Entries tagged "expeditions"
2010-10-11
We are bearing down on stargazing-season. It is getting dark early enough in the evenings, staying dark long enough in the mornings and doesn't yet freeze you for the privilege.
This morning I enjoyed a view of Orion, Sirius, Leo, which has just marched ahead of the dawn sun now, and a few other players. I took this photo of Orion's Sword hanging down to the left (eastern) side of a large beech tree and dangling down towards the south, as it does. The 'smudge' in the middle is the Great Nebula in Orion, also known less romantically…
2009-06-19
I watched the History Channel’s ‘Expedition: Africa’ last night, a retake on Stanley’s expedition to find Livingstone. It is quite enjoyable if a bit ‘light’, the interest certainly coming from the internal politics of the expedition team rather than the nature of the journey itself. One thing did strike me, one of their challenges is billed as ‘using only compasses and basic maps’, which could only be billed as a challenge in the age of satellite navigation. Even this seemed to rob the team of some of their awareness of their surroundings. Pasquale Scaturro, the navigator, takes a compass…
2008-11-21
I had an enjoyable and full day yesterday holding a Beginner's Guide to Natural Navigation course at the Royal Geographical Society in Kensington. We were in the Lowther room for the day, one of the many rooms at the RGS that oozes character and a sense of history. Even when stepping into the room for the first time, a lot of people experience a feeling of familiarity as it has appeared in many films.There was a great group for the course from very diverse backgrounds, from the art world to the military. Some of us were…
