You may think that June is a long way off, but if you're thinking about attending
Rock Ness, now is the time to snap up early bird tickets for next year.
Scotland's Highland rock festival, beside Loch Ness, bills itself as the world's only rock festival with its own monster. It regularly attracts 35,000 to 45,000 fans. Tickets as well as camping places go fast.
This year, the organizers have launched an early bird, buy now - pay later, fan-friendly plan to ensure that fans have a good chance of securing tickets and don't have to shell out a bundle all in one go. For a deposit of £30, plus a booking fee, fans can ensure that they will be able to secure tickets to this very cool music festival. But you have to act before the end of September, when the early bird special ends. If you've always wanted to visit Scotland, this £30 investment may be just the stimulus you need to start planning for next summer.
Althorp House, Princess Diana's birthplace and the site of her grave, closes for the season on August 30 this year. But if you miss the summer opening there's still a chance to visit and see a very special exhibition about
Georgiana Spencer, the Duchess of Devonshire and the "Princess Diana" of her day.
Born in 1757, Georgiana grew up at Althorp and, at the young age of 17, married a much older man - the Duke of Devonshire who was an important figure at court. She was beautiful and charismatic with extravagant tastes. A fashion icon, doting mother, shrewd political operator and darling of the common people she never found happiness in love.
Sound familiar?
"Georgiana was a typical Spencer woman – strong-willed, stylish, and compassionate," Earl Spencer, Diana's brother commented. "She is certainly one of the more interesting of my ancestors – this year, when we put together an exhibition at Althorp to celebrate my family living here for 500 years, she was one of the key personalities that we built the exhibition around. She is pure Hollywood, so it's not surprising that her life has finally been made into a movie."
That movie,
The Duchess, based on a best-selling biography by Amanda Foreman, starring Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes, opens in September. In conjunction with the opening as well as the 500th anniversary of the house, Althorp will be open for a special "Georgiana" weekend on September 27 and 28.
Meanwhile, tickets for this summer's opening of Althorp are still available.
Keira Knightley in "The Duchess", Pathe/BBC Films
