British Government increases Air Passenger Duty

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, announced rises in yesterday's pre-Budget report that will add £15 in tax to a flight to Australia from November 2009 and £45 from November 2010.

He also announced the creation of a new four-band APD system, instead of the current two bands, from November 2009:

• Bands A and B will cover Europe
  
• Band B will extend 4,000 miles to destinations such as Egypt, Bahrain, the Gambia and the US
  
• Band C will take in the Caribbean
  
• Band will cover Australia and New Zealand
  

The standard rate of APD will rise by £1 to £11 but band B will rise £5 to £45, band C will be £50 and band D £55 from November 2009. These will be followed by further rises in November 2010.

Source: Travel Weekly

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British Government increases Air Passenger Duty

Anglo Zulu War Talks by Rob Caskie, June 2009

The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust is delighted that Rob Caskie will give a series of lectures in June 2009. These will be hosted by a number of key supporters of the Trust at the various venues throughout England and Scotland.

The full list of venues can be found here

Hosts for each talk will choose which lecture they wish to hear, the Battle of Isandlwana or Rorke’s Drift. The first lecture contains a mesmerising account of the Battle of Isandlwana.  It was beneath this strange Sphinx-shaped mountain that a British force of nearly 1800 men were surrounded by 25000 Zulu warriors on 22^nd January 1879. In little more than 2 hours, more than 1300 men on the British side lay dead. 

 

The second lecture vividly explains how a large force of Zulu warriors  chose then to run on from Isandlwana to attack the mission station at Rorke’s Drift.  It was an epic of human struggle and a triumph of the human spirit, immortalised in the classic movie ‘Zulu’.   

 

David Rattray was acknowledged by many in Britain as the finest public speaker and storyteller of his age in the world.   His stories were not tales about conflict, but rather stories about compassion and with his unequalled knowledge of the Zulu War, David enthralled audiences all over the world.  

 

Rob Caskie worked alongside David Rattray for 6 years before David’s tragic death in January 2007.  Now the principal lecturer at Fugitives’ Drift Lodge, Rob continues to share these dramas with the passion, emotion and vigour instilled in him by David. 

All the information about the talks can be found here

Anglo Zulu War Talks by Rob Caskie, June 2009

New video added to our YouTube account

New video added to our YouTube account

The Oberammergau Passion Play

Oberammergau is a small town in Bavaria. For most of the time, it is no different to other towns in the area but once every 10 years for a few summer months, hundreds of thousands of visitors descend on the town. Theses visitors come to Oberammergau to witness the Oberammergau Passion Play. This play has been performed by inhabitants of the town since 1634.

In 1632 as bubonic plague swept Europe, the town vowed that if God were to spare them from the effects of the plague, they would perform a play every 10 years depicting the life and death of Jesus. Between March and July 1633, the death rate dropped dramatically so believing that God had spared them, they kept their part of the vow and have performed the play ever since although it has since changed so that it is performed when the year ends in ‘0’. The last performance was in 2000 and the next performances will be in the summer of 2010.

The Oberammergau Passion Play involves of 2,000 actors, singers, instrumentalists and technicians, all of whom are residents of the town and the surrounding area to maintain the tradition of the vow their ancestors too over 350 years ago.

The performances in 2010 are expected to attract around 500,000 visitors as the play runs from May to September. Each performance starts at around 2:30pm and lasts until 10:30pm although there is a break for dinner at around 5pm.

Demand for tickets is always high and if you would like to find out more information about organised trips to Oberammergau, please visit http://www.oberammergauexplorer.co.uk/

The Oberammergau Passion Play