Answer to November's quiz question: which tree may be made from the number one sweetener with tea? Well, the answer is Hawthorn. First up the clue "may" – hawthorn is also known as Maythorn. The scientific name for Hawthorn is Crataegus, this being a cryptic anagram of ace (number one), sugar (sweetener) and t (tea). Didn't tell you it would be easy!
December quiz answers: – you'll have to wait a few days for the answers to the last questions as they've only just been posted!
1: A bit of this joins hills ... (9) Partridge
2: Thrush stubbed one to get a peck (9) Mistletoe
3: You'd be mad to pull them! (8) Crackers
4. Addicts might get cold, but better roasted (6) Turkey
5. I thought about an audible complaint but this eased it (6,4) Mulled wine
6. Ant's pal gains warmth at this time (8) December
7. Sounds like very small agents, eaten at this time of year (5,4) Mince pies
8. She's often sung now (6) Carols
9. This describes where the baby lay (4) Crib
10. To be honest I was almost made angry receiving this gift (12) Frankincense
11. Its aired after lunch in New York, with a fruit (6,6) Queen's speech
12. And finally .... easiest of all .... "24 hours after being in the ring" (6,3) Boxing Day
August 2019 flower picture quiz:
Top line from left – Great Knapweed, Himalayan Balsam, Betony
Middle line from left – Spear Thistle, Rosebay Willowherb, Red Campion
Bottom line, from left – Red Clover, Common Burdock, Common Teasel
Well that is what himself thinks they are – anybody know better then please contact me and I'll put him straight!
Christmas 2020 Quiz – part 1 – word-search:
The original word-search can be found here and the grid with the house names highlighted is here.
Christmas 2020 Quiz – part 2 – village ephemera:
Here are the questions with himself's answers. Feel free to disagree!
1. What properties are on Muslin Row
a. Village Hall (car park entrance) and entrance to the telephone exchange and land behind it. This parcel of land was, for some years after the Village Farm development opened, used as a community allotment run by one of the residents
2. What happened in Church Minshull on October 12th 1958?
a. The canal breached at its "viewpoint" looking down towards the centre of the village. It was suggested that this was caused by a burrowing rat, though on what evidence I wonder? The repair was completed in only 6 weeks. See here
3. If you were at "A Una's Leech" where would you be?
a. Anagram: Eachus Lane
4. Which 3 houses have been Post Offices?
a. In date order: Old House, The Old Post Office, Sunnyside
5. What is unusual about the bells hung in the tower of St Bartholomew's?
a. The ring of 6 bells are hung in an anticlockwise direction, from the Treble (lightest) to the Tenor (heaviest). Most rings follow a clockwise direction.
6. Can you link President Trump to a village road?
a. Paradise Lane – during early phases of the Covid-19 pandemic President Trump was suggesting that the use of disinfectants should be investigated. A common disinfectant, Sodium Hypochlorite, is available in proprietary form as Milton sterilising fluid. The poet John Milton wrote Paradise Lost and was married to Elizabeth Mynshull
7. When was the Village Farm development first occupied?
a. 1999 – the farm had been sold to developers in 1989 but remained undeveloped and derelict for some years
8. If out for a walk where would you find a Wizard?
a. The "Merlin" radio-telescope at Darnhall is a short but usually wet field walk from Paradise Farm.
9. What did the Village Hall used to be?
a. An ex-military hut, built in Canada, and transported to the village from Prees Heath in Shropshire in 1964
10. Who/what were the "Clappersongs"?
a. 4 fields between the River Weaver and the B5074 as it leaves the village towards Worleston. These fields extend from alongside the site of the original Village Farm tennis court up to the edge of "Lawyers Wood". These and many other historical land details can be found on "Cheshire Tithe maps". Clappers is an old English word for rabbit burrows.
11. How much did the Porklad Calendar raise?
a. £2358.00 The calendar featured some Minshull "Gentlemen" paying homage to the phrase "Scythe doesn't matter". Readers of a nervous disposition should refrain from viewing the video about the making of the calendar, which has been set to music, and can be seen here.
12. What did Tiny do in 1888?
a. Tiny was a small locomotive from Crewe Works that took part in a short-lived trial, on 18 inch track, to haul barges along a section of the Shropshire Union Middlewich Branch Canal at Cholmondeston. An information board can be found at "Sykes Hollow" picnic area between Nanney's Bridge and the Venetian Marina at Poole
13. When did Aqueduct Marina open?
a. 2009
14. When was the canal aqueduct, after which the marina is named, built and to whose design?
a. 1827-1833, Thomas Telford design.It is a Grade 2 "listed building" described on the Historic England website. Avid readers of Madai's blog will have seen pictures from within the flood relief arches.
VillageArena is powered by our active community.
Please send us your news and views using the button below: