This wind turbine is close to my office: it’s a sad, solitary wind turbine. I don’t know if it actually powers my office, but I think it powers the Eco Centre next to it.

Inflight Science gives a brief tour of some major science concepts set loosely around the fact that you’re supposed to read it on a plane. There are miniature “experiments” to carry out whilst airborne (e.g. throwing a ball of paper in the air and noting that it doesn’t fly to the back of the plane), and all of the topics discussed are loosely associated with flying.

There’s nothing especially wrong with this concept. Its nature means that the explanations are brief, and the science discussed doesn’t go much above high-school level. Some of the links to being in-flight are tenuous at best: syphons are explained because toilets on planes don’t use them, for example.

My main complaints about this book are that it’s a touch simple, and a touch bland. There isn’t all that much about the science of flight, which is disappointing.

All-in-all, it’s a so-so book that whizzes through a few probably familiar scientific concepts. It might entertain you through a short flight, but you won’t be so riveted you’ll want to pick it up again once you land, and there are much better things you could be reading.

Inflight Science is available now from amazon.co.uk in paperback and on Kindle.

Today’s photo is another from the Tyne Riverside Country Park, which I’ve previously featured here and here. I guess featuring the same place thrice starts to push the boundaries of acceptable repetition, but it is a very pretty place…! If you’re ever in the area and fancy visiting, all the details you need are here – though if you’re able to go a bit further afield, Kielder Water and the surrounding forest are even nicer: that area’s nothing short of stunning.

Despite having lived together for seven years now, Wendy and I still don’t agree on tooth care! Wendy (on the right) prefers relatively cheap toothbrushes, and more upmarket paste; I (on the left) prefer more costly “hardware”, but cheaper “software”…!

I’m sure there’s some kind of detailed psychological evaluation that could be done on the basis of that information…!

As I’ve failed to take a photo for today, here’s one from yesterday of someone taking a picture of St James’ Park. Note the white sheet below the football symbol on the right of the picture, which is covering one of the many “Sports Direct Arena” signs.

If you’re confused by the spelling of St James’ Park, you aren’t the only one – as I’ve discussed before!

Wendy and I, plus 42,000 of our closest friends, went today to support Brazil and Honduras in the Olympic men’s football quarter final at St James Park. It was only the third professional football match I’ve ever been to, and Wendy’s first. It was also the first time either of us had been to St James Park for sporting reasons, though we’ve both visited for work reasons in the past!

We were both slightly surprised (perhaps because we’re a little naive) at the level of security – everyone was patted down on entering, and police were peering down from the roofs of surrounding buildings at the crowd around the ground. We also balked slightly at the cost of drinks inside, especially since we couldn’t take liquids in.

But, all-in-all, we had a great time, and it’s brilliant to feel a little bit involved in London 2012!

This pretty fountain sits outside the equally pretty South Shields Town Hall. The building dates back to 1910, but I’m not sure when the fountains arrived!

This is a brilliant Wired feature about a relatively recent outbreak of anthrax amongst intravenous drug users in Glasgow, and Health Protection Scotland’s subsequent investigation. The fact that I loved this article so much is certainly influence by my job as a Public Health doctor, but I think most people will have at least some interest in this fascinating case.

This year, we are – of course – celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. 125 years ago, our forebears were celebrating Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee.

As part of those celebrations, a Royal Jubilee Exhibition was held in Newcastle, in the specially created Exhibition Park. It proved phenomenally successful, with over two million people visiting. Other than the very existence of the park itself, this band stand is the only remaining remnant of the Royal Jubilee Exhibition – note the crest above the entrance, and the crown around the spike at the top! It was cast in iron from a Glaswegian foundry, and it’s now Grade II listed.

This is Spirit of Jarrow, a Graham Ibbeson statue commemorating the Jarrow Crusade. Surprisingly, it was commissioned by Morrisons, the supermarket chain; less surprisingly, it’s in Jarrow.

The Jarrow Crusade was, of course, a 300-mile march of 200 shipyard workers from Jarrow to Parliament in 1936, highlighting the unemployment and poverty of the North East. It certainly didn’t result in a quick win: Stanley Baldwin refused to meet the marchers, and the depression in the North East continued pretty much up until the war.

That said, it did highlight the plight of the North East, and generated a lot of popular sympathy. It’s often cited as a milestone in the formation of the modern Labour party: it’s interesting to remember that the formal position of Labour party of the day was opposition, though Labour giant Ellen Wilkinson was its biggest political proponent. It’s perhaps a sad reflection of modern politics that such differences of opinion within a party are rarely tolerated these days.