Donna
| Subject: | Re: Dick Sillitto's 80th birthday |
| Date: | Thu, 27 Feb 2003 00:50:22 -0000 |
| From: | "Steven Heddle" |
| To: | .sillitto |
Hello ,
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to contribute.
Among the things that have always impressed me about Dick are the incredibly high standards and great thought applied to everything that I have known him to do, and these characteristics are also true of Winifred. While I have taken note of his example, I cannot pretend to be able to emulate it, although enough has rubbed off on me for me to experience extreme disquiet about the grammar of the previous sentence. And this one. I have also enjoyed seeing this depth of knowledge applied to the true polymath's disciplines of Scottish football and aridly dry humour. The main thing that impresses me of course is the friendship that I have enjoyed, and this has been also extended to my parents, my wife Donna and my son Njal when we all met in Dunbar a few years ago. The only negative thing that I can associate with Dick is that as a) I have the greatest respect for him and share a number of the same interests, and b) his birthday is the day before mine, these facts would tend to support astrology.
Best wishes for a happy birthday, from Steven, Donna and Njal Heddle
Cheers,
Steven
Postscript
| Subject: | Steven Heddle: he is still alive (at time of writing) |
| Date: | Sunday, November 23, 2003 7:46 PM |
| From: | "Steven Heddle" |
| To: | David Vass;...;Winifred Sillitto;...; ... |
Hello!
I was out with my new digital camera (Olympus C-4000 Zoom) on Thursday as the aurora was positively vulgar. The attached shots were taken at F2.8, 8 seconds, ISO 400, with an equivalent focal length of 35mm, on a shoogly tripod in a bitingly cold wind. They've been resized down to 800x600 and JPEG'd, fact fans.
I took them at Scapa (a mile south of Kirkwall) at about 9pm. 9 and 16 are looking just north of east, past the Orkney Harbours building. 14d is looking south, with the lights being from Flotta.
Dear Steven Hope you are still alive (when you receive this). What a marvellous trio of pictures, particularly the one looking south. Thank you very much. Best wishes to you and family, Dick |
Did Njal see the lights? I remember the display in the 1930s - my father took me for a 3-mile walk in the country to see them. It was country then - all part of Belfast's housing estates now. Dick at that time stayed in the hostel of Dumfries Academy, and the whole group went out to watch, much to the annoyance of the warden. Best wishes to you all, Winifred |
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I'm still hanging on here, and I'm delighted you enjoyed the pictures. The aurora was so visible that it was apparent even among the orange street lights of Kirkwall, and we were fortunate to get an excellent view driving over the Churchill Barriers to South Ronaldsay on our way to look at some dining chairs (which we bought). If anything the aurora was brighter then, at about 7.30, but I took the chance to nip out to Scapa with the new camera on the pretext of getting milk and butter from Safeway. Which I also did. It is excellent to hear from you, but I must warn you that my digital pictures may become a pest as I enthusiastically dispatch them to my friends! Best wishes to yourself, Winifred, and family Steven |
Thank you for your kind comments, and I would be delighted for you to put the pictures on your website, in any manner that you wish. Njal did see the lights, but seemed quite sanguine about them, despite it being the best display I'd seen- being a city boy from Kirkwall, the street lights usually prevent you from realising they are there. There are good links to other pics from Cromarty on the same night from the picture gallery of www.orkneycommunities.co.uk which is a pet project, recently launched. You'll see my early school photos there as well, but note the excellent aurorawatch feature that I have had added. I've also got this on my own very poor website www.kw15.co.uk which is mainly a communication method between me and my contemporaries all over the world and my test bed for web features. What was the display in the thirties like? I assume it must have been spectacular. Best wishes, Steven |
Yes, Steve, it was spectacular in the thirties - mostly red, moving curtains where I was. I don't remember whether we saw stars - your Orion has photographed well!
Did you ever hear of James Paton, meteorologist in the Edinburgh Physics Department, who started an aurora watch group in 1947? Four observers widely spaced around the country made simultaneous measurements, co-ordinated from Paton's home in Abernethy. A friend in the Met Office alerted him when aurorae were expected. One night the friend couldn't get through on the phone so he sent a telegram. It arrived with the morning milk.
"Mmhm, ye micht hae brocht this when ye first got it ..."
"Didnae want to wauk ye wi a racin tip"
"Whit racin tip?"
"Aurora at 2.30"