Monsters v San Francisco
QUESTION
How many times has San Francisco been wiped out in the movies? THE californian city is on the San Andreas fault, which is perpetually rumoured to be on the verge of ‘ the big one’. In 1906, San Francisco was devastated by an earthquake and fire.
In only a few films is the city is completely wiped out. San Francisco (1936) is based on the 1906 quake. In San Andreas (2015), Frisco falls apart following a huge earthquake and, following a series of aftershocks, a tsunami breaks over the city, leaving our hero, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, to navigate the ruins on a boat.
The Denzel Washington film The Book Of eli (2010) features the destroyed city in a post-apocalyptic world
The Golden Gate Bridge, opened in 1937, comes in for a terrific hammering in movies. It was destroyed by a giant mutant octopus in It came From Beneath The Sea (1955). In Superman: The Movie (1978), a school bus nearly plummets off the bridge, wrecked during an earthquake.
In The core (2003), the earth’s core stops rotating, causing global destruction. San Francisco is struck by an intense beam of light that destroys the bridge. In X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), Magneto moves the bridge to provide easy access to Alcatraz island where Worthington Labs is located, destroying it.
In MegaShark vs Giant Octopus (2009), the beasts are corralled into the San Francisco Bay to fight to the death. While entering the bay, MegaShark jumps out of the water and destroys the bridge.
In the cartoon Monsters vs. Aliens (2009), a stand-off between the monsters and a destructive robot occurs in the same bay, and the bridge is destroyed. In Meteor Storm (2010) it is destroyed by a meteorite strike. In Godzilla (2014), the beast wreaks havoc in San Francisco, and again the bridge goes down.
Dan Reese, York.
QUESTION
Whose name is on the Buckingham Palace deeds and where are they kept? THE former home of the Duke of Buckingham was bought by King George III for his wife, Queen charlotte, in 1762, the deeds being completed in 1763.
The title deed, dated April 20, 1763, bearing George III’s wax seal, records the purchase of ‘Buckingham House’ from Sir charles Sheffield for £28,000 — £2 million in today’s money — a meagre amount, considering the number of rooms and size of the gardens.
The title deed is stored in the Royal Archive in the Round Tower at Windsor castle. In 2014, it was brought out of storage, along with diaries, private correspondence and official papers, to mark the centenary of the archives being housed in the castle’s Round Tower.
Fourteen of the royal couple’s 15 children were born at Buckingham House, including the future William IV. It wasn’t until 1837 that George’s granddaughter, Victoria became the first sovereign to take up residence.
The house was later remodelled and became an official residence for Britain’s monarchs. As it has remained in the family, there has been no need to change the name on the deeds. Today the palace forms part of the crown estate. Olivia Marsh, High Wycombe, Bucks.
QUESTION
Does anyone recall a radio quiz called Top Of The Form? Who were the presenters? FURTHER to the earlier answer, my old school The Davenant Foundation School, founded in 1680 in Whitechapel, east London, was one of two schools which launched the series, on May 1, 1948.
All pupils sat a general knowledge test, and the top four pupils from the four age groups became the contestants. I was 15, the second oldest in our team.
We went by coach to West London, somewhere near Shepherds Bush. Both teams were on stage to answer questions posed by war correspondent Wynford Vaughan-Thomas. If you couldn’t respond, you were told the answer. You couldn’t confer. We contestants were allowed to specify the subject matter of the book we received as a prize, and the prizes were presented to us by Prime Minister clem Attlee, at Toynbee Hall, Whitechapel.
The thing that sticks in my mind, in an era when we didn’t have tape recorders, was hearing my voice for the first time. It was very deep, not a bit like the voice I heard when speaking. Innocent days. I still have my prize.
John Fullard, Llandudno, Conwy. TOP Of The Form, broadcast early on Sunday evenings on the Light Programme, had the nation’s highest radio audience in the mid-Fifties. At 16, I captained my school team in a special challenge match against the 1954/5 winners, Grove Park School, Wrexham.
We were King Alfred School, in Ploen, northern Germany, a co- educational boarding school for the children of members of the British occupying forces and control commission.
We lost by two points, but as one who later spent 25 years as an ITV reporter, I’m sure it was the largest audience to hear my voice. Three fellow team members achieved senior military rank; one air commodore and two colonels.
I became a Daily Mail reporter in the Seventies before switching to the ITV companies in the South of england.
Malcolm Stuart, Bath, Somerset.
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