Luck of the Pools girls
QUESTION The Fifties TV show Oh Boy! featured the Vernons Girls. What became of them?
Vernons Girls were, at first, a choir of 16 formed in the mid-Fifties and made up of female clerical workers at Vernons Pools, a major football pools company that rivalled Zetters and Littlewoods.
TV and music impresario Jack Good signed them up to provide backing for TV shows such as oh Boy!, The eamonn Andrews show and The six-Five special.
They won a contract with eMI’s Parlophone label and in 1958 released an eponymous album singing old standards such as over The rainbow, Come Dance With Me and We’ll Gather Lilacs.
Following the demise of oh Boy! in 1959, Vernons Girls became a trio, singing rock ’n’ roll and American hits.
The principal line-up was Maureen Kennedy, Jean owen and Frances Lea, with replacements including Lyn Cornell and Joyce Baker. By 1962, they had signed to Decca records. Their cover of You Know What I Mean and the Drifters’ Lover Please were hits. In the U.s., the group charted in 1963 with the tribute album We Love The Beatles.
The sixties pop explosion was the cause of their demise as several members went on to have successful careers.
Lyn Cornell formed The Pearls, who had a top-ten hit in 1974 with Guilty and was a singer with the James Last orchestra.
Joyce Baker married singer-songwriter Marty Wilde and formed a trio with Justin Hayward called the Wilde Three. one of Joyce’s children is the popstar-turned-landscape gardener Kim Wilde.
Maggie stredder, an early Vernons Girl, formed a trio called the Ladybirds, who featured on the Benny Hill show.
Vicky Haseman, another Vernons original, went on to form The Breakaways, an all-girl trio, who sang backing for Petula Clark, Dusty springfield, Cliff richard and Jimi Hendrix. she married rock ’n’ roller Joe Brown and was a prolific session singer under the name Vicki Brown. Her daughter sam is a successful singer- songwriter and son Pete is a record producer.
Vicki sang with a host of famous names including George Harrison, roger Waters, Gary Moore, Adam Ant and eric Burdon. she was a backing singer for Pink Floyd during the Dark side of The Moon and A Momentary Lapse of reason tours. she died of breast cancer in 1991 aged 50. Gareth Mills, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion.
QUESTION Can food crops such as brassicas be used for fuel?
BrAssICA is a genus of plants in the mustard family ( Brassicaceae). Almost all parts can be eaten, including the root (swede, turnip), stems (kohlrabi), leaves (cabbage, collard greens, kale), flowers (cauliflower, broccoli), buds (Brussels sprouts, cabbage) and seeds (mustard seed and rapeseed).
From the 16th century, oilseed rape (also known as rapeseed oil), Brassica
napus, was the major source of lamp oil until petroleum took over in the 19th century.
A chemically converted form called rapeseed methyl ester is an important biofuel. In europe, the biodiesel industry has been active for 20 years and 75 per cent of biofuels produced within the eU are derived from rapeseed oil.
Turnip seed and mustard seed also have biodiesel potential. James Seymour, Oxford.
QUESTION How many Scottish clans fought with the Duke of Cumberland against the Jacobite Army?
THe Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising. on April 16, 1746, the Jacobite forces of Charles edward stuart were crushed by Hanoverian forces commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, at Culloden. It was then called Drummossie Muir, a broad ridge of moorland between the river nairn and the coastal plain, six miles east of Inverness.
The battle is popularly depicted as being fought by the scottish clans on the side of Bonnie Prince Charlie with the english army led by the Duke of Cumberland on the other.
Many people, inspired by films such as rob roy and Braveheart and hoping to find evidence of an ancestor having fought for the Bonnie Prince in the last, glorious stand of the Highland clans, were in for a big disappointment. There were probably more scots in the Hanoverian ranks than in the outnumbered Jacobite army.
There were two regiments of Campbells on the royalist side.
some clans had split loyalties. In the case of Clan Gordon, Cosmo Gordon, 3rd Duke of Gordon, took the side of the royalists, but his brother, Lord Lewis Gordon, joined the Jacobites.
Clan Grant of Glenmorriston came out to fight on the Jacobite side, while Clan Grant of Freuchie joined the english side.
Clan rose tried to remain neutral. on April 14, 1746, Hugh rose of Kilravock, chief of Clan rose, entertained Bonnie Prince Charlie. on April 15, he entertained the Duke of Cumberland.
The following clans are considered to have been in the Government forces: Campbell, Cathcart, Colville, Cunningham, Grant of Freuchie, Gordon, Gunn, Kerr, McKay, Munro, ross, semphill, sinclair and sutherland. Ian Finch, Inverness.