APRIL marks the 80th anniversary of Exercise Smash at Studland, a dress rehearsal for the D-Day landings, which took place at Studland Bay, and many other points along the south west coast, in 1944. The event will be marked with a series of commemoration events on 3rd, 4th and 5th April, including a display of…
JAPAN is famous for its cherry blossom season, when people flock to admire the ethereal and transitory beauty of the trees in full bloom. This spring, the National Trust team at Mompesson House in Salisbury’s Cathedral Close is launching a Festival of Blossom, with a trail around the Close until 4th June. You can pick…
ARE you and your children looking for fun and adventure this Easter? Dorset Museum & Art Gallery in Dorchester has a choice of activities and exhibitions for all tastes, including a chance for youngsters to dress up as birds (pictured). As well as the brilliant exhibition of Elisabeth Frink’s work and life, on until 21st…
HUMAN rights and peace activist Zohar Lavie brings her first-hand experience of working for justice and peace to the next Help Our Planet (HOP) talk at Sladers Yard contemporary art and craft gallery, West Bay, on Thursday 4th April at 7pm. The devastating suffering and violence we are witnessing in Gaza, the West Bank and…
IT has been impossible to ignore the story of the Post Office and the sub-postmasters, with the powerful ITV drama series and constant media reports of the hearings and the latest uncovering of lives ruined in one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in English legal history. But to hear the story first hand is…
AS part of the Museum of Somerset’s Spotlight Loan programme, from 23rd March to 2nd June 2024, the Tate Gallery is lending The Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum (1822) by John Martin. It is a vast and vividly colourful work which caused a public sensation when it was first shown. It also has an important…
SALISURY Cathedral’s skilled team of glaziers and glass conservators have removed a 145-year-old Pre-Raphaelite stained glass window by Sir Edward Burne-Jones and designer and craftsman William Morris for a restoration programme expected to take about two years. The window features two huge figurative designs – Angeli Ministrantes (Angels Ministering) and Angeli Laudantes (Angels Praising) by…
FOR the first time in 500 years, a new altar has been consecrated in Salisbury Cathedral nave – around 20 years since the decision was a taken to re-order the Cathedral. It is located at the spire crossing, and a second new altar, also by sculptor William Pye, has been consecrated in the Trinity chapel. Both were…
THE National Trust’s Kingston Lacy house near Wimborne will save 30,000 litres of oil a year following a switch to a ground source heat pump. The project is part of the Trust’s renewable energy work to reach net zero by 2030. It is one of the Trust’s biggest heat pump projects to date, and the…
LEARN about opportunities to volunteer with the National Trust properties in West Dorset and at the charity’s famous Stourhead House and Gardens in Wiltshire at some upcoming recruitment days. In West Dorset, would-be volunteers can find out more at a volunteer day on Saturday 24th February, from 10am – 4pm, in Stourton Memorial Hall. Roles…