all that way

Exactly 50 years ago today, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on the moon. A quarter of a million miles away, humans were walking on a surface other than our own earth for the first time.

It was the culmination of a decade spent by the USA racing against the USSR to reach our celestial partner.  And the start of a lifelong love of space, stars, planets and extra-terrestrial travel for one 5-year-old boy from Swansea.

While Armstrong and Aldrin hogged the headlines though, as a lonely child and therefore natural loner I was always more interested in the third crew member; the man who remained in the command module orbiting the moon while his colleagues grabbed all the glory.

what do you mean I can't go????

Michael Collins went all the way to the moon and back and didn’t even get out of the spacecraft!  But his story is no less interesting than the others.  In fact, his book “Carrying the Fire” remains my favourite read of all time. Every page reads like a boy’s own adventure, and how one person can pack so much into a lifetime remains a mystery to me.

So, while we celebrate the achievements of a half century ago and revel once again in Armstrong’s famous words, grab yourself a copy of Collins's book.  Just like his foot, you won’t be able to put it down!