The month began with an interesting live discussion with other astronomy enthusiasts hosted by New Life Radio, including my daughter which was lovely, and on Sunday a dress rehearsal for Carmen in which I play the part of the Flower Seller…thankfully no singing, and on Tuesday a well-received presentation about William Lassell whose letter I had found in the University of Exeter archives. The letter had been sent from his home in Maidenhead, my original home town, and not knowing of the man, I researched his story. And what a story it was. He discovered many moons of Uranus and Neptune, and built many telescopes including a massive, state of the art, 24″ one. He began his life in Liverpool, moved to Malta, then moved to Maidenhead. And why not? It contains one of the loveliest stretches of river anywhere. If you are reading this today (5th November), forget about fireworks and look for the big super full moon. The moon appears large because it is still quite low on the horizon and is also on one of the nearest points to the Earth on its orbit. Oh, and I had a nice walk along another river, where there were swathes of beautiful cyclamens.
Karen Hedges 