Stonehenge in the spotlight at Devizes event (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Stonehenge in the spotlight at Devizes event

10:42am Monday 6th July 2009

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SOME of the most weird and wonderful souvenirs featuring the Stonehenge ancient monuments will be on show in Devizes next week.

Julian Richards, star of TV’s Meet the Ancestors, is giving a talk at the town hall on behalf of Wiltshire Heritage Museum next Saturday, July 18, on the subject of Souvenirs of Stonehenge: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

It is hardly surprising that Stonehenge, the most popular tourist site in Britain outside London, is the subject of some tacky memorabilia.

Dr Richards is an inveterate collector of these ephemera and will have some on display at the museum to illustrate his talk.

Museum director David Dawson said: “His varied and eclectic collection ranges from postcards sent by visitors recording their impressions - from awe to disappointment - to souvenir china, jigsaw puzzles, toasting forks and paperweights - even Japanese phonecards.”

On display are graphics, music, moving objects, postcards, clothing, snow globes and even a stamp from the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan that shows Disney characters Mickey Mouse and Pluto at Stonehenge.

The lecture will be held at the town hall at 2.30pm on Saturday July 18. Tickets cost £10 each and are available from the museum shop or online at www.wiltshireheritage.org.uk

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