English Heritage is once again welcoming people to Stonehenge to celebrate the 2013 Summer Solstice. Sunrise will occur at 4.52am on Friday 21 June, on what is the longest day of the year.

Peter Carson, Head of Stonehenge at English Heritage, said: “This is the 14th year that English Heritage has provided free access to the stones and we are looking forward to a peaceful celebration enjoyed by thousands of people. This ongoing success is due to English Heritage working closely with the key partners and communities and together delivering an enjoyable and safe solstice. And, as with every year, we will balance the needs of those attending the solstice with our duty to protect the Stone Circle and its surrounding monuments.”

“The opening of the new Stonehenge visitor centre in December this year with its museum-quality exhibitions, a spacious café, and dedicated education space, will herald an exciting new era for Stonehenge. The way in which people visit Stonehenge in the future will change: we will be uplifting the whole experience to a level that befits this extraordinary and important monument.”

Over the night, people have the opportunity to celebrate the Solstice and this includes spontaneous drumming within the stone circle, playing of acoustic instruments and dancing in the performance area.  There will be a number of druid, pagan and other spiritual ceremonies throughout the night and especially at sunset and sunrise at various places around the monument, in particular the Heel Stone.

 For an idea of what to expect, view the Stonehenge Summer Solstice 2012 photo gallery.

Stonehenge will be open from 7pm on Thursday 20 June to 8am on Friday 21 June. The solstice car park, just off the A344 near Airman’s Corner, will open from 7pm on Thursday 20 June, with last admission at 6am on Friday 21 June.

Access to the stones and the car park is free of charge and subject to ‘Conditions of Entry’ which are published on the English Heritage website http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/summersolstice

Paul Martin records a piece to camera at a Flog It! valuation day event

The popular BBC One antiques programme Flog It! presented by Paul Martin, is coming to Wiltshire on Thursday 18th July.

Longleat House and gardens will be hosting the free valuation day. Rather like a treasure hunt, members of the public are invited to bring along up to three antiques and collectables they might be interested in selling. Once valued, the owner and a team of experts decide whether an item should go forward for auction. If the item is chosen it is included in a sale a few weeks later –hopefully when the auctioneers hammer falls its owners make a tidy sum. Everyone who goes along to the Valuation Day will receive a free valuation – even if their antiques are not chosen to go forward for auction.

Last year the show made a significant find when a rare Aboriginal Broad Shield that had been kept hidden away in a Flog It! viewers wardrobe was brought along to a valuation day in North Lincolnshire and went on to sell at auction for £30,000! The series also uncovered an unusual Royal Doulton Spook figurine in Blackpool which had been bought at a car boot sale for £2; it went on to sell at auction for £5000.

Louise Hibbins, Series Producer says “Paul Martin and the entire Flog It! team are really pleased to be bringing the show to Wiltshire. Longleat will provide the perfect setting for our valuation day event; our experts are all looking forward to welcoming people along for their free valuations. If you’ve ever wondered how much your boot sale bargains or clutter in the loft might be worth, now is your chance to find out.”

Longleat media manager, Steve Mytton says: “It’s fantastic to have Flog It! come to Longleat. The House and gardens will provide the perfect backdrop for the programme as well as a place for people to discover what their antiques are really worth. With over 450 years of history within the House and estate in addition to all the antiques expected to be brought here I’m sure Flog It! will feel right at home!”

Paul Martin who lives in the village of Seend near Melksham will be joined on the valuation day by Flog It! on screen experts David Fletcher, Mark Stacey and Michael Baggott.

Flog It! will be at Longleat House, Longleat, Warminster, Wiltshire, BA12 7NW on Thursday 18th July between 09:30am and 4pm. The items selected at the valuation day will go under the hammer at Henry Aldridge & Son Auctioneers, Unit 1 Bath Road Business Centre, Bath Road, Devizes, Wiltshire, SN10 1XA on Saturday 10th August.

Entry to the FLOG IT! event is free.
Standard admission charges apply to access Longleat House and the Safari and Adventure Park

Zeus the Boa Constrictor

Keepers at Longleat’s Jungle Kingdom have got their hands full looking after their newest arrivals – a quartet of rescued boa constrictors with a total length in excess of seven metres.

The four giant snakes, the largest of which is called Zeus and measures 2.2 metres in length, were all re-homed at the Wiltshire attraction after being rescued by the RSPCA.

Boas use constriction to kill their prey, coiling their body around their victim and slowly crushing the life out of them.

If the meal is particularly large, the snakes can make use of their specially adapted jaws – known as reticulated jaws – which can literally dislocate to allow the snake to get its mouth around the unfortunate prey.

In addition to the snakes, keepers are also having to handle another new arrival carefully – in the shape of a rescued striped skunk called Oreo.

Oreo the Skunk

The skunk was originally kept as a pet and when it arrived at Longleat was significantly overweight.

Keeper Rebecca Earner said: “When we first got Oreo he was quite nervous and also not in the best of health.

“We estimate he is around two to three years old and had been kept by someone as a pet. Recently skunks have become popular for people to keep at home but they need lots of attention and special care which make them difficult to look after properly.

“It has taken a lot of time and patience but Oreo is now a much fitter and happier skunk. His weight is down to just over six kilogrammes and he has settled in really well to his new home here,” she added.

Found throughout the USA and southern Canada, skunks are notorious for their use of ‘chemical warfare’ to ward off would-be predators and other potential threats.

They can spray a noxious substance from special glands which can travel up to three metres and causes a deeply unpleasant smell which can cause nausea.

Pigeon Whistles is a performance by Pigeon Pete and Nathaniel Mann and was shown at the Ageas Salisbury International Arts Festival. It was part of the Oxford Contemporary Music Audible Forces event.

The stars of the show are a small flock of Birmingham Roller pigeons that have been trained to return to their Polka-dot Pigeon Loft.

For the performance, the birds are released from their base and as they fly around, the wind sounds in their whistles and makes for an interesting audible experience.

The Pigeon Whistles were inspired by ancient Chinese pigeon whistles in the Pitt Rivers Museum where Nathaniel is the Embedded Composer in Residence.

Pigeon Pete and Nathaniel Mann

Nathaniel said: “I wondered what they would sound like so set about making some myself.”

“It was a gradual process of prototyping and I tried a variety of materials,” but the design used for the Salisbury performance was “a 35mm film tub, a lolly stick and a bit of a Chris de Burgh record!”

The size the film pot is cut down to makes a big difference in the sound, as does the size of the hole cut into it. Different sounding pigeon whistles are made to make the collective sound more interesting.

They are attached to the tail feathers of the pigeon and are light weight enough not to impede flight.

The birds flew up in Choristers Green against the backdrop of the tallest spire in England (Salisbury Cathedral). The sound was quite unique as the birds circled their loft.

Because Pigeon Pete trained the birds to recognise polka dots as their base, they know where to come home to and can they can easily recognise the pattern from the air – useful when their home moves around the country. They also use an Indian Fantail pigeon as encouragement to come home.

The pigeon whistles are still being refined but the hope is to eventually have them fine tuned enough and the birds in flight long enough to have a performer sing in harmony with them which will be quite something!

To find out more about Nathaniel’s progress, read his blog at http://pittriversmann.blogspot.co.uk/

View photos of  Pigeon Whistles at Ageas Salisbury International Arts Festival

The rural economy grants scheme, run by Wiltshire Council, is open for applications and runs until December 2014.

The scheme aims to support people starting-up a business, and will also help existing micro-businesses (businesses with fewer than 10 employees) and social enterprises to expand.

The businesses looking for funding could be from a wide range of sectors including technical services, ICT, security, logistics, defence and construction. It will also provide an opportunity to support women-led businesses.

The rural economy grants scheme is part of The Enterprise Network, and will be known as “TEN investments”. They are only made available in areas which have a Defra Rural Growth Network pilot scheme.

Fleur de Rhé-Philipe cabinet member for economic development, said: “This will provide a very timely source of funding into small businesses which have increasingly found it difficult to get investment from traditional sources in the past few years.

“I encourage all types of different businesses to find out more and see what this funding could offer them.”

Grants from £10,000, up to £168,000 are available, and businesses based in large towns must provide goods or services in rural areas.

Applications and information is available from www.theenterprisenetwork.co.uk, and support for people thinking of starting in business, or existing businesses seeking advice is available free of charge from the Wiltshire business support service www.wessexchambers.org.uk/business-support/introduction.php.

To discuss making an application, people should contact either Julian.Head@wiltshire.gov.uk or on 01225 713421, or to Kate.Forrest@wiltshire.gov.uk or on 01249 01249 706549

Steve Backshall attempts the traverse wall in the Deadly Challenge

Longleat Safari & Adventure Park invites visitors to face the ultimate test of their mental and physical abilities when they try out the brand-new Deadly Challenge attraction which opens this week.

Located next to the park’s Adventure Castle, the Deadly Challenge is made up of six themed zones focussing on different animals’ deadly skills– the Venom Zone, the Power Zone, the Superpower Zone, Agility Zone, Ambush zone and the Speed Zone.

Longleat’s Steve Mytton said: “Each Challenge tests a different set of skills in a fun and highly-interactive way – it’s not all about brawn as brains are also extremely important, as well as reactive and observational skills.”

Children take part in the Deadly Challenge in the Ambush Zone

Starting at the Deadly Challenge Mission Control, visitors will receive a Deadly briefing video from Steve Backshallhimself. They will then have to put their skills to the test in a series oftimed challenges to find as many deadly creatures as possible throughout the Deadly Challenge. At the end of each challenge, visitors will be given a skull rating to determine their overall ‘Deadly’ rating at the end of the game.

“The new Deadly Challenge is just one of a brand new series of Deadly experiences and events which are happening at Longleat,” said Steve Mytton.

“You¹ll be able to get a full appreciation of some of the skills these Deadly animals have; from the ambush abilities of the Nile crocodile to the incredible power of a polar bear and the awesome speed of a cheetah!

“These challenges will give people the opportunity to experience, for a few minutes of their life, what it’s really like to be one of these animals. To strike like a rattlesnake, climb like a gecko and swing through the trees like a monkey,” he added.

The Deadly Challenge is the latest addition to the Deadly Adventure at Longleat, following on from the opening of the Deadly Safari at Easter. It’s the start of a four year partnership with BBC Worldwide, which transforms areas of the park in the style of the BBC’s Deadly branded programmes which include Deadly 60; Deadly Top 10s; Deadly 360; Deadly Art and most recently Deadly Mission Madagascar as seen on CBBC.