A suggestion for the trustees

Following my thoughts about Clandon at reference 1, I am now able to offer the following suggestion to the trustees.

One. Do a deal with the insurers, taking 90% of what they would have got for a rebuild against a release from having actually having to do the rebuild.

Two. Flog the land to a golf hotel developer for loads of wedge. And a guarantee to keep at least 100 rare breed sheep grazing somewhere on the land.

Three. Buy up a few thousand acres of down load,  perhaps somewhere on Marlborough Downs.

Four. Build a Stonehenge theme park.

The general idea would be to exhibit Stonehenge through the ages. So suppose for a moment that the active life of Stonehenge was 3,500 years. We then chop that period into seven phases of 500 years each. Take the Stonehenge as it was at the end of each of those periods. Then on a seven year cycle, focus the theme park on each of those Stonehenges in turn. One thought being that all this change ought to pull the revisit rate right up.

Divide each year into three terms: the lunar term, the solar term and the mistletoe term. The first in recognition of the time when the world was organised around the moon and the women. The second in recognition of a world which had been taken over by the sun and the men. The third in recognition of the move to symbols, an important way station on the way to writing. The three epochs spanned by the seven phases. Notice that three into seven does not go, important in keeping a bit of interest up.

During the lunar term, roughly December through to March, the park would be closed for reorganisation. A busy time for the trustees.

During the solar term, the park would be open in reconstruction mode. The public - a mixture of the sort of people who love heritage and those who love steam engines - would be able to come and watch, for example, large stones being erected without the use of iron (let alone steel) implements. For an extra charge they could play stone age themselves and live for a day off of mouldy porridge. Perhaps also helping to make ropes out of reeds, or perhaps the fibrous stems of the Indian hemp plants (aka cannabis indica), known to have been involved at the time. Ropes which would thus be the remote ancestors of the hempen ropes which rigged the ships which smashed the dagos which cruised around trafalgar. Another heritage angle to be played when all else failed.

Then during the mistletoe term, the Stonehenge of the phase in question would bask in all its glory. The public would just come and see it as it was, or at least as it had been reconstructed. To add a bit of interest, there would be resting luvvies (the real trustees being mostly stood down for their holidays during this term) laying on ceremonies, wearing sheets and all that sort of thing. There might be more exotic extras laid on at night, especially at times of lunar or astrological interest.

Privatisation would probably be the best way forward, with the p-word getting the ready & royal assent for the whole project from Cameron and his friends. Sub the whole thing out to Merlin Entertainments, the people who bring us the Chessington World of Adventures. See reference 2.

Reference 1: http://psmv2.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/clandon-redux.html.

Reference 2: http://www.merlinentertainments.biz/.