Sabbatical Stories 3: Bridget Hilton Barber & Hugh Fraser

Great mystery surrounds an unidentified skull in a crypt in Worcestershire, England. Francis Thackeray believes he knows who it belonged to. This is the story of how he used palaeoanthropology to unravel a centuries-old conundrum.

Vincent Carruthers, renowned environmentalist and storyteller is back with more tales from the Magaliesberg.

A renowned paleoanthropologist and a first cousin (9 times removed) of William Shakespeare. Who better then to investigate some pipes that were unearthed in The Bard’s garden at Stratford-Upon-Avon. Were they Shakespeare’s? Did he smoke? And, if so, did he smoke what the residue of those pipes contained?

My story this week is about my father’s pipe. It was huge, as was he, and its smoke infused my youth with sandalwood and safety.

This week's story is about my time on Mount Everest in 2003 when I was the broadcaster and journalist for the Discovery Team’s efforts to stand on top of the world. I hated it every minute of the two months I was at Base Camp. There were many reasons why…