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Nevil Maskelyne, the Astronomer Royal that compiled the first Nautical
Almanac, has always been something of a hero to me. He was vilified by
Sobel, in her book "Longitude".

At long last, after fruitless searching for over a year, a copy of Derek
Howse's biography "Nevil Maskelyne- the Seaman's Astronomer" (Cambridge
1989) has eventually come up on Abebooks, from a bookshop here in UK, and
now I have a copy, and at a reasonable price.

My wife grabbed it first, and has passed it on to me now she has finished
it (you can see how the priorities go in this house...).

She discovered that Maskelyne was buried in the village of Purton, North of
Swindon, only 40 minutes or so drive from here, so proposed a lunchtime
pilgrimage there. Anything for a pub lunch, I agreed, and we have just
returned from a pleasant visit to Purton. Even though, being a devout
atheist, I always feel rather uneasy in a church. Not much to report back,
of course, just a stone tomb in the churchyard shaded by a great gnarled
yew, and a Latin plaque inside the old church. And a pleasant village pub
that does a good lunch with a tasty pint.

Anyway, I recommend Howse's book for anyone that can find a copy.

George.

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contact George Huxtable by email at george@huxtable.u-net.com, by phone at
01865 820222 (from outside UK, +44 1865 820222), or by mail at 1 Sandy
Lane, Southmoor, Abingdon, Oxon OX13 5HX, UK.
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