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.
CAN you settle a dispute I’m having with a fellow Englishman in this remote corner of the bush?
In about 1963, did the late, sadly missed Dickie Attenborough appear in a black-and-white film called All Night Long, in which he portrayed the playboy host of an all-night jazz party?
The movie had some dark moments and was subtly based on Shakespeare’s Othello. Wish I could see it again, and pay closer attention to the whole thing.
Ralph Nickerson, Serowe, Botswana YOU’RE quite right, the film was made in 1962 and starred Patrick McGoohan and Keith Michell as well as Richard Attenborough. It was, as you say, a reworking of Othello, set in a sleazy jazz club with such jazz greats as Dave Brubeck, Charlie Mingus and John Dankworth appearing as themselves.
IT’S been several years now since the smoking ban came into force in public places. I was wondering, has it had any effect on deaths from lung cancer dropping?
Bob Jarvis, Billericay, Essex THE figures suggest it has indeed had a beneficial effect. The ban was introduced in 2007 when the rate of lung cancer deaths in the UK was 66.2 per 100,000 deaths. In 2014, that figure was down to 61.4 per 100,000. Curiously, the decrease has been much greater in men (down from 87.7 to 75.3) than women (down from 50.9 to 50.8).
The overall figures are largely explained by the fact that over the past decade the number of people who smoke has fallen from 21 per cent to 16 per cent of the population. WHERE does the term “the luck of the Irish” come from?
David Garbutt, by email IT seems to date back to the days of the American Gold Rush in the second half of the 19th century. Several of those who made their fortunes were of Irish or Irish-American origin, and their Irishness was seen as the cause of their good luck.
Some suggest it refers to bad luck, not good, and that it is a reference to the potato famine of around the same time but there is little evidence to support this. MY son recently sent me a text message which read “It will be me picking you up...”. I maintain that it should have read “It will be I picking you up...” He disagrees and cannot see my logic. What do you think? John Haynes, by email FROM a purist grammatical point of view, you are right: technically, the verb “to be” in the sense your son used it, is a copular (or linking) verb, linking its subject with a predicate, adding information about the subject, which should also be in the subjective case. It is I (not “me”); you are she (not “her”); who are they? (not “them”).
The trouble is that it has become increasingly idiomatic to use “me” as an emphatic first person pronoun in much the same way that the French say “moi”. In the old days, we would always say “’Tis I” and never “’Tis me” but one would almost never hear “It’s I” instead of “It’s me” today. I would recommend avoiding the problem by saying “I’m the one who’ll be picking you up” which is correct without sounding stilted.
WHY do so many dukes and earls have ancestral homes outside their title names? For example the Duke of Devonshire, whose home is Chatsworth in Derbyshire, or the Duke of Norfolk, living at Arundel in Sussex?
Nigel Fortnam, Lyme Regis, Dorset Philips steam iron, £33. 0844 822 2321/very. co.uk A great price for this iron which will help you make quick work of your laundry.
With its powerful 40g per minute steam output and steam shot feature all wrinkles will soon be removed. by SUCH hereditary titles were originally bestowed by the monarch on those they considered worthy. They pass down the family until the line dies out, then revert to the crown to bestow upon someone else.
Geographical considerations seem rarely to have played a part. The first Earl of Devonshire, for example, was William Cavendish (1552-1626), who lived in Hardwicke in Derbyshire.
He was the uncle of another William Cavendish, who became the first Duke of Newcastle-uponTyne, despite living in Yorkshire. Crazy, isn’t it?
Is there anything you can’t answer? Try us! You can ask a question:
By email:
put “questions” in the subject line and send your question to william.hartston@express.co.uk
to Any Questions, c/o William Hartston, Daily Express, Number 10 Lower Thames Street, London EC3R 6EN
We cannot promise replies to everyone but the best will feature on this page.
By post:
beautiful blues
Le Creuset Kone kettle, £64. 0345 6037979/ johnlewis.com This lovely navy blue tray crafted from fine china features an elegant bird design with 22 carat gold detailing adding the finishing touch.
At 19cm long it is perfect for keeping small treasures safe.