A striking series of illuminations will highlight some of Britain's most remote and beautiful coastal areas as part of the London 2012 Festival.
In eight locations ranging from County Antrim in Northern Island to Sussex, the project, known as Peace Camp, will see a total of 2,000 tents lit up from today (July 19) until Sunday.
Described as a "coastal installation celebrating love, poetry and landscape", the installation will allow visitors to wander among hundreds of tents, listening to a “soundscape” made up of poems spoken in different dialects.
It features the work of artists ranging from John Donne to Carol Ann Duffy, as well as the voices of actors and poets such as Andrew Motion, Eileen Atkins and Bill Paterson.
Alongside the poetry readings there will also be music, spoken fragments and the sounds of the natural environment, all of which will be listened to via personal headsets.
The installations will be free to visit, with the tents being illuminated from nightfall at 9.30pm to 5.30am.
The full list of sites where the display will be taking place include: Cemaes Bay, Anglesey, Wales; White Park Bay on the North Antrim coast; Mussenden Temple and Downhill Beach, Borough of Coleraine, Northern Ireland; Cliff Beach at Valtos on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland; Fort Fiddes, Cullykhan Bay, Aberdeenshire, Scotland; Dunstanburgh Castle, Northumberland; Cuckmere Haven, Sussex; and Godvery, Cornwall.
More information is available at peacecamp2012.com
Find your next FABHoliday idea with FABTHINGS2do.
Showing posts with label London Olympics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label London Olympics. Show all posts
Thursday, 19 July 2012
Monday, 26 March 2012
Everest Olympic medal pledge set to be honoured
In 1922 a group of explorers made the first serious attempt to climb Mount Everest and, despite their lack of success, their exploits were lauded all over the world - even resulting in Olympic gold medals for them all.
Now, with the London 2012 Olympics fast approaching, British adventurer Kenton Cool has promised to try to fulfil a pledge made 88 years ago to take one of the medals to the summit of Everest.
The 1922 British Everest Expedition team - led by Brig Gen Charles Bruce and Lt Col Edward Strutt - came within 500m of the summit, but failed three times to reach the top.
Despite not reaching their goal, and recording the first fatalities trying to climb the mountain, the expedition was a popular sensation.
The public could not get enough of the men who had come within striking distance of the summit.
That attention climaxed at the 1924 Winter Olympics in France when 13 members of the team - 12 British and one Australian - were honoured with medals for mountaineering. It was the first time such medals had ever been awarded.
At a ceremony in Chamonix, International Olympic Committee chairman Pierre de Coubertin, the father of the modern Olympics, spoke of the team's "absolute heroism on behalf of all of the nations of the world".
In France to collect the medals was the expedition's deputy leader, Lt Col Edward Strutt, a highly decorated officer in the Royal Scots.
As he was handed the medals, Lt Col Strutt pledged to place one on the summit of Everest.
In his memoirs Mr Coubertin recalled the moment: "There was also the moving occasion when, at the foot of Mont Blanc, the medal for mountaineering was awarded to one of the leaders of the famous Mount Everest expedition, a courageous Englishman who, defeated but not discouraged, swore to leave it next time at the top of the highest summit in the Himalayas."
But this was a promise that was never kept.....In the years that followed, other teams tried and failed to reach the top of the world. During World War II Everest was left in peace.
By the time Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the peak in 1953 the Olympic promise was all but forgotten.....Until now
Kenton Cool, who is also an Olympic torchbearer, plans to fulfil the pledge made 88 years ago.
"A friend of mine was doing some research into London 2012 when he came across the story of the pledge," said Cool, who has already climbed Everest nine times.
"When he told me about it I said straightaway: 'I have to do that'. And with the 2012 Olympics in London, I knew when I had to do it."
"Then it was a question of finding someone with a medal who would let me take such a precious family heirloom to the top."
Mr Cool is now preparing to leave for Nepal and, after a few weeks' acclimatisation, hopes to make a bid for the summit, with Dr Wakefield's medal in a special case, early in May.
If he makes it he'll not only have climbed Everest 10 times, breaking his own UK record, but he will have kept a very special promise.
Now, with the London 2012 Olympics fast approaching, British adventurer Kenton Cool has promised to try to fulfil a pledge made 88 years ago to take one of the medals to the summit of Everest.
The 1922 British Everest Expedition team - led by Brig Gen Charles Bruce and Lt Col Edward Strutt - came within 500m of the summit, but failed three times to reach the top.
Despite not reaching their goal, and recording the first fatalities trying to climb the mountain, the expedition was a popular sensation.
The public could not get enough of the men who had come within striking distance of the summit.
That attention climaxed at the 1924 Winter Olympics in France when 13 members of the team - 12 British and one Australian - were honoured with medals for mountaineering. It was the first time such medals had ever been awarded.
At a ceremony in Chamonix, International Olympic Committee chairman Pierre de Coubertin, the father of the modern Olympics, spoke of the team's "absolute heroism on behalf of all of the nations of the world".
In France to collect the medals was the expedition's deputy leader, Lt Col Edward Strutt, a highly decorated officer in the Royal Scots.
As he was handed the medals, Lt Col Strutt pledged to place one on the summit of Everest.
In his memoirs Mr Coubertin recalled the moment: "There was also the moving occasion when, at the foot of Mont Blanc, the medal for mountaineering was awarded to one of the leaders of the famous Mount Everest expedition, a courageous Englishman who, defeated but not discouraged, swore to leave it next time at the top of the highest summit in the Himalayas."
But this was a promise that was never kept.....In the years that followed, other teams tried and failed to reach the top of the world. During World War II Everest was left in peace.
By the time Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the peak in 1953 the Olympic promise was all but forgotten.....Until now
Kenton Cool, who is also an Olympic torchbearer, plans to fulfil the pledge made 88 years ago.
"A friend of mine was doing some research into London 2012 when he came across the story of the pledge," said Cool, who has already climbed Everest nine times.
"When he told me about it I said straightaway: 'I have to do that'. And with the 2012 Olympics in London, I knew when I had to do it."
"Then it was a question of finding someone with a medal who would let me take such a precious family heirloom to the top."
Mr Cool is now preparing to leave for Nepal and, after a few weeks' acclimatisation, hopes to make a bid for the summit, with Dr Wakefield's medal in a special case, early in May.
If he makes it he'll not only have climbed Everest 10 times, breaking his own UK record, but he will have kept a very special promise.
Monday, 19 March 2012
UK holiday spending to rise suggest survey
UK holiday spending is poised to rise by an average £300 this year, according to a survey by Visa Europe.
Consumers intend to spend an average £3,890 on overseas breaks in 2012, an increase of more than £300 on 2011, the study suggests.
A poll of 2,050 adults also found a proportion of respondents plan September trips abroad in order to be in the UK to enjoy the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations and the London Olympics earlier in the summer.
An analysis of cardholder spending found UK tourists spent £12.4 billion on foreign holidays last year, a 2% rise on 2010.
Visa Europe suggests accommodation is set to be the biggest expense this year, followed by travel to and from a destination. The largest proportion of in-resort holiday spending will be on eating out and drinking in bars.
The expenditure analysis rated Spain the most popular destination in 2011, with £1.8 billion spent there by UK holidaymakers, followed by France (£1.5 billion), the US (£1 billion), Italy (£560 million) and Australia (£517 million).
UK tourists spent almost £900 million on local entertainment while away and £70 million on food and drink.
Looking for the latest FABHoliday offers on a wide range of cruise holidays let FABTHINGS2do help you.
Consumers intend to spend an average £3,890 on overseas breaks in 2012, an increase of more than £300 on 2011, the study suggests.
A poll of 2,050 adults also found a proportion of respondents plan September trips abroad in order to be in the UK to enjoy the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations and the London Olympics earlier in the summer.
An analysis of cardholder spending found UK tourists spent £12.4 billion on foreign holidays last year, a 2% rise on 2010.
Visa Europe suggests accommodation is set to be the biggest expense this year, followed by travel to and from a destination. The largest proportion of in-resort holiday spending will be on eating out and drinking in bars.
The expenditure analysis rated Spain the most popular destination in 2011, with £1.8 billion spent there by UK holidaymakers, followed by France (£1.5 billion), the US (£1 billion), Italy (£560 million) and Australia (£517 million).
UK tourists spent almost £900 million on local entertainment while away and £70 million on food and drink.
Looking for the latest FABHoliday offers on a wide range of cruise holidays let FABTHINGS2do help you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)