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w/e 21 June A lot of hot air!
Tilting back at last…and the grumpiness continues as today (21st) is hailed as the Longest Day. It is not. The longest days were the previous two days as well. Today is the day of the solstice, a fleeting moment in time when the sun pauses from the Earth tilting towards summer, before heading back towards winter. Solstice occurs when the Earth’s northern hemisphere is tilted at its maximum angle towards the sun, while the southern hemisphere is tilted away for the winter months. The latest sunsets will occur from the 22nd to the 27th, with the sun rising later minute by minute.
Our strawberries have woken up to the fact that they should be producing fruit after the sunshine, heavy rain, and sunshine again. They are delicious. Quality rather than quantity though.
This week has seen me wading through archives at the Observatory and at the University of Exeter. Great fun! The rolling sea mist chilled the air outside the Observatory which is always on the cool side inside. Likewise, the University Old Library is on the cool side to protect the archive material, so a cardigan is always advised in summer and plenty of woollen jumpers in winter. I went outside to warm up at one point!
That would be a nice problem to have now as there is a heat warning over the country until Tuesday lunchtime…although it looks as though the heat will continue for the rest of the week.
In my research for a writing project, I have learned that the solstice used to be midsummer, which makes much more sense than being the first day of summer. It is halfway through the old summer which began on 1st May and ran until the end of August. Makes much more sense. Today’s midsummer is a hangover from the old Julian calendar. Happy Solstice!
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Warming up…
The week ended on a note of excitement as I picked a presentable amount of strawberries after a garden tidy session. After a struggle for survival, quite a few of the plants have not only survived the blistering sunshine followed by Biblical deluges, but have woken up to produce fruit in the recent more equable weather. The lettuces have already got the message and have been steadily productive. The taste and texture of a homegrown lettuce massively surpasses anything bought in a shop. The leaves can be picked just at the moment the salad is ready, a thorough rinse and on the plate. Perfect!
A walk down to the high street to meet a friend for coffee and cake (the walk balanced out the cake consumption…) was a particular highlight. Walking is not always easy but I had been to the orthotic centre the day before where the orthotist changed the insoles to make them more comfortable in the shoes I wear most. It was a change to not feel as though I was walking on pins. Feeling comfortable, I meandered into a charity shop and found a pretty summer skirt and a starry scarf. It is hard to find skirts of a suitable length to go with my clunky orthotic shoes. No one seems to have reels or posts about that problem. However, I am preparing a reel or post about my foot journey. Having come across similar ones I thought I would post a true life example of how long these things take and the actual problems and solutions, especially as I came across a video supposedly for those unable to stand yet featured the person sitting on the floor – how on earth was one supposed to get up and down when the feet are non-weightbearing?! I had not factored in that it would take more than three years to sort my footwear out. The final step so to speak would be to show the end result of the surgery by wearing a new shoe. This is still awaited.
    The week ended well with a trip to a delightful garden open for Hospiscare where a selection of delicious cakes was on offer. We did our duty and enjoyed a slice with a cup of tea (served in vintage china) while sitting at a shared table. Conversation and soaking up the atmosphere rounded off the walk around the flowers very well indeed. The drive from Sidmouth was along the pretty backways with clear views over the glorious countryside. How lucky we are to have this on our doorstep. Below is a picture of me enjoying the warm sunshine, modelling an outfit bought on Friday from the Hospiscare shop!
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A feast for the senses
my week ending 7 June
Rapturous applause greeted the end of the dramatic production of Carmen by Exeter Opera Group. Iryna mesmerised the audience with her singing and performance of the title role. The Warmth and friendliness of the performers shone through, and they kindly stayed on to chat to the audience in the bar afterwards. The Beehive did the production proud with the standard of the lighting, the front of house, and the cafe bar.
Exeter Opera Group was established by mezzo soprano, Iryna Ilnytska in 2024 following many years of performing as a soloist and with other groups throughout Exeter. She is a force of nature who draws people in with her warmth and friendliness. Her voice is superb but, not only that, but she also manages to transform into character in a way not often seen.
Special mention needs to be made of the pianists, Tim Laurence-Othen and Richard Lucas, who play tirelessly and seemingly effortlessly, and brilliantly, throughout the performance.
The postman has just delivered another bombshell. How on earth does my little car warrant £200 car tax? Unbelievable. Also, becoming increasingly fed up of having to do so much work on behalf of what used to be done by paid employees. No wonder the country is in a state. The form said that direct debits could only be set up online or at a post office. Good luck with the latter!
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w/e 31 May 2026
A lot of hot air
The heatwave continued relentlessly, punctuated by the inevitable downpour and clap of thunder. We just about made it from our car to a friend’s garden, all thoughts of a stroll and a picnic vapourised by the heat. British homes and bodies are not designed for sudden changes to high temperatures.
In the garden, a violet defiantly remains in bloom in a shady corner while summer herbaceous favourite, deep blue delphiniums bloom early.
And, sadly for some, happily for others, sales of helium balloons are being jeopardised by the restriction to shipping in the Gulf. Helium is a much taken for granted element yet is so important in medical equipment (it is used as a coolant in MRI scanners) and in electronics. For me, I love balloons but hate to see helium wasted in this way. Yes, we had a helium balloon when celebrating the birthday of his finder, Sir Norman Lockyer, but I do not generally like to see bundles of them being used.
Another shortage I’ve read about recently is the next generation. There is a decline in people having babies to the extent that it has become a global issue. Korea in particular faces a declining population and the UK has noticed a dearth of children in city centres. Many commentators put this down to the sheer cost of raising a child. However, I believe there is a more subtle reason and one which could be resolved if the will were there. Women thankfully now have access to education and careers although, sadly, there has not been corresponding increase in the support available to young mothers in the workplace nor from men decreasing their hours to help with childcare. The cost of nurseries is indeed prohibitive not to mention insufficiently places. This is where the cost of raising a child has indeed increased beyond recognition to those of earlier generations. Once two salaries could be used to obtain a mortgage, house prices went up accordingly, and the spiral of wage increases and house prices began. When only one salary was needed, that gave families the flexibility for one to stay home to take of the children and home. Now that task is added on to the role of worker. On the one hand it is great that there are so many opportunities for children by way of activities, but on the other it is a shame many are ferried from one to the other after school or at weekends from a very early age. No wonder so many people are tired and skint.
Boredom encourages creativity. Libraries provide free reading material but people generally seem to lack the time to visit them while complaining about the cost of going out.
A highlight of the week to finish with…a lovely afternoon was whiled away at a local village fete. There were cream teas, stalls of every kind, a band playing on a stand, smiling faces, and lots of car parking spaces. There was even a mini bus to ferry people up and down the steep and narrow lane to the village. Idyllic summertime in Devon.
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w/e 24 May 2026
Old Books, Music, and a Junk Exchange Event
Inspirational Iryna Ilnytska again raised the roof of the Cathedral with a selection of arias for Ukraine. Her efforts were richly rewarded, as well as enjoyed by the appreciative audience. All monies raised are sent directly to known volunteers in Ukraine who spend the money on essential items for use in a hospital for soldiers suffering from PTSD and any small pieces of equipment that is needed by the army. I was delighted that mention was made of a poem I had written in response to events in the region. It was an emotional event, yet Iryna’s voice continues to sound better and better. She truly is outstanding.
Not one but two days this week was spent working on cataloguing the archive books at the Norman Lockyer Observatory. Roy and I snuck in an extra session, only to be joined halfway through by another group doing the same. It is great to chat when we are all there, but I really wanted to break the back of the cataloguing and putting in order one side of the room. This we achieved. Now we can tackle the small piles of interesting books and papers that have been put aside either because we do not know what to do with them, they are of particular interest or are just in a random pile. At least we now have a system in place which makes it easier to absorb items, and keep track of everything.
With the advent of much lighter evenings, I had not anticipated setting up my telescope. However, Saturday 23rd was warm, clear, with a lovely half moon just at the right height for it. Eagerly I set up the ‘scope and enjoyed a view of some craters just below the Mare Tranquillitatis, including Theophilus, and the lovely crater chain of Ptolemaeus, Alphonsus & Arzachel.
Oh…and the Junk Exchange? Well, not quite as successful as I had hoped although we did manage to shift a few of our unwanted items. And, no, we did not come home with anyone else’s junk, only some young sunflower plants. So, a successful exchange of junk for cash!
And with this hot weather, it really highlights the absurdity of moving the clocks forward…it’s making us all have later bedtimes cos it’s too hot to sleep.
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w/e 17 May
Helium and Candles
Good news…a photo printed in ‘Yours’ magazine, which means a cheque is on the way. They kindly said they would be pleased to hear from me again…so I have sent off another photo with a little poem about Devon in Summer.
The week ended with a bang or rather a burst of ‘happy birthday’ as a group of us celebrated the 190th birthday of Sir Norman Lockyer with a picnic and cupcakes decorated with sunspots. Sir Norman discovered helium in the sun long before it was discovered on Earth and deserves wider recognition for his achievements. Some of his relatives joined us which was amazing.
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w/e 10 May
This week got off to a cracking start with a well-received talk I gave about the Blue Streak, after which the artefacts and photos got people up and talking. It is a great privilege to show the wind tunnel model of the rocket. And meet someone whose father was out in Woomera at the same time as one of the design engineers whose rocket this was.
Sadly, this was followed by a morning of absolute frustration in my local branch of Lloyds Bank. This branch will be no more next year but, in the meantime, it is buzzing with people using it. However, having spent 10 minutes waiting at the customer service desk, I was informed that it was no longer customer service but only for people with ‘digital’ queries. And that I should have ‘booked in’. Er…no sign, how was I to know. The bank is to change something on our cards, which we do not want, nor we were given any say in, yet it is up to us to have to be proactive to prevent it. Not good customer service.
Have you noticed how many ‘self-styled’ (!) style gurus there are out there? Who are these people? I must admit, some of their ideas for adding accessories to lift an outfit are great, but telling me what to wear. No. And have you seen any of them wearing orthotic shoes and trying to look ok, let alone stylish? No. Here are my red shoes:
Sadly, they pinch and I wear the less attractive blue ones more often until I can have them changed. With their great thick soles, it is not so easy to wear skirts and dresses. It does not help to see women wearing ridiculously high, thin, heels when presenting the news or weather.
The week ended well though with a birthday celebration for a family member which necessitated making a cake of some sort. I decided to opt for a birthday pudding/cake combo: a sponge filled with cream and raspberries. A trip to the bluebells rounded off the day where we were rewarded by the sight of many nuthatches.
I suppose with the hour change, the dawn chorus is not too early although it does make for very chilly mornings.
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w/e 3 May
May days of mist and murk. But the sun did shine briefly for the maypole dancing in Sidmouth on the Saturday. And then the rain came again. It was delightful to watch a dancing school perform intricate moves with the colourful ribbons while listening to lovely music. Memories of when I did this at primary school surfaced and I recall it is not as easy as it looks. The so-called blossom moon was coy so I am glad I photographed a waxing gibbous earlier in the week.
The beginnings of a new friendship with someone who also does not feel ‘settled’ in Honiton after very many years made me feel I had found a missing piece to a jigsaw.
Strangely, a face from the past (ie when I was in Honiton first time around) joined us at church this morning. They have no idea what has happened in the intervening years!
Back to the present, is anyone else still struggling with the hour change? I am a morning person, and it is cold of course being an hour earlier. Then, at the end of the day, it is too light. The light in the late afternoon is all wrong.
The week had an unexpected delight with a payslip containing a hefty amount of arrears. No idea how or why, just so very, very grateful!
As I write this, the sun has just come out quite brightly as if to emphasise my earlier thoughts…as I now head off to make some supper and relax for the evening.
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w/e 26 April 2026
It was with much relief that I learned my daughter’s troubled house move had finally taken place and she was in her new home with the much-loved house bunnies. They had travelled well by all accounts. The new crescent moon shone happily down on them all. It does beg the question as to how the whole moving process works. There needs to be much tighter deadlines and penalties for those holding up the process. The advice is not to exchange contracts and complete on the same day…yet this is what happened. Having to move out in the hope that all would be done by the end of the day is something that should not be allowed to happen in this age of instant money transfers and communication.
Life is very different these days it seems in more ways than one. It seems a ‘thing’ for young people, particularly those in their 30s, to disown their parents and blame their upbringing on any problems. If only babies came with a handbook according to their own individual needs! With many young people deferring or declining to start a family, all that hard won knowledge and experience gained by parents is decreasingly put to use at the grandparent stage.
I saw the whole of the moon…well, not quite, but I am fan of the Waterboys! I did see part of the moon in close up thanks to the Chief Astronomer at the NLO; it is fascinating to see such detail of craters so far away. I also used the Lockyer telescope to view sunspots (and show them to some visitors). This time there was one massive one on one side, with a semi-circle of tiny ones on the other. I tried to view the moon through my own telescope, although this proved challenging as the moon is very high up and the viewing lens quite low down.
A walk through the lower part of Round Ball Hill was a real treat with the bluebells out. It was on a path I had not previously explored, even though I have spent many moons walking up, around, and over the Hill. Having been the site of a clay pit, or spoil heap, the area is now a renowned ‘wet woodland’. I can certainly vouch for that.
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w/e 19 April
Well, what a way to end the week. As if last week’s musical extravaganza was not enough, we were treated to a new opera production from Iryna Ilnytska’s Exeter Opera Group. This time she produced a wonderful version of Rossini’s opera Cenerentola (the girl in the cinders…). The show erupted in a cascade of sound, with all the performers portraying their characters with great expression. There were tears, there was much laughter, and, of course, a happy ending to the blossoming romance between the disguised prince and the lowly Cenerentola. The cast – all of them – performed with great skill and dedication, infusing the audience with their evident joy and skills. It was a pleasure to hear and see HoWang Yuen and Wendi Zhang perform as the Prince and Dandini – hope they will now be regulars. Part of me felt wistful as I remembered the times I had been able to help Iryna with cakes, but I am pleased that the ‘hard core’ of supporters from those small, early beginnings in Exeter are still to be found in the much larger audiences of today. And that the warmth of those smaller events is very much still in evidence in these larger venues. It is time for Iryna to shine ever more widely.
Thanks to Iryna’s encouragement, I managed to give a talk at Exeter Library in an ongoing attempt to market my book more widely. Her phrase ‘if not now, when’ resounds in my brain on a frequent basis. I am much better at ensuring others get seen and heard…however, I ventured into Winstone’s Bookshop in Sidmouth bravely bearing a poster for my talk when I was greeted by the assistant reporting my book was selling well 😊 Music to my ears! That gave me added confidence and I gave an updated talk on Friday (being the first anniversary of my book launch for Stargazing for All) to include the recent visit to view the Winchcombe Meteorite, and the moon mission. Biscuits and chat followed.
Karen Hedges 