24hr SPACE SPECTACULAR at The Royal Institution

A massive well done to BBC's Mark Thompson for completing yesterday - Friday 23rd October, his marathon 24-hour Space Spectacular, in aid of the Marie Curie Charity, at The Royal Institution in London's Mayfair.

Despite enormous tiredness, and having been 'on the go' since 0700hrs on Thursday 22 October, he delivered beautifully all 24 lectures with the use of some stunning images and movie footage, all within the hallowed halls where, for over two centuries, the likes of eminent scientific 'giants', such as Faraday, Davy and Tyndall, have all researched, experimented and shared their knowledge with the wider public (see above painting of Sir James Dewar lecturing on liquid hydrogen at the RI).

I was privileged to be there for ten of the lectures to deliver the introductions ... hopefully encouraging Mark to keep going and to help the live audience and many online listeners to stick with him and donate along the way.

Also assisting Mark, as his special guests, were ITV's weather presenters, Sian Lloyd and Laura Tobin (pictured below) ...

And Julia Kendell, interior designer and tv presenter (below) ...

Both of who did a fantastic job assisting Mark with making comets, creating fabulous chemical 'foam' and blasting off rockets!

And Mark lived to tell the tale ... and to prove it, here's an image of yours truly with one very wearied presenter!

A fantastic 24 hours - well done to everyone! It was an honour to be involved.