Poo piles like these were the starting point for making gunpowder.

Hot on the heels of the School Library Association’s Information Book Award (see previous post) comes the news that Don’t Flush is on another shortlist, this time for the  Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize. I was up for this one last year, with Pox, Plague and Pestilence, but didn’t win. Hopefully Mary and I will have better luck with our new title about all the really useful things you can do with wee and poo (see left.) The judges who chose the shortlist described the book as “A light-hearted but informative look at the science behind the use of poo and wee throughout history to build houses, wash and dye our clothes, fertilize crops, treat illnesses, solve crimes, control pollution and create fuel, energy and explosives. A perfectly disgusting book: Kids will love it!”

We have also been invited to the Society’s prestigious annual summer soirée, which is attended by a glittering flock of Nobel prize winners and other eminent scientists. I shall have to borrow my brother-in-law’s dinner jacket again! The invitation says that decorations should be worn. This is going to be more of a problem. The best I can do is my Blue Peter badge, and the one I got from the Blood Donors when I broke the 25-litre barrier.