I had long intended to write a post on the founder of our party as part of the Wessex Political Thinkers series. The sad news of his recent death makes a reflection upon his contribution to Wessex Regionalist thought even more timely. Alexander Thynn–then Viscount Weymouth, later Marquess of Bath–first became interested in formulating aContinueContinue reading “Wessex Political Thinkers: Alexander Thynn”
Category Archives: Tourism
History is Sunk
“My Lords, a nation gets awarded the character that it deserves. By neglecting to promote some aspect of this character, that aspect becomes increasingly insignificant within the image which other nations regard as our worth. And this might also hold true for the way future generations of our own nation come to regard what weContinueContinue reading “History is Sunk”
Love the Land, Live the Life
It would make such a great slogan for our Wessex. It is in fact already taken, as the English-language slogan of the Normandy Tourist Board. There is such a thing, based not in one of the great cities – Caen or Rouen – but in a much smaller place, Evreux. It exists despite the factContinueContinue reading “Love the Land, Live the Life”
Fighting On The Beaches
Sussex isn’t Wessex. We don’t claim it and the Saxon chronicles, read attentively, back up us on that. Nevertheless, it’s fascinating to glance east at present.At Balcombe, environmental protestors are making life difficult for Cuadrilla, the firm that wants to frack for oil and gas. It’s been well described as ‘extreme energy’, a last desperateContinueContinue reading “Fighting On The Beaches”
Trust Not
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty is a bit bogged down just now. It finds itself embroiled in an unholy row over an allegedly pro-creationist display at the new visitor centre for the Giant’s Causeway. It’s said that it came under financial pressure from Democratic Unionists in government to doContinueContinue reading “Trust Not”
A Stitch In Time
We remain firmly opposed to the wave upon wave of London overspill housing that is changing the character of our region for the worse. (And destroying in the process the very things that settlers find attractive.) That’s not to say that we think all construction workers should pack up their tools and seek a differentContinueContinue reading “A Stitch In Time”
Knowing Our Place
Alex Salmond, setting out the Scottish Government’s programme at Holyrood earlier this month, poured scorn on Tories who had described plans to promote ‘Scottish Studies’ as ‘indoctrination’. “I cannot imagine any other nation,” he said, “where teaching your own history, arts and literature in an impartial way would be dismissed in such a negative fashion.”TryContinueContinue reading “Knowing Our Place”
Must Try Harder
One of the authors of the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report, published by the World Economic Forum this week, has branded Britain an ‘appalling’ tourist destination. Though coming seventh out of 139 countries studied, poor marketing, among other factors, let the country down.Seventh place was earned largely by high standards of public health, the currentContinueContinue reading “Must Try Harder”
Fixing and Faking
“What is happening to Stonehenge does not reflect the increasing accord that is supposed to come from progress and rationality.”Christopher Chippindale, Stonehenge Complete, 1985Last month, £10 million of lottery money was awarded for the building of new visitor facilities for Stonehenge, to be sited a mile and half west at Airman’s Corner, with a transitContinueContinue reading “Fixing and Faking”
Danger: Electricity
It might seem churlish to complain that Gordon Brown has committed the necessary millions to electrify the Great Western main line from Bristol to London. After all, enough money has been spent on other parts of England, and beyond. But complain we do.Our demand, for the past 30 years, has been for a Wessex-oriented transportContinueContinue reading “Danger: Electricity”
Wessex Regionalists 