Eclipse of the Sun

Photograph by Gael Allan this morning in Knowle, BS4

In the last 500 years the Earth has seen 8 Solar Eclipse's. I have been incredibly lucky to witness two of them, one being this morning.

16 years ago, on August 11th 1999 I saw a Total Eclipse of the Sun with my sister and lots of good friends on Pentire Headland, outside of Newquay. It really was a magical experience. Cornwall was the main place in the UK to view the full Eclipse so there were thousands of people out along the coast. 

Pentire Head - Photograph by Gary King

I remember it being quite cloudy as we all huddled together, looking out across the ocean. Then just in time for the eclipse the clouds suddenly parted. All the birds in the area went crazy, squawking and flying about in a bit of a haphazard manner. It became completely dark as the moon went across the sun, and we could see the flashes of thousands of camera's going off up and down the coastline. It was simply incredible and I've never forgotten it.

Unfortunately I haven't walked along Pentire Head for many years. After looking at photos of it this morning I now feel quite homesick for good ol' Cornwall. From the photo above you can see how beautiful it is.

Photograph by Oily Bob Robbo this morning on Whiteladies Road, BS8

This morning in Bristol it began at 08.23am, with the full eclipse at 09.30am. The sun was 90% obscured here so the sky didn't go black. The mist was low over Bristol with the sun set against a fairly clear sky. I stood out on the tiny balcony at my work to look at it (without protective eclipse glasses. Not recommended) and chatted to a builder on the roof of a nearby building. By squinting and looking through our hands we could see the crescent shape across the sun. I'm paying for it now as my eyes are sore. Even though I tried not looking for long, but I'm definitely seeing a few spots in front of my eyes. Oops...

Eve is at nursery today and has been enjoying being outside in their garden a fair bit this week. Apparently there is a little bike which she likes to sit on.

We were given her second term report yesterday. They say that she loves getting involved in all activities; that she is very determined and likes to stick with whatever she is working on.

Daddy said to Eve this morning, 'Where is your nose?' and she pointed to her nose - and then of course proceeded to stick her entire finger up said nose, ha ha!

She touches her head if we sing 'Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes'. After two weeks of walking she is absolutely racing about the place now, chatting, singing and shouting. She loves playing with her wooden animals too.