A Quiz for 2023

It is a long time since I offered you a quiz.  The following free standing structure is unusual, this stone feature is normally to be found built into a wall - I have one in my own garden. Alas it is not historic, ours was built into our drystone wall at my request. They should be south facing, and many can still be found right across Britain today, some dating back as far as the 12th century. They can still be seen in the fortified walls of medieval towns, castles, monasteries and in the walled gardens of many stately homes or large properties.

a) What is the official term used for these structures and b) The special name given for the items that they contained?

Comments moderation has been switch off

for the duration of the quiz.

Quick Quiz

Three separate lifesize items are shown here.

      

1, What are they?

2. In which country did I find them?

3. I spotted them lying together on the ground, but where was I? - e.g. was it in a park, on a beach, perhaps it was on a mountain side or none of these?

4. Each individual item yields two separate products. Both of which you probably use or will be familiar with.

I am switching on comments moderation - the answers will be posted on Friday.

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

I am happy, the sun is up, and I have secured an online booking for us to walk in a locally owned National Trust garden this morning.

It's Guess the Flower Time Again

Several of you enjoy my flower quiz but I have yet to be successful at catching you out. At least one of my blogging friends always manages to identify the flower shown..... but I live in hopes♡ Sometimes I show just part of a flower, or take a micro shot, but today I am generously giving you a whole flower spray.

This flower is completely new to me. I spotted it during our Christmas holiday in Paris. It was growing in a municipal roadside flower bed near to where our eldest son and family live.

The flowers are small, creamy yellow - my first impression was that they are rather insignificant, but on closer inspection they were prettier than I initially thought. The leaves are strap like resembling those of the Oleander. One clue is that it has very extraordinary seed pods, details of which I am saving until I give the answer!

We bought some seeds home with us which we may well live to regret!!!

As usual I shall turn comments moderation on to give everyone a fair chance, and will post the answer on Thursday 18th February.

Artifact Quiz

You know that it is a gate, but what kind of gate is it, or what is its function? It is made out of wood with a central metal post on which it pivots open.

Like this

On top of the gate are two sturdy pieces of metalwork, they are not there just for show but are an important part of the gates function

They also pivot and turn

Now the gate is open, enabling people to pass either side of it with ease.

I will switch on comments moderation as usual and the answer will be given on Thursday at 12 noon GMT

The clues are there!

Flower Quiz Answer

Renamed Actaea racemosa - used to be called

Cimicifuga racemosa

This is a lovely plant that adds architectural height to the back of a border and looks particularly good sitting in front of a wall as it is here.

Japanese anemones/Actaea racemosa/Echinops globe thistle

I enjoy seeing all the above plants grouped together, they make a pleasing back of border planting
The only correct answer received was from
 Janneke - this flower was very difficult to identify - so really well done Janneke♡

The Answer

The flowers of the Liriodendron tulipifera - Tulip Tree, a member of the Magnolia family are a lovely buttery colour with orange markings. Liriodendron is greek for "lily tree". Even though I have shown the blossom in life size they are difficult to spot hidden amongst so much lush green foliage. Fossil evidence shows that the trees have been around since the Cretaceous period - may be dinosaurs dined out on their leaves!!!
A very tall deciduous tree which can grow to more than 50m (165 feet). In the UK they usually start flowering during June, and continue sporadically through to August. 

Those who got it correct in the order they arrived are:-

Rod Lutes 

Janneke

Stephanie Gaunt
Marian
Sanda
Celia
Bren

Well done & a big thank you to everyone else who tried

You can judge how tall the tree is from the rooftops of the nearby houses

Flower Quiz

Dear friends - it is many, many moons since I last did one of my flower quizzes. The answer will be given on Saturday evening but until then I will switch on 'comments moderation' and retain any answers that guess the flower correctly in order to give everyone a chance. The flower is blooming at the moment, I took this photo today - I have probably been over generous in the amount I have revealed, but do please give it a try.

The answer

Fictionally the little town is known as Downton, but its real name is Bampton, Oxfordshire. Bampton lies in a northeasterly direction across Cotswold meadows from Kelmscott, the country home of William Morris. You can see my post on Kelmscott here.

images via

In view of the fact that series lV commenced for many of you last night it seemed a good moment to feature a Downton Abbey quiz. This quiz received more correct answers than any of my previous ones.

Well done to the following - in the order that they were received 

Loi - United States

Christina - United States

Susanhal - no website or location

Wendy - England

Val - Portugal

Susan - Canada

Nilly - England

Pamela RG - Canada

Sanda - United States

 Thank you all for your comments.

New Year Quiz - name this small town

wikipedia

This place has a real name and a fictional TV name.

Fictionally it is situated in the north of England.

In reality it is here, in the Cotswolds.

It is the fictional name that you will know and what I want.

I am sure that many of you with sharp eyes will recognise this house - the home to two of the fictional characters.

Three views of the library - fictionally the hospital

Both the exterior and the interior of the church have had starring roles in the fiction. However, the church is a star in its own right. It was in existence before the Norman Conquest. The earliest part of the church dates from the middle of the 11th century; in the chancel there is some very early herring-bone Cotswold stonework.

A photograph of the original deed given by William the Conqueror.

Beautiful crisp Norman zig-zag stonework around the south transept door.

When watching the programme you may have noticed lots of very high Cotswold stone walls in this small town

Comment moderation has been set to give everyone a chance. If you get it right I will withhold your answer until I reveal the name on Monday at noon Grenwich Meantime.

Flower quiz answer

Five lovely bloggers got it correct - in the order that they arrived.........

Celia Hart at purple podded peas 

Paul at magical christmas wreath 
Marijke at mÿn kleine paradÿs
Val at Val's Alentejo and
Anna at a taste of Italy

Flower Quiz

This is flowering in our garden at the moment. Each flower spike carries about 20 blooms. The interesting thing is that there appears to be two distinct flowers all the way up the spike with different colouring and different stamens. The flowers are hermaphrodite. This means that they have perfect flowers with both sexes represented in one flower. I have read that once a flower has been pollinated by the bee it then turns from having a yellow patch to deep pink. One of the flowers here has not been pollinated, one is just turning pink and the other has turned completely pink.
If anyone gives the correct answer I shall save their comment until after I have given the name of the flower, which will be Monday evening 27th May at 22.00 hours GMT.

Quiz answer

Isaiah 41:15
Behold, I make of you a Threshing Sledge, new, sharp, and having teeth; you shall thresh the mountains and crush them, and you shall make the hills like chaff.
Yes, the answer is a Threshing Sledge. They were still being used in Spain until the 1950s - 60s.
The prophet Isaiah uses an image derived from the mode of threshing in the East at that time, where the heavy sledge was made to pass over a large pile of sheaves, and to bruise out the grain, and separate the chaff so that the wind would drive it away.

via

Well done  Marian, Mark, Kirk and Attila, who doesn't appear to have a blog - all four are the victors of the quiz.
I am now adding Val as a winner - I misunderstood her comment - apologies Val.