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What will the new year bring? Well…watch this ‘space’ for exciting news of my latest plans for the revised stargazing guide.

Christmas happened as it always does, somehow providing a little bit of sparkle and hope amidst the strife that is around the world just now. For me, a walk along the seafront watching the little turnstones being busy on the rocks as well as also seeming to enjoy a little paddle as the waves broke upon the pebbles, brought joy to the day. Feeling a bit empty-nestish this year, I made a festive meringue garland filled with blackcurrant yogurt topped with sparkling pomegranate seeds and bright cranberries as a change from my usual Christmas pudding.

A walk around a local nature reserve sounded just the thing for one of those dark days after Christmas. The mist did clear for a moment, with the sun showing as a pale disk in the sky, before the fog descended. It was a challenging walk. The nature reserve contained a short sign-posted walk for one and a half kilometres. Not far. But it was steep. It was muddy. There were steps. Ooh my ankles did not like the slippery slopes. My feet did not like plodging through the slippery muddy trails. My eyes loved the little ferns growing on lichen-covered branches, the tiny pink flower growing by the path, the bright patch of yellow gorse…and the sight of the end of the trail back at the car park. The views would be lovely and far reaching on a clear day so no doubt I will return.

If you enjoy my blogs, try following me on Instagram, you can find me as KuiperbeltKaren and on Facebook as Karen Hedges. Wishing you all a great new year with lots of Clear Skies!

A weekend of pre-Christmas fun began with a Friday evening story telling session from Janet Dowling who explained the Greek myths around Orion and nearby constellations in a most entertaining and memorable way. This included expert interaction from the audience who had to act out certain parts as required. It was a great way to get to know people at the Norman Lockyer Observatory, although somewhat a baptism of fire for one or two new members!

The following evening I was on duty as Telescope Presenter to the Lockyer Telescope. Although it was cold, windy, and cloudy, many people (40 or so) came along to learn about the Geminid meteor shower and to see around the Observatory. I love talking to such groups and they loved hearing about Sir Norman and the telescope. At the beginning a few lucky people did actually see the Moon close up through this magnificent telescope.

Thankfully, Sunday lunch was provided by some close friends so we could sleep on and take it easy on the Sunday morning. After lunch, we played a game of Sherlock Holmes which the friends had given us on a previous Christmas but never played themselves. Will we ever see them again? I hope so!

With candles warming our hands, our voices raised the church roof with our renditions of familiar Advent carols, and mulled apple juice to warm our insides afterwards, this was a great way to begin the season of Advent.

Gardens and houses are ablaze with lights already. Perhaps it is because the season begins on a Sunday when people have time to do this.

Had a full day on Thursday with a visit to a friend whose mother recently passed away. She had been a great fan of my book and the Moon. Then it was onto the Library for a light lunch with Caroline and her father before viewing some of the best books from the Lady Lockyer Bequest. We were left alone with them…for 3 hours instead of the usual one. The time was well spent in enjoying the glorious and exquisite illustrations in the botanical and Japanese books, reading extracts, and just generally enjoying being allowed to handle and browse the collection.

Iryna and Kara Malton gave a magnificent performance of a variety of songs and arias, with piano solos from Richard Lucas, who also accompanied them. The audience really lapped up the Cats’ Duet and, apparently, were still talking about that later in the day. I was just relieved that a reasonable number of people came and over £400 was raised for the church heating fund. With match funding, the total was well over £900. A great result.

And, to round off the week, I took a walk in the pale autumn sunshine and kept on walking, up and up, until I reached the top of Roundball Hill. This is something I have not done for too long and was really pleased that all the exercises I have been doing targeting my legs has paid off. It was a tad difficult coming down though with my muddy gloves bearing witness to a rather slippery bit. But I did not slip over completely and used my walking pole to aid my descent. I was surprised as to where the path emerged….evidently a new route has been added since I last lived here, or I had been using a less amenable route back but, now I know, I can venture up either way to the top.

Simon Reeve’s illustrated talk at Torquay Theatre went so quickly and I would have loved a conversation with him. He is inspirational and exhorted us all to invest in green ethical companies and to travel and meet people. The next day is was Robin Ince at Exeter Library…so excited as he has agreed to come to an event I am organising next year. Lovely man, approachable, inspirational, and held a question and answer session.

A poem I wrote about my grandfather won first prize in a local competition organised and sponsored by Shoobridge Funeral Directors – lovely, friendly people 🙂 And I was presented with the prize today and celebrated afterwards with cake and wine…

What a brilliant day yesterday (Sunday 13 October) at the NLO for the Sidmouth Science Festival. I was impressed by the serious interest displayed by lots of young children – both girls and boys around age 5 and upwards – in the wind tunnel model of Blue Streak. We also got to see on a big screen the launch in real time of the Spacex rocket and recapture. Emotional! There was a wonderful buzz around the site.

What a wonderful weekend full of harvest celebrations, pasties (yes, at church :-)) and lots of communal hearty singing of old harvest favourites. Brings back memories of my dear Dad who loved singing ‘We plough the seeds…’ Miss him very much. Harvest is certainly a time to make sure we are winter ready in respect of our health, our larders – in case of another Beast from the East, power cuts and shortages – and praying for peace before the worst of the winter weather in Ukraine. If you can get to a fundraising concert given by and sung in by Iryna Ilnytska, then do so, you will not be disappointed, as well as raising money for the good cause, she deserves a wider audience.

Autumn leaves are great for rustling through and seeking out bright delights in the hedgerow such as those pixie toadstools or spotting squirrels scurrying away with acorns. Bright jumpers and scarves will brighten your day and bring cheer to those around you. And you will be spotted more easily by those hasty cars in the narrow lanes.

Happy Harvest!

Thanks to the Met Office for flagging up potential cloud cover around the time of the maximum, I was able to see the beginning of the partial eclipse ahead of the impending cloud cover. At 0230 it was like daytime outside, but by 0330 it was dark due to the clouds. Was it worth it? Of course it was

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If any of you came along to the NLO last night to hear me give a talk about Lunar Eclipses and were disappointed…you are not alone. I did give two talks but one group missed out due to the scheduling. I left feeling deflated and disappointed. But do not let this put you off attending future events; I am working hard in the background to improve things.

The talk itself was well received and Roy heard people say how clearly I explained the event and how much they enjoyed it 🙂