eight things i learnt in january

january is traditionally a time when we talk about the blues after all the celebrations of the previous month but can i tell you - my celebrating only calmed down around the 13th of the month and finally wrapped up on the 26th when the last rendezvous was attended. it has been great. and exhausting. i am again guilty of not paying as much attention to what i have learnt this month due to constant forward motion but here we go - eight things i've learnt in january.

1. tulips and anemones are amongst the only flowers to keep growing after they have been cut and put in a vase.

2.  apparently the rise in the taking of the selfie is due to our lack of recognising ourselves in photographs, given the choice of digitally altered photos of ourselves we would choose the one that is youngest and most attractive - helping to explain why people take a multitude of selfies until they get "the one" that suits their view.

3. no-one has ever received an oscar nomination for a voice only performance however the golden globes made an exception for robin williams, presenting him with a special achievement award for voicing the genie in aladdin.

4.  snakes can give you a venomous bite for up to an hour after they die; their bite reflex is the last one to leave them

5. a deficiency of zinc in your diet can cause premature greyness.

6. according to age uk there are more people in the uk aged 60 and over than there are 18 and under.

7. if you, like i, are a lover of wearing rings you might want to check out this 3 minute video of how to remove a stuck ring using only a piece of elastic and thus keeping your ring (and finger) intact - result!

8. ever think social networking doesn't work? think again. my favourite news story this month was #findmike. the story of jonny benjamin who 6 years ago was talked down from the edge of waterloo bridge over the river thames in london by a complete stranger. with the help of mental health charity rethink he lauched the campaign "find mike" (jonny couldn't remember the strangers name so dubbed him mike). with the help of the media and social networking sites such as facebook and twitter jonny #foundmike and yesterday the news emergered that not only had mike been found (mike's real name is neil laybourn) but that they had meet and jonny finally got to say the thank you he had waited six years to say. proof that social media truly can bring people together. read all about it here or watch this two minute video.

jonny (left) and neil (right)

Emma