Life after O for rockers
QUESTION
On the same bill as Curved Air and Brand X (with Phil Collins on drums), at The Roundhouse in London on May 31, 1976, I saw A Band Called O. What became of them? EVOLVING from the roots of The Parlour Band in the early Seventies, a melodic rock band from the Channel Islands, A Band Called O, moved to Leicester in the English east midlands, where they developed a progressive rock sound.
They released four LPs for CBS: A Band Called O (1974), Oasis (1975), Within Reach (1976) and The Knife (1977).
They had little chart success but gained a following as a brilliant live band, supporting major acts and headlining at the 1976 Reading Festival.
BBC DJ John Peel was a big fan and the band recorded four Peel Sessions between 1974 and 1977 at the BBC Maida Vale Studios in London.
They also appeared on the BBC’s live music show, The Old Grey Whistle Test. Henry White, Norwich, Norfolk. A BAND Called O decided to call it a day in 1978 after five albums and many UK and European tours.
Mark Anders on bass guitar and Craig Anders on lead are two of my brothers. Passionate musicians from a young age, they were born in Guernsey and brought up in Jersey. Craig still plays in several bands in London and has had his own architectural business for many years. Mark had a successful career in music publishing and still plays bass guitar in various bands.
Singer and guitarist Pix Pickford moved to Spain, where he plays and sings with bands. Keyboard player Jeff Bannister has also enjoyed a career as a professional musician. Drummer Derek Ballard moved to Berlin some years ago. Julie Cook, Scothern, Lincolnshire.
QUESTION
How closely related are sweet potatoes to potatoes? Which is better for us? DESPITE superficial similarities, potatoes and sweet potatoes are only distantly related. They belong to different families, yet to the same taxonomic order, the Solanales. The potato (Solanum tuberosum) belongs to the Solanaceae, or deadly nightshade family.
They are closely related to tomatoes, peppers, chillies and aubergines. All of the leaves and stems of these plants are poisonous. The sweet potato (Ipomoea
batatas) belongs to the bindweed or morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. They are a flowering vine and the sweet potatoes form the underground tuber. The leaves of these plants are edible.
Potatoes and sweet potatoes have complementary nutritional differences. Sweet potatoes are high in fibre and vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene. They are also a good source of vitamins B1, B2 and B3.
Potatoes have higher concentrations of key minerals, with more potassium than a banana, as well as iron and magnesium. They are also a good source of vitamin B6. Both potatoes and sweet potatoes are good sources of vitamin C.
The key advantage of sweet potatoes is that they are lower on the glycaemic index (GI) than white potatoes. The glycaemic index (GI) is the measure of how quickly a carbohydrate food raises blood-glucose levels. A GI of 55 or less is considered low, 56 to 69 medium and 70 and above high. Carbohydrates with a low GI are more slowly digested, absorbed and metabolised and cause a lower and slower rise in blood glucose. The GI value will change based on your cooking method. A baked potato can have a GI of 111 while a boiled white potato is 82. A boiled sweet potato has a low GI value of 46. A baked sweet potato has a GI of 84. This is because boiling a sweet potato alters the starch to make it far less bioavailable. Catherine McCulloch, Berkshire.
QUESTION
THE New York Stock Exchange’s opening and closing bells mark the start and the end of each trading day. The opening bell is rung at 9.30am Eastern Time; the closing bell is rung at 4pm.
In 1865, the New York Stock Exchange moved to its first dedicated headquarters at 10 and 12 Broad Street. At that time, the signal for trading to start and end was a gavel.
In the 1870s this was complemented with a Chinese gong, which is still used in conjunction with the closing bell.
When the New York Stock Exchange moved to its present location at 18 Broad Street in 1903, it was decided to mark the start and end of trading with an electric bell.
Two were ordered from GS Edwards Company of Norwalk, Connecticut. They had to be large enough to resonate throughout the trading floor. The manufacturer supplied one bell which was 27in in diameter and a second one that was 18in. The large bell was deemed too loud and was removed from service.
A couple of subsidiary bells were added in the Eighties as the stock exchange expanded to four trading floors. These were also provided by GS Edwards Company, which had to bring two employees out of retirement to make them.
The New York Stock Exchange has trademarked the sound of the 1903 bell and describes its sound as: ‘Tuned to the pitch D, but with an overtone of D-sharp, struck nine times at a brisk tempo, with the final tone allowed to ring until the sound decays naturally.
‘The rhythmic pattern is eight 16th notes and a quarter note. The total duration, from the striking of the first tone to the end of the decay on the final one, is just over three seconds.’ Michael Foulds, Surrey.
QUESTION
Is George Weah the first footballer to become a head of state? FURTHER to the previous answer, while he was a footballer of a different code, Jack Lynch rose to the office of Taoiseach after a stellar duel career in Gaelic football and hurling.
Lynch is still considered one of the all-time greats of the GAA and won one All-Ireland football medal and five All-Ireland hurling titles between 1936 and 1950. He became taoiseach in 1966 and, despite a belief he would not last long in the post, he went on to serve two terms in the office – from 1966 until 1973 and from 1977 to 1979.
He died aged 82 in 1999. Jeremiah O’Malley, Cork city.
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