The Saturday briefing
IS THERE anything you are desperately yearning to know? Are there any pressing factual disputes you would like us to help resolve? This is the page where we shall do our best to answer any questions you throw at us, whatever the subject.
IS Bobby Charlton the only English footballer to have been a member of four World Cup squads?
Ken Keigher, Eccles, Manchester INDEED he is, though he played in no matches on his first appearance in the squad in 1958.
The only players in the world who appeared more times in their countries’ World Cup squads were Antonio Carbajal (Mexico), Lothar Matthäus (Germany) and Gianluigi Buffon (Italy) who all appeared five times, though only the first two of those played in all five. PLEASE can you tell me the origin of a street called Cut Throat Lane which is in a village near Harrogate called Bishop Thornton. I’d love to know how it got its name. Carol Kay, Harrogate, North Yorkshire SURPRISINGLY there are more than a dozen streets called Cut Throat Lane in Britain and Ireland.
In some cases local legends speak of a terrible murder having taken place there, in other cases the name is attributed to the existence of an abattoir on the road where animals had their throats cut. But the most convincing explanations suggest the name was a corruption of Cut Through Lane or “Cut Athwart Lane, suggesting nothing more sinister than a short cut.
The best of all was a Cut Throat Lane in Dublin which was next to Murdering Lane, though both had their names changed long ago.
CAN you tell me where the oldest pub in England may be found? And where is the oldest pub in the world?
Lucy Stiles, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire THERE’S a long-running debate over which is the oldest pub in England. Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem in Nottingham, the Porch House in Stow-on-the-Wold, The Bell Inn at Nottingham, the Bingley Arms in Leeds and Ye Olde Fighting Cocks in St Albans are among those that have claimed the title, citing histories dating back to the Middle Ages. In most cases there is doubt about both the exact age of the building and when it was first used as an inn.
The oldest pub in the world may well be Sean’s Bar in Athlone, Ireland, which could possibly date back to around 900AD. AT the end of the film Hard Times, set in the Depression in America, James Coburn and Strother Martin drive off after being given money by Charles Bronson. There is then a haunting melody played on a banjo over the closing titles. Can you tell me the name of the music and whether it is available to buy?
J Henriksen, Greater Manchester THE music is by the US composer Barry De Vorzon but the soundtrack to the 1975 film has never been released and the tune you mention seems to have no name.
You can listen to it either on the DVD of the film or on YouTube.
HOW much gold and silver was used in each of the medals awarded at the Rio Olympics and how many medals of each type were needed for the Games?
S Smith, Horsham, West Sussex A TOTAL of 2,488 medals were produced for the Rio Olympics (812 gold, 812 silver and 864 bronze) which is much higher than the number of events of course, as all the members of winning teams receive medals.
Each of the 812 Olympic gold medals is plated with six grams of gold (the minimum required by the International Olympic Committee) with 99.9 per cent purity. The remaining 494 grams is made of sterling silver.
The last time all-gold medals were awarded at the Olympics, incidentally, was in 1912.
Each of the 812 silver medals Pink mini, £48.99. 0345 640 2020/argos.co.uk This small, computerised model at a great price has 10 stitch patterns, forward and reverse, automatic bobbin winding and everything else a new seamstress could want. by contains 500 grams of sterling silver. It has been calculated that if they were melted down the metal in each gold medal would be worth about £426 and the silver medals about £230. The bronze medals are mostly copper and the metal in them is worth very little. IN Frank Richards’ Billy Bunter stories, Bunter was often called “the owl of the remove”. What was the remove and how/why was Bunter an owl? THE remove was a traditional term given to the fourth year at public schools, probably through the idea of pupils being one step removed from the fifth form.
Billy Bunter, on his first appearance in Richards’ books, was introduced as a “somewhat stout junior with a broad, pleasant face and an enormous pair of spectacles”.
His fatness and glasses were seen as similar to an owl. Hence “owl of the remove”. Singer 7470 Confidence, £389.99. 0344 822 8000/ littlewoods.com As soon as the stitch tension is set to auto mode the machine will start sewing. Embroidery and quilting are made easy and the automatic one-step buttonholer is a real boon. inaccurate please go to www.express.co.uk/contactus where you will find an easy to use form. Alternatively you can write to Readers Editor, Daily Express, 10 Lower Thames Street, London EC3R 6EN. We will do our best to correct it as soon as possible.
If you have a complaint concerning a breach of the Code please go William Robbins, Oswestry, Shropshire Packed with features it has a safety guard, bobbins, spare needle and enough fabric to make a back pack.
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