Nik Nak’s Daily Teaser — 17th June, 2020.

17th June, 2020.

Oh, LORD, but’s it ’s been a morning … already … !

I’ve managed to switch on my computer, this morning, and connect my keyboard to a charging cable …

And mess my screens up in the process!

It took half ban hour, and a lot of swearing, to get things back to normal.

That’s on top of yesterday: where my mobile started acting up.

What’s gone wrong, there … ?

Is quite simple: the local phone mast has gone down.

When you consider I’ve two voice messages I can’t get to, because of this … ?

And that I’m supposed to have a swab test, today, arranged over the mobile?

I’m not having a good morning, and it’s only two hours old … !

~≈†≈~

Let’s move on, shall we?

Yesterday’s Teaser saw Trevor*, Olga† and Debbi‡ putting in their answers: with all three scoring five out of five.

Let’s see how everyone does with today’s questions, shall we?

Here they are, along with the How To, License and video …

Q1) Mumtaz Mahal died in childbirth: on 17th June, 1631.   What’s the name of the mausoleum her widower, Shah Jahan 1st, built as a result?

Q2) 17th June, 2017, saw the start of wildfires in which European country?

Q3) 17th June, 1462, saw Vlad 3rd attempt to assassinate Mehmed 2nd.   Vlad is also known as Vlad … the whom?

Q4) 17th June saw the birth of Dutch artist, M. C. Esher.   In which year?

Q5) Finally … ?    17th June, 1982, saw the death of — apparently corrupt — banker, Roberto Calvi.   He was found hanging under where: London Bridge, Tower Bridge or Blackfriars Bridge?

Here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) 16th June is Sussex Day.   Name either one of the Sussex counties in England.
A1) East Sussex or West Sussex.

Q2) 16th June, 1898, marks the birth of Leonard P. Howell: generally considered to be the founding father of which religious movement?
A2) Rastafari.   (I’ll accept Rastafarianism … but I’m told Rastafari is the preferred term.)

Q3) The first Disneyland on mainland China, opened to the on 16th June, 2016.   It’s in which Chinese City?
A3) Shanghai.

Q4) IBM was founded on 16th June, 1911.   What does the ‘I’ stand for, in IBM?
A4) International.   (The full name is International Business Machines Corporation.)

Q5) 16th June, 1952, saw the birth of George Papandreou: the former prime minister of where?
A5) Greece.

Here’s a thought …

“I have sometimes heard painters say that they paint ‘for themselves’: but I think they would soon have painted their fill if they lived on a desert island.”
M. C. Escher, 17 June 1898 – 27 March 1972.

And a song …

Today’s questions will be answered in tomorrow’s Teaser.

Have a good day.



*        Sounds like I’m not the only one having boiler issues, Trevor … !   Or having a bad day!   But at least I don’t have a gas leak!   I’m due a visit from the boiler man on Friday: he’s replacing the thermostat.   Replacing … and hopefully moving it: the signal’s not getting through … !
Cloudy, you say … ?   Hmmm … That means real cider’s either something like a Weiss beer, or that real cider makers don’t include much in the way of finings.   Given keg cider’s clear, I suspect it’s the latter …

†        The headphones are definitely eye-catching, Olga: we officially have DJ Núñez … !   As for the microphones?   I suspect the pro ones at a radio station — however big or small — have some very good built-in filters.   I used to work at a local pub, called the Essex Arms, that had live music: the mics the bands used had all sorts of built in filters, and were very easy to use … all you had to do was turn them on^.

‡        Oh, rubbish, Debbi: you’re only as old as the person you feel!   Mind you, with your hand, and my knee?   We’ve got four working  limbs between us!
Oh, just been looking at Rumpole’s Wikipedia entry.   There’s a wonderful quote from John Mortimer’s obituary:

In the early 1970s Mortimer was appearing for some football hooligans when James Burge, with whom he was sharing the defence, told him: “I’m really an anarchist at heart, but I don’t think even my darling old Prince Peter Kropotkin would have approved of this lot.” “And there,” Mortimer realised, “I had Rumpole.”

What can I tell you, Debbi?

^        We had the utterly bonkers John Otway play at the Essex, occasionally.   He has this bad habit of eating microphones … or head butting them, when he’s feeling artistic …

ª        For those of us who aren’t in CAMRA, or former bar staff?   Finings are things added to alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, cider, what-have-you — that makes them look ‘clear’: uncloudly, in other words.   Traditionally, they’ve been made from fish, or egg whites: which is why you see many vegetarians being picky about their beer.   Many brands have bits of fish in them.