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. William Shakespeare


Q2. The Boar's Head Tavern


Very tricky this week, the Eastender had the horrendous task of trying to translate some of Shakespeare's works into English, to find his way to the answers but I digress, the initial clues seem to place us on the south bank of the Thames, at what was once the site of Bankside power station,  an edifice that according to some of the reference sources I checked, was constructed from around four point two million bricks. The building didn't operate as a power station for very long and was subsequently converted into the much more interesting 'Tate Modern'. The architect who designed the power station, according to some of his biographies, was most likely 'Sir Giles Gilbert Scott' (born c 1880).

East of 'Tate Modern', stands the modern Globe theatre and the original, which lay a bit to the south seems to have been constructed by Cuthbert Burbage (born c 1564/65) and his brother Richard.

To reach Candlewick Street (aka Eastcheap), the puzzle author would probably have crossed the Thames using London Bridge. A local version of Florian Geyer and his black host, called Jack Cade, lead a peasant revolt into London over this span (c 1450) and Shakespeare wrote about Cade's regime change operation in his play 'Henry IV' (some of the other puzzlers are of the opinion that it was Henry VI and after checking, I think they are correct). In the script, Mr Cade strikes his sword on the 'London Stone' (aka 'The Stone of Brutus', after the Roman (or Trojan, depending on which reference source you check) who put it there). Think you can still see the stone but it may be in a window next to a sports shop these days.

The hostelry mentioned in Henry IV, is probably the 'Boar's Head Tavern' and the landlady had a joke name which made the Eastender chuckle when he read it : 'Nell Quickly' or 'Mistress Quickly' (visions of Charles Hawtrey, Kenneth Williams and Syd James saying it, induced this state of merriment). The Boar's Head Tavern may also have been mentioned in 'The Merry Wives of Windsor' and 'Henry V'. I found this quote in Henry VI (not Henry IV as first posted), which mentions a St Magnus corner:

CADE : Up Fish Street! Down St. Magnus’ Corner! Throw them into Thames!

 

There does seem to be a church of St Magnus the Martyr in the Eastcheap area, which was rebuilt after the great fire of London, by Christopher Wren. North west of London Bridge brings us to Smithfield and this was where Jack Cade and his Schwarzer Haufen, did battle with the royal team in Henry VI (they also seem to have been involved in a bit of a Donnybrook with the locals, on London bridge). Smithfield was according to some of his biographies, where the artist 'William Hogarth' was born (c 1697).

 

The third 'gem of a street' is most likely 'Hatton Garden', which is the jeweller's quarter in London. Some of the references I looked at, claim that the name 'Hatton Garden' is derived from the garden of the palace of the bishops of Ely, and that the area was once a large fruit orchard. Shakespeare makes reference to Hatton Garden in 'Richard the III' (again a very funny rhyming slang joke name ), the bard himself definitely had a sense of humour.

 

 

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.