Everyone knows Africa’s “Big Five”, some might even know of the “Famous Five”, but have you heard of the “Blue Five”? No? Not surprising as it’s my personal name for the group of five invertebrate marine creatures that are often washed ashore on our beaches 

On a dark, clear night one can possibly see 2500 stars and a maximum of 5 planets with the naked eye. With the aid of even simple binoculars, one can see a thousand times more stars.

Think we have it tough today with airport queues and security checks? It could be worse. Five-hundred years ago, exploring the world was life altering for very different reasons, writes Tony Mills.

As we are into “paper nautilus season” I thought a few words on these delicate and much sought after brood shells might be of interest to residents and visitors.