ORKNEY CELEBRATES BIG TIME

New heights

The official height of Britain’s highest mountain has risen by a metre as a result of a new Ordnance Survey measurement. After restoration of the base of the triangulation point, a satellite positioning receiver was mounted, allowing two hours of data from the highest point of the summit to be recorded, providing a more exact measurement than was possible in 1949 when the mountain was last measured. The height of the mountain, previously recorded as 1,344m, is now 1,345m. This year is the 40th birthday of the St Magnus International Festival to be celebrated with an extended ten-day event on Orkney, from 16–26 June 2016. The celebrations include 40 new art works, some of which are public art, and birthday premieres of 40 new pieces of music featuring a range of styles and performers, including works for children, voices, solo instruments, ensembles and orchestra. It is also a time of commemoration as the festival remembers its founder, composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (Max), who died in March this year. www.stmagnusfestival.com