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. Queenborough
Q2. Elmley National Nature Reserve
The initial clues seem to place us on the Isle of Sheppey, in the beautiful county of Kent. The twenty first century bridge which delivers traffic to that insel's southern shore, is called the 'Sheppey Crossing' and according to some sources, this opened c 2006. The other bridge (Kingsferry Bridge) has a 'four poster' lift on it, which raise a section of the road so that shipping can navigate through the 'Ferry Reach' below.
Driving north from the bridges, would bring us to the town of Queenborough. This was formerly known as Bynne but king Edward III renamed it Queenborough after his wife Philippa of Hainault and constructed a fortress there c 1361 to 1377, which had concentric circular walls. A proto Florian Geyer style rebel, called Jack Cade tried to take over the place c 1450 but he may have been a tad overconfident as to the likelihood of success in this venture, as some of the sources I checked claim that this particular schloss was equipped with stone throwing machines, trebuchet and primitive black powder weapons as well as the usual archers and crossbowmen. The castle was retired c 1650 and subsequently demolished, shortly before a Dutch naval raid, which it would have been useful in repelling. From checking the OS map, the settlement does have a body of water/mud flat called 'The Creek' in it. Queenborough was also on a list of 'Rotten Boroughs' I found.
North of Queenborough takes us to the town of Sheerness, which appears to consist of 'Mile Town', 'Marine Town' and 'Blue Town' and is nearly an island itself due to the water filled defensive trench (excavated c 1863), called 'Queensborough Lines'. The reason for its construction seems to have been to defend the docks at Sheerness from a landside attack. I found a reference in the National Piers Society's web site indicating that there had been a pier at Sheerness which opened c 1835 but it did not provide much information on the dimensions and I couldn't find anything about a lido being there in 1939.
The secretary of the Admiralty who visited Sheerness c 1665, is probably Samuel Pepys and the national nature reserve on the southern shore is most likely 'Elmley National Nature Reserve'. Abel Magwitch was a convict in Charles Dickens 'Great Expectations' and some of the film adaptations of this were filmed on Sheppey.
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 or quip relating to the puzzle and its solution, he will endeavour to publish it.
Saturday, 30 July 2016
Saturday, 23 July 2016
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:
1. Sanquhar
2. Keir Hardie (aka James Keir Hardie)
Very tricky indeed this week, the puzzle author has seriously upped his game, for the artist who painted 'The Vegetable Stall' (William York MacGregor), had a serious case of the wanderlust and lived all over the place, even in South Africa but the Eastender, from reading some of the painter's biographies, realised that he hung out with some of his milieu ('The Glasgow Boys') and one of them, James Paterson, had a kick back place in the village of Moniaive, in the county of Dumfries and Galloway. There appears to be a 'James Paterson' museum in the village and about three miles east or so, lies Maxwelton house which looks to be c 19th century in origin so not really a traditional medieval castle.
Again the writer ups his game and employs a crafty bit of misdirection by using the word 'neck' instead of 'nape' "her neck 'like the swan' ". If you carry out a search using 'neck like the swan', this leads you to a song called 'The Bonnie Bark':
The Bonnie Bark
O come, my bonnie bark!
O'er the waves let us go,
With thy neck like the swan,
And thy wings like the snow.
Spread thy plumes to the wind,
For a gentle one soon
Must welcome us home,
Ere the wane of the moon
This is not the one we seek but instead, it is a song called 'Annie Laurie', which appears to be associated with Maxwelton and this one uses the word 'nape' not 'neck':
Annie Laurie
Max Welton's braes are bonnie
Where early falls the dew
And 'twas there that Annie Laurie
Gave me her promise true.
That ne'er forgot shall be
And for Bonnie Annie Laurie
I'd lay me doon and dee
Her brow is like the snowdrift
Her nape is like the swan
And her face it is the fairest
And for Bonnie Annie Laurie
I'd lay me doon and dee.
To call 'The Admirable Crichton' (name of the 1902 play featuring a butler who was smarter than his employers) a soldier, is to somewhat underplay his achievements, for he was not only involved in military matters but was a sixteenth century polymath who could speak twelve languages and a rhetorician who could out debate and outsmart any of the professors in all of the universities he attended. He was unfortunately murdered at the young age of twenty two, for having an affair with the mistress of an Italian prince, called Vincenzo Gonzaga. James Crichton, according to some of his bios, appears to have been born c 1560 at Eliock, near the town of Sanquhar.
James Douglas, Duke of Queensbury seems to have been born at Sanquhar castle c 1662 and the family motto is not 'Forward' (again bit of nacht und nebel here ) but is in fact 'Jamais Arriere' (Never Behind). The Southern Upland Way (which is two hundred and ten or two hundred and twelve miles long, depending on which reference source you check), passes through the settlement.
Travelling fourteen miles north west of Sanquhar, probably on the A76, would bring us to the town of Cumnock and this is where James Keir Hardie (born c 1856) lived for a time. Keir Hardie was one of the founders of the Labour party. Surfaceman was the nom de plume of a poet called Alexander Anderson, who was born c 1845, in the village of Kirkconnel ( more shenanigans ;-) , there are two Kirkconnels in Dumfries and Galloway, the other one has an extra l on the end).
The 1791 poem was written by a whisky sampling wordsmith called Robert Burns and is titled
'Sweet Afton'. The Afton water flows into the town of New Cumnock, also on the A76 before you reach the old town of Cumnock.
Flow gently, I'll sing thee a song in thy praise;
My Mary's asleep by thy murmuring stream,
Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream.
The Eastender takes the view that the guy who wrote this was a genius and that the line "My Mary's asleep by thy murmuring stream, Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream", is up there with the works of some of the great Haiku writers like Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson and Kobayashi Issa.
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 or quip related to the puzzle and its solution, he will endeavour to publish it.
1. Sanquhar
2. Keir Hardie (aka James Keir Hardie)
Very tricky indeed this week, the puzzle author has seriously upped his game, for the artist who painted 'The Vegetable Stall' (William York MacGregor), had a serious case of the wanderlust and lived all over the place, even in South Africa but the Eastender, from reading some of the painter's biographies, realised that he hung out with some of his milieu ('The Glasgow Boys') and one of them, James Paterson, had a kick back place in the village of Moniaive, in the county of Dumfries and Galloway. There appears to be a 'James Paterson' museum in the village and about three miles east or so, lies Maxwelton house which looks to be c 19th century in origin so not really a traditional medieval castle.
Again the writer ups his game and employs a crafty bit of misdirection by using the word 'neck' instead of 'nape' "her neck 'like the swan' ". If you carry out a search using 'neck like the swan', this leads you to a song called 'The Bonnie Bark':
The Bonnie Bark
O come, my bonnie bark!
O'er the waves let us go,
With thy neck like the swan,
And thy wings like the snow.
Spread thy plumes to the wind,
For a gentle one soon
Must welcome us home,
Ere the wane of the moon
This is not the one we seek but instead, it is a song called 'Annie Laurie', which appears to be associated with Maxwelton and this one uses the word 'nape' not 'neck':
Annie Laurie
Max Welton's braes are bonnie
Where early falls the dew
And 'twas there that Annie Laurie
Gave me her promise true.
That ne'er forgot shall be
And for Bonnie Annie Laurie
I'd lay me doon and dee
Her brow is like the snowdrift
Her nape is like the swan
And her face it is the fairest
And for Bonnie Annie Laurie
I'd lay me doon and dee.
To call 'The Admirable Crichton' (name of the 1902 play featuring a butler who was smarter than his employers) a soldier, is to somewhat underplay his achievements, for he was not only involved in military matters but was a sixteenth century polymath who could speak twelve languages and a rhetorician who could out debate and outsmart any of the professors in all of the universities he attended. He was unfortunately murdered at the young age of twenty two, for having an affair with the mistress of an Italian prince, called Vincenzo Gonzaga. James Crichton, according to some of his bios, appears to have been born c 1560 at Eliock, near the town of Sanquhar.
James Douglas, Duke of Queensbury seems to have been born at Sanquhar castle c 1662 and the family motto is not 'Forward' (again bit of nacht und nebel here ) but is in fact 'Jamais Arriere' (Never Behind). The Southern Upland Way (which is two hundred and ten or two hundred and twelve miles long, depending on which reference source you check), passes through the settlement.
Travelling fourteen miles north west of Sanquhar, probably on the A76, would bring us to the town of Cumnock and this is where James Keir Hardie (born c 1856) lived for a time. Keir Hardie was one of the founders of the Labour party. Surfaceman was the nom de plume of a poet called Alexander Anderson, who was born c 1845, in the village of Kirkconnel ( more shenanigans ;-) , there are two Kirkconnels in Dumfries and Galloway, the other one has an extra l on the end).
The 1791 poem was written by a whisky sampling wordsmith called Robert Burns and is titled
'Sweet Afton'. The Afton water flows into the town of New Cumnock, also on the A76 before you reach the old town of Cumnock.
Sweet Afton
Flow gently, sweet Afton! amang thy green braes,Flow gently, I'll sing thee a song in thy praise;
My Mary's asleep by thy murmuring stream,
Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream.
The Eastender takes the view that the guy who wrote this was a genius and that the line "My Mary's asleep by thy murmuring stream, Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream", is up there with the works of some of the great Haiku writers like Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson and Kobayashi Issa.
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 or quip related to the puzzle and its solution, he will endeavour to publish it.
Saturday, 16 July 2016
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. Pocklington
Q2. Carlton Towers
The initial clues seem to place us in the town of P[o][c]klington, in one of the Eastender's favourite parts of the big British island, namely the East Riding of Yorkshire. An anti slavery campaigner, who was born c 1759, is probably William Wilberforce. According to some of his biographies, he was educated at Hull Grammar School, Mr Chalmer's school in Putney (London) and c 1771 to 1776, he was a boarder at Pocklington school. Pocklington canal, from some of the sources I checked, appears to have opened for business c 1818 and joins the river Derwent, to the south west of the settlement.
The garden with over one hundred varieties of Water Lily is known variously as 'Stewart's Burnby Hall Gardens & Museum' or 'Bu[r]nby Hall Gardens' and it looks like a good ol' Norman boy called Henry I was the king who was born in Se[l]by c 1068.
This is where things now become a little tricky, for the abbey at Selby has two 14th century windows and a twentieth century window with some glass that originates from the medieval period. The windows listed on the abbey's web page are: 'The Je[s]se [W]indow' (c 14th Century), 'The Washington Window' (14th century glass but thought to have been constructed c 15th century and is a depiction of the coat of arms of the family of the first president of the United States of America, George Washington) and the 'St Germain' window which was trashed by 'ooligans during the commonwealth period, when a temporary republic was declared by the Roundheads. This window contains some of the original glass from the medieval period but a lot of it is newer as it was rebuilt later (c 20th century) by a Miss Standering, so the one which is the best fit for the given clues, is the Jesse Window.
A two hundred and fifteen mile long path which passes through Selby, is probably the [T]rans Pennine Trail and a village (not a town) where a battle was fought c 1645 to the west of Selby is most likely 'Sh[e]rbur[n] in Elmet', which again looks like a fraicas involving both cavalry and infantry, which occurred during the English civil war, an encounter in which the Parliamentarians were only just victorious.
South South East from Sherburn In Elmet, would bring us to the town of 'Kn[o][t]tingly' (which fits with the tangle hint) where the Aire and Calder navigation seems also to be named the 'Knottingly & Goole canal'.
James Bond's enemy in this case is not Blofeld, Largo, Goldfinger or Scaramanga but the malevolent eugenecist Hugo Drax ( as played by Michael Lonsdale) in the film Moonraker (c 1979). The 'D[r][a]x' power station (opened c 1974) lies around six miles or so north east of where the canal has two names on the OS map. Now assembling the clues and trying to match them to a Gothic stately home which originates to c 1614, gives:
1. P[o][c]klington O C
2. Bu[r]nby Hall R
3. Se[l]by L
4. Je[s]se [W]indow S W
5. [T]rans Pennine Trail T
6. Sh[e]rbur[n] in Elmet E N
7. Kn[o][t]ingly O T
8. D[r][a]x R A
A stately home which lies around a mile or so south of the Drax power station and which fits the description of Gothic dating back to c 1614, is 'Carlton Towers' and the letters extracted from the clues, when re-arranged, fit with the name of this house.
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 or quip relating to the puzzle and its solution, he will endeavour to publish it.
Q1. Pocklington
Q2. Carlton Towers
The initial clues seem to place us in the town of P[o][c]klington, in one of the Eastender's favourite parts of the big British island, namely the East Riding of Yorkshire. An anti slavery campaigner, who was born c 1759, is probably William Wilberforce. According to some of his biographies, he was educated at Hull Grammar School, Mr Chalmer's school in Putney (London) and c 1771 to 1776, he was a boarder at Pocklington school. Pocklington canal, from some of the sources I checked, appears to have opened for business c 1818 and joins the river Derwent, to the south west of the settlement.
The garden with over one hundred varieties of Water Lily is known variously as 'Stewart's Burnby Hall Gardens & Museum' or 'Bu[r]nby Hall Gardens' and it looks like a good ol' Norman boy called Henry I was the king who was born in Se[l]by c 1068.
This is where things now become a little tricky, for the abbey at Selby has two 14th century windows and a twentieth century window with some glass that originates from the medieval period. The windows listed on the abbey's web page are: 'The Je[s]se [W]indow' (c 14th Century), 'The Washington Window' (14th century glass but thought to have been constructed c 15th century and is a depiction of the coat of arms of the family of the first president of the United States of America, George Washington) and the 'St Germain' window which was trashed by 'ooligans during the commonwealth period, when a temporary republic was declared by the Roundheads. This window contains some of the original glass from the medieval period but a lot of it is newer as it was rebuilt later (c 20th century) by a Miss Standering, so the one which is the best fit for the given clues, is the Jesse Window.
A two hundred and fifteen mile long path which passes through Selby, is probably the [T]rans Pennine Trail and a village (not a town) where a battle was fought c 1645 to the west of Selby is most likely 'Sh[e]rbur[n] in Elmet', which again looks like a fraicas involving both cavalry and infantry, which occurred during the English civil war, an encounter in which the Parliamentarians were only just victorious.
South South East from Sherburn In Elmet, would bring us to the town of 'Kn[o][t]tingly' (which fits with the tangle hint) where the Aire and Calder navigation seems also to be named the 'Knottingly & Goole canal'.
James Bond's enemy in this case is not Blofeld, Largo, Goldfinger or Scaramanga but the malevolent eugenecist Hugo Drax ( as played by Michael Lonsdale) in the film Moonraker (c 1979). The 'D[r][a]x' power station (opened c 1974) lies around six miles or so north east of where the canal has two names on the OS map. Now assembling the clues and trying to match them to a Gothic stately home which originates to c 1614, gives:
1. P[o][c]klington O C
2. Bu[r]nby Hall R
3. Se[l]by L
4. Je[s]se [W]indow S W
5. [T]rans Pennine Trail T
6. Sh[e]rbur[n] in Elmet E N
7. Kn[o][t]ingly O T
8. D[r][a]x R A
A stately home which lies around a mile or so south of the Drax power station and which fits the description of Gothic dating back to c 1614, is 'Carlton Towers' and the letters extracted from the clues, when re-arranged, fit with the name of this house.
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 or quip relating to the puzzle and its solution, he will endeavour to publish it.
Saturday, 9 July 2016
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. The Gloucester and Sharpness Canal
Q2. Sir Peter Scott
The initial clues seem to place us near the city of Gloucester, which is at the northern end of the sixteen mile long Gloucester and Sharpness canal. Some of the reference sources I checked claim that this was opened c 1827 and was once one of the broadest and deepest navigations in the world.
The architect born c 1780 who designed the Royal Mint (c 1809), is probably Sir Robert Smirke. Smirke designed Hardwicke Court, an elegant Georgian house near the village of Hardwicke, which was completed c 1816-17 and this looks to be a good fit direction and distance wise from Gloucester, for the hints given.
Travelling south from Hardwicke would bring us into proximity with the remains of the Stroudwater navigation (closed c 1954), which used to have a junction with the Gloucester and Sharpness canal, prior to joining the river Severn.
The wildfowl centre is most likely Slimbridge, which is in the correct location for the given clues and the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust there, was founded by the son of the explorer Captain Scott of the Antarctic, Sir Peter Scott c 1946. The remains of the Severn railway bridge can be seen near Sharpness. This collapsed c 1960 after being hit by a barge.
The two hundred and twenty four mile path is probably the Severn way and the docks at Sharpness appear to have opened c 1874. The puzzle author is not joking about the tides there, some reference sources claim that a tsunami travelled up the river Severn c 1607, which was caused by a geological fault line lying off the southern coast of Ireland. Die flutwelle katastrophe reportedly killed around two thousand people living along the Severn and was exacerbated by the same narrowing of the river that produces the Severn bore. The fault is still active and there may not be any tsunami warning systems in place to alert the local residents, should the fault slip again..
Q1. The Gloucester and Sharpness Canal
Q2. Sir Peter Scott
The initial clues seem to place us near the city of Gloucester, which is at the northern end of the sixteen mile long Gloucester and Sharpness canal. Some of the reference sources I checked claim that this was opened c 1827 and was once one of the broadest and deepest navigations in the world.
The architect born c 1780 who designed the Royal Mint (c 1809), is probably Sir Robert Smirke. Smirke designed Hardwicke Court, an elegant Georgian house near the village of Hardwicke, which was completed c 1816-17 and this looks to be a good fit direction and distance wise from Gloucester, for the hints given.
Travelling south from Hardwicke would bring us into proximity with the remains of the Stroudwater navigation (closed c 1954), which used to have a junction with the Gloucester and Sharpness canal, prior to joining the river Severn.
The wildfowl centre is most likely Slimbridge, which is in the correct location for the given clues and the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust there, was founded by the son of the explorer Captain Scott of the Antarctic, Sir Peter Scott c 1946. The remains of the Severn railway bridge can be seen near Sharpness. This collapsed c 1960 after being hit by a barge.
The two hundred and twenty four mile path is probably the Severn way and the docks at Sharpness appear to have opened c 1874. The puzzle author is not joking about the tides there, some reference sources claim that a tsunami travelled up the river Severn c 1607, which was caused by a geological fault line lying off the southern coast of Ireland. Die flutwelle katastrophe reportedly killed around two thousand people living along the Severn and was exacerbated by the same narrowing of the river that produces the Severn bore. The fault is still active and there may not be any tsunami warning systems in place to alert the local residents, should the fault slip again..
Saturday, 2 July 2016
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. The River Wandle
Q2. Merton
The initial clues seem to place us at one of the sources of the eleven mile long river Wandle, possibly at Waddon ponds, Croydon, in the county of Surrey. I couldn't find any references to a king dying c 984 AD in the area but a bishop called Aethelwold, according to some of his biographies, died in the adjacent suburb of Beddington, c 984 AD. From looking at the OS map, the remains of a Roman villa and bath house lie near the sewage farm at Beddington . The villa and bath house survived mostly intact until c 1898 when it was accidentally vaporised by a shot away Martian fighting machine en route back to its base at Horsell Common, when the operator, being somewhat unused to Earth germs, sneezed and pulled the trigger on the craft's heat ray. Sir Francis Carew, according to some of his biographies, was one of the first people to grow oranges on his land at Beddington. He is thought to have been given the seeds by Sir Walter Raleigh.
The other main source of the Wandle, appears to be the Carshalton ponds and this is the area where an author called William Hale White (born c 1831) lived for a time. Hale White used the nom de plume 'Mark Rutherford' and published a work called 'Catharine Furze' c 1893.
Travelling three miles or so North North West of Carshalton, would bring us to the district of Merton. Merton seems to have had an Augustinian priory, which according to some sources was founded c 1114 by Gilbert Norman and was as usual, destroyed by Henry VIII. A parliament was held at Merton Priory c 1236 and this produced the 'First Statute of Merton'. The king who held his coronation ceremony at Merton Priory c 1437 was probably Henry VI. A writer born c 1873 at 5 Fair Lawn Villas, Merton, Surrey was Ford Madox Ford. Madox Ford published a tetralogy called 'Parade's End' c 1924 - 1928, which was about a suffragette called Valentine Wannop. Admiral Horatio Nelson appears to have shared a house in Merton with Emma Hamilton.
I found some reference sources which claim that there were around 100 mills operating on the Wandle at one time and an 'Edmund Littler' purchased Merton Abbey print works c 1875. A printer and socialist called William Morris also had a workshop there and both these outfits used to produce items for the store Liberty.
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 or quip that related to the puzzle and its solution, he will endeavour to publish it.
Q1. The River Wandle
Q2. Merton
The initial clues seem to place us at one of the sources of the eleven mile long river Wandle, possibly at Waddon ponds, Croydon, in the county of Surrey. I couldn't find any references to a king dying c 984 AD in the area but a bishop called Aethelwold, according to some of his biographies, died in the adjacent suburb of Beddington, c 984 AD. From looking at the OS map, the remains of a Roman villa and bath house lie near the sewage farm at Beddington . The villa and bath house survived mostly intact until c 1898 when it was accidentally vaporised by a shot away Martian fighting machine en route back to its base at Horsell Common, when the operator, being somewhat unused to Earth germs, sneezed and pulled the trigger on the craft's heat ray. Sir Francis Carew, according to some of his biographies, was one of the first people to grow oranges on his land at Beddington. He is thought to have been given the seeds by Sir Walter Raleigh.
The other main source of the Wandle, appears to be the Carshalton ponds and this is the area where an author called William Hale White (born c 1831) lived for a time. Hale White used the nom de plume 'Mark Rutherford' and published a work called 'Catharine Furze' c 1893.
Travelling three miles or so North North West of Carshalton, would bring us to the district of Merton. Merton seems to have had an Augustinian priory, which according to some sources was founded c 1114 by Gilbert Norman and was as usual, destroyed by Henry VIII. A parliament was held at Merton Priory c 1236 and this produced the 'First Statute of Merton'. The king who held his coronation ceremony at Merton Priory c 1437 was probably Henry VI. A writer born c 1873 at 5 Fair Lawn Villas, Merton, Surrey was Ford Madox Ford. Madox Ford published a tetralogy called 'Parade's End' c 1924 - 1928, which was about a suffragette called Valentine Wannop. Admiral Horatio Nelson appears to have shared a house in Merton with Emma Hamilton.
I found some reference sources which claim that there were around 100 mills operating on the Wandle at one time and an 'Edmund Littler' purchased Merton Abbey print works c 1875. A printer and socialist called William Morris also had a workshop there and both these outfits used to produce items for the store Liberty.
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 or quip that related to the puzzle and its solution, he will endeavour to publish it.
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