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Come and say hi at the Norman Lockyer Observatory when we hold our annual astronomy fair with speakers including Chris Lintott from the Sky at Night, and many hands on sciency things to do. Lots of trade stands. Refreshments available. I’m working on a nice display about Sir Norman Lockyer to whom we are most grateful for retiring to Sidmouth and setting up this observatory.

The sun shone and the people came to the Norman Lockyer Observatory for a delightful afternoon of music, ‘This is your life’ presentation, and cake. Member, Bill Hitchings, dressed magnifcently as Sir Norman, was treated to an overview of his life from ‘Eamon Andrews’ aka Jonathan Milford. Chairman, David Strange, had produced an excellent script taking Sir Norman on the journey of a lifetime, ending with a look at the scientific advances since 1920, and the uses of Sir Norman’s greatest discovery. Helium, from first being identified as a thin new line in the Sun’s spectrum is now widely used in MRI scanners.

Mezzo soprano Iryna Ilnytska and pianist John Draisey, gave a beautiful performance of Tennyson’s ‘Crossing the Bar’ (Tennyson and Lockyer were great friends and mutual admirers), followed by ‘When you wish upon a star’.

I had wished upon a star and the event surpassed my expectations. The event had a warm, friendly vibe about it and everyone helped out where needed. Lots of tea and cake was served by Tereza Taylor who ran the kitchen operation magnificently.

There were displays from PhD student Bea Steele about her research into Sir Norman’s lantern slides and eclipse expeditions, Exeter Central Library, and, last but not least, representatives of Sir Norman’s family. We were honoured to have Christopher and Caroline, descendants from Sir Norman’s eldest daughter, Rosaline.

Salcombe Regis Church kindly opened during the morning for people to view Sir Norman’s grave with its special astral inscriptions, together with those of other family members.

Thanks are due to Sidmouth Golf Club for a major raffle prize of a voucher for 4 people to enjoy a day of golf.

     Karen presented a copy of her book to David Strange, Chair of Norman Lockyer Observatory, who kindly made some positive comments about the outreach work and promotion of the NLO that Karen does.

     The Norman Lockyer Observatory contains three historic telescopes through which can be seen images as good as any modern telescope can provide.  The central library contains a magnificent bequest of books belonging to Sir Norman and Lady Lockyer. 

Delighted to say that the book is now ‘out there’ and in the hands of those who pre-ordered it. Copies available from bookshops, online at Waterstones, and Amazon.

At long last, Stargazing for All, is out and about and available to pre-order ahead of the 3 April publication date. Grab your copy now! It is ideal if you were given a telescope for Christmas sitting there unused, or have enjoyed the plethora of planets parading across the skies recently.

What a busy weekend at the Observatory for National Science Week Family Day. My daughter, a former young observer, returned to give a well-received talk about planet formation. She explained the process while entertaining us within a rope around the audience to demonstrate the scale of a protoplanetary disk.

…and what am I up to?

Something exciting arrived in the post today! Follow me to see what it is 🙂

This week I have been rereading my old OU essays and comments. Bodes well for an MA course. However, the years studying for that OU degree were not easy and I did not always have time to read the tutors’ notes. I wish I had. It would be lovely to thank them all for their kind comments and helpful advice, some of which must have filtered into my brain as the essays do improve over time. Hand typed, posted, one or two getting lost, cassette tapes and videos. Happy days!

With a gargantuan effort, I managed to get out of the door and into the gym for a very good session on the recline bike…which has a video screen. Today I chose to cycle around Portugal in the sunshine.

Next week sees another scout evening, fingers crossed for a break in the clouds, a meeting on Tuesday regarding a possible venue for a shhhh…..book launch…details to follow.

Moments of joy amid the gloom are bright daffodils and snowdrops around the country lanes. A drive out through Woodbury Common during the week went from disappointment to joy, as we found a patch where violets used to be had been shovelled over to make a car passing space, but then there were snowdrops around and about and clear views.

In a month’s time, there is the annual family day for Science Week at the Norman Lockyer Observatory. There will be lots of activities and a special guest speaker from Warwick University to talk about planet formation. My daughter used to be a member of the young observers’ group at the NLO and is now a prominent astrophysicist. Proud mother moment coming up.

January sped by in a blur of busyness, with the last week ending on some high notes. Flooding was an issue at the beginning of the last week and a beady eye was kept on the weather forecast. Bradninch Scouts were truly blessed by a clear, dry day which was followed by a crystal clear night sky in which Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn shone brightly in the night. Some of the young people brought along binoculars through which we could see the fuzzy blob of the Orion nebula. I pointed out these objects and the main stars which form the Winter Hexagon. They asked some great questions. An earlier morning walk in the sunshine to enjoy the sight of snowdrops on a sunny bank down a local lane set me up for the day.

The following evening (!) saw me presenting a session about Sir Norman Lockyer to the young Astroscouts at the Observatory. They and their parents thoroughly enjoyed learning about the man who discovered the helium we get in party balloons and much, much more. We were also able to spot some stars and planets before the clouds came in.

Saturday evening was spent being entertained by Iryna and friends in her dramatic staging of Dido and Aeneas. It was as heart-rending as when I first saw this being performed by her a few years’ ago. The audience were spellbound. Her voice and her performance, one cannot merely call it acting, she gives her all and ‘becomes’ the part she is playing, deserve wider appreciation.

And, then into February a final flurry of emails and much agitation, before the board of directors amicably agreed on the content for the completion of the form for a Community Asset Transfer from the local council to the Norman Lockyer Observatory Society. I felt listened to and my long term vision was included on the form.

Get out into the fresh air and daylight…to combat the January blues they say. Well, it is a challenge to do that today with the rain belting down, and the wind howling. I did show my face outside for a second. And every day I do at the very least stand outside in the daylight, my face hopefully facing the weak sun in a bid to stay on track with sleeping. I have also been keeping a Journal of Joy (which does indeed sound corny) but actually works. Every day I actively look for moments of joy and hope to record in the little book. It is a beautiful embroidered notebook a friend gave me for Christmas.

Yesterday was thankfully dry for the charity memorial rugby match and event at Topsham in commemoration of one of the founder members of the women’s team, Lily Partridge, also a keen zoo keeper at Shaldon Zoo. Many members were dressed in amazing, and sometimes bizarre (a jellyfish!) animal costumes.

My preparations for an event in May to commemorate the birth of Sir Norman Lockyer have been gathering pace. Appropriately, as he first identified the element helium, there was a lot of hot air in evidence at various meetings during the last week…

Finalising the version of my book ready to go to print has been time consuming and, at times, quite tricky. It is daunting, scary, and exciting to have reached this stage in the process. Friends have been coopted in to a bit of final proof reading. I have been double checking the quality of the images. Typesetter, Matt Bird, has been busy fine tuning the layout. It is the book’s last chance!

My efforts to pace myself this year have so far failed with two talks and an open evening to come during the week. The week will be rounded off by another of Iryna Ilnytska’s operas. Please go to one of her events, she is amazing. Last week we attended her production (she produces, directs, and stars) of Dido and Aeneas at St Nicholas Priory in Exeter. The audience were spell bound.