Historic Ryde Society would like to thank James Bissell Thomas of The Orrery, for inviting Ian Ridpath, editor of the Oxford Dictionary of Astronomy and Norton’s Star Atlas, to give two lectures on ‘The Stories of Stars’, and ‘The Planets’, at The Orrery on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, September 3 and 4. On the first evening, a  very appreciative audience was enthralled by the wonderful images Ian showed us, and his entertaining delivery kept the evening moving along at a slick pace. Historic Ryde Society was delighted to host a small party from the Island’s own Planetarium, at Fort Victoria. On the second evening, Ian addressed the planets, and took his audience on a guided tour of each, from innermost to outermost and beyond! Despite a stifling evening, with noisy traffic and curious passers-by, the evening was delightful and well received, and Ian said how much he had enjoyed the social nature of both evenings. Many thanks to Graham and Lesley for organising the events, printing posters and flyers, and liaising with Ian who, at the time of first contact, was delivering a lecture series aboard the Queen Mary, somewhere off Norway! Return to Homepage