Close your eyes and grope around for some sunglasses, or, if you haven’t got sunglasses a bit of cardboard, ideally with two slits cut in it. A cereal box would do, though, obviously do not try to cut the cereal box with your eyes shut.
Having assembled the necessary eye protection, you could squint briefly at this
Yes it is the eclipse of the sun that happened yesterday. I appear to have got the camera upside down because, of course, I couldn’t look at the sun to see where it was. It was, in fact, up in the sky as usual but you can’t look at it and keep your retinas as well.
I hadn’t thought to provide a filter for the camera either, which was very unprepared of me. I did think subsequently that this would be a good idea and fetched a blue plastic folder and got another similar photograph, just a bit darker.
I have now edited the photograph and dimmed it considerably to save your retinas, I wouldn’t want you to read this column and go round blinking all day.
You can actually see bottom right a slight dent and also a con trail of an aeroplane that was showing off and getting in the way.
Let’s face it my heart is not in this astronomy lark. I’m sure you recall when the OH was into it and bought a telescope that sits in the sun room gathering dust, that I was very keen but quickly discovered that the major drawback of the interest is that you have to do it at night. I quickly discovered that the most important accessory for the interest is very thick knickers.
Similarly, recently, when everyone and his dog was going on endlessly about seeing the aurora from their garden shed, I realised that the easiest way to do so was with a smart phone. If you are a regular reader (hello, how are you?) you’ll know I think smart phone, foolish user, and refuse to outsource my thinking. So I spent many minutes for several evenings staring upward without so much as a whisp of pale green, slight pink or even diluted orange juice.
When I lived in South Shields the main component of the sea was coal. Grains of it washed up on the shore and had to be dried from between your toes after a plodge. Now they tell me there are dolphins frisking beyond the Groyne (a lighthouse) and probably shopping up Ocean Road too.
I should have known. Every indication was there when I was a teenager. I heard that Cathy Mcgowan was going to open a Biba boutique in a department store in Sunderland. I hopped on a bus, entered the store, rushed upstairs, burst into the ‘boutique’ corner (several rails of clothes standing against a black drape with glittery bits) and joined the queue. When I got to the front, she went for lunch.
It seems that I am fated to just miss it, whatever ‘it’ is.
But not miniatures, I was there with a ringside seat and I still am, so after I have finished the tidy up of the packaging trolleys and made some cards, which are running low, I will get on with some dolls.
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