Eclipse - what a complete let down

Azari

Vent part:

I've just realised that the eclipse has been and gone.

I did notice it was a bit dismal about an hour ago but no worse than it has been a few times over the past couple of days. (This time, the moon, the other times, thicker cloud.)

I do wish the BBC would be a little more careful when they hype these things, as the forecast was very cloudy, and they should have known that a vast swathe of the population in the South would not notice anything particularly different to a period with very thick cloud.

Praise part:

Evolution has given us eyes so well able to adapt to low light that we can lose 85% of what we have on a cloudy day and it barely inconveniences us - at least if we are outside.

Podge52

I checked the local weather forecast to see if I was likely to see anything.

tgon

The build up to it seemed to eclipse the actual event

goggle

Azari wrote: »

I do wish the BBC would be a little more careful when they hype these things, as the forecast was very cloudy, and they should have known that a vast swathe of the population in the South would not notice anything particularly different to a period with very thick cloud.

But it was gloriously clear here in the Midlands & we got a great view of it - why should the BBC only cater for the South? Their "hype" meant that loads of children & adults here were able to witness something quite spectacular & something they may never see again in their lifetime & I'm very glad there was so much coverage about it

enfield_freddy

peachyprice

Won't somebody think of the children.

enfield_freddy

no children were hurt during the taking of the photo

Azari

goggle wrote: »

But it was gloriously clear here in the Midlands & we got a great view of it - why should the BBC only cater for the South? Their "hype" meant that loads of children & adults here were able to witness something quite spectacular & something they may never see again in their lifetime & I'm very glad there was so much coverage about it

I said that they should be more careful with their hype, not that they should have eliminated it.

They should have made it clear that the forecast for a lot of the country was thick cloud and that, particularly further south, it might well not be any different to a very cloudy day.

Instead we got headlines that implied that everyone was going to see something quite spectacular, even if it was cloudy.

I wasn't particularly surprised as this is usually what happens for most of the UK when there is an eclipse, but it could have raised people's expectations. (I well remember the disappointment when a similar set of circumstances occurred during my school days - we were all taken into the playground with much fanfare, only to experience what could best be described as a damp squib.)

philatio

A bit cloudy here near Manchester but still a fantastic view through the mist.

Much better than I expected. Everyone in the town centre just stood still staring upwards. Quite awesome.

SailorSam

Waste of time going out and spending £1 on these glasses. I wonder how much i'd get back if i put them on Ebay.

donnac2558

It was cloudy here, but then suddenly cleared and I was able to watch it. Fantastic.