I am delighted to be able to announce the launch of what I believe may be one of the world’s most unusual loyalty clubs.
For three years I have been pondering how to solve a tricky riddle. There are so many people who would love to learn about the night sky, but it is very hard to organise an outdoor course for this in this country because the weather is so unreliable. I need to sort the dates for my courses at least a few weeks in advance and it is impossible to predict the conditions that far away. Also, the best times of the year for star, moon and planet-gazing are not the best times for weather. Mid-summer is great for many outdoor activities, but with the late sunsets it is not perfect for stars. The solution, it dawned on me (pehaps I should say dusked?) is to create a club for those who are interested and then, when the conditions are right I will let everyone know where and when I will be for a couple of hours of guided stargazing. There will be no charge – as there will be no guarantees – but I should be able to give a couple of days notice in most cases and less in a few. Most of these will take place in the South Downs in West Sussex, but I will also endeavour to host a couple of nights when out and about in other parts of the UK or perhaps, in time, abroad.
Initially this Night Navigators’ Club (not to be confused with a Navigator’s Nightclub) will be open only to those who have been on one of my courses. If you have been on any of my courses at any stage and would like to be added to the emailing list for this club and to be kept updated about last-minute opportunities for stargazing mini-courses please send an email with the words ‘Night Navigator’ as the subject of your email and I will sign you up. Please mention the rough dates and location of the course you came on previously in your email.