Although my love of telescopes goes back to at least 1953 (click on thumbnail) my interest in astronomy started about 1956 when Brooke Bond (a British tea company) issued a set of cards called OUT INTO SPACE. In a packet of tea was one of the cards from the series. There were 50 cards in total and eventually I managed to collect the full set. Click here to see my album.
Another strong influence for me was the start of The Sky at Night television programme in 1957 hosted by Patrick Moore. Its really great to see that his programme is still running after nearly 50 years and the knighthood he received from H.M. The Queen a few years ago is well deserved. I've had the privilege of meeting him several times during his occasional visits to La Palma. THE SKY AT NIGHT must have influenced many of todays established UK astrophysicists to have taken up this branch of science as a career and to an even greater extent, the large amateur astronomical community as a great pastime.
My first telescope was bought for me from BOOTS (the chemist) by my parents whilst on holiday in 1959. It had three draw tubes and a simple lens of about three quarters of an inch diameter. The images were terrible and very chromatic, but it gave me my first views of the craters on the moon, the satellites of Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, etc. I must have felt the same excitement as Galileo did when he first turned his crude telescope on the sky and made these amazing discoveries. I constructed a small mount for the telescope with MECCANO and often observed from my bedroom windowsill. At that time I lived in East Dulwich, SE London and in a house on the busy (and well illuminated) South Circular road. Not exactly the deal conditions for observing the night sky. Due to the close proximity of our house to the neighbours, my view of the sky was extremely limited also, but in the future, all that would change.
Record of observation was made whilst on holiday on the 18th Aug 1960
at 10pm from Teignmouth (South Devon)
Although very limited in content, these tea cards spurred me on to read even 'greater books' on astronomy. I-SPY THE SKY for example.
Now, that was good fun going out into the back garden, locating the constellations and planets and recording the place and time of the observation into the booklet. I never did manage to complete that project and send the booklet off to 'Big Chief Eye Spy' for a certificate. I mean to say, how often do you see an eclipse of the sun from south London? I'd have to wait another 39 years!
The OUT INTO SPACE album mentioned about the GREENWICH OBSERVATORY (RGO) having recently moved to its new home at Herstmonceux in East Sussex. At the time, I often thought it would be a nice place to work one day, but never would have believed that 30 years later my childhood desire would become a reality. During the 1960's, astronomy took a back seat due to other interests. Although the desire to work in astronomy still lingered, I never obtained the academic requirements so I decided to follow a career in electronics. I worked through a 5 year apprenticeship after finishing school in 1964.
The first time I visited the RGO was unofficially in 1961. I was camping with my scout troop in Ninfield which is close to Herstmonceux. I had asked the scoutmaster if he could arrange a visit, but he mentioned it wasn't possible due to it being a military establishment. He was correct of course as in those days it was run by the Admiralty, but I was determined to go all the same. However, the basic response I got from the gatekeeper at the east entrance when I asked him if I could walk around the domes was enough to deter me that day! I finally made it through the gate during the time of the RGO Tercentenary open days in 1975. I enjoyed it so much that I went down twice.
My interest in astronomy became active again when I joined the Croydon Astronomical Society (CAS) in 1974. For the first time, I could share my interest with other like minded people. During this period, the society was actively involved in fund raising which finally culminated in the inauguration of their 18 inch reflector; The Fred Best Telescope and observatory in Kenley, Surrey in June 1979. In 1981, the society through their chairman (then Norman Fisher) organised Astrocamps in Ashdown Forest in Sussex. These ran for many years and were great fun. My last active involvement with the CAS was in 1991 when I was invited back to the UK to open the society's new clubhouse.
Through the CAS I met many people, some who worked for the RGO. I remember going to Herstmonceux for the Federation of Astronomical Societies (FAS) annual meetings from 1981 onwards held in October, a great event. The highlight for me was in 1984 when I attended a weekend symposium on photometry held on behalf of the International Amateur-Professional Photoelectric Photometry (IAPPP) organisation which included a banquet and a couple of nights lodging in the castle. A most enjoyable experience.
In 1985, after working 15 years as an electronics technician in a college, I saw a job advertised for electronics personnel to work for the RGO at their overseas observing site, now called the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes (ING) on La Palma in the Canary Islands. I applied, was successful and have lived on the island ever since. So, I did eventually achieve my desire as a young lad in that I worked at the RGO in Herstmonceux for a few months in 1986 before coming to La Palma. See my pages: The Rise and Fall of the Royal Greenwich Observatory A photographic history from my perspective as someone who worked there and the sad tale of how the bureaucratic system closed what was the oldest scientific establishment in the UK. Founded by King Charles II in 1675 to help his navy navigate the seas and closed by H.M. Government in 1998 to save a few quid!
Inevitably due to cuts in government funding, the ING was also forced to make cutbacks in staff and restructure its organisation. I accepted an offer of early retirement in 2002. I worked for the RGO/ING for just over 16 years, but still keep close ties with the observatory. See my La Palma pages to get an idea of what its like to work in a world class observatory.
Things have certainly improved since I observed through my bedroom window with my cheap telescope and Out Into Space as my guide back in London some 50 years ago. I now own a 4" TeleVue Genesis fluorite refractor with a Vixen guidescope and SBIG ST-4 autoguider. I enjoy capturing deep sky objects with astrophotography when the time and weather permit. See my Astro Photo Gallery which will be updated occasionally.
I also have the use of a Meade 10" LX200 SCT which I share with Nik Szymanek and Ian King, two of the UK's best known amateur astronomers specialising in deep sky imaging who occasionally come to La Palma to observe. The Meade was also used to image Mars by Damian Peach (one of the top amateur planetary observers in the UK) and myself during the close conjunction of that planet in August 2003 for the BBC 2 live broadcast: The All Night Star Party . A memorable event which I thoroughly enjoyed.
La Palma offers a night sky that a London dweller would never see. So, I also owe a lot to OUT INTO SPACE and Brooke Bond tea. Visitors who come over to observe always bring me a box of PG TIPS tea bags as the local brand tastes awful!
n.b. Underlined links not highlighted are still under construction.
