You're on the way Yorkie. The clues are there - what was the 14th century famous for ? What was first done in Dubrovnik at this time ? And the modern parallel leads to Lima and Quebec.
Further clues needed ? This has to do with a great medical innovation of the 14th Century and its present application.
I'll give you that Yorkie. Quarantine was first used in Dubrovnik (then called Ragusa) in 1377, at the time of the plague. There was a 40 day isolation of ships before entering the city - the 40 days comes from 'quaranta giorni', from the Venetian dialect - the city then belonged to the Venetian Republic. Modern ships Worldwide fly the 'Lima' flag (Yellow and Black) to indicate that a ship is under quarantine and later the 'Quebec' flag to indicate that the ship is free of contagion and can then enter a port, thought the time taken for this now varies. Over to you.
Good one.... the clues were necessary though! Here we go.... How have Lancaster University managed to sign up some old pros??
Anything to do with Neville, Giggs, Butt and Scholes setting up an 'alternative educational institution' with Lancaster Uni?
Ok - now that my heart rate has returned to normal... What's unusual about the grandsons of John Tyler, the tenth President of USA, who died in 1862 aged 71?
They certainly are. There's a history of fathering children late in life in the family. The president had 15 children, including a son at the age of 63, said son's oldest child, now approaching 90, was born when his father was 75 - and he also has a younger brother.. Over to you.
Forgot about this so a quick one! Why do some New Zealanders get prickly when told about Torquay Palms?
For the same reason some Chinese get annoyed when you mention kiwi fruit? They're native to NZ and not Torquay?
That's it BB. The Torquay Palm is the Cordyline Australis or Cabbage Tree in NZ English (and the Kiwi fruit was a Chinese gooseberry when I was growing up.)
Cheers NZ - I've often wondered why it's called that. The Australian version - Livistona Australis - is part of Aboriginal 'bush tucker' - the flesh of the fronds is edible but tastes nothing at all like cabbage, the flesh in the middle of the trunk is used to treat sore throats and it has small fruit which are rather sweet. In 1974, a dead body was issued with a passport in order to fly to France. Whose body was it, and why?
‘Rameses 2’ starring Yul Brynner. Not a patch on the original. Which can’t be said of ‘Treasure Island’, of course.