Some huge giveaway clues this week. The most likely answers, near as I can figure it, seem to me to be:

Q1. Edinburgh

Q2. (Sir) James Young Simpson


The initial clues place us very obviously in one of the coldest places on earth, ie the city of Edinburgh. It has a castle and from the references I checked, a film festival that was established c1947. The university site claims that it was established c1583 and a pioneer in the use of chloroform, who was also a professor of Midwifery there and born c1811, was James Young Simpson. Queen Victoria made him a baronet for his work with the new anaesthetic, although he is regarded as a controversial figure in some quarters over the number of people he may have killed while perfecting its use. The novel is possibly 'Jude the Obscure' by Thomas Hardy published c1894/95 which features a character called 'Little Father Time' and some scenes from the 1996 film 'Jude' were shot in Edinburgh.

A film about an eccentric teacher shot c1969 was 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' and some of the scenes were set around Greyfriar's kirk and kirkyard.  A highland terrier (died c 1872) called 'Greyfriars Bobby' featured in a shocking 1961 film of the same name. The architect William Adam (b 1689) was nicknamed 'Old Stone and Lime' by his children and is said to be buried in Greyfriar's kirkyard in some references.

The Mons meg cannon is now situated in Edinburgh castle, where they fire a gun at one o clock every day, to let the locals know when it's lunchtime. The canon was made in Mons in the Duchy of Burgundy c15th century and was an astonishing piece of kit in its day, it was said that it could throw a 20" caliber, 400 pound cannon ball, a distance of two miles and was used to pound Dumbarton castle when James the IV had a bit of a falling out with a chancer called Lord Darnley. It was also reputed to have been placed on the large Scottish warship, the Great Michael, as part of its armament. The weapon was rendered unusable by a numpty from down south, who put too much powder in it while trying it out.

I found a reference to a Henry of Scotland who had one son born in Scotland who became king (Malcolm IV) and William (born in England) but have not found anything verifying that Malcolm was born in Edinburgh castle. St Margaret (feast day 16th November) is said to have died in Edinburgh castle and a 1999 film about a loan shark turned artist, featuring Billy Connolly, was 'The Debt Collector'. The station is most likely Edinburgh Waverley.

Link to the competition:

Sunday Times Where Was I?