Tonight started out with a Chinese meal with my girlfriend. Prawn crackers, Mixed hors d'oeuvres ( crispy seaweed, sesame toast, spare ribs, spring rolls and crispy sweet and sour wanton), rice noodles Singapore style and sizzling king prawns in satay sauce with egg fried rice and toffee banana to finish.

On the way home, the sky was rather clear, so we decided to have a quick change into warm clothes and sensible shoes. The binoculars and tripod were then grabbed and we headed off to a local high spot with good views of the sky.

I managed to find M31 reasonable easily, and then several degrees lower was the comet (aka PANSTARRS C2011/L4). My girlfriend was suitably wowed as it was her first comet. Sadly, she thought the name a little less romantic than some other comets. I don't suppose she will find ISON any better as a romantic name, but it might be two comets in a year to add to the list.