The 4th Monday of the month, is a busy day for me, especially at the moment.
In the morning, I have u3a Stargazing. There’s a group of 5 or six of us that meet in The Vine, a cafe on Stokes Road, to talk about what else but The Stars. Well really, the night sky, because it is all naked eye stuff. Using a couple of books that we all buy, and the occasional astronomy magazine, the talk is about what we have done over the previous month, and what we are planning to do in November. As it happens, I had to confess that I had done very little observing over the previous month, so I immediately made the commitment to try get out every night for the month of November, even if it is only to confirm that the sky was clouded over. But if I can observe, I will take the time for my eyes to climatize and spend a good 20 minutes observing. Of course, I’ll keep a diary.
We might also be arranging a couple of visits. All very exciting stuff.
In the afternoon, it’s Hostory with the u3a. The months contributions were all about medical remedies. My 5 minute presentation was about Dr. James’s Fever Powder, patented in 1747, it claimed to cure many fevers. Even Queen Victoria used it.
Dr James Lind was tasked by the British Navy to investigate its effectiveness and gave the powder to a thousand patients. The trouble was that those patients were also given other treatments, so the results were inconclusive.
And the especially at the moment? Well, we are just past halfway through the course with the Hampshire Astronomy Group. The course is going very well, and I am enjoying it. But on this ine particular day, I was a bit tired.
