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. Perranporth
Q2. In the Roar of the Sea
The initial clues seem to place us in the village of Perranporth, in a beautiful area known as Cornwall.From looking at the OS map, there seems to be a large beach and an expanse of dunes called the 'Penhale Sands', which lie to the north of the settlement. A motor designer who was born there, at Woodbine cottage c 1898, was Donald Mitchell Healey. He seems to have been a total petrol head and not only did he design cars, he also raced them and became the technical director at Triumph, designing all of their cars, until c 1945 when the factory went bust. At that point, Healey founded the Donald Healey Motor Company Ltd, where his first model, the Healey Elliot went on to win some alpine rally events c 1947/48.
Penhale sands, from some of the sources I checked, seems to have been the site of St Piran's church and St Piran's Oratory. The Eastender had to look up what an oratory was but it appears to have been a smaller chapel intended for an individual's private worship. Building a church on sand dunes, as we shall later see, is not usually a good idea. St Piran is thought by some to have been Irish and born c 6th century ad. He is also the patron saint of tin miners and his colours, white cross on a black background, are said to represent tin being smelted from a stone, which he allegedly floated across the sea from Eire on, after being escorted from the club by angry heathens. His first disciples upon coming ashore are said to have been a fox, a badger and a bear, though how this enabled him to recruit more followers, remains somewhat unclear.
Fourteen miles north north east of Perranporth, would likely bring us to the Trevose Head lighthouse which some of the references I looked at claim is twenty seven metres high or eighty eight point five eight feet in old money. Appears to have been constructed c 1847. Taking the circuitous route to find the church mentioned in the clues, would take us past the village of Trevone and it was here that an author called Dorothy Richardson lived for a time. Richardson pioneered the stream of consciousness style of writing in her series of thirteen novels known as 'Pilgrimage'.
Driving past Trevone, brings us to the town of Padstow and this is where a great old British actor called Edward Woodward (born c 1930) lived, at Mariner's Friend, Hawker's Cove. Woodward according to some of his bios, made his first debut at the Castle Theatre, Farnham c 1946, in a play called 'A kiss for Cinderella', though subsequently came to a bad end, after upsetting some local pagans on a Scottish island.
A much loved poet, called John Betjeman (and who did not like his line 'Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough? ) lies in the graveyard of St Enodoc's church, which is situated about five miles as the drone flies, east of Trevose Head lighthouse. This church is also built on sand dunes, allegedly over the cave where St Enodoc lived as a hermit, on the east bank of the river Camel and for much of its history was almost engulfed by sand. It is said that at times, the parishioners had to climb through a hole in the roof to gain entry and that this had to be done once a year, in order for the rector to be able to collect tithes from the locals. No church service, no taxes, hence the reluctance to dig the edifice out.
The story of the battle to keep St Enodoc's church sand free, is described in a novel called 'In the Roar of the Sea' (published c 1892), by a writer and erudite polymath called Sabine Baring Gould. Baring Gould seems to have been some sort of literary dynamo, writing over forty novels, twenty four travel guide books, general interest books and a collection of folk songs, reputedly a total of twelve hundred and forty publications and all while holding down his day job as a clergyman. From the excerpts of the novel I read in the various archives I trawled through, one of the main protagonists in the novel, is called the Reverend Peter Trevisa,who was for twenty five years, rector of St Enodoc's and it was the problem of the church being swallowed by the sand, which finished him off, as he worked in vain to dig it out, without help from the tithe avoiding locals....
N.B. The Eastender has moved to moderated comments due to the number of people who normally write letters in green ink, posting on his page. Rest assured though, if you have a non abusive comment relating to solving the puzzle and possible solutions, he will publish it.
Saturday, 9 May 2015
Saturday, 2 May 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. Wigtown
Q2. Cardoness Castle
When you read the phrase "book town", you may possibly think of Hay on Wye but that is probably not the one the author is referring to in the initial clues, which more likely place us in the Dumfries and Galloway region, specifically in the settlement of Wigtown, which some of the sources I checked, claim was designated Scotland's national book town, c 1998. Wigtown was once the county town of the four hundred and eight seven square mile county of Wigtownshire, which existed until c 1975.
A writer called John Kincaid McNeillie (born c 1916),once lived in North Clutag, which is around three miles south west of Wigtown and penned a famous novel about a fierce ploughman called 'Andy Walker'. Some of McNeillie's bios say that the book was called "Wigtown Ploughman: Part of his Life" and was published c 1939. McNeillie seems to have been a bit like Thomas Hardy, in that some of his works reflect the very harsh environment and poverty that country people lived in, even in the twentieth century. He wrote so many books and articles for journals, that they named the library in Wigtown after him. When he died, it is said that his ashes were transported to North Clutag and washed into the earth there, with whisky from the local Bladnoch distillery.
A town eight miles north or so from Wigtown, is most likely Newton Stewart and it was here that the exciseman and antiquary, Joseph Train was based for a time. Train published his work 'Poetical Reveries' c 1806 and carried out research for the writer Sir Walter Scott (born c 1771), sending him many pages of his antiquarian material, some of which Scott based his novels on.
Motoring down the opposite shore from the book town, south east along the A75, would probably take us past Creetown and Carsluith Castle. This does not seem to be the castle mentioned in the hints, as the blurb on the Historic Scotland web site says that it is of circa sixteenth century origin. From looking at the pictures of it, it does not appear to be six storeys high, either. Just before the road turns east further on, lies Barholm castle, once owned by the McCullochs, who feuded with the Browns of Carsluith Castle. Barholm Castle is around three storeys high and of 15th/16th century origin. It seems to be for sale for more the half a million pounds but you could possibly get hit for a lot of council tax if you buy it.
The road turns east toward the town of Gatehouse of Fleet, and it was here c 1793, that the lines 'By oppression’s woes and pains! ' were written by Robert Burns, for his poem 'Scots Wha Hae' or in English 'Scots Who Have With Wallace Bled'. Burns used to hang out with a good ol' Jacobite bampot called Wullie Nicol and it was said that Nicol had to be taken everywhere twice, the purpose of the second visit being to apologize to the hosts, for the first visit. The bard himself also met Sir Walter Scott, at the house of the philosopher, professor Adam Ferguson, in Edinburgh. To complicate things further, there seem to be three castles at Gatehouse of fleet (which fits in with the 'fleeting shower' clue), one is a ruin called 'Cally Castle', which was built c 16th century and attained a height of four storeys, a second is called Green Tower Motte (aka Boreland of Anwoth motte), which is little more than earthworks now and the third, is 'Cardoness Castle', which Historic Scotland describe as 'a well preserved six storey tower house of the McCullochs, dating back to the 15th century'. It is this tower which lies just outside of the town on the road that the puzzle author was probably travelling on and is the one which seems to be a good fit for the clues given.
N.B. The Eastender has moved to moderated comments due to the number of people who normally write letters in green ink, posting on his page. Rest assured though, if you have a non abusive comment relating to solving the puzzle and possible solutions, he will publish it.
Q1. Wigtown
Q2. Cardoness Castle
When you read the phrase "book town", you may possibly think of Hay on Wye but that is probably not the one the author is referring to in the initial clues, which more likely place us in the Dumfries and Galloway region, specifically in the settlement of Wigtown, which some of the sources I checked, claim was designated Scotland's national book town, c 1998. Wigtown was once the county town of the four hundred and eight seven square mile county of Wigtownshire, which existed until c 1975.
A writer called John Kincaid McNeillie (born c 1916),once lived in North Clutag, which is around three miles south west of Wigtown and penned a famous novel about a fierce ploughman called 'Andy Walker'. Some of McNeillie's bios say that the book was called "Wigtown Ploughman: Part of his Life" and was published c 1939. McNeillie seems to have been a bit like Thomas Hardy, in that some of his works reflect the very harsh environment and poverty that country people lived in, even in the twentieth century. He wrote so many books and articles for journals, that they named the library in Wigtown after him. When he died, it is said that his ashes were transported to North Clutag and washed into the earth there, with whisky from the local Bladnoch distillery.
A town eight miles north or so from Wigtown, is most likely Newton Stewart and it was here that the exciseman and antiquary, Joseph Train was based for a time. Train published his work 'Poetical Reveries' c 1806 and carried out research for the writer Sir Walter Scott (born c 1771), sending him many pages of his antiquarian material, some of which Scott based his novels on.
Motoring down the opposite shore from the book town, south east along the A75, would probably take us past Creetown and Carsluith Castle. This does not seem to be the castle mentioned in the hints, as the blurb on the Historic Scotland web site says that it is of circa sixteenth century origin. From looking at the pictures of it, it does not appear to be six storeys high, either. Just before the road turns east further on, lies Barholm castle, once owned by the McCullochs, who feuded with the Browns of Carsluith Castle. Barholm Castle is around three storeys high and of 15th/16th century origin. It seems to be for sale for more the half a million pounds but you could possibly get hit for a lot of council tax if you buy it.
The road turns east toward the town of Gatehouse of Fleet, and it was here c 1793, that the lines 'By oppression’s woes and pains! ' were written by Robert Burns, for his poem 'Scots Wha Hae' or in English 'Scots Who Have With Wallace Bled'. Burns used to hang out with a good ol' Jacobite bampot called Wullie Nicol and it was said that Nicol had to be taken everywhere twice, the purpose of the second visit being to apologize to the hosts, for the first visit. The bard himself also met Sir Walter Scott, at the house of the philosopher, professor Adam Ferguson, in Edinburgh. To complicate things further, there seem to be three castles at Gatehouse of fleet (which fits in with the 'fleeting shower' clue), one is a ruin called 'Cally Castle', which was built c 16th century and attained a height of four storeys, a second is called Green Tower Motte (aka Boreland of Anwoth motte), which is little more than earthworks now and the third, is 'Cardoness Castle', which Historic Scotland describe as 'a well preserved six storey tower house of the McCullochs, dating back to the 15th century'. It is this tower which lies just outside of the town on the road that the puzzle author was probably travelling on and is the one which seems to be a good fit for the clues given.
N.B. The Eastender has moved to moderated comments due to the number of people who normally write letters in green ink, posting on his page. Rest assured though, if you have a non abusive comment relating to solving the puzzle and possible solutions, he will publish it.
Saturday, 25 April 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. Rottingdean
Q2. Rudyard Kipling
The initial clues seem to place us at the village of Rottingdean, in the county of Sussex and it was here c 1896, that a marvellously potty inventor, named Magnus Volk (born c 1851), built the Brighton & Rottingdean Seashore Electric Railway. It ran from a pier at Rottingdean to Kemp Town in Brighton and consisted of a car, which some sources say measured forty five feet by twenty two feet (nine hundred and ninety square feet) that rode on four twenty three foot high stilts and which was propelled electrically along an underwater track, which lay just off the shore line. This of course reminds the Eastender of the laid back president Ulysses S Grant's quote from the Will Smith film, Wild Wild West, who when confronted by the steampunk mechanical arachnid of the evil genius Dr Loveless, quipped "That's a fine looking spider you've got there". Mixing water with electricity seems like a bad idea but Volk's 'Daddy Longlegs', as the contraption was known locally, ran from 1896 to 1901, when it was finally closed, due to the local council building a groyne in its path, with Volk not having the funds to re-route his railway.
Sir Stafford Crips, who was appointed Chancellor c 1947 attended a preparatory school at Rottingdean and a sealord appointed c 1916, called Sir John Jellicoe was educated at Field House School, in the village. A novelist called Enid Algernine Bagnold, lived at North End House, Rottingdean and published a work called 'The Last Joke' c 1960. Another famous writer who lived in the settlement, was Rudyard Kipling. Kipling published a work called the 'Just So Stories' (c 1902) and it is in one of these, that he explains how the camel got his hump
The hotel mentioned in the clues is probably the (Grand) Ocean Hotel, at Saltdean Lido, which was built c1937 - 38, depending on which sources you check. Seems to have been opened for three years before the fire service took it over to train their personnel and was subsequently bought by Billy Butlin.
N.B. The Eastender has moved to moderated comments due to the number of people who normally write letters in green ink, posting on his page. Rest assured though, if you have a non abusive comment relating to solving the puzzle and possible solutions, he will publish it.
Q1. Rottingdean
Q2. Rudyard Kipling
The initial clues seem to place us at the village of Rottingdean, in the county of Sussex and it was here c 1896, that a marvellously potty inventor, named Magnus Volk (born c 1851), built the Brighton & Rottingdean Seashore Electric Railway. It ran from a pier at Rottingdean to Kemp Town in Brighton and consisted of a car, which some sources say measured forty five feet by twenty two feet (nine hundred and ninety square feet) that rode on four twenty three foot high stilts and which was propelled electrically along an underwater track, which lay just off the shore line. This of course reminds the Eastender of the laid back president Ulysses S Grant's quote from the Will Smith film, Wild Wild West, who when confronted by the steampunk mechanical arachnid of the evil genius Dr Loveless, quipped "That's a fine looking spider you've got there". Mixing water with electricity seems like a bad idea but Volk's 'Daddy Longlegs', as the contraption was known locally, ran from 1896 to 1901, when it was finally closed, due to the local council building a groyne in its path, with Volk not having the funds to re-route his railway.
Sir Stafford Crips, who was appointed Chancellor c 1947 attended a preparatory school at Rottingdean and a sealord appointed c 1916, called Sir John Jellicoe was educated at Field House School, in the village. A novelist called Enid Algernine Bagnold, lived at North End House, Rottingdean and published a work called 'The Last Joke' c 1960. Another famous writer who lived in the settlement, was Rudyard Kipling. Kipling published a work called the 'Just So Stories' (c 1902) and it is in one of these, that he explains how the camel got his hump
The hotel mentioned in the clues is probably the (Grand) Ocean Hotel, at Saltdean Lido, which was built c1937 - 38, depending on which sources you check. Seems to have been opened for three years before the fire service took it over to train their personnel and was subsequently bought by Billy Butlin.
N.B. The Eastender has moved to moderated comments due to the number of people who normally write letters in green ink, posting on his page. Rest assured though, if you have a non abusive comment relating to solving the puzzle and possible solutions, he will publish it.
Saturday, 18 April 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. Manorbier Castle
Q2. Lamphey Bishop's Palace
Very very tricky this week and thus also entertaining, lots of misdirection and red herrings to research and resolve. The Eastender initially thought that the clues were pointing to 'Top Castle' medieval mound, near the Pembrokeshire coast path, about a mile or so north east of Amroth castle but could not find any legends about miracles or injuries relating to this medieval period earthworks. After a lot more digging, he found a mound called 'Sentence Castle', at the village of Templeton (allegedly named after the medieval squaddies who ended up in charge of the world banking system, after rooting around in the mines under mount Moriah and finding something incredibly valuable there (although the 'mines of Moriah' story may of course, be a metaphor for some sort of esoteric initiation ceremony or trial), aka 'The Templars'). A battlefield is marked 1081 on the OS map, near the castle mound, in the middle of a disused airfield, though I could not find any lore relating to injuries or miracles for this grün haufen.
The battle of Mynydd Carn, if it was indeed fought here (and there is a lot of uncertainty about the location, which is where some of the author's clever misdirection comes in, as some sources claim it was fought north of St Davids, which also has a bishop's palace and a chapel by the sea) was between Trahaearn ap Caradog and Gruffud ap Cynan. Cynan's team apparently won this one, with Trahaearn getting killed, as they had some Norman arbalists on their side.
Driving nine miles south south west of Templeton, would bring us to the birthplace of Gerald de Barry, who according to some of the bios I checked, was born in Manorbier Castle c 1146. Gerald de Barry appears to have been the youngest son of William Fitzodo de Barry. Some of the aforementioned bios say he was appointed archdeacon of Brecon c 1174, after reporting bishop Brennan to the authorities, for having a mistress. He was also a writer and academic.
Three miles north east or so from Manorbier, lies the village of Penally and this is said to be the birthplace of St Teilo, c 6th century AD. St Teilo's feast day is February the 9th. Travelling six miles or so south west from Manorbier, would likely take us to St Govan's chapel, near St Govan's head. St Govan (feast day 26th March) was a hermit who legend has it, may also have been one of king Arthur's men (Sir Gawain) who retired there to get over his PTSD, after locking horns with the Green Knight. I did find a reference which stated that the number of steps counted on the way up, can be different from the number counted on the way down. St Govan lived in a fissure in the rocks, with the chapel being built later.
On the way to St Govan's chapel, the puzzle writer most likely passes close to Lamphey Bishop's palace, which was apparently some sort of Kublai Khan style pleasure dome, for stressed out high ranking clergy of the period, to chill out in. It was constructed by Henry de Gower, who was bishop of St Davids, c 1328 to 1347. It was of course no surprise, trashed by our old friend ' 'enry the Eighth'. The area around St Govan's chapel is used by modern day 'arbalists' to throw artillery shells around and is thus marked Danger Area, in red on the OS map.
N.B. The Eastender has moved to moderated comments due to the number of people who normally write letters in green ink, posting on his page. Rest assured though, if you have a non abusive comment relating to solving the puzzle and possible solutions, he will publish it.
Q1. Manorbier Castle
Q2. Lamphey Bishop's Palace
Very very tricky this week and thus also entertaining, lots of misdirection and red herrings to research and resolve. The Eastender initially thought that the clues were pointing to 'Top Castle' medieval mound, near the Pembrokeshire coast path, about a mile or so north east of Amroth castle but could not find any legends about miracles or injuries relating to this medieval period earthworks. After a lot more digging, he found a mound called 'Sentence Castle', at the village of Templeton (allegedly named after the medieval squaddies who ended up in charge of the world banking system, after rooting around in the mines under mount Moriah and finding something incredibly valuable there (although the 'mines of Moriah' story may of course, be a metaphor for some sort of esoteric initiation ceremony or trial), aka 'The Templars'). A battlefield is marked 1081 on the OS map, near the castle mound, in the middle of a disused airfield, though I could not find any lore relating to injuries or miracles for this grün haufen.
The battle of Mynydd Carn, if it was indeed fought here (and there is a lot of uncertainty about the location, which is where some of the author's clever misdirection comes in, as some sources claim it was fought north of St Davids, which also has a bishop's palace and a chapel by the sea) was between Trahaearn ap Caradog and Gruffud ap Cynan. Cynan's team apparently won this one, with Trahaearn getting killed, as they had some Norman arbalists on their side.
Driving nine miles south south west of Templeton, would bring us to the birthplace of Gerald de Barry, who according to some of the bios I checked, was born in Manorbier Castle c 1146. Gerald de Barry appears to have been the youngest son of William Fitzodo de Barry. Some of the aforementioned bios say he was appointed archdeacon of Brecon c 1174, after reporting bishop Brennan to the authorities, for having a mistress. He was also a writer and academic.
Three miles north east or so from Manorbier, lies the village of Penally and this is said to be the birthplace of St Teilo, c 6th century AD. St Teilo's feast day is February the 9th. Travelling six miles or so south west from Manorbier, would likely take us to St Govan's chapel, near St Govan's head. St Govan (feast day 26th March) was a hermit who legend has it, may also have been one of king Arthur's men (Sir Gawain) who retired there to get over his PTSD, after locking horns with the Green Knight. I did find a reference which stated that the number of steps counted on the way up, can be different from the number counted on the way down. St Govan lived in a fissure in the rocks, with the chapel being built later.
On the way to St Govan's chapel, the puzzle writer most likely passes close to Lamphey Bishop's palace, which was apparently some sort of Kublai Khan style pleasure dome, for stressed out high ranking clergy of the period, to chill out in. It was constructed by Henry de Gower, who was bishop of St Davids, c 1328 to 1347. It was of course no surprise, trashed by our old friend ' 'enry the Eighth'. The area around St Govan's chapel is used by modern day 'arbalists' to throw artillery shells around and is thus marked Danger Area, in red on the OS map.
N.B. The Eastender has moved to moderated comments due to the number of people who normally write letters in green ink, posting on his page. Rest assured though, if you have a non abusive comment relating to solving the puzzle and possible solutions, he will publish it.
Saturday, 11 April 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. Bishop Eric Treacy
Q2. Dungeon Ghyll Force
внимание друзья! For question two, The word ghyll can also be spelled gill, but the waterfall is marked on some maps as Dungeon Ghyll Force and William Wordsworth also uses this spelling in his poem.
The initial clues seem to place us in a small dorp called Great Crosthwaite, to the north west of the town of Keswick, in Cumbria. The church there appears to be dedicated to Saint Kentigern (aka Saint Mungo) who, depending on which version of his bio you read died either in 612 AD or 614 AD, with some writers from the period claiming that he was one hundred and eighty five years old. A poet called Robert Southey (born c 1774) lies buried in the churchyard, as do the mortal remains of 'The Railway Bishop', Eric Treacy. The Bishop, like Joe Strummer, has a railway locomotive named after him.The Brazilian government appear to have renovated Southey's grave at one point during the nineteen sixties.
A prolific novelist called Sir Hugh Seymore Walpole, who wrote a work called 'Judith Paris', lies in the churchyard of St John's, in Keswick. Driving south from Keswick would take us past the (four to five acres according to the National Trust), St Herbert's island. St Herbert was a bit of a hipster who liked to get away from the noise in town, to hang out, chill, meditate and grow a bit of organic veg and sensimilla, on that peaceful insel. It is also reputed to be the model for Beatrix Potter's 'Owl Island', in her book 'The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin'.
The puzzle author then likely drives to the 'Cataract of Lodore' (name of the poem written about it by Southey, c 1820 from which the quote in the clues comes from) aka the Lodore Falls, at Borrowdale.The quote "James stopped with no good will", is from William Wordsworth's 'The Idle Shepherd Boys' (published c 1800), which as far as I can tell , took place partly in Dungeon Ghyll,with the waterfall there being called Dungeon Ghyll Force (Think ghyll is possibly a local word, with a similar meaning to 'gulley').From reading the poem, it looks like Wordsworth had to fish the lamb out of the pool in Dungeon Ghyll, after it went over the waterfall and give the idle shepherds some feedback in regards to the below par performance of their duties.
Driving south west from the cataract of Lodore, brings us to a fine example of what is known in the trade as 'a large glacial erratic', or a very big boulder that was carried here by a glacier, all the way from Scotland. This is known locally as the Bowder Stone (around thirty feet high and standing on a point) and they seem to have placed a ladder against it so that you can climb up and inspect it.They think it weighs around two thousand tons. Nearby, there is a small eminence known as 'King's How' and there is said to be a memorial plaque there, dedicated to King Edward VII, who died c 1910. The inscription on it reads:
"In Loving Memory of King Edward VII, Grange Fell is dedicated by his sister Louise as a sanctuary of rest and peace. Here may all beings gather strength, find in scenes of beautiful nature a cause for gratitude and love to God, giving them courage and vigour to carry on his will"
Here the writer gets a bit crafty and we need to add the height of where he stands at this point in the text, at four hundred and twenty three feet above sea level, with the remaining height to reach the summit of the feature he is describing ie two thousand seven hundred and eighty six feet, to give a total of three thousand two hundred and nine feet. Converting this to metres, gives nine hundred and seventy eight metres and looking on the OS map for a hill of this height, eight miles or so south south west of the Bowder Stone, brings us to Scafell Pike (978 m).
N.B. The Eastender has moved to moderated comments due to the number of people who normally write letters in green ink, posting on his page. Rest assured though, if you have a non abusive comment relating to solving the puzzle and possible solutions, he will publish it.
Q1. Bishop Eric Treacy
Q2. Dungeon Ghyll Force
внимание друзья! For question two, The word ghyll can also be spelled gill, but the waterfall is marked on some maps as Dungeon Ghyll Force and William Wordsworth also uses this spelling in his poem.
The initial clues seem to place us in a small dorp called Great Crosthwaite, to the north west of the town of Keswick, in Cumbria. The church there appears to be dedicated to Saint Kentigern (aka Saint Mungo) who, depending on which version of his bio you read died either in 612 AD or 614 AD, with some writers from the period claiming that he was one hundred and eighty five years old. A poet called Robert Southey (born c 1774) lies buried in the churchyard, as do the mortal remains of 'The Railway Bishop', Eric Treacy. The Bishop, like Joe Strummer, has a railway locomotive named after him.The Brazilian government appear to have renovated Southey's grave at one point during the nineteen sixties.
A prolific novelist called Sir Hugh Seymore Walpole, who wrote a work called 'Judith Paris', lies in the churchyard of St John's, in Keswick. Driving south from Keswick would take us past the (four to five acres according to the National Trust), St Herbert's island. St Herbert was a bit of a hipster who liked to get away from the noise in town, to hang out, chill, meditate and grow a bit of organic veg and sensimilla, on that peaceful insel. It is also reputed to be the model for Beatrix Potter's 'Owl Island', in her book 'The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin'.
The puzzle author then likely drives to the 'Cataract of Lodore' (name of the poem written about it by Southey, c 1820 from which the quote in the clues comes from) aka the Lodore Falls, at Borrowdale.The quote "James stopped with no good will", is from William Wordsworth's 'The Idle Shepherd Boys' (published c 1800), which as far as I can tell , took place partly in Dungeon Ghyll,with the waterfall there being called Dungeon Ghyll Force (Think ghyll is possibly a local word, with a similar meaning to 'gulley').From reading the poem, it looks like Wordsworth had to fish the lamb out of the pool in Dungeon Ghyll, after it went over the waterfall and give the idle shepherds some feedback in regards to the below par performance of their duties.
Driving south west from the cataract of Lodore, brings us to a fine example of what is known in the trade as 'a large glacial erratic', or a very big boulder that was carried here by a glacier, all the way from Scotland. This is known locally as the Bowder Stone (around thirty feet high and standing on a point) and they seem to have placed a ladder against it so that you can climb up and inspect it.They think it weighs around two thousand tons. Nearby, there is a small eminence known as 'King's How' and there is said to be a memorial plaque there, dedicated to King Edward VII, who died c 1910. The inscription on it reads:
"In Loving Memory of King Edward VII, Grange Fell is dedicated by his sister Louise as a sanctuary of rest and peace. Here may all beings gather strength, find in scenes of beautiful nature a cause for gratitude and love to God, giving them courage and vigour to carry on his will"
Here the writer gets a bit crafty and we need to add the height of where he stands at this point in the text, at four hundred and twenty three feet above sea level, with the remaining height to reach the summit of the feature he is describing ie two thousand seven hundred and eighty six feet, to give a total of three thousand two hundred and nine feet. Converting this to metres, gives nine hundred and seventy eight metres and looking on the OS map for a hill of this height, eight miles or so south south west of the Bowder Stone, brings us to Scafell Pike (978 m).
N.B. The Eastender has moved to moderated comments due to the number of people who normally write letters in green ink, posting on his page. Rest assured though, if you have a non abusive comment relating to solving the puzzle and possible solutions, he will publish it.
Saturday, 4 April 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. Dorchester
Q2. Cecil Day-Lewis
внимание друзья! for question two, Cecil Day-Lewis didn't like to use the hyphen in his name and can also be known as Cecil Day Lewis.
The initial clues seem to place us in the Roman town of Durnovaria (aka Dorchester), in the county of Dorset. Travelling five miles of so south west brings us to Black Down Hill, near the settlement of Portesham and the site of a seventy two foot high monument, dedicated to Vice Admiral Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy (born c 1769), who fought at the battle of Trafalgar. The author in question is also called Thomas Hardy but he was born c 1840 in the hamlet of Higher Brockhampton, which lies a mile or so north east of the town.
There appear (on the OS map at least) to be remains of a Roman temple to the south of Dorchester, next to an Iron age hill fort called Maiden Castle and the remains of a Roman aqueduct on the north western edge of the town. Travelling five miles or so north east from the aqueduct, takes us to the site of Thomas Hardy's (the author) birthplace, a cottage in Higher Brockhampton. The "long low cottage with the hipped roof of thatch" quote, comes from Hardy's 1872 novel, 'Under the Greenwood Tree'.
The Eastender, after watching 'Tess of the D'ubervilles' and 'Jude the Obscure', thought that Thomas Hardy must have been broke but he seems to have been quite well off and built an impressive town house called 'Max Gate', at Alington Avenue, in Dorchester c 1885. In the garden at Max Gate, lies the grave in which Hardy's fox terrier, 'Wessex' was buried. The inscription on it reads "Famous Dog WESSEX Aug 1913 - 27 Dec 1926 Faithfull Unflinching".
Thomas Hardy's heart, is apparently buried in the graveyard of St Michael's church in a small dorp called Stinsford, which is about a mile north east of Dorchester. Next to this is the site of the poet laureate (appointed c 1968), Cecil Day-Lewis's grave (died c 1972). Cecil Day-Lewis also wrote a novel (c 1935) called 'A Question of Proof', which featured a detective called Nigel Strangeways.
N.B. The Eastender has moved to moderated comments due to the number of people who normally write letters in green ink, posting on his page. Rest assured though, if you have a non abusive comment relating to solving the puzzle and possible solutions, he will publish it.
Q1. Dorchester
Q2. Cecil Day-Lewis
внимание друзья! for question two, Cecil Day-Lewis didn't like to use the hyphen in his name and can also be known as Cecil Day Lewis.
The initial clues seem to place us in the Roman town of Durnovaria (aka Dorchester), in the county of Dorset. Travelling five miles of so south west brings us to Black Down Hill, near the settlement of Portesham and the site of a seventy two foot high monument, dedicated to Vice Admiral Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy (born c 1769), who fought at the battle of Trafalgar. The author in question is also called Thomas Hardy but he was born c 1840 in the hamlet of Higher Brockhampton, which lies a mile or so north east of the town.
There appear (on the OS map at least) to be remains of a Roman temple to the south of Dorchester, next to an Iron age hill fort called Maiden Castle and the remains of a Roman aqueduct on the north western edge of the town. Travelling five miles or so north east from the aqueduct, takes us to the site of Thomas Hardy's (the author) birthplace, a cottage in Higher Brockhampton. The "long low cottage with the hipped roof of thatch" quote, comes from Hardy's 1872 novel, 'Under the Greenwood Tree'.
The Eastender, after watching 'Tess of the D'ubervilles' and 'Jude the Obscure', thought that Thomas Hardy must have been broke but he seems to have been quite well off and built an impressive town house called 'Max Gate', at Alington Avenue, in Dorchester c 1885. In the garden at Max Gate, lies the grave in which Hardy's fox terrier, 'Wessex' was buried. The inscription on it reads "Famous Dog WESSEX Aug 1913 - 27 Dec 1926 Faithfull Unflinching".
Thomas Hardy's heart, is apparently buried in the graveyard of St Michael's church in a small dorp called Stinsford, which is about a mile north east of Dorchester. Next to this is the site of the poet laureate (appointed c 1968), Cecil Day-Lewis's grave (died c 1972). Cecil Day-Lewis also wrote a novel (c 1935) called 'A Question of Proof', which featured a detective called Nigel Strangeways.
N.B. The Eastender has moved to moderated comments due to the number of people who normally write letters in green ink, posting on his page. Rest assured though, if you have a non abusive comment relating to solving the puzzle and possible solutions, he will publish it.
Saturday, 28 March 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. Wapping
Q2. Sir Hugh Willoughby
The puzzle author appears to be revisiting old haunts with this weeks writing. The initial clues seem to place us in Wapping, in London's east end. A sixteenth century antiquary who referred to the main drag there as "a filthy straight passage", is most likely John Stow. The "well travelled writer" born c 1709, who wrote that Wapping had "such modes of life as few could imagine", is probably Samuel Johnson and the quote "awful east, helpless, hopeless" seems to originate from a book called 'The People of the Abyss', by the American writer, Jack London.
A privateer who was hanged at 'Execution Dock' in Wapping c May 23rd 1701, appears to be captain William Kidd and Judge George Jeffreys (born c 1645) was lifted by the bizzies in Wapping, as he tried to flee to Hamburg on a collier vessel. The island referred to in the text is probably Jacob's island, which was a notorious rookery, where Bill Sikes (one of the villains in Dicken's Oliver Twist (published c 1838)), met his demise, in the mud of Folly ditch, after killing his girlfriend Nancy.
A mariner who set forth from Wapping c 1553, in an attempt to find a north eastern passage to India and who probably froze to death in Russia, was Sir Hugh Willoughby (died c1554?). I did find some references to a commerative plaque in his honour, in Shadwell/Wapping. The pub called the Devil's Tavern, is now called 'The Prospect of Whitby' and seems to have had many famous customers who stopped there for a jar or two, amongst them a diarist who wrote his first entry c 1st January 1660, one Samuel Pepys.
N.B. The Eastender has moved to moderated comments due to the number of people who normally write letters in green ink, posting on his page. Rest assured though, if you have a non abusive comment relating to solving the puzzle and possible solutions, he will publish it
Q1. Wapping
Q2. Sir Hugh Willoughby
The puzzle author appears to be revisiting old haunts with this weeks writing. The initial clues seem to place us in Wapping, in London's east end. A sixteenth century antiquary who referred to the main drag there as "a filthy straight passage", is most likely John Stow. The "well travelled writer" born c 1709, who wrote that Wapping had "such modes of life as few could imagine", is probably Samuel Johnson and the quote "awful east, helpless, hopeless" seems to originate from a book called 'The People of the Abyss', by the American writer, Jack London.
A privateer who was hanged at 'Execution Dock' in Wapping c May 23rd 1701, appears to be captain William Kidd and Judge George Jeffreys (born c 1645) was lifted by the bizzies in Wapping, as he tried to flee to Hamburg on a collier vessel. The island referred to in the text is probably Jacob's island, which was a notorious rookery, where Bill Sikes (one of the villains in Dicken's Oliver Twist (published c 1838)), met his demise, in the mud of Folly ditch, after killing his girlfriend Nancy.
A mariner who set forth from Wapping c 1553, in an attempt to find a north eastern passage to India and who probably froze to death in Russia, was Sir Hugh Willoughby (died c1554?). I did find some references to a commerative plaque in his honour, in Shadwell/Wapping. The pub called the Devil's Tavern, is now called 'The Prospect of Whitby' and seems to have had many famous customers who stopped there for a jar or two, amongst them a diarist who wrote his first entry c 1st January 1660, one Samuel Pepys.
N.B. The Eastender has moved to moderated comments due to the number of people who normally write letters in green ink, posting on his page. Rest assured though, if you have a non abusive comment relating to solving the puzzle and possible solutions, he will publish it
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