50:50

Yesterday was the peak of this summer's Perseid meteor shower, so it seemed as good a time as any to spend time stargazing, especially as I am currently in Cornwall where there is much less light pollution. I set myself up outside the cottage with a blanket, coffee, a slightly confused dog and the Night Sky app. It was beautiful and peaceful. My app helpfully informed me that Perseus was hidden behind a tree, so I didn't manage to wish upon a shooting star, but I was able to locate Ursa Major, Cygnus and Draco. Astronomy is something that I would like to learn more about and I hope to try a beginners' course at Clanfield Observatory next year. One huge positive of this list is that it is leading to new experiences and interests that I might not otherwise have considered.

I lived for the first 28 years of my life in Cornwall, which meant that travelling anywhere took hours and was a bit of a novelty. My first three trips to London were all on school trips: the traditional first year Science Museum visit, seeing Barnum in the West End after the P.E. trip to the Women's Hockey Final and a concert at the Royal Albert Hall with the Stage Band. All three trips felt like an adventure and so did my visit last week to the Victoria and Albert Museum. I have wanted to visit the V&A for many years and somehow just haven't got around to it. I was surprised by the beauty of the building itself and initially quite bewildered by the vast number of exhibits. Afraid to miss something wonderful, I treated it like a maze and just kept following the left wall, thereby making sure that I saw everything. My personal highlights were the Turner and Constable landscapes, the collection of  jewelry with beautiful examples from throughout history, the sacred silver an...

It is exciting to be able to visit places again, isn't it? A fortnight ago I had a wonderful and informative afternoon at Butser Ancient Farm, exploring many historic buildings spanning centuries of early English history. As well as the buildings they keep heritage breeds of sheep, goats and pigs and I whiled away an enjoyable half an hour talking to the animals: to the amusement of other visitors and the mild disinterest of the beasts themselves. Evidently Doctor Dolittle does not need to fear any competition from me. Some  of the volunteers were planing long planks of wood to build a Viking longboat, to burn rather than sail, and they looked a little suspicious when I asked who would be journeying to Valhalla. Another explained how to make dyes, medicines, balms and soaps from foraged plants. Like all good days out it culminated in tea and cake. Butser Ancient Farm near Waterlooville, Hampshire. I recommend it!