As usual, the Friends of Hilly Fields produced a Hilly Fields Quiz for the BrocSoc Midsummer Fayre on Saturday. And as usual there were ten tough(ish) questions. Nobody got all the questions right but three people got 9 out of 10 right and will share the prize vouchers for the Hilly Fields Cafe.
We thank everyone who showed the have-a-go spirit in tackling the quiz. It’s actually an opportunity to learn stuff about our local park and its connections as well as to show off (or not) your existing knowledge.
If anyone didn’t get round to it on Saturday, here’s your chance to try the quiz now. The questions are below as set out on Saturday. Try to do it without scrolling down to the answers at the bottom of this post and without recourse to your smartphone.
Questions
1. The Hilly Fields stone circle has two tall stones of Caithness slate to the east of the main circle which act as ‘gates’. After which saint are they named ?
(a) St Englebert; (b) St Herbert; (c) St Norbert; (d) St Wilbert.
2. Hilly Fields has a basketball court alongside the tennis courts. In which country did the game originate?
(a) Canada; (b) England; (c) Mexico; (d) North America.
3. The Hilly Fields cafe belongs to a chain of park cafes named after nuts. Which nuts?
(a) Peanuts; (b) Pecans; (c) Pine Nuts; (d) Pistachios.
4. There is a Brockley running club named after Hilly Fields. What is its full name?
(a) Hilly Fields Harriers; (b) Hilly Fields Hellhounds; (c) Hilly Fields Hill Runners; (d) Hilly Fields Hobblers.
5. Which well-known author lived as a child on Eastern Rd facing Hilly Fields?
(a) Emily Dickinson; (b) Blake Morrison; (c) Samuel Richardson; (d) Henry Williamson.
6. One of the suffragettes who used to address meetings on Hilly Fields was killed by the King’s horse at the 1913 Derby. What was her name?
(a) Emily Davison; (b) Emily J Harding; (c) Emmeline Pankhurst; (d) Emily Spender.
7. The Nuthatch, a small bird which nests and breeds on Hilly Fields, has a talent unique amongst British birds. What is it?
(a) It does the splits; (b) It turns somersaults; (c) It walks backwards; (d) It walks upside down.
8. The Bowls Club on Hilly Fields is named after which famous sailor and privateer?
(a) Charlie Drake; (b) Emmanuel Drake del Castillo; (c) Sir Francis Drake; (d) Ludwig von Drake.
9. The London plane is a common tree in the park. Why were so many planted in London in the nineteenth century?
(a) Queen Victoria liked them; (b) to provide timber for ship building; (c) they are easy to grow; (d) they could survive the pea souper fogs.
10. What distant chain of hills can be seen to the south of Hilly Fields?
(a) The Chilterns; (b) the High Weald; (c) the North Downs; (d) the South Downs.
Answers
- (c) St Norbert; 2. (d) North America; 3 (d) Pistachios; 4. (a) Hilly Fields Harriers; 5. (d) Henry Williamson, author of Tarka the Otter and many other books, some set locally; 6. (a) Emily Davison; 7. (d) The Nuthatch can walk upside down on a tree trunk (see here); 8. (c) Sir Francis Drake; 9. (d) Pea souper fogs. Bad fogs and smogs block the pores in the trunk through which trees breathe, but London Planes shed their bark so were able to survive; 10. (c) The North Downs. They’re not north of Hilly Fields but north of the South Downs which run from Eastbourne to Winchester.