Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Anyone skipping this eclipse thing then?

272 replies

hotmumshit · 12/08/2026 16:06

Disappointed Man GIF

Didnt know it was happening until yesterday

Broke until payday - cannot buy the glasses

Autistic 7yo will not understand nor care

Will just stick it on the telly and call it a day

Have LOVED saying 'full moon, half moon, total eclipse' to myself though 😄😩

OP posts:
hahabahbag · 12/08/2026 16:28

I “made” a projection viewer with a piece of card and a piece of paper. You don’t need to spend money but you do need to be able to face west without too much on the horizon - we are walking about 20 minutes to an elevated position over the water

JenniferBooth · 12/08/2026 16:30

Aiming4Optimistic · 12/08/2026 16:26

I don't get the fuss - it gets dark every day 😉

Id be much more excited by rain at this point, tbh

This time last year i was watching Mayfair Witches on bbc i player One of the lead characters powers was to change the weather. If i got to choose a superpower thats the one id choose.

TheChosenTwo · 12/08/2026 16:30

hotmumshit · 12/08/2026 16:20

😄 what does he think they might do?

Show quote history

We are both expecting them to be quite disconcerted and scarper back to their hen house rather confused because it will feel very early to then for bedtime and it will happen quite quickly compared to how the sun usually sets - plus chickens are rather silly animals who are easily quite freaked out, anything new appears in their area and they all bunch up together, not wanting to go anywhere near it in case whatever it is kills them - even when it’s something fun for enrichment or FOOD!

the80sweregreat · 12/08/2026 16:30

Sometimes I wished it was the end of the world tbh. This summer has shown me the future and it’s not good at all ;(

Lemonyyy · 12/08/2026 16:33

I will be buying some Jaffa cakes on the way home, thanks for the reminder of that delightful advert 😂 other than that, no, my kids don't seem to be interested in fucking about with a colander in the garden so we shall be giving it a miss!

towhoknowswhere · 12/08/2026 16:36

My friendship group gets together most weekends and we love an excuse for an extra meet up. None of us have the glasses but looking forward to sitting outside and enjoying the occasion!

YertleTheTurtle · 12/08/2026 16:37

I don't think it's possible to completely just 'skip' the eclipse, since it'll randomly get pretty dark for a bit a lot earlier than usual... So you don't really get to opt out of it altogether

Grapefruitsofwrath · 12/08/2026 16:37

Remember the last one. It wasn’t any great difference, just went a bit dull for a bit

Muffsies · 12/08/2026 16:39

My 11yo would rather go to his athletics club, i even made him a pinhole viewer, but he's not interested. He understands it's a very rare thing but he'd rather get ready for a competition. He will be outside, so he'll experience the getting darker, but they won't be stopping to view the event.

I remember Halleys Comet in the 80s, but my parents had no interest so they didn't take me outside in the dark to see it. I don't feel deprived at all. I do remember the last eclipse in 1999 as i was in london at the time and the whole city stopped and fell silent. I will be watching the eclipse today with the viewer i made, but it's just something to do, it's not a massive deal if you don't want it to be.

Epoisses · 12/08/2026 16:41

I will be at pilates for most of it

MyDeftDuck · 12/08/2026 16:41

I’m just hoping that the temperature drops so we can all cool down a bit…….all this excessive heat is brain rattling!

NooNakedJacuzziness · 12/08/2026 16:42

I don’t know what to do (I’m always in the dark)

ShanghaiDiva · 12/08/2026 16:43

Definitely watching. I saw the total eclipse in 1999 in Munich.

Armorlux · 12/08/2026 16:45

Grapefruitsofwrath · 12/08/2026 16:37

Remember the last one. It wasn’t any great difference, just went a bit dull for a bit

That's my abiding memory of it too. Disappointment. And then having to explain to the DC that,yes,that was it.

I'll try and be positive today, and if the sun disappears for a while, it'll be a relief (never thought I'd think that).

the80sweregreat · 12/08/2026 16:46

NooNakedJacuzziness · 12/08/2026 16:42

I don’t know what to do (I’m always in the dark)

Turn around bright eyes

Muffsies · 12/08/2026 16:47

ShanghaiDiva · 12/08/2026 16:43

Definitely watching. I saw the total eclipse in 1999 in Munich.

Nice. Did the whole city stop? I saw it in london, and it was so weird how everything fell silent, no busses, no sirens, no shouting, just murmurs. Then all suddenly sprang to life again the moment it was over. The city stopping was in a way more impressive than the ecplise itself.

the80sweregreat · 12/08/2026 16:47

The weather is perfect for the sun to be obscured as it causing mayhem for the farmers and the water companies and it doesn’t care :(
Deserves everything it gets

Isittimeformynapyet · 12/08/2026 16:49

HelpmaBoabb · 12/08/2026 16:11

You've put a giphy of a man in your question. What is the relevance?

I thought it was a picture of her autistic son and she'd missed the 3 off 37

Muffsies · 12/08/2026 16:50

the80sweregreat · 12/08/2026 16:47

The weather is perfect for the sun to be obscured as it causing mayhem for the farmers and the water companies and it doesn’t care :(
Deserves everything it gets

The sun is behaving like a complete knob just lately.

Original poster
hotmumshit · 12/08/2026 16:50

Isittimeformynapyet · 12/08/2026 16:49

I thought it was a picture of her autistic son and she'd missed the 3 off 37

Show quote history

My child is a girl 😄😩

OP posts:
shhblackbag · 12/08/2026 16:50

I'm not bothered about it tbh.

forthelasttim · 12/08/2026 16:50

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Sahara123 · 12/08/2026 16:50

hotmumshit · 12/08/2026 16:20

😄 what does he think they might do?

Show quote history

In a full eclipse it has been known to get quite dark, and all the birds go quiet as they think its night!
Last partial one I was working in school, we made a pinhole in a piece of paper and put another piece below it so that you can see the shadow there. I like the colander idea ! Sadly all the kids were seriously unimpressed which was a shame.

Candleflakes · 12/08/2026 16:51

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Why are you giving people incorrect advice that can damage their phones?

Morethanadecade · 12/08/2026 16:52

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

I thought you weren’t meant to do that. You could wreck your camera and/or phone.