The experts who made the discovery believe ants act as ‘bodyguards’ for some plants to keep trampling elephants at bay. Dr Todd Palmer of the Mpala Research Centre in Kenya and the University of Florida said: ‘It really is a David and Goliath type of story, where these little ants are up against these huge herbivores, protecting trees and having a major impact on the properties of the ecosystems in which they live.

‘Swarming groups of ants that weigh about 5mg each can and do protect trees from animals that are about a billion times more massive, it’s yet another example of how the little things run the world.’

The idea that elephants fear mice has long been a staple of cartoons, and features in the 1941 Disney classic Dumbo. However, animal behaviourists say there is no evidence of rodent-phobia among any mammal.

Recently we had to do the night shift with him when the astral northern lights were on display in our skies; this meant staying up until after midnight and taking him to a location way out of the city so he could view them properly.We drove to a spot overlooking the city and they were amazing I must admit. He wants to go to a dinner hosting Neil Armstrong next year – the first human to walk on the moon…what kind of mother would I be to deny him that -  at £100 a head…?

Yep, we are going.

She recently have an interview as part of a documentary marking her 60th birthday and I liked her more than ever. She is the hardest working member of the Royal Family – after the Queen that is – and she still does not suffer fools any more than when she was younger. I like her – and they way she has raised her two children, Peter and Zara, to be down to earth and as normal as possible. Good for her.

For example, we once had a guest stay with a policy in which there were a whole heap of “little extras” and which our guest was fortunate enough to have selected on his insurance policy. well, he got sick and who’d have thought that he’d have needed repatriation…?  Likewise, although he usually only travelled fairly short distances by car, the overnight accommodation option he had was also pretty handy during his stay with us as it included not only paying for the hotel but getting him to and from it plus finding him a hotel in the first place.

Yes, it is a hassle to compare the value of the “little extras” but it can be very worthwhile if it turns out that you need them someday.

Apart from that I have already managed to collect some Xmas presents for them to take over and basically for my son I have a collection of sweaters and scarves as it gets well below minus-zero in northern German during the winter. Funny though – this is a boy who once would never have been caught wearing a scarf or hat, and yet I have photos of him standing knee-deep in snow bundled up to the eyeballs in scarves and hats!

One thing I noticed was the absence of evening attire – the mens ties and suits were few and far between and the women even turned out as though for a picnic in the park. Why don’t people dress up any more?

The safety button has been at the centre of an embarrassing public row for Facebook, one of the world’s most popular social-networking sites, which resisted requests for a so-called panic button on all young people’s profile pages. The American company faced an unprecedented fusillade of pleas from Ceop, police chiefs, politicians, charities and campaign groups who supported its use.

He has just gotten his first credit card so what would suit him is an rfid blocking wallet; they protect your chip and pin card and guard against fraud as well. Your details cannot be scanned and they work even when folded over. Brilliant idea!

I was looking some time back through some catalogues from camera stores and was amazed at how those things have changed over the years – and their prices too. These days a slide projector will set you back a few more dollars than when dad bought one depending on what you buy and what it does. We still have the projector screen that dad bought when mum stopped him pegging up her good white sheets for screenings but I’d kind of like to resurrect the traditional slide night as we have a collection of slides of our own from as recent as eight years ago. They sit in boxes at the moment but are well stored.

The best way to buy one these days is to have a look at a site featuring projector reviews as these machines have moved on in technology since the 60’s and 70’s – they range fairly broadly in price too so if you are wanting one just to show your holiday slides you’d not be wanting to spend too much money.