I'm a fan of Murray Head's One Night In Bangkok. As an aside a cherished memory I have is of travelling in the back seat of the car with my uncle driving, aunt in the passenger seat and brother next to me. We were listening to this song on the …

Claire sent me this photo of a loo with a washbasin on top. I assume that the water from the basin fills the cistern. That's a brilliant idea.

The Hydrogen Sonata was one of the books I picked up from the library to read on holiday. I read bits now and again, but didn't find myself engaged with it for some reason. Then, in the last quarter of the book I began to feel excited about it. It …

Initially the dialogue was clever, but it became relentlessly clever, and I said wearily, okay Martin, you win, you've more than proved yourself, now leave me in peace.

It was okay because I found an antidote in the search for an explanation for prime numbers.

I went back to the …

The most gripping book I've read so far on my two week holiday is Marcus du Sautoy's Music of the Primes. These types of books are destined to be described as a 'fascinating journey'. It was, how shall I put it? A fascinating journey through the drama and personalities of …

Well I brought a whole lot of books to Charlestown. I've been haunting the cafés and restaurants carrying a copy of Anthony Trollope's Dr. Thorne. I always enjoy reading Trollope. I wonder if I can describe to you why?

The guy's a liberal, he has a liberal attitude. These days …

Warning: First world problem alert!

One of the amazing things about In Search Of Lost Time is how many of Proust's observations of how the mind and memory work are now shown to be scientifically correct.

I remember in the mid-eighties watching Miami Vice as a child. Maybe eighty-five or …

I've come across some good maths puzzles recently. I thought I'd list them so that I don't forget them.

• St Petersburg Paradox
• Google interview question: Proportion of boys and girls
• Google interview question: One shot or two out of three shots?

With the EU elections on Thursday, I realize I've got to get my head round it all and decide who I'm voting for. The BANES website tells me that I'm in the South West Region, which returns six members. Voting is by Regional List, where the parties are given members …