SouthseaScene

As appeared in Portsmouth View, 13 January 2017    According to Google, Carmentalia was the two feast days of the Roman goddess Carmenta celebrated on 11 th and 15 th January. She was celebrated for her power of looking back into the past and forward into the future. Looking back there are many events in 2016 that people would rather forget. However, there is a lot of hope pinned to a better year ahead. Let us start with a little bit of Stargazing Live and celebrate Stephen Hawking’s 75 th birthday. The man is responsible for the public fascination with the universe. A team of scientists from the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation at the University of Portsmouth are going to show the public their research into the universe at the event to be held in the Historic Dockyard on 31st January. Cosmologist Professor Claudia Maraston will be leading the Café Scientifique session on Tuesday 24 th January at Le Café Parisien. The free event starts at 7.

I'm not one of those for making any new year resolutions. I did a lot as a teenager only to suffer the anxiety of not quite measuring up to my own idea of perfection. This new year there will be no 'new me'. It will be the same old me, still trying to work on some of my 'weakness' but also trying to feel more comfortable in my own skin. Yes, of course I could do with some exercise. Who doesn't? It is a good idea to want to be healthier, but like anything it takes time. Resolutions for improvement should be given a full year to develop and not just the next 30 days. So cast your eyes a little bit further to next Christmas and make yourself some goals, some of which perhaps should be more accessible than others. Here's my list: 1. Go to at least 6 Parkrun sessions 2. Eat my lunch away from my desk 3. Talk to my sister on the telephone rather than texting 4. Write 2 blog posts a month 5. Draw 1 picture a week, any size 6. Have cake with Haley 3 ti