Scotland is famous for its whisky and so it will come as no surprise that it’s also home to next year’s (yes, that’s right!) World Whisky of the Year. Old Pulteney 21 Year Old has been voted 2012 World Whisky of the Year by the prestigious “Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible.” Before declaring Old Pulteney the winner, whisky expert Mr Murray sampled more than 1,200 new drams. Now there’s a job many people would be envious of! The 21-year-old single malt scored a record equalling 97.5 points out of 100.
Monthly Archives: November 2011
Wick whisky crowned world’s best whisky
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Filed under Eating & Drinking
London 2012 Festival – The UK’s biggest ever festival announced
Filed under Events
In the run up to the 2012 London Olympic Games, over 1000 events are planned across the UK in what is billed as the “biggest festival the UK has ever seen”.
The festival is due to take place over 12 weeks prior to and running through the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, will feature a vast array of cultural events from nationwide bell ringing to art installations at The Giant’s Causeway and the BT River of Music featuring groups such as the Scissor Sisters and Baaba Maal.
Many of the events are planned to be free such as what it billed as a spectacular concert and associated fireworks display on the banks of Lake Windermere in the English Lake District entitled Les Commandos Percu – a show which “shows perfectly blend musical rhythms and amazing effects, as fireworks dance to a thumping soundtrack”.
Tickets and event details are available on the 2012 London Festival Web site. Keep an eye on the UKSeries Blog as we’ll announce more details as they appear!
More UK Resources:
Tourist attractions and event locations around the UK
Hotels in the UK
UK self-catering accommodation
Exmoor becomes new International Dark Sky Reserve
Filed under Attractions, Events
Exmoor has become only the second location in the world to gain International Dark Sky Reserve status meaning not only is the ground protected from development, but the skies above Exmoor are too.
Current problems: One of the problems both amateur and professional astronomers have faced for many years is that both air-bourne pollution and excessive street lighting which prevents them getting a clear view of the skies. In recent years, the problem has been given more recognition outside the scientific communities which resulted in the recent designation of Sark as a “Dark Sky Island” and Galashields Forest as a “Dark Skies Park”.
Both of these are European and UK based initiatives, but now Exmoor National Park has gained the prestigious honour of being only the 2nd location in the world to receive the International Dark Sky Reserve accreditation.
The award process: The award is the result of over 2 years hard work by numerous groups including the Exmoor National Park Authority, the Royal Astronomical Society and local amateur astronomers who have helped identify areas of the park which are especially good for stargazing.
Although the International Dark-Sky Association who make the final decision have no legal powers, part of the application procedure requires the relevant authorities to include planning controls to regulate lighting usage in the area. This includes working with the residents and businesses to ensure any new lighting is focused downwards and doesn’t interfere with the views of the night sky and that air-bourne pollutants are kept to a minimum.
Future effects: As with Sark and Galashields, it is not only the astronomers who benefit. The increase in astronomy tourism in these areas is seen as crucial to their economic future with potentially thousands of extra UK and international visitors arriving each year to take in the night sky like no-where else.
More Exmoor Links:
More details about Exmoor International Dark Sky Reserve
Map of Exmoor and local visitor attractions
Where was rock climbing invented – Scotland or the Lake District?
Filed under Miscellaneous
For many years, the sport of rock climbing had been assumed to have been invented in the English Lake District but now a BBC 2 film now claims that the sport might actually have originated in Scotland.
The Scots have certainly invented quite a number of useful ideas over the years from the light bulb, Tarmac and Penicillin to slightly more debateable levels of usefulness such as golf. There are even some claims that that bastion of English sport – football – was invented in Scotland!
Lake District claim: Returning to the matter in hand – the original claim for the first recreational rock climb was an ascent of Napes Needle on Great Gable in the English Lake District in 1886. It rather begers belief that anyone in their right mind would attempt this today, never mind with the primitive equipment available back then, but that is a documented fact.
Scotland Claim: The Scottish claim is that infact the first recreational climb was actually by 3 men from Lewis who climbed Great Stac of Handa, Sutherland, in 1876 – 10 years before anyone thought about Napes Needle, which rather ironically sounds the more Scottish of the two.
To prove the case, three modern day climbers have recreated the climb using authentic equipment from the time to successfully show that the original men’s claim was indeed possible.
TV programme: Viewers in Scotland will be able to judge for themselves as The First Great Climb airs at 19:00 on 22nd November on BBC Two Scotland. Whether this will be available on BBC iPlayer we’re not too sure, but hopefully the BBC will give the English a chance to check for themselves.
Location: For those unsure of UK geography, can we just point out that contrary to what many have told this author of Cumbrian origins – Cumbria and the Lake District are not in Scotland or Wales, although Cumbria does border with Scotland.
More Scottish Resources:
Lots of things to see and do in the Highlands of Scotland
Hotel accommodation in the Highlands of Scotland
Self-catering in the Scottish Highlands
New lifesaver role for iconic BT red telephone boxes
Filed under Miscellaneous
The iconic red phone box was once seen as a lifesaving tool before the decline in use caused by mobile phones. However, BT are hoping communities and charities will soon get together to once more bring the box back as a lifesaving device, albeit with a slight twist.
When the phone boxes began to decline in use, BT introduced their Adopt a Kiosk scheme where local communities could buy the red phone box for £1 and turn it into anything from an information centre to an art gallery.
Around the country however, people have been finding a new use as locations to install defibrillator units, to increase the chances of survival for those suffering a heart attack. In England, there are now 4 such boxes, but the first has just opened in Scotland thanks to a local Girl Guide Heather Munro and the Community Heartbeat Trust who together organised for the village of Glendaruel in Argyll to adopt its own phone box.
It might seem an odd place to put a defibrillator, but the area is popular with walkers and there were several heart attacks last year in the village involving tourists, so having a defibrillator close by might prove the key ingredient.
More related resources:
BT Adopt a Kiosk Scheme
Tourist attractions across the Highlands of Scotland
Scottish Highland hotels
Self-catering accommodation in Highlands of Scotland
Biggest public archaeology project to launch in Manchester
Filed under Events
The people of Manchester are to be offered a chance to take place in one of the biggest public archaeological digs ever staged, with around 9000 volunteers spread across 11 sites in Manchester & Blackburn.
Uncovering remains from the Medieval to the Industrial Revolution, the sites will allow people from the Manchester communities alongside school and university students to work beside professional archaeologists and find out much more about where they live.
Each of the 10 Greater Manchester boroughs will have a site, and the digs will run alongside lectures and presentations on the history of the area. Norman Redhead, Greater Manchester County Archaeologist said “I suspect local communities will be amazed at what they uncover on their doorstep”.
The project is expected to last around 4 years and should start sometime in 2012. Details should be appearing in local media.
More Manchester Resources:
Visitor attractions around Manchester
Hotels in Manchester
Swindon finds quirky way to brighten up buildings
Filed under Miscellaneous
Old rather dull or even eyesore buildings are a problem in most city centres, but Swindon have come up with a rather quirky way to brighten up one of their most boring buildings.
The changes to Alexander House, a rather bland white angular office-block style building in the centre of town, involve painting roundabout symbols on the building and even bolting two replica Mini cars to the outside. Officials from the council have recommended the idea be given planning permission later this month, as the design incorporates connections with Swindon.
Symbols: The BMW Mini’s represent the BMW body pressings plant which resides in Swindon and the roundabout symbol is presumably paying homage to the Magic Roundabout – the famous intersection in the city combining five mini-roundabouts around a larger outer roundabout.
Flying pigs: Plans for solar powered rotating pigs were dropped after they proved to be too expensive, which we can only guess was a less than obvious connection to the Saxon meaning of Swindon “pig hill” or “pigs on a hill”. Perhaps someone can enlighten us?
As long as planning permission is forthcoming, the project will hopefully brighten up the building next year and will be paid for by the building’s owners.
More links in Swindon:
Tourist attractions in Swindon
Hotel accommodation in Swindon
Dundee Mountain Film Festival
Filed under Events
Set in the University of Dundee’s Bonar Hall, the 29th annual Dundee Mountain Film Festival will celebrate tales of great courage and wild adventure as it serves up a fantastic programme of speakers and award winning films and exhibitions. This year welcomes Mark Beaumont, world record breaking cyclist and mountain climber, to present his extraordinary career and climbing feats. The morning of Saturday 25th November 2011 features an all Scottish film programme while adventure junkies will love energetic films by The Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour on the Sunday 26th November 2011.
Useful links:
Hotels in Dundee
B&Bs in Dundee
Self-catering in Dundee
Tourist attractions in Dundee
Major new Leonardo da Vinci exhibition opens in London
Filed under Events
One of the biggest and most important Leonardo da Vinci exhibitions ever staged opens at the National Gallery in London on the 9th November bringing together many works never seen together before.
Described by the gallery as the “the most complete display of Leonardo da Vinci’s rare surviving paintings ever held”, the exhibition took over 5 years of negotiations to organise.
Paintings and drawings from all over the world will be appearing at this unique exhibition with loans from as far afield as Williamstown in Canada and St. Petersburg in Russia. Many of the paintings were previously displayed in galleries around Europe including 6 from Millan, 2 from Florence and 11 from Paris.
However, surprisingly over 1/3 of the paintings came from just down the road in Windsor, held as part of the Royal Collection, which exhibition curator Luke Syson says certainly helped to persuade the other galleries.
Previous exhibitions: There have been many previous exhibitions of Leonardo da Vinci’s works, but as Luke Syson explained to the BBC recently, most of these focused on the finished paintings rather than the drawings for which Leonardo was equally famous. This new exhibition will include a selection of both, with some standalone drawings and others believed to be tests and studies for later paintings.
One of the biggest coup’s for the National Gallery, was to get the two versions of The Virgin Of The Rocks painting hanging side by side, which has never been seen previously. One version has been restored by the National Gallery, and the other normally shows in the Louvre in Paris.
Loans in return: Galleries naturally don’t want empty spaces within their walls, so as is standard practice, the National Gallery also lent out other works in exchange. An example was the Ambrosiana gallery in Millan which sent the Portrait Of The Musician in exchange for Boticelli’s mystic nativity to coincide with that galleries own exhibitions.
Tickets are on sale for the exhibition, plus a further 500 tickets will be available each day for ‘on the door’ enquiries, although these are expected to go quickly.
Dates: The exhibition runs from the 9th November to 5th February 2012 so there should be plenty of time to see it.
More London Resources:
Leonardo da Vinci exhibitions at the National Gallery
BBC guide to where the paintings originated
More attractions around Charing Cross
Hotels near the National Gallery, Charing Cross
6 year old ‘Jack Draws Anything’ finishes 500 drawing marathon
Filed under Miscellaneous
This is a little departure from the usual stories on this blog, but with the weather getting chillier it was perfect timing for a heart warming story from Scotland.
If like me you’ve not come across Jack Draws Anything, it was the idea of a 6 year old Jack Henderson who lives near Edinburgh and who’s brother Noah spends a lot of time in the Sick Kids Hospital in Edinburgh.
Jack wanted to raise money for the Sick Kids Friends Foundation, originally with a target of raising £100 by creating 500 drawings of pretty much anything people asked for, in exchange for a donation. Having spent the last 231 days creating the drawings, Jack has so far raised a total of £31,000 for the foundation, with donations still coming in!
The project gained celebrity support from the likes of David Tennant (former Dr. Who) and the Eurythmics Dave Stewart, The Wiggles and Queen’s Brian May. The drawings have even been published into a new book by Hodders Childrens Books simply titled Jack Draws Anything (see right of web site for links).
Now Jack has drawn everything or at least all 500 pictures he planned to draw plus an extra 31 for good measure, and according to his web site he is taking a well earned rest just like his favourite animal, the Hedgehog.
Stats:
Drawing for 231 days.
Total of 536 pictures.
Used 314 pens, 162 crayons and 96 pencils.
Plus 2144 sheets of paper.
There’s also the 222 cups of juice, 133 biscuits and 103 apples to keep the pencils whirring.
Put another way – Jack has so far spent 10th of his life drawing!
For more details on sponsoring Jack’s cause, see the Jack Draws Anything web site on the right hand side.
