Where was I? PC cd 12/1/00
Pickle1553
Win a nine-day holiday for two in northern India with Cox & Kings
'A strange man!' shrieked the lady. Another instant and the house would be
alarmed. Her garments rustled as she rushed towards the door."
While I profess to having only a vague notion of what yellow curlpapers might
be, this hotel is where the hapless Mr Pickwick has a close encounter of the
nocturnal kind with a lady who was wearing them. The only remotely similar
distraction today is a young lady on the opposite side of the street, sporting
a towering bouffant that appears to be in imminent danger of collapse as it
teeters precariously in the breeze. Wisely keeping a safe distance, I make for
the town's most impressive building: 16th century and famed for its
meticulously detailed pargeting. Its plain name gives the impression of being a
residence. Not so, I discover; it's a shop.
Then, as I move on, I too have a close encounter - this time with a statue of a
handbag-building grandma, the much-loved trademark of somebody (known to
millions by only part of his name) who had close links with the town. Grandma
is a formidable-looking woman for sure, but she brings a broad smile to my
face. Still smirking, I walk south, passing close to where an 18th-century
artist lived - his father was in the wool trade. He much preferred landscape
painting, yet is not exactly unknown for his portrait work.
But when it comes to this place's most famous resident, that honour must befall
a butcher's son, born here and subsequently one of the most influential figures
of his time. Although his life ended in ignominy in 1530, you can hardly walk
two paces without finding something - a street, a theatre, an art gallery -
bearing his name. And sure enough, as soon as I turn a corner I come across a
gateway named after him - all that remains of a college he founded in 1527.
A little beyond, and with dangerous hairdos and fierce grannies well behind me,
I reach the comparative calm of the river. As I stroll along the wharfside
close to the splendid Custom House, I stop to admire a great Victorian legacy
that, when opened in 1842, was the largest of its kind in the country. Like the
shop earlier, it, too, has a plain name; obviously unclear, it's clearly
obvious.
The questions
1 Where was I?
2 Who was the butcher's son?
The prize
A nine-day holiday for two to northern India with Cox & Kings, the worlds's
oldest travel company.
The winners will join an Indian Experience tour, featuring the Golden Triangle
of Delhi, Jaipur and Agra, including flights, four- and five-star
accommodation, transfers, guided excursions and breakfast. Highlights include
the Red Fort and the Lutyens architecture in New Delhi, the Amber Palace in
Jaipur and the Taj Mahal. The holiday must be taken on one of the 25 departures
in 2000 before December 1, subject to availability.
Cox & Kings Travel specialises in travel to the Indian subcontinent, Latin
America, the Middle East and southern Africa. Call the brochure line on
01233-211401 or visit the website: www.coxandkings.co.uk. For additional
details, call a specialist tour consultant on 0207-873 5000.
The winner, and two runners-up, will also receive two Rough Guide travel books
of their choice.
Entries
On a postcard to Where Was I? January 9, 1999, PO Box 5078, Leighton Buzzard,
Beds LU7 7GB, by next Wednesday afternoon. Winners will be announced in next
week's Directions. Times Newspapers rules apply. No correspondence will be
entered into.
The answers
The answers to the December 26 quiz are Charles Dickens and Charing Cross and
it was set in London. The winner is W H Montague of Reading, Berkshire, and the
prize a week for two in Cyprus with Airglobe Holidays. For a brochure, call
0171-813 1122.
The answers to last week's competition are Peacehaven and Cleethorpes, and the
winner is Dawn Spooner of Twickenham, London, whose prize is a week's beach
holiday in Thailand with Travelbag. For more information about its programme,
call 01420-88724.
The December 26 runners-up are O M Calder of Walker, Kent, and Alexander Nicol
of Acton, London; last week's runners-up are S E Saxton of Helensburgh,
Dunbartonshire, and Jennifer Hepburn of Sale, Cheshire.
All the runners-up, like the two winners, receive two Rough Guidebooks of their
choice.