Disappointment and consolation

ME and the EMIR spectrograph
June 10, 2016

Some time ago I was asked to keep June 11th free for an excursion with a VIP visitor. Then on Monday I saw on the internet that Stephen Hawking was coming to La Palma on the Britannia on Saturday June 11th. My heart started pounding. After a bit I decided it was silly to eat my fingernails, so I phoned the travel agent. Well the plan had been for me…

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Melted kettle

May 30, 2016

I boiled some water to cook broccoli, turned the kettle off and emptied it into the pan. About 5 minutes later I noticed that although the switch was in the “off” position, the little light was on. So I picked it up and looked inside to see an ominous red glow. Eek! I hastily filled it from the tap to cool it, but the bottom started dripping anyway. It stank,…

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Van repairs

A friend held a yard sale today. Since she lives only about half an hour away, I went. I arrived just after another friend called Isa. She was a bit worried about her van, because it started to overheat just before she arrived, and she was waiting for it to cool before she checked the radiator. So we both bought stuff. Then Isa poured water into her radiator and immediately…

May 29, 2016
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Today was tiring

I had to get up early today to work at the observatory. The two visits went well, although I had to modify the second one because the telescope was taking delivery of a new scientific instrument called EMIR. EMIR is huge and it weighs 5 tonnes, and I was quite excited to see it. I was also pleased to see the project manager briefly, because I’ve known her for 25…

May 20, 2016
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Time for a rest

I’ve been rather overdoing it, just for a change. On Sunday afternoon I took delivery of a hire car so I could meet an English travel agent at the airport on Sunday evening. She was really nice, and interested in organising a spring nature holiday for UK clients. I had a very long day with her on Monday, from 9 am to 8:20 pm. We went to Astrolapalmna (not planned,…

March 18, 2016
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Busy is good

My feet have hardly touched the ground lately, between guiding at the Roque, cruise ship excursions, translations and an article for Turismo Canarias. (Yes, I’ll let you know when it’s published.) Today I’m showing an English Travel agent around for the local tourist board, which should be fun. Tomorrow morning it’s the observatory again, and on Wednesday I have an appointment in Tenerife. I’m rather looking forward to Thursdsay when…

March 14, 2016
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