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Sunday lunch had been booked for a family lunch but sadly, Mum came down with Covid. It is still rearing its ugly head now and again, despite precautions and despite vaccinations. However, Roy and myself met with my son and his partner at the Crown near Avalon Marshes. The food was amazing, the staff were friendly, and we had a lovely catch up, followed by a walk around the marshes. We heard lots of birds but only swans and a buzzard were birds of any note.

I’m still absorbing the news of the death of a friend last weekend. Life is indeed short and I get quite panicky over how little time may be left. My father died at 85 yrs from dementia which, if genetic, terrifies me. Carpe diem indeed.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks with a virus, a trip to Wales, and a busy week. During all this we enjoyed a concert by Ralph McTell at Sidmouth Folk Festival during which I was entranced by his amazing guitar skills. His songs and reminiscences of times past were thought-provoking.

Last week we listened to our church organist give a delightfully varied concert of splendid organ pieces on the Tickell organ in St Paul’s Church, Honiton. Soup and cake added to the nice experience.

Iryna Ilnytska directed, produced, and starred in a production of Orfeo e Euridice at Exeter Castle. The audience were moved and exhausted by the performance. A lot of money was raised for the volunteers in Ukraine.

Last night I was on duty as Telescope Presenter at the Norman Lockyer Observatory, Sidmouth where we had unprecedented 130 people turn up to our open evening. I lost count of how many times I gave my spiel about the telescope and Norman Lockyer but the visitors all left with smiles on their faces. Having recently visited the Old Library at Exeter University to look at the archive papers of Sir Norman, I had a lot more to tell them.

Well, what adventures have been had this week. Not all of them good. I bought an advance ticket for train travel to and from Cardiff but had to reschedule as we were unwell. It turned out the ticket I had bought had limited validity and it was only the return that was flexible. A costly visit as I had to buy duplicate tickets.

Cardiff was, well, could have been better. The hotel we stayed in had changed from last time and one had to pay extra each time to use the lovely swimming pool. It was quite a walk in our current state of unfitness to the restaurants so we tended to buy sandwichs and snacks to eat in our room. We did have one meal out, a delicious chicken dish with many flavours, in a ‘Bill’s’ restaurant. This was on a very humid day which saw me flagging and needing to sit down a lot. But, on leaving the restaurant we were soon cooled down by the stormy downpour and hurricane-force winds! Such a change within a couple of hours literally took our breath away.

Pontypridd park was a bit disappointing as most of it was sectioned off or still under the weight of many large marquees from the recent Eisteddfodd, which curtailed our pleasant stolling and chatting with Roy’s family.

The shops in Cardiff came up trumps on the list of items on my shopping list – a lovely green summer dress, a bright top, and a neutral skirt.

Was it worth the cost? Not really. But it did make Roy happy to see his family again after a bit of a long time of not being able to visit. Will have to think carefully how we manage such visits in future.

     Well, after many years, decades even, of trying to learn the piano, I am happy report real progress.  During the last year I have been trying a different approach from a book found in a random meander in a bookshop and a lucky find in a second hand bookshop.  An adult piano course complemented by a book promising a surefire ‘new’ way of learning have indeed proved fruitful.  The new approach advocated not turning a certain page until one could confidently match a piano key with a note on a line.  This approach or suggestion seems so blindingly obvious now, I wonder why I hadn’t done this before.  Then I tried playing from some of my early books…the problem lies there.  The books try to teach music theory alongside learning the piano keys, the names of the notes, the place value of the notes…all at the same time.  I have gained enormously from going back to first principles and simply matching the white or black key to a blob on a line.  And now I can confidently say…yes, I am learning to play the piano. 

     The garden plants have at last decided to wake up and start producing.  This week we have enjoyed some young tender runner beans and a few juicy strawberries.  The alternating heatwaves and cold spells have not made it easy for them.  Or us…as we succumbed to a nasty virus.  This morning though saw me half way up my nearby hill…so definitely on the mend 😊

29 June 2024

The sun shone, its flares blazing away, lots of sunspots to spot,  and even the Moon showed up for the return of the annual Astrofair at the Norman Lockyer Observatory in Sidmouth.  I was on duty with the Lockyer telescope for the final couple of hours and, even then, there were a lot of people coming to see the Lockyer telescope (other telescopes were available…!).  There were excellent speakers with talks about Saturn, astroarchaeology, the sky at night, and  a question and answer session about all things astronomical .  There were exhibits to look at, equipment to buy, rocket launches, all within the lovely grounds in which to enjoy a picnic or a treat from the food van.  The sun set on a lot of very tired, very happy people.

With much excitement, I was back at the Norman Lockyer Observatory yesterday evening to help show around a group of 20 young Beavers anc cubs and their helpers. It was a real joy to be talking about the Lockyer telescope and enthusing the group about the achievements of Sir Norman. To add to the excitement, I have also had an article published in this month’s Society for Popular Astronomy’s bimonthly magazine. And, if all that wasn’t enough, the bluebells are out!

Twelfth Night is a day of mayhem and madness and the first glimmers of the mornings becoming lighter.  And the first stirrings of the new year getting properly underway with the putting away of Christmas decorations.

What are my hopes for the new year?  I would love to see more non-fiction, especially popular science on display in Waterstones on the ground floor rather than being tucked away on the top floor.  Likewise, I would like to see more reviews of non-fiction in magazines.  I would like to see promotion of new talent across the arts and literature instead of lists of the best ever.

like to see reviews of non-fiction in magazines.

I would like to understand how web posting really works as I have uploaded posts that were still in my drafts folder…only to see that they have lost their original date and now come under January 2024.  Reading them will perhaps give you an insight into the workings of my mind.