• The Seer’s Stone
  • The Dodo Dragon and other stories
  • About Sheila Crosby
  • A Breathtaking Window on the Universe

A new toy

Yippee! I’ve spent some of my money from translation on a new mini-laptop. I’m not sure it’s big enough to be allowed out on its own at 25 x16x3 cm / 10″x6″x1″ It’s small enough to fit in a big handbag (a purse on the other side of the pond). It’ll take me a while to get used to it, but I’m hoping it’ll boost my productivity. Certainly it’ll be…

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Stargazing in aid of Fire Victims

Wednesday night (August 12th) should be the best night of the year to see shooting stars. Shooting stars happen when the Earth passes through a cloud of dust left behind by a comet’s tail. To celebrate, the amateur astronomers on La Palma and Astrotour are holding two star parties. You’ll be able to observe the sun through a telescope (safely!) in Santa Cruz de la Palma in the Plaza España…

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Fiestas in Las Nieves and El Paso

Inside Las Nieves Church Today is the fiesta of the patron saint of La Palma, the Virgin of Las Nieves. It’s also a public holiday for the whole island. Las Nieves is about 2 km inland from Santa Cruz de la Palma. When I went this morning, it was impossible to park within a mile of the fiesta. Sorry, I just turned around and went home. I expect it’s much…

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The La Palma Fire from Space

NASA image of the La Palma fire on Sunday I was going to have a break from blogging for a couple of days, but I couldn’t resist this photo, taken from a NASA satellite on Sunday August 2nd. The island downwind of La Palma is La Gomera, 50 km away. I think it must have been early on Sunday afternoon: the fire in the west is out, and the clouds…

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