So this weekend two immaculately dressed gentlemen walked from Salisbury to Corsham. They navigated by Victorian maps and carried nineteenth century measuring equipment and a valise. They are butlers and they are staunchly polite and resolutely gentle; they traversed the county with altruistic offers of service and indispensible advice on all matters domestic.

As a conservator working on the collections of Wiltshire museums I have worked on a variety of objects dating from the bronze age onwards but it is not always the oldest items that are the most difficult to deal with. One of the more challenging objects I have had to deal with was a model of a pig from Warminster Museum. Dating from the middle of the 20th century it would once have stood in a butcher’s window.

Having recently joined the Wiltshire Archaeology Service in September, I am endeavouring to get up to speed on Wiltshire’s heritage. One site, however, that I am familiar with is Stonehenge, having previously worked at English Heritage providing archaeological advice on the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site. For those of you driving along the A344 on the western edge of the World Heritage Site, you will see a hive of activity where the new Stonehenge Visitor Centre is being built at Airman’s Corner.

As the centenary of the start of the First World War approaches in 2014 many villages and small communities are considering ways to commemorate the occasion. What better way than to erect a War Memorial in a place where, to date, there has not been one in existence...

Following the retirement of the librarian and a delay in appointing a successor, I have spent some time working in the archives of Salisbury Cathedral...

The traditional British fascination with the weather has always been a topic of conversation, especially considering the damp summer and wet and windy weather we are experiencing at the moment!