It's cool in Canada

Our yard in winter

December 4th 2010. Freezing rain today in the UK. And as I slip around on the black ice, my thoughts stray to another place, a few thousand miles away  where we had a continual slide throughout the long winters.

So we think it's cold here in the UK? There's cold and there's cold, and when you've lived for ten years in Canada, boy you know what cold is. You sure do. It's life in the freezer cold…and then some…..

Would the car start in the morning? No it wouldn't and that was only at the very beginning of the long winter. So I got myself an engine heating block. My boyfriend fitted it on the car engine and then plugged  the car into a wall socket in the garage, so the engine didn't freeze up overnight. 

So far so good. But in the thick of winter, getting from the house into the car was a nightmare. A very cold recurring one. So I was told by my boyfriend that I needed a "command start". He said it was an absolute must if I was not to die of frost bite getting from the  front door to the car.

With this wondrous little gadget that fitted  onto my keyring, I could switch on the car engine, turn the car heating on and then unlock the car door, all from the warmth of the kitchen. And then came the inevitable and necessary 'dash for it' before I developed frost bite on my exposed nose and other extremities as I made my way into the garage and, hopefully sat in a warm car ready to start the day.

I was told that if you inhaled freezing air for too long, the ice particles would get into your lungs and after a while your body temperature would not be able to counteract the effects……

I was also told that if you spit (yes, spit) (yuk) the spittle would freeze before it hit the ground. (Yuk again). Don't know. A bit too much information! Never met anyone who had tried it - though I'm sure some had!

Our usual watering hole was The Royal Canadian Legion - Branch 59, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan to be exact, and on the days we called in for a beer (and sometimes a Gin and Tonic in my case) or just a soft drink if one of us was driving, we would leave the car engine running whilst we were in there, otherwise it would not start when we came out. It would be completely frozen up. Okay,  it did nothing to help combat global warming or help the environment in general, but that's how you had to do it if you wanted a few hours of socialising and be sure to get home safely.

And then there was the Snow Blower. Oh my golly what fun we had with the snow blower. Holy Moly. The first time I tried it I had it turned the wrong way and managed to cover myself with about twelve inches of snow. To say it defeated the object is to put it mildly. I had turned into a very animated snow person. And it was always dry powdery snow. Not like the wet heavy stuff that you get in the UK but thin powdery snow that blows around easily, even in a moderate breeze, and so you can have a blizzard when in fact it is not snowing. "Blowing snow"........

The first winter I spent in Canada, I discovered that supermarket parking lots are not cleared along with the main highways and Main Streets. Therefore the snow becomes impacted  and  Voila!…very soon what you have is a mighty fine skating rink. My first attempts at manoeuvring my way from car to supermarket entrance was tricky to say the least. I only managed it by desperately holding onto each car as I inched my way towards the doors, terrified of ending up with broken bones. Although I never did break any bones, I sure went down on my derriere quite a few times. Painful….The embarrassment too…All the local people just skated across……..What I wimp I must have looked......

One of the beautiful and wondrous phenomena caused by temperatures that went down as low as -50C, was the awesome spectacle of the Solar Halo or Perihelion. A huge ring around the sun, and at right, left, top and bottom -  a mini sun, sometimes in the form of a cross, other times just a mini rainbow sun. Locals call them "Sun Dogs"  -  the sun was taking the dogs for a walk? A charming feat of imagination….

The Sun Dog phenomena is created by ice crystals in the atmosphere, and in the morning sunshine these crystals were visible, shimmering like a thousand tiny diamonds scattered in the air. An amazing sight in itself.

One of the Sun Dogs

And yet we were very rarely "snowed in". We always managed to get out. No schools of work places where ever closed.

I remember the year in the early hours of  New Years Day 2003, there was a huge fire in Downtown Moose Jaw. If I remember correctly, three department stores were burned to the ground. Thing was, as the fire hoses were putting out the fire, the water was  immediately freezing again on the exposed pipes and on the walls of the surrounding buildings, even as the fire was raging, making weird "ice sculptures" which remained throughout the long winter, until the first warmth of Spring came along and melted them.

Another year, Elks and Deer came in from the open Prairies searching for food. It was not unusual to open the blinds in the morning and come face to face with an Elk, standing right there looking in the window at you. 

Happy times.

"Ice sculptures" left after water from fire hoses froze
Moose Jaw fire New Years Day 2003

Great Mince Pie Recipe

With the festive season almost upon us, here's one of the best recipes for Mince Pies I know. (Curtesy of Tesco's Supermarkets)

Mince Pies

275g flour (9 3/4 oz)

40g castor sugar (1 1/2oz)

Zest of an orange

1/2 tsp salt

140g butter

2 egg yolks

2 tbsp cold water

1 egg

2 x jars mincemeat (home made if possible).

1. Put flour, sugar, orange zest and salt into a bowl or food processor. Add chopped cold butter. Either rub with fingers of pulse in the food processor. Do this until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Whip both egg yolks and water together. Add them to the flour mixture. Keep mixing them until it all blends together.

2. Turn onto a floured surface and form a ball. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 10 minutes.

3. Heat the oven to 190C Gas 5, Roll out the pastry to 3-4 mm. Select two pastry cutters - one small for the tops. One larger for the bottoms. Grease a fairy case tin and place a pastry round in each hole. Press gently into place. Add a teaspoonful of mince meat to each. Damp the edges of the pastry and put the small round of pastry on top as a cover. Press the edges together. Make a small hole in the top to allow the steam to escape. Brush with beaten egg.

4. Bake for 20 minutes until golden. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

* * *

Snow, ice and the wind of lost souls

Snow came to Newquay during the night in the early hours of Saturday the 27th of November 2010. On Saturday morning, I awoke and looked at my sloping loft apartment window and there it was covering almost half of the window. Snow. Fluffy white stuff. A rare sight in Newquay.

And following the snow there came the icy, biting wind. Blowing in from the Atlantic ocean, freezing to the bone everyone with whom it came into contact. And it did not go about it's icy business quietly. No. It howled and screeched as it wove it's path around the rooftops and chimneys. Slinking around the narrow alleyways, and roaring up the roads from the harbour and the beaches.

And so here I am in the middle of it all. I sit here at my laptop. The wind whistles all around me.

The last few days have been some of the coldest on record with sub-zero temperatures in Newquay made all the more freezing by the arctic blast blowing in from the sea.

Yesterday I went to my art group and that day too was a sub-zero day. As I walked back home and reached the harbour and the exposed sea at the top of North Quay Hill, I could have sworn my cheeks and nose had frozen solid. I seemed to be having a hard time moving the lower part of my face! Well, having lived in Canada for ten years I should be used to that, but I was still chilled to the bone….

There seems to be no let up from the icy, howling wind……always the wind……..pushing, pulling, knocking…the air never still…..

* * *

A few years ago, I lived in Yorkshire, in Haworth, the home of the Bronte sisters. High in the beautiful but often bleak Pennines. When the wind howled and moaned around the hillsides and the moors, the local people used to say it was the ghosts of Charlotte and Emily Bronte, their moans echoing over the moors and the rolling hills of West Yorkshire. Haunting, desperate cries that compliment the wild bleakness of the moors around Higher Wuthens. Lonely, desolate cries reminiscent of eternal torment and terror carried forever on the wind……Cathy and Heathcliffe; Jane Eyre and Mr Rochester all rolled into one cry of pent up misery….Lost souls searching for one-another, an eternal call for help, for warmth, for comfort. A call for a help that is long overdue and will be ever thus.

So the tale goes……

* * *

And so now, as night falls, I sit here in the warmth of my loft apartment at the other end of the country in Newquay, and I hear the wind howling outside. It screeches. It moans. It reminds me of the legendary cry of Banshees, harbingers of Death. Whistling and thudding, banging and rattling the tiles on my apartment roof, making a huge din in general. Sometimes I think the whole shebang is about to collapse on my head. Really…living up in the roof can be quite scary at times.

Newquay itself has no shortage of ghost stories. Spooky tales that tap into the very essence of the wild, untamed scene that unfolds even more dramatically during the Winter months in Cornwall.

One such story belongs to the Gannel, an estuary very near to where I live. Yes, it is said to be haunted, but not by a human; but by a bird. A crake to be exact.

This feathered spirit is never seen, but it is certainly heard.

There are tales of men who work in the Gannel, men who keep down the weeds and grass, just going about their business....... and then suddenly being terrified by an "unearthly noise". Apparently, in bygone days, when horses were used to carry people around the town; the working men's horses heard it too. Heard the terrible cry rising from the very depths of the earth below the Gannel. And the horses also "took fright and bolted over the beach".

Numerous theories have been put forward as to what this terrible cry, (bone chilling in itself), can be attributed to. Some say that it is caused by the inrush of water through nearby caverns. Others say it is the wind…….

I look outside. Was that a large seagull that just flew past my window?…or could it be…..?

And that's not all. Even today there exists a belief that Vampires are living among us here in the West Country, and as recently as 1978 these nocturnal spectres paid a visit to Newquay Zoo. That year, the geese, swans and two wallabies were found slaughtered and their bodies drained of blood. Yet no blood was found around them or in the ground beneath them.

I shudder...…I look out my window again…..was that a black bin liner I just saw floating over the rooftops…….or could it have been……..?

Back to blogging after a two month break.............

I have had a couple of months between blogs. Not that I didn't know what to write about, it's just that I seemed to have too many things to do at once. Not to mention a lot of stress…whoops did I just mention that?

However I did find bit of time for leisure. My art group was running through September and October plus we had a small exhibition, so I was kept busy painting and helping organise things. We are going to have a much bigger exhibition at Christmas time, and so I am looking forward to that. I shall be displaying around a dozen paintings. We are holding the exhibition in a hotel. Our stand will be in an annex between two restaurants, so our work should be seen by quite a few people.

I treated myself to Neil Diamond's latest CD "Dreams". Another scaled down mainly acoustic album of some of his favourite songs written by other people. I particularly loved "Ain't no Sunshine" written by Bill Withers and previously recorded by Michael Jackson and the Jackson Five. I also loved Neil's rendition of Leslie Duncan's "Love Song", a previous version by Elton John. There's also a fine rendition of "Midnight Train to Georgia".

I read some great books too. I enjoyed reading one of Dean Koontz's early novels "Shattered". Packed with suspense. A real page turner. Then I read "The Ghost" by Robert Harris, a political satire on the Blair years, although the disclaimer says the usual…"This is a work of fiction……any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental"…Hmmmm

I enjoyed it, but I didn't think it was as good as some of Harris's other works.

Then I read the wonderful, haunting "A Quiet Belief in Angels" by R.J. Ellory. One of the best novels I have ever read. Having dark undertones of death and a serial child killer who commits terrible gruesome murders; I never-the-less found it to be untimely a celebration of life. Of love. Of survival. Of triumph over adversity. Yes, of belief. An amazing book by an amazing author.

And through all of this I continue to classify Hubble Deep Space galaxies for Galaxy Zoo; the Citizen Science project that is part of Zooniverse. There is a lot of work, a lot to learn and there are a lot of strange objects out there waiting to find a home on our databases. It's looking through time and space…looking back through time and space and seeing the most incredible sights and phenomena. The early stages of the universe, the birth of galaxies and stars. The distances, dimensions and numbers are too vast to comprehend. It's all mind-blowing stuff!!

And that's not all. As the images are initially photographed and 'sorted' by Hubble's computer, I am the first human being ever to see most of the galaxies I classify. I am looking at something no-one has ever seen before. Quite humbling really.

Zooniverse has a few projects currently running. There is Moon Zoo, Galaxy Mergers, Supernova Zoo and there is also a fascinating project tracking Solar Storms. The collected data is then used to help astronauts in space.

And a new project is the wonderful "Old Weather". We are given the charts from ships that have sailed in a bygone era; at the beginning of the last century and during the First World War for example. We record the ship's charted weather conditions onto a computer data base. It is to be used to help forecast future weather patterns around the globe. Also the day to day activities of the old ships are charted, and so we transfer those onto the computer data base too, for historians to study.

I am currently on HMS Invincible. She was torpedoed and sunk at the Battle of Jutland in 1916.

And that's not all! I saw an article in a medical journal suggesting that a "Lesion Zoo' maybe in the offing!! Something to look forward to.

www.zooniverse.org/home?ticket=ST-1290970566r5259A5678700CCFD69

An enchanting ride through snowy Cornwall without the raindeers !

Yesterday I went to Trevaskis Farm ay Hayle, Cornwall for lunch. It's a twenty five mile drive from Newquay. It rarely snows in Cornwall, but Friday night it snowed and on Saturday morning we all awoke to the stunning sight of the coast, cliffs and beaches covered in snow.

But that almost paled into significance when we set off from Newquay and drove through the white covered fields, lined with snow covered hedges and trees.

Quite a lot of the higher branches of the tress meet overhead on the narrow winding country lanes, and it was quite simply a magical experience to drive under them; all of them covered in snow and ice. All sparkling in the early afternoon sunshine, as if nature had bestowed on them millions of diamonds.

I felt like a winter's bride on a sleigh ride! Woot, woot !!

I won't forget that drive. It was the highlight of the day.

FOOTNOTE: Picture shows snow around Porth near Newquay, and toward Newquay Airport

Philip, the story of my son and his struggles with Autism

This bog is about my son Philip. He has the form of Autism now known as Asberger's Syndrome. He is now an adult, living, if that's what it can be called in a care home in Bradford.

Looking back, I realised just how much we missed out on. Just how much more could have been done to help him, if only there was the level of awareness into the condition that there is today.

Yes. Looking back I remember how it was when he was young. I remember sitting in our kitchen and my son would be standing in a corner looking at the wall. He would stand there for hours. Contemplating some amorphous something of which only he was aware. It was his "place of solitude" when the world became too much for him.

Whatever solace he found in that corner, we never really did find out. I only knew that his corner and wall were his retreats when things were getting a little out of hand for him. Sometimes he would reach out and touch the wall he had been staring at. He would run his hand along it feeling it's smoothness under his touch. It was as if the continuum of smooth and cool compensated for the turmoil of the day to day living that often frightened and confused him.

So the corner was his place of solace. The wall was where he called his own personal 'chaos' to order.

And so it went on. Sometimes, if he had had a particularly bad day, which occasionally arose from an imaginary slight by a school mate, he would bang his head furiously against the wall and we had to pull him away to stop him from hurting himself. It was always a dangerous thing to do, both for him (head banging) and for us trying to tear him away and calm him.

Years earlier when he was a just few years old, the concept of Autism was just that. There were no umbrella terms at that time. No Autistic Spectrum as exists today and there was very little if any treatment.

As a young child he played endlessly with water. Splashing it around in the sink and watching it fly into the air. He got very excited doing this. It was as if he had found that he too could make his mark in the world. That all those crazy perceived situations that left him unable to cope could be exorcised like a ghost, when he turned the taps full on and threw the water around. And it was always followed by Mum doing a mammoth mop up of the soaked bathroom floor! But afterwards he always seemed more relaxed as if his personal demons had been driven out, even if only for a short while.

Alas, this fascination with water turned to a fascination with fire. Now we were in trouble. He had to be watched constantly, for we had visions of the entire house going up in flames.

At the time we were seeing GPs, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers; the whole shebang. There were diagnoses and counter diagnoses going round. One moment he was Autistic. The next minute he was mentally handicapped (or mentally challenged to be politically correct). Eventually it was decided to put him in a nursery class with "normal" children. If he could match their scholarly milestones, then maybe he would be allowed to stay. But in short, he didn't. And so when he became too old to stay in the nursery class, he was transferred to a school for pupils with learning difficulties.

For the next few years, life for him and us wasn't too bad. He even acquired good reports and 'grades' at one point. As I was doing an Open University degree in psychology at the time, and some of that degree required research and thus quite complex mathematical formulas, I was surprised one day when he looked at a page full of symbols and said "That's a sum isn't it mum?". "Yes, Philip it is" I replied. I was then amazed when his teacher took me to one side and told me that he had developed an interest in arithmetic and he was getting good at it!

But all this was a long time ago and as his years at school were drawing to a close and he was now in his mid teens, his insecurities manifested themselves again and he became increasingly aware that he was 'different'; he was not like the other kids who played outside; who rough and tumbled and called each other names. He knew he could never be a match for them.

In no time he became increasingly paranoid, believing that the children outside were staring at him and calling him names. So he hid from them. Often when in the house, I had to draw the curtains so the kids outside could not "see'' him. At this time he spent hours and hours in his corner looking at the walls. Sometimes I could coax him out. Other times just trying made things worse.

Any eye contact, which had been reserved for myself and his sister, became non existent as he sunk further into his own world and shunned any outside contact. He became unable to look anyone in the eye. It was as if he was afraid of what he might read in another person's eyes. What he might discover in their souls. As if he might see himself reflected back through the mirror of their searching gaze. Gradually, he lost all contact with reality.

My increasing alarm prompted me to do some research into the condition, and gradually I began to find out about the 'different kinds of Autism' and that they all needed their own kind of treatment and handling of the 'client'. (As they were now called). I made a point of trying to educate the professionals, to show them that there were different degrees and different kinds of the condition. I have no doubt that they thought I was a neurotic mother and that I was meddling in things I knew little about and making their job more difficult.

It was only after many years of dreadful trauma, not only for my son but for the whole family, that the medics and "powers that be" conceded that he did indeed have Asperger's Syndrome.

But now there was little they could do to help him. His often bizarre and by now very violent behaviour patterns were ingrained into his personality. It was too late. He was an adult. Suicide attempts began, and time after time he was taken into hospital……

As his behaviour became unmanageable at home, he was put into one care home after another. All of them at first confident that they had the solution to his mental agony. All of them, after only about two weeks (yes) declaring themselves unable to cope with him, and thus he had to move on to yet another home.

Years have gone by and he is now "settled" if that is the correct word. He is as settled as he will probably ever be. He is a little more outgoing now, but the damage done back in his early years can never quite be undone.

He has mellowed, but I know that when things get tough, he stands in a corner and stares at the wall. But certain age brings wisdom, even to those afflicted with this awful condition, and now he knows just a little that the world is not out to hurt him and he can go to the pub with his friends and have an enjoyable time. In his later years he has found some part of himself, to an extent he has come to terms with his personal demons, and so he is not lost for ever any more. He now has a kind of solace. A kind of peace. A kind of life.

We all learn sooner or later that whatever happens to us, whatever rotten cards we are dealt, whatever goes wrong in our lives, we are still survivors. We have to be. We owe it to each other. We are the lucky ones who at least have been given a chance at life and when all the difficulties have been confronted, there is nothing sweeter than just being alive. I think Philip now knows that and makes the best of his limitations.

Sleepless in Crete

A balmy night. A beautiful greek island. Our last night in Agia Galina a charming fishing village/resort in Southern Crete.

The wine was following. The singing was flowing. The dancing was getting hectic. We had said we were going to dance the night away. Our bodies told us otherwise. And so about one o'clock in the morning, we all took ourselves back to our hotel rooms. Warmed by the wine. Some more than others.

And so it was thus that by the aforementioned one o'clock, I made my weary way hack to the hotel. I had not had too much wine, but a sore throat and sudden persistent cough - obviously I was going down with something - ensured that I had a headache anyway.

Back at my hotel room, I proceeded to get ready for bed in the usual manner. It seemed to be taking a little longer than usual because of the wine, the tiredness and the feeling that a flu bug had honed in on me at sometime during the holiday (or maybe just before).

Eventually I got into bed and I fell into a deep, deep sleep. A bit out of the ordinary really as I suffer from insomnia and so boy, I must have been exhausted.

Alas, this amnesic spell in blissful slumberland did not last long.

I awoke suddenly to a loud buzzing noise in my right ear. (I was lying on my left side). My head hurt like someone was crushing it it in a vice. The combination of the wine and the flu bug - or what ever it was - was doing me no favours. I tried to sit up to find out what the mysterious buzzing had been, but as I attempted to lift my head from the pillow, I could had sworn someone had hit me on the forehead with a baseball bat.

Finally managing to prop myself up and hearing nothing else in the immediate vicinity, I was convinced that the buzzing had been imaginary, partly due to a slight hangover which by now had me in it's grip and partly due to the sore throat and cough which in my wakefulness had returned.

And that wasn't all. With deepening horror, I became increasingly aware that in a few hours, I would (hopefully) be on a plane winging it's way across Europe. And that would happen following a one and a half hour car ride from Southern Crete across the mountains to Northern Crete and the Airport at Heraklion……Nausea raised it's ugly head at the thought.

Complete silence now reigned in the hotel bedroom and I was fairly certain that the buzzing had been something to do with my 'not very well condition'. I needed sleep. I had a busy day ahead.

And so I lay down, trying to ignore the invisible hammer blows that were now reining down on the back of my head.

Slowly I began to drift into a fitful slumber. Deeper and deeper and …….Buzzzzzzzz………..I shot up in bed and winced in pain. Clasping my hand to my now mushed up brain, the awful reality of the situation dawned on me……. MOSQUITO…arrggggg…..this can't be happening to me. Not now. Not with a hangover…and a sore throat…and a cough…and a generally lousy feeling…..No please God, don't let it be a Mosquito…………l'll do anything. I promise if you please let it not be a mosquito……

Nightmarish visions swam in the inner vaults of my mind. Long legged flying insects circling the bedroom waiting to attack me with their fang like mandibles, drawing blood and leaving God knows what in it's place.

Gingerly I got out of bed to make sure it wasn't a mosquito and that I was letting my imagination get the better of me. I swayed around the room nursing my throbbing brain. I turned my head with great difficulty, skimming the white walls of the room, and for a moment seeing nothing unusual I was about to lay down again and turn out the light when…oh no! There it was on the wall just above where my head had been lying a few minutes ago.

I looked around for something with which to terminate it's existence. Picking up a towel which had been laying on a chair at the side of the room, I crept up behind it and taking a mighty swing ( with which I almost toppled myself to the ground), the towel hit the wall and the mosquito vanished.

For a minute I didn't know where it was, had I hit it or had it made a miraculous escape at the very last nano second?

I looked round the bedroom. My head swimming. My throat raw. But I could see no sign of my nocturnal visitor.

Satisfied that it could not have disappeared so quickly I got back into bed and turned out the light. It must be dead. It must have just fallen down the back of the bed…..

Head pounding. Heart pounding, waves of nausea coming and going, but despite this discomfort I found myself gradually and mercifully falling asleep once again. Bliss. Rest at last. Maybe I would feel okay in the morning and the trip home would not be so bad after all. Maybe I would….Maybe…..

………..BZZZZZZ…….My God. It was louder this time. Had it grown? Had it really turned into a hideous flying monster with long dangly legs hell bent on tickling my face and having a quick snack as it skimmed past me? Just a little fun before it sank it's teeth into me? I saw it again in my mind, grown to a monstrous size. Retribution for me attempting to slaughter it whilst it's back was turned.

Defying the pain in my tortured, sleep deprived brain, I got out of bed again and snapped on the light. All quiet. No sign of any mosquito.

Never-the-less I decided that a bigger weapon was in need, (rather like a bigger boat was needed in Jaws), and so grabbing a magazine and rolling it up, I walked around the bedroom, by now almost weeping in frustration at the lack of sleep and the thoughts of the hellish flying, disappearing creature which was taking it's toll on my delicate state, not to mention my nerves.

A few minutes creeping groggily around my bedroom and still no sign of the vanishing mosquito. Examining the walls and at the same time feeling very sorry for myself, I saw that there was a crack where the top of the walls met the ceiling and over a certain length of time they had slightly parted company with each other leaving a sort of ledge at the very top of the walls. This must be its hiding place. Its vantage point from where it surveyed all that was below it (namely myself) and planned its dive bombing attacks.

Accepting that there was no hope of incapacitating it whilst it stayed up in it's hiding hole , I climbed back into bed. This time I pulled the sheet over myself, covering every bit of myself completely and I lay there quivering in what had now become a little tent - my improvised mosquito net, hoping for all I was worth that I would get some sleep...sleep. Oh how I needed sleep.

As it transpired, either I had mortally wounded my nocturnal foe or it had decided that it was in need of sleep too, for there was no more buzzing, no dive-bombing, no sign of it at all. For my part, I was desperate to catch even a few minutes of slumber, for I saw the first light of early morning was beginning to stream in through the louvred balcony doors; the very doors through which the flying monster had entered during the previous evening. Soon it would morning for real.

I eventually dozed off, and those few minutes I had wanted must have been just that. For I was to be awakened by another buzzing noise. This time it was the alarm clock that jolted me back into conciousness.

But a little sleep had been a blessing and my headache, which had been hammering away just a few hours before was now beginning to subside.

The long drive to Heraklion Airport on the northern side of the island happened with out incident. Well, that is if you're willing to discount a kamikaze taxi driver. But hey, I had made it. I was on my way home.

The following day, back at my apartment I was sorting out my clothes for the laundry when I felt a sudden stinging and itching on the side of my neck.

Oh yes, my flying, buzzing friend had made sure I had not left the island without one last momento.

I looked in a mirror and there it was; a fiery red bump. A souvenir from The Mosquito from Hell.

* * *

FOOTNOTE: The picture is of our last night on the island - just the usual shenanigans.

The Great Spiral Galaxy in the Constellation of Andromeda

My astronomy blog - Part Two

Some facts about the Andromeda Galaxy

The Andromeda galaxy or Messier 31, M31, or NGC224 in the various catalogues, is a huge classic spiral galaxy in our local group. It is similar to our own galaxy, the Milky Way. However the two galaxies differ slightly in that our own galaxy is a barred spiral; that is it's nucleus has a bar extending it's full length. Andromeda has no such bar. It is larger than the Milky Way but the density of the two galaxies is about the same.

Below are some facts about the Andromeda Galaxy.

Andromeda or M31 is our nearest spiral galactic neighbour and the largest galaxy in the local group; a cluster of galaxies to which our own galaxy belongs.

The Andromeda galaxy is moving towards us. At the moment Andromeda is 2.5 million light years away from us. But as it is getting closer all the time, the gap between our two galaxies is closing. At present we are moving towards each other at about 140kilometres per second. There is a possibility that the two galaxies will merge within the next 5 billion years.

One remote but possible outcome of the merger is that because of the gravitational pull within the two galaxies, the sun could switch galaxies and become bound to the Andromeda system. Even if the two galaxies do not merge, there is still a small chance that the solar system could be ejected from the Milky Way and/or join the Andromeda galaxy.

The total mass, or density of the Andromeda Galaxy is roughly the same as our own galaxy even though Andromeda contains more stars. This is possibly on account of the Milky Way having more dark matter and dense interstellar matter. This interstellar matter which also consist of dust lanes and gas is a nursery for the formation of new stars, so at some point in time, our galaxy could be home to more stars than Andromeda.

Like our own galaxy, Andromeda has a large ring surrounding it. It is possible that it will be changing from a spiral galaxy to a ringed galaxy when the spiral arms have wound up tight around the nucleus. But another kind of ring happens when a smaller galaxy passes through the interstellar gas and dust of a larger galaxy. As it does it compresses the interstellar matter and leaves behind a trail in the form of a ring encircling the larger galaxy. This is the kind of ring we see in Andromeda today.

As the the Andromeda galaxy and our own galaxy are moving towards each other, it is predicted that the two galaxies will collide in about 3 billion years. It is unlikely that any stars themselves will collide during this galactic merger, as the spaces between individual stars in both galaxies are vast.

Andromeda has a double nucleus. The real reason for this is unknown, but at one time it was thought that billions of years ago a smaller galaxy strayed too close to Andromeda and was cannibalised by it. However this theory has been dropped as it is now no longer considered viable.

Andromeda is also home to a supermassive Black Hole in it's centre. This is in accordance with most spiral galaxies. Our own galaxy also houses a supermassive black hole.

A supernova has also been observed in Andromeda. This supernova, namely S Andromedae, was the first one to be observed outside our own galaxy. It was seen in 1885. A supernova occurs when a star, such as our sun, has exhausted all it's fuel and the result is a very large and violent explosion.

Finally the Andromeda galaxy is the only galaxy bright enough to be visible with the naked eye. It lies in the constellation of Andromeda near the Great Square of Pegasus. It appears very small as only the canter of the galaxy is visible to the naked eye. If the full diameter with spiral arms were visible it would be seen as seven times larger than the full moon.

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www.galaxyzoo.org

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andromeda_Galaxy

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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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