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Us teen heartthrob Taylor Lautner joins A-list Party area

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:46:13 GMT

26th January 2012 – US teen heartthrob, Taylor Lautner, today became the first celebrity of the year to join Madame Tussauds London’s A-list Party area. A brand new wax figure of the Twilight sensation was revealed standing shoulder to shoulder with co-star, British actor, Robert Pattinson – BUT the pair will only remain together until fans have selected which one should take centre stage in their very own exclusive area.

The dashing figure mirrors Lautner’s relaxed style with a jean and leather jacket combo paired with his trademark sultry expression. The figure took four months to create at a cost of £150,000. “Taylor was one of the most requested personalities in 2011 and we are delighted to welcome him to Madame Tussauds London today” commented Liz Edwards,

PR Manager at the attraction. “We wanted to do something fun to celebrate Taylor’s arrival and what better way than to try and answer the ultimate question – Taylor vs R-Pattz, who is the supreme ‘King of Hearts’? Both Taylor and Robert are hugely successful young A-list actors with loyal and very vocal fans so it will be really exciting to see the results!”

Guests will be invited to cast their vote at the attraction from today until 3rd February 2012 by visiting the dashing duo and using the simple colour coded system. Whoever is elected will be crowned the ‘King of Hearts’ and will take up sole residence to greet his fans in VIP style for the rest of the year. To mark the start of the voting, a group of Lautner and R-Pattz’s most ardent fans were invited to “meet” the pair today and to cast the first votes!

Paignton Zoo Environmental Park (Harry sets his sights on Sulawesi)

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:46:13 GMT

A Devon-based conservation charity has appointed a new field worker to its flagship project. Harry Hilser has been named as the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust’s new man in Indonesia. He will take charge of a programme working with a Critically Endangered monkey.

The Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust, based at Paignton Zoo, runs a project called Selamatkan Yaki - Save Sulawesi Macaques – on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. Harry replaces Helen Sampson, who finished her stint as Field Project Manager in December.

Harry, who grew up in Bradford-Upon-Avon, Wiltshire, recalls two influences on his choice of career. “I was raised in the countryside. My mother was very switched-on environmentally. I remember learning the names of plants and animals when we went on walks. After that, travelling in Asia during my gap year really opened my eyes to the need for more people to join the conservation effort.” He graduated in Biological Sciences from the University of Plymouth in 2007 and took a Masters in Primate Conservation at Oxford Brookes University, where he graduated first in his class, winning the Alison Jolly Prize for Conservation.

Harry aims to finalise the conservation action plan and agree it with stakeholders, complete research projects including a survey of bushmeat in village markets and a census of macaques. Away from work, he hopes to take time out to enjoy his hobbies – diving and surfing!

This little-known primate is one of the most endangered mammal species in South East Asia. In 2008 its IUCN red list status was raised from Endangered to Critically Endangered to reflect a worrying decline in numbers. The IUCN definition of Critically Endangered is a species that is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

Zoo gardeners at Paignton are a bunch of knits

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:46:13 GMT

Gardeners at Paignton Zoo Environmental Park have been caricatured in wool by a colleague. The knitted figures have been made by cleaner Sue Ball. Each one is about 10 inches tall and stuffed with kapok. So far she has completed five members of the Zoo’s gardens team. The characters are closely observed, with Paignton Zoo uniforms and badges. They also show individuals with familiar items or the tools of their trade. Bill Corner is depicted with a chainsaw and Martin Holt with cream cakes. Mike Phillips is seen checking his hair in a mirror and is dressed in shorts, which he wears all year round, regardless of the temperature. The most complicated figure is John Baxter’s, which is pushing the cleaning machine, complete with vacuum hose and sweeping brush, that he uses to sweep up litter around the 80 acre site.

Sue, from Paignton, has been knitting for 30 years but has previously only made jumpers and scarves for her children when they were small. “This is the first time I’ve made figures. I saw a pattern for a knitted Father Christmas and I thought it looked like one of my colleagues and so I was inspired!”

She started making the characters last year: “It was just something to do!” She spends about an hour and a half each evening on her hobby – one figure takes about a week. She uses 3 millimetre needles and standard double knitting wool. “It’s really quite easy. It’s a simple pattern that I’ve adapted.”

Tropical Butterfly House (Spring Comes Early)

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:46:13 GMT

It might still feel very much like Winter outside, but Spring has come early at the Tropical Butterfly House in Sheffield with the arrival of four goat kids last week! Beauty the goat gave birth to a boy and a girl, who have been named ‘Perdy’ and ‘Pongo’ after the famous 101 Dalmations couple because the pair are mostly white with black spots.

Four year old Pumpkin is the other new mum (named Pumpkin because she was born on 31^st October) and her babies have been named Curbie and Pepo. These names are inspired by the latin words for pumpkin, Cucurbita and Pepo, and were suggested by the staff at Cresswell Crags, another popular South Yorkshire attraction, who saw the news on the centre’s Facebook page.

Senior Keeper, Elisabeth Blezard, said about the new arrivals, “They are very lively and drink an amazing amount of milk when they are growing! It’s ‘all hands on deck’ for bottle feeding them around 5-6 times a day. Several of our other goats are also heavily pregnant so we are looking forward to more adorable new arrivals in the coming weeks”

In addition to Animal Encounters throughout the day with Meerkats, snakes, Prairie Dogs, the friendly Skunk, birds of prey and exotic creepy-crawlies – a special encounter will also take place daily, during which visitors will get to meet the excitable goat kids up close and maybe even get the chance to help the keepers to bottle feed them.

The Tropical Butterfly House, Wildlife and Falconry Centre is open daily and is located just 5 minutes from the M1, junction 31.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham - Best Large Tourist Attraction in The South East

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:46:13 GMT

The Historic Dockyard Chatham in Kent was awarded the highest accolade in “Large Tourist Attraction of the South East” category last night at the Tourism South East’s Regional Awards for Excellence – The Beautiful South Awards.

The annual Beautiful South Awards recognise businesses and destinations across the tourism industry for their exceptional levels of customer service and dedication to raising standards. A high number of entries to the prestigious awards led to an impressive shortlist with winners announced by hosts Tourism South East - John Williams, Chairman and Sue Saville, Managing Director.

Admiral Sir Ian Garnett KCB, Chairman of Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust said; “I was thrilled to witness The Historic Dockyard Chatham win Gold Award for the best Large Visitor Attraction of the Year. It is the whole team - whose outstanding service to our visitors - has made this possible. We fought off stiff competition and can all be very proud of what has been achieved and grateful for the wholehearted commitment of permanent and volunteer staff alike. We now go forward to compete for a place in the short list for the national awards.”

Bill Ferris OBE, Chief Executive of Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust added; “This is our reward for careful strategic investment and superb tactical marketing. We are supported by great partners, and have a team of incredibly dedicated people who add the extra sparkle that makes the real difference to visitors that come to this amazing place”.

The judges said; “The Historic Dockyard Chatham has been extremely successful and recently completed restoration works have helped see visitor numbers swell. The blend of history, education and enjoyment, with good interpretation mean they are worthy winners.”

Judge and Tourism Specialist Ken Robinson CBE FTS added; “Some heritage tourism is easy to get right and some is difficult – getting The Historic Dockyard Chatham to the standard it is today has been a difficult task. It’s such a large, diverse site with many stories to tell but working in partnerships has helped, as has excellent marketing.”