ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS: The opening credits of Keeping Up Appearances feature a Daily Mail book. What is it?
- Is there a question you would like to know the answer to? Or do you know the answer to a question here?
- Write to: Charles Legge, Answers To Correspondents, Daily Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY or email charles.legge@dailymail.co.uk
Q: The opening titles of Keeping Up Appearances feature a Daily Mail book. What is it?
On Hyacinth Bucket’s bookshelf was a set of manuals for the all-important activity of social climbing.
Titles include: How to Become Absurdly Well-Informed About the Famous and Infamous by EO Parrott, Modern Etiquette by Moyra Bremner and The Daily Mail Book of Household Hints And Tips by Barty Phillips.
Barty Phillips (1933) is the doyenne of British domestic care. She has written numerous articles and published books such as How To Clean Absolutely Everything and The Country House Book.
Pictured: Hyacinth Bucket, played by Patricia Routledge
Keeping Up Appearances (Patricia Routledge as Hyacinth Bucket and Clive Swift as Richard Bucket)
The Book Of Household Hints contains information on how to do almost anything: cut and dry flowers, clean windows, unclog sinks, entertain children (while keeping the mess to a minimum), train cats and dogs, and even save lives.
Alison Smart, Warwick.
QUESTION What was Queen Elizabeth II‘s favorite perfume?
We know that Queen Elizabeth II wore Guerlain L’Heure Bleue on her wedding day and afterwards. This was a tribute to her mother Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, who supported it. L’Heure Bleue (‘blue hour’ in French) is said to be inspired by the soft blue-tinted twilight of Belle Epoque Paris. It was created in 1912 by Jacques Guerlain and contains notes of carnation, violet and vanilla.
Queen Elizabeth II arrives at the Canadian Museum of Nature on June 30, 2010
According to Jan Moran, the queen also wore Fleurissimo by Creed in her book Vintage Perfume: Classic Fragrances From The 19th And 20th Centuries.
This high-end fragrance was created for the wedding of Grace Kelly to Prince Rainier of Monaco in 1956 and is a fresh floral perfume with notes of iris and tuberose, refreshed by bergamot and violet leaves.
Zoë Evans, London SW10.
QUESTION What stunts did director Alfred Hitchcock pull?
In addition to the previous answer, another famous victim was the actor Sir Gerald du Maurier (father of Daphne).
The shower scene from the movie Psycho, with Marion Crane played by Janet Leigh
Pictured: Alfred Hitchcock
In 1932, after the first act of Behold, We Live, at the St James’s Theater in London, du Maurier found his dressing room occupied by the nag of a grocer. Hitchcock wanted to see how du Maurier reacted and critique theater snobbery.
Sir Gerald patted the horse, said, “Hello, old fellow,” and sat down at his dressing table.
Peter Whitehead, Ombersley, Worcestershire.
Is there a question you would like to know the answer to? Or do you know the answer to a question here? Write to: Charles Legge, Answers To Correspondents, Daily Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY; or email charles.legge@dailymail.co.uk. A selection will be published, but individual correspondence is not possible.
