Twist in a dog’s tale
QUESTION Did John Paul Getty Jnr adopt an abandoned dog, which he renamed Bullseye after the bull terrier owned by Bill Sikes in Oliver Twist?
American-born Sir John Paul Getty ii, Kbe was eldest son of billionaire oil tycoon, Jean Paul Getty Sr., one of the richest men in the world.
by the time of his death, JPG was famed for his love of cricket, his friendships with luminaries such as Lady Thatcher and mick Jagger and his philanthropy.
bullseye, a mongrel, was being used as lookout by two burglars who broke into a house in northumberland on September 21, 1995. When the owner came home, the burglars fled leaving the dog on lookout. He refused to budge and the police began to think he might lead them to the suspects.
Police named him after bill Sikes’s dog in oliver Twist, and he led them to his 19year- old owner’s home in cramlington, and he and his accomplice were jailed.
bullseye was taken to the newcastle Dog and cat Shelter. Following a report in the evening chronicle, the shelter was deluged with offers to adopt him.
They accepted the offer from John Paul Getty ii and his wife Victoria Holdsworth. A member of the Getty staff was dispatched to pick the dog up: ‘When the driver turned up, we gave him tea,’ mrs Getty told a reporter. ‘bullseye was going crazy in the office next door, and left his calling card on the floor.’
He retired to a life of luxury at Wormsley, the Getty’s 2,500-acre estate in the chiltern Hills.
Gordon Moore, Newcastle upon Tyne.
QUESTION What is the origin of the place name ‘Stoke’ as in Winterbourne Stoke and Stoke-on-Trent?
Stoke has been described as ‘the most colourless habitative place-name term in the old english vocabulary’. it simply means ‘ place’ or ‘ settlement’ in old english. There are more than 100 examples around the country.
To make it more interesting, there are many examples where a river name, such as Greystoke, Tawstock, Winterbourne, meonstoke, Tavistock and Stoke- on Trent, has been affixed, and other elements have been added to identify places. Laverstoke and Laverstock refer to a fenced or enclosed settlement where larks are; Linstock derives from the fact that flax ( linum) was cultivated there; brigstock relates to a bridge and Woodstock is in ancient forest country.
Jeremy Taylor, Stafford.
QUESTION Why are the invasions of Korea by Japan in the 1590s called the Ceramic Wars?
THe imjin War, or ceramic Wars, were a series of Japanese invasions during the 1590s. They resulted from the desire of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Japan’s preeminent warlord, a samurai who had reunited Japan after centuries of civil war, to conquer china.
He wanted to attack ming dynasty china not only because of his giant ego, but also as a way to control Japan’s restless daimyos (barons). To reach china, Hideyoshi’s forces would have to pass through the Korean peninsula.
The Japanese invaded in April 1592 and their forces were in Pyongyang by July. However, they over-extended and Korea’s navy under their genius Admiral Yi Sunsin wrecked Japan’s supply ships.
bogged down in attritional warfare the Japanese realised they could not win territorially so concentrated on material gain in the form of slaves.
The number of Korean slaves estimated to have been taken back to Japan ranges from 50,000 to 200,000. While most were just peasants, the Japanese made particular efforts to capture confucian scholars and artisans. Potters and blacksmiths were particularly prized. This was the source of the term ceramic wars.
captured Korean artisans made some of the most famous pottery ever and sparked the beginning of the edo period (1602-1868) pottery revolution.
Yi Sam-pyeong (1579-1655), the father of blue and white Arita porcelain, later prized in europe, was taken to the city of Arita, in Saga prefecture on the southern island of Kyushu. He lived out the rest of his life in Japan and took the Japanese name Kanagae Sanbee.
Satsuma ware, decorated with ivory crackle glaze painted over with colourful scenes and gold trim, emanating from the Satsuma domain on the southern end of Kyushu island was also begun by captured Korean potters.
brothers ri Kei and ri Shakko, captured on the southern tip of the main island of Honshu, were settled in Hagi where they began producing Hagi-ware in 1604. Their ceremonial tea sets are some of the world’s most prized. Their descendants changed the family name to Saka, and still make pottery in Hagi.
Among the other Japanese styles created or greatly influenced by enslaved Korean potters are the sturdy, simple Karatsu ware; Korean potter Sonkai’s light Agano teaware; and Pal San’s richly glazed Takatori ware.
Alison Judd, Gulworthy, Devon.
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