What's it like to live to 100 and which of us will survive to find out? FREE talk

I'm giving a free talk based on my book 'Secrets of the Centenarians' at Shoe Lane Library, London EC4 at 1300 on April 3.

I'll be examining:

Why are there 90 times as many centenarians as there were 100 years ago?

Why do women centenarians outnumber men by about 5 to 1?

What determines who will make it to 100 and who will fall by the wayside?

Can we go on expanding human lifespan or have we reached our limit?

I'll also be telling the stories of the oldest people who have ever lived and the famous people who lived to 100 – the celebrity centenarians.

Talk on 'Flood: Nature and Culture'

Roll up! Roll up! To the talk I'm giving at Shoe Lane, Library, London EC4A 3JR. Thursday, 8 May at 1230. 

Philippine floods

While the eyes of the world have been drawn to the floods in eastern Australia, those caused by heavy rain in the Philippines seem to have passed almost unnoticed, even though at least 18 people have lost their lives.

Nearly 90,000 families have been hit in 19 provinces, and there has been severe damage to crops. The rains have also caused mudslides in four regions, and five villages in Compostela Valley have been cut off.

With further heavy rain expected, the situation could get worse. Some observers see this extreme weather as another effect of global warming.

*Full house for my talk on London’s Disasters at Shoe Lane Library in the City of London on Tuesday! Thanks to all who came.

A date for your diary

I am giving a free talk on London's Disasters at Shoe Lane Library, 1, Little New Street, London EC4A 3JR at 1230 on January 4, 2011.

See you there!