Now that’s a Lego tower
QUESTION What’s the largest Lego sculpture?
A 40 ft high, 80 ft long version of tower Bridge i s the l argest single Lego construction. the London landmark was recreated using 5,805,846 bricks to mark the launch of the Land Rover Discovery SUV in 2016. Laid end to end, the bricks would stretch almost 200 miles.
the largest commercially available Lego set is the 7,541-piece Millennium falcon, which costs £649.99.
Construction of the tower Bridge sculpture was led by Duncan titmarsh, Britain’s only Lego certified professional.
It took five months for his Bright Bricks team to build the 5½ ton structure in the grounds of Packington Hall, a few miles from Land Rover’s Solihull plant where the Discovery is manufactured.
It beat the previous title holder: a Star Wars X-wing fighter built from 5,335,200 bricks in 2013 to promote the Star Wars: Clone Wars cartoon.
there are many Lego listings in the Guinness Book Of World Records. One of the more poignant is the world’s tallest Lego tower, a 118 ft structure erected in tel Aviv in 2017. the project was launched by the teachers of eight-year-old Omer Sayag, who had enjoyed building Lego towers while he battled terminal cancer.
top Gear presenter James May built a full-size Lego house — including a working toilet, hot shower and an uncomfortable bed — using 3.3 million bricks.
Justin Davies, Kidderminster, Worcs.
QUESTION Who was the first old biddy?
tHe name biddy appeared at the beginning of the 17th century and meant a hen or fowl. It may have originated from imitative words used to call a chicken, such as ‘Here, biddy biddy’.
As hens are noisy and demanding, it’s not too much of a stretch to see how biddy came to describe a gossipy, meddlesome and eccentric old woman.
Biddy was given a new lease of life in the late 19th century when young Irish women had their passage paid by American families for whom they would work as domestic servants while they paid off their debt.
Biddy was a shortened form of Bridget, a popular Irish girl’s name, and became a term for an Irish maid.
Margaret Rowe, Chepstow, Mons.
QUESTION In a photograph of Sgt Deacon Cutterham, why does his dress uniform include a whistle?
tHe dress uniform of the Rifles Regiment, in which Sgt Deacon Cutterham served, includes a whistle on a silver chain.
the Rifles were created from the merger of four much older regiments, including the Light Infantry and the Royal Green Jackets. they owe their existence to Sir John Moore, a Napoleonic wars general who had the idea of creating specialist skirmishing and reconnaissance infantry units to range ahead of the bulk of the Army and scout for the enemy.
In 1803, the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Regiments (43rd and 52nd Regiments of foot) became the Corps of Light Infantry. they were later joined by the 95th Rifles.
Among t he i nnovations Moore introduced was a faster marching pace; the Baker rifle, which was more accurate over a longer range than the infantry’s muskets; and green uniform jackets to blend in with the countryside, rather than the traditional red coat. Along with the green jackets went silver buttons and accoutrements rather than brass.
Riflemen were encouraged to think for themselves rather than rely on orders from above. this was a radical idea in an era when failure to comply with orders would result in a flogging.
As a fast-moving force, it was difficult to signal commands using drums, the standard method used on the battlefield during the Napoleonic wars. Instead, officers and NCOs were issued with whistles. Commands were relayed using combinations of blasts, much as the Royal Navy used bosun’s calls. Sgt
Cutterham was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross for action in Afghanistan in 2011 after he reportedly picked up a taliban grenade and threw it back, saving the lives of his fellow soldiers.
He has been criticised for selling his medals for £140,000.
Bob Cubitt, Northampton.
QUESTION Who played the guitar solo on Donovan’s Hurdy Gurdy Man?
fURtHeR to the earlier answer, as a long-time friend of Donovan, I thought it would be appropriate to get his personal answer: ‘I used to say that my track with John Paul Jones was i nfluential in showing Jimmy Page and Jones how to develop a folk, metal riff, Gaelic sound that Zep became . . . so people thought I meant Page and John Bonham played on Hurdy Gurdy Man.
‘I invented the power sound that guitarist Alan Parker played, though it was Jimi Hendrix I originally wanted, but he was on one-night stands all that week. Page was a possible choice, but was not available either.
‘In the end, Parker did the best job on distorted guitar — just how I wanted it. Clem Cattini did the best drums, too.
‘I invented the Buzz fuzz guitar for this track, making my acoustic guitar strings buzz by lowering the strings late at night in bed writing that song.’
Joel Pollack, Saffron Walden, Essex.
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