Herstmonceux and Serendipity June 8, 2009

One weekend ago, in a land called East Sussex, my husband and I spent our one-year wedding anniversary (!) at Hidden Spring Vineyard. Fortunately, the weekend weather was as un-British as it could be; sunny and so hot we actually (almost gratefully,) got sunburnt.

The plan for the weekend was, of course, to do nothing at all, to laze about in the sun, to indulgently eat lots and lots of food, and to see some castle nearby because Kelley goes crazy when she does nothing at all, so she conspired to drag Dani to the castle, though he brought a book anyway so he could laze about in the sun, and this was a satisfactory compromise for all parties.

Outside Herstmonceux Castle

Fortunately for the sanity of all parties involved, the castle was closed for tours that day, but the sprawling green grounds, complete with ‘Shakespeare Garden’ and aviary, were open, as well as a tea room where one might consume copious amounts of Cream Tea, (the pure thought of which makes my stomach start shouting,) as one does when out in the countryside at a place like a castle.

Oh great British invention! Consume infrequently and with abandon.

 

 

 

 

But there was something else at Herstmonceux, and a serendipitous surprise it was…

For the full name of Herstmonceux is Herstmonceux Castle and Science Centre, and it is home to The Royal Greenwich Observatory. Confusion, to two who live near Greenwich? Oh, yes.

This is the RGO, not the ROG. (Royal Greenwich Observatory, not Royal Observatory at Greenwich.) Still not clear? I’ll maintain that the insistence on retaining ‘Greenwich’ in the title is the cause of all my trouble. Throughout the thickening smog of the Industrial Era, the site of the Royal Observatory in South East London (at Greenwich,) became less and less suitable for observing the heavenly spheres. So finally, just after WWII, the Observatory moved out into the countryside…to a land called East Sussex.

RGO telescope.

To quote from ‘Astronomers at Herstmonceux,’ a delightful little book with input from a handful of astronomers who worked there over the years, ‘for forty years, Herstmonceux in Sussex was the home of one of the world’s leading astronomical establishments, the Royal Greenwich Observatory. Its two most striking features were the splendid mediaeval castle, and the six green domes of a unique set of buildings known as the ‘Equatorial Group.’

Later, ‘Herstmonceux as an observatory was unique–what other national institution in recent years has enabled people to study the heavens from the grounds of a mediaeval castle?’

Now, the old RGO is the site of The Observatory Science Centre, a place where guests and especially children (or those young at heart!) can enthusiastically enjoy hands-on activities learning about a variety of scientific topics, especially astronomy. There are talks about the history of the place, and of course the enormous reflecting and refracting telescopes that were abandoned there in their obsolescence after the RGO moved on to Cambridge in 1990. To the detriment of its fascinating history, now Herstmonceux Castle and The Observatory Science Centre are treated nearly as separate entities; even the websites give little hint of their former relationship– this was why, when we arrived, we were so surprised to learn about the history of the place.

Hands-on fun with physics

It was a delightful and serendipitous visit, namely because I am currently writing a novel about astronomy and Dani is extremely interested in hands-on-activities-for-the-young-at-heart. We had a brilliant time and enjoyed an interesting and informative talk from one of the Science Centre staff. Part of the charm of the Science Centre is that it is a wee bit shabby, not the most high-tech, and a little sun-bleached, but fascinating and completely engaging nonetheless. It brings me back to days where kids could have fun without computer screens and over-stimulation. And there were a lot of kids having fun there that day, too.

One of the other (many) great things about the Science Centre is that they use some of the great telescopes they have there for public viewing evenings. Even though the current observatory has moved on to much further-away lands– (La Palma, Spain,), and no research is done here anymore, the public have the opportunity to use telescopes they’d never normally get the chance to look through. Dani and I are keen to go back for a viewing evening. And maybe another cream tea.

Word Festival, Aberdeen May 18, 2009

Promotional banner including pictures of myself, Ian Rankin, John Boyne, and others.

This past weekend saw the festivities of Word 09, a brilliant literary festival billed as ‘an exhilarating mix of over 60 authors and 130 inspirational events for all ages and tastes covering poetry and prose, theatre, music, lectures, film screenings, workshops and exhibitions.’ Whew, no wonder I was tired!

Newly appointed Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy

I was pleased with the opportunity to meet such a varied assortment of writers, from sci-fi to children’s books to crime novelists to poets to playwrights. It was a truly fun and illuminating weekend.

One person I met was the newly appointed Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, who must be swiftly getting used to having her photo taken! She initially gave me the impression of having  a potentially gruff demeanor, but she was very friendly to speak with and wished me luck in my own work. She has really paved the way for women poets, coming from a generation and location (Scotland) where, I get the impression, women writers had to fight quite hard to prove themselves. It was an honour to meet her.

This year’s festival combined with an interlacing theme of science, so I partook in a few readings. One was semi-related to Word: a ‘Night at The Museum’ late-night opening at the University’s Zoology Museum, where I visited friends at the Natural History Centre, gave a short reading, and enjoyed an absolutely packed five hours which saw nearly 800 families pouring through the Museum. Children and adults enjoyed activities from ‘make your own owl’ to a phenomenally talented black-light puppet show, ‘From Molecules to Man,’ to a live raptor exhibition, to building paper-tube apes and learning about the human diet from ‘Stone Age to Obese Age.’ It was a brilliant evening.

Another writer I was particularly interested to meet was John Boyne, who has recently come into the spotlight with his controversial holocaust-children’s book ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.’ Coincidentally, I had just read the book, so it was interesting to hear him speak on both it and his newest book, ‘The House of Special Purpose,’ (not a children’s book).

Novelist John Boyne

As a supplement to the science themed Word Festival, I was asked to be one of the judges for a University-based exhibition called ‘50 Words on Science,’ where University researchers had the opportunity to create a ‘postcard’ style piece with 50 words on one side (creative or straightforward or a mix,) and a related image on the other side. The 40 or so entries were displayed in the Festival’s Cafe at Elphinstone Hall, where visitors could come up to look at the pictures, turn over the cards and read the 50  words. It was both educational and fun, at times quite amusing, to judge the competition! Congratulations to the winners– one that particularly sticks in my mind is the gentleman who wrote about (and won a prize for) his work on copepod poo.

50 Words on Science exhibit.

Fortunately I was able to fly up to Aberdeen on Friday, so I enjoyed a few events before the hectic but fun Night at the Museum on Saturday, and my reading on Sunday afternoon. This was a pleasant mix of reading, discussing my work, answering questions from the audience (of about 30 people, I’d estimate,) and announcing the winners– 5 of 6 attended! — for the 50 Words on Science.

Another interesting talk/reading I attended was Ian Rankin’s. I have to admit I have never read any of his books and I know absolutely nothing about crime fiction. The huge hall was absolutely packed, and we passed an incredibly agreeable hour listening to both questions from the audience and bantering discussion between Rankin and Stuart Kelly, the literary editor of Scotland on Sunday; they clearly knew each other well. I was completely surprised at how funny Rankin is! Of course, going in with no expectations at all was probably helpful.

Stuart Kelly is an interesting character, whose trademark look is wearing matching Converse trainers with his suits (’trying to make himself look younger than he is, and failing,’ Rankin joked). A former Oxford professor, Kelly is totally acerbic and quite possibly too smart for his own good; he smokes like he’s looking to kill himself, and he was absolutely acidic about Ruth Padel and the whole Oxford poet professorship issue. An entertaining person to talk to all round, certainly, though I was bemused at the 4800 literary names he tossed around and did my best to pretend I knew who he was talking about, and probably failed entirely.

The Word 09 Festival was, overall, a great success, and I feel extremely priveledged to have taken part. It would be a pleasure to return!

April Trip: DC, VA, RI, TX May 13, 2009

My recent book tour trip to the States went very well– I ended up wishing I’d brought more books along, but that’s the best way to feel, I suppose. 

Xiao outside Union Station

First stop, DC, where I stayed with my friend Xiao for a few days. I hadn’t seen many of the people on this trip since graduation; it was so wonderful to catch up!

RC Botanic Gardens

Next stop, Randolph College (formerly my alma mater Randolph-Macon Woman’s College) in Virginia. There I was so pleased to visit some friends and former professors, wander around the lovely campus once again, and be honoured to read at the Visiting Writer’s series, which I used to attend religiously as a student. The school made good use of my visit; I volunteered to speak in four classes and take part in the weekend Science Festival as well.

Signing books at The Other Tiger

One week and a long train journey after I arrived in VA, I was home in Rhode Island, catching up with family and friends and giving a reading at the lovely little local bookshop, The Other Tiger. This went down a treat– finally, a chance for my family to see what I’ve been talking about! I was especially pleased that my grandparents were there. Luckily the weather was nice enough to squeeze in a few beach walks– how I miss the sea. 

Flight to Houston, Texas, and finally some heat! This was the perfect end to my month in the States; no readings, just catching up with very close school friends.

May, and back in the UK May 13, 2009

Greenwich Yacht Club

Back to the (computer) keyboard! A number of projects happening:

I’ve returned to that young adult novel, which I’m now wrestling with. It’s a love/hate relationship at the moment, but progress, at least!

Working on some new poems, and have joined a great workshopping group. Our first (and thus far, only) meeting was very helpful. Went to a fun open mic night last night at the Greenwich Yacht Club: Floating Words, an annual event from local group, the Thameside Poets.

On Monday I’ll return to Cambridge for the Science and Literature Reading Group. I’ve recommended it before and I recommend it again– a great group, free and open to the public. Monday we’ll be looking at ‘Alice’s Adventures Underground.’

The next adventure has begun, as well: I’m into my next novel, this one historical fiction. 

Next weekend I’ll be in Aberdeen for two events: the Word Festival (I read on Sunday at 13:30) and the Natural History Centre’s Night at the Museum (Saturday,) an event for families.

 

University of Aberdeen

British Society for Literature and Science March 30, 2009

I spent the weekend at the 2009 conference of the British Society for Literature and Science (BSLS,) which was held this year at the University of Reading. The BSLS is a relatively new creation, begun 4-5 years ago by Dr. Alice Jenkins and Dr. Michael Whitworth. At the AGM on Sunday, re-elections were held, as current officers had served 3 years and this is the term; Alice stepped down from Chair and it was resumed by Michael. I’m very happy to say I’m stepping into Michael’s former role as Secretary of the Society.

The BSLS is not based out of a particular University; it is because of its now quite significant membership. The annual conference this past weekend had between 80-90 delegates. The BSLS is ’a scholarly society which promotes interdisciplinary research into the relationships of science and literature in all periods. Membership is open to anyone interested in the field, regardless of geographical location.’

I’m very pleased that, entirely separate from the Secretarial role, my proposal for their first annual grant towards conferences or other relevant activities, was accepted and I was thus the first recipient of the BSLS grant– this will go directly towards the reading series I am currently organizing for The Whipple Museum of the History of Science in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge. I will elaborate on this as details become definite, but I am currently arranging two dates this summer for two talks on literature and science, to be held at The Whipple.

At the conference, I presented a paper looking at the history of cetology as represented by Herman Melville in Moby-Dick; also looking at environmental awareness by Melville, contemporary cetologists, and whalers themselves, as evidenced in their various texts. I would like to take this research further, and the conference opened up and directed my thinking on the paper in very helpful ways. 

I also had a very agreeable time chatting with a number of delegates from a great variety of backgrounds, and learned some fascinating new things about Dickens, waxwork figures, astronomy, encyclopedias, teaching science and literature, and more. I look forward to the 2010 conference.

Cambridge & Edinburgh March 24, 2009

I’m very happy to be writing my first post on my brand new asus eee pc 1000. Yay!

(Even if it does run on linux currently, the equivalent, in my husband’s opinion, of any choice four-letter word…but he’ll be putting windows on it soon and everyone will be happy.)

New ultra-portable laptop!

I’ve been running around a bit lately, a mix of many little things; projects that I’m doing which may or may not become bigger things, and then some poetry readings; also preparing for the upcoming BSLS conference (that’s the British Society for Literature and Science)…and spring is here, and I’m heading to Virginia very, very soon! It’s an exciting time.

The Darwin’s Microscope reading I gave in Cambridge was lovely; it was held at Christ’s College, where Charles Darwin lived as a student. There was an enthusiastic crowd of about 15 people, two of whom work on the Darwin Correspondence Project, one of whom works at the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, and others, all of whom definitely knew what they were talking about. We had some really good discussion after the reading.

The reading at Cambridge was meant to be a collaboration between myself and Boris Jardine, who was going to talk on his research on Darwin’s actual microscopy, but unfortunately Boris was ill. We’re hoping to try for another reading/talk combination at the  Whipple Museum of the History of Science this summer.

Last week brought me up to the beautiful Scottish Poetry Library in the lovely capital of Edinburgh, where I read alongside Scottish poet Angela McSeveny (who read from her new book, Slaughtering Beetroot- talk about a great title!) as part of the Poetry Association of Scotland’s reading series. The turnout was fairly quiet, but the PAS and SPL include very welcoming people, and I was given a (photocopied) copy of Erasmus Darwin’s ‘The Loves of the Plants.‘ Hooray! I’ve been wanting to read that. I also paid a visit to the cozy, somewhat mysterious and deliciously tucked away ‘Writer’s Museum,‘ which I highly recommend. It rounded out my literary visit nicely.

Inpress Blog March 3, 2009

Dear WordPress blog,

I’ve been seeing someone else. (Gasp!)

I was asked to write for Inpress Author blogs some weeks ago, and have devoted some of my time in the attempt to write ‘for writers.’ Instead of just going back and forth repeating everything, I thought I’d link to the inpress blog here. I’ll have to ask my awesome, technologically minded husband to help me put a more permanent link on the top of the WordPress blog so it won’t just be in this post.

I must say this WordPress blog is much prettier, with lots of pictures, and more about the book tour. I’m trying to make the Inpress blog content more about my rambling thoughts on writing, whether it be poetry, historical fiction, whatever. 

It is my hope that the Inpress blog will be of interest to writers, and I would love it if it generated a little bit of conversation. My latest post is asking about where people think the line is between ‘therapy writing’ versus good but emotional writing.

Book Launch February 27, 2009

The Book Launch for Darwin’s Microscope happened Wednesday night at the fascinating Victorian-style Grant Museum of Zoology, which is part of UCL.

Beforehand, Dani and I met his parents for a yummy dinner at Hummus Bros, which I highly recommend!

Ani & Kelley @ Hummus Bros

Thanks to Ani and Ilia for the absolutely beautiful flowers, and to Ilia for the photography!

We then carried on to the Grant Museum where I met Melanie, Will and Jack. Melanie is my good friend and also, among her myriad titles, co-organizer for the Cambridge Science and Literature Reading Group. Jack is part of the Grant Museum and Will is my editor from Flambard Press. Special thanks to all three for their organization, contributions and opening words.

Melanie & Kelley preparing beforehand.

Will gives a thoughtful introduction.

The Grant Museum was the perfect place for the launch of Darwin’s Microscope, and in his comments, Jack explained why. For one, the Museum is housed in the Darwin Building, named so because it is the same site as where Charles himself used to live when he lived in London.  

Another great connection to Charles is that the Grant Museum is named after Robert Edmond Grant, who was one of Charles’s early tutors and introduced the enthusiastic young beachcomber to ideas of evolution. Finally, the Museum houses Thomas Henry Huxley’s collection of specimens, and we all know Huxley was one of Darwin’s great proponents. (I wonder though, if he was called ‘Darwin’s bulldog’ not only because of his defensiveness of Darwin but also because he looked a bit like one?)

Melanie talks about the book.

Jack explains the venue's relevance.

The museum being full of zoological specimens is also relevant to my book not only for the Darwin connections, but also because it is much like the zoology laboratory in which I studied (though of course the museum has a much more extensive collection,) and this is the very sort of atmosphere which inspired most of the poems in the book. 

The space prompted me to read part of the longest poem in the book, ‘In the Lab,’ which I almost never read as I feel it works better on the page. However, part I of the poem was a perfect way to ’set the scene’ for the rest of the reading.

Kelley reads.

 

 

In The Lab

I. Survey

Embryos of chicken and pig,

necks folded at obtuse angles,

yellow in jars. Humming

vent swallows fumes; cool

musk permeates, mixes

with mothball, formalin, dust.

reading...

Jaws, scales, fur, and feathers,

all stiffened. Iridescent shingles

on purple Lepidoptera.

Trilobite fossils from Utah,

thumbnail-sized.

 

Parrot, eagle, old penguin

crusty with dandruff.

Wood duck wire-stiffened

into permanent flight.

Empty, peeling box-tortoise shell.

Snakes spiraled into glass

with faded labels, withered egg-cases.

Eyeless snapping turtles,

rusty-pink, rotting, stuffed, tagged,

boxed, jarred, examined.

 

Guests listen.

 

 

The reading went quite well; many people said they enjoyed it and the two Museum employees there gave me generous compliments, in stark contrast to their extreme disappointment at some other ‘Darwin-inspired’ readings elsewhere. I liked this venue for the intimate space and fantastic collection, as well as the Darwin connections, and I’m really pleased the launch was at the Grant.

The reading went well!

 

Afterwards, everyone enjoyed wine provided by Flambard Press, and got a chance to really appreciate the Museum specimens– hopefully in a new light! 

Iain and Chris contemplate the specimens.

I especially appreciate the support and love from my family on this side of the Atlantic.

I do wish my family and friends from the US could have been there, but I also can look forward to the Stateside book launch in Virginia in April, and subsequent visits to family and friends!

I also always appreciate hearing people’s thoughts on the book, and was happy to talk to various people, some of whom I knew and some new faces. There seems to be a special appreciation of blending the science and literature which really gives me joy, as that is exactly what I’m trying to do– and not getting too caught up in being too extreme on either the art or science side. 

Dani & Ani in the museum.

Enjoying wine and conversation.

My next event is Monday 9th March in the Lloyd Room of Christ’s College, Cambridge, at 7:30pm. It is in conjunction with Boris Jardine giving a talk on his research on Darwin’s actual microscopy, and the Science & Literature Reading Group is hosting. It’s a ‘Darwin 200‘ event for Cambridge. 

Everyone is welcome, so if you missed the launch, try to come!

Chatting about whaling.

The wonderful Grant Museum.

I also encourage people to visit the Grant Museum. It is a wonderful little space, chocker-block full of amazing specimens. I could happily spend hours and days in there if I got the chance! Of course, an interest in zoology helps, but hopefully my book of poetry is encouraging people to think in and interdisciplinary way.

 

Me & my uber-supportive other half!

And of course, the books!

 

 

I shall add a none-too-subtle point; many people are asking ‘when can they get the book.’

Well, it is out and available, so any time you’d like, whether you are in the US or the UK.

So order yours today at www.flambardpress.co.uk, and ask me to sign it for you when you see me!

Aberdeen (Part II) – The Reading Bus February 17, 2009

I must admit that, as well as being excited, I was a bit apprehensive about the day on the Reading Bus. I just had no idea what to expect. 90 11-year olds? (Not all at once, of course! 3 classes arrived at different times throughout the day and we split each into two groups of about 15 students each.)

The Reading Bus

I hadn’t really had a point of reference for an 11 year old for quite some time. I certainly haven’t ‘hung out with’ that many 11-year-olds since I was 11. I had nothing to worry about: they were great. Very excited and interested; they came up with some really creative ideas!

Ian McKay with some of his lovely racing pigeons.

After Marie, the Director of the Natural History Centre at the Zoology Museum building (part of the U of Aberdeen campus,) introduced us, the lesson began.

To kick off each ’session,’ our ‘Pigeon man,’ Ian McKay, president of the Aberdeen Federation of Racing Pigeon Societies, took out three gorgeous and very different-looking pigeons to display for the students. This was to show that Darwin collected and bred pigeons, and was very interested in the variation among the birds.

Then Iain brought out the fourth and ’star’ pigeon, who was a gift from Her Majesty the Queen. This pigeon famously was entered into Iain’s One Loft pigeon race, against 40 pigeons from his own loft– and the Queen’s pigeon won! 

A very special thing about these pigeons is their ID bracelet on their legs. The Queen’s pigeon had an ‘ER’ to identify the pigeon. Ian showed the students this, and some of the braver children got to stroke the pigeon.

The Queen's Pigeon: 'ER'

Moving on from the excitement of the pigeons, I got to go on the Reading Bus with Director Jenny Watson. The Bus, a converted coach, is a very fun space, brightly painted on the outside and with seats and, of course, a lot of books inside. There is also a handy big screen, where we displayed a few of my poems. 

After I talked briefly about how I studied things just like what the children saw in the Zoology Museum, I read the poem, “Shadows in Chalk,” which is also the first poem in the book. 

 

Shadows in Chalk

            at the White Cliffs of Dover

 

Silken outlines on a wall with scars and scrapes,

crystallized and hidden places.

 

Shadows leaning hard against a white cliff face

above a channel, splitting continents.

 

Silhouettes in sediment, of a hundred thousand years,

sea creatures crushed to dust, soaked with rain and blood.

 

Shapes unchanging only while the sun remains,

immortalized in chalk, lines we scrape and wipe away.

On the Reading Bus.

 

We especially focused on chalk. Since their teachers use chalk every day in the classroom, I wanted the children to think about what chalk actually is and where it came from. Chalk actually is lots and lots of crushed dead sea creatures, technically. In fact, much of it is the picture on my book cover– radiolarians. Then we began to talk about the relationship of chalk and coal, which is a very different thing, but also an ‘everyday’ object (on the barbecue,) and also made of lots of crushed dead things. 

 

The second poem we looked at was ‘Bones,’ which inevitably raised giggles from some of the boys…well, we carried on…

 

 

 

 

Bones

Bones in the rock

in the ice

in the dirt

in the water.

 

An island made of bones.

 

A planet made of bones,

bones of ancestors

fallen   from wars,

            from predators

            from disease,

 

fallen

from never having stood.

 

Bones sinking

            into mud

            into earth

            into lava

into sea floor,

 

bones compressed

            to chalk

            to coal

 

            which we use to heat our bones.

 

The inspirational sea turtle shell.

With ‘Bones,’ I wanted the children to think of chalk and coal, and also of pattern, or how the poem is laid out and what I do with the words and the lines. We passed around a sea turtle skull and shell as well as a chunk of coal, and brought out blackboard tablets and chalk for the children to write their own ideas on. We focused on description and sensory experience– how does it feel? What colours and textures do you see? Does it make you think of anything? 

This got us into metaphor, and there were some really good ones! The skull was ‘like a pair of binoculars looking into the past,’ and the sea turtle shell (the hit) was ‘like a suit of armour,’ ‘like a sledge,’ ‘like a boat,’ ‘like a leaf in autumn.’ 

We had the children transfer all of their great ideas from their chalk tablets onto a sheet of paper which I gave them, outlining some ideas and tips for writing a poem. I hope and am pretty certain the teachers were planning to carry on with the poem-writing back in the classroom! I will post this worksheet separately and teachers (or anyone!) are welcome to use it, though I’d love to know if you do.

Picture for the local paper, though I don't think it made it in...

Back in the Natural History Centre, where the fantastic Marie, Sandra, Gillian and Yashka had spent the other half of the time showing students human and ape skeletons, beetle and butterfly collections, and stick insects, among many other cool critters, we presented each class with a Darwin Birthday Cake (made by Gillian’s friend at www.heatherscakes.com). Well, that drew applause!

It was a very rewarding day and I only hope everyone else enjoyed it as much as I did. Thanks again to everyone!

My buddy the leopard gecko.

 

I should add that I returned to the Natural History Centre on Friday before my flight home, and got to spend more time enjoying the fantastic critters, both dead and alive, that they have there. The Centre plus the Zoology Museum literally down the hall are a wonderful combination. I was particularly smitten with the Leopard Gecko who was docile and squishy and licked my bracelet. The stick insects were also awesome– the Centre had two very different species; there are apparently hundreds.

'Black Beauty'stick insects: not for handling, as they spray noxious fumes when agitated.

 

 

Common Stick Insect, which, when agitated, sways and bobs like a twig in the breeze.

Aberdeen-(Part I) Cafe Sci February 15, 2009

My first trip to Aberdeen– and the first events on the Darwin’s Microscope book tour agenda– were all excellent. I feel spoilt in a most wonderful way. I must thank Ken Skeldon from the University of Aberdeen for arranging everything, the team at Waterstone’s Cafe Scientifique for the invitation to read, the hospitality, the cake(!) and the lovely book on Old Aberdeen they gave me as a thank-you.

A Darwin Birthday Cake

Congratulations to Gillian’s friend Heather for making the five excellent ‘Darwin’ birthday cakes! I believe she makes cakes for all occassions at www.heatherscakes.com, based out of Edinburgh.

Thank you to Marie, Yashka, Gillian, and Sandra at the University of Aberdeen Natural History Centre, to Jenny from the Reading Bus, and to Iain, the man with the racing pigeons. Also thanks to Sue & Jenny Downes from the University, and thank you to the Aberdeen Geological Society for their invitation to a lovely dinner after an excellent lecture by Lyell Anderson, who is working on Darwin’s geology collection at Cambridge’s Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences.

Thank you to Kevin Mackenzie, from the U of Aberdeen Microscopy & Imaging Facility, for an absolutely breath-taking crash course on Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM, like the image on DM’s book cover,) and other microscopy. 

Everyone was kind, welcoming, intelligent and wonderfully generous with their time and help. I will be returning to Aberdeen for the Sunday events of the Word Festival and I am looking forward to it immensely!

I arrived in Aberdeen on Wednesday afternoon to be greeted by Ken and Sue, who whisked me on the senic (beachside) route to my lovely little boutique hotel, the Carmelite. It is very chic and has excellent food and service- you may notice that ‘excellent’ is actually the ideal word to describe the entire trip. The breakfasts were massive (far too big, in fact,) and amazing. The first day I had a massive omlette (which I simply could not finish) and the second, eggs balmoral, fluffy scrambled eggs topped with, of course, smoked salmon. Amazing.

 

In the Hotel Carmelite

Fortunately, I had time to unwind from the flight and prepare for my reading that night at Waterstone’s. I also had time to fret about the suddenly heavy snowfall!

 

A sudden fall of snow!

Ken (Skeldon, from the U of Aberdeen, coordinator for all of the science outreach and education events), told me that he was hoping for about 40 people– that would be a good turnout, especially in the snow, and it was about  how many people attended the last Cafe Sci (which was the first of this season). 

Seventy-two people attended. 72!~ Of course we were all thrilled. I had no idea until afterwards, when the Waterstone’s staff counted & let me know. Fantastique! Thanks to Waterstone’s and their friendly staff for hosting the Cafe Sci. It is a wonderful event and more bookstores should do something of the kind.

I must thank Michael for posting photos of the reading. Amidst all the activity I didn’t get to take any photos with my camera! Please have a look at Michael’s photos.

The evening began with me reading for about 20 minutes from DM. Then there was a nice little break for coffee, drinks, and more Darwin Birthday Cake! Some people bought the book and I was able to sign copies and chat with some very lovely and enthusiastic people.

Then came probably the most interesting part of the evening, where a number of people asked questions and I did my best to answer them, and there was also some discussion among the people gathered there. Many people were curious about integrating creativity and more artistic measures into their science work, which was wonderful to hear. I believe the use of descriptive words is a big part of this– many people complain of ‘dry scientific writing,’ but poets and scientists both have to look very closely at things. ‘Into the Light of Things,’ I believe Wordsworth said. 

Many people also appreciated the accessibility  of the poetry. It is interesting, taking two things which can sometimes be very intimidating (poetry and science,) but putting them together in such a way where both become more accessible or welcoming or interesting. 

The evening was certainly a success. I do hope those who attended enjoyed it as much as I did.

Next: the Reading Bus & Natural History Centre on the 12th,  the 200th anniversary of the birthday of Charles Darwin! Poetry & Pigeons (and more cake)…