The support that the Northern Ireland Bahá'í community has given to the communities of the North Sea over the years has been notable, but Les Gornall returned on 4th June from a trip that literally eclipsed all. On arriving in Stornoway, (complete with a hundred giveaway protecting solar eclipse shades ) it was suggested that the local schools could use a talk about the coming solar eclipse. This was to be uniquely Scottish and Astronomer Sir Patrick Moore had been dispatched to the highlands. Mina Shepherd rose to the challenge of inviting the speaker to the schools and all six accepted. The talks went amazingly well to lecture halls, gyms and large classrooms packed full of(up to 300 at a time) with repeats in some schools. The message was clear, Saturday morning would see a most amazing eclipse -this was Stornoway's day and incoming flights were full of telescope bearing travellers. Most went to the standing stones of Callanish, an ancient stone 'henge' aligned with the moon. The BBC was up in- we chose the North End of the Island of Lewis for the best since this is where the weather map showed good prospects (i.e. better than 50%) of seeing the two and a 1/2 minute event through the clouds. the time the lecturing had finished, and over a thousand children were begging their parents to be allowed to stay up till 4.30am in the morning we were thinking - if this thing does not happen in Lewis we dead! Well it did happen - and the only photographs of the complete ring of fire eclipse that are available from land sites came- yep you got it - Lewis. The lighthouse is the Butt of Lewis.
Les Gornall
(Photograph © Dr Leslie Gornall)
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