Planet Ruby Starrs

After the mammoth long post re Istanbul...This is a filler post covering sea days.   some people really enjoy doing nothing but looking at the sea but I find them a bit tedious... although this time... ...the sea days were a welcome relief... we would have liked a lie in but Dr Fred had to up and organised as he had a morning lectur and the was hosting a lunch.  I was expected at the lunch as well so straight after Dr Fred excellent lecture on Saturn - I had to drag him away from questioners and we went to the main dining room - where we sat like lemons until we asked the waitress to chase up and check the booking. 5 mins later the head waiter came over very apologetic as apparently the lunch had been cancelled.  This is incredibley frustrating and yet another example of the total lack of organisation by the entertainments team.  They were obviously aware and didn't bother to send us a message....  There appears to be very little regard for star gazing acti...

Happy Samhain - Autumn is here and the ancient Samhain festival celebrating the end of summer is now replaced with the over hyped, over priced, over partied Halloween.... deck the streets with giant spiders and witches galore - good fun I suppose but I wonder how many people know about  the history, significance and tradition of lighting fires and dressing up in costume and trick or treating. However you choose or not choose to acknowledge this time of year it can't be denied that it is an occasion steeped in fascinating history. In days of old it was about the end of the warm months, laying down tools, the end of growth, the beginning of winter, a time to give thanks for the years harvest   - and allegedly a window in the year when it as easier to commune with the Otherworld!    Not all the Otherworld were 'goodies' so often costumes and masks were worn to confuse the spirits and jack o'lanterns and bonfires were lit to guide and also potentially scar...