Today I've mostly bin...

[Wulfruna]

Setting off for a week's trip to Germany. Another working trip for a translation project, but I will have a bit of time to enjoy Stuttgart and the surrounding area. Not to mention the beer and Wurst!

[giraffe]

....wondering if my nephew is going to make it back from Antarctica. The ship that was due to pick them up on 6th March appears to have turned round and has been heading north (or standing still) for the last three days. There is a web cam on the ship, and the sea is pretty frozen, and there is a tracking thing that updates a few times a day, and it seems to be struggling to make any progress, so seems to have abandoned it's attempt to reach the ice shelf.

I believe they have kept a plane at the research station, which they may be able to use to fly them out, but if they don't leave in the next few days they will be stuck there until October. Most of the team that were there for the last year have left, but William seems to have volunteered to be one of the last to leave.

[LAT]

Oh dear, That sounds a bit worrying. Hope William makes it home OK

[Bunnylump]

...Cutting and sticking at K's school. She had a craft afternoon with the Mums organised, and asked me to go along and help (because I'm her mum!!)

[Bunnylump]

...And out for continuation of birthday for a meal with lots of friends. Shame, I only managed to spin this one out for a week. Still, it's Mother's day on Sunday.

[chazzie]

....well not all of today but last hour......

Went out for a walk in Gib.... I live next to the hospital ..... Ambulances ( plural) flying out blue lights ... At end of road police controlling traffic to allow other ambulances ( plural ) to go back to hospital.....
Every road junction police controlling traffic and more ambulances making way to hospital....beginning to worry about what disaster had happened..... As appeared to be coming from airport area of gib ...... But then no flights due at that time..........and then found out it was a three hour plane emergency exercise.....now relieved......but it I'll muck up the rush hour tonight!!!!

[Bunnylump]

That must have really worried a lot of people!

[LAT]

hmm. Interesting - and probably quite scary until you worked out what it was all about.

Today I have been to Slimbridge which was great. Saw loads of flamingos, had ducks feeding from my hand, watched otters being fed and saw many more water birds, far too numerous to mention.

[Bunnylump]

Sounds lovely. Did you have the beautiful sunshine to go with it?

[LAT]

It started off quite misty when we got there but did brighten up early afternoon. Not what I'd call beautiful sunshine but certainly dry and bright although quite cold.

[Bunnylump]

Well it's certainly got to beat A level Graphics coursework!

[chazzie]

Sounds a far better walk than mine!

[Bunnylump]

So...solar eclipse...what did you all experience? (if anything!) We had thick cloud (which, irritatingly, disappeared about half an hour after the eclipse to produce a stunningly beautiful sunny day ) The only noticeable thing was the accumulation of gloom at about 9 25am, and the blackbirds started to sing their "I'm going to bed now" song.

[Scurra]

Yeah - the clouds clearing up about half an hour later was really frustrating!

[SparkOut]

There wasn't even any dimming in Kent. And it took until about 4pm for the sun to break through. What eclipse?

[clvrlad]

slept through it...

[eirian]

I think it got a bit darker in Manchester, however, as we can't really see the sky from our windows and anyway the windows are so dirty we can't really see out of them anyway, I couldn't be sure. It was broken cloud and I have been told that a crescent sun was visible at one point...
However, our computer systems seemed to know there was something going on - they were more than usually temperamental.

[SparkOut]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!

[giraffe]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaare you alright?

[LAT]

Oh dear, what now Sparkout?