When I was having dinner with Adrienne and Blaise and their friends a few days ago, A&B were teasing me that I was actually Jewish. Blaise really is Jewish; Adrienne just studied physics at The Weizmann 😉 .

Yesterday I was reading an interview with James Watson, who used to be the director of The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Coincidentally, this is where A&B met. He was asked who he would cast today to play him instead of Jeff Goldblum if they remade [The Race for] The Double Helix for HBO. [This “docu-movie” was released as Life Story in the UK.] He suggested Ben Stiller, though he admitted that he had been puzzled with the original casting of Jeff Goldblum:

“…all my friends were Jewish… …I’m the only non-Jew, and they cast Jeff Goldblum. But then I realized, I’m culturally Jewish. My mother never believed in the New Testament…”

So at least I have one thing in common with a bona fide scientific genius. Whenever my mum reads the Bible it's the Psalms. Does this mean I am culturally a Jewish singer? Perhaps it’s my destiny to form a Neil Diamond tribute band?… And what about my Arab friends (and family)?… Am I just culturally a pro-Semite?

Anyway, when they do Tonight, Matthew, I’m Going To Be Neil Diamond: The Damian Counsell Story, it’s going to have to be Vin.

(The institute where I work is about to be renamed after Rosalind Franklin, another of the central characters in the DNA story. And Rosalind Franklin really was Jewish.)