Interesting Items...

gomezz said:
I tend to buy new socks with a full supply of all the same colour/pattern. That way there is only ever one odd sock at most by the time it comes to replace them.
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You should have had your feet tattooed in that same colour/pattern and in time saved even more money.
 
Black Hole said:
Wellll.... that was a washout then (as bloody usual in this country, whenever there's something interesting to see - I'll tell you about my 1999 eclipse experience some time)!
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Go on then.
I'm just debating where to go for tonight. Can't stay here, unlike last time, as the view to the west is cluttered with bloody houses. Assuming I can find* the "glasses" of course.
Somewhere between Burnham (not him) and Clevedon with a bit of elevation. At least the weather is guaranteed this time.

* Straight to them. Why is it I can find stuff from 27 years ago, instantly, but can't find what I tidied away a couple of weeks ago despite an extensive search (and much irritation)?
 
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prpr said:
* Straight to them. Why is it I can find stuff from 27 years ago, instantly, but can't find what I tidied away a couple of weeks ago despite an extensive search (and much irritation)?
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Short term memory loss. Comes to many of us with age. Don't forget, that thing you've lost will be in the last place you look. :)

BTW. This morning the GMB weather presenter said don't use glasses from 1999. Didn't really say why. She probably has shares in the glasses company.
 
prpr said:
Assuming I can find* the "glasses" of course.
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EEPhil said:
the GMB weather presenter said don't use glasses from 1999. Didn't really say why.
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You need to check whether they're still OK and not deteriorated/scratched/pinholes. If you can see any light at all when held up to a light bulb, bin them. The pairs I have you literally can't see through, except the Sun (which is a dim orange).

prpr said:
Somewhere between Burnham (not him) and Clevedon with a bit of elevation.
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The balcony seating at the Moon & Sixpence (Clevedon) would be great! If not already taken...

There are plenty of good sites in your target area, try Nore Road Car Park for access to the cliffs at Portishead. For various reasons I'll be at Tog Hill.

prpr said:
Go on then.
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OK, but not right now...
 
prpr said:
I'm just debating where to go for tonight.
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As luck would have it the eclipse appeared in my front (actually side) door and between nearby trees. Armed with what eye protection was available (4 pairs of sunglasses* and layers of cut up coloured old OHP slides) I managed to see the start of the very partial eclipse. I didn't bother after the moon covered ~90% of the sun (all we got in Notts). I think I preferred the 1999 version where cloud cover made the viewing easy. This time no noticeable drop in temperature.

*I looked even sillier than Steve from the Repair Shop.
 
EEPhil said:
4 pairs of sunglasses* and layers of cut up coloured old OHP slides
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:frantic:

My plans went a bit awry (and perhaps that was a good thing). I was due to meet a friend for dinner at 6 (or hopefully earlier), so we could then take in some of the eclipse on our way to the 'do' we were going to (the main event!). I had Tog Hill on the outskirts of Bath in mind, a picnic site and viewpoint with a fine view of the Severn valley across to Wales (including the Brecon Beacons – don't ask me what their new name is in Welsh, I'm not on-board with that!).

In the event, she was running late, and we didn't get out from dinner until just after 7 after a very quick meal (they did well, nice food – The Globe at Newton St Loe if anyone wants to know, it's a Vintage Inns). Furnished with the glasses, she was able to watch the eclipse (very excited) as I (seen it all before) drove, then I found somewhere to pull over and have a look myself just around maximum.

It was about another 10 minutes before we got to Tog Hill, which was actually not on the direct route, and all the high ground over Lansdown and particularly at the car boot sale field was lined with cars. Tog Hill was packed, and it took some time to even pass it without stopping there. I hadn't anticipated that, with all the media attention the last few days, people would be out in force to high ground when mostly they would be able to see the eclipse from (or near) their own houses! I imagine the same would have been the case at the car park in Portishead I suggested.

Had we been there at the time I expected, we wouldn't have got in and been struggling to find somewhere unoccupied to stop. Get there in time to find a parking space, and we would have been trapped and been very late to our 'do'.
 
Luckily, as my place is on a 'hill', I managed to view the partial eclipse in the back garden using a homemade pinhole camera. Significant drop of light at the maximum point, but can't beat the two full eclipses that I've previously seen - which by their nature, were very dramatic.
Did anyone else make a pinhole camera to too? :)
 
HugeMaximum said:
Did anyone else make a pinhole camera too?
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I did - cardboard with a hole covered by tin foil with a pinprick (plus a white screen to view with), but in the event I found a colander worked better (many small but well defined images). Perhaps my foil pinhole was too small. But then another colander didn't work as well, its holes were a bit too wide so the images were more blurred.
Annoyed with myself that I left it too late to buy glasses. Or go to Spain.
 
Black Hole said:
You need to check whether they're still OK and not deteriorated/scratched/pinholes.
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They've been stored untouched in the plastic wallet in the dark for 27 years (probably only making an outage for the transit of Venus, whenever that was) and are in perfect condition, except that the bit of cushioning foam had become detached, so a quick fix with a glue stick sorted that. Earlier yesterday afternoon, there was a very bright specular from the sun on my kitchen sink and I could see almost nothing from that.
If you can see any light at all when held up to a light bulb, bin them. The pairs I have you literally can't see through, except the Sun (which is a dim orange).
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Yep, that's still how they were yesterday, as last time.
The balcony seating at the Moon & Sixpence (Clevedon) would be great! If not already taken...
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Bound to be packed, and given the parking problems I avoided. Likewise Weston.
There are plenty of good sites in your target area, try Nore Road Car Park for access to the cliffs at Portishead. For various reasons I'll be at Tog Hill.
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I opted for the beach at Burnham (massive, but shrinking) and got to my usual parking spot (free!) at about 6pm and parked without hassle (35C on the thermometer).
I've never been there when the tide was that high and it was still coming up, at quite an astounding rate - high tide being at 19:40. I didn't realise that the water cut off the access from the beach back to the road, but it was about 20:10 when I walked back that way, so it had receded enough by then, I didn't have to paddle and managed not to get wet shoes. The tide's another metre higher on Friday. This is why stupid Brummies manage to kill themselves there...

Found a nice (slowly decaying) piece of tree to sit on and took up residence, well away from the nearest people (all very considerate). At about 7pm, two women and a bloke turned up and sat on the edge of the dunes about 30 feet behind. One of the women had some dreadful south-east accent and was yapping incessantly in a loud voice, shrieking and laughing. I turned and glared at her, but it made no difference. She obviously loved the sound of her own voice and was determined to broadcast to the whole area, despite the people she was with sitting just a handful of feet away.
The cloud rolled in around 7pm and was intermittently broken around maximum coverage (famous last words about 'weather being guaranteed'), but the temperature and light levels dipped significantly. The recovery wasn't as dramatic due to the cloud.

The woman was still at it as I got up to walk further north up the beach for a bit, and I turned and made a pointed ' yapping beak' gesture to her with my hand. She and her companion waved back, seemingly unaware of their annoying behaviour. I suppose I should've gone and told her to STFU and be more considerate - this is mostly why I hate most people and can't wait to get away from most of them most of the time.

Glasses back in the drawer for the next one. When is it? Er, what do you mean 2081 or 2090?
EEPhil said:
Armed with what eye protection was available (4 pairs of sunglasses* and layers of cut up coloured old OHP slides)
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OMG, I'd have thought that really was quite foolhardy.

Apparently, having ISO 12312-2 on glasses 'guarantees my safety'. I'll have to get my felt tip pen out. How do you trust anything these days when anyone can sell anything and you have no idea whether it's fake or not? Even the fakers can put an ISO number on something.
 
Black Hole said:
they did well, nice food – The Globe at Newton St Loe if anyone wants to know
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Been there many a time, but not for quite a while now. Used to be a favourite, partly because of its sizeable car park, and reasonable price/quality food.
I had Tog Hill on the outskirts of Bath in mind
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I believe you have to be a bit careful up there after dark. Something to do with our 4-legged friends.

I'm glad I went where I did. The Downs in Bristol were heaving apparently.
 
prpr said:
:roflmao:
Did we expect anything else? I'm disappointed to see (or not see) that there isn't an election special tonight.
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Not really.
Bin or grifter? If Farage is elected will there be another election if/when he's suspended from Parliament, or will people not petition for a recall?
 
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