Why don't you?

Is there anybody out there? Today is World UFO day, which marks the anniversary of the Roswell incident 57 years ago in New Mexico, when believers say an alien craft crashed in the desert.

HEAD FOR A HOTSPOT

You don’t have to go all the way to the US to spot a UFO, at least not according to the 300 or so Scots a year who report something unidentifiable in the sky. West Lothian and Stirlingshire are popular with aliens, especially Bonnybridge, near Falkirk. The most famous such incident occurred in 1979, when forestry worker Bob Taylor claimed a gang of large shimmering spheres set upon him there. Writer Ron Halliday explains: "One theory is that the area near Bonnybridge is a window into another dimension. That would explain why certain people see a UFO and others don’t - because a UFO is some kind of paranormal phenomenon, rather than a nuts-and-bolts spaceship." If you see a UFO, contact the British UFO Research Association on 01227 722 916 for help. Or perhaps your GP.

Alternatively, capture some aliens on celluloid with a home sci-fi festival. Sigourney Weaver did much to glam up the genre with the Alien trilogy in which she starred, and Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind is worth a watch for its fabulous five-tone greeting, which has entered the lexicon and goes something like "dong, dong ... dong, dong … doooooonggggg". Check out www.amazon.co.uk for delivery, or visit Forbidden Planet in Aberdeen, Glasgow or Edinburgh.

MAKE YOUR OWN

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The great thing about making your own flying saucer is that people are so embarrassed to admit that they believe in them, that they won’t tell you it is rubbish. Get back to those Blue Peter days by logging on to www.familycrafts.about.com for how to make a host of space related items. Start saving those washing up liquid bottles now.