Hi to all from sunny England.  I have just returned from Cornwall and
can testify to the quite moving experience that 100% totality can
impart.  The fishing port of Falmouth was on the centre line, and the
celebrated British astronomer Patrick Moore was ensconced on the head-
land opposite.  If he was there surely this was the right place to be?

The week preceding was glorious, sunny mornings with clear skies at
11 AM, but the big day dawned cloudy, and the skies were leaden.  A
C-130 Hercules transport plane provided airborne pictures from above
the clouds, transmitted onto a huge screen adjacent to the beach.

Falmouth town closed for two hours.  Everyone was on the beach.  Folks
had come from miles around, and many had booked hotel accommodation
well in advance (as had I).  But many also came down on the spur of the
moment.  The beach was like tent city.

New-age travellers, hippies, old-age travellers like me -- all mankind
seemed to be represented.  At 11:11 AM precisely the clouds parted a
little to allow a tantalising glimpse of the tiny sliver of sun left
just before totality occurred.  The skies were already gloomy, due to
the cloud and the fast disappearing light.

But suddenly all around was as dark as the grave.  The temperature
dropped like a stone.  The breeze died in the trees and the birds
fell silent.  Stillness reigned supreme for two full minutes.  Nothing
moved; 10,000 people held their collective breath.  The navigational
lights from hundreds of boats in the harbour twinkled in the blackness.
Flashlights popped all around from cameras capturing the magical mo-
ment.  On the distant Western horizon there was a thin ribbon of yellow
and orange glow from the remaining light in the sky.  Everyone was
simply transfixed.

And then, almost unexpectedly, daylight and warmth returned in an
instant.  Cheers resounded around the bay and it was over.  It wasn't
the best view in Falmouth but the experience certainly was special.
Truly awe inspiring.

Down on the Lizard (the southernmost mainland point) the actress Jenny
Agutter was at her home there, and amongst others saw the full effects
of the phenomenon: Diamond Ring, Bailey's Beads, Corona -- the lot.
But then, someone who has given so much pleasure to so many red-blooded
Englishmen deserves that sort of luck!

Of course, the next day was cloudless from dawn till dusk, but that's
the British weather for you.  Somebody up there must have a sense of
humour!

Roger Waring

Solihull
England