The Universe: Official meteor watch day!

Today is official meteor watch day... although despite creating the day, I think the weather will be the biggest factor on whether it's successful or not (also depending on where you happen to live!) That being said, it's also a great opportunity to learn a little bit more about our surroundings, space and the universe...

A meteor, or shooting star, is the visible streak of light from a heated and glowing meteoroid falling through the Earth's atmosphere at a speed of over 20 km/s, so pretty fast! Around 15,000 tonnes of meteoroids and other space dust enter the Earth's atmosphere each year, and when they reach the ground they become known as meteorites...which means if we're on the lookout often enough there must be plenty of shooting stars to be seen! 

An interesting way of getting an idea of where we stand in relation to the universe is through this interactive scale of the universe. It allows you to zoom in and out to find where and how we as humans fit into the Universe. Follow the link above and have a play, and don't forget to keep your eyes peeled for some shooting stars on the next clear night! 

www.scaleofuniverse.com

Get stuck in with British Mud Week

Tomorrow sees the start of something new- the first ever British mud week. Sponsored by Nomad Direct, suppliers of the world’s first cordless pressure washer (which you may need if you decide to get involved!), the general idea of the week is to encourage the British public to get outside and enjoy the great outdoors. Although we have our fingers crossed for good weather this June, we all know you can never be too sure when it comes to the British weather, and so the chances are there'll be plenty of mud around to get involved with!

People are being encouraged to complete mud-themed challenges for charity and get their families involved in the great outdoors, and schools are also being encouraged to take part, with downloadable packs, full of ideas, being available on their website. 

The website also lists a number of ideas of ways you could get involved with mud week, if you work with or have young children, I can only imagine the idea of a week spent rolling in the mud will go down a treat! 

It's camping month!

June is technically the start of the summer, and so it's not quite so surprising that it's the official month of camping, whether or not the weather will agree with this is another matter! One of the joys of camping (oh there are many), are that once you've got the equipment, it's fairly easy to take off on a relatively last-minute trip. Weather aside, the benefits of camping are great (or even glamping if you're not a fan of sleeping on a camping mat, have a look at some of these pictures!) It gives you a chance to spend some time in the great outdoors, away from the stresses of work and away from technology and tv, and gets you spending time with your loved ones in, what is hopefully, a calm and chilled environment. If you've got kids, it's a great opportunity to teach them new things, like roasting marshmallows on a bonfire or how to put up a tent, and if you get some clear nights, it's the perfect place to stargaze and soak up the views you just don't get in a busy town or city. With the school holidays creeping closer, now's the time to book your camping trip (either to avid the kids or to get on holiday with yours!) Take a risk and hope for some nice weather, but know that you'll have a great time regardless of the weather, just don't forget your waterproofs! Happy camping!

Shock weather reports...

Firstly, when is British weather ever a shock?! The variety of unexpected and erratic weather we get every day should have made us un-shockable by now, you'd think, but it seems not. Reading the latest news reports, I'm beginning to see why, this weather really does seem quite shocking.

Always ones to over-estimate the weather predictions, the forecast tends to be a lot worse than the reality. However, following the stormy and extreme floods this winter, I'm feeling more inclined to pay attention...

So what are they expecting? Well, cricket ball-sized hail stones and tornadoes are the more extreme predictions, the worst hailstones in 170 years, apparently. The weekend is meant to be the start of the bad weather, with hot temperatures heading our way over the next couple of weeks, apparently we'll get little sun and lots of storms. Such a warning is more than a little daunting, yet I'm hoping for the temperature predictions to be true and the rain and storms to stay well away! We've got some sunshine apparently heading our way tomorrow at least, so make sure you make the most of it, just incase they are right, but maybe keep your umbrellas and wellies to hand for the following few days!

Pinch punch, last day of the month...?!

Welcome to the last day of March! April sounds so much more spring like, I'm beginning to get excited for summer...because April means spring, and spring means it's nearly summer, you see the logic?!

Regardless, it should hopefully be a sunny month coming up, I know we often get a bit of a cold and snowy spell in this month, but also we can get heatwaves, that's what we're hoping for this year, it's been far too long and cold a winter to keep it going into April! The blossom has been out a while now, and as long as the frost stays away we can expect to be seeing more flowers and blossom...and all things summery around outside.

Time to did into the Phonebox magazine and follow our latest walk (have a look at the online copy here) and enjoy some real spring-time scenery!

Spring?!

Are we beginning to see a glimmer of Spring? I know it officially isn't springtime until the end of March (at least) but the evenings and mornings are beginning to get lighter and this is very good news indeed! The past few days I've been woken up by the sun shining in on my face, which as much as I love my sleep and don't like to be interrupted, definitely makes a welcome change from trying to get up in the dark! I even saw a bit of blue sky today…shocking I know!

It really does have an effect on your mood though, doesn't it?! Leaving work in the sunshine rather than the dark makes you feel like you've still got a few hours left to enjoy the day, rather than feeling the need to crawl inside by the fire with a duvet! The worry in the back of my mind is the reminder that we have often had snow as late as April… I'm hoping we've missed out on that weather this year but maybe that's being a little too hopeful! It looks for now that it's just rain, rain and more rain in store, fingers crossed this sun stays about, we sure need it to dry up all this flooding!

Sarah