Jottings

a) An Arab proverb: When Nature created the desert it remedied its mistake by creating the camel.

b) Scientists have discovered that a breed of goose that migrates over the Himalayas twice a year have altered blood vessels to enable more oxygen to get to their wing muscles in the rarefied air up there. The Himalayas are one of the newest mountain ranges so the birds have adapted over time – an example of evolution in practice.

c) A friend had a year’s teaching in Arles in south France. On a trip to Europe I took his class for an English conversation lesson. "What does your father do?" they asked. "He is a sheep farmer." "How many sheep?" "800 ewes". They talked copiously away for a while in their own language, obviously very impressed. "He must be very rich?" "Not really". Then it was my turn to be flabbergasted. "How does he milk them?"

d) A few years ago I met a teacher I’d graded. She told me I remained a legend at her school. I have no memory of the event. Apparently I was in the cooking room. A hazardous place to visit – if the food was any good they’d have already scoffed it. An oven caught fire. The teacher turned to me in panic and asked what should she do. Apparently, very calmly I told her to shut the oven door, turn the power off to that stove, send a girl to the office to report the incident and carry on with the lesson. And her grading went up.