Ford also organised displays of the work of the Observatory and the local Society at the B.A.A.’s Exhibition Meetings in London, which excited great interest among the assembled amateurs, and resulted in many of them making a special journey to Dundee during their holidays. Dr. Patrick Moore, well known TV and radio personality, praised the work of the Observatory as being "quite unique in his experience." He himself has visited the Observatory on a number of occasions. The period from 1971 to 1977 was a particularly fruitful one in the history of the Observatory. This was the period of the great upsurge of interest due to the space spectaculars of the USSR and United States, culminating in the Apollo missions to the Moon. In July 1969, during the period of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon, the Observatory witnessed the largest gathering of people in its history, when a colour TV was installed in the lecture-room giving full coverage of the mission, interspersed with talks, slide-shows, and an exhibition, stewarded by members of the D.A.S.