Island Holidays Blog

Solar Eclipse

Now I don't know much about astronomy except that Sir Patrick Moore was getting very excited yesterday about a meteor shower or something.   It stikes me that being interested in that kind of thing generally involves staying up half the night only to find that the cloud cover prevents you seeing anything.   I'd rather be tucked up warm and cozy in my bed at night!

However, I do know that folk are getting very excited about a full eclipse of the sun scheduled to take place next August.   The expedition ships we use in Spitsbergen were all chartered ages ago and so there wasn't a chance to offer the opportunity to our clients to enjoy this spectacle in the area where the eclipse will be 100%:  near Franz Joseph Land in the Russian arctic.

Now we've managed to acquire an option on five cabins on the m/v Polaris which will be sailing from Longyearbyen in Spitsbergen on 29 July and heading off to FJL to be in the right place at the right time.  It should, by all accounts, be spectacular - as long as it's not cloudy!

So much talent

I had a present today from a couple who travelled with me to Shetland and Orkney in the summer.   Roy was often to be found lurking round corner sketching and, today, the fruits of his labours arrived on my doorstep in the form of two really lovely paintings of Shetland which really capture the atmosphere of one of my favourite places in the world.

It's amazing how much talent there is out there and what pleasure it gives not only to the people themselves but to those with whom they travel.   We used to run painting holidays, but found them difficult to sell.  It seems silly because, as I say, there are so many of our clients with artistic talent or at least potential.   If you'd be interested in such a tour do let me know and I'll see if it's worth trying again.

There are a lot of good photographers out there as well and I often receive CD's full of excellent work - some of it even gets used in newsletters or brochures (credited, of course!).  The latest DVD to arrive was of the reunion weekend and it was fantastic - especially the Starlings.   In fact, with all these wee gifts to enjoy, it's surprising any work ever gets done in here!