I'm to blame (at least in part)for the resurgent weather we're having....
At last my scopes are coming!!

I opted for an 8" Dob.. the plonk anywhere, point everywhere starhopper so dear to my romantic heart, and to the spirit of Mr Dobson .. the stroll around the celestial neighbourhood.. not the peak-hour GoTo checklist commute!!
It'll be the homebase machine.. physically and metaphorically.. my connection with navigating by constellations, my out-in-the-elements escape machine..
point her where I will! and rove the skies as I please!! me bucko's ahargh!
and then there's the 6" on Eq mount.. the (I hope) 'grab'n'go'..( it's a shorty 750mm Fl ) ..that'll also appease my Germanic heritage.. und machen der verstehen sie der R-R-R A und za Dech-ch-chlin-achtung-en Ja!
err-um (koff) vere vass ich? ...and possibly, with the (no doubt 'dinky') drive, ..it'll allow a lil' toy go at tracking photo's with the ubiquitous Phillips 900NC
a collimator tool too, said he, saying the "goes without saying"
It'll be a l-o-o-o-n-g week, with a high anticipation, occassional gusts of anxiety, and steady watch on the delivery front... ( and the pollution level will be extreme- chain-smoking as I do under stress.. and NO, I'm
not goin' near that thread!

) ...but the forecast is for the clearest crispest Autumn-Winter-Spring viewing ever on record!!! ( well, at least it will be "for this lil' black duck ...sthufferin' sthuccash!!" )
We return you now to your normal programming...
(cue Ray Ellington ...)
Cheers
Russ