Sunday Times Where Was I? Holiday Competition

Near as I can figure it, through the possibly flawed perceptual filters of my own reality tunnel, the most likely answers this week, seem to me to be:



Q1. Towcester


Q2. Weedon Lois


The initial clues seem to place us in the town of T[o]wcester, which looks to be in the county of Northamptonshire. Pott and Slurk are characters from Charles Dickens' 'Pickwick Papers', who were involved in a donnybrook which took place in the Saracen's Head Inn, in that burg. Poor old Mr Pickwick, appears to have been caught in the crossfire, when he stopped there for some refreshment.

The Romans called Towcester, Lactodorum and the Latin phrase in the clues 'Hora e Sempra', which means 'Now and Always', is the family motto of the Fermor-Hesketh family and it was Baron H[e]sketh, who founded the Towcester race course c 1876, after a visit from her imperial majesty, Elizabeth, Empress of Austria, who stayed with the Baron at his house, Easton Neston. Easton Neston, was designed by an architect called Nicholas Hawksm[o]or (born c 1661/1662).

A Roman road, near Towcester, is probably the A5, this used to be known as [W]atli[n]g Street and this is also the name of a Battle fought between the Iceni (commanded by Boudica), the Trinivantes, elements of the People's Front of Judea (PFJ) and the Roman army c 60 AD. The Roman's had two legions with them, the Legio XIV Gemina and the XX Valeria Victrix, around ten thousand men, under the command of Gaius Suetonious Paulinus. Paulinus was outnumbered, as Boudica had a much larger army with her but Paulinus, used the topography to his advantage, with a forest behind him and hills either side, so that Boudica's troops had to mount a frontal attack against a better armed, better trained and more disciplined enemy, who had cavalry ready to attack on each flank. The Romans killed about eighty thousand of Boudica's troops and camp followers, with the loss of around four hundred legionaires and the British leader opting to commit suicide, rather than be taken prisoner.

The actual location of the battle is a bit hazy, with some historians claiming that it was fought anywhere from the Midlands, Wroxeter, Mancetter to the Kennet Valley but the nearest alleged battlefield site, which fits with the clues, is probably Cuttle Mill, which lies beside the A5, a short way south east of Towcester.

Another sporting venue, which is south west of Towcester, is the Silverstone racetrack and it was here, c 1967, that a driver called Jim C[l]ark (born c 1936), won the British grand prix for the fifth time. The 'Palatial' and disused arm clue, seems to refer to the Buck[i]ngham arm (disused), of the Grand Union Canal, which lies south east of Silverstone and a sixteenth century building, which is situated north west of the disused canal arm, is likely to be [S]ulgrave Manor, which was at one time, split into three estates, which may be what the 'hatchet job' clue refers to.

The Eastender loves potty eccentric avant garde artists and the writer in question, one [E][d]ith Sitwell (born c 1887), according to some of her biographies, was undoubtedly of this ilk. She published a work called Facade, which was a series of poems, c 1918.

Now collating and rearranging the letters gleaned from the clues :

1. T[O]WCESTER                         O
2. H[E]SKETH                               E
3  NICHOLAS HAWKSM[O]OR        O
4. [W]ATLI[N]G STREET                 W  N
5. JIM C[L]ARK                              L
6. GRAND UNION CANAL
    BUCK[I]NGHAM ARM (disused)     I
7. [S]ULGRAVE MANOR                   S
8. [ED]ITH SITWELL                         E D


Gives us the name of the village, which lies about two miles north east of Sulgrave Manor, where Edith Sitwell visited her brother and where they are both buried. The hamlet is called Weedon Lois.

N.B. The Eastender has moved to moderated comments due to the number of people who normally write letters in green ink, posting on his page. Rest assured though, if you have a non abusive comment relating to solving the puzzle and possible solutions, he will publish it.