Silence may be golden, but where, in this noise-filled world of ours, can you truly experience it? Stuart Jeffries heads off to a spiritual retreat in search of some inner peace

It's kicking off in the quiet carriage. At Reading, two elderly people get on and the lovely hush that has existed on this corner of the 09.59 from Paddington is over. "Which seats?" barks the wife. Her husband, two steps behind with luggage and tickets, replies: "Twenty-nine and 30." Snoozers awake confused and dry-mouthed, readers look up from their books crossly. "Did you book them facing or next to each other?" "I don't remember. Why?" "Because 29 and 30 are opposite each other. I don't want to sit opposite. I want to sit together." "Why wouldn't 29 and 30 be together?" "You would assume 29 and 30 would be together." "When I booked online, it looked as though 29 and 30 were together." "But they clearly aren't."

Many older people, especially women, take calcium supplements to help keep their bones strong. But a new review of studies suggests these supplements may also slightly increase their risk of having a heart attack. This raises questions about whether the benefits of taking calcium supplements outweigh the risks for many people.

Drinking alcohol may reduce the pain, stiffness, and joint damage caused by rheumatoid arthritis, reports new research. The study also found that people who drink alcohol are less likely to develop this joint disease in the first place, confirming the results of previous research.

The health secretary wants us all to contribute to reducing demand on the NHS - and he's right. Is Andrew Lansley happy with anything about the way healthcare is organised and delivered? It seems not. First, he produced an NHS reform white paper to radically alter Nye Bevan's creation in ways that would horrify its founding father. Then, on Monday, he announced a major cull of health quangos. He also plans to bring a similarly unforgiving eye to public health – the messy, politically sensitive and sometimes fatal business of food, drink, drugs, smoking, infection, driving habits and sexual behaviour.