More air helicopter rescues as tourist season gets into full swing.

Another summer in Newquay and the rescue helicopter has been out numerous times rescuing people who have managed to get themselves into the strangest of places. Halfway down cliffs. Up huge rocks. Cut off by the tide, often when exploring the caves up and down the coast.

Just a couple of days ago, Tuesday 17th August, someone was air-lifted off a huge rock from Great Western Beach as I watched, and filmed it, through my window. Possibly someone had climbed up there and thought that it was be easy to get themselves down again, but it's not that simple once you're up there. Maybe the person had slipped and injured themselves. I don't really know, but the air ambulance is such a familiar sight and sound above my dwelling place here on the high cliffs, that I almost miss it when it's not around so much during the winter months.

Happily, I don't think there have been any serious injuries or even deaths as there was last year. But it is a very dangerous, albeit lovely, coastline and the high cliffs are tempting to young people. I know, I've climbed them myself, long time ago. But there were no Air ambulances back then. You really had to get yourself down or you just didn't go there up in the first place.

The Milky Way - our galactic home in the universe

I'm an amateur astronomer with Galaxy Zoo and Zooniverse

so here's Part One of my astronomy blog

A few facts about the Milky Way.

The faint, luminous band of light that can be seen stretching across the sky on a clear night, away from town and city lights, is our galaxy. The Milky Way. The home of our sun and our solar system and of billions of stars. All the stars we can see in the sky with our naked eye are part of the milky way.

The Milky Way is just one of billions of other galaxies in the known universe and it belongs to what is known as 'the local group' - a cluster of galaxies in the immediate vicinity. It's the second largest galaxy in the local group, the Andromeda Galaxy or M31, being the largest.

Like the Andromeda Galaxy, the Milky Way is a huge spiral galaxy, but recently scientists have discovered that, unlike Andromeda, the Milky Way is a barred spiral. That is, it has a bar running across the central part. The bar was only discovered quite recently. It's existence was confirmed using the Spitzer Space Telescope in 2005.

Living on the planet Earth and being part of the galaxy, we cannot see it's spiral structure. This is a great shame. It would be wonderful to see the structure from 'outside' as it were. But astronomers have a good estimate of it's size and appearance using data from radio emissions given out from the galaxy.

The Milky Way is believed to be more than 13 billion years old which is virtually as old as the entire universe itself. It has a very large circumference of around 250 to 300 billion light years. (see Footnote for description of a "light year"). Whilst the galactic disk has a diameter of between 70,000 and 100,000 light years. The galaxy contains between 200 billion and 400 billion stars, in comparison with the Andromeda system which contains a trillion stars.

Even though Andromeda (M31) has more stars than the Milky Way they both have about the same overall mass (or density). This means that our own galaxy is more dense than M31.

It is thought that the spiral arms are wound fairly loosely around the galactic centre.

The distance of the sun from the centre of the galaxy is estimated at around 26,000 light years. This is closer than was at first thought - 36,000 light years being the previous estimate.

The centre of the galaxy, detected by radio emissions, contains a large mass known as Sagittarius A, which itself contains a supermassive Black Hole. This is in accordance with almost all massive spiral galaxies, most are homes to black holes at their centre.

Also in the centre, the galactic bar is around 27,000 light years across, and the bar itself is surrounded by a ring called the "5-kpc ring" If viewed from outside the galaxy, this ring would be visible as the brightest part of the galaxy.

At one time there were thought to be four spiral arms surrounding the central bulge, but now it is known that there are just two major arms; the Perseus arm and the Scutum-centaurus arm. The rest is made up of minor arms.

As with the vast majority of spirals, the Milky Way has a galactic halo made up chiefly of old stars and globular clusters of stars. There is also a river of galactic debris from a 'too close encounter' with the Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical galaxy - the interaction with the Milky Way tearing the dwarf galaxy apart. In addition, a ring of debris was found from a galactic encounter with the Canis Major Dwarf galaxy and this stream of debris encircles the galactic disk.

A mysterious huge and diffuse structure in the galactic plain was discovered by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. It spreads through a huge area about 5,000 times that of the full moon and rises almost perpendicular to the spiral disk. The current theory as to what this structure is suggests that it is a dwarf galaxy merging with the Milky Way. In other words, our galaxy is gobbling up a much smaller one.

Scientists think that in around 3 billion years the Milky Way will collide with the Andromeda Galaxy, as the two are moving towards each other. Also the outer edge of the Andromeda galaxy spreads out much further than was at first thought, and it may be possible that this applies to the Milky Way Galaxy too. So the question might be - are the two galaxies in some ways linked to each other? Only time will tell. More time than we will ever know.

* * *

Footnote: A "light year" is a measure of how fast light travels in a year.

Light travels at 186,000 miles per second1

In a year that's 5.88 trillion miles

Note: Top picture of the Milky Way looking from Earth and an artist's impression of the Milky Way

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_Way

* * *

Perseids meteor shower

The Perseids meteor shower is the brightest meteor shower visible from earth. It happens every year between August 9th and 14th depending on the particular location of the stream. At it's peak the rate of meteors is around 60 per hour and they can be seen all across the sky.

The Perseids have been visible for about 2000 years and are associated with the comet Swift-Tuttle.

As with all meteor showers, they peak at pre-dawn hours. This is because the side of the Earth turning towards the sun gathers up most meteors as it moves through space.

Last night, August 12th was the time when the most meteors would be visible in one night. Here in in Cornwall the skies were overcast and so we did not see any; although other parts of the country had great views. Today 13th August, the skies are clear and so, fingers crossed they will be visible here in Cornwall tonight.

* * *

UPDATE: August 14th 17.26: Clear skies across mid Cornwall last night ensured that I saw a few meteors between 11pm and just after 12am. So now I am satisfied !

The Boardmasters surfing festival Fistral Beach Newquay 2010

The Boardmaster surfing festival visited Newquay once again this year.

The 4th of August through August 7th saw lots of people walking throughout the town and making their way down to Fistral Beach. I was one of them.

Although crowded, I didn't think there were as many people this year as there were last year, but according to the press more people attended.

I went there to have a look around the various gift stalls that have become a major feature of the Boardmaster's village. Sun glasses huts, surfboards, wet suits and an array of T-shirts and other clothing were in abundance again this year. Along with souvenirs such as key rings, pots, ornaments etc. There was also a good variety of food down there, everything from Cornish Pasties to strawberry and marshmallow chocolate covered fondues. I had a hard time resisting all these delicious looking goodies.

I had taken my camera and so I got videos of some of the other competitions that were underway. The skateboard gymnastics is always popular as is the same on mountain bikes.

It wasn't the warmest of days and so I didn't hang around too long. Just long enough to get a few pictures and and a cold beer which had me shivering even more, and so I headed home had a coffee and warmed up.

* * *

Tomb-stoning at Newquay harbour

Tomb-stoning the school kids' craze that goes on every summer from the harbour walls at Newquay Bay. Totally illegal, there are signs all over the harbour saying so…and still they do it despite one person being paralysed from the neck down (He dove in).

Miami and Caribbean Cruise October 2009 - Part 3

SOUTH BEACH MIAMI

Part Three

How quickly a week passes by.

Saturday 24^th and we left the ship. Getting off the ship was relatively easy if somewhat tiring. 3000 passengers had to be off the ship by 11am. We disembarked deck by deck.

As we were on the ninth deck which was one of the highest decks on the ship our debarkation was one of the last. We sat on deck and waited our turn to be called. Andrew went for a drink and a sandwich and somehow got himself into a steaming row with a lady in the queue. She was on deck number nine too, and so we had an uncomfortable wait with the lady in question glaring at us from across the deck.

Eventually we got off the boat with our luggage in tow. Even though the glamourous part of Miami now awaited us, there was never-the-less a slight feeling of dejection; we had just left the ship. We had left our friends behind and Kay and I were out there to fend for ourselves once more. The pampering was gone. And there was another feeling, one of deja vu, as yes it was another sweltering experience as we hung around and waited for a cab to take us to the second hotel. Eventually that much welcome cab appeared and we were on the move once more. This time to the new Claremont Hotel situated on South Beach Miami.

Our taxi diver was a Haitian who gave a prolific demonstration of cursing and swearing in his native tongue at all the other taxi drivers who, for reasons we never figured out, annoyed him. Could that reason have been us? Copious amounts of luggage and all?

Whatever, on we rolled this time to our hotel on South Beach. We had arrived. We were now among the 'glitteratti.' Millionaires' playground. Sugar daddies?

The hotel was undergoing a refurbishment. But it was nice. A lovely example of the Art Deco style for which South Beach is famous. And virtually only two minutes walk from the glorious beach.

We dragged our weary selves into reception. A cheerful and laid back young man greeted us. A guy who immediately informed us that he was gay. Really? There was no need for him to clarify. Gay banter, gay gestures and gay smile warmed our afternoon. He was one funny, entertaining man! Obviously revelling in what he thought of as a superb state! He exchanged trivial and fun banter with us and made our checking in experience…well….different.

He told us of his boyfriends, past and present, and it seemed some potential future ones too; wealthy ones in particular. (Who says that only women are gold diggers?) All this whilst we were checking in.

And all this was fine but there soon became a minor problem. Everything as it was, he assumed that Kay and myself were gay too, and so, to our amusement he assigned us to a room with just one Queen sized bed. Oh, the irony of it all.

Quick as a flash, back down to reception we went. OMG we need a room with two beds… Oh, well okay I'll change that……He did without batting an eyelid, (not in front of us anyway), and so still giggling we arrived in what was to be our room for our stay in South Beach, Miami.

After the check-in to upstage all check-ins and followed by a much needed rest (cruising is usually a hectic business with Carnival Cruise-lines), we made our way over to the beach. It was just beautiful. We stroll on the exotic walkway lined with high swaying palm trees murmuring sweet nothings to each other above our heads; all the while framing the silver white sand.

We hung around there a while, watching sunbathers and people riding along the sand in golf buggy type carts. In fact we hung around a little too long. Huge thunder clouds were rapidly building on the near horizon. Having lived on this side of the "pond" for a number of years I knew what was coming. The others didn't. And so when I tried to warn them that we were in for a deluge to probably beat any deluge they had ever seen before, they looked at me and took it with a pinch of salt. Too bad…..

However all agreed that it was time we were heading back and so we set off for the hotel. It was as we were walking along that ….wham…down came one the the biggest downpours of all time.

The hotel was now just across the road, but we were getting very wet very quickly. We sheltered under the coconut palms - a hazard in itself. If a coconut falls and hits you on the head, "Bye bye South Beach." But in spite of this we were reluctant to leave the shelter of the palms. Until, that is, standing there under the copious branches we were now beginning to get drenched as well as being in danger of being flattened by a falling coconut; and no one was in the mood for getting themselves killed. Thus, as the thunderous rain showed no sign of letting up, we decided to make a dash for the comfortable shelter of the hotel tempting us from just across the street.

We made it on to the hotel veranda and to say we were wet was an understatement. Dripping was a much better description. But holiday mood was upon us, so we sat on the porch and watched the now flooded street and the cars go by; throwing up vast amounts of water which almost obliterated them from view.

Back in our room we showered, dried and a few hours later we set out for the now famous, fashionable and elegant Lincoln Road. A glorious stretch of shops and bright, colourful outdoor cafes where you can sit, have a meal and watch the world go by. We found a cafe we liked and seated ourselves at one of the outdoor side walk tables and then ordered a meal from the copious menu.

The magic that is Miami slowly wove it's spell. Parakeets and other exotic birds flittered around in the high palm trees above us and the night scented air smelt of wine. As darkness fell, lanterns were lit on the tables and around the colourful umbrellas. The atmosphere was charming and seductive. Bliss.

Our meal arrived and it was, as is always the case in the Southern States, big enough for several people. We talked, laughed and afterwards savoured the various treats and lavish shops along Lincoln Road, before gradually making our way back to the hotel.

It was to be our last night with Andrew and Cathy as they were about to embark on another cruise to the western Caribbean. Was I jealous? NOT! Well only a little. Come morning and we said 'Goodbye' to them and wished them Bon Voyage, waved them off and then Kay and myself set out to try a taste of Miami.

A trip to the Everglades was the highlight of our three day stay. We were taken directly from our hotel by taxi, transferred to a second taxi and finally arrived at Everglades Safari Park. Our ride on the airboat over the alligator filled marshes was one of the most exciting events of the entire holiday.

Apparently, a cold spell in Miami before we arrived had sent the alligators underwater for warmth. That meant they were slow to make an appearance on this particular trip, even though it was now a sweltering 100 F in the shade. It was only when we were heading back that one popped it's head through the water and eyed us and the boat going by.

The ride was followed by a visit to the alligator enclosure to watch them all at feeding time. And it was there that I was able to hold a baby alligator named Snappy and have my picture took with him. He was delightful. So was the guy who looked after them all, but alas, he was not one of the exhibits to be held. Later we strolled for a while through the walkways and foliage of the National Park and were amused by a few alligators who obliged by popping up through the water, often just two eyes visible, watching all that was going on around them.

After lunch and back in Downtown Miami, we took boat trip around the houses of the rich and famous followed by a bus tour of Miami. Places like Coconut Grove and Little Havana, the latter being Miami's Cuban district, and the Marina were just three of the fascinating districts this amazing city had to offer.

We were tired when we finally returned to our hotel. And there was something of a surprise waiting for us when we got back to our room. Next door, was a Haitian family. Our two rooms had a boarded up adjoining door. The Haitian family were having a vicious row, and Kay and I envisaged guns being drawn, and the whole thing got to the point where we thought we may have to hide at the bottom of the bed to dodge any stray bullets that might find their way into our bedroom. Seriously.

Eventually the row subsided. No bullets.

Peace descended once more and with it, for us, another evening stroll on Lincoln Road for another bumper meal. I was hijacked by a Michael Jackson lookalike street dancer who would not let me pass until I had done a dance routine with him. It kinda made up for the fact that I was one of those who were bitterly disappointed not to see him live at the O2 in London due cancellation by his untimely death.

Later we shopped and I bought some clothes and souvenirs and and so another day in Miami had come to an end. Tomorrow would be our last.

And as always happens, that final day arrived. Our plane was not due to leave until evening and so we spent most of the afternoon sunbathing on Miami Beach and then after finishing our packing back at he hotel, we got a cab to the airport and said "goodbye" to Miami. The trip was over. I was sad.

The red-eye flight to London Heathrow proved to be a bumpy one. Lots of turbulence. Lots of being shaken around. But I came home with some nice memories, and that's what holidays are all about.

* * *

FOOTNOTE: Picture - one of the alligators at Everglades National Park Miami, waiting to be fed

Miami and Caribbean Cruise - Part two

The cruise

Here it is. A follow up on the Miami Caribbean vacation:

* * *

Saturday 17th October 2009, we checked out of the Airport Regency Hotel, excited about the second stage of our holiday.

The hotel transport took us down to the Port of Miami to board our cruise ship. It was here we had our first breathtaking sight of the ship itself, the Carnival Liberty. An awesome 110,000 ton vessel carrying 3000 passengers and 1150 crew.

Even though embarkation was handled smoothly by the Port of Miami, the actual boarding felt like a lengthy process - a lot of standing and queuing and sweating and wilting in the sweltering heat, but finally, and by by this time looking somewhat bedraggled, we set foot on the ship itself, only to be hijacked by an official photographer. That's right. What a picture that must have been. Temporarily stressed, harassed and just wanting to get into our cabins…..

Our eagerly awaited voyage to the Eastern Caribbean had begun. Almost begun that is. The waiting around was not over yet. We had to wait until our cabins had been valeted! But this wait was a little more comfortable as we could sit down and rest and we were excited.

Word came through the ship's loud speaker system that our cabins were ready. So off we went to explore them and unpack. Then, barely after setting foot over the threshold, we were told that we would have to take part in a safety drill. Our cabins were on the ninth deck and the drill was on the bottom deck. Use of the elevators were not allowed for the drill and so we had to make our way down nine double sets of stairs. No laughing matter when you have a sore knee, as I had. The drill itself caused considerable amusement and produced yet another period of waiting around, but it was fun!! After it was over we returned to our cabin, this time via the elevators. We had four hours to explore the cabins along with a little of the huge ship before it finally set sail.

The ship itself was spotlessly clean. The cabin staff were really friendly. We just knew right away the we would be thoroughly spoiled throughout the entire time. The cabins themselves were quite spacious with ample room to walk around and plenty of space for clothes and toiletries etc. Two ladies sharing a room need space! Hair-dryers and a TV set were in every cabin.

As we left the Port of Miami I watched with a mixture of fascination and a kind of disbelief . It was really all happening. It was an unforgettable experience. We were not disappointed. We waved at the people along the beach and shore as we moved away, and they waved back at us. We had begun our cruise in style. Just like in the movies!

Time to eat. Our cabins were on the Lido deck and it was just a short stroll to Emile's self service buffet restaurant which was also situated on the Lido deck. It was brimming with many gourmet delights and included a Burrito bar and a Sushi bar. Fish and chips were available upstairs in quieter surroundings.

Everyone was in high spirits and looking forward to visiting the exotic places our cruise would take us. Breathtaking destinations such as Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas, St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands, San Juan in Puerto Rico and Grand Turk.

The evening dinner was a lavish affair in the Silver Olympian Dining Room. Afterwards the adrenaline was running high and Kay and myself went up onto the deck for cocktails and stayed there until 2am in the morning. I sipped my cocktail and watched the night sky for ages. It was very dark out there on the ocean and the Milky Way was visible. The glorious band of light stretching across the sky up there among the stars, which of course is our galaxy viewed sideways on. Plus seeing the other cruise ships that had left the Port of Miami with us was a beautiful sight too. They floated on the horizons all lit up and glowing in the distance. Great floating palaces. Fabulous.

And so after this long, long day, thoughts of going to sleep became an attractive idea and off to our cabins we went. I got into my bed totally exhausted, looking forward to the new experience that tomorrow would bring.

The morning saw a sudden change in the itinery. We awoke to the news that a storm in the vicinity decreed that we should visit Nassau instead of Half Moon Cay. Oh well. C'est la vie. A tinge of disappointment as we felt that Nassau would perhaps not be as relaxing as the original scheduled destination. Never-the-less we were up for it. It turned out to be great fun.

Getting ashore was a lengthily business, after all there were three thousand passengers to disembark. And so after another spell of waiting around we made it onto dry land, and once ashore decided to take a guided tour of the lovely island of Nassau which included a tour of the truly exotic Paradise Island with it's Sultan style palace. From a distance the palace looked like a big blob of pink icing on a very fancy cake. Close up it was spectacular. A sister palace to the one in Dubai. Inside the walls themselves were lined with a huge aquarium. Tropical fish swam around from all angles as you wandered in awe from sumptuous room to sumptuous room. An overwhelming insight as to how the other half live!

Monday was a full day at sea and there was plenty to amuse us on board the ship. A hairy chest contest was in full swing on the main deck as we sailed out of the Bahamas. In fact there was not a dull moment the whole time we were aboard. We were after all afloat on a ship which boasted twenty two bars and lounges, two swimming pools and two jacuzzis. A water slide. A mini golf course, a jogging track for the energetic; not to mention all the sunbathing on deck. A giant LCD screen 12ft by 22ft loomed over the Lido deck swimming pool, showing everything from shows and movies to some of the 'fun' antics going on aboard the 'fun ship.'

St Thomas, in the delightful US Virgin Island was our second port of call. Here we hired a private car and visited some of the lovely beaches this Island has to offer. Cathy and Andrew had a feast of snorkelling. Kay and myself elected to sunbathe. Iguanas posed for us whilst we took pictures of them. The views from the higher slopes of the Island were breath taking and often we could see our ship anchored in the port far below us.

Our third destination was the city of San Juan, on the lovely, vibrant island of Puerto Rico. Here we took a free trolley ride around the city, an inexpensive way to go sightseeing. The Castillo san Felipe del Morro is a World Heritage Site steeped in history and dominates the small harbour. Sightseeing was followed by a look around the fascinating shops in Downtown San Juan. After the brief shopping spree we headed for Senor Froggs, a lively party bar and great fun. On entering we were adorned with balloons. A lady came around and painted our faces. We joined in a friendly conga and all in in the middle of the afternoon!! Party hardy guys!

Our final destination ashore was to the small but very lovely island of Grand Turk in the Turk and Caicos Islands. Now we were on UK soil. And you guessed it! The rain was hammering when we sailed into port. Oh my, how it rained. We glanced at each other in trepidation but then happily after a short while the downpour ceased and voila!! one of the most beautiful days of the whole trip emerged.

Leaving the ship we made for the duty free shops! Amazing how these shop seem to be more expensive than most shops you find in your own home town. By now it was very hot and so onto the sun loungers for a spell of sun bathing and a dip in the turquoise sea. Glorious sunshine blessed us for the rest of our stay. Cathy and Andrew had a great time snorkelling. Once again Kay and I opted for an intensive spell of sunbathing. Gotta work on that tan.

Back on board for another full day at sea and this was to be our last day. Of course the saddest part of any cruise is the last night when you have to say farewell to those whom you have come to know over the week. And in that short space of time, we felt that we had come to know many of the crew members on board this magnificent ship. The staff in the Silver Olympian Dining Room where we we had enjoyed many a feast, and where the waiters had sung and danced and entertained us, eagerly posed for photographs with us. They were as sad to see us go as we were sad to leave them. For a whole week they had tolerated our eating and drinking quirks without so much as a bat of an eyelid, and we were very grateful to them. In fact it seemed they automatically knew our likes and dislikes. Amazing. All the crew had become like family to us.

We would not have the slightest hesitation recommending this cruise to anyone who may be wondering if cruising is for for them. We all agreed that we would certainly love to do it all again.

And so our cruise around the islands of the Eastern Caribbean had ended. But that was by no means the end of our holiday. Kay and I were to leave Andrew and Cathy next day, but she and I were about to embark on the third and equally glorious part of our adventure - a few days in South Beach, Miami. But that's another blog.

* * *

Footnote: The picture shows Kay and myself in the mood for some Calypso in Nassau

Miami and Eastern Caribbean Cruise October 2009 - Part One

Miami and Eastern Caribbean Cruise

October 2009

Part one - Hello Miami

My vacation time is almost here again: Southern Crete in September. It has brought back memories of last years great holiday. Here it is.

* * *

Travelling on the 10.30pm Tuesday overnight National Express from Newquay to London Heathrow Airport (and surviving it), I awoke on the bus to discover it was Wednesday. By some miracle I had actually managed to fall asleep on the darned thing.This was a double miracle as at first I got nauseated going through the narrow winding country lanes in Cornwall and had to visit the awful portable loo a few times…nuff said….. Well, before I fell asleep proper, my friend got on at Exeter and very kindly took the seat in front so she didn't disturb me (very thoughtful).

Eventually Heathrow Airport loomed and we descended from the coach to the sleepy bus terminal. It was 5.15am….

After finding somewhere to get a mediocre coffee. We sat and sipped it until our other two friends joined us and after a considerable period of waiting around, 9.55am arrived and hey presto it was time to board the plane.

Yes, the time had come and Kay, myself and our friends, namely Cathy and Andrew Haglington of the UK Social Group checked in and soon we were on our way to Miami courtesy of American Airways.

The flight was uneventful, unlike some flights I've been on..(maybe that's another tale) and I had a delightful American air stewardess who served my gin and tonics with style and grace. G and Ts are one of my all time customary rituals when I fly. The holiday had begun.

After spending a long but pleasant nine hours in the air, during which I watched Ice Age 3 and fell in love all over again with Scrat the Squirrel, we eventually arrived at Miami International Airport, a feeling of excitement in the air.

The weather was very hot, hot, hot and very humid and when we finally cleared customs and stepped outside the airport doors I could have sworn that we had been plunged into a sauna.

Melting in the heat and humidity of Miami, we stood and waited for our taxi which seemed to take an eternity to arrive. But eventually arrive it did and whisked us off to our hotel; the first of three accommodations that we were to enjoy on this lovely trip.

On arrival at our hotel, the Airport Regency, we checked in and then off to find our rooms. They were large and spacious as US hotel rooms always are. A quick freshen up and we headed outside to the pool to lounge around and to have a cool refreshing swim. Given that the hotel was full, there were not many people around the pool area, and so we virtually had the pool to ourselves which was great.

And so after snacks and food on the airplane, the obvious was happening; hunger was catching up with us as well as the jet lag. We needed to eat and have something substantial in our stomachs and so we headed into the surrounding streets to find a restaurant. It was not difficult. Plenty of bars and cafes most of which were a hive of buzzing activity adorned the streets even though we were quite a way from Downtown Miami.

We spent three nights in this part of Miami. It was a taster of what would come later at our other hotel on South Beach where Kay and I would stay after our Caribbean cruise. I looked forward to being underneath those elegant, huge palm trees on South Beach, but that would have to wait. A cruise was the next thing on the agenda and that was almost upon us.

Day two and getting into the good old shopping mode, we hit the The Dolphin Shopping Mall for which the hotel obligingly ran public transport to and from. It is a huge mall with lots of shops, restaurants, bars, fountains and just about everything that anyone could think of. It was a shopper's paradise. I got hijacked on my way around, someone wanted to do a professional made up job on my face. It was a pity that I did not have time to linger there and have it done.

The night before we boarded the ship for our cruise, we booked a cab and had a lengthy drive, (all around Miami or so it felt) to The Outback Australian themed restaurant. This was a lively and very colourful place with a great 'bush tucker', menu. The ambience was relaxed and friendly……..America meets Australia…… a great combination. Music, beer and lots of food. It was good to be in the US once again.

We met up on the final night and had a chat about our upcoming cruise. We were all looking forward to it. For Kay and myself it would be a new experience. We had never been on a cruise before. I was just dying to leap aboard, get in my cabin and set sail for those wonderful caribbean Islands; like we were about to step into a TV show.

And so that night we slept and dreamed of sailing the seas and being pampered by big muscular hunky men…….and having lots of fun. We were not disappointed as far as the fun went. The men? Well maybe that's another story. And so on to our cruise and another blog……..

* * *

FOOTNOTE: Picture of Kay, Andrew and myself outside our Airport Hotel

Rescue at Towan Beach Newquay

Air Ambulance in Newquay

It was yesterday, the 4th August 2010 at around 4.15pm. Yes it is summer again, that time of the year when everyone should be enjoying themselves in Newquay. And the vast majority are doing precisely that.

So all the tourists are here and sumer season is in full swing with the Boardmasters, a major surfing festival underway once again.

On the afternoon in question, I was in the process of preparing a dessert for my evening meal when I heard the helicopter flying low overhead. Looking out the window I saw it hover and then land on Towan Beach.

Oh dear, I thought. Here we go.

The chopper sat for a short while on Towan Beach, and by now it had gathered a lot of sightseers as it were. People all around it were sitting and standing on the beach, most with their surfboards. Others were standin on the high cliffs above, watching the scene below.

After a while the helicopter took off again, did a kind of loop and landed again in a small cove right next to Towan.

I grabbed my camera which has a record mode. The zoom isn't too great so I could not see what was happening too well. I didn't have time to get my camcorder, which would have shown the scene with a lot more clarity. It's always fascinating to see the efficiency with which these guys work - how they co-ordinate their rescues with the life guards and often the Lifeboats too if the emergency occurs out at sea. Happily the latter was not necessary in this case.

After five minutes or so the chopper took off most likely on it's way to Trelisk, Cornwall's main hospital in Truro.

I don't think anybody had fallen from a cliff, well I sincerely hope not. We had bad injuries and even deaths from cliff falls at least six time last year in the summer season.

But I'm thinking in this case it was someone who had got into trouble in the water, maybe someone on a surfboard who had fallen off and was and knocked out by it. It does happen.

It all highlights how dangerous the sea and the high cliffs that surround Cornwall are. They make the county amazingly beautiful but can be a hazard for tourists, and sometimes for residents too.

It is a must that visitors read a guide book or a leaflet advising where it is safe to bathe and where it is not. Then they will leave for home with happy memories.

Nocturnal "Encounters" in Newquay

UFOs…Black Holes?

Close Encounters? Well almost.


Here's how it happened…

10.30pm August 3rd and I am tired so I decided it's time I hit the sack (party animal that I am).

And so it was that I laid my head down on my pillow to go to sleep. Snuggled down, closed my eyes…and then opened them again - This closing and then opening of eyes is an odd ritual I go through every night. It's called insomnia.

Well upon opening them I glanced out of the window to see if the moon was shining up there amongst the stars..... and……. Whoa!……. what was that floating through the night sky? Was it smoke? Was there a fire? Couldn't smell anything burning but you never know. Best make sure.

And so to satisfy my curiosity what did I do? Yes that's right. I got up out of bed and looked out of the window.

Gasp! Followed by another….Gasp!

What was that up there in the sky?

A huge montage of swirling lights. Lots of them spinning around clockwise and pulsating in and out. Like a huge pale animated sunflower painted in the night sky.

I stood there mesmerised trying to make out what the hell it was I was looking at. I had only had one glass of wine that evening so my imagination was not playing tricks on me. Was I dreaming? No. I pinched myself. I was awake.

Anyways. There I stood for a while watching these dancing lights in the sky.

Aliens, I thought…funny looking green men….abductions…..

Then I remembered I had been reading Professor Stephen Hawking's book "A Brief History of Time" and I knew it…..my immediate suspicions confirmed.

A BLACK HOLE…….come to suck us all in!

I recalled what Professor Hawkins has said about the moment you are being pulled into a Black Hole. First you are stretched, elongated to a great length and then shredded like spaghetti and then you are compressed into a very dense and very minute spot or blob, if you like, and spat out the other side of the abyss. Yuk.

And so it was, shivering in my bath robe and bare footed, I stood at the window waiting to be either abducted by aliens or shredded like a plate of pasta. Did I have a choice? I wondered. I really wasn't up for being abducted and I didn't much fancy being food for a Black Hole.

Climbing back into bed - and trying to resist a temptation to hide under the covers. I decided that whatever it was out there was benign and so I thought I should attempt to go to sleep.

But before doing so, a quick peep again through the window and I realised the lights were subsiding. Good. The aliens have had their fill of Newquay. Too noisy. Too many bars. Too many surf shops. Too many drunks……too much…well you get the picture.

I did manage to drift off to sleep…….and then about 1.30am I awoke again quite suddenly. Glancing out the window and thinking how nice and peaceful it was with just the sound of the ocean lapping up the beach when………oh no!…. They were back again! They had sent their Black Hole to sneak up and get me whilst I was sleeping. Oh nooooo…..

Getting out of bed again to have another look, and yes, there they were once more in all their glory.

I looked around but could not see any laser beams coming from any of the clubs around Newquay. Was it the reflection of water from the harbour I was seeing? No, that wasn't right either. Not possible. The ring of lights was huge.

It was not warm standing there with the window open, so I resigned myself that if I was to be abducted, well so be it. And thus I climbed back into bed and once more fell asleep while the strange celestial light dance went on above me.

Morning broke. I awoke and all was quiet. No more lights. No abductions that I was aware of. No spaghetti hanging from…….I'll leave it to your imagination.

I asked others in the apartment block if anyone else had seen the bizarre light show and Yes, they had.

No one knew what it was. One person (who hadn't seen it) suggested that it was strobe lighting from a disco that was going on in Berties Night Club. Maybe. But I have seen those lights from the disco before and they did not look like the ones I saw on the night of the third of August.

Oh well, there must be a rational explanation. The following night was 'normal', whatever 'normal' is for Newquay in party mode. But I will keep my eyes on the skies again tonight and tomorrow night and probably every other forthcoming night..….and if I see them again and if I find out what they really are I will let you know.

That is assuming a big headed, bug eyed monster doesn't appear and try to whisk me off to a pink and purple remote planet somewhere in the far distant reaches of the universe......

If he does there's only one thing I have to say to him…UFO!