The world still turns.

Today was Geoff's funeral.
He got sent off in style.
Fisherking has said it all

We sang the hymns acapella. For some reason the organist didn't arrive.
This caused a little private mirth, as one of Geoff's most memorable cock-ups at work was the year that he books 3 or 4 coaches to take 150+ kids to Alton Towers...and booked the Alton Towers tickets for the day afterwards. I wonder if Geoff was watching, having a little giggle to himself.

The church was packed, and the Crematorium more so as it was a small place. As we were queuing to leave, I pondered out loud on whether he was watching us, wagging his finger at us as he so often did, wondering why no-one organised us into a wonderfully organised back and forth line, which he would have referred to as his 'snake'. From years of co-ordinating the entry of 300 students into our certificate evening, with military precision, Geoff's 'snake' became legendary. And, typically Geoff, whenever HE mentioned his snake, it was said with a twinkle in his eye and a look of naughtiness. I've said it before, but Frankie Howerd had nothing on that man!

A brief moment in the crematorium as the curtains closed caused the tears to flow, but they didn't last long as the strength of his wife once again shone through and she made us laugh and shared a happy memory that she wanted us to leave with.

Utterly knackered this evening, despite being chauffeured all day by Fisherking, I came home, got the camera straight onto the tripod, wrapped it up in a scarf to try to sustain the battery for longer, and left it running. 619 shots later, 15 second exposures, and this is what you get. It's amazing to actually look at how many planes travel through the airspace in a couple of hours.

Whilst it was shooting, I aligned the telescope with relative ease and spent a couple of hours observing and learning. It was good to just go outside and empty my head of everything except the wonders of the universe in front of my eyes.

Tonight, now, exhaustion has finally caught me. My head hurts and I have strange and really quite excruciating intermittent stomach pains. I do not need to fart as one helpful friend has suggested...I hope it will pass (so to speak) by morning.

If so, I still intend to be a fully fledged member of the Sloth Society for part of the day, but if I am not tired by mid-afternoon, then I am contemplating a visit to my pops, as I have a present for him. Hopefully, a clear night might also mean I can set my camera up in his back garden and get a different set of star trails.

Sorry if they are boring you :-)