QuizList

… was the most original answer I received to the ‘mystery city’ question, but unfortunately not correct.  Still, the answerer had hit on something which not all of you realised – the city isn’t in the UK…

Let’s recap.  Back in October I realised I had been in London thirteen years.  I decided to set thirteen clues which would lead to the identity of the city I’d lived in in prior to my move to London.  I did this and the last clue appeared on the 13^th of December.  Spooky!  So people have been guessing, and here we go with the solution…

But let’s not jump into anything.  First of all, let’s look at where the clues were leading.  It was somewhere on the coast, as I had a picture of a seal in the water and gave you the information that he wasn’t in captivity.  Another clue said that the city had expanded to the West and no-one comes from the East – because basically the east of the city is the sea.

The fact that a prominent football team from the city wears blue is a deliberate bit of misdirection, as we’re not talking soccer here.  The other sports-related clue referred to a prominent sportsman from the city and a disappointing ‘half’ – think Ryder Cup and great expectations which weren’t met.

Naming the very famous river which runs through it would give it away and the light rail system didn’t seem to be much of a clue, except to railway enthusiasts.

The two areas with names the same as areas of London are Portobello and Pimlico. The area which was mentioned in a Number 1 hit of the late Seventies was not Ancoats or Salford but the lesser-known and geographically distant Five Lamps, as in ‘The Five Lamp boys were coming on strong’.  The old pub is the Brazen Head, where allegedly you can still see the mark of an arrow fired by a Norman invader.  The most popular tourist attraction is a Storehouse – but whose?  And the nickname for natives of the city:  ‘jacks’ and ‘jackeens’, because allegedly they were ‘little wavers of the Union Jack’.   A bit paradoxical, at least until you realise what the city is, as I said it wasn’t in the UK. 

Now to the clues which gave it away, at least to residents of the city.  ‘Southsiders look down on Northsiders’ – need I say more. ‘A multi-million selling, record-breaking four-piece musical combo comes from here’.  Well, this could only really have been the Beatles, or that other lot – yes, the one with the evangelical lead singer.  (Joke common in the city about said lead singer:  ‘XXXX says that every time he claps his hands, a child in the third world dies.’  ‘Well, tell him to stop f***ing doing it.’)

And, folks, if you still don’t know, the name of the city has been visible for the entire duration of the quiz: yes, look to the right and up a bit…  If you want an explanation of any of the clues, mail me.

http://www.dpquiz.co.uk/

and who got it at clue 6.