long-lived musicians

Further to the posts on long-lived bands, the chief contender for the title of the Longest Operatic Career is Danshi Toyotake of Hyogo, Japan, sang Musume Gidayu (a traditional Japanese narrative) for 91 years from the age of seven, from 1898 to 1989.

According to the Guinness World of Records, Stanley Hayes has been the organist at St David's Church, Thelbridge, Devon, since 1926, when he was 13. He's still going strong apparently.

Daniel H.

an exclave of Cambridgeshire in London

Last weekend I visited a former exclave of Cambridgeshire in London: Ely Place. Well into the 20th century Ely Place was still like an independent state, under the jurisdiction of Ely, Cambridgeshire, and not part of London. Beadles guarded the entrance and closed the gates to all strangers. Even the police had to ask permission to enter. See here and here for more information.

Daniel H.

Santa Claus, Indiana, and its crazy time zones

This article describes the crazy world of Santa Claus, Indiana, which operates on three time zones. The post office runs on Central time, or “slow time”. The doctor operates on Eastern time, or “fast time”. When it is 9am at the estate agent’s (fast time), it is 8am at the grocery store (slow time).

The owner of the hardware store got so fed up that he offers his customers a compromise. He opens at 6.30am, “to split the difference”.

There are lots of places that are not a whole number of hours ahead or behind GMT, but I'd not come across a place in which there are several different time zones in one town before. Weird. If you know of another example, please post it below.

Daniel H.

longest-lived band again

This page, dated '5 August 2003', says that the longest-lived band in music history is The Light Crust Doughboys. The Light Crust Doughboys formed in the early 1930s and are still going strong, it says.

Daniel H.

Who was the last heir to the throne to die in battle?

The question of the title was asked of me by a friend recently.

Richard III was certainly the last English monarch to be killed on the battlefield, in 1485.

The question of the last heir to the throne is much more complicated. The only Prince of Wales to be killed on the battlefield was Edward of Westminster, the son of Henry VI, who was killed in 1471.

There is, however, a little doubt about this: the inexperienced prince and his mother led the remnant of their forces at the Battle of Tewkesbury with little real hope of success. Killed in battle, according to later Tudor legend Edward was taken prisoner by Richard, Duke of Gloucester and brought before Edward IV. When the young Edward insulted the Yorkist king, Edward IV ordered his immediate murder. He is buried at Tewkesbury Abbey. The problem is that he wasn’t legally heir to the throne at the time, though his moral claim seems secure:

September 1460 Duke of York returns to Wales, claims the throne and is named Henry VI's heir.

December 30, 1460 Queen Margaret's Lancastrian army defeats the Yorkists at the battle of Wakefield. Duke of York and Earl of Rutland killed.

Ironically, this has the key to the answer to: Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and father of Richard III, forced Parliament to recognize him, rather than the Prince of Wales, as heir to the throne. And he was then killed on the battlefield in 1460. (Incidentally, the son that was killed with him was not next in line after him, so we don’t need to fret about which was killed first.)

On 10 October, York arrived in London and took residence in the royal palace. Entering Parliament with his sword borne upright before him, he claimed the throne of England. Once again, his narrow support among his peers led to failure. After weeks of negotiation, the best that could be achieved was that York and his heirs would be recognised as Henry's successor. However, Parliament did grant York extraordinary executive powers to protect the realm, and with the king effectively in custody, York and Warwick were the de facto rulers of the country. On December 30, York and his forces left Sandal, possibly to obtain supplies. Intercepted near Wakefield by a larger Lancastrian force, York and his son were killed.

I don’t know who the last person that was both legally and morally heir to die in battle was. Any suggestions?

It’s interesting that the last heir to the throne to die in battle was father to the last monarch to die in battle.

Daniel Hill

world's oldest surviving band

I discovered recently that in April of 1996, the Guiness Book of World Records awarded Les Brown with the distinction of being the leader of the longest lasting musical organization in the history of popular music, "Les Brown and the Band of Renown". But Les died in 2001, so who or what is the current holder of the title?

I'd have thought that a church choir or maybe an orchestra or a military band would have got a better claim, even when Les Brown was alive, but maybe the Guiness Book of World Records was actually looking for a band with at least some of the same personnel as when it started.

playing 3 consecutive football games in different divisions

The late Roy Clarke 'enjoyed the unusual distinction of playing three consecutive games [of football] in three different divisions'. Did anyone else achieve this distinction? Daniel Hill