Watty's just remembered something:

On the way home after my epic journey to Leeds last week (don't ask), I had the good fortune to hear the interval entertainment from that evening's Prom; which was Patrick Stewart reading this - H.G. Wells : The Star. The version we heard was slightly bowdlerised (you can guess where), but nevertheless it was a wonderful thing to hear, and beautifully read, too.

Also, while I'm on an astronomical bent, the coincidence of reading about Galileo just as his namesake is about to plunge to its doom in the atmosphere of Jupiter prompted me to have a look at the Galileo website. Much that is startling and intriguing may be found there. I really should keep a closer eye on these things, I think.