The worst bit about the flu was the cough, particularly at night. It wasn’t just that it kept me awake. About twice a night my diaphragm went into a complete panic, desperately trying to expel something from my lungs like a Britain First supporter faced with a perfectly nice neighbour who didn’t happen to be white. Every time it happened, I’d cough so long and hard that I’d lose peripheral…
Flu
Most people would say I’ve got the flu, but it feels as though the flu’s got me. I had two groups at the observatory on Tuesday. I woke up feeling pretty rough, but there was no chance of finding another guide in time, and little chance of telling people it was cancelled before they drove up, so I went. As usual, I got a burst of energy once I had…
Plan K
I spent quote a lot of time organising a visit for a large group (55!) of high school students. They’re Erasmus exchange students on an astronomy-related trip, some from Tenerife (the hosts) some from Poland, and some from Slovenia. The main point of their visit to La Palma was to see GTC, but they were going to be on La Palma all day, so what else could they see? So…
Busy, busy week
Whew, what a week! On Monday I did the panoramic tour with the Saga Pearl (basically, “Lovely views and quite a few of them”). On Tuesday and Wednesday I worked at the Roque. The first group on Tuesday included a French couple who didn’t speak any English or Spanish. I think they expected to just look, but I felt I had to try, so my extremely rusty French got a…