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.
IN the 1980s, a young girl called Samantha Smith became famous when she wrote to the Soviet leader Yuri Andropov. Sadly she was killed in a plane crash, but I remember she was going to make a TV series with Robert Wagner. Did this get made?
P Rhodes, Colton, Leeds THE 13-year-old Samantha wrote to Andropov and not only received a reply but an invitation to visit the USSR, which she accepted in 1983. She went on to become a goodwill ambassador but was killed in a plane crash when still only 13.
She did indeed co-star with Robert Wagner in a TV series called Lime Street in 1985. They made three episodes, which were screened after her death.
WHY do zips on coats in America have the retainer box on the right and the insertion pin on the left, while it is the opposite in Britain? If you are in the righthanded majority it is far easier to insert the “pin” on the right into the “box” on the left. Is it connected with female garments having buttons on the other side from men, originally to allow the maid to do them up?
Lesley Robson, Doncaster, South Yorkshire IT does appear to be just a random difference between the UK and US.
It seems to come down to the question of which way is really more comfortable for righthanders. Some agree with you that having the retainer box on the left makes life easier, others say that if it is the other way round: you can insert the zip left-handed, then use that hand to steady it at the bottom while zipping it up with the right hand.
I’m not sure about ladies’ maids though. I’ve always preferred the explanation for button sides that the first genuinely unisex garments were hunting jackets and they put buttons on different sides simply to distinguish between male and female jackets. I THOUGHT that a princess ranked above a duchess, so would that mean Princess Michael of Kent outranks the Duchess of Cambridge, even though Kate will one day be our Queen?
Mrs JH Downer, Sidmouth, Kent OH it’s much more complicated than that. The title “princess” is entirely at the will of the monarch but is generally bestowed only on daughters and granddaughters of the monarch or wives of princes. When William becomes Prince of Wales, Kate will be the Princess of Wales. Princess Michael of Kent is married to a grandson of George V. In the official Order of Precedence, however, titles such as Duchess and Princess carry far less weight than the closeness of a A 60x40cm mat with a striking leopard print which is suitable for indoor and sheltered outdoor use, the coir matting is ideal for messy shoes and fits neatly outside a door or porch. person’s relationship to the monarch. Princess Michael of Kent ranks lower than Lady Zara Tindall, daughter of Princess Anne. However, she is above Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, if accompanied by her husband and the Duchesses are alone. I HAVE a long-running argument with a neighbour about Coronation Street: who died first? Ena Sharples or Elsie Tanner? C Pope, Isle of Wight ARE you referring to the characters or the actresses? Pat Phoenix (Elsie Tanner) died in 1986; Violet Carson (Ena Sharples) died on Boxing Day 1983. The death dates of the characters are less clear.
Elsie Tanner’s last performance was broadcast in January 1984, while Ena last appeared in April 1980. Ena retired to St Anne’s but her death was never mentioned, while Elsie left for Portugal and in 2011 was said to have died “six or seven years ago”. Bicicletta mat, £30. 020 7565 7295/ltmuseum shop.co.uk A stylish black 76x45.7cm doormat featuring a “sit up and beg” traditional style bicycle consisting of coir matting with a non-slip vinyl backing. The perfect present for those who love their bikes. by REMEMBRANCE Day gave me cause to wonder whether any British politicians died for their country during the two world wars. D Howard, by email THE House of Commons displays 42 heraldic shields to commemorate the MPs who died during both world wars: 19 in the First World War, 23 in the Second. One of the first to die in the First World War was the MP for Wisbech, William Glynne Charles Gladstone, grandson of the former prime minister William Gladstone.
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