Sliding down the “Chocolate Brae”

KEN KENNEDY, of the DundeeAstronomical Society, tells us what we can expect to see in the April sky.

“The familiar shape of Leo, the Lion, sits in the sky to the south during the evenings of April,” he says. “The brightest star of Leo is Regulus and it shines below the sickle of stars which form the lion’s head and neck.

“Regulus is a blue-white star at a distance of 79 light years but is actually a multiple system of four stars. Only one of the four stars is bright while another pair can be made out with smaller telescopes.

“Regulus is very close to the ecliptic, the path which the sun takes through the sky during the year, and is quite frequently occulted by the moon which also follows a path close to the ecliptic.

“Leo is also well-known in astronomical circles for its concentration of galaxies, some of them being relatively bright.

“The French astronomer Charles Messier catalogued a number of galaxies in Leo around 1780 although he was actually searching for comets and these fuzzy objects were likely to cause him some confusion.

“Leo is the constellation from which the annual Leonid meteor shower radiates with a peak of activity on November 18 this year.

“These meteors have an approximate cycle of 33 years, in keeping with the orbit of Comet Tempel-Tuttle from which they originate. The last maximum was in the year 1999 and the next is predicted for 2034.

“Mercury will not be visible throughout April. Venus rises an hour before sunrise and will be bright but very low in the south-east.

“Mars will be at its closest to Earth during April being at opposition on the 8th. It will be well placed for observation throughout the month, reaching its greatest angular diameter of 15 arc seconds.

“Jupiter, still bright in Gemini, will be in the western sky by late evening and sets at READERS HAVE been sending in memories of the Den o’ Mains, prompted by our recent photograph. John Anderson says: “To the left of the steps the children are climbing, there had been a landslide which removed all the grass and left exposed earth.

“We called this the ‘chocolate brae’ and many a time we went home covered in mud after sliding down it.

“About 100 yards further up the Gelly Burn there was a waterfall and slightly further back there was rock face about about 2am mid month. Saturn rises in Libra at about 9.30pm during April and will be best seen after midnight. The rings are open and easily seen with a small telescope.

“The moon is at first quarter on the 7th, full on the 15th, at last quarter on the 22nd and new on the 29th.” DUNDEE READER Robert Buist emails: “I think that the photograph in last Friday’s column of a soldier taking leave of his family shows my mother (Violet McKimmie) with her father and my grandfather Edward McKimmie.

“My mother was born on November 15, 1913, and I 20 feet high. In this rock face there was a crack which continually spurted water and this was known as the wishing well.

“The burn then led to the mill ponds which were kept in a pristine state by the City Council. Unfortunately this is no longer the case. In winter we skated on these ponds.

“In the far distance is Fintry Road and Finavon Street which is part of Fintry housing scheme. The older buildings are part of the Mill of Mains farm and mill – if you look closely you can see the water reckon that in this picture she would be about a few months old.

“My grandfather, who survived the war had a friend, Micky King, right up until he died in 1965. He was one of seven brothers who went wheel. The farm belonged Mr Willie McLean and we picked berries there in the summer.

“Alongside the Dighty burn ran a mill stream which connected to the mill ponds below the arched bridge connecting Linlathen to Fintry.

“When the the Mill o’Mains housing scheme building started, the mill stream was blocked off and we were able to guddle the trout which were trapped.

“The junction of the Forfar road and the road to Trottick was known as the Toll.” to fight in the Second World War and only two of them returned.”

MARY SPINK, of Arbroath, writes: “In connection with recent correspondence in the Craigie column regarding ‘jawbox’, I always thought that a jawbox was the square large sink set in the window of the living area/kitchen in the tenements.” IAN GILLIES, of Cuparmuir, telephoned to say that one of the pronunciations which drives him mad is when people say “Wales” when they mean “whales”.

“I always notice it,” he says, “and I attribute it to a particular presenter of television nature programmes who used to say the word that way. It’s so annoying!”