I got onto a PhD in phytochemistry with a 2:2; I'd worked in industry for a while, and in a uni lab for another 2 years. They decided that my experience made up for the lower class degree. It helped that I'd done some freelance publishing; if you can write something (anything really) and get it published, that may make all the difference - not necessarily in a journal, a magazine or paper will do for now.

I second that humbug. Christmas my a***!

Well, as long as you're going lighter you can always colour over the highlights if you don't like them.

And I agree with ULUG; I've never yet heard a man comment on a woman's hair colour or style. Just get what you want; don't worry about anything else. If you are comfortable in your own skin then you send out a glow that will attract men anyway.

Athina, you don't have to stick to natural shades. I've seen natural black hair that looked really good with blue highlights (subtle ones of course). Try those spray-on colours first and see what you like.

Not everyone can get away with red; if you have a pink skin tone run away from anything reddish.

Hey Ann, I still get ID'd too and I'm 30! Hehe. I've always piled on sunscreen too, it's expensive but I hope it will be worth it.

I feel much better now than I did when I was in my teens and 20s. I've learned what suits me and what doesn't. The only annoyance is the hairs that grow in odd places, but they can be removed.

I just got

3,560,000

The internest must be a very dynamic thing...

I think you do.

Out of my 56, 11 are actually the real me and the others are divided between a dodgy 70's film star and a fat American.

For Juno I get 13,500,000!

For my real name it's a considerably less impressive 56.

True. Wasn't there one in Birmingham last summer?

Bloody hell...

I heard that the UK is actually the world tornado champion. Obviously smaller scale than the big American twisters though.

One prof here swears that after 20 years as an organic chemist, he can't start the day without a quick blast of pyridine.

Check out the Sigma catalogue, you can by some minging smells for forensics work: synthetic vomit odour, corpse odour, yeeurgh

But at least you always get a seat on the bus when you've been using it

Seriously?! You must have a steel constitution.

It's not cold but it's pissing down (out of a blue sky, oddly).

Oh yes H, thiophenol smells like the worst kind of fart doesn't it?

That's OK Sue, it was funny once the taste of artifical flowers had faded. It was a spray bottle but I unscrewed it. Needless to say this was in my drunken undergraduate days.