My Head in the Clouds…Looking Up !

At the start of the week, there was a strong solar storm, and as the magnetometer readings got higher, it was predicted that the Northern Lights would be seen all over England… so, what do I do ? Get the gear on, and go chasing them… firstly up to Mam Tor , where the cloudy mist prevented anything to be seen, then back home, abandon the van, and walk up onto the moors above the village, hopefully with better conditions… all the time my phone beeping and telling me the solar storm was hitting the atmosphere… I’d be bound to see something… wouldn’t I ?? Sadly no !, the low cloud was shielding the horizon, although higher up was clear, and I could see lots of twinkling stars… whilst in other parts of the UK, great sights were there to behold http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/03/18/aurora-borealis-uk-pictures-north-of-england_n_6891724.html

Eventually I decided to give up, and went home for at least a few hours sleep.. tried hard, failed… not so miserably !

Within a couple of days, the next event was arriving… a partial solar eclipse http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse_of_March_20,_2015 …which I would be able to see from my front garden, if the clouds stayed away ! I was set up in the garden, ready with my old solar specs ( Ta P.P. !) As the eclipse got going, the clouds magically cleared, and I had great views of the moon crossing in front of the sun and I could see the suns corona flashing around the limits of the moon… magic, and worth waiting for ! Just as the eclipse ended the clouds magically appeared again, so I was able to get the shopping done !!

Down the Smoke !

A weekend in London was called for, as I travelled down Thursday  for a hectic weekend, stopping with Joseph, Nicola + Thomas in Wimbledon. It really started well, as Joseph found out about some tickets available for the England V Scotland Rugby match that weekend – we managed to get two.. a really busy weekend ahead !http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-union/international/six-nations-preview-england-v-scotland-10107361.html

Up bright and early Friday morning for the train out to Surrey, to see my eldest son Gerard, who’s in the Army and was today commanding a ‘Passing out Parade’ for recruits…. doesn’t seem that long ago since he was doing the same, although it’s over 20 ! I was well looked after being collected from the rail station, and driven through all the security onto the base… and whisked into the Officers mess, for drinks and snacks… before a quick toast to all the recruits ( 10-30 a.m., drinking Port !) and escorted onto the drill square, where all the recruits families were already in place… A very proud moment to see Gerard, in the centre of the square, sword in hand shouting out the commands for everyone to follow !

Soon they were all marching round the square with the band playing all the marches, taking me back many years to previous passing out parades, and my own marching days… a long,long time ago !

Surprisingly an hour flew by, and they all marched off the square, to great hollers of delight from the recruits families, and then after some more formalities, I was able to walk back to the mess, proud to be seen with my son… Well Done Gerard !

I later travelled back into London, to stay over at Joseph’s again, and up early again the following morning for a walk with Joseph,Nicola and Thomas into Bushy Park https://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/bushy-park where we dodged around the trees for a while in the fierce wind whistling across the vast expanses … Thomas having fun in an old tree stump, and logs… we did see some wild deer, too far away for a decent picture, but some ‘whoppers’ !!!

All too soon (!) it was time to take Nicola and Thomas back to the station, whilst me and Joseph headed for Twickenham http://www.englandrugby.com/twickenham/ the home of English Rugby Union, and where I’d never been before, despite my brilliant Rugby ‘career’ … as a youth !! We had to get there early for the tickets, anticipating a large queue .. which there wasn’t and so we were soon in the ‘fan zone’ taking some liquid refreshment… and generally soaking up the atmosphere… I even spent £10 on a new Scarf !

Then into the stadium, joining in the singing and watching the ground filling up ( and more liquid refreshment !) As the teams ran onto the pitch, the excitement built , along with the fireworks.. more to come later… everyone standing for the National Anthems

and the game began… and what a game, hard,fast and … England won 26-12 http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/7954709.stm but should have won by a more convincing score ( and would later regret it !) For us spectators though, worth every penny and great views. Then back to Joseph’s with a curry, wine and satisfied sleep !

Sunday didn’t get any slower, with a trip into Central London, for one of Thomas’ favourites the National History Museum… to see the dinosaurs ! (and it was raining !)http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/dinosaurs-other-extinct-creatures/dino-directory/index.html After the dinosaurs I wandered around the volcanoes and earth movements areas, before meeting Joseph again and wandering up to

Trafalgar Square for the St Patricks Day celebrations …. and then some food before the early evening show of the ‘Jersey Boys’ http://jerseyboyslondon.com/ which Joseph had seen in New York ( and said it was as good in London ) a fitting end to a busy weekend…

I went back to Wimbledon worn out, ready to collapse… and have a lie in before my journey home on the Monday… no wonder they call it ‘The Smoke’… I was burnt out !