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. Leadhills
Q2. The Southern Upland Way
N.B. The Eastender still cannot see the questions as they don't appear on some mobile devices but has been told what they are by some of the other puzzlers who have a hard copy of the competition...(will confirm later when I can acquire a printed copy of the paper).
The Eastender will fill in his best shot at what the answers are, when the Sunday Times IT bod, gets round to posting the flippin' questions. Probably been out drinking the cheeky juice again and who can blame them? Indeed, the Eastender Himself has been glugging a glass or two of red wine and eating some tasty food, in an attempt to stave off the effects of the howling wind, icy rain and Kaperlak, which blew in sideways today but I digress, the initial clues seem to place us in Lanarkshire, a county which in parts, is almost as beautiful as the shire that the famous Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, lives in. The Eastender of course is totally biased in this view, as he himself sprang from the good Lanarkshire soil, back in nineteen canteen.
The specific location, is probably the village of Leadhills (you can tell if someone is from there, they usually have snow on their car, when they drive into Glasgow in June). There does appear to be a short heritage railway there called 'The Leadhills and Wanlockhead Railway', which is reputed to be the highest 'adhesion railway', where an adhesion railway is one in which steel wheels provide traction on steel rails by force of friction, in the UK. I did find some references which claim that the railway lies at an altitude of around fifteen hundred feet. Leadhills golf club is said to be the highest course in Scotland, with the highest in the UK being 'West Monmouthshire Golf Club', in the Brecon Beacons.
Leadhills, according to some of the sources I checked, was indeed the site of Scotland's first subscription library c 1741, where a subscription library is one in which membership fees are paid or an endowment is made to purchase the books, such bibliotheks often loan books to poor students, who can't afford the membership dues. The library in the village was started by a good old Jacobite poet called 'Allan Ramsay' born c 1684, so that the miners could improve themselves. Ramsay also founded a circulation library in the Lucken Booths of Edinburgh c 1725. The Lucken Booths appear to have been a range of tenements opposite St Gile's cathedral, which had lockable booths or lockable shops on the ground floor.
A steamboat engine designer, who was born in Leadhills c 1764 and who built the steam launch 'Charlotte Dundas', is probably William Symington. Driving south west from Leadhills would bring us to the dorp of Wanlockhead, which some of the sources I checked, claim is Scotland's highest village. The two hundred and twelve mile 'Southern Upland Way', passes close to Wanlockhead, crossing the two thousand three hundred and seventy eight foot 'Lowther Hill'. This is not a trail that should be travelled lightly by the unwary or inexperienced hiker, the hills here, though in the lowlands, can be just as dangerous as the ones in the highlands, for this region is isolated, very sparsely populated and prone to mist and bad weather, often with little or no phone signal.
The ninety thousand acre estate and one hundred and twenty room castle, which lie around eight miles south of Wanlockhead, are most likely the Queensberry estate and Drumlanrig Castle, home of the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry. The Duke's family crest features a stag (possibly derived from the Fehu rune, symbol of wealth as in if you had a herd of deer, you were rich because you could feed and clothe yourself with the products from those animals) and the motto 'Amo', 'I love'.
N.B. Due to the number of people who normally write poison pen letters in green ink posting on his page, the Eastender has moved to moderated comments but if you have a non abusive comment relating to the puzzle and its solution, he will endeavour to publish it.
Saturday 28 November 2015
Saturday 21 November 2015
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. Bodmin
Q2. Saint Petroc
The initial clues appear to place us in the town of Bodmin, in Cornwall. I found several sources which claim that the Domesday book was stored in the jail there, during World War One. The prison does appear to have a restaurant attached to it and does seem to have been built c 1857.
The station lies south east of the settlement, was constructed c 1859 when it was called 'Bodmin Road Station' and is currently named 'Bodmin Parkway Railway Station'. Bodmin Parkway appears to be the southern terminus of the 'Bodmin & Wenford Railway', which several sources I looked at, claim is six and a half miles long.
Driving west from Bodmin Parkway, would probably bring us to Lanhydrock House, which the National Trust claim was devastated by a fire c 1881, subsequently refurbished and used as a family home by the Agar-Robertes family.
The Georgian mansion, three miles north of Bodmin, is probably Pencarrow house, which is where the owner planted 'Araucaria Araucana', a pine tree native to Chile and Argentina, which gained its more common name, after a friend of the owner, a barrister called 'Charles Austin', upon touching its spiny leaves, declared "it would be a puzzle for a monkey! ".
The tower is probably 'Berry Tower', which some of the sources I checked, say was built c 1501/2 by the 'Guild of the Holy Rood'. The castle is most likely Canyke Castle, which is described as being a massive Iron Age defensive settlement around four hundred metres in diameter, near the roundabout at the A30/A80.
A church in Bodmin, which claims to be the largest in the county, is St Petroc's. St Petroc was a sixth century hermit who probably became radicalised in Wales, before travelling to Cornwall and building churches all over the place. I found references to St Petroc's feast days being on the 4th of June, 14th of September and 23rd of May but didn't find any for the 1st of October until I looked in 'The Oxford Dictionary of Saints' (fifth edition, revised).
Don't know about 'Porridge' or 'Stir-fry' but the Warder's Room restaurant's menu has dishes like scallops, sea food linguine, lasagne, steaks, vegetarian and vegan options and a 'young offender's' children's menu.
N.B. Due to the number of people who normally write poison pen letters in green ink posting on his page, the Eastender has moved to moderated comments but rest assured, if you have a comment related to the puzzle and its solution, he will endeavour to publish it.
Q1. Bodmin
Q2. Saint Petroc
The initial clues appear to place us in the town of Bodmin, in Cornwall. I found several sources which claim that the Domesday book was stored in the jail there, during World War One. The prison does appear to have a restaurant attached to it and does seem to have been built c 1857.
The station lies south east of the settlement, was constructed c 1859 when it was called 'Bodmin Road Station' and is currently named 'Bodmin Parkway Railway Station'. Bodmin Parkway appears to be the southern terminus of the 'Bodmin & Wenford Railway', which several sources I looked at, claim is six and a half miles long.
Driving west from Bodmin Parkway, would probably bring us to Lanhydrock House, which the National Trust claim was devastated by a fire c 1881, subsequently refurbished and used as a family home by the Agar-Robertes family.
The Georgian mansion, three miles north of Bodmin, is probably Pencarrow house, which is where the owner planted 'Araucaria Araucana', a pine tree native to Chile and Argentina, which gained its more common name, after a friend of the owner, a barrister called 'Charles Austin', upon touching its spiny leaves, declared "it would be a puzzle for a monkey! ".
The tower is probably 'Berry Tower', which some of the sources I checked, say was built c 1501/2 by the 'Guild of the Holy Rood'. The castle is most likely Canyke Castle, which is described as being a massive Iron Age defensive settlement around four hundred metres in diameter, near the roundabout at the A30/A80.
A church in Bodmin, which claims to be the largest in the county, is St Petroc's. St Petroc was a sixth century hermit who probably became radicalised in Wales, before travelling to Cornwall and building churches all over the place. I found references to St Petroc's feast days being on the 4th of June, 14th of September and 23rd of May but didn't find any for the 1st of October until I looked in 'The Oxford Dictionary of Saints' (fifth edition, revised).
Don't know about 'Porridge' or 'Stir-fry' but the Warder's Room restaurant's menu has dishes like scallops, sea food linguine, lasagne, steaks, vegetarian and vegan options and a 'young offender's' children's menu.
N.B. Due to the number of people who normally write poison pen letters in green ink posting on his page, the Eastender has moved to moderated comments but rest assured, if you have a comment related to the puzzle and its solution, he will endeavour to publish it.
Saturday 14 November 2015
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. Sandwood Bay
Q2. Am Buachaille
The initial clues seem to place us in North West Sutherland, in the hamlet of Kinlochbervie (aka KLB). The puzzle author has been very crafty with this week's clues, as I found references to several fighters who won the Victoria Cross during the battle of Cambrai, in the war which started when a bloke called Archie Duke shot an Ostrich, 'cause he was hungry (aka WWI) .
The Battle of Cambrai appears to have been fought c 20th November 1917 to 7th December 1918 and is thought to be the first engagement where tanks were successfully used. They may have had a more flexible view on what constituted success in those days, as they lost about one hundred and eighty tanks to very accurate German artillery fire and mechanical failures. Some of the VC winners in this fraicas were: Gobind Singh (born c 1887) who had three horses shot out from under him, by German machine gunners, while relaying messages back and forth between his unit, which was surrounded by the enemy, and the British HQ. A soldier called Temporary Lieutenant Colonel Neville Bowes Elliot-Cooper ( born 1889, died 1918), was awarded the VC for his unarmed charge at the enemy who breeched the British lines, his action caused his team to follow him and check the advance but he was subsequently wounded and taken prisoner. A VC winner, who fought in the Battle of Cambrai and was born c 1898, in Kinlochbervie, was Robert McBeath. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for attacking a machine gun nest, with only a Lewis gun and a revolver, resulting in the capitulation of three officers and thirty enlisted men (though he may have had a bit of help from one of the tanks).
Travelling six crow miles north of KLB, would take us to Sandwood bay and one mile of golden sand , 'neath which many wrecked ships lie buried. The John Muir Trust has an eleven thousand, six hundred and twenty one acre estate in the vicinity. The Sandwood estate has a special area of conservation, given this status because of the dunes and fertile Machair.
John Muir, according to some of his biographies, was born c 1838 and seems to have spent a lot of time in America, where he was instrumental in persuading presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft, to create national parks in places like Yosemite. I found several sources which claim that the John Muir trust was founded c 1983.
A sea stack to the west of the beach at Sandwood bay, which in English is called 'The Herdsman' or 'The Shepherd', is probably 'Am Buachaille'. The mermaid legend of Sandwood bay seems to originate with a Mr Alexander Gunn, who claimed (after glugging some of the local firewater no doubt), to have been alerted to the presence of a strange creature with reddish-yellow hair, green eyes and yellow body and about seven feet long, sunbathing on the rocks, by the howling of his sheepdog, while out for a walk one day. Sandwood bay was the site of many shipwrecks but in an effort to prevent these from occurring, the Cape Wrath lighthouse was constructed c 1828, by Robert Stevenson. It does seem to lie to the north east of the bay and the references I checked, claim that it is about twenty metres or sixty six feet in height.
N.B. Due to the number of people who normally write poison pen letters in green ink, posting on his page, the Eastender has moved to moderated comments but rest assured, if you have a non abusive comment relating to the puzzle and its solution, he will endeavour to publish it.
Q1. Sandwood Bay
Q2. Am Buachaille
The initial clues seem to place us in North West Sutherland, in the hamlet of Kinlochbervie (aka KLB). The puzzle author has been very crafty with this week's clues, as I found references to several fighters who won the Victoria Cross during the battle of Cambrai, in the war which started when a bloke called Archie Duke shot an Ostrich, 'cause he was hungry (aka WWI) .
The Battle of Cambrai appears to have been fought c 20th November 1917 to 7th December 1918 and is thought to be the first engagement where tanks were successfully used. They may have had a more flexible view on what constituted success in those days, as they lost about one hundred and eighty tanks to very accurate German artillery fire and mechanical failures. Some of the VC winners in this fraicas were: Gobind Singh (born c 1887) who had three horses shot out from under him, by German machine gunners, while relaying messages back and forth between his unit, which was surrounded by the enemy, and the British HQ. A soldier called Temporary Lieutenant Colonel Neville Bowes Elliot-Cooper ( born 1889, died 1918), was awarded the VC for his unarmed charge at the enemy who breeched the British lines, his action caused his team to follow him and check the advance but he was subsequently wounded and taken prisoner. A VC winner, who fought in the Battle of Cambrai and was born c 1898, in Kinlochbervie, was Robert McBeath. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for attacking a machine gun nest, with only a Lewis gun and a revolver, resulting in the capitulation of three officers and thirty enlisted men (though he may have had a bit of help from one of the tanks).
Travelling six crow miles north of KLB, would take us to Sandwood bay and one mile of golden sand , 'neath which many wrecked ships lie buried. The John Muir Trust has an eleven thousand, six hundred and twenty one acre estate in the vicinity. The Sandwood estate has a special area of conservation, given this status because of the dunes and fertile Machair.
John Muir, according to some of his biographies, was born c 1838 and seems to have spent a lot of time in America, where he was instrumental in persuading presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft, to create national parks in places like Yosemite. I found several sources which claim that the John Muir trust was founded c 1983.
A sea stack to the west of the beach at Sandwood bay, which in English is called 'The Herdsman' or 'The Shepherd', is probably 'Am Buachaille'. The mermaid legend of Sandwood bay seems to originate with a Mr Alexander Gunn, who claimed (after glugging some of the local firewater no doubt), to have been alerted to the presence of a strange creature with reddish-yellow hair, green eyes and yellow body and about seven feet long, sunbathing on the rocks, by the howling of his sheepdog, while out for a walk one day. Sandwood bay was the site of many shipwrecks but in an effort to prevent these from occurring, the Cape Wrath lighthouse was constructed c 1828, by Robert Stevenson. It does seem to lie to the north east of the bay and the references I checked, claim that it is about twenty metres or sixty six feet in height.
N.B. Due to the number of people who normally write poison pen letters in green ink, posting on his page, the Eastender has moved to moderated comments but rest assured, if you have a non abusive comment relating to the puzzle and its solution, he will endeavour to publish it.
Saturday 7 November 2015
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. Lytham
Q2. Ena Sharples
The initial clues appear to place us in Lytham St Anne's, in the county of Lancashire. This was formerly two towns (Lytham and St Anne's) which have merged together over the years, presumably as more development and building work was carried out in each settlement.
An airfield, which lies to the east of Lytham and which at one time had the largest store building in Europe, at two hundred and seventy thousand square feet, is probably Warton Aerodrome, which from some of the sources I checked, does seem to have been constructed c 1942.
North of Warton airfield, lies the dorp of Wrea Green and it was here, according to some of his biographies, that the hangman James Berry (born Heckmondwike, Yorkshire on 8th of February c 1852 ), was educated, at Wrea Green Academy. Berry was the executioner who unsuccessfully tried three times to hang John 'Babbacombe' Lee. He seems to have been unable to hang Mr Lee due to a faulty hinge on the gallows trapdoor and because of this, Lee was given a life sentence instead.
Lytham hall is an eighteenth century Georgian manor house, built in the Palladian style, which is surrounded by seventy eight acres of parkland, on the eastern outskirts of Lytham (built by architect John Carr (born c 1723)). The national piers society claim that Lytham pier was nine hundred and fourteen feet long and was demolished c 1960. Their web site also says that St Anne's pier was nine hundred and fourteen feet long originally but after a fire c 1982, it's length was reduced to six hundred feet.
A comedian born c 1931, who lived in St Anne's and had comedy characters 'Cissie and Ada', in his show, is probably Les Dawson. Royal Lytham & St Anne's golf course, appears to have around two hundred and six bunkers and it was here, c 1979 that the famous Spanish golfer Seve Ballesteros, won the Open.
A hairnet wearing harridan TV character, who's absence from Weatherfield's 'Rover's Return Inn' pub was explained by saying that she'd gone to stay with a friend called Henry Foster, in St Anne's, is most likely Ena Sharples, from 'Coronation Street' .
N.B. Due to the number of people who normally write poison pen letters in green ink posting on his page, the Eastender has moved to moderated comments but rest assured, if you have a non abusive comment pertaining to the puzzle and its soliton, he will endeavour to publish it.
Q1. Lytham
Q2. Ena Sharples
The initial clues appear to place us in Lytham St Anne's, in the county of Lancashire. This was formerly two towns (Lytham and St Anne's) which have merged together over the years, presumably as more development and building work was carried out in each settlement.
An airfield, which lies to the east of Lytham and which at one time had the largest store building in Europe, at two hundred and seventy thousand square feet, is probably Warton Aerodrome, which from some of the sources I checked, does seem to have been constructed c 1942.
North of Warton airfield, lies the dorp of Wrea Green and it was here, according to some of his biographies, that the hangman James Berry (born Heckmondwike, Yorkshire on 8th of February c 1852 ), was educated, at Wrea Green Academy. Berry was the executioner who unsuccessfully tried three times to hang John 'Babbacombe' Lee. He seems to have been unable to hang Mr Lee due to a faulty hinge on the gallows trapdoor and because of this, Lee was given a life sentence instead.
Lytham hall is an eighteenth century Georgian manor house, built in the Palladian style, which is surrounded by seventy eight acres of parkland, on the eastern outskirts of Lytham (built by architect John Carr (born c 1723)). The national piers society claim that Lytham pier was nine hundred and fourteen feet long and was demolished c 1960. Their web site also says that St Anne's pier was nine hundred and fourteen feet long originally but after a fire c 1982, it's length was reduced to six hundred feet.
A comedian born c 1931, who lived in St Anne's and had comedy characters 'Cissie and Ada', in his show, is probably Les Dawson. Royal Lytham & St Anne's golf course, appears to have around two hundred and six bunkers and it was here, c 1979 that the famous Spanish golfer Seve Ballesteros, won the Open.
A hairnet wearing harridan TV character, who's absence from Weatherfield's 'Rover's Return Inn' pub was explained by saying that she'd gone to stay with a friend called Henry Foster, in St Anne's, is most likely Ena Sharples, from 'Coronation Street' .
N.B. Due to the number of people who normally write poison pen letters in green ink posting on his page, the Eastender has moved to moderated comments but rest assured, if you have a non abusive comment pertaining to the puzzle and its soliton, he will endeavour to publish it.
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