The Fraggles go to Russia
QUESTION What was the first American TV show to be seen on Russian television?
It WAS the Jim Henson puppet show Fraggle Rock. One of his heroes was the Russian puppeteer Sergei Obraztsov and the American puppeteer made two trips to Moscow in 1984 to meet and work with him for his Jim Henson Presents series.
By 1988, the Soviet Union had begun the process of Perestroika (restructuring) and opportunities were opening up for broadcast collaborations.
the Ministry of Culture was facing 40 per cent budget cuts, so was interested in selling commercial air time. twominute clips of Fraggle Rock were aired that December to promote the show and, in January 1989, it became the first U.S. tV series to be broadcast in Russia.
the show originally used the lektor system — an announcer overlapping with the original voices. It was hugely popular in Russia and that autumn Henson’s the Muppet Show was also cleared by the authorities for screening.
Chris Frith, Maidenhead, Berks.
QUESTION How many Americans can trace their ancestry back to the Pilgrim Fathers?
MORe than 30 million Americans claim descent from the passengers on the Mayflower. that there are so many is something of a miracle. Only 102 people landed on Cape Cod in November 1620 and within weeks 48 had died of starvation and sickness.
Nine U.S. presidents, including the Bushes, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ulysses S. Grant, trace their lineage to the Mayflower. Other famous names who share this heritage include the astronaut Alan Shepard, baby care expert Dr Benjamin Spock, actor Dick van Dyke and singer Bing Crosby.
two days after the landing, Susanna White gave birth to a son she named Peregrine. One of his descendants became U.S. governor general of Cuba from 1899 to 1902.
two other women were pregnant during the 66-day journey. One who gave birth halfway across the Atlantic named her son Oceanus; the other died in childbirth in the deadly first winter.
My researches for a book on the Mayflower voyage and its passengers reveal that John Howland probably has the most descendants.
A Fenland lad, he was the manservant to John Carver, the first governor of New Plymouth in Massachusetts.
He almost drowned when he fell overboard from the Mayflower. He went on to marry a fellow passenger, the orphan elizabeth tilley, and had ten children. His heirs include the two Bush presidents and the actors Humphrey Bogart and Alec Baldwin.
John Alden, the cooper — a maker of barrels — also had ten children. His heirs include Marilyn Monroe, Orson Welles and the 19th-century poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
the Longfellow poem the Courtship Of Miles Standish imagines a love triangle between Mayflower stalwart Miles Standish, Alden and Priscilla Mullins, the woman he married — almost certainly a ‘fake muse’!
Actor Richard Gere’s heritage is part of a notorious episode in Mayflower history. His ancestor, John Billington, was hanged for murdering a fellow settler.
William Bradford, the leader of the Mayflower survivors, is linked to actor Clint eastwood, but also, which is worse for a figure of such stern probity, the late Playboy boss Hugh Hefner.
Richard Holledge, London W14.
QUESTION I have a print called Recollect Friars After The Siege Of Quebec. Who were these friars?
The Recollects were members of a reformed faction of the Franciscan order of monks. the Franciscans were mendicants, who take a vow of poverty and support themselves by work and charitable contributions.
In 1209, St Francis of Assisi received formal approval for his Gospel way of life from Pope Innocent III. He called his community the Friars Minor, meaning Lesser Brothers. He wished his followers to imitate the humility of Christ and to minister to the neglected in society.
As the order grew in size, power and influence, schisms were common between those who wished to stay true to their origins and those who took a more relaxed approach.
A schism began in Italy in 1368 between the Observantines, who wanted to follow the strict Rule of St Francis, and the Conventuals, who were less stringent and permitted the accumulation of property. the branches formally split in 1517.
the Observantines then divided into three branches: the Reformed, the Recollects and the Discalced, who go barefoot or wear sandals.
the Recollects were a strict French faction denoted by their grey habits and pointed hoods. they took vows of poverty and devoted their lives to prayer, penance and spiritual reflection.
they were early missionaries to the French colonies in Canada. As part of the Anglo-French War, the British captured Quebec City on July 20, 1629, and the Recollects were expelled to France.
they returned in 1670, re-establishing missions at Quebec, trois-Rivieres and Montreal, but their numbers dwindled and they had disappeared by the beginning of the 19th century.
In France, they were suppressed during the French Revolution. However, Recollects retained a strong foothold in Belgium and Germany.
In 1897, Pope Leo XIII dissolved the Recollects and reintegrated them with the Discalced and Reformed as part of the Franciscan order, changing their name back to Friars Minor.
Simon Pemberton, Ombersley, Worcs. IS THERE a question to which you have always wanted to know the answer? Or do you know the answer to a question raised here? Send your questions and answers to: Charles Legge, Answers To Correspondents, Scottish Daily Mail, 20 Waterloo Street, Glasgow G2 6DB. You can also email them to charles.legge@dailymail.co.uk. A selection will be published, but we are not able to enter into individual correspondence.