Answers to the puzzles...

Where in the world we were...

On 12 November we were "at the Dixie Landings Resort, Disney World, Orlando, Florida, USA, Earth" according (correctly) to "Butterfinger (a.k.a., Elizabeth Fornango)" who also visited there when she was six and agrees with us that it is definitely an all-time highlight.

On 14 December we were walking along the south bank of the Thames River in the middle of London, with the House of Westminster and Big Ben directly opposite. It was the day of our return to London after a number of years absence and we were feeling very nostalgic. A little further on the south bank was the National Theatre where we had seen some great performances... The first correct answer came from Mark Hurvitz from the USA.

On 24 January we were in the beautiful Diros Caverns in the south west Pelopponese peninsula in Greece. The language difference meant that our guide was silent and we had the beauty of the caves to ourselves in almost complete silence - only the dripping of the water and the thrust of the guide's pole against the cave walls and roof. The first correct answer came from Mark Hurvitz of the USA - I think he has travelled a bit.

On 10 March we were in a part of Paris known for its student protests. Can anyone identify exactly where? The clues for this "Where are we?" came from Mark Hurvitz from the USA. The first correct answer came from Patrick Guillaumin who lives in Paris.

On 16 May we were in an interesting place that so far no-one knows... Do you? Then email us with your answer.

On 20 May it was my daughter's birthday and it was pouring. But this didn't stop us trekking our way into the suburbs to find an English language cinema where we watched Andre, a film about a seal, as if we were back home. The suburbs of where? Well it was a fascinating place that so far no-one knows... Do you? Then email us with your answer.

On 2 July we were in an interesting place that so far no-one knows... Do you? Then email us with your answer.

On 28 September we were on the Chao Phraya River in the middle of Bangkok, with the Grand Palace on one bank and modern hotels and office buildings behind. The flooding was particularly bad the year we were there and the shanties on the other side of the river and down the side canals often had red flags flying asking passing boats to be careful not to make unnecessary waves. The first correct answer came from Geoff Beattie.

On 2 October we were in a place, that is very important to us - Sydney, our home city. We had just arrived "home" after twelve months away and, yes, even the traffic lights were interesting. Of course the hyperawareness faded after a week or so. Sylvia Petter, currently of France near Geneva, was the first to guess correctly.

Who the writers were...

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." is the opening line of Pride and Prejudice which was written by Jane Austen in 1813. This is my all time favourite book. Elizabeth Spiegel of East Maitland, NSW, Australia was the first to email me the correct answer.

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal, a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance..." was written by "the preacher", and appears in Ecclesiastes 3:1-4. It was probably written about 250 BCE, by a Jewish sage in the wisdom tradition and shows some influence of Greek philosophy. Elizabeth Spiegel of East Maitland, NSW, Australia was the first to email me the correct answer.

"Yet such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere." was written by a famous writer that so far no-one knows... Do you? Then email me with your guess.

"There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth." was written by Mark Twain in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

"Excellent!" I cried. "Elementary," said he. was written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) whose characters Dr Watson and Sherlock Holmes had this interchange in "The Crooked Man", part of The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. The first correct answer came from Becky Shugart.