So, given that problem with heat and sun where would I least like to live? The clue’s in the name. The Sunshine Coast. I thought there was only the one in Queensland, Australia but there is also one in British Columbia, Canada and one (wait for it) in Essex.
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| Sunshine Coast of Essex |
According to the literature ‘there is lots to discover in and around the Essex Sunshine Coast, with over 36 miles of stunning coastline, a diverse blend of picturesque villages and beautifully unspoiled country landscapes. With over 36 miles of coastline to enjoy, the vastness of the Tendring coastline is ideal for seaside activities, visiting the floral displays featured on the cliff top gardens and admiring the unique charm and character of the pastel-coloured beach huts stretching along the coast’.
How do we know what is a Sunshine Coast? Well, a sunshine recorder is a device that records the amount of sunshine at a given location or region at any time. The results provide information about the weather and climate as well as the temperature of a geographical area. This information is useful in meteorology, science, agriculture, tourism, and other fields.
The Campbell–Stokes recorder (sometimes called a Stokes sphere) is a type of sunshine recorder. It was invented by John Francis Campbell in 1853 and modified in 1879 by Sir George Gabriel Stokes. The original design by Campbell consisted of large ball lens set into a wooden bowl with the Sun burning a trace on the bowl. Stokes's refinement was to make the housing out of metal and to have a card holder set behind the sphere. The unit is designed to record how many hours of bright sunshine were experienced on a given day.
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| Campbell-Stokes Heliograph |
Whilst I was looking up stuff on Sunshine I came across references to ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ which is not a film I’ve seen but I’ve just been looking it up on various websites and have decided that I should. Why I was looking it up is because I’d just been re-watching a documentary I’d recorded a few years ago about Alexander Pope in which it mentions that line about Eternal Sunshine as coming from his poem ‘Eloisa to Abelard’.
And briefly going off topic, the programme also says that Pope is the second most quoted writer after Shakespeare. Here are a few:
To err is human, to forgive divine
A little learning is a dangerous thing
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread
Hope springs eternal in the human breast
By the way, I did check up on where I could live and achieve the least sunshine in the UK in summer and it turns out to be Inverness. I have lived there back in the day and it is a splendid city although furiously expensive to buy a house there at the time.
To err is human, to forgive divine
A little learning is a dangerous thing
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread
Hope springs eternal in the human breast
By the way, I did check up on where I could live and achieve the least sunshine in the UK in summer and it turns out to be Inverness. I have lived there back in the day and it is a splendid city although furiously expensive to buy a house there at the time.
Some stats say that Manchester has the honour of least sunshine. But there are limits!
I have looked at dozens of poems about sunshine and sun but I can’t get better than these lyrics by John Denver. They make me happy.
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| John Denver |
Sunshine on My Shoulders
Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy, sunshine in my eyes can make me cry.
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely, sunshine almost always makes me high.
If I had a day that I could give you, I’d give to you the day just like today.
If I had a song that I could sing for you, I’d sing a song to make you feel this way.
Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy, sunshine in my eyes can make me cry.
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely, sunshine almost always makes me high.
If I had a tale that I could tell you, I’d tell a tale sure to make you smile.
If I had a wish that I could wish for you, I’d make a wish for sunshine for all the while.
Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy, sunshine in my eyes can make me cry.
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely, sunshine almost always makes me high.
Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy, sunshine in my eyes can make me cry.
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely, sunshine almost always makes me high.
Sunshine almost all the time makes me high. Sunshine almost always…
Thanks for reading, Terry Q.
Thanks for reading, Terry Q.
4 comments:
I'm definitely in the Sunshine club.. When we lived in and around London, Essex was the nearest stretch of coast. Southend and Clacton are no great shakes, but Frinton and northwards to the Naze is beautiful.
Very interesting about the heliograph.
John Denver was never really my cup of tea, but he looks a jolly sunny fellow and I know he's missed by many.
Essex is hardly Queensland though :)
We have our own gold coast right here in Blackpool.
So Terry - you won't be miving to Mancunia? I hope not - what would the Brummies say? Great blo - as ever so well researched. John Denver's death was a tragic loss - i love Annie's song. Thanks for bringing me a little sunshine to brighten my dull day.
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