Saturday 24 September 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 Tale of Mrs Tiggy-Winkle


Q2. Lake Windermere


Not too difficult this week, the Eastender has seen the 2006 biopic of the writer 'Beatrix Potter' (played by Renee Zellweger). The one thousand four hundred and eighty foot high hill (four hundred and fifty one metres) next to the hamlet of 'Little Town', is most likely 'Cat Bells'. Cat Bells was the home of the hedgehog 'Mrs Tiggy-Winkle', who had a dwelling with a door set into the hill. Beatrix Potter published the book 'The Tale of Mrs Tiggy-Winkle' c 1905.


Six miles North East of Cat Bells, lies the three thousand and fifty four foot (nine hundred and thirty metre) eminence of 'Skiddaw'. East of the author's position would take bring us to Derwent water and it is here that a hippie space cadet who liked to do a bit of DMT and commune with bejewelled self dribbling basketball machine elf creatures (and possibly talking hedgehogs), had a kick back place. The island (St Herbert's Island), is named after him. Some of his biographies claim that his feast day is 20th March and that he died c 687.

Travelling thirteen miles or so south east from Derwent water would bring us to Lake Windermere and Wray Castle, where some of her biographies claim that the sixteen year old Beatrix Potter stayed while on holiday in the area. I couldn't find any information on the parish priest at Claife who founded a charity but the poet born 1770, is probably William Wordsworth and some of his bios claim that he was schooled at Hawkshead, which lies around two miles south west of Wray Castle.

Beatrix Potter's husband, a solicitor called 'William Heelis' had his offices in Hawkshead and the writer herself owned a property called 'Hill Top', around two miles to the south east.
The quote “Lily-white and clean, oh! With little frills between, oh!”, is from 'The Tale of Mrs Tiggy-Winkle'.

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 or quip relating to the puzzle and its solution, he will endeavour to publish it.

7 comments:

  1. The Vicar of Claife who part founded a charity was Hardcliffe Rawnsley (a fine Victorian name) who was one of the group who gave birth to the National Trust

    See Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardwicke_Rawnsley

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  2. I think the priest was Hardwicke Rawnsley who lved in the Lake District and was one of the founders of the National Trust .. Just in case you were interested.

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  3. The priest referred to in this week's puzzle may have been Canon Hardwicke Drummond Rawnsley (1851 - 1920). He was ordained in 1877 and in 1878 took up the post of Vicar of Wray. Rawnsley's views on preserving the natural beauty of Lake District apparently influenced Beatrix Potter and he encouraged her to publish her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit.
    Building on an idea propounded by John Ruskin to protect the countryside from damaging development, Rawnsley, conceived of a National Trust that could buy and preserve places of natural beauty and historic interest for the nation. The Trust became a reality in 1895; Until his death, Rawnsley worked as Honorary Secretary to the Trust and was responsible for the campaign to raise money to buy Brandlehow Wood, the National Trust's first purchase in the Lake District.

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  4. Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley - in 1878 took up the post of Vicar of Wray, Windermere. Also he was one of the founders of the National Trust.
    Geoff
    Cornwall

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  5. Thanks for the information on the cleric who founded the charity, guys.....I think I should have used the word vicar in my search rather than priest...

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  6. Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley - took up the post of Vicar of Wray in 1878. He was one of the founders of the National Trust.
    Geoff.
    Cornwall

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  7. Sorry to be pedantic but I believe Windermere is just Windermere. The only titled "Lake" in the Lake District is Bassenthwaite Lake.
    Dob.
    Berks.

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