This is the Ebsworth Building at Durham University’s Queen’s Campus. It was in this building that I sat through most of my pre-clinical medicine lectures from 2003 to 2005, and returning here always feels a bit nostalgic.

Does anyone remember when and why the Royal Mail stopped listing all collection times on postboxes? I’d imagine it’d be useful info if you wanted to give your postie a parcel that wouldn’t fit in the box.

I think that this little info notice used to be called a “Collection Plate”: I remember the homonymous connection with church amusing me as a child. Is that right, and has the name changed now that the function has (a bit)?

As you can see, I’m now 1000 words into my 2500-word Mencap spellathon challenge. I think I underestimated how many words make 2500 – it turns out that 2500 is quite a lot. So keep sponsoring me, and keep me spelling!

Mencap is a great cause, supporting the 1.5 million people in the UK with learning disabilities. If you gave me a penny for ever ten words – that’s just £2.50 – Mencap could make that go a long way. So get over to the JustGiving page Mencap have created for me, and give them some cash.

Thanks for your support!

Whoever has the slightly dull task of writing business continuity plans for WHSmith branches might want to revisit their work tomorrow morning: this large two-floor branch in one of Britain’s biggest shopping centres is completely closed today. Frustratingly, they haven’t even managed to point out in their “Sorry” notices that the centre’s other branch is open as usual.

In stranger news, just days after I suggested that the shopping centre across the river should invest in a Flight-Stop-esque artwork, look what turns up at the Metrocentre:

Wendy was quite insistent that today’s photo should feature one of the many cows we came across while out and about today, so I’ve included one in this shot (bottom left)!

And here’s another shot of the Penshaw Monument, a little closer up:

I tweeted about this Times article yesterday – it’s really brilliant, like the plot of an off-beat West Wing episode.

Julian Glover (formerly of The Guardian) writes the following for Mr Lansley:

As I grew up, the NHS wasn’t some remote organisation. It was what we knew, what we cared about and what we wanted to make work. And that is every bit as true today. As a son, as a father, and as a patient, I know what it is to have the NHS at your side.

It is returned from Lansley’s office as:

Outcomes depend on integration across services. Opportunity of NHS/public health/and local authorities together. Like they do in Sheffield … Not structural integration but integration around families and children. Marmot (universal proportionalism) – early intervention.

Go and read the full thing, it’s fantastic.

Yesterday was the first time I forgot all about this project – just after a biblical 40 days!

To make up for the missing photo, here’s one from Jesmond Dene, taken last Sunday in the snow.

The first argument against the Bill is that we don’t need legislation. Those who articulate this argument all of a sudden should be asked why, then, do they oppose it?

Because it isn’t needed, perhaps? This utterly bizarre defence of the Health and Social Care Bill by Baroness Warsi is car-crash online commentary. It’s poorly informed and logically flawed.

With friends like these, does the Health and Social Care Bill even need enemies?

This is Roomba, our deeply futuristic vacuum-cleaning robot. We adopted her about 10 months ago, and she’s hoovered the flat thrice weekly without complaint ever since.

In case you’re concerned, referring to her as female isn’t innate sexism revealing itself, it’s simply a reflection of her female voice…

Which of the following numbers represents the biggest risk of getting a disease? 1 in 100, 1 in 1000, or 1 in 10?

Almost 30% of Germans and 25% of Americans answered this question incorrectly in this study of statistical numeracy.

It’s an interesting reminder that healthcare professionals shouldn’t underestimate the statistical complexity of risk concepts: I think I’d previously have thought that these descriptions were fairly clear, but clearly they are not well understood.