The Saturday Briefing: Knowledge is power
Is there anything you are desperately yearning to know? Are there any pressing factual disputes you would like us to help resolve? This is the page where we shall do our best to answer any questions you throw at us, whatever the subject.
I recall a song I heard in the 1960s which I think was sung by Sir Jimmy Young. It had the lyrics: “Silver and blue remind me of you, blue was the day when you walked away, colour me silver and blue.” I have not been able to find any references of this song. Tom Bull, Bristol
You’re quite right: Silver And Blue was the B-side of Young’s My Dream Of Love, released on MGM Records in 1968.
When I was a boy my father had a double-sided 78rpm record called The Parson’s Christmas Address in which the parson kept saying: “Oh yes, I think so.” I would love to know who this artist was. Matt Welland, Midhurst, West Sussex
He was a music hall and radio comedian named John Foster Hall (1867-1945) who called himself The Rev Vivian Foster and described himself as The Vicar of Mirth. He made several recordings for Columbia Records between 1915 and the early 1930s, all with the words “The Parson” in their titles. He also appeared in one film, This Week Of Grace, in 1933 in which Gracie Fields starred. He played, you guessed it, a vicar. He was himself the son of an Anglican parson.
What is the origin and meaning of the expressions of delight, “in seventh heaven” and “on cloud nine”? Nigel Fortnam, Lyme Regis, West Dorset
Seventh heaven has its origin in several old religions. Both ancient Judaism and Islam embraced the idea of seven levels of heaven of which the highest was the seventh heaven where God dwelt and presided over the angels. The ancient Mesopotamians also believed in seven heavens. Cloud nine is harder to explain.
Joe Clarke: I'm on cloud nine
It wasn’t seen before the 20th century and some have suggested a modern meteorological explanation involving nine cloud types but that does not stand up to examination. Curiously the phrase was preceded by both cloud seven and cloud eight, the first apparently being a variation of seventh heaven and the second being a slang expression for a state of inebriation causing a loss of consciousness. Perhaps cloud nine is no more than an inflated version of clouds seven and eight.
Were the Channel Islands ever attached to Northern France? Did they break away during the Ice Age? E Hughes, St Peter Port, Guernsey
There has been a great deal of argument about when Britain separated from the European mainland and became an island and the pre-history of the Channel Islands is even less clear. Around 450,000 years ago one Ice Age came to an end and a huge mass of water swept through a river valley causing what was to become the English Channel. Since then however temperatures and water levels have fluctuated and records suggest that there have been at least another four Ice Ages. At various times, despite the deep valley worn by the waters almost half a million years ago, it remained possible at various times to walk from England to France.
This came to an end about 9,000 years ago when the last Ice Age finished. While most of the Channel Islands are thought to have become detached from France at around that time, some have recently suggested that Jersey remained connected to France until comparatively recent times, possibly as late as AD700.
What happens in a parliamentary election when, even after recounts, there is a dead heat? Bill Elbourne, Bebington, Wirral
In the 1886 election there was a dead heat in Ashtonunder-Lyne which was resolved by the casting vote of the returning officer. After that, the rules were changed and lots are drawn to determine the winner. But the returning officer may still decide on the method of casting lots. Since then there have been no dead heats in parliamentary elections but some tied council elections have been decided on a coin toss.