I am but a simple person who’s wants and needs are not extravagant nor foolhardy, but as I wander aimlessly through life I get more disheartened. The solar eclipse was meant to be the biggest event in our history, billed as a ‘once in a lifetime occurrence’ you simply cannot miss, the way it was sold made it on comparison to the Fall of Rome or the Black death in magnitude. That is fine if you wish to get caught up in the media hype but I don’t follow this at all. It’s the basic things I have trouble with and the devil that is social media is as always, the root of the problem. I read yesterday that most suppliers have run out of ‘eclipse glasses’ because purchasers have swamped the market, big deal why do you want to look at the sun? It’s not that you haven’t seen the moon before is it?
So after that rambling introduction here is the punchline, social media once again, has told everyone it doesn’t matter that you can’t get the overpriced and cheaply imported plastic glasses from TEMU(Other suppliers are available!) you need to create a pin hole camera and place it in front of the sun whilst holding it on a dark surface, easy we did that as kids, no big deal, in fact I created one from a tree whilst out last evening, I simply poked a small hole in a large leaf of a lime tree (again other trees are available) and held it over my phone and perfect a crescent. Nice last one I am likely to see as slowly descending into senility (or is it stupidity who knows). The real issue is the ‘experts and influencer’ suggest you raid the kitchen cupboards and remove a colander and a slotted spoon and use them to view the sun instead, sound information but needs qualifying to get the true message across though.
What I saw last night amazed me, the old market town of Sandwich has an ancient toll bridge which until 3 nights ago was the main thoroughfare for small vehicles into the town. A huge tanker 3 times the signed weight limit took out a huge chunk of wall on the bridge. Chaos ensued and the bridge was closed except for those residents who live just across the way to pass on foot… Fine a good safe plan but last night what I witnessed had me in stitches, visitors and residents alike took to the bridge by the gross, they all had colanders and spoons either with slots or holes just as asked by the ‘influencers’ but not thinking it through nor probably caring, they held said items up to the sun and looked through them directly at the sun! They looked like members of a cult awaiting retribution from a long lost alien society returning just to get even. What made it worse, the bridge wall broken by the tanker was dislodged and sitting precariously on the pavement. They were all standing or sitting on it completely dangerous, if it had collapsed the wall and all 45 sun worshippers would have ended up in the river Stour. They would not have got too wet but as it was low tide all would have gone 25 feet down in the mud with a rather large wall on top of them.
I am getting old; we went home for a nice cup of tea and a slice of cake whilst gently shaking our heads.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Memories-Kentish-village-childhood-innocent/dp/B096TL7K83
John F Bennett, Author, Blogger and Military Historian 