Sunday 27 May 2012

Sunday Times Where Was I? Holiday Competition


Quite tricky this week, near as I can figure it, the most likely answers are:

Q1. Waternish Point Lighthouse

Q2. MacLeod's Table North (Healabhal Mhor)

(NB for question one, this is called Vaternish point in some texts, so there may be several ways of spelling the name of the lighthouse)

The initial clues place us near the tip of Trotternish peninsula, on Skye, at Kilmuir
graveyard, where a good ol' Jacobite rebel (gawrd bless 'er, the Eastender Himself has
been declared attainted Jacobite due to the late unpleasantness c 1715 when one of his
ancestors took a pot shot at the Hanoverian's dragoons) Flora MacDonald (b 1722) is
allegedly buried.

Flora MacDonald is recorded as being the woman who helped Bonnie Prince
Charlie escape from the forces of the crown, disguised as an Irish maid, Betty Burke. For
her trouble she was thrown into jail but was released under the act of indemnity c1747.

The author has upped his game this week, because there appear to be two places called
Kilmuir on the island, one at the tip of the Trotternish and one near Dunvegan, (if you
just do a quick search and pick the one at Dunvegan, you will get the location wrong and
the directions won't match up).

Following the road south from Kilmuir graveyard, with the sea in sight to your west, you
come to the southern extremity of Loch Snizort Beag. Traveling northwest from there takes
you along the western shore of Loch Snizort Beag and the road then turns west. The first
lighthouse from the clues given, is most likely to be Waternish point lighthouse, there
is a junction off the A850, where a road goes north into the Waternish peninsula, to a place called Trumpan. At this point you have to leave the car and walk a trail (which looks to be approx three to four miles to the tip of the peninsula) to reach a lighthouse called Waternish point lighthouse. It is roughly nine miles west south west of Flora MacDonald's grave at Kilmuir.

Heading south, then west from the junction brings us to Dunvegan. Dunvegan Castle is the
seat of the the MacLeod clan, motto 'Hold Fast'. Going south then northwest out of
Dunvegan should bring you within sight, if you are looking to the south, of Macleod's tables, two flat
topped mountains. There is the northern one Healabhal Mhor (1538ft approx) and the
southern one Healabhal Bheag (1604 ft approx).

The Eastender Himself has climbed the northern one (and met a mad Icelander called Siggy and his missus, they were the only other people crazy enough to venture up there). The second lighthouse is most likely to be Neist point, it is in the right location and was built in 1909 (62ft in height).

Sunday 20 May 2012

Observer Viewfinder Competition

Pretty sure the name of the city they are looking for is Townsville, Queensland in Australia.

Julian Assange has blond hair and is from Townsville (picture 1)

There is  a magnetic island just off the coast from the town which reputedly affected captain Cook's ship's compass, when he explored the region (picture 2)

There is a large castle shaped rock which towers over the town and the football team are called the
North Queensland Toyota Cowboys (picture 3)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/gallery/2012/may/20/viewfinder-competition-win-hotel-voucher#/?picture=390296375&index=0

Sunday Times Where Was I? Holiday Competition

Looks like the Sunday Times have finally gotten their programmer out of bed to put the entry form and questions in now. Near as I can figure it, the most likely answers are:

Q1. Pershore Station, or a Liverish Journey First Class

Q2. Odda's Chapel


The initial clues place us in Pershore, the poem is by John Betjeman  and is called
'Pershore Station, or a Liverish Journey First Class'.The saucemaker was most likely to be Mr William Henry Perrins (b 1793), who together with Mr John Wheeley Lea, started producing Lea and Perrin's Worcester sauce, from a chemist  shop in Broad Street in Worcester (c 1837).The Lea and Perrin's factory is now in Midland street, Worcester.

William Henry Perrins originally entered into a partnership as a chemists and druggist with his
brother James. Their business was initially based in Evesham and this is where the next
set of clues take us to (Evesham is around seven miles east south east of
Pershore). The battlefield is most likely the site of the battle of Evesham (c 4th August
1265) where the 6th earl of Leicester, Simon de Montfort (third son of the 5th earl of
Leicester, also Simon de Montfort) was killed. De Montfort was buried at Evesham abbey
until 'enry the eighth demolished it in the sixteenth century. Evesham abbey was founded
by Saint Egwin (feast day 30th December). I think the two churches are most likely to be
'All Saints' (active) and 'St.Lawrence's' (redundant).


Travelling around 13 miles south west of Evesham, takes us to the Tewkesbury area and
there is a saxon chapel near there, at Deerhurst, that most likely fits the description given by
the author. This is Odda's chapel, built c 1056 by Earl Odda who may or may not have been a son of
Ælfhere and according to the blurb on the English Heritage site, it was indeed subsumed
into a farmhouse and rediscovered in 1865 by a reverend George Butterworth.

The second riverside town is likely to be Gloucester, there is an Inn, which is said to
be in Gloucester, called 'The Bell' in a novel called 'Tom Jones' which also features a
character called Mr Allworthy.

The abbey church in the third town is likely to be Pershore abbey church. From the
records, it looks like a guy called Edgar the Peacable gave the abbey a charter c AD 972 and a large amount of lands (The danes had been over previously and trashed a church there c AD
958 while attending an unauthorized rave). A 10th century saint whose bones/relics are reputed to be buried there is St Edburga of Winchester, feast day 15th June

Download and read the Eastender's gold trading ebook before the commercial real estate bomb goes off in the USA and the French banks get nationalised. Events like these are very likely to trigger QE3 and QE4 which will put the gold price up and decrease the value and purchasing power of your paper money and savings....prepare now and arrange things so that you profit and surthrive, not suffer from what the mad money printers are doing......


 How to Trade and Test Physical Gold

Sunday 13 May 2012

Observer Viewfinder Competition

Think the name of the city they are looking for this week is Rosario, In Argentina.

NOB stands for Newell's Old Boys, a football club based in Rosario (picture 1)

Rosario is next to a river called 'The Parana' (deadly sounding river) (picture 2)

Che Guevara was born in Rosario (picture 3)



http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/gallery/2012/may/13/viewfinder-competition-win-hotel-voucher#/?picture=389922094&index=0

Sunday Times Where Was I? Holiday Competition

Lot of clues to research this week but near as I can figure it, the most likely answers are:


Q1. Arthur Morrison


Q2. Wanstead


(NB for question 2, the puzzle author quotes a distance of one mile from Leytonstone station, from the map, it looks like a mile from there could be Redbridge but from the literature, it seems that James Bradley's uncle , James Pound, was rector of Wanstead parish and had an observatory built there, where Dr Bradley spent much time, so the Eastender Himself is taking a punt on the answer being Wanstead)


The musician in the initial clue, is most likely Gladys Mills (aka Mrs Mills b1918). She appeared on the Morecambe and Wise show with Sir John Mills and that's where the quip from Eric Morecambe about "We’ve just had your grandmother on" originates . Gladys Mills was born in Beckton Road, Newham, Essex but she lived for a time in Loughton, Essex and this is also where the author Arthur Morrison (b1863) lived. Morrison published a book called "A Child of the Jago" which is about a character called 'Dick Perrot'.


Loughton tube station was opened by Eastern Counties Railway in 1856 and going one stop south from there takes us to Buckhurst Hill. There is a viewing platform near there in a forest area (possibly part of the Epping forest), which was built for Henry VIII (c1543), which was known as 'The Great Standing' (now billed as 'Queen Elizabeth's hunting lodge') which enabled his retinue to observe the hunt and allow them to shoot crossbows at the deer as they came by. This structure looks to be around  a mile or so, to the north west of Buckhurst hill station.


The next station down the line from Buckhurst hill is Woodford. I think the Merchant was Michael Godfrey and his son, who was also called Michael, became the first deputy governor of the Bank of England. A botanist from Woodford, who had the first flowering Gardenia in his hothouse, was a Richard Warner (born c 1713). A famous mp for Woodford was Winston Churchill. Around two miles north east of Woodford, lies Chigwell and a pub there (The Maypole public house in Chigwell row) is reputed to be the one which Charles Dickens based his 'Maypole Inn' on, in the book 'Barnaby Rudge'. Dickens is alleged to have called Chigwell "The greatest place in the world".


Three stops south from Woodford takes us to Leytonstone and taking the train northeast from there, brings us to Wanstead, where James Bradley, the astronomer royal, who took up his post in 1742, did some of his early observations. Two and a half miles of underground line between Leytonstone and Newbury park were converted to a secret munitions factory during world war two by Plessey.



Sunday 6 May 2012

Observer Viewfinder Competition

They've made the puzzle a little more difficult this week but I'm pretty sure the name of the city that they are looking for is Manila, in the Phillipines.....

Think the second picture is 'The Festival of The Black Nazarene' in Manila

The giveaway is the picture of Imelda Marcos and her shoe collection in picture 3.

They are also known to use converted jeeps (Jeepneys) as buses there (picture 4)


see link to competition:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/gallery/2012/may/06/viewfinder-competition-win-hotel-voucher#/?picture=389651943&index=0

Sunday Times Where Was I?

Bit of a slog to research all the clues today leddies ed jittlemen ('specially if you've glugged a bit of red vino last night) but fortunately, the Eastender Himself has been on many training flights over this marvelous region, while acquiring his pilot's ticket and also hiked the national trail that the puzzle author mentions in one of the clues. As near as I can figure it, the answers are:

Q1. Dorothy Richardson

Q2. RAF Benson

Clue Answers and Letters
(S)utton Courtenay
Ashdow(n)
The (R)idgeway
Basildon (P)ark
Spectemur A(g)endo
B(i)rinus

Re-arranging the selected letters, gives the word SPRING.


An author, whose works include 'Interim' and who was born in 1873, in Abingdon, which is now in Oxfordshire, was Dorothy Richardson. Travelling 3 miles south from Abingdon, takes us to a place called Sutton Courtenay, which is where Eric Arthur Blair aka 'George Orwell' is buried (The Indian Imperial Police clue is a bit of a giveaway here).

The battle fought in AD871 was the Battle of Ashdown, which took place around the Didcot area. The teacakes clue is a reference to a king Alfred who burned some biscuits while hiding out from the Peelers in a woman's house. The national trail is likely to be the Ridgeway, where there are many wonderful neolithic sites and hill forts to be seen and  explored (beware of Barrow-Wights though).

This puzzle is tricky because the author does not navigate as the crow flies, I believe that he measures the distances by using the odometer on his car and reckon that the most likely candidate for the Georgian mansion, is Basildon Park, which is only around four miles southeast of the battlefield in a straight line but could be eight miles by road. Basildon Park, according to the national trust web site, was restored by Lord and Lady lliffe, in the mid 1950s and gifted to the nation in 1978.

The RAF station (which the tyro Eastender has flown close to in his cessna) is likely to be RAF Benson: motto "Spectemur Agendo". Northwest of Benson is a place called Dorchester-on-Thames, which was a cathedral city and bishopric of a saint called Birinus (feast day 3rd December).