- guardian.co.uk, Monday August 9 1999 01.41 BST
There was talk at one stage of closing the county. For some people in Cornwall, which along with a fraction of Devon is the only part of Britain destined to witness the solar eclipse in its full eerie majesty, the occasion has long been a subject for apprehension as well as excitement.
First they feared they were going to be swamped as untold millions converged on the county, with services from banking to sewage hopelessly overloaded, and highways and byways jammed, and New Age devotees camped out until the millennium. Then came fears that all this talk was scaring people away from a county which, as the poorest in England, needs all the trade it can get. But even for those who don't live in Cornwall and resist all temptation to travel, it's a moment of mixed expectations. Weather permitting, this will be perhaps the most dramatic and beautiful natural event in a lifetime. Those who witness the world going dark, hear the birds fall silent, feel the sudden chill as the temperature drops - and then when it's over, find life and light resurrecting around them - will remember this time and talk of it for the rest of their lives. Even for those who understand the science of the occasion, it may seem like an Act of God.
But how to look at it? It is never wise to stare at the sun and here any miscalculation could be devastating, especially for young children. Joy in seeing it happen would not last long if it proved to be the last thing you ever saw. It's unsettling to find that what only a few weeks ago were thought to be sensible precautions are no longer thought reliable. Shell, which has been dishing out protective glasses at its petrol stations, withdrew them late last week. We marshalled the best scientific advice in Saturday's Guardian: you can also find it on our internet site.
In the end it will come down to temperament. The adventurous will be adventurous. Many of the over-adventurous will escape unscathed and boast of it later, but a few could pay a high price. And the cautious, of course, will play it as safe as they can. The most cautious of all have been praying for fog and cloud so that risk may be minimised, and as meteorologists revised their forecasts this weekend, the chance seemed to be growing that such prayers might yet be heeded. Should their gloomy hopes go unfulfilled, they will no doubt resolve for themselves to watch the whole thing on the radio.
