The clue
This is an inspiring building — made special by the vaulting ambition of its 19th-century architect (father: William). Even my friend concedes that there’s a kind of magic in the intricacy of its ceilings.
He’s less interested in the reredos. But I’m a stickler for details and insist that we stay. Friend groans. His goal is to visit a school in the same city where a rock musician (mother: Winifred) was a pupil; I want to see a museum — and so our usual away-day wrestling begins.
“How many times do I have to drum it into your head?” Friend asks. “I don’t always want to look at old stuff.”
“But that school was founded in 1879!” I counter. “And your musician is no spring chicken — it’s 49 years since his band’s biggest hit.”
Admittedly, what interests me about the museum is far older than that. But I take Friend’s silence as acquiescence and spend an hour admiring a mineral that brought wealth to these parts for millennia.
Graciously I allow him to choose the next stop. “The beach,” he says.
“North, south, east or west?” I ask. There are strands nearby in all four directions.
“West,” he says. “I want to show you something en route.” So it is that, three miles from the city, near a milestone, Friend shows me a field. It has links to what is regarded locally as a national sport.
Then, suddenly, he throws me to the ground. “I’m a stickler for details too,” he tells me. “And I judge that a perfect back heave. It’s exactly what a tin god like you deserves.”
The questions
1. What was the surname of the architect?
2. What is the surname of the rock musician?
The prize
The winner and guest will choose one of two Italian cooking breaks, based in Veneto or Tuscany, courtesy of Flavours Holidays. On the Veneto trip they would join their fellow guests in Treviso, at a villa set amid prosecco vineyards and rolling green hills, and take day trips to Venice and Conegliano. In Tuscany they would stay on the Badia di Morrona estate and visit Florence, tasting their way through its markets and enjoying lunch in a traditional trattoria.
The breaks include three nights’ full-board in a double room, as well as three group cookery classes and a guided wine tasting. For more see flavoursholidays.co.uk.
The prize also includes return flights from London to Venice or Pisa and transfers for the winner and guest. It must be taken in September or October 2024, or between March 1 and May 31, 2025, subject to availability and excluding public holidays.
How to enter
Can’t see the competition form? Answer the questions and complete the entry form at thetimes.co.uk/travel/where-was-i by the end of Thursday, May 2. One entry per person.
See here for the full competition terms and conditions from The Times & Sunday Times. Your information will be used in accordance with our privacy and cookie policy.
Last week’s prize
The answers are The Vyne and Basingstoke. Peter Dudgeon from Surrey wins a four-night break on Crete worth £2,500 with Porto Elounda and Elegant Resorts.
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