The week that was at a glance:
Top Mail:
The British Library is collecting the e-mails of literary and scientific figures for a new archive. Curators want to see whether e-mail is creating a new kind of English by giving researchers insight into the online musings of JK Rowling, Stephen Hawking, AS Byatt and Alastair Campbell as well as the general public. Anyone wanting to contribute should forward their correspondence to email@emailbritain.co.uk.
Top Trail:
Winning the Newgrange solstice lottery, visiting Skellig Michael and supping Guinness in Dublin are numbers 19, 14 and four on a new list of 25 top attractions to experience before you die. Rough Guide's 25s: Britain and Irelandalso advises getting lost in Connemara (21) and viewing the paramilitary murals in Belfast (eight).
Getting shot hurts:
Revelation from Ronald Reagan's private memoirs to be published by Vanity Fairmagazine.
We now know . . .
People who drink heavily for years shrink their brainsby up to 1.6 per cent.
There's no longer any need to be where you say you'll be. Cheaters and work avoiders can soon buy custom-made alibis, with virtual hotel phone numbers, fake e-tickets and conference details, from The Alibi Network. It'll help anyone who wants to justify their absence, so long as it's legal.
The Numbers:
€2,500- Cost of surgically restoring virginity for French Muslim brides-to-be.
€4,500m- Worth of Sean Quinnand family, 12th on rich list UK and Ireland.
€7,520- Cost of diamond-tini- vodka cocktail at Ritz Carlton, Tokyo.