I get sick a lot less now that I don't have to commute on the tube everyday. Before that I was ill at least every few weeks and tended to have a constant cold all winter as I got another one each time the previous cold came to an end. I also suffered from frequent sickness bugs. I had assumed that all the illnesses were caused by being packed into a train with lots of people who were coughing or sneezing. It appears, however, that there are more bugs about than I originally suspected. This article suggests that one in four commuters has bacteria from faeces on their hands. It is based on a study carried out by scientists from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. They swabbed 409 people at bus and train stations in five major cities in England and Wales and found that many people do not wash their hands properly after using the toilet.  People who used the bus had dirtier hands than those using the train and manual workers were found to have cleaner hands than other professionals. The further north they went the more dirty hands they found with men in Newcastle being the worst offenders.

I came across this article about a stuntman who recently set the world record for the longest bicycle passage on a wire without a safety net. To set the record he cycled 235 feet along a wire suspended 135 feet above the street. Nik Wallenda performed the stunt in Newark and even managed to make a phone call on his cell phone half way through. This man is crazy I can't even cycle in a straight line on the ground.

It appears that some red squirrels are starting to develop an immunity to a virus which threatens to wipe out the population. Britain's native red squirrels are now only found in on the Isle of Wight and Brownsea Island. They have been under threat from a killer virus which was introduced by the non native but much more common grey squirrels. Recently eight red squirrels have been found that had an immunity to the squirrelpox virus which threatens the species. The red squirrels that were found with the immunity had died from other causes but were clear of the squirrelpox disease raising hopes that red squirrels have now developed a natural immunity.

Police have issued a warning to home owners in Surrey after a number of incidents where thieves have used cat flaps to steal valuables. In one incident a suspect was arrested after he went around the back of a house in Betchworth and reached through the cat flap to try and steal valuables. Police have advised home owners not to leave any valuables within easy access of cap flaps and to make sure they are adequately secured.

On Friday I went to see Spyski at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith. Whilst the play would not have been my first choice it was better than I expected. It started off as a production of The Importance of Being Earnest which as it turned out was a cover for the actual production of Spyski. The idea here is to create the feeling that the cast are actually telling you a true story but disguising it as another play so that the authorities do not detect it. The story recounts the events that the actors have experienced over the past week. The plot centres around the lead actor who stars in the cover production, he ends up in the same hospital as a Russian spy who has been poisoned and who eventually dies. Whilst in the hospital, however, the dying spy passes on his secret and the actor is suddenly thrown into a deadly plot. I won't divulge any more of the story, but will simply say that the acting was rather good, the storyline for me perhaps got a bit sketchy and lost at times but overall it was a funny and rather light hearted show.

This is interesting its a new procedure for people who want fuller eyebrows. The procedure involves shaving the hair from the back of the head, extracting the follicles and then implanting individual hairs into the brow area. It was previously only available in the US but if you fancy it, you can now get it in here in the UK for about £2,000. It sounds painful, I'm not sure its worth it just for the sake of fuller eyebrows.

This article suggests that smokers who regularly drink red wine could reduce their risk of developing lung cancer. Research suggests that smokers who drink at least a glass of red wine daily are 60 per cent less likely to develop lung cancer. Men who were heavy smokers, saw a greater reduction in risk with a 4 per cent lower likelihood of developing lung cancer seen for each glass of red wine consumed per month. White wine does not have the same benefits.

This article suggests that pets are good for you. Apparently owning a pet can reduce the owners chances of developing cancer by nearly a third. Studies carried out at the University of California, San Francisco and Stanford University in California have found that pets can help protect against cancer by boosting the immune system. Previous studies have also found that children that have pets take fewer days off school because they are much more resistant to infections. Based on this I should be very healthy I have lots of cats.

A married couple in Cambodia took drastic measures when they decided to separate. The couple who have been married for 40 years decided the most logical way to divide up their shared assets was simply to cut their home in half. The wife moved all of her belongings to her side of the house and her husband then sawed through the building to remove his side of the house which he plans to relocate to the other side of the village. It seems a little drastic but I suppose its one way of sorting out who owns what.