�It�s brilliant,� I enthused. �I went into the planetarium and saw this 3D film and there are all these gadgets to mess around with. It was good fun.�
Tony seemed surprisingly interested.
�How much is it to get in?� he asked.
�Well, I think it�s usually about a tenner but it�s half price if you�re on the dole.�
�I might go along one day, for a change. Though if someone said to me I could have 6 bottles of Weston�s or go to the Science Centre, I�d probably take the Weston�s.�
We all laughed, then Tony paused and said, �No, I�d maybe take 3 bottles of Weston�s and go to the Science Centre as well!�
The planetarium was really peaceful. I had gone as part of a course I was on at work. The trip to the Science Centre was a last day �treat�, which also included watching �The Big Lebowski� on video. We went in two taxis; myself, my workmate Stuart, Ian (who was teaching the motivation and job search course which we were all on) and Jim and Jeri, who were both ex addicts to alcohol and drugs. There had been other people on the course too, but they didn�t turn up.
Ian paid us all in. We got concessions, even though Stuart and I were actually working, and then we checked out some of the zillions of gadgets they had. You could play about with them � all in the name of science disguised as fun. We felt like little kids.
In the planetarium, I sat down next to Jeri and Jim. Ian and Stuart were in the row behind us. A young guy came out and told us what to expect.
�On the ceiling above us is an exact replica of the night sky. You will see it slowly start to change as we get closer to dawn. Then the sky will get lighter and lighter, gradually, until it is sunrise.�
He then told us to sit back and relax.
The lights dimmed and it was completely dark except for the lights (�stars�) on the ceiling. Cheesy music began to play but it didn�t really seem all that cheesy in the circumstances. It was pan pipes type stuff. I sank deep into the seat and relaxed.
The whole thing lasted ten minutes, but I could have stayed for hours. The �stars� above us twinkled and the �sky� became progressively brighter until it was a beautiful red colour. Then it was over.
When the house lights came back on, I felt very calm, as if I�d had a really good massage. I almost felt like I could float away. We all agreed that we could have gone another ten minutes or more.
The young man re-appeared and said �Well, I hope you all enjoyed that. It�s a little refuge from the rest of the world, and it�s on every hour, if you want to come back again later.�
Everyone filed out into the glare of the Science Centre and Ian said �The 3D film is on in half an hour, so let�s all meet up outside the cinema.�
Everyone went their separate ways, to play on some more of the exhibits. Jeri and I tried out this thing where you had to sit on a seat and read these words which were printed on the floor. At first I didn�t really see the point, but Jeri explained that �the point� was merely that the words changed direction from when you looked at them standing up. Perspective. I also had a go on an exhibit where you had to stand on a spinning board. I forget the exact point of that, actually. It was all pretty good fun, anyway. I also slid down a chute which seemed to serve absolutely no purpose whatsoever, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
Jeri didn�t show up to see the 3D film. We�d later discover that he�d gone back to the planetarium for some more relaxation!
The film was a documentary about marine life. It looked like the kind of thing they put on TV really late at night when everyone is meant to be asleep. We all wore large, stupid looking glasses which produced the 3D effects.
The film was good at first, with aerial shots of the ocean and then the camera �dived� in and we saw rocks and seaweed rushing straight at us, as if they were about to smack us on the heads. Various colourful fish swam at us and big, horrible sea beasties which made me cringe. I actually fell asleep at one point, for around ten minutes. The effects of the two pints of lager I had at lunchtime.
When the film finished, Ian rang for taxis to take us back to work. I had spent an enjoyable day watching a great film on video, having a leisurely couple of pints at lunchtime in the Scotia bar and then going to the Science Centre. Now it was back to reality, work. Fuck.