It probably didn’t pass you by that there was a unique opportunity to see the moon pass in front of the sun on the 12th August.
I was expecting to have to use a colander to not become permanently blind, as the country had sold out of eclipse glasses, and fakes had even started to pop up online.
But I was extremely lucky and one of my friends had purchased a multipack of glasses and had one pair spare. I just happened to be in the office on the day, and he dropped them on my desk, like a solar Santa.
My other half had work down at Centenary Quay that evening, finishing 10 minutes before the main event, so naturally I followed along to find somewhere nice to watch the end of the world.
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(Maps & Data © OpenStreetMap.org contributors)
Centenary Quay is a beautiful little spot looking out over the water. And even better, the sun was perfectly positioned directly across the water.
Parking myself on a bench I met a lovely lady who was visiting from Guernsey, and waited for the moon to show the sun who was boss.
After finding out I was the only one in our group who had actual glasses, two of our friends joined us from the other side of the city; bolstering our watch-party.
The eclipse came, the sky darkened, and we watched, periodically passing the glasses between all of us. My phone refused to focus through the eclipse glasses, so this is the best I could do.
It seems silly to say it, but it was a profound moment.
Don’t worry. Our friends did being a colander.
