Stars and sun and shit...

I think I'm a bit geeky in some respects and I'm ok with that.

When it comes to TV shows, anything with amazing wildlife and sciencey things rock my world, providing they don't use too many words with lots of syllables and complicated diagrams. My feeling is that if Brian Cox was my science teacher, things would have been VERY exciting at school. As a 27 year old I have a somewhat crush on him, so I DREAD to think what I would have been like with a schoolgirl crush!

One of my top places I'd love to go and visit is somewhere that Brian told me about (through a TV show, not face to face sadly) and it's this giant desert solar calendar in Peru - fascinating!

But what really floats my boat is the subject of outer space. Yep, all space cadet jokes aside, space blows my mind and mainly for these reasons:

• Space goes on FOREVER. How does anyone know this?
• The moon controls the tide in our seas… the MOON!
• We are the only planet out there (to our knowledge) who have what we have, living life

There are so many more reasons, but those are my top 3 and I’m already feeling a little overwhelmed and I’m not even going to get on to the topic of alien life (although I do think I saw a UFO once but that’s a story for another day)

On a clear night, one of my favourite things to do is to gaze up at the stars. I just love it. I only know about five constellations but I’d like to know more. My favourite is the Plough, also known as the Big Dipper or the saucepan. It’s the easiest to find in my books, it’s not playing hard to get… ‘Here I Am! I’m the one that looks like a saucepan!’ that's my kind of astrology right there.



Can you see the plough in here? Photo by Mr. Empey

Allow me to share a moment in my life that stopped me in my tracks. Josh and I flew around 9 hours to Kenya, Mombasa and spent our first night of the trip in a cottage. We walked to the beach bar in the dark and I looked up to the clearest sky I’ve ever seen. It was like we might bump our head on the stars they were so clear and low, a true Lion King moment like when Mufasa appears at Simba’s lowest moment. Yep.

Right before the Lion King hallucination...

So I looked up and staring right back at me was not Mufasa, but the Plough. Even though I’d flown nine hours across the world, there it was, right above me just as it would be if I was in my back garden at home.

‘But I’ve flown for ages and it’s still straight above me’ I cried aloud, after a few beers. ‘That’s because the sky, and the world is pretty big’ my rational and more sober husband said.

The world has a way of making you feel pretty bloody insignificant sometimes doesn’t it? But it’s also a reminder that there’s so much to see out there.

It happened again in Honduras, I looked up and despite flying 19 hours around the world, there it was twinkling back at me.

I love space. It’s quite big.

How Can I Get my Mum on a Plane?

Ok folks. Help is needed.

My Mum is exactly 30 years older than me, I know this because she had me when she was thirty years old. This is always handy to remember around her birthday when I need to remember whether to buy her a generic 'yay happy birthday' card or a milestone card (would always advise those unsure to choose the generic option rather than a 'yay you're 50!' card when they're actually 49. Eeeesh, awkward.)

When I say exactly 30 years old than me, we don't share a birthday or anything, that would be uncool because I like to make a big splash about my birthday, usually having a week long celebration, and the petulant side of me would throw an almighty tantrum at sharing. Yep, I once had all my friends sent home from MY birthday party because someone else won at pass the parcel and I was sent up to my room as punishment. It's my party and I'll cry if I want to.

Oh look, I've digressed. Oopsie.

I was talking about the mothership, you can call her Jenny if you like, or Mofo as I like to call her. Hello Mofo:

Did you know I got married? I don't like to go on about it...

A fine specimen of a lady I'm sure you'll agree, I never got her legs, I got my Dad's legs. Thanks Dad!

My mum has never been on a plane in her life.

I'll just pause a while to let that sink in...

<pause>

Never?

<pause>

Never.

Now, I'm no Richard Branson flying off everywhere and anywhere but I've easily been on more than fifty flights and only almost thrown up due to turbulence on around 20... just joking Mum, flying is great!

I've flown to Honduras on my own with two connections, so that's six all by myself already (I was really grown up but I watched Pixar movies the whole way and got SO excited when the food came around)

I want my mum to go on a plane, but my mum suffers with claustrophobia (I don't THINK she'll mind me posting about this, should probably have checked first, especially seeing how it's Mother's Day today...) so the idea of being stuck in a flying metal can at stupid thousand feet altitude is enough to have her reaching for the paper bag.

She does want to cure this though and she does want to fly, even if she has her eyes shut the whole way and leaves fingermarks in the arm rest for eternity.

What do you recommend as the best course of action? Should she fly somewhere on her own or fly with someone? I suggested somewhere like Ireland so that she could always get the boat back, or Edinburgh perhaps?

If there's anyone out there in internet land who has any valid suggestions, let's hear them. You'd be making an old lady in her prime very happy. You'd be making me happy too so I could show her some cool places and go on holiday with her :)