A Memorable number... 15
For fifteen days, we have been fifteen , sometimes more for dinner . Excited children watched the Bastille day fireworks which rolled over at midnight into the 15th , and first day ( for us ) of the super moon . I should explain .
Despite family located as far apart as Ecuador, the Maldives and Tenerife , all had managed to coalesce at chez nous for a summer reunion . The Maldivian contingent making a surprise appearance some days earlier, they being a special present. . This period is also one of birthdays , some of which the numerical tally is best forgot , and anyway fire risk precludes an accurate cake display ; while others starting out on life can enjoy their candles.
Our children …“Family von… not Trapp “..(Sound of Music ) opened the evening with a musical rendition of the Beatles “ When I’m 64 “ ( I wish ! ) ; the words re-written to reflect family experiences and arithmetic accuracy. The now 17 of us sat down to a truly sumptuous meal under the stars , and grapevine , served up by one of our favourite restaurants ..Bartavelle . They had closed for the night to facilitate this home extravaganza. Photos and memories to last .
That Super moon for us was delayed by the only cloudy night for a long time . So we were a bit late , but it looked big anyway . The last time the moon had been this close to us had been on our birthday, i.e. when we were born . So we are unlikely to be around for the next ! The other moon impact is on tides. ‘A curious feature of tides is that tidal friction transfers angular momentum from Earth to the moon. This effect lengthens our day and increases the moon’s orbit. The lengthening of the day is small: just 1 second every 40,000 years.’ Looks like we won’t be registering this either!
Family Von Roberts
