The world’s longest-running TV programme with a single presenter is the BBC’s monthly Astronomy show The Sky At Night; and Sir Patrick Moore – godluvim – has been personally responsible for more people becoming interested in Astronomy than any other, worldwide. The show has been running – consistently – since 1957, and Patrick is considered a national treasure.

I met him 1987 when he came to talk to the UCL Astronomical Society of which I was Treasurer. I still owe him a pint, actually, but I think that can be forgiven for shepherding him through the lecture and then guiding him through Bloomsbury down to Senate House to do some research. A jolly nice guy, if a little caught in the first half of the 20thC.

Me personally, I can’t ascribe my interest to Patrick Moore when it is better blamed on Leonid Brezhnev, but that’s documented elsewhere; certainly access to resources like TSAN monthly newsletters fed my interest, hobby and future degree material through the early 1980s.

Anyway – for ex-pat Geeks everywhere, here’s a treasure trove: the last few years’ The Sky At Night, available via streaming RealPlayer

Gods, I love the BBC.