Piggott and his gift horse
QUESTION Why did Lester Piggott, and not Walter Swinburn, ride Shergar in the 1981 Irish Derby?
WALTER SWINBURN, who was stable jockey for trainer Michael Stoute, rode Shergar to victory in the Epsom Derby in 1981 at the age of 19.
Fifteen days later, in the King Edward Vll Stakes at Royal Ascot, he rode the favourite Centurius, who finished second, but was then disqualified.
In the closing stages of the race, Centurius had hung badly left into the winner, Bustomi. Swinburn was judged not to have done enough to prevent the interference and was suspended for seven days. This meant he was unable to ride in the Irish Derby, and Lester Piggott was booked for the ride.
Swinburn was back on board Shergar when he won the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. He was boxed in turning into the straight and it was Lester Piggott on Light Calvalry who moved over on the final bend, allowing Shergar room to come up on the rails.
Caroline Nelson, Worthing, W. Sussex.
QUESTION What would an ordinary peasant have experienced when going to church services in medieval times?
MOST of Europe in medieval times was subject to the Church of Rome, which aimed to create the maximum visual impact on parishioners.
Even the smallest parish church would have a large number of vividly coloured painted scenes. Around the walls would be episodes from the Bible, the lives of saints and allegorical battles of good against evil, while the ceiling was painted to represent heaven.
There were also statues of the Virgin and Child and saints, gilded vessels, a thurible for incense, liturgical books and vestments for the priest. The only seating was for the priest. Alexander Neckam, writing in the late-12th century, lists among the typical contents of a church a stool, chair and elevated seat. The floor would be covered with rushes and people stood, kneeled or lay on the floor.
Those at the back of the church might amuse themselves with board games, such as Nine Men’s Morris. A number of improvised gaming boards have survived.
Everyone was expected to attend Mass on Sundays, the important days in the Church calendar and the feast days of saints.
Since the majority of the population received little or no education and could not understand Latin, they were present to witness the service, rather than to take part in it.
For most of the medieval era, there was no music in rural parish churches.
David Rayner, Canterbury, Kent.
QUESTION Why do we often wake up with a sudden jolt during nightmares?
HYPNIC jerks, or sleep starts, are muscle jerks involving the legs, arms or whole body that occur at the onset of sleep.
They are associated with brief, vivid and forceful dreams. The most common is the feeling of suddenly falling, which causes a vigorous, startling jerk.
Such jolts may be triggered by stress, fatigue, sleep deprivation or caffeine.
Hypnic jerks are generally harmless and are not an indication of an underlying disease or condition.
They differ from nightmares, which are vividly realistic, disturbing dreams that rattle you awake from a deep sleep. They tend to occur most often during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Because REM periods become progressively longer as the night progresses, nightmares are often experienced in the early morning hours.
Dr Ian Smith, Cambridge.
QUESTION Why are soap operas so-called? Which is considered to be the first?
THE previous answer was illustrated with a photo of The Grove Family. Granny Grove was played by Nancy Roberts and her daughter, Gladys, by Ruth Dunning. ‘Gladys, Gladys,’ Granny would moan. ‘Where’s my elevenses? I’m faint from lack of nourishment!’
Gladys bore her woes with old-fashioned fortitude. She consulted her doctor about symptoms being experienced by a ‘friend’. He saw through her device: ‘It’s you we’re talking about, isn’t it, Gladys?’
The Grove Family should share its accolade as Britain’s first soap with The Appleyards, a children’s show.
The cast was listed in a voiceover: ‘Dad Appleyard was played by Douglas Muir, Mum Appleyard was played by Constance Fraser.’ The fact I can still remember the names after all these years suggests they must have been doing something right!
Chris Haggett, Warrington, Cheshire.
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