Couldn't let the occasion of the anniversary of Robert Bunsen's 200th birthday pass without mentioning that twice during my school years I set light to my hair with a bunsen burner.

It was back in the 1970's when I had long, ginger hair and one day in science realised that that burning smell was actually me! Four years later in the Upper School I repeated the trick during a chemistry lesson, which was really annoying because I had my first proper haircut at the time, the cover of Bowie's Heroes style.

These days my hair, like my school days, seem to belong to another person as well as another age.