Page 58
QUESTIONS
FULL of delicious
flavours. SERVES 4
When porky
met Beefy...
Compiled by Charles Legge
TODAY’S RECIPE:
Summer fruit compote
Method
QUESTION
What are the
strangest
examples of animals stopping
sports matches?
PerhaPs the most famous incident was
when a pig stopped play during the 1982-
83 ashes series.
On day one of the first Test at The
Gabba, sydney, a group of aussie
veterinary students smuggled an
anaesthetised pig into the ground in a
large cool box. The poor porker had the
words ‘Botham’ painted on one side and
‘eddie’ on the other, a reference to the
physiques of the england players Ian
‘Beefy’ Botham and eddie hemmings.
Once revived, it was released onto the
pitch. There is hilarious footage of
stewards trying to apprehend the creature.
Botham thought the episode was hilarious;
the taciturn hemmings less so!
england’s 2007 tour of sri Lanka saw
several animal-related incidents. a warm-
up match was delayed when a pair of
cobras had to be removed from the
outfield. In another match, a family of
scorpions was found under the covers.
During the Test Match at Kandy, players
and officials had to dive for cover when a
swarm of bees invaded the pitch. after a
few minutes, the bees dispersed and
england returned to fetching the ball. a
brilliant 152 from Kumar sangakkara
won the hosts the match.
a hedgehog briefly stopped play during
Derbyshire’s Championship match
against Gloucester in 1957. Players tried
to shoo the invader off the pitch, before
Derbyshire wicketkeeper George Dawkes,
who had the benefit of gloves, picked it
up and removed it from the field.
John Finch, Chesterfield, Derbys.
One incident that has stuck in my mind
for 42 years took place during an ashes
series. The fifth and final Test Match of
the 1977 series took place at The Oval.
england had already won the series 3-0
thanks to the triumphant return of
Geoffrey Boycott.
The fifth Test took place against a back-
drop of several leading players on both
sides having signed for Kerry Packer’s
World series Cricket — or Packer’s Circus,
as it was dubbed. The game was a dead
rubber and, interrupted by bad weather,
was probably not the greatest entertain-
ment, when a black dog appeared on the
outfield and held up play. essex left arm
seamer John Lever gamely picked up the
bewildered animal and carried it off.
The footnote to this story was that Daily
Mail cartoonist Jon produced a cartoon
of the incident for his Jon’s sporting
Types. It showed Lever carrying the dog,
and had the caption: ‘I’m sorry, but Mr
Packer sent me on to disrupt play!’
Steve Trump, Upminster, Essex.
In FeBruary, a black cat stopped play
during everton’s 3-1 defeat to
Wolverhampton Wanderers, evading
capture for several minutes as fans and
reporters cheered it on.
There were several cases of chickens
invading the pitch at Blackburn following
their take-over by the Venkys Indian fast
food chain.
The first example came in 2012, with
striker yakubu retrieving the bird from
the goal before handing it to a steward.
Perhaps the most important invasion
took place in 1987 when Torquay met
Crewe alexandra in the final match of the
season. With Torquay needing a goal to
avoid relegation, a fractious crowd saw
police dogs deployed and, with seconds
remaining, a German shepherd called
Bryn escaped from his handler, ran onto
the pitch and bit Torquay right-back Jim
Mcnichol on the leg.
With Mcnichol injured for five minutes,
the referee was forced to halt the game.
Once the game resumed, a re-energised
Torquay side sprinted up the field and
netted the crucial goal to save the team
from relegation. Bryn was given the keys
to the city. Mcnicol required a tetanus jab
and 17 stitches. The pair later made up.
Si Jones, Liverpool.
QUESTION
Why are woollen
jumpers called
sweaters?
reFerrInG to jumpers as sweaters is a
form of american english. During the
late 19th century, when it was believed
profuse sweating while exercising was a
good form of weight loss, athletes in
training often wore heavy-knitted tops in
order to sweat — so the point of a sweater
was to make the wearer perspire.
It was later realised that sweating causes
dehydration instead of weight loss, but
the name had caught on. During the early
years of the 20th century, it came to refer
to a warm piece of clothing that covers a
person’s upper body and arms.
sweater is a collective term that
includes cardigans, so has a broader
application than what British people call
a jumper.
The noun jumper is unrelated to the
verb jump, but is derived from a modified
form of the French jupe, used to mean a
short coat in the 19th century. It applied
to the sort of shapeless outer garment
worn by workmen that we call a smock.
In america, a jumper refers to a dress
worn over another dress. This dates back
to the Thirties and the all-in-one infants’
jumper. It might amuse some americans
to hear an englishman say he is going to
put on his jumper.
Brits in the u.s. would be better off to
refer to a pullover, another word for the
garment that means the same thing in
both countries.
Emilie Lamplough, Trowbridge, Wilts.
QUESTION
Is there a female
equivalent to the
title esquire? If not, why not?
The previous answer explained that
esquire is a male suffix derived from the
French escuyer, meaning a boy servant to
a knight.
however, ten years ago as part of my job,
I spoke to a woman lawyer in the u. s.
When I queried why she used esquire after
her name in her correspondence, she
explained that in the u.s., a qualified law-
yer of either gender is entitled to use it.
Ian Adlington, Sampford Peverell, Devon.
: If his family had followed a
conventional surname structure,
would Oliver Cromwell have been
called Oliver Williams?
Ellen Barker, Melton Mowbray, Leics.
: Does the name Alexander have
the most diminutive forms — Al,
Alex, Sandy, Sacha, etc?
Justine Griggson, Perth.
Q: What was the secret to the
longevity of HMS Hermes?
Brian Gavigan, Eastleigh, Hants.
Q
Q
Ingredients
Picture: GETTY
Pitch invader: A pig with ‘Botham’
on its side disrupts the 1982-83 Ashes
4 large plums, stoned
and cut into wedges
200g punnet of
blueberries
Zest and juice of
1 orange
25g soft light
brown sugar
150g punnet of
raspberries
TO SERVE: Thick
yoghurt and honey
(optional)
1 Cook plums and blueberries in a small pan
with the orange zest and juice, sugar and
4 tbsp water until slightly softened, but not
mushy. Gently stir in raspberries and cook for
one minute more.
2 Remove from the heat and allow to cool to
room temperature. Serve with yoghurt and a
drizzle of honey, if you like.
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