Philobiblon

* I must have read this figure before, but it struck me anew this morning – only 13 per cent of men and 15 per cent of women are eating at least five portions of fruit and veg each day. (It is not that I can claim any high ground on this – in my early working years, when in my own small defence I often worked 12 hour-plus days – I wouldn’t have averaged more than two or three.)

An article in the Observer suggests this is linked to mental dysfunction:

Increasing rates of anxiety, depression and irritability could be due to a poor diet that lacks the essential chemicals to keep the brain healthy, according to a leading mental health charity.

* Books: are we on the cusp of the e-revolution? But for now here’s what sounds like a truly inspirational book by a woman abused horribly as a child, in south London, who has made her own successful way in the world. (Ugly by Constance Briscoe)

* You know all that fuss about “elderly mothers” – well, women who have children in their forties are four times more likely to survive to 100 than women who gave birth earlier. And pregnancy makes you smarter – perhaps all of those men sacking their workers when they get pregnant should think again.

* John Simpson speaks out against the blunt instrument of the government’s anti-terrorism legislation:

There have been unreflective, knee-jerk laws in this area in the past: the ban on broadcasting the sound of Gerry Adams’s voice, for instance. It will be much harder to defend society better against terrorism if we prevent journalists from finding out the precise nature of the threat against us. Does the Government really mean to do this amount of damage to the meticulous, independent journalistic investigation of terrorism? Surely not.