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The total eclipse of the sun in 1999 coincided with a high point of activity for the Association of Autonomous Astronauts. On its email discussion list (AAA-list@onelist.com), various AAA operatives posted their reports of the action.
Did Parasol AAA really launch an umbrella-shaped spacecraft under cover of the eclipse in Leicester? Perhaps it's still too soon to say...
From AAA Kernow:
Total Eclipse of the Sun, 11.8.199. AAA Kernow claim responsibilty.
From Steve Ash (Dionysian AAA):
Thank you. A job well done. But you should have held it a few minutes longer than the official two minutes to make the bourgeois experts shit
The DAAA sent agents to Roumania and France, as well as drifting through the streets of London (having no ties to the vulgar world of work) .
In London we were impressed by the eerie blue quality of the light produced by the partial eclipse and laughed heartily at the foolish birds who thought it: was evening. Strange ritualistic behaviour was observed amongst many who gathered in in small groups with smokey glass and pin holes, releasing stifled sounds of awe, perhaps an atavistic resurgence of sun worship.
Even stranger ritualism was found amongst our alter egos in the Dionysian Underground, who made a sacrifice to the Moon, as Dionysos Sabazios, Killer of the Sun, and called for the death of centralisation and the solar consciousness of western civilization, and a return to the nomadic, lunar-sea of spiritual anarchy.
We of the DAAA above such naive primitivism retained a disciplined scientific observation of events at all times. Technical instrumentation was set up and some startling data obtained that may drastically change our conceptions of space travel. One anamoly as yet unexplained was the sighting of what appeared to be some sort of flying parasol heading away from the eclipse into Earth orbit.
Reports from Cornwall informed us of a wonderful Baudrillardian spectacle of people watching the eclipse on a huge TV screen as the clouds engulfed the natural phenomenon. We laughed ourselves silly.
From Henri Beauchamp (Parasol AAA):
Here at work, in Leicester, the sky darkened somewhat at around 11. 10 and everything fell silent. All the porters went home, the nurses went to sleep and various members of the Human Resources dept were seen foraging in the long grass. Meanwhile a little brolly craft slipped into the sky unobserved.
From John Eden (Raido AAA):
The eclipse action was pretty good in central London, with people pouring out of offices for extended fag breaks and complete strangers chatting each other up for a lend of eclipse-specs. Pin hole projections are better for more participatory and communal viewing and you could even see the reflection on the side of some of the new office blocks .
We got a good view of it all (and thankfully we didn't see the Parasol Mission, so I guess we 're safe there!) . It got pretty cold and dark. Someone was smoking a spliff in Red Lion Square .
We are now trying to persuade our boss that we have gone blind and should have the rest of the day off to "recover" . So far this has involved lots of knocking things over. I don't think it's going to work. Ah well .
From ElvinAAA:
and fairly good from the top of a 20 storey south London tower block too! though strangely less impressive than i had hoped really. gonna keep those glasses though might come in handy ! !
From Stuart (Nomad AAA):
Returned from Prawle point (southernmost Devon tip). the sky went out— i wanted my mom (nearpanicattack); bassbins, fireworks, lights on the channel ships all over. again, again, again
From Jez (heterotopiAAA):
We went down the road to Trafalgar Sq and got a pretty good view the clouds acted as a pretty good filter in any case although looking through a strip of unexposed ektachrorne did the trick in the cloud breaks. (I had seen a picture in one of my wife's magazines which had a woman using slices of cucumber, although I guess that you'd have to be careful that you didn't cut them too thinly.) thought it'd get darker than it did in the end. It was quite strange looking over the scene, with a strange dull light, but still bright highlights and blue sky in the distance. So just like wearing sunglasses then. Oh, so not so strange.
From Nigel Ayers:
A lovely day yesterday. We went in a party of seven down along the Fowey river from Lostwithiel -in the wilds really. Armed with shamanic rattles, etc. Sky was cloudy. Around ten we saw the moon advancing over the sun.
Cattle in fields huddled together, birds started to settle down. Silvery clouds, like dusk. River birds paddled in the mud . A cormorant, a heron and a buzzard flew by.
Through gaps in the cloud we could see the crescent of the sun getting thinner. Eclipse glasses were useless, you could see it all with naked eye thanks to cloud cover .
Then it all suddenly went dark, like midnight. Everyone went silent. Spooky. A couple of minutes later, we could see the crescent of the sun on the other side, and a patch of light dawning from the "wrong" side of the sky.
We could hear shouts and applause in the distance, fireworks going off. Then we opened up the champagne and got plastered Then we went home and watched it all over again on the telly.
[Disconaut AAA watch the eclipse from Telegraph Hill Park, New Cross]
Previous AAA posts:
Everybody is a Star! - Disconaut AAA
Summer Solstice 1999: AAA on Parliament Hill
Military out of space - AAA at J18 Carnival Against Capital 1999
AAA at Brixton Reclaim the Streets 1998
Skinheads as Independent Travellers in Space
We were brought up on the space race, now they expect us to clean toilets
Intergalactic conferences and raves in space
