Blogs

The woolly mammoth is an extinct species of mammoth that lived during the Ice Age. Of all the prehistoric animals the appearance and behaviour of this species are among the best studied. This is due to the discovery of frozen carcasses in Siberia and Alaska, as well as skeletons, teeth and stomach contents. There are also depictions of the woolly mammoth from life in prehistoric cave paintings. The woolly mammoth was well adapted to living in the cold environment experienced during the last ice age.

The Manx Hedgehog Conservation Society (MHCS) is asking that people help provide food and water for hedgehogs. This comes after a period of sustained hot and dry conditions on the Isle of Man (Mannin). On the Society facebook page they say: "HEDGEHOGS NEED FOOD AND WATER !!!!

Prehistoric rock art is more commonly known as cup and ring markings. There are about 2,400 prehistoric carved rocks known in Scotland, such as those at Drumtroddan, and it is likely many more have yet to be discovered and recorded. Little is understood about why they were made or what they meant to the people that carved them. They date back over 5,000 years, and were created by the people that lived in the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age.

Gwrych Castle is a Grade I listed 19th-century country house near Abergele in Conwy County Borough (Welsh: Bwrdeistref Sirol Conwy), in the north of Wales. The castle was built between 1810 and 1822. During World War Two, it housed 200 Jewish refugee children as part of Operation Kindertransport. The house had been open to the public until 1985, but after being closed it went into decline. It was bought in 1989 by an American businessman but plans to renovate the building didn't progress. The castle was looted, vandalised and reduced to a derelict shell.

On 6th June 2018 Queensferry Crossing was named as "Project of the Decade" at the Ground Engineering (GE) award ceremony. The bridge opened on 30 August 2017 and was formally opened on 4 September 2017. It one of ten projects shortlisted in a special category to mark the GE Award’s 10th anniversary.

You have a right in law to declare Cornish as your National Identity!

On 4th June, 2018, Steve Double MP for St Austell & Newquay said in a letter written to the Grand Bard of Gorseth Kernow, Dr. Merv Davey:

“The Cornish identity and language are indeed distinct from other identities and languages in the UK, and I am glad that the Council of Europe paved the way towards proper recognition of Cornish cultural identity and linguistic distinctiveness.

The National Library of Scotland (Leabharlann Nàiseanta na h-Alba) has the largest collection of Scottish Gaelic manuscripts in the world from a period between the 14th and 18th century. Now these early Gaelic manuscripts have been recognised for their historical and linguistic significance and are being inscribed in the Unesco Memory of the World Register, which highlights archive and library items of outstanding historical value.

This unique publication was recently launched at the Masonic Hall in Peel as part of a weekend of workshops organised by Island based Ellan Vannin Pipes and Drums.

Entertainment during the evening was provided by members of the Ellan Vannin Pipe Band, visiting piper Finlay MacDonald and Island based Scottish guitarist Malcolm Stitt.

Produced by Culture Vannin, Piob Vooar - Manx Music for Bagpipes, features thirty local songs and tunes and is seen as a useful addition to the repertoire of both solo pipers and pipe-bands.

The last races of the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy (TT) 2018 were completed today. Results of the races can be viewed on the Isle of Man TT website.  From the date the qualifying rounds commenced on 26th May until the races ended on 8th June, the island has enjoyed brilliant dry and sunny conditions. This has allowed for some of the fastest times ever recorded in one of the world's greatest motorsport events. The International Isle of Man TT Race was first held on the Island in 1907.

Great Blasket (An Blascaod Mór in Irish) is the principal island of the Blaskets, County Kerry, Ireland (Na Blascaodaí, Contae Chiarraí, Éire). The islands were inhabited until 1953 by a completely Irish-speaking population, and are part of the Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking region in Ireland). The inhabitants were evacuated by the government to the mainland of Ireland on 17 November 1953.