Tom Cunliffe

‘My boat is tucked away in a shed in Denmark and I’m in embattled Blighty’

Last night I strolled into my back yard to view the setting moon with Venus chasing her down into the trees. The birds were off watch, the quarantined traffic was non-existent, no noise escaped the kitchen door and the thick silence was tangible. I’ve been watching the moon wax since the clocks went forward. As the growing crescent has put on weight, Venus has been sailing further north. She’s left Orion for dead and by tonight she’ll be halfway to the Pleiades. My Almanac tells me she’s another five degrees to go before her declination hits 28° north. That’s about as far as a planet can rise before it spins out of control beyond the security of the ecliptic, but fear not. It won’t happen. When you read this, she’ll