The last time we experienced a solar eclipse was back in 1999 and when Karen (my wife) mentioned that to one of her carers the young carer replied “I hadn’t even been born in 1999” – talk about making you feel your age! I remember well that day 27 years ago, Karen was a Registered childminder at the time and we thought that this would be a wonderful experience for the children in her care at the time. Being adults responsible for somebody else’s children we had to ensure that our young guests and our own children should experience this in the safest way possible.
I read somewhere that a safe way to view the eclipse was to fill a bowl of water and look at the reflection of the sun, so on the day, I filled a bucket, let the water settle and then we gathered around the bucket and waited for the action to begin. The midday sky started to darken as the moon started to pass in front of the Sun. The children knelt looking into the water. A lady walking her labrador dog stopped to see what we were doing and right at the critical point, the dog seized the opportunity to have a free drink courtesy of our bucket and the the still water in the bucket became turbulent and we never saw the moment!
Marred by the experience all these years later, and busy with something else at the critical time, I left the task of Solar eclipse gazing to somebody else this time. With the wonder of modern technology I have seen some wonderful pictures of the Eclipse on the news, but with hindsight, it doesn’t feel quite the same of experiencing it in person and if the next time this happens will be another 27 years – I will be either in my nineties or will no longer be around to witness it for myself.
Maybe I need to think about my priorities?