There were no stars in this bit...
I failed to rise at three a.m. to see the moon last night, as it would be behind the house it made no difference in the end. However I did wake at four thirty and was struck by the stars above. I was not exactly struck by them, they being many light years distance but I was struck by their brightness. You see the local council switch off the street lights at midnight to save money, much to the joy of the light fingered amongst us, and they remain off until five in the morning. With the skies being clear I was able to see the stars in a manner I have not noticed for many years. I stood, half dressed obviously, at the window staring into the sky above. The brightness surprised me and it was as if I could reach out and touch them. How strange. I suppose the street lights have hidden the sky from us except for those in country areas. Luckily this small market town in rural enough to allow for some sky to be seen and a clear sky being a rarity it became a fun time for me.
In London I had the habit of leaning out my fourth floor window and staring upwards. This took me above the street lights and on many occasions satellites or space craft of one sort or another could be seen making their way across the skies. However the stars appeared further away than they did last night. very bright star (Acturus) or possibly Saturn itself shone brightly last night. I know the names because I made use of 'Stellarium' to check up this morning. This is a FREE offering and well worth it if you like the stars and can understand how to work it (I can't!).
I was freezing when I got back into my pit!
The day has been spent on my side. I have been inserting 'Otex' into my ear to clear the wax which is making me deaf and beginning to pain me. However having looked at the diagram of the ear I am left amazed at how complicated the structure is. In the 60's the 'Tomorrow's World' programme on BBC offered an insight into inventions and interesting science type stuff that even dumb folk like me could understand. However such TV is not tolerated today, only house programmes, cooks and dumb soap operas are allowed, thinking is frowned upon!
One programme revealed the fibre optic cable, or whatever it was called then. This this wire was inserted into a woman's ear and attached to a camera and revealed the inner working of an actual ear. Such equipment is used daily in hospitals world wide but at the time it was revolutionary. It was shoved down her throat also and offered an insight into her lungs which we normally never saw. I don't suppose she saw much of her insides either come to think of it. Of course she had no wax in there at the time, which was fortunate I suppose. I am trying to ensure I can hear tomorrow at work, at least until one when I shall run back home to bed. How I miss that.
