The Blue Peter Expedition 2000:
La Palma
La Isla Bonita
from
left to right: Bridget, Sam, Konnie, Will and Me on the top of La Palma
¡Es el Hombre!Friday 30th June 2000 So, the day had arrived. Not only my first filming trip with Blue Peter, but this was a part of the summer expedition AND it was to one of the greatest places I have been to - the observatories on the top of La Palma, part of the Canary Islands. Would it be a good as I remembered? We flew without a hitch via Madrid to Santa Cruz, the capital of La Palma. The journey set the scene for the next few days: discussions raged about the Universe, String Theory, Quantum Mechanics, Coincidences, Time Travel, String Theory, Quantum Mechanics, Coincidences, Time Travel, String Theory...and so space curved and warped until we travelled back in time when everything flattened out. Upon arrival our rental car and van took us to the hotel Taburiente where we readied ourselves for the next day's filming.
¡No Toca!
Saturday 1st July 2000
Arriba we went along very curvy roads. The scenery
changing from pine forests, to bushy looking to bare reddish volcanic
rock near the top.
We were staying in the astronomers residencia, which
is where we left our bags, and headed for El Roque de Los Muchachos
(pictured above) for the first shots of the day. The views are just
as amazing as I remember them.
Next we were off to the top of the Swedish Solar
Telescope for a chitty-chatty about the Sun.
"Bond-like, huge and amazing!"
was Konnie's view of the William Herschel Telescope (pictured below)
as we started our filming. It certainly was a beast - the whole thing
weighs the same as about 45 fully grown elephants!
Our final filming piece was a gentle meander through the lives of stars under the darkening crystal clear skies. The gentle peace and tranquility of the scene was punctured by me popping a balloon to recreate a supernova - What Fun! Tonight we sat back and watched the day's filming highlights
- Gosh, we're professionals!  The William Herschel Building as seen from the Swedish Solar Tower
Delayed
Down we went back to the airport to find a delay, which meant us all missing our connecting flights. We therefore flew to Madrid knowing we may have to spend another night together - a painful realisation indeed dear readers.
Home TimeMonday 3rd July 2000 (Bonus Day)
Breakfast in the airport saw a discussion, when I spoke on my Warped Field Theory, which is: the generation of a "warped" bubble around oneself. In essence, an intra-multiversal closed universe. Within this field you may: phase in or out of synch with the outside universe while also appearing dimmer, abnormal, or "warped" to those watching. This should be no deterrent for trying it. I've tried it many times, and it still fools everybody.
As an astronomer, this really was an interesting a worthwhile filming trip: and you'll be able to see what the La Palma astronomers are up to when the film is shown on 30 October 2000. |
While
checking-in we saw a man who lives upside-down. His hair was vertical,
and I can only believe he has his own warped field.