Fly me to the Moon

Being born in the middle 1950s, we don’t really remember Sputnik, or the dog Laika, but we do remember well Telstar, Yuri Gagarin and Alan Shepard.

We followed the space programme, espcially the American one as the USSR kept its secrets, and we knew all about the astronauts and their missions.

We remember Apollo 11 landing on the Moon, and all the way up to 17, but it was clear that, as soon as it happened, people were losing enthusiasm for space, and for the apparently high costs.

NASA has generally been very limited until quite recently.

Artemis II has hopefully rekindled interest in space research. There was coverage on some of the UK channels and presumably elsewhere, and there was a YouTube and Netflix selection.

The flight to the Moon had its issues but they were overcome and mostly it was a flawless flight. The coverage was clear and engaging.

They flew farther from Earth than any others ever have, and they took some wonderful pictures.

The splashdown on Friday was pretty stunning and hopefully the next mission will be very soon.

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Tom Lehrer

When I was at school in the late 60s, our Music teacher would play us records by Tom Lehrer. Not the very rude ones, but the more acceptable ones.

If you don’t know TL, here’s a clip:

If that doesn’t work, here’s a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taui8bOM4_c

Lehrer was a very clever chap. He had a Masters from Harvard by the age of 19. He sang comic, and not so comic songs to amuse his chums.

He chose to release them and they were a big success, but then Lehrer retired from the showbiz in around 1960 after just a few years. He died in 2025 at a ripe old age.

His biography is very interesting and worth a read.

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Musical bear

We had not come across this lady before (our loss), but we love the way she takes her teddy bear with her wherever she goes, even to her concerts:

If that doesn’t work, try this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-pi_mxX5O8

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