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. Percy Shaw

Q2. Todmorden

The initial clues, seem to place us in the Bradford area, which was home, at one time (Haworth), to a writer called Stan Barstow, who was part of a literary milieu known as the 'Angry Young Men'. The other writers that the puzzle author mentions as being associated with this part of the world, are probably 'The Brontes of Haworth' .

Stan Barstow wrote a novel called  'A Kind of Loving', which was about an angry young man, trapped in a fictional industrial town called Cressley (according to some of his biographies, Cressley, was based on the town of Dewsbury.

Haworth appears to be a suburb of Bradford and driving south south east from there would likely bring us onto the A647 Queensbury to Halifax road, which according to legend, is where the inventor Percy Shaw (born c 15th April 1890, at Heginbottom Fold, 32 Ovenden Road, Halifax), while driving back from the Old Dolphin pub one dark night (c 1933) , had the inspiration to invent 'cat's eyes', as a road safety feature. Prior to this, he had apparently gotten home by following the tram lines shining in his headlamps, but encountered difficulty, after these were removed. Mr Shaw seems to have gone into production of his marvellous invention c 1935.

The puzzle author then probably travels to the Wainhouse Tower, which seems to be a two hundred and fifty three foot high Victorian chimney, with steps inside to enable you to ascend and take in the view. The chimney is located in Calderdale, South west Halifax.

South west of the chimney, lies the town of Sowerby Bridge and it was here, c 1947, that the children's author, Roger Hargreaves, was according to some of his bios, educated at Sowerby Bridge Grammar School. Roger Hargreaves created books about the 'Mister Men' and one of these characters, was called Mr Tickle. The Rochdale canal starts in Sowerby Bridge and the town is also the site of the baptism, c 1834, of the inventor of Linoleum, Frederick Walton.

Following the Rochdale canal west, would bring us to the town of Todmorden, which was until c 1st of January 1888, situated in both Lancashire and Yorkshire. Todmorden is where the politician John Fielden was born c 1784. Fielden and lord Ashley passed a bill limiting the amount of hours that women and children could work in factories, to ten hours per day. The Eastender applauds these courageous social reformers, as it is a well known fact, that hard work has killed millions and millions of people.

The town hall at Todmorden, seems to have been built by an architect called John Gibson (born c 1817). Some of the references I checked, claim that there is a one hundred and twenty foot high tower, situated East of Todmorden, called The Stoodley Pike Monument, which was constructed to commemorate the end of the Napoleonic wars c 1814/15. The original monument appears to have collapsed c 1854 and subsequently been rebuilt c1856. The monument sits atop a 1300 foot high eminence.


N.B The Eastender has moved to using moderated comments, due to the number of people who normally write poison pen letters in green ink, posting on his page but rest assured, if you have a non abusive post relating to solving the puzzle, he will publish it.