Fascinating article in the National Geographic – two years of gradually removing mud from a skeleton with a needle under a microscope – to avoid the bones turning to dust upon contact – have revealed that our common ancestor wasn’t quite the chimp-like creature we expected. Wonderful stuff.

Also, please note the following sentence from the article:

“Then came early Homo, with its even bigger brain and budding tool use.”

I thank you.

x

Look and smile. I love this guy.

The Middle Ages are still with us. A new bio-pic of Darwin, called Creation, has failed to find a US distributor because of worries that it will be too controversial for American audiences. Let’s hope whiffs of said controversy put heat around the film and get it the exposure it might sorely need out there. Oh deary me.

Following the subliminal film broadcast, one guy stuck to his seat for TWELVE HOURS. Sorry, Johnathan…

Just returned from a wonderful few days aboard P&O’s Aurora, along with Mr Coops and Iain. I’m guessing many of you won’t have ever booked a cruise, or imagine it might be something to do in retirement, but I urge you to reconsider. The atmosphere is immediately, staggeringly friendly, and waking up every morning in a different port is just wonderful. Plus, if you like a bit of solitude, there’s nothing like sitting on your balcony with a great book, overlooking the vast expanse of endless ocean. Just bliss – and that’s without even leaving the ship. I did 3 shows in a beautifully equipped theatre, an interview/Q&A which was much much fun. And met some really lovely passengers, most of them seasoned cruisers.

A big hello, ahoy, and thank you to anyone reading this who was aboard – it was a real pleasure. We’ll be aiming to do it again, and bringing Jennie next time. So if you catch her in the Masquerades discotheque, perhaps you can persuade her to do that dance.

A lovely week. Thank you to all involved for looking after us so well. x