The Saturday briefing
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
Is there anything you’re yearning to know? Send your questions, on any subject, to the contacts given below, and we will do our best to answer them...
QWhat was the train used in the Dad’s Army episode The Royal Train? What steam trains have appeared in the most TV programmes?
George Adair, Carrickfergus, County Antrim
A
This famous episode featured the Kitson 0-6-0 saddle tank Colwyn, and a London and North Eastern Railway Class A4, a streamlined steam locomotive, used for high-speed passenger services. One of this same class, the Mallard, holds the world record for the fastest steam train, at 125.88mph.
The Movie Queen is the train with the most limelight. Also known as Sierra Railway 3, it was built in 1891 and is one of the oldest operating steam locomotives in California. It’s been in more than 200 films,TV shows and adverts, including High Noon, The Great Race, Bound For Glory, BackToThe Future III,The Lone Ranger, Lassie, Bonanza and Little House On The Prairie.
Clint Eastwood, who rode on it for the likes of Rawhide, Pale Rider and Unforgiven, said it was “like a treasured old friend”.
The Movie Queen has had more screen time than the Flying Scotsman, the world’s most famous steam locomotive.Although the Flying Scotsman has appeared on the platform at King’s Cross in the first Harry Potter film, the Hogwarts Express is actually the Jacobite steam train, which runs on theWest Highland line in Scotland. Q
How did the terms birdie, eagle and albatross come to be used in golf? What is the bird connection?
Gillian Petrie, Bedale, North
Yorkshire
A
Par is the average number of shots it should take to complete the hole, based on difficulty or length, but if you do better or worse than this, you’ll
find some odd terms.A birdie is when a golfer scores one stroke less than expected to finish a hole, so finishes a par three with two strokes. Birdie comes from the 19th-century American slang term bird, meaning excellent.
The Country Club in Atlantic City lays claims to its first use, in the late 19th century, when player Ab Smith’s second shot went within inches of the hole and he called it a “bird of a shot”. It was agreed with friends he should get double money if he won with one under par, “a birdie”, which he promptly did.
The eagle, a score of two under par, and albatross, three under, are extensions of this theme.An albatross is a rare feat – much like this bird’s ability to shadow ships for miles across the sea.
More of these shots occurred after the arrival of steel-shaft clubs in the 1920s, but only a handful of golfers have achieved them.The odds are six million to one, far rarer than a hole-in-one.
The most famous albatross is Gene Sarazen’s, at Hole 15 at Augusta National Golf Club in 1935, a par five hole where he holed his second shot in the final round of the Masters.
Q
How do you go about getting congratulations cards from the King?
Jacqui Bloxham, Totland Bay, Isle ofWight
A
The royal tradition of posting messages for significant birthdays and anniversaries dates back to 1917, with King George V sending a telegram to those who had turned 100 or celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.
Buckingham Palace now sends out thousands of cards to people celebrating their 100th and 105th birthday and every year thereafter, and to couples celebrating their 60th (diamond), 65th (blue sapphire) and 70th (platinum) wedding anniversaries. Only about 30 couples celebrate a platinum anniversary every year.
During Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, 1.3million cards were sent out across the UK, the Realms and the Overseas Territories.
The Department forWork and Pensions has a Centenarian Team that automatically notifies the palace’s Anniversaries Office of special birthdays.There are around 15,000 people aged over 100 now.
Wedding anniversary messages are not automatic, so you need to apply to the Anniversaries Office five weeks before the date.You can apply online at royal.uk where there are also forms to print and send with a copy of the relevant marriage certificate.
Several Second World War veterans were the first to receive birthday cards from King Charles III and Queen Camilla, including a great-grandmother, Ruth ParkPearson, born in 1922 in Glasgow, who served in theWrens.