The first of our new weekly posts looking at weird and wonderful news and events from around the world.
Bigger Ben Nevis
The last time Ordnance Survey surveyors measured Ben Nevis was in 1949 when a team of seven took 20 nights to lug all their equipment up Britain’s highest mountain.
The highest trig point recently received some restoration so the OS team took the opportunity to resurvey the mountain. The kit advancements in the last 67 years means they were able to get a far more accurate reading of 1,345 metres. A whole metre taller than the original measurement. See our OS Maps of Ben Nevis.
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day
Just in case you were wondering why people were dressed in green, 17th March was St Patrick’s Day. Ireland observes a public holiday in celebration of their patron saint while tradition allows a relaxing of lent restrictions on food and alcohol. Celebrations are not limited to Ireland as many places with large communities of Irish descendents also hold St Patrick’s Day events. London held its annual St Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival in Trafalgar Square last Sunday while New York and Boston hold their parades this Sunday. Even the fountain outside the White House is dyed green to observe this holiday. Check out our guides to Ireland.
Canberra Balloon Spectacular
This Australian hot air balloon festival takes place this week as it celebrates its 30th anniversary. Held over nine days until March 20th, this event is listed as one of the top four hot air balloons in the world. So far a few days have been flightless due to windy weather conditions. For more details see BalloonSpectacular.com.au
Frozen Dead Guy Days, Colorado
A strong contender for weirdest festival in the world has just taken place in the small town of Nederland, Colorado. Frozen Dead Guy Days’ events include a coffin race and a polar plunge. This festival is in honour of Granpa Bredo who died in Norway of a heart condition in 1989, was packed in dry ice to cross the Atlantic to a Trans Time cryonics facility in Oakland, placed in liquid nitrogen before being sent to Colorado where it just gets weirder. The weirdest part is that this festival has been going strong for 14 years. Want to go next year? Learn more at Frozendeadguydays.org
2016 World Photograph Awards
The winners and runners up of the World Photography Awards have been announced. Working across 61 countries with 10 open categories, an expert panel of judges had the task of choosing the winners who will receive the latest Sony digital imaging qquiptment and will have their picture exhibited in the Somerset House exhibition from 22nd April -8th May in London. You can see the winners here.
Earth Hour
Saturday 19th March, 8:30-9:30 is Earth Hour. To draw attention to climate change, people around the world are encouraged to switch off their lights for an hour. So far over 300 landmarks including the Empire State Building and the Sydney Opera House will be going dark for the hour. For more details see Worldwildlife.org
The London Transport Museum Depot Open Weekend announced
The London Transport Museum has announced the open weekend for its depot will be 23rd-24th April. The Museum Depot in Acton, West London houses around 400,000 objects including vintage signs, ticket machines and rare vehicles and is only open to the public two weekends each year. The museum will also celebrate the centenary of the Johnston font that was designed especially for The Underground Group by Edward Johnston. The weekend’s events will include calligraphy workshops, talks and demonstrations of a giant printer that is powered by a vintage steam roller. Tickets are available at ltmuseum.co.uk.
Do you know of anything weird or wonderful happening around the world? Let us know about it at @StanfordsTravel.