Hello there! Well, here we are again (wherever ‘here’ happens to be for you; either as I bash out this meaningless waffle or when you read it). I trust that you have had an enjoyable summer holiday period (mine’s been like most seasons: you don’t have holidays once you retire). If not, I empathise but accept no liability. Now it’s time for the potential wailing and gnashing of teeth that may or may not accompany the approaching puzzles.
Here comes the first of them now. It’s Brewery Anagrams (all listed on the Greater London CAMRA website):
- LEO WHELP
- GREW VITALLY
- HAWKS TOUR
- I RODE BUSH
- ALIGNS
- NOTED LOANS
- WEST ORBIT
- LONGSHIP WHO?
- HAY NECK
- RUIN STAGE
There now, that wasn’t much fun, was it? Never mind; after Consecutive Celebrities you’ll be over half way through. You may be pleased to learn that I am running a bit low on these and, after the next edition, I may have to find something to fill this spot. I’m thinking of Reverse Celebrities; starting with ZY and running through to BA. Don’t like that? Well just ignore them, like I’m sure that most sensible readers do.
- OP: ‘Bladerunner’
- MN: Female British Soul/R&B singer
- JK: Actress and vocalist (Silly Games)
- VW: Tennis player (with a sister)
- BC: President from Arkansas
- ST: Canadian folk singer (‘other half’ of Ian)
- HI: Female sports presenter
- RS: American ‘action man’ actor
- KL: Fashion designer (in shades)
- AB: ‘Father of the NHS’
And so we approach the end with Trivial Knowledge in the time dishonoured manner. I was wondering where to start when I suddenly thought of a popular singing group from my much younger years, so up popped question 1. After that I thought that I would see if I could find enough more for a full set of ten.
- By what names are (since the early 1960s) Mary and Tom O’Brien better known?
- One time vocalist for the Stooges, under what name does James Nowell Osterberg Junior usually ply his trade?
- Ian Fraser Kilminster, active between 1971 and his demise in 2015, is known under what stage name and what two rock bands did he lead during this period?
- On stage (and telly), by what name is Robert Norman Davis commonly know?
- Singer Arnold George Dorsey assumed the name of which German composer?
- Who is Jim Moir when he is not painting birds with his wife?
- Which pop duo was formed in 1962 by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield?
- What is the stage name of Francesco Stephen Castelluccio?
- What is the stage name of singer (since 1957) of Reginald Leonard Smith? And, who is his daughter (also a singer)?
- And, finally, what is the stage name of Brenda Mae Tarpley (born 1944, active 1951 to present, they say) and what nickname was she given in 1957?
Well here we are at the end; I hope you don’t feel like you’ve wasted too much of your life. I wish you well with the next couple of months until the next batch of torment comes along.
Andy Pirson
As usual, here are the solutions to the puzzles set in the August/September Idle Moments column.
Brewery anagrams:
- YOB CLERK – BROCKLEY
- NOBLE DROWNING – LONDON BREWING
- ARK FRAGMENT – GERMAN KRAFT
- REVEAL PI – PERIVALE
- BASE TREAT – BATTERSEA
- DROLE TEST – OLD STREET
- A NEW JOB – JAWBONE
- YOB CLERK – BROCKLEY
- SELL BREAM – SMALL BEER
- SIT ON IT, ROD – DISTORTION
Last time, you may have noticed that breweries 1 and 8 had the same anagram. No, I didn’t include the same brewery twice; I just put the wrong anagram for one of them. I didn’t spot the cock up until I reopened the file to do the answers for this edition. Second time running – what a silly billy!
Consecutive celebrities:
- EF: Swashbuckling Australian actor – Errol Flynn
- RS: Austrian actress (What’s New Pussycat?) – Romy Schneider
- FG: Irish fiddle player (De Dannan) – Frankie Gavin
- CD: ‘My Boomerang Won’t Come Back!’ – Charlie Drake
- GH: Rhodesian England cricketer – Graeme Hick
- LM: ‘Rumpole of the Bailey’ – Leo McKern
- AB: Mrs Brooks (and ‘Mrs. Robinson’) – Anne Bancroft
- SD: Dame and doyenne of English theatre – Sybil Thorndike
- VW: Punk designer – Vivienne Westwood
- DE: English singer and actor (Godspell) – David Essex
General knowledge:
- The largest bronze sculpture in Europe, by Adrian Jones and depicting the Angel of Peace riding on a quadriga, is on Wellington Arch.
- ‘No. 1 London’, London’s ‘first address’, gifted by the nation to the first Duke of Wellington, is Apsley House.
- The neo-Palladian house commissioned by the 3rd Duke of Burlington, to house his large art collection, is called Chiswick House. The architect was William Kent.
- Another Palladian mansion, built for Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk, is called Marble Hill and it is in Twickenham.
- The Ranger’s House which houses the Wernher Collection (one of the greatest private art collections in Europe), is in Greenwich Park.
- The home created from the Great Hall (dating from the 1470s) and a major extension in the art deco style, by fabrics magnates Stephen and Virginia Courtauld, is Eltham Palace.
- The Courtaulds’ pet, Mah-Jongg, which benefitted from the splendid accommodation (cages linked by its own corridors), was a lemur.
- The next ‘posh house’ by Robert Adam, built for William Murray, first Earl of Mansfield, is Kenwood and it is on Hampstead Heath
- The less than elaborate structure, comprising two brick chambers linked by an underground passage, Coombe Conduit (in Kingston upon Thames) was constructed to collect rainwater and to feed it to Hampton Court Palace.
- If you recognised more than a couple of the buildings in Greater London described above, then you probably already knew that they are all owned and/or administered by Heritage England.