WE ARE told that working on a computer for hours without a break can lead to all manner of unspeakable things.
Consequently, I've just been for a walk before writing this column: with regular trots I hope to delay a future blighted by carpal tunnel syndrome, blurred vision and back pain.
Talking of computers, I was amazed to read this week that many writers don't use modern technology, and some even still scribble away in longhand in notebooks.
Jeffrey Archer confessed he doesn't own a computer and can't use a keyboard, while Jilly Cooper still uses a typewriter. Some of JK Rowling's handwritten manuscripts for her Harry Potter series of books are soon to go on display.
Do they know something? Are they avoiding physical wreck syndrome?
As I trudged over Uxbridge Common, I reasoned I was not only loosening up rigid fingers and stiff neck, to prevent morphing into a hunchback mountain, I was also getting fresh air and thinking time.
The air drifting off Park Road, which leads to the M40 and M25, may not be that fresh, but it was a sunny day and my walk was only spoiled by being unable to spot any great crested newts, which are teasingly promised on a sign next to the pond. Perhaps they were out of season.
Next I trotted along the banks of Fray's River, where wildlife competes with old chairs and rusting rubbish. In the spring I was pleased to see the ducks were fighting back, as one pair had nested on top of a half-submerged trolley.
Today there were no swans or ducks, so maybe they are getting seriously organised.
Talking of fighting back: which side are you on in the parenting debate? This month, the dreaded A-level and GCSE exam results are out, but discussions still rage regarding the views of parenting guru Dr Bryan Caplan, who believes parents try too hard to make their children succeed.
He says that coaching for exams and ferrying to sports and music lessons doesn't make any difference to children when they become adults, and slams the childcare movement that goes for tough love, hard work, strict diets and minimal play.
'Oh perleese, calm down dear' as Michael Winner (and David Cameron) would say.
Surely equal damage is done to children who are pushed too hard - or are left entirely to their own devices. Isn't that obvious?
