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In a nice display of life’s synchronicity, my birthday was book-ended either side with a Cookham Tuesday. ??? Last Tuesday I gave a talk about William Lassell who lived at Ray Lodge, Maidenhead…which meant I could display a photo of the prettiest stretch of river from Maidenhead to Cookham, and last night Cookham was shown in all its beautiful river glory to the world in an archaeology programme about the Cookham Dig.

I have had a cracking weekend with a trip to the theatre on Friday to see an HG Wells play, The First Men on the Moon. This was performed by a solo actor playing multiple parts by changing his body posture, remarkable and wonderfully done. I now want to read the book! HG Wells certainly was spot on with the scientific aspects of space travel and what the moon’s surface may be like, although he was a bit off the mark with his Selenites…

On Saturday I gave my cameo role in Iryna Ilnytska’s Carmen everything I had in order to do her proud. She is a very good friend, and most talented performer and director. Everyone gave their best and the audience were wowed by the talent and warmth of the cast.

Here is a glimpse of the chorus in action:

There are lots of posts flying around about being kind to everyone. I hope that staff are also polite and give good customer service with a smile. Not talking into a headset when there is a real life person in front of them. They need to resist the pressure to ‘multi task’! It is confusing to say the least, and rude from my memories of customer service training.

Rant over…tomorrow I continue my path towards being a Grumpy Old Woman and have made a pretty cake for the celebrations.

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.

Time regained,

the stars aligned

with time once more,

as through the leaves we rustle

shuffling through the season

the season of fruit, of golden hues, of pies and pumpkins

with hints of winter in the shops

Boxes of chocs and candypop

‘Too early’…

but not too early to order that special gift…

https://www.waterstones.com/…/karen-hedges/9781739123611

Is it me or is the media making a huge fuss about adjusting to the hour change? Surely, the worse one is in the spring when we lose an hour and the sun no longer matches the time? I love today when GMT returns. I just hope people show some restraint with garden lighting…the stars and moon do not need enhancing.

Well, the Sidmouth Science Festival family day at the Norman Lockyer Observatory happened, despite the poor visibility and persistent rain. This latter did not dampen the spirits of those attending. Many were fascinated by our display of a wind tunnel model of the Blue Streak rocket. A full lecture theatre were enthralled by my daughter (very proud mother moment!) giving a talk about solar system formation, and her research. I would have liked to have sold more of my books, although I was pleased by how many people picked up a copy to look through. A veritable whirlwind of a weekend!

Off I go to take yet another look at the Moon and more photos…endlessly fascinating, especially as the low full moons are coming to an end at this point of the Moon’s 18.6 year cycle. I was rewarded by a glimpse of Saturn which is near the Moon at present. If you are reading this tonight (7th) or tomorrow then do pop outside just after sunset to catch the full or near full Moon. It is not cold, it is dark enough to see some stars and Saturn…make the most of this time before the cold winter nights set in. Clear Skies!

As I hastened out on my evening walk, I was stopped in my tracks by a glorious near-full moon just above the horizon. It is still very low, and therefore appearing very large, as it nears the end of its 18.6 year cycle before once again rising higher once more. There are many dark sky events being advertised which would be great to go along to. My book is there to help you get started by showing you just a few of the bright stars that appear early in the evening so you can orientate yourself before becoming overwhelmed as the sky darkens. Stargazing for All will also be available at the Sidmouth Science Festival family day at the Norman Lockyer Observatory where you will find me alongside a display about the Blue Streak rocket. There is lots to enjoy plus talks from former young observers at the NLO, now doctors of science, on hand to explain the wonders of the solar system to you.

Sunday afternoon saw me taking a trip out to Tiverton castle gardens, not far but somewhere not visited. The sunshine gloriously lit up the wonderful autumnal colours of dahlias and tiny cyclamen. Definitely a place to return to and explore the displays of Civil War armour inside.

I was delighted to give a talk at Sidmouth Library to an enthusiastic audience. Taking them on an exploration of stars and how to see them, they were keen to learn how to use a planisphere and to get outside on a clear night. I also talked about my own journey from being hooked on the Moon landings to writing the book Stargazing for All to help others learn and enjoy the stars.  My voluntary work at the Norman Lockyer Observatory was mentioned, especially in light of the proposed community asset transfer by the local council to the membership.  My book is available from Winstones Bookshop in the High Street of Sidmouth, as well as online via Waterstones and Amazon. Please support independent bookshops and libraries by ordering and requesting through those 🙂

Now that the nights are indeed beginning to be more user-friendly for star watchers, please be mindful of light pollution from garden lights (why?) and open curtains. The Lunartic Society did not street lights, remember! By no means mad, these people keen to learn in the evening could only meet when the moon was bright enough to see by as this was pre-streetlight times.

And, finally, there is still time to enjoy the tail end of the current lunar standstill before the extremes of high and low moons begin to even out and become less extreme. Look low on the horizon towards the south to see the moon set at one of its lowest position before the next round of extremes in 18.6 years time. You may also catch a glimpse of the red giant star, Antares, in Scorpius, very low and very close to that low setting moon.