Putin’s pal is highest flyer
QUESTION Who owns the most expensive private jet?
THE world’s most expensive private plane is an Airbus A340-300 owned by Uzbek-born billionaire and Putin ally Alisher Burkhanovich Usmanov.
He is the founder and main shareholder of USM Holdings, a Russian company with metals, mining, telecoms and technology interests. He was once a major shareholder in Arsenal football club.
The aircraft cost £200 million with an extra £140 million spent on a lavish interior that includes a 20- seater dining table and bedroom suites.
Two aircraft vie for second place. The Boeing 747-8 VIP owned by Hong Kong property tycoon Joseph Lau cost £ 120 million in 2007. An additional £180 million was spent on customisation including guest rooms, a bar and gym and board room.
The Boeing 747-400 owned by the Sultan of Brunei is gold-plated and so luxurious that it has been nicknamed the Flying Palace. It cost around £180 million to buy and upgrade. But that’s a drop in the ocean for the Sultan, who has an estimated net worth of $28 billion. He is a car enthusiast and owns 600 RollsRoyces, 450 Ferraris and 380 Bentleys.
QUESTION Why did Guy Fawkes, who was born in Yorkshire, adopt the Italian name Guido?
GUY FAWKES called himself Guido to blend in with his Spanish and Italian men- at- arms while fighting against Protestant forces in the 1590s.
Born in April 1570, he was baptised at St Michael le Belfrey in York and named in honour of local notable Sir Guy Fairfax, a respected judge.
Fawkes was raised a Protestant, but became a fanatical convert to Roman Catholicism in his teens.
Aged 21, he joined the Army of Flanders — Roman Catholics who were fighting on behalf of Spain against the Dutch Protestant Reformers.
It was during this time that he adopted the name Guido, the common form of Guy in Italian and Spanish.
In the spring of 1604, Fawkes was introduced to Thomas Wintour, who recruited him for the Gunpowder Plot.
On November 5, 1605, the bid to assassinate James I during the State Opening of Parliament failed. Fawkes used the name Guido when he signed a confession after his arrest.
On January 31, 1606, he was hanged, drawn and quartered at Old Palace Yard, Westminster, sharing the scaffold with his fellow plotters Wintour, Ambrose Rookwood and Robert Keyes.
QUESTION Why did Mrs Beeton include potatoes in her bread recipes? Was this common at the time?
FURTHER to the merits of using potatoes in bread, the best recipe I’ve tried for Christmas pudding includes mashed potato in addition to flour. It is beautifully light and moist.
Chris Tait, Fareham, Hants.
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