Staffordshire Moorlands Peak District Antique Centre		Local Publications
Home Page About this site Antiques, Shopping and Commercial pages The Community Inns, Hotels and Accommodation Local Government Local Publications Music and Art Places of Interest Sport Weather and Web Cam Visitors Book Links  Site Index		Midsummer, the amazing double sunset time of year is approaching and, as usual, I'm offering free guided viewings of the extraordinary phenomenon (weather permitting) on three evenings in June: Tuesday 20, Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22, at two locations in the area on each night!: The first event is a twenty-minute spectacular on the majestic Chrome Hill, where the full sun reappears from the hill's steep northern slope after entirely setting on the summit. Spectators should meet at 8 pm at the phone box in Glutton Bridge, on the B5053, just north of Longnor. There is time to see this occurrence and then drive to Leek to observe a second event from the road to Pickwood. This is the best viewing point of Leek's historic double sunset and gives a proportional reappearance of the sun off the scarp slope of The Cloud after the whole of the disc has set on the summit of the hill. Spectators should assemble at 9 pm outside the Flying Horse pub on Ashbourne Road (the A 523) in Leek. The location is a short easy walk away and departure will be about 9.15. Last midsummer saw a splendid full double sunset on Chrome Hill on the 20th, with partial reappearances the following two evenings. At Pickwood, there were no reappearances, but a superb first sunset on the 22nd. People should bring solar filters/sunglasses if possible, although I'll have some filters with me for use by the crowd. However, spectators should be warned never to look directly at the sun without approved solar filters. I'll be there shine or rain and will give a free talk beforehand and guided commentary during the events, even more so if the elements do not play ball! I'll also be selling signed copies of my book, The Mysterious Double Sunset, at £3 (less than 25% of the original retail price!). People can call me on 01782 791673 or E-mail me at witan@mail.com for further information. Your chance to purchase Jeff Kent's The Mysterious Double Sunset at the special price of £5 (rrp £12.75) post free to UK (please enquire for postage outside UK) The Mysterious Double Sunset is the first ever published in-depth study of this extraordinary solar phenomenon, which was initially recorded in 1686 and still draws crowds of curious spectators to its traditional observation site at St Edward's churchyard in Leek, in Staffordshire, on the summer solstice. The book outlines the astronomical and geographical factors which produce the remarkable, but transient, churchyard occurrence and analyses recent theories that consider its changes over time. The author also investigates the origins of human observation of the phenomenon, challenges mythistorical claims of an ancient link and suggests that the occurrence was first noticed by Viking invaders. The Mysterious Double Sunset records the entire known history of the phenomenon and examines the strange mystery of the vanishing occurrence, which has ceased to be visible from the churchyard since approximately 1977. The book also details the author's consequent investigations to discover the reason for the missing double sunset, his scrutiny of the explanatory hypotheses on offer and his final resolutions of the problem. The Mysterious Double Sunset describes and assesses the relative merits of a series of current viewing sites of the phenomenon, involving four separate hills, and gives detailed advice to the reader on how best to observe their occurrences. Finally, the book provides key visual data on 51 such solar events (including two quintuple sunsets) witnessed by the author at various times of the year from locations in Staffordshire, Cheshire and Derbyshire, and contains a variety of rare photographs of actual double sunsets. To order your copy please send a cheque for £5, payable to Witan Creations at Cherry Tree House, 8 Nelson Crescent, Cotes Heath, Stafford, ST21 6ST. For further information please contact Jeff Kent on 01782 791673 or Email witan@mail.com Jeff will autograph your copy upon request. Please mention Leekonline when ordering.
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