Anniversary of 1918 pandemic flu offers lessons

This year marks the 90th anniversary of one of the worst disease outbreaks in human history: the 1918 flu . From 1918 to 1919, waves of a de...

Wonky Wessex

A wet morning in Dorset, trawling about the exquisite hamlets in the Cerne valley between Charminster and Lyon's Gate. Everything broodi...

Signing Policy

Long Melford has much to please the eye. A big Suffolk wool church, a village green bordered by both a turreted gateway and a gabled garden ...

This week in pandemic flu, emerging infectious disease: Concerns focus on more than just bird flu

While health officials around the world continue to track avian flu cases, they are also keeping their eyes trained for other infectious dis...

Product Support

Since there has been considerable support for my showing-off one of my most treasured Christmas presents, here it is. My neighbour brought i...

Chik fever: Funny name, serious threat

What's in a name? In the case of Chikungunya fever , a mosquito-borne disease that is becoming a growing concern around the world, a fun...

Oil and Gravy

You don't see many of these hump-backed dispensers around much either. For those unfamiliar with their use, a garage proprietor would gr...

Stamping About

I popped out to the next village just now for the paper and a scotch egg. And I thought about how lucky I was to be able to use a country vi...

Creature Feature 2

Cattle markets are rapidly becoming a thing of the past. My local is now a shivering tin hut next to a maximum security prison, when trade o...