On the way back from Beamish Mum told me more about the forthcoming total solar eclipse and how it worked. She said we were lucky enough to live in a part of the world where it would happen in the middle of the day so we’d be able to see the sun slowly disappear behind the moon. She also said that, because of the way Earth is tilted in relation to our sun, the eclipse would only appear total across a narrow east to west band, while to the north and south of this the moon would cover an ever smaller amount of the sun.
She added that that was why we were going to have to travel if we wanted to see it properly, as, although it would be total in the far south-west of Cornwall, where we live the sun would only be around 98% covered and so it would never go completely dark.
As I was still a Very Young Bear then and hadn’t yet learned much geography, I thought that maybe Cornwall was abroad and that’s where we were going. But Mum said no. Even though Cornwall was 400 miles/640 kms from where we lived, it was still definitely in England – and she hadn’t seen any special trips going there to see the eclipse. However, she had seen one that was going to Luxembourg City – another place where the eclipse would be total – and that was the one we’d be going on…
We set off from our local town centre at three o’clock in the morning of August 10th…
…and soon settled into our allocated seat on the coach, next to another lady who was also travelling by herself and was just the right amount of chatty for that time of day. Then, after a few more pick-ups, we were on the motorway, heading for Dover and the ferry to Calais.
It was a lovely smooth crossing – for which we were very thankful – but the ferry was really busy and, after we’d driven off and made the short journey to the hypermarket CHEERS to stock up on drink and nibbles, I began to think that at least half the population of the UK had also made the crossing.
There were coaches of all sizes and ages, from very modern luxury coaches through to some that looked as if they might have been borrowed from a museum. There was even one that had broken down and all the passengers had got out and were pushing it as hard as they could to try and get it moving again.
Luckily our coach started again with no trouble and soon we were back on the road, heading along the coast towards Dunkirk, then gradually turning inland to go around Bruges, Ghent and Brussels until we finally arrived at the city of Hasselt where we going to stay at the Holiday Inn for the next two nights.
Now, as I’m sure some of you will know, if you book a single room on a trip you often end up with a room not much bigger than a broom cupboard. But in Hasselt we had just the opposite. The room was enormous and the ensuite was so posh that it had gold-plated taps and gold-plated heated towel rails (with lots and lots of fluffy towels!). But what really impressed us both was the bed as it was by far the biggest bed we’d ever seen. I even helped Mum measure it and we found that it was 14 Wilfs wide and 14 Wilfs long. As one Wilf = 6 inches/15 cm, that meant it was 7 foot/210 cm wide by 7 foot/210 cm long.
More importantly, however, it was comfortable and, after a very long day, we were glad to climb in and have a good night’s sleep, ahead of another early start for the journey to Luxembourg City, which was a distance of around 138 miles/283 km.
As we set off, it was a lovely summer’s day with a blue sky and sunshine and only a few little white clouds. By the time we reached Luxembourg City, however, the weather was changing and the clouds were getting bigger and turning grey.
But we tried not to worry as the coach dropped us off at a great vantage point from which we had a clear view of the sky in all directions. Mum even found us a place next to a low wall that we could sit on until the eclipse started – and stand on if anyone really tall came to stand in front of us.
As the time came nearer, however, the clouds gradually covered the whole sky – including the sun! But, as I climbed out of Mum’s handbag and went to sit in her coat pocket so I’d have a better view, I began to feel really excited. I’d seen the Midnight Sun and I’d seen the Northern Lights. Surely I’d be lucky again and see the Total Eclipse!
Then, as more and more people gathered round and about, I started to get even more excited and began jumping up and down – and that’s when disaster struck, because I completely misjudged it and fell on the floor…
Because I don’t weigh very much, Mum didn’t realise I’d gone. Instead she just kept watching the sky while I was squeaking for help at the top of my voice and trying not to get trampled under what seemed like thousands of feet.
Then luckily a kind man spied me, picked me up, dusted me down and handed me back to Mum…
But that was the end of my luck for that day, because the clouds stubbornly refused to move away from the sun for almost the whole of the eclipse. Though it did indeed go dark enough for the street-lights to come on, the clouds were too thick for us to see any stars. But there was an eerie atmosphere and it suddenly felt a lot colder. The birds stopped singing and the whole city fell strangely silent, as if it were waiting for something to happen…
Then slowly, slowly it began to get lighter again. Though we couldn’t see it, the moon began to move away from the sun, allowing the sun’s light and heat to reach us once more. The total part of the eclipse had been and gone – and we hadn’t seen a thing!
But we’d been there and experienced the strange atmosphere and, with a couple of hours to spend in Luxembourg City before going back to our coach, we were ready to do some sight-seeing.
I’ll tell you more about it in my next post, however – and also about a very odd incident on the journey back Hasselt. Meanwhile, take care, stay safe – and I’ll talk to you again soon!
Follow my next blog: 246. MY MUM THE STORY-TELLER – PART ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-THREE
16/02/2023
Wilf the bear-faced blogger 