How cardboard boxes gave us the best seat for the eclipse

By Jodie Baker, Club Rep, The Lodge & Buttercup Close

On 12 August, something happened that most of us won't see again in our lifetimes.

Around 90% of the sun disappeared behind the moon, the sky dimmed like early evening, and for a good hour the whole country had one eye on the sky. It was the deepest solar eclipse the UK has seen since 1999, and we weren't going to let it pass without a look.

Early in the day, Sofi Taylor got busy with our residents making pinhole eclipse viewers. She'd gone hunting for old boxes the night before, and once she'd found enough, everyone sat down together to put them together. It wasn't exactly plain sailing. There was a fair bit of trial and error, a few instructions read upside down, and by the time the boxes were finished, none of us was entirely convinced they'd actually work.

Turns out we didn't need to worry. As the moon slowly crept across the sun, the boxes did exactly what they were supposed to. You could watch it happening right there, safely, in miniature. Everyone loved it.

What made the afternoon even better was that Sofi's only been with us for around two weeks. You wouldn't know it. She's settled in like she's been part of the team for years, and her bright, bubbly energy was a huge part of what made watching the eclipse feel like such a special occasion.

We won't get another eclipse like this in the UK for a very long time; the next total eclipse is in 2090. So it's fair to say we picked a good day to get the boxes out.

Did you do anything in your service or at home?

Let us know in the comments below.

Thanks, Jodie