It's been a good week for ...

Brians

A wannabe police horse called Brian has been allowed to keep his name, despite fears from his potential employers that it didn't match the force's tough-guy image. The plight of the one-tonne, six-footer sparked public outrage, after Thames Valley Police declared his name unsuitable and suggested he adopt a more "war-like" alternative, such as Hercules or Caesar, should he get the job.

A quick gander at Wiki reveals that the name Brian is of Irish and Breton origin and is derived from an Old Celtic word meaning "high" or "noble". The element bre means "hill"; which could be transferred to mean "eminence" or "exalted one". An alternative derivation is from the root bri, meaning "force" or "strength". An early famous bearer of the name was Brian Boru, a 10th-century warrior who became high king of Ireland and one of its greatest national heroes, thwarting Viking attempts to conquer the country. Not such a sissy name, then; really rather war-like.

Alas, despite his nomenclative victory, Brian failed his trial to join the police, who said he "didn't settle to an urban environment and was nervous". Perhaps if they'd pitted him against some marauding Scandinavians, he'd have risen to the challenge.

It's been a bad week for ... robins

Winter's favourite birds are in danger of wearing themselves out. Scottish research reveals that Robins are singing all night, as well as during the day, because of light pollution. According to Glasgow University's Dr Davide Dominoni, light from street lamps, takeaway signs and homes is disrupting the birds' biological clocks, resulting in them being wide awake when they should be asleep.

"I hear robins singing throughout the night, singing all the time," said the Glasgow-based animal health researcher, adding that he fears lack of shut-eye could endanger the birds' health .

Apparently, Robins are particularly sensitive to blue light emitted from neon signs.

It's a far cry from times past when all a bird had to worry about was when the north wind didst blow and we should have snow.

But what will poor robin do now, poor thing? He'll just have to find a nice dark barn with no takeaway signs ... and hide his head under his wing, poor thing.