Concorde returned home to Filton exactly ten years ago
Ten years ago Concorde returned home to Filton at the end of its supersonic era. and all those years later she still has no permanent home
Boy racks up £1000 iTunes bill after playing game
A young boy from North Somerset has managed to rack up a bill of nearly £1000 after his parents left him playing a computer game on an ipad.
Army stages virtual battle
Soldiers have been taking part in a Call Of Duty-style experiment in Wiltshire
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RIAT 2013 at Fairford in pictures
Plans submitted for solar park in Wroughton
Plans for a solar park in Wroughton have been submitted to Swindon Borough Council.
Swindon Commercial Services Ltd are proposing to build it to address local renewable energy requirements within the administrative area of Swindon Borough Council.
The new facility will be located at The Science Museum at Wroughton, Swindon.
An Environmental Impact Assessment will be prepared to accompany the planning application.
An exhibition to display the initial proposals for the site was held on Saturday 26th January 2013 at the Ellendune Community Centre, Barrett Way, Wroughton.
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Seven Devon and Somerset towns to get superfast broadband
Seven rural towns and villages have been named as the first communities to benefit from the major £94 million scheme to get superfast internet.
By the end of this year, high-speed fibre optic broadband will start to become available in:
- Moretonhampstead
- Holsworthy
- Sticklepath (near Okehampton)
- Bradford on Tone
- Bishops Lydeard
- Creech St Michael
- Monkton Heathfield (near Taunton)
Construction work for Sticklepath and Bradford on Tone has started three months early.
By early 2014, 15,000 homes and businesses in these areas will benefit from the new technology.
It is estimated that about 400,000 kilometres of optical fibre will need to be laid.
The first phase of the programme will also include extending fibre broadband in Taunton and Bridgwater, most of which have already been upgraded.
– Councillor David Hall, Deputy Leader of Somerset County CouncilHigh speed fibre broadband is a key driver of economic growth and development. It has the potential to transform our rural businesses and communities, improve productivity, and enable business to access new markets while breaking down the digital divide within our communities. It will also improve and transform the delivery of public information and services.
Tractor Wifi system at Glastonbury
Glastonbury Festival-goers will be able to keep in touch this week, thanks to an unlikely piece of farm equipment. One of festival organiser Michael Eavis's tractors has been converted into a 4G wifi hotspot. It will be driven around the site at Worthy Farm during this weekend's event.
NSA whistleblower: GCHQ 'tapped fibre-optic cables'
British intelligence agency GCHQ secretly accessed fibre-optic cables carrying huge amounts of internet and communications data, according to documents released by National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden.
The agency is able to tap into and store data from the cables for up to 30 days so it can be analysed under an operation codenamed Tempora, The Guardian reported.
GCHQ would not comment on intelligence matters but insisted it was "scrupulous" in complying with the law.
The newspaper said there were two principal components to the agency's surveillance programme, called Mastering the Internet and Global Telecoms Exploitation.
It claimed the data was shared with the organisation's US counterpart the National Security Agency (NSA).
The information is the latest leak from Mr Snowden, the whistleblower responsible for a string of disclosures about US intelligence operations.
Britain’s GCHQ focusing on cyber security challenges
by Ed Campbell - UK Bureau Editor
Britain’s GCHQ intelligency agency is preparing to come out of the shadows to combat current cyber challenges.
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Rolls Royce sponsor British attempt at land speed record
British engine maker Rolls-Royce is to sponsor for the first time a bid to break a world land speed record, it was announced today.
The company is backing the Bristol-based Bloodhound project, which is focused on travelling at over 1,000mph and breaking the world land speed record.
A Rolls-Royce EJ200 jet engine will be used in conjunction with a custom designed hybrid rocket.
Next year the Bloodhound team are hoping to travel to South Africa to break the current land speed record of 763mph. They then will target the 1,000mph barrier.
Colin Smith, director of engineering and technology at Rolls-Royce, said the firm will also provide financial and technical support for the project.
"Cutting edge engineering keeps Rolls-Royce and the UK at the forefront of global business," he said.
Bloodhound supercar project receives sponsorship
Rolls-Royce has announced they are sponsoring the Bloodhound project.
The Bristol-based team are aiming to get a car to reach a landspeed record of 1,000 mph.
The company will provide financial and technical support. The engine used is one created by the company itself.
Rolls-Royce gives £1m to Bristol Aerospace Centre
Rolls-Royce will donate a million pounds to towards the establishment of the Bristol Aerospace Centre at Filton. It will also supply a number of heritage engines to the exhibition, including the Olympus 593, which powered Concorde.
It will be displayed alongside Concorde 216, the last of the super-sonic planes to fly.
Public meeting over fracking in Somerset village
A public meeting is being held tonight in Compton Martin to talk about the controversial gas drilling method 'fracking'.
The company UK Methane are looking at the Somerset village as one of two places to test drill for shale gas and coal bed methane extraction.
An opposition group says there are concerns of contamination of land and water.
