It was 11th August 1999 when my dad shook me from my sleep in the wee hours of the morning.
"Wake up," he whispered. "Put on some clothes and come with me."
At the time, I was no more than eight years old, so there was more chance of me reciting the Pythagorean theorem backwards than figuring out what was happening.
So, I threw on some clothes and did what I was told.
Next thing I knew, we tiptoed out of the house, hopped into our Ford Sierra (remember those cars?), and drove several hours to a coastal town I still can't remember the name of.
"Where are we going, Dad?" I asked, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
A big, stubbly grin stretched across the rearview mirror. "My boy, we are on our way to see a total solar eclipse."
"A total clips?"
"E-CLIP-SE."
"Ah, eclipse," I repeated.
"That's the one."
"What is it?" I asked.
"It's when the Moon blocks out the Sun, and everything becomes very dark. It only happens a couple of times in our lives. This is one of them."
Even now, I can remember his voice dripping with excitement.
My dad has always been a long-time observer of space and the observable universe. Hell, he's had more telescopes than I've had sunglasses. It was only when I got a fair bit older that I understood why he had (and still has) such an enthusiasm for the great beyond.
That's an email for another day.
The eclipse, however, turned out to be quite the spectacle, even for a lowly eight-year-old.
I remember wearing those goofy — but important — eclipse glasses and holding my breath as the Moon masked the Sun.
It was like staring into a black hole, save for the blazing orange ring lapping around it.
The sight filled me with equal portions of awe and terror, for it makes you realise just how fragile this little blue orb of ours is.
Without the Sun, we are kaput.
Totally and utterly finished.
(And that's hard to admit after these endless heatwaves in Europe!)
But yeah, that's my first total eclipse story.
Amazing how time flies.
And now tonight, I'll be gazing up at my second total solar eclipse with my two sons. Quite the moment, indeed. If the experts are correct, the next one won't be swinging around in the UK until 2090.
So, in other words…
Lady Laura and I will be well and truly frolicking in the fields of Elysium by then, so this most likely will be our last.
Anyway, happy eclipsing, Legionnaire.
Just remember to be safe and don't look up without proper protection.
And if none of this eclipsing floats your boat and you would rather be doing other things, like, say, visiting a faraway fantasy realm that's loaded with:
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- And characters who feel like old friends
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