Nik lives in Essex, UK and works in London as the editor of MacUser magazine. The posts and comments on this site do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions of values of his employers.
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Well, the sky was supposed to be a firey red tonight, and perhaps beyond the clouds it was. I set out in the car to get away from the street lights and find somewhere dark enough to see the eclipse properly, and after an hour or so of driving ended up on the flight-path into Stanstead, where the planes were peeling in from both directions, cutting through the low clouds.
Switching off the lights and sitting there drinking coffee for a while, my eyes grew accustomed to the light and slowly it became clear that the clouds were not their usual grey-blue mix, but were tinged by a chalky red glow that seemed to come from their centres. It must have been reflection, as the light was behind me. It came out far clearer in the photos than it was in real life.
Soon it began to rain again, and so after a quick wander away from the car down the deserted roads to take pictures of the planes burning up the clouds with the beams of their headlights, I returned to the dry, drank the last of my coffee and drove towards home.
As I did, the rain died out and the clouds opened up, revealing the moon, which was already starting to come out of the eclipse. It was just a thin sliver to start with - like a fingernail clipping - but the earth’s shadow seemed to slide across it quicker and quicker the closer I got to home.
As it got lighter, so the animals started coming out of hiding. First two rabbits and some tailed vermin scampering around on the road and then, as I turned around a corner near Finchingfield, five spotted deer eating leaves from the bushes at the side of the road.
I stopped the car and we looked at each other through the windows, then slowly and calmly they moved off, leaving me on my own in the light of the almost-full moon, obscured now by nothing more than Australia.
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