Canny lass

You're forgiven!

Less of the BH, young man! Equality rules in this household so OH will do nicely thank you (that's unless you're referring to my OH's BH , of course).

...and here it is! 1. Which Prussian statesman was known as The Iron Chancellor? 2. What is the membranous sack which surrounds the heart called? 3. Which British Prime Minister said “A week is a long time in politics”? 4. Into which river did the Pied Piper of Hamlin lead the rats? 5. Which male vocalist of the 60s had number one hits with Yeh Yeh, Get Away and Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde? 6. In which London thoroughfare are the headquarters of the Horse Guards? 7. In which sport are banderillas used? 8. Which literary character’s main opponent was Von Stalhein? 9. Which nutlike seeds are produced by the tree Prunus amygdalus? 10. Where in the human body would you find the amygdala? 11. Who won the 1997 Booker prize for the novel The God of Small Things? 12. What do Americans call the game we know as draughts? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. Florence Nightingale kept a small owl in her pocket, even while serving in the Crimean War. Answers on Thursday next week. Advance warning: Only five more quiz nights! Sadly - or not, as the case may be - the last Friday Night Quiz will be posted 18th June. The reason being that by then we will be fully vaccinated and intend to make some attempt to resume a more normal lifestyle. We won't be going mad but are hoping to get out and about a bit further than the local forests and lakes. Of course, should there be any change in the situation you may have to put up with me a bit longer.

Answers to last wek's quiz: 1. Erwin Rommel 2. Latvia 3. Knock, Knock who’s There 4. Boris Karloff 5. Antelope 6. Splinter 7. 3 pennies 8. Scottish National Party 9. Max Planck 10. Jimi Hendrix 11. Per Lindstrand and Steve Fossett 12. Stephen Hendry New quiz tomorrow.

There are many ways to skin a cat.

There's 'clutter' and there's 'knowledge'. Now, what i'm doing here is not looking for clutter. I'm simply retrieving stored knowledge from dingy corners of the memory, where we ourselves have stored it till the time it may come in useful. It needs a dusting off now and then to make it more accessable when the time comes for its use.

Fiday Night again! Very easy quiz this week. You should know most of the answers without the help of Google 1. Which German General was known as the Desert Fox? 2. Of which former Soviet republic is Riga the capital? 3. What was Mary Hopkins entry in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1970? 4. Which actor’s real name was William Pratt? 5. What sort of creature is a gerenuk? 6. Which rat trained the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? 7. What did the American golfer Jack Nicklaus always carry in his pocket at tournaments? 8. Which British political party was founded on 1934? 9. Which German physicist formed the quantum theory? 10. Which rock guitarist was the first to be honoured with an English Heritage blue plaque? 11. Who were Richard Branson’s co-pilots on his attempt to fly around the world in a balloon in December 1998? 12. Who became a world snooker champion for a record-equalling sixth time in 1996? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. The first comb dates back to Scandinavia around 8000 BC. Answers on Thursday.

Last time I looked it was Thursday so here are the answers to last week's quiz: 1. Shropshire (or Salop) 2. 4’ 4” 3. 17 4. Matthew 5. The Automobile association 6. Australia 7. Hindi 8. Lizard 9. Jealousy 10. Isaac Newton 11. The Hobbit 12. Fair Isle New quiz tomorrow.

Here it is, this week's quiz: 1. In which English county is Much Wenlock? 2. How wide apart are the ‘tramlines’ in tennis? 3. How many syllables are there in a haiku? 4. Who is the patron saint of tax collectors? 5. Which organization has the motto ‘Courtesy and Care’? 6. For which country did David Campese play rugby union? 7. From which language does the word ‘shampoo’ originate? 8. What is a chuckwalla? 9. What did Shakespeare describe as ‘Green-eyed monster’? 10. Which scientist, who produced the Laws of Motion, was born on Christmas day 1642? 11. Bilbo Baggins appears in which book? 12. What is Britain’s most remote inhabited island? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. Telephone boxes have been in use since June 1880. Payment was made to an attendant. Answers on Thursday next week.

Answers to last week's quiz: 1. Karaoke 2. Tom the piper’s son 3. Scilly Isles 4. Richard III 5. Roberto Baggio 6. Vodka, orange juice and Galiano 7. Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens 8. 12 9. Diamond 10. Notts County 11. Butterfly 12. Mrs Tiggy-Winkle/ Washerwoman New quiz tomorrow, same time same place.

Thanks John! We seem to be having a lot of this kind of 'advertising' lately. Can we just report it and have it removed?

... and can you tell me just what this has to do with Chinese take-aways?

If I might just clarify this, I didn't mean just any garden waste. Only those that may possibly, in the long run, enrich the area. The weeds you pull up are just fine as are the dead flower heads you remove from your garden. No tree parts, as these will also grow high, and nothing that will look like dumped rubbish: branches, heaps of grass-cuttings etc. Bramble cuttings and wild raspberry cuttings have really thrived in my nearest clearing and I've had a moderate success with heathers here and there.

Once the trees get to a height where they can fall onto the cables, should they be blown down in a storm, it's better to remove them. Large areas of Bedlington could be cut off if that were to happen. It's unsightly, I know, but believe me it's necessary. The cleared area will soon be filled with wild flowers planted by birds. You can help them out in their planting work by throwing out seeds collected from wild flowers when they themselves go to seed. Dumping your garden waste there also helps if it's allowed in the area. I've found that Coltsfoot, Cowslips, Milkweed and Rosebay Willow herb do particularly well in these areas. Experiment with others. You'll also be helping to save wild bees who's extinction will soon be a fact if we don't do something about it. Think of the effect that loss will have on food production.

👍! All done and dusted and so far no ill effects. This week's quiz: 1. Which Japanese word (English spelling please) translates as ‘Empty Orchestra’? 2. Who could only play one tune – Over The Hills And Far Away? 3. Off which group of islands would you find Bishop Rock lighthouse? 4. Which English monarch had a horse called White Surrey? 5. Who missed the last penalty in the 1994 football World Cup? 6. What are the three ingredients of a Harvey Wallbanger cocktail? 7. Which British architect designed the Cenotaph? 8. How many months have twenty eight days? 9. The Star of Africa is what type of gem? 10. Apart from Newcastle United which other team is nicknamed The Magpies? 11. What sort of creature is a Hairstreak? 12. What is the name and profession of the hedgehog character created by Beatrix Potter? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. The CIA once employed a magician to teach agents how to use sleight of hand in their work. Answers on Thursday next week.

Answers to last week's quiz (a bit earlier than usual because in a few minutes i'll be off to get my first vaccination against Covid 19. About time too!!): 1. Trombone 2. Saint Tropez 3. Cheepers 4. Sir Charles Parsons 5. The groove between your nose and top lip 6. Fingerprint 7. Pineapple 8. Mace 9. Chewing gum 10. Racehorses 11. Three Steps to Heaven 12. The Vatican City New quiz tomorrow. It's already prepared just in case I'm feeling any bad effects of the vaccine.

Same here! It's been a while since we heard his voice.

Personally? Are you name-dropping again!

You're welcome, Heather. It filled a few hours of a grey, rainy day for one confined to barracks waiting for the Covid vaccination to come my way. The Trotter's do seem to be an interesting family and I'm posting the entry from Burkes Family Records, compiled in 1897, where you (and anybody else interested in the family) can see the development from Robert, the father of the three Dr Trotter(s). It's Robert who is the subject of the main entry and as spouse names and children's names are entered there are lots of ways forward for research. Burkes records the geneology of the junior houses of British nobility so Robert wasn't just your ordinary, every-day kind of guy and as you can see (bottom of page) the family had its own coat of arms.

Hi again, Heather, I had a look at various documents to see if I could find any son named John for Dr James Trotter. He does not appear to have had a son of this name from either of his marriages. Both wives were called Jane which complicated the matter. I believe John is a brother. John Erskine Mar Trotter, to give him his full title, appears as the five year younger brother of James Trotter, then aged 8, in the Scottish census of 1851. He is the youngest in the family. In 1861, when John EM. Is 11 yo, James has started studying medicine but is still living at home with his parents. According to the historical info given by Wetherspoons for their Red Lion Public House in Bedlington, James “Trotter came to the town in 1864, where he joined forces with his brother as a GP”. However, seven years later in 1871, John E.M. is still a medical student in Scotland so it wasn’t him who came to Bedlington with James. I can, however, see from the census records and the medical register that it was his older brother, Alexander who was his partner. Like his brother, John remains at home with his parents during his studies but later, after qualifying and registration in 1879 he followed his brothers to the Bedlington Area. The earliest record I can find for him in the area is in The Medical Register for 1883 when his address is given as Bebside (he was probably the doctor for some of my relatives!) – just across the River Blyth from Bedlington. The same register shows his brother James in Bedlington and his brother Alexander in Blyth, all very close to each other. In 1890 James and Alexander appear in Ward’s Directory where they appear not only as doctors but also as councilors on the Northumberland County Council. John E.M. isn’t mentioned. Then, in 1894, John E.M. turns up again in Kelly’s Directory but now living at Choppington, Scotland Gate, which puts him nicely in the vicinity of the crime. His brother Alexander is still in Blyth. 1897, just one year before the murder he is recorded in the prestigious Burkes Family Records and has a daughter, Isabel. (That should help if you're looking for descendents). Six years later, 10 July 1900, John E.M. is initiated into the St Cuthbert Lodge of the Free Masons in Bedlington , contributing the princely sum of 17 shillings and 6 pence. His address on initiation is still Choppington. (A penned entry in the margin notes death on 3 February 1908) He appears to have continued living in the Choppington/Scotland Gate area, as entries in The Medical Register 1903 and 1905 testify, presumably until his death. I’m quite sure this is ‘your’ Dr. John Trotter. If you’d like any of the supporting documentation let me know.

Time to give the grey matter an outing once again: 1. Of which instrument was the sackbut a forerunner? 2. Which Riviera fishing village was an independent republic from the 15th to the 17th century? 3. What are young grouse or partridge called? 4. Who invented the steam turbine in 1884? 5. What is your philtrum? 6. Arch, whorl and loops are all part of what? 7. Which fruit was discovered by Christopher Columbus in Guadeloupe in 1493? 8. Which spice is made from the outer covering of the nutmeg? 9. What did goalkeeper Gordon Banks reputedly put on his hands to improve his grip? 10. What are auctioned at Tattersalls? 11. What record was a chart-topping hit for Showaddywaddy in 1975? 12. What is the smallest independent state in the world? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. Flamingos can only eat with their heads held upside down. Answers on Thursday!

That explains it! I thought it was a bit odd having ab Easter egg on display all year.

If you are interested in the changing face of Mental Health Care, Heather, have a look at the topic ‘John Stoker Letter’ posted in History Hollow by John H Williams in December last year. The topic concerns the dog breed Bedlington Terrier but a few posts in it goes off at a tangent related to the development of mental health diagnosis and treatment. This came about because the son of a Bedlington Vicar was 'committed' to the 'madhouse' taking with him a dog of this breed.

It must have some relevance for the area if it's nothing to do with just Easter. Any idea what?

Alan suggested that Dr James Trotter had a brother who lived in the Guidepost area. I hadn't heard that but I do know there were several doctors in the family. A short while ago I posted that I'd found, in the 1911 census, one of my relatives working for Dr Robert Samuel Trotter at Brewery house, Front Street Bedlington. I have to report that this wasn't THE Dr Trotter, as later resarch has shown. Dr Trotter of 'monument' fame died in 1899. However, both he(on the 1891 census) and Robert Samuel Trotter (on the 1911 census) lived at the same adress. I'm assuming therefore that the latter is the son of Dr James Trotter.