The compensations of old age 

‘It occurred to me that the greatest compensation  of old age is it’s freedom of spirit. I suppose that is accompanied by a certain indifference to many of the things that man thinks are of prime importance.

Another compensation  is that it liberates you from envy, hatred and malice I do not  believe that I envy anyone. I have made the most that I could of such gifts as nature has provided me with. I do not envy the greater gifts of others. I have had a great deal of success. I do not envy the success of others … I no longer mind what people think of me. They can take me or envy me’

  – Somerset Maugham  –  

Green light for outdoor lighting rules

South Wairarapa District Council has given the green light for work on a plan change to the outdoor lighting rules of the Wairarapa area, a change which will support the proposed Wairarapa Dark Sky Reserve. The change to the current lighting ordinances is needed to ensure minimal evening light pollution from outside lighting to protect the region’s high quality night sky environment.

This work on lighting controls began in late 2018 when street lights throughout the Wairarapa’s five main towns were changed, bringing them into compliance with International Dark Sky Association (IDA) regulations which limit public light pollution. 

That project won Martinborough a “3K City” award from the IDA for street lighting meeting its 3,000 Kelvin lighting maximum _ required for a location to be certified as a dark sky reserve. The reward was the first granted to a Southern Hemisphere town. … Continue Reading

The Factory Act

The British Factory Act of 1802 stipulated that children could not work before  6 am in the morning or after 9 pm at night. However as there were no records of births many factory owners (or desperate parents) lied about  children’s ages.  In any case there was no system of  factory inspection so the law was largely ignored.

Under The Martinborough Stars

One hundred and forty-seven million kilometres away from the Earth, lies an important object. Something so massive that it takes up 99% of the matter in the Solar System, is 4.6 billion years old but feels like we have seen only a glimpse of it this summer in Martinborough.

I am of course talking about the Sun. It is incredible. An average yellow star in a relatively empty area of the Milky Way Galaxy, this glowing orb dictates our daily lives, keeps us warm and allows life to flourish.

Our Sun is only one of the billions and billions (sorry Carl Sagan) of stars in our galaxy and a pretty average one at that. It’s not the biggest or smallest, the hottest or the coolest nor it is the oldest or youngest. It’s pretty much average. It doesn’t even have a companion star, something that we have realised recently is a fairly common occurrence in our Universe. … Continue Reading