Yesterday the UK enjoyed what’s been described as its most dramatic eclipse in 30 years.
Well, many would argue that Collins – or whoever’s in charge of the dictionary – needs to change the definition of the word ‘dramatic’ because they felt the whole thing was rather underwhelming.
Indeed, if you were to take a glance at social media this morning, you’ll find a cavalcade of complainants all moaning that the eclipse was a letdown and not as spectacular as they’d hoped.
And none were more disappointed than the monarch of moaning, the king of complaining, the grand poobah of gripes: Jeremy Clarkson.
Yes, the popular car enthusiast-turned-professional muck spreader couldn’t help but take to Instagram to let his legion of followers know how disappointed he found the alignment of the cosmos.
‘So annoying,’ he captioned a picture of the sun. ‘We didn’t get the eclipse in Chipping Norton.’
This inevitably prompted a wave of replies, many of whom couldn’t wait to tell Clarkson that he hadn’t missed out.
‘You’ve not missed much,’ wrote tux_linux. ‘Just a little less sun. Also, it’s evening where the sun is going down anyway. Not even close to the dark like ’99.’
Andycoult80 agreed, writing: ‘It was nowhere near 90%, so too bright. I only got a decent picture with 3 pairs of sunnies over my phone camera. Normal camera looked just like your [photo].’
Meanwhile, owensuperconfidential joked it was: ‘The worst eclipse …. In the world.’
Now, far be it from us to point out that the eclipse was visible from where Jeremy lives in Chipping Norton and the Cotswolds.
In fact, a lot of Clarkson’s fans pointed out they’d got a lovely view of it from his pub, which is just 12 miles from his farm.
That said, because it was just a partial eclipse, it was rather difficult to see, as @sean.olford explained to Clarkson.
‘All parts did [get the eclipse]; you just won’t see much of it because it’s partial,’ he said.
‘Without extremely good eyewear specifically made for looking at extremely bright things, such as welding goggles and so on, you wouldn’t really notice a difference other than it being slightly less light than it would be.
‘Phone cameras are not good at picking it up because it just shows as a glow, like the normal sun, as there is still a significant portion of the sun visible.’
Still, while Clarkson might have felt the whole eclipse business was a bit overblown, he’s probably not that sad as today is results day.
That means he gets to make his usual tweet about only having two and a half O-levels or whatever it is, which I’m sure some pople still find funny.
Clarkson aside. plenty of other celebs here in Blighty had a great time watching the grand cosmic ballet.
Fearne Cotton was arguably the most moved by the eclipse, sharing a small but poignant essay about how it affected her.
‘I knew it would be magical, but that was next level,’ she wrote.
‘Here’s why I cried. I was lucky enough to be on a beach where there were people from all over the world, groups of mates, families, couples, people watching quietly on their own. Every single person, no matter their background or story, stopped to stand in awe.
‘Faces lit up. Smiles grew. We all waited for the star of the show, the moon, to slide across the sky like the sly beauty she is. We were humbled by something we usually take for granted. And we were reminded that we are just a floating ball in space with other floating balls around us.’
Romeo Beckham took a break from arguing with his older brother to watch the Eclipse (and then Arsenal) before posting a photo on his Instagram story captioned: ‘Eclipse, and then Arsenal playing… Doesn’t get better.’
Carol Vorderman, meanwhile, chose to watch the whole thing from what appeared to be a river boat complete with a glass of wine (an icon).
Holly Willoughby was also watching and shared a rather moody photo of herself shadowed by the light of the eclipse – maybe she couldn’t get the glasses and had to make do?
One person who definitely couldn’t get glasses was Paddy McGuinness, who shared pics of himself making a DIY pinhole projector with his three kids.
He wasn’t the only funnyman who couldn’t get his mitts on safety glasses. John Bishop posted a photo of himself resorting to the old colander trick.
Undoubtedly, though, the greatest reaction to the eclipse came from Ronan Keating, who opted to serenade the sun and moon.