The Italian National Telescope (the Galileo) is getting a new scientific instrument to look for planets outside our solar system. I remember a childhood astronomy book which said that we would never know whether there are planets outside our own solar system, because they are much, much too small and much much much too far away. That’s all changed in the last few years. There’s a class of instruments called…
Malvasia is a white dessert wine from the south of La Palma. It’s too sweet to drink with fish (or to drink like a fish). In fact it’s similar to Maderia or a sweet sherry – more something you’d have at the very end of a meal with the local sweet almond biscuits. In Shakespear’s day Malvasia wine was known as Malmsey, and it was very popular indeed. In the…
My friend’s baby only had two hats,one of which was far too big for him. So I got my knitting needles out and made him another. I thought it was a nice, little hat. His mum thought it was a nice little hat. But as you can see, Baby wasn’t impressed. Or maybe he was just tired. Because soon afterwards he fell fast asleep.
Fish on La Palma is usually delicious because its very fresh. Well it should be, given the amount of ocean surrounding the island. I once went with friends to a shack on the beach at Punta Larga (since closed) where we had to wait, because the cook was having her own lunch. As we sipped our beer, a man came up out of the sea with two fish on a…
Yippee! I got permission to share these photos of my friend’s new baby. Isn’t he gorgeous? Those were from the hospital. Here he is at home, one week old.
“The amazing Escape Velocity: the anthology is currently free on Amazon (US and everywhere else). Limited time offer! Don’t wait…” Only the Kindle version is free. You can get it at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004Z8L3SG/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_ask_qKyTD.1N6XXF0 And here’s part of two of the Amazon reviews: “Scream Quietly” by Sheila Crosby was one of my favorite stories. Told by way of letters from the perspective of a young woman in 1849 England. This story depicts the…