Thinking about the Sun

I spent last evening at a childrens' concert. You know the sort of thing, you sit watching a dozen or so little children graded in sizes presenting little performances, followed by another dozen or so little children presenting another little performance. And so on.

Everyone is marking time really, the children are lovely but the seats are uncomfortable, the sound system is erratic and we're all waiting to see our own kids on the stage. None of us, of course, can contain the sudden pang, almost painful, when the tiniest children are ushered on to sing a song. The sight and sound of these littlest ones on their very best behaviour brings us to our knees.

The theme of the evening was Cosmic Conundrum

We heard songs about the Sun, Moon and Stars - the Age of Aquarius, Gooday Sunshine and the wonderful standard, Blue Moon. To tell you the truth I can't recall all of the other songs, the children I had come to see were only involved with the songs mentioned.

All of this made me think about the Sun, and the ways we have regarded this giant nuclear reactor over the ages. I never understood the significance of Midwinter until I experienced it in England, a long way from home in a cold dark country where I could never ever, no matter what I did, get warm. I still wonder how it's possible, in a place where water can actually freeze in the tap, to raise the energy necessary to speak more than a few words much less come up with something along the lines of 'Tyger! Tyger! burning bright In the forest of the night, What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry?'. A mystery indeed.

In Australia the Sun is She. A woman who awakes daily in her camp in the east, lights a fire, and prepares the bark torch she will carry across the sky. Before setting out, she paints herself with red ochre, which she spills, colouring the clouds red. Upon reaching the west, she reapplies her paint, again spilling reds and yellows in the sky. The Sun Woman then begins a long passage under the ground back to her camp in the east. During this subterranean journey her torch warms the earth, causing plants to grow

In the Hollow Hills

If you want to enter the Hollow Hills even though you know what may befall you ....

First, before you decide to take the chance anyway, visit The Hollow Hills

Mysterious Places on google earth

The mysterious places aren't so mysterious when seen on google earth. Indeed some of them are practically invisible.

Here's the co-ordinates of some well known ancient places, just copy them into the google earth search and you wil be taken there instantly


Nazca Lines: -14.73, -75.14
Where are they? Nothing like Von Daniken said

Giza Pyramids/Sphinx: 29.975, 31.13
by far the most impressive

Stonehenge: 51.004, -1.018
once again, where is it?

Rapa Nui (Easter Island): -27.11, -109.35
just an ocean, can you even see the island?


Troy: 39.955, 26.24
or the beaches of useless fruitless avoidable death to Australians (credit for the needless slaughter goes to Winston Churchill)

If you have found some ancient places, please let me know. Likewise if you can actually see anything

Nine Mile Canyon

Located in a remote part of Utah, Nine Mile Canyon is often called “the world’s longest art gallery” as it contains more than 10,000 images carved onto canyon walls by Native Americans. The canyon also contains many historic sites – including stagecoach stations, settlers’ cabins, ranches, and iron telegraph poles installed by the famed 19th-century Buffalo Soldiers – that stand as reminders of the area’s pioneer history. Now this historic canyon is under increasing pressure from tourism, recreation, and energy development that threaten its significant prehistoric and historic resources


Nine Mile Canyon

Ancient date palm sprouts again

Israeli researchers have germinated a sapling date palm from seeds 2,000 years old

The seeds were found in archeological excavations at Masada, the desert mountain fortress where ancient Jewish rebels chose suicide over capture by Roman legions in CE 73. Carbon dating of a fragment from the Masada seeds put their age at between 1,940 and 2,040 years - indeed the oldest seeds ever brought back to life.

Stonehenge latest

Stonehenge has always mystified.

Julius Caesar thought it was the work of druids, medieval scholars believed it was the handiwork of Merlin, while local folk tales simply blamed the devil. Now scientists are demanding a full-scale research programme be launched to update our knowledge of the monument and discover precisely who built it and its burial barrow graves

Story at Megalithic.co.uk

And lovely photos of Stonehenge at Stonehenge.ukf.net