Bullsh.. baffles brains......No it doesn't!

A story came up in many of Friday's newspapers and Sarah Knapton, science editor for the Daily Telegraph, has this headline:
"STONEHENGE TUNNEL COULD WRECK ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE!"
Messers (Sic) Darvill, Jacques and Rhind Tutt have chosen this time to announce the discovery of one the earliest settlements close to Stonehenge - at a place called Blick Mead and say the Mesolithic camp could be destroyed if the A303 is buried into a tunnel.   The encampment apparently dates from around 4,000BC and it is thought the site was originally occupied by hunter gatherers returning to Britain after the Ice Age......well.....you know what thought did.....planted a feather and thought it would grow a hen!!  
These archaeologists have found flint at Blick Mead (found all over South Wiltshire, incidentally) and apparently, other signs of occupation on the site.   Quite frankly, the finding of arty facts of any kind is not new and will continue to be found all over Britain till Hell freezes over.   But I suppose it keeps them in a job and pays the mortgage!
Comments by the thousand have been written since the PM's announcement on 1st December, that the A303 is to "go under ground", past the World Heritage Site of Stonehenge or WHS, most of which, express the procedure to be detrimental to the archaeology in the area and history of England.  Actually, anything that happened yesterday - is history.   Are we therefore saying, that building the town of Amesbury, the new and continuing development at Solstice Park and the building of the Holiday Inn, did not throw up arty facts of any kind??  I've heard very few complaints about archaeology disturbance from anyone on that front.  With regard to disturbance of archaeology in the area, it would be pertinent to assume that the Geologists and Archaeologists who will design said tunnel, will have the necessary X-ray equipment to understand where this or that bone is to be found.   We really need to get this right in our minds, the construction will be a
"Long DEEP Bore Tunnel" i.e. well under ground maybe even 40 meters, not just simply "a digger" type construction at upper level.   If one Google's "Tunnel Boring Machine" or TBM - Wikipedia comes up with an easy to understand explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunnel_boring_machine  It says: TBMs have the advantages of limiting the disturbance to the surrounding ground and producing a smooth tunnel wall. This significantly reduces the cost of lining the tunnel, and makes them suitable to use in heavily urbanised areas.   There is also an explanation of this method of tunnelling, weighing up the cost of using these machines against the cost of drill and blast and says cost is lower due to the efficiency of this method coupled with making the project shorter.   Here is the diagram of tunnelling under Fraser River, British Columbia, Canada.

The average deceased is buried 6 - 10 feet underground and even Neolithic man would not have had the where with all or tools to bury their dead or arty facts below this level.
Therefore, why on earth would we allow a "new find" to prevent progress in getting the A303 moving, the economy evolving and the reduction of "rat running" through local villages.  
And for the "anti tunnel" brigade.....if it's what's on the table, lets have some of it and get the job done!!!   Too much money and time has been wasted!

I draw your attention to a well known song:
"There was I a-diggin'-this-'ole"
and we all know the tune.....after three.......

 There I was, a-digging this hole
A hole in the ground, so big and sort of round it was
There was I, digging it deep
It was flat at at the bottom and the sides were steep
When along, comes this bloke in a bowler which he lifted and scratched his head
Well we looked down the hole, poor demented soul and he said
Do you mind if I make a suggestion?
Don't dig there, dig it elsewhere
Your digging it round and it ought to be square
The shape of it's wrong, it's much too long
And you can't put hole where a hole don't belong
I ask, what a liberty eh
Nearly bashed him right in the bowler
Well there was I, stood in me hole
Shovelling earth for all I was worth
There was him, standing up there
So grand and official with his nose in the air
So I gave him a look sort of sideways and I leaned on my shovel and sighed
Well I lit me a fag and having took a drag I replied
I just couldn't bear, to dig it elsewhere
I'm digging it round co's I don't want it square
And if you disagree it doesn't bother me
That's the place where the holes gonna be
Well there we were, discussing this hole
A hole in the ground so big and sort of round it was
Well it's not there now, the ground's all flat
And beneath it is the bloke in the bowler hat
And that's that

Winter Solstice at Stonehenge - stuff you need to know......

 

 

 

Wiltshire Council

Section 14(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984

Various Temporary Traffic Restrictions: Stonehenge Winter Solstice 2014

(Ref:TTRO 3655)
Notice is hereby given that the Wiltshire Council has made Orders to:
Temporarily close to vehicles:

(a) Byway 10 (Part), Durrington; from its junction with Fargo Road to its junction with Byway
12, Amesbury / A344.

(b) Byway 12 (Part), Amesbury; from its junction with Byway 10, Durrington / A344 to its

junction with A303 (T).

And to temporarily close to all vehicles, Pedestrians and Equestrians:

(c) Byway 12 (Part), Amesbury; from its junction with A303 (T) in a southerly direction for a

distance of approximately 500 metres to its junction with Byway 1, Wilsford cum Lake.

(d) Byway 11 (Part), Amesbury; from its junction with A303 (T) in a southerly direction for a

distance of approximately 500 metres.

And to introduce a temporary No Waiting at Any Time restriction on the following lengths of

road:

(e) A360 (Part) Winterbourne Stoke; from its junction with A303 Longbarrow Roundabout to

its junction with A344 (Airman’s Corner).

(f) A360 (Part) Winterbourne Stoke; from its junction with A344 (Airman’s Corner) in a

westerly direction towards Shrewton for a distance of approximately 1 kilometre.

(g) B3086 (Part) Winterbourne Stoke / Shrewton; from its junction with A360 / A344

(Airman’s Corner) in a northerly direction to its junction with The Packway (Rollestone
Crossroads).
These Orders are made to ensure public safety during the period of the Stonehenge
Winter Solstice.
Sections (a)and (b) will come into operation on at 17:00 Sunday 21st

December 2014 and will remain in force until 12 noon on Monday

22nd 

 December 2014. Sections (c) and (d) will

come into operation at 00:01 on Thursday 18th

December 2014 and will remain in force until

00:01 on Tuesday 23rd

December 2014. Sections (e), (f) and (g) will come into operation at

06:00 on Sunday 21st

December 2014 and will remain in force until 12 noon on Monday 22nd

December 2014. Entry to the sections of byway indicated by (a) to (d) will be conditional
upon permits to be issued by English Heritage. The Orders for sections (a) – (d) will have a
maximum duration of six months. The Order for sections (e) – (g) will have a maximum
duration of 18 months.

For further information please contact Simon Rowe (Wiltshire Council) on 0300 456 100.

or
www.english-heritage.org.uk

More information from :
SPECIAL shuttle buses will be taking people to Stonehenge this year to mark the Winter Solstice.
Salisbury Reds is running its 333 service between 6am and 7.25am from Salisbury New Canal on Monday (December 22) with buses returning from Stonehenge between 8.10am and 8.30am.
The service will also stop at Salisbury Railway Station and Salisbury Street in Amesbury.
“Buses will leave Salisbury from early on Monday morning, to give customers plenty of time to reach the stones and mark the Winter Solstice in their own way,” said Salisbury Reds communications manager, Nikki Honer.
“We already work closely with English Heritage at Stonehenge - providing buses to the location for those wishing to leave their cars behind - but this is a very special occasion.“The aim is to make it as easy as possible for people to come and take in the magical atmosphere here early on Monday morning.”
Tickets cost £10 for an adult return. These can also be used to travel back to Salisbury on the official tour bus for those wishing to leave the site later on. Child tickets (between 5 and 14 years) cost £5 return.

For more information about the shuttle service and its timetable visit www.salisburyreds.co.uk

A303 The Story of this beleaguered road from 1958 > present day......

John Glen MP for Salisbury has just posted this statement on his web page: johnglenmp.com from Monday's announcement to fix the A303.....make a cup of tea and read it here:
http://johnglenmp.com/media-comment/historic-victory-as-2bn-pledged-for-a303/

John came to visit STAG in October 2013 to offer his support as soon as his diary would allow, and that support has never faulted in the 14 months since STAG was established, recognising that we are a campaign in our own right.....On the other hand, a number of the Councillors within Amesbury Area Board (AAB) have so far failed to take us seriously.......take note AAB.......we and our team members have worked tirelessly to reach this milestone announcement by the government on 1st December.   This is borne out from John Glen's recent statement which can be read from the link above and the following are dates where John has mentioned STAG in the statement:
10th October 2013 - JG mentions STAG in Business Questions in the House
4th March 2014 - JG mentions STAG in 90 minuted debate in the House 
9th July 2014 - JG presents a 2000 signature petition to the House
He has continued support us throughout 2014 either by presence or e-mail up to the announcement last Monday.
A campaign such as this, cannot be run for free, tho' all our team members give up their time voluntarily.   As its Founder, I wanted to take the campaign to another level.   With a view to saving further money on flyers - some 6000 having been funded by ourselves.....and I may say, a 2500 return is a pretty good result, along with posters, hi viz jackets and other types of banner......!   I sought the permission of local farmers, to use their fences to attach some large banners for the travelling public to see that there is such a campaign running.   I then scoured the wiltshire.gov.uk website and found out how one goes about raising some cash, £400 or less would be enough for the banners and to carry the campaign on to the next level.....here's what it says:
Funding
If you are a community enthusiast, community or voluntary group or town or parish council looking to fund a community project in Wiltshire during 2013/2014, then you may be eligible for a community area grant.
In the correct manner, an application to Wiltshire Council's Area Board was submitted for consideration at the AAB meeting on 2nd October, when it was duly voted on by the attending Councillors.  It's unfortunate that some of those Councillors saw fit to vote against, providing any money preferring to finance - a Christmas lunch to the tune of £500!!!
They could even be forgiven for thinking.....JOB DONE! following this week's announcement.   Although the Conservative Government have tied things up so that consecutive governments cannot unravel it......we all know that another government getting in next May or for that matter May 2020 the whole thing could still be upended.   Supposing everything goes ahead as this government intends, we still have the activists who are against tunnelling, widening the road and those against the use of  any kind of petrol/diesel motorised vehicle.    This campaign needs to continue as there is much to be done, because the work to dual/tunnel the A303 will be a long time to commencement.

The Pagans & Druids have it.....

So now the comments are pouring into various areas of the media from the Pagan and Druid world - usually in the negative - especially the ones who do not live in the area around Stonehenge but come here to worship - sometimes.   Some of the comment, is in fact quite vociferous in nature, and I thought these folks were supposed to be grounded and calm????.....Poor Ruthie has really gotten wound up over the course of half an hour, posting up on our sister blog 3 times - what was she on we wonder???    Ruthie Moongypsy Wordley:"The bullshit is the mindless morans even thinking bout a tunnel under stonehenge !! have some respect for our heritage, ancestors and magical energy flow of the site, leave it alone !!!   And Ruthie goes on to say: "Yes an ancient Pagan site that has magical energy flow that will be deeply disturbed by a tunnel !! what fxxg idiot even came up with such a stupid idea ??? and further: "Itl be cursed i can tell u that now !!"
However, not all Druids are so closed minded and I would ask you to read a comment from Frank Somers in the Guardian.....Frank is a Druid from Amesbury, much of what he has to say is very relevant http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/dec/02/druid-welcome-tunnel-stonehenge-sensitive
Frank is obviously one Druid who is grounded and calm!!
 

amJGMP/NCDPM/pmPMDC/JGMP!

Re arrange this title into a well known gaggle of politicians...
Answers on a P.C. please to: No10 Downing Street, London SW1A 2AA!!

Thank you to Faye at Spire FM for her story http://www.spirefm.co.uk/news/local-news/1466031/tunnel-to-be-built-past-stonehenge/  and allowing me to have the last word......

Janice Hassett is from the Stonehenge Traffic Action Group says this is a real drive forward: "The package must be tied up so tightly that no successive Government, be it next May or in 2020, can unravel this. We desperately need this road fixed. If it has to be a tunnel, it has to be a tunnel, but whatever's on the table, we'll have it."

Up with the lark for a Monday morning.....Watch Bustard  and wife are off to Stonehenge Visitor's Centre for the big announcement by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, that the A303 is to be upgraded and proving that all our hard work over the past 30 years and for us - 14 months..... has not been in vein!!
Janice Hassett....i.e. me....Founder of STAG
Stonehenge Traffic Action Group, has to be there for 07.30 with the face all made up and ready for interviews with :
BBC Wiltshire's Ben Prater, Spire FM's Faye, Alex Rennie from Salisbury Journal, BBC Solant and also BBC South Today with Paul Clifton.....thanks to all for the coverage!   Of course we are aware we were not the real reason for your attendance today and it may have had something to do with some photo opportunities for politicians?   Note, in this photo....Ben's way of getting up close and personal during interview....no problem for John Glen MP at his height but a bit disconcerting if you happen to be 4ft 11ins like me. Talk about "in your face"!

Transport Correspondent for BBC South Today Paul Clifton also allowed us some good coverage on the telly, with a view of our message on the back of the Hi Viz Vest's we were wearing...brilliant!
Of course Stonehenge Alliance had also to be interviewed "providing a balanced report"....John Glen having the only extra set of head phones is able to listen to the interview between Ben and Kate Fielding, while the rest of us can't hear a thing......the expression on his face is a picture, at her responses.....rolling of the eyes and the disbelief at what she had to say......suggestions of a longer tunnel adding a further £320m to the cost, road user charge for non local traffic, put a toll on the tunnel to help pay for it, and of course there were the useless facts that today was the anniversary of the Channel Tunnel breaking through!!!

On another planet me thinks...... Here's a comment from one Paul Timlett who has listened to the piece:  

"Ha!  Yes Ben Prater's response was a cracker. His dramatic pause said it all. He then referenced the fact that John was shaking his head. John then got stuck in - great radio."

 

And the response to my challenge that the lads should cycle to Plymouth and back in a day, therefore using our bikes more,as Kate suggested previously:

From Andy Shuttleworth (General Disquiet):  "Much as I like a challenge, that is verging on suicidal.  However, I would encourage Kate Fielding to try - hopefully she would make it over the Wiltshire border before meeting her demise…"

So! that was the morning of 1st December and now for the afternoon......

A visit by no less than :

The PM Himself.....Mr David Cameron!    His entourage of 4 cars, took him straight down the now closed A344 flouting the SUO perhaps??   Well.....he is the Prime Minister - obviously wanted to knock Stonehenge off his bucket list just like the President did in October!

So there we were - the STAG team,  standing about in the freezing cold awaiting his return and all we get is Tilly Flop otherwise known as Fleur de Rhe Philipe from Wiltshire Council and of course, Uncle Simon CE of EH.....usually around for a photo opportunity!

John Glen's secretary, Laura came out to let us know that our hi viz jackets had caused a stir with the PM's security guys and they wanted to arresicate us for instergatering a possible riot......who me? little me!!!!?   We did wonder why the men in suits and wired for sound were getting a bit too close for comfort......

But apparently John Glen MP put them right saying we were on the governement's side in all that went on today.....thank you
johnglenmp.com, you may have saved me from spending time at Her Majesty's pleasure!!!

Anyway, we didn't get to see the PM 'cos he was whisked away

up the A360 and......yes onto the A303 to London!!!

As an extra aside for all those who have negative, uninformed ideas about todays announcement, please take a look at our sister blog: 

http://bypasswinterbournestoke.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/banish-bypass-bullshit.html

We're still collecting signatures on our web page at: www.sh2.co.uk