In 1570, a party of Jesuit missionaries were on their way from Portugal to Brazil. They broke their journey in Puerto de Tazacorte. It was an unplanned stop: they’d been heading for Santa Cruz de la Palma, but the winds were against them. On arrival in Tazacorte, Fr. Acevedo was amazed to find that the owner of the estate was an old friend from Oporto, don Melchor de Monteverde y…
My story “Agent Hammer: License to Kibble” is up at On the Premises, where it got an Hono(u)rable mention in their humo(u)r competition.
I’ve been on a caving course this week. From Monday to Friday I’ve had theory classes (yes, in Spanish) which were mostly fascinating. But since they ran from 5 – 9 pm it made for a busy week. On Saturday we actually went into two caves. The course teachers said that overalls would be the best clothes to wear. Well, the only overalls in the house were the ones my…
La Palma has lots of spectacular viewpoints, (mirador in Spanish). Most people’s favourite is the at El Time, which is perched on the northern edge of the Angustias ravine in Tijarafe. It’s easy to find. Coming from Los Llanos, you drive down and down and down, round some pretty steep bends. After you cross the river, almost at sea-level, you drive up and up and up and up and up,…
Isaac Newton’s Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, (Latin for “Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy”) was published 325 years ago today, on 5 July 1687. This is the book that laid out Newtonian Physics. It’s an astonishing book. In the section on the orbit of the planets and their moons, Newton showed that gravity depends on the square of the distance between massive bodies, and that the gravity acts as though it’s…
Well, we had to queue for two and a half hours, but eventually they took my son’s plaster off. And then they put a bandage on, which has to stay on (and stay dry) for a week. So he still needs help to get a shower, but not for much longer.