About Me — Sheila Crosby

How a woman from Leeds wound up in the Canary Islands

Me filling the camera of the Isaac Newton telescope with liquid nitrogen in 2003

[Scroll down for my article list, with links.]

I came to La Palma with a six-month contract to work at the observatory as a software engineer, and immediately fell in love with the place. Then I fell in love with a tall, dark, handsome Palmeran, who I met in the Isaac Newton Telescope (under the stars, in the heart-shaped island). My six-month stay has lasted thirty years so far, and I still feel smug every time I see a plane leaving, because I get to stay. I wholeheartedly recommend the island for a holiday. Browse http://lapalma-island.com to find out why.

Me and my cat Chai Latte. Photo Credit: Sheila Crosby

Cats

My current owner is called Chai Latte. We rescued her when she was about 8 weeks old, and she’s delighted and manipulated us ever since. When she was smaller most of her fur was moonlight white with splodges that looked like spices in milk, so we named her after the Thai drink.

We almost lost her in October last year when she was hit by a car, but she’s made a full recovery, thank goodness. We both love our morning snuggles.

Astronomy