OK, I admit it. It's my birthday and I'm 58. So now you know. In fact, I tried to keep it quiet this morning, while doing my rounds, and was relieved that all I received in response to my cheery 'Good mornings' were the usual grunts of acknowledgement. However, I began to think that things were afoot when, unusually, all of the residents arrived in the Common Room by 7.25am and sat, silently, pretending to be interested in the news, which, at the time, happened to be an item about relics from the Mary Rose. While I'm sure that an enormous shovel-like object that was used for serving out porridge in the 14th century may provide endless fascination for historians, the extent of such interest is rather more limited for nine and ten year olds, I would think. I waited for the inevitable question about whether I could remember life in the 14th century and whether I had ever had cause to use any of the relics that met our collective gaze, but there was none, and suddenly the only relic in the room that was being stared at was me.

"Happy birthday, sir," volunteered a Heronian. (Yes, a Heronian!)

Well, that was that, of course. Within seconds the whole lodge were singing at the top of their voices as they left, offering a melodious wake-up call to the rest of the SF northern campus!

I can't report anything about last night, as Mrs C and I had the privilege of dining with the Headmaster of Winchester at Beech House and Mr Porter was left in charge. I must say that the evening was very agreeable, although it felt like an episode of Casulaty (see, I've mis-typed it again) surrounded as I was by three doctors, Dr Townsend, Dr Harskin and Dr Dean! We mere Research Fellows can't really compete with that. Still, my attempts at conversation did not, as I feared, prove to be the Titanics of the dinner table, crashing into the icebergs of academe after the first salvo, and we had a very meaningful discussion about what 'the real world' is, down at our end of the table.

Don't worry, I'll soon be talking to woolly Highland cattle again.