Welcome to Ogilvy's Corner. As the Astronomer Royal, just a few thoughts on matters that are important to me, in case you're curious. It’s not a very big space, as you can see, but at least I’ve been given something. Common sense, really. Like I say: 'Expect nothing, and everything else is a bonus...

Headlines like these are my worst fear and I can only hope that my suspicions are proved wrong. I continue to work diligently at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, where I can closely monitor developments concerning Mars. 

So, where do I start? Where does anyone begin? Quite the novelty to claim this as my own space, and I shall tend to it as I wish in moments of leisure.

Sadly, all this confusion surrounding the Great Meteor Procession in the Americas has disturbed the peace and, regrettably, caused the number of my best cigars to dwindle rather quickly. When I'm not at Greenwich my scrutiny of the red planet is somewhat limited at home in Ottershaw, and I can only hope that clouds and weather are favourable. Still, it's as good an excuse as any to purchase a superior telescope for my own observatory.

I'm not getting any younger, that's for sure. However, I feel the cold less than the overwhelming sense of duty to observe Mars. If I were ten years younger, I would have been on my way to the Americas by now, to confirm once and for all if the Great Meteor Procession was a strange shooting star phenomenon, or the prelude to invasion.

But something is definitely afoot—a slight change in the red planet's mood, perhaps—a notion that, I admit, defies logic. I am certain I can feel the Martians' cold gaze staring back at me when I look at Mars through my telescopes.

I can't say any of this to my friends. There's nothing more troublesome than a 'nay-sayer': it only takes that one person, and it's enough to make you doubt even your own mother. But I will stand my ground, now more than ever.

These days—or nights, rather—when I close my eyes, it's not long before memories of eating the Red Weed come rushing back, and I find myself hot, uncomfortable, and unable to sleep. However, reading for a while soon has me yawning again.

Meanwhile, I suppose I'd better put something down in my diary. Now, let me see....

The final specifications have been submitted and the new telescope for my Ottershaw observatory has been ordered. It may take several months to be made, but it cannot arrive a moment too soon. I require powerful equipment to study Mars, now more than ever.

Editor's note:

Ogilvy's complete diary for the momentous year of 1913 and the second Martian invasion is available FREE to email subscribers as an ebook. (Or you can read it in the print version of volume 1 The Day Of The Martians.)

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