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Personal Note Archive July 2007

15th July 2007

This week it was announced that the government is set to reject a plan to close stretches of the A303 and the A344 where they pass close to Stonehenge in Wiltshire, and replace them with a tunnel costing £500 million. This could result in Stonehenge losing it's World Heritage Site status. Personally I don't feel it's a problem to have a road passing in the vicinity of the site. In Neolithic times the downland was a road, serving as a relatively clear and dry route above the lowlands. Indeed the downland routes, the North Downs Way, the South Downs Way and the Ridgeway represent the oldest roads in the country. The problem with the present roads is the route they take. The A344 cuts right across the processional way that ran to Stonehenge, and this processional way is just as much a part of the site as the standing stones. It's rather like the Mall which runs into the great circular celebratory area around the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace. The A344 is the equivalent of a future highway built straight across the route of the Mall. I wouldn't want to see Stonehenge too isolated. People meander around in the Mall when it is not being used for ceremonial occasions. It is part of the normal run of life, and Stonehenge should be the same. The present roads wouldn't have to be modified all that much to unify the Stonehenge site again, and it wouldn't cost £500 million.

Our sympathy to all those in the UK affected by flooding.

 

28th July 2007

Abbey Road Crossing

In July the National Trust celebrated its centenary. The National Trust has existed during a period when our view of history has been changing. Categories of what is important and what isn't are more flexible than they were in 1896 when the Trust purchased Alfriston Clergy House for £10. Now buildings such as Paul McCartney's childhood home in Forthlin Road, Liverpool have been preserved, although there were some in the Trust who opposed the inclusion of such properties. The Beatles themselves encouraged us to look at the world with a more open view, making zebra crossings in St John's Wood, and suburban streets in Liverpool world famous. Personally in years of historical visiting, the zebra crossing in Abbey Road has been one of my favourites. I hope you enjoy your holidays this summer, and wherever you go I hope it is important to you.