The February 2018 Night Sky
Welcome to the February night sky. During this month, unfortunately, there are no bright planets visible in the evening sky. At around 2am, the gas giant planet Jupiter can be
The price and prizes of Portugal’s Discoveries
In 1487, Bartolomeu Dias rounded the stormy southern tip of Africa and named it ‘Cabo Tormentoso’. The king, with a different viewpoint, renamed it ‘Cabo da Boa Esperança’. Vasco da
The January 2018 Night Sky
Welcome to the January night sky and to the new year of 2018. This month we have two full moons – the first was on January 2 and the second
“Oh the weather outside is frightful”…some top tips for staying safe in the winter
The tragic death of a 36-year-old man and injuries to five others through carbon monoxide poisoning on Christmas Eve in Beja is a reminder of some of the effects, both
Avoid becoming the Christmas Turkey
Although a season of good cheer, the approach to Christmas and the New Year is a time when criminals have their own way of celebrating, by turning their attention to
The December 2017 Night Sky
Welcome to the December night sky. This is the month of the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere. The Earth is now close to the point in its orbit where
The aftermath of the fires this summer
The departures of the Minister of Internal Administration, quickly followed by the Secretary of State for International Administration, and the reported resignation of the President of the National Authority for
Gdansk, from Versailles to Solidarity
As part of our recent tour of the countries bordering the Baltic Sea, we travelled from Russian Kaliningrad across the Polish border to Gdansk, formerly known as Danzig. This city
The November 2017 Night Sky
Welcome to the November night sky. This is the month in Northern Europe of the first night frosts as winter approaches. Visible over in the east as darkness falls, the
Kaliningrad – Russia’s exclave
The 2018 World Cup in Russia will require new stadia, and one of them is in Kaliningrad. The 35,000-capacity stadium is still under construction and we saw everywhere signs (in