Eurovision’s yo-yo stars

QUESTION Cliff Richard, Ronnie Carroll and Johnny Logan sang at two Eurovision Song Contests. Has anyone taken part three times or more?

Chiara SiraCUSa represented Malta three times at Eurovision.

Known for her sunny attitude, angelic singing voice and knowing winks to the camera, for her first contest in 1998, which was held in Birmingham, she sang the gentle ballad The One That i Love, finishing third behind runners up the UK and winners israel.

She performed again in Kiev in 2005 with her own composition, angel, which came second behind Greece. For her third and (so far) final contest, in Moscow in 2009, she finished a disappointing 22nd with the strong, cinematic What if We.

a Maltese national treasure, Chiara continues to perform. Despite putting forward some really good entries, Malta has yet to win Eurovision.

Lee Jackson, Torquay, Devon. OnE of the most memorable Eurovision performances was the debut of norway’s Jahn Teigen. in 1978, he appalled the Eurovision audience by belting out the excruciating Mil Etter Mil (Mile after Mile). The result was Eurovision’s first ever award of ‘nul points’.

nonetheless, Mil Etter Mil was one of the biggest top-ten hits in norway that year. he followed it up with the tonguein-cheek Jeg Gi’kke Opp (i Don’t Give Up), and his first album was entitled This Year’s Loser.

in 1982, Teigen returned to the Eurovision stage in harrogate, where he sang adieu, a duet with his wife anita Skorgan, finishing in 12th place.

in 1983, in Munich, he went solo again with Do re Mi, composed with Skorgan, for which he came ninth.

Teigen has participated in the Melodi Grand Prix, norway’s Eurovision qualifying competition, a record 14 times.

Richard Benson, Northampton. ELiSaBETh anDrEaSSEn has performed four Eurovision songs for two Maltese songbird: Chiara in 2005 countries. norwegian-born and raised in Sweden, in 1982 she came in eighth place for Sweden as part of the group Chips with Dag Efter Dag (Day after Day). in 1985, she was half of the duo Bobbysocks, which was norway’s first victory with La Det Swinge (Let it Swing).

She performed for norway once again in 1994 with Jan Werner Danielsson singing Duett, which finished sixth. Two years later, she made her final appearance for norway with the ballad i Evighet (in Eternity), which came second.

Denmark’s Tommy Seebach, a big star in his homeland, has made three appearances. he came sixth in 1979 with the memorable Disco Tango. Two years later he was back with Kroller Eller Ej (Straight hair Or Curly), a duet with Debbie Cameron, which came 11th.

Seebach spent years battling alcoholism before returning to Eurovision in 1993 with the ballad Under Stjernerne Pa himlen (Under all The Stars in The Sky) — which mustered just nine points. he died in 2003, aged 53.

Sonia Jacott, Wilmslow, Cheshire.

QUESTION Why is a holidaymaker called a ‘grockle’?

ThE term ‘grockle’ is popular in Cornwall, Devon and the Channel islands. Credit for its origin is often given to Peter Draper, scriptwriter of the 1964 film The System, starring Oliver reed and Julia Foster and directed by Michael Winner.

The film was set in Torbay and the term was used frequently in the script. But ‘grockle’ had been around for at least two years before the film and is thought to have come from a remark made in a pub about tourists being grocks, a derogatory reference to a famous clown. Grock the Clown was the stage name of Charles adrien Wettach (1880-1959) from Switzerland. he was famous across Europe in the early 20th century. Today, Cornish locals have their own grock speak, with ‘grocklebait’ being the name for an amusement arcade; ‘grocklecan’ a nickname for a coach or bus; and ‘grocklefodder’ being fish and chips. Even the local emergency services have been known to refer to a rescue mission as ‘summer grockle grabbing’, with the phrase ‘good grockle weather’ a reference to difficult climate conditions. another popular Cornish term is ‘emmet’, which stems from the dialect word for ants. if you have seen the traffic queues during the summer, you will understand why. Ged Marsden, Warwick.

QUESTION Considering the amount of chewing gum stuck to pavements, has any chemical manufacturer created an agent to clean it up?

FUrThEr to the earlier answer, my partner and i received a Government SMarT award grant in 1999 to develop a patented process that removed gum from pavements and roads and placed it automatically in a waste bin.

We called our machine, and the process, The Pressice System. it used dry ice blasted on to the gum through a special nozzle. The kinetic energy from the ice cracked the gum. The ice sublimated into a gas, which blasted the gum into minute particles.

The nozzle had an industrial vacuum attached that sucked up the gum particles and delivered it into a waste bin in a purpose-built vehicle that also provided the power.

i demonstrated our two machines to local authorities around the UK for two years. Despite the fact they worked perfectly, councils told us they preferred water jet blasting, which has inherent problems, or even replacing paving slabs. The company was wound up and the machines mothballed. John Pridmore, Letchworth Garden City, Herts.

IS THERE a question to which you have always wanted to know the answer? Or do you know the answer to a question raised here? Send your questions and answers to: Charles Legge, Answers To Correspondents, Daily Mail, 2 Derry Street, London, W8 5TT. You can also fax them to 01952 780111 or you can email them to charles. legge@dailymail.co.uk. A selection will be published but we are not able to enter into individual correspondence.