Carrie’s star double act
QUESTION Who was Princess Leia’s stunt double in the Star Wars films?
TRACEY Eddon (b. Harrow, Middlesex, 1958) has carved out a successful career as a stunt double, starring in many popular movies including Return Of The Jedi, Labyrinth, Mission: Impossible, Johnny English and Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2. In 1984, Eddon served as the stunt double for Helen Slater in Supergirl. Some of her more recent stunt work can be seen in the 2016 Marvel blockbuster Doctor Strange.
Carrie Fisher did not need a stunt double for the first two Star Wars movies, but in Return Of The Jedi, Eddon was required for stunt work while leaping about the barges above the Great Pit of Carkoon, home of Jabba the Hut’s pet Sarlacc in the Dune Sea of Tatooine (actually the desert near Yuma, Arizona).
The scene is famous for the skimpy costume worn by Fisher as Jabba The Hut’s prisoner. The metal bikini was produced after Fisher had complained that her costumes in the original films were so long, you could not tell ‘she was a woman’. The costume led to one of cinema’s most famous behindthe-scenes shots, that of Fisher and Eddon sunbathing together on the set of the film. Dave Stuart, by email.
QUESTION In a Wallander story, his daughter travelled from Sweden to Denmark and chatted with a local. Are Scandinavian languages that similar?
MOST Scandinavian languages form part of the North Germanic language group, which includes Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, and Faroese. Danish, Swedish and Norwegian are very similar in the written form, and are mutually comprehensible. Conversation can be more tricky.
In terms of vocabulary, Norwegian and Danish are the most similar. However, in terms of pronunciation, Norwegian and Swedish are the closest. Norwegians are famous for their sing-song delivery and many Swedish regions do likewise.
Danes, on the other hand, speak in a flatter, more muted style, famously described as talking ‘as if they have a potato in their mouth’.
Compared with Swedish, Danish words are shortened, the consonants softened and the endings almost swallowed. Many words contain the characteristic stød, the Danish language’s answer to the glottal stop. This can make it difficult for Swedes and Danes to communicate – but they generally can with a little effort.
Norwegians are the best equipped to understand their language neighbours.
Norwegian is written like Danish but sounds like Swedish. Furthermore, Norwegians are used to hearing Swedish and Danish on TV and radio. It is not common for Scandinavians to be able to understand Icelandic and Faroese.
Finnish is completely different, belonging to the Finno-Ugric language family. Erica Wilson, London SW15.
QUESTION We take 40 winks, Ali Baba had 40 thieves, if it rains on St Swithin’s Day it will carry on for 40 days and nights and the Israelites spent 40 years in the
wilderness. Why is the number 40 so significant? IN the Bible, after the number seven, the number 40 occurs most frequently and has the most significance.
Forty days signifies a period of change. According to the Talmud, at age 40 a person transitions from one level of wisdom to the next. He reaches the level of binah – the deeper insight of understanding one matter from another.
After Moses led the Jewish people for 40 years in the wilderness, he told them: ‘God has not given you a heart to know, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, until this day’ (Deut. 29:3-4). It took the Jewish people 40 years before reaching a full level of understanding. Thus, 40 is understood as the period of trial (eg, Jesus’s temptation by the devil lasted 40 days and 40 nights). This sentiment was shared with other peoples; the Greeks viewed the fortieth year as the height of man’s life. The Roman philosopher Marcus Aurelius wrote: ‘Any man of forty who is endowed with moderate intelligence has seen the entire past and future.’ The number is equally important in Islam. Muhammad was forty years old when he first received the revelation from the archangel Gabriel. R. E. Michaels, by email.
QUESTION I’d like to create a music playlist with songs about artists, Vincent by Don McLean is an obvious example. Any other suggestions?
TO add to the previous correspondent’s wondrous list, you could also include ‘Paul Gauguin in the South Seas’ by Jimmy Webb from his 2005 album ‘Twilight of the Renegades’, ‘Andy’s Chest’ (inspired by the 1968 assassination attempt on Andy Warhol’s life) by Lou Reed from his 1972 album ‘Transformer’, and ‘Dali’s Car’ an instrumental by Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band from the 1969 album ‘Trout Mask Replica’ (inspired by a Salvador Dali exhibit).
Furthermore, a psychedelic band from the 60s, The 23rd Turnoff, released the single ‘Michael Angelo’, which obviously punned the great artist.
Artists mentioned in the lyrics of songs include Henri de ToulouseLautrec in John’s Children’s ‘Desdemona’ (Marc Bolan was a member of the band and he wrote the song), Auguste Renoir in Don McLean’s ‘Three Flights Up’, Henri Rousseau in Neil Diamond’s ‘Done Too Soon’, and Pablo Picasso gets a namecheck in Clifford T. Ward’s ‘Scullery’. Richard Myers, by email.
QUESTION Has gold or other precious metals ever been mined or discovered in Ireland?
FURTHER to the previous answer apart from precious metals, Ireland is also noted for its rare gem stones, minerals that can be cut and shaped for jewellery.
In Co. Kerry, so-called Kerry Diamonds are still being found, such as amethyst, topaz and emeralds. Quartz, the most common mineral, can be found in such locations as the Dingle peninsula, Kinvara in Connemara, Achill island in Co. Mayo and the Mountains of Mourne. It too is often used in jewellery.
On occasion, real diamonds have been found in Ireland, such as happened in 1816, when the socalled Brookeborough Diamond was found in the Colebrook River in Co. Fermanagh. It was subsequently presented to Lady Brookeborough, after several Dublin jewellers had testified that it was indeed a real diamond. Michael Farrell, Dublin 12.