Why do pirates wear eye patches? That was the topic of conversation at the dinner table a week or so ago. There is an assumption that pirates wear eye patches, all pirate fancy dress comes with a black eye patch, but photographic evidence showed that Johnny Depp didn't wear one, and nor did Captain Hook. The task in hand became to search out the evidence. Do pirates actually wear eye patches, and if so, why?

 As you raise a glass of decent red with your next Sunday roast, spare a thought for the carbon emissions required to cook the joint. When it comes to global warming, we all think of flooding arable land and saving the habitats of the polar bears and the penguins, because they are the stories churned out by the popular news machines. But spare a thought for the grape.

 Ever wondered about the great scientists? Ever wondered why there are few women? Some time ago I saw a poll of 'great movie scientists" and was sad but not surprised to see that the top ten included nine men and one woman. I started to think about the women who had made contributions to science and could only name Marie Curie and Rosalind Franklin. I asked around my scientist friends, both male and female. I asked my friends on Facebook. There was no advance on Curie and Franklin. The response by many friends was "Rosalind Franklin? What did she do?"

 Earlier this month, The Science Council published a report that examined both the current and predicted workforce across the UK economy as a whole and that highlighted the requirements for future employees in science based occupations.

 Last week was an important milestone in the academic year. The results arrived for the GCSE and A level exams  that had been sat earlier this year. A nail-biting time for students and teachers alike. The first two or three results to filter through to a tutor are usually good news. The high grades expected, or the grades exceeding predictions. As the day goes on, other results arrive and the news becomes mixed. The fantastic AS resit result that is accompanied by a disaster at A2 is easily explained. Too much effort on the resit and not enough focus on the new module.

 If you want to waste hours surfing the net and being productive for the coming biology A level modules at the same time.... look no further than this website! www.biology-questions-and-answers.com has more than 1800 questions and answers arranged into eleven of the main branches of the tree of biological information. Each topic is then subdivided again, and the structure of the website and ease of navigation makes for a very user-friendly experience. If I am able to find answers to my questions, then I am sure that the computer-literate generation will have no difficulty at all.

 Results have been published by the University of Rochester (Futurity Today) suggesting a link between high blood pressure in children and their ability to learn. A study examined 201 children between the ages of 10 and 18 and found 18% to have learning difficulties, against 5% in the overall population. Previous links have been established between learning difficulties and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Standard medication given to children with ADHD is known to raise blood pressure, so a curious triangle is emerging.

 This week has been one of my worse nightmares come true. Yes, I have to find a suitable secondary school for my daughter in year six. We have pounded the corridors and the playing fields on four consecutive evenings and I am really not sure that either of us are any the wiser in the qualities that define a "good school". Larger schools have larger budgets and so appear to have better facilities. Smaller schools are more welcoming and so appear to have better pastoral care. Well behaved students inside the school are found smoking outside the gates on the way home.

 Earlier this week I spent a day working as a volunteer in the Education Department at The Boxmoor Trust, based in Hemel Hempstead. I usually am asked to help with groups of small children but this time our group of students were 60 trainee childcare workers from the local college aged between 16 and 17. I arrived in my walking boots and sensible trousers, and they arrived in their mini skirts, leggings and Ugg boots. Accompanied by typical teenage surly expressions. They really couldn't see the point of spending a day in the woods. What about mobile phone reception?

 I've spent the afternoon digging around in the statistical information available on the internet that relates to the biology exams this year. I set off in search of the A* grade. According to the stats, 8% of entrants received an A* grade, but comparing the statistics with the "league tables" would indicate that the elusive A* lurks within the public schools rather than across the country. I've yet to hear of an A* within the local community.