For all the neighsayers out there, you can’t just buy a horse and keep it in the back yard. Well you can, but the horse will be miserable and so will you. These marvellous animals need care, exercise, lots of food, veterinary attention, somewhere to sleep out of the rain and cold, shoeing and hoof care, fences to keep them from disappearing, grooming, companionship and hay. And those are just the basics.

The number of people in the UK with health problems that require health and social care is growing. Over the next 20 years the percentage of people over 85 will double, and this will bring a commensurate rise in people with complex health needs. There will therefore be a greater need than ever for qualified Health and Social Care workers. Chancellor Philip Hammond announced in the 2017 budget that he was going to give a cash boost of £2 billion to the Care sector, which came as some small relief after years of cuts.

Is it worth spending money and resources on employee health and happiness? According to research by Nuffield Health, FTSE 100 companies that report on employee health and wellbeing outperform those that do not by 10% on the bottom line. This suggests that employee wellbeing translates directly into business wellbeing. But does this correlation imply causation? Let’s look at a few other stats from the same report to help us decide.

If you can already ski pretty well, there might be a career opportunity for you in the form of a recognised ski instructor qualification. Getting qualified could pay for your ski holidays. But first, which qualifications are the most widely recognised worldwide?

Medicine is a highly competitive course to get into at university, but traditionally students from Scotland’s poorest neighbourhoods have not attempted to enter the meritocracy that medical school admissions should be. It does cost a lot of money to put yourself through medical school, but grants, loans and other financial assistance are available. An initiative by Universities Scotland aims to raise awareness of the possibilities open to applicants from poorer backgrounds.

For fans of Star Wars, the attraction is not only the technology and special effects but the epic drama of the characters, the forces acting upon them and the choices they must make. The themes of good and evil, light and dark, the idea of characters choosing their own paths and the far-reaching consequences of those decisions, are appealing and engaging because they are rooted firmly in classic drama and tragedy. The conflict the characters have with their own destinies is central to the franchise, and it is appropriately riddled with philosophical and spiritual questions.