeting the top dog, who won the Look North competition to become an opera star in a local production of La Boheme. All that plus the rest of the day's news on Look North tonight at half past six. I hope you can join me. Pumpkins Last night we launched our Peter and Paul Pumpkin challenge. If you would like to grow a couple of pumpkins one medium sized ready for Halloween and also a giant sized pumpkin as well. We can give you a couple of special seeds, Peters Pumpkin seeds, and if you would like some then get in touch with me. Just email [EMAIL PROTECTED] and give your postal address and well send you off some pumpkin seeds. Also, if you want to drop me a line with the address, then its Peter Levy, BBC Look North, Queen's Court, Queen's Gardens, Hull, HU1 3RH. Give me your address and your pumpkin seeds could be sent back to you by return of post! And best of luck. Well be coming to film some of them! Longer Hours Longer working hours, lower pay, but happiness is working for yourself apparently. The job may be longer on hours and shorter on pay, but working for yourself will make you much more happy than being employed by others. I dont think there are any surprises there, but this is according to new research. People, who run their own businesses, have much more flexibility and independence and they enjoy far greater job satisfaction, according to the experts. Self-employed men work the longest, putting in as many as twelve extra hours a week than those who are employed by others. Women running their own firms, although putting in fewer hours than men, also work harder than their employed counterparts, with some doing as many as seventeen hours a week extra. Well, if you are self-employed and working for yourself, then your stories about why its good for you or why its bad, then drop me a line at the usual address of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Theres a note here from June Fitz-Gibbon. She says, Any chance of a mention in the Levy Letter? Two members of the Spilsby Art Group, who, between them, also belong to the Alford Arts Circle, Old Bolingbrook, Langton and Boston Arts Group, have got together to hold an exhibition in Skegness Library from the 29th April to the 5th May inclusive. June Fitz-Gibbon and June Watson are also members of a singing group called the Harlequins and are showing all their new paintings. So all the very best of luck to that display. Its on at the Skegness Library from the 29th April and if youre going along then I hope you enjoy! Desert Island Discs As you know, Sue Lawley has been doing the programme for eighteen years. Well, she has quit and theyre now looking for a new presenter of Desert Island Discs. Some of the suggestions have been Michael Parkinson, Andrew Marr, Michael Palin, Jonathan Dimbleby and Sue MacGregor. Who would you choose to host Desert Island Discs? Some people have already emailed me about this. Send in your suggestions and Ill print them out in the Levy Letter. House Prices Home owners are in line with a massive windfall, with experts predicting that property values will double within a decade. The forecast shows a huge sign of confidence in the property market after almost two years of gloomy warnings of prices. A doubling of values will push the cost of an average three bedroom semi from £162,000 to £324,000! That would also put the home well over the £250,000 threshold at which stamp duty is paid at 3%, leaving buyers with a bill of almost £10,000! So there you are. House prices will almost double in the next ten years! Rare Orchids Beautiful Mediterranean orchids are spreading north in the first clear evidence of climate change, which is affecting Britain, according to a new report. It also points to a dramatic increase in the number of nettles, which is almost certainly due to intensive use of fertilisers. But the orchids have been spotted and theyve doubled in frequency since 1987. Theyve spread northwards to the Fens and to the Humber valley. Its an alien species normally found on the continent, which is colonising southern England. So there you are. If you spot one of those rare orchids, then take a picture of it and well try and use it on the Big Screen on the programme. Well, that's it from me for today. Thanks for reading and join me tonight on BBC1 at 6.30pm. Take care 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
