Notes and queriesWhat two quite contrary Marys had in common; British Isles – the view from the Channel; Why do baddies always have two henchmen?Who was Mary Mary, and why was she quite contrary?
Two 16th-century queens have a claim to this beloved nursery rhyme: Mary Queen of Scots and Bloody Mary. Both queens' husbands supposedly cheated on them, and "cockleshells" may refer to this.
Bloody Mary was renowned for torturing Protestants, and "silver bells" was a nickname for the thumbscrews, while "cockleshells" were believed to be instruments of torture attached to the genitals. She failed to produce an heir and "How does your garden grow?" is a taunt of this. "Pretty maids all in a row" could either refer to stillborn children, or perhaps to a device called a maiden, which was used to behead people.
And since both women were Catholic, they were considered to be contrary to the Protestants in the country.
Bethan Thomas, Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan
She was Mary I, aka Bloody Mary, elder daughter of Henry VIII; she was contrary because she held to the Roman Catholic faith after her father's schism with Rome. The nursery rhyme includes references to several Catholic symbols: the silver bells were the bells rung during mass; cockleshells were worn on the hats of pilgrims on their way to visit holy shrines; and pretty maids all in a row were nuns at prayer.
Helena Newton, Redbridge
How many isles are there in the British Isles?
A useful, if somewhat arbitrary, distinction is that between an island and an islet. The latter would normally have some grass to distinguish it from a rock. In my own mind an island is of a size that could notionally support at least one human being.
There is no difficulty about including Ireland in the British Isles: as you indicate (N&Q, 22 December), the latter is a geographical term whereas the non-Britishness of Ireland is a political issue. Incidentally, the Irish themselves have some difficulty with the term "British Isles" and that is one reason why it is beginning to fall into disuse.
The other reason is that it has no official definition, and is very controversial. Essentially, it is the name of the archipelago that includes the island of Britain. But does it include the Channel Islands? Look at a map and you will see why some people argue that the Channel Islands are offshore islands of Normandy, not Britain.
Others include the Channel Islands because they are British (but even that is not completely true – see below) and because they are closeish to Britain. But it gets murkier. There are some who define the British Isles as the archipelago off the north-west coast of Europe, which includes the Channel Islands, Ushant, the Faroes, Heligoland etc.
Here in the Channel Islands a lot of people are confused because our passports have on the cover the phrase "British Islands". That term is entirely distinct from the geographical term British Isles; it is actually a legal term that excludes (the Republic of) Ireland while including the Bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey – not the Channel Islands, as that term includes the French Chausey islands.
–David Cranch, Castel, Guernsey
In New Zealand, which has many rocks and small islands around its coast, I was told that the difference was that an island has vegetation (apart from seaweed) and a rock doesn't, so that would narrow down the number of islands around our coasts.
Ann Walker, Poynton, Ches
When did every problem, difficulty, crisis and disaster become a challenge?
In answer to Brian Bibby's question (N&Q, 22 December), a search of books archived on Google from 1800 to 2000 suggests the pattern is more complicated than he suggests. Use of "challenge" has risen proportionally, but use of "problem" has risen far more. This may be because we are all becoming more pessimistic – for instance, the use of "solution" was more common than "problem" until the 1920s, but is now less common. Or it may just be because "difficulty", "crisis" and "disaster" now have new synonyms that are used more frequently.
Tom Moberly, London
How come baddies always get two henchmen but goodies have to make do with a single sidekick?
There have to be two henchmen to hold the captive goody down while the baddy explains the utter ruthlessness of his cunning plan. Otherwise, how will the sidekick know it is time for the final heroic rescue?
Christine McKinty, Theys, France
Any answers?
Is it true that if I do not remove my coat, hat and scarf when going indoors then I won't feel the benefit when I return outside?Daniel Hartley, Sheffield
Early peoples such as the Vikings constructed ships that could cross oceans; why did they never attempt any form of aviation, such as sail-planes or hang-gliders?
Nigel Agar, Hitchin, Herts
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