… so please be gentle with me if it doesn’t work.

Presented for your delectation, though, some footage of the 22 July 2009 total eclipse of the sun, which Mrs MyWife and I saw on honeymoon last month. The footage was shot in Varanasi in India, on the banks of the River Ganges, and runs for just over a minute, with totality occuring about half-way through.

If you decide to watch it, you may well want to turn the volume down a bit, as the sounds of the crowd and the like are pretty loud. And also because this stupid-sounding chap keeps on talking during it, and making asinine remarks. Honestly, some people have no sense of occasion.

I shot this, on a small hand-held digital camera, so I apologise for the shakiness and slightly dodgy picture quality, and for the way it looks a bit grainy – probably avoidable if you’re some kind of expert in editing and formatting, but I’m still finding my way with this techie malarkey, so please indulge me.

Anyway, hope it’s of interest, and that the reaction of the crowd gives you a flavour of the atmosphere and general sense of excitement at seeing what is, I think it’s fair to say, something of a once-in-a-lifetime event.

If this embedding doesn’t work, I’ve also uploaded the video here by way of a backup, though you’ll need Windows Media Player to view it.