Through the "Guild"ed Ages: Winter Quiz

Answer: A crackling fire

Many sections of "The Four Seasons" are meant to conjure specific images through sound. The opening act of "Winter" is fast and tumultuous, the orchestra and a solo violinist whipping the action back and forth like a vortex. The second movement instead features slower, welcoming play, paced like the harried breath of someone just come in from the cold, a harpsichord crackling behind it.

The middle largo movement from "Winter" bears the text:

"Before the fire to pass peaceful,
Contented days while the rain outside pours down."

Note that even as the story warms up, the precipitation still beats down. The tip-tapping string plucks played by the backing orchestra evoke this rain. The final section of music and verse seem to harmonize winter's brutality with its warmth. I've included the final stanza as the closing text for this quiz.

Question by etymonlego, basking in the warmth of an *electric* fireplace.

Answer: Wintergreen

Gaultheria procumbens is the the most well-known species of the wintergreen plants, sometimes called American wintergreen. The plant contains methyl salicylate, the compound that gives the plant its distinctive minty taste. In the food industry, wintergreen flavoring is used in products such as chewing gum, mints, candies, and toothpaste. Oil of wintergreen is also used in industrial processes, such as rust removal and the degreasing of machinery.

Question by trident

Answer: Canada

Not surprisingly, he is from the country Rudyard Kipling dubbed "Our Lady of the Snows". Though, with him being a Québec nationalist, I'm not sure how much Vigneault would appreciate being called Canadian. He has been very clear that the song is about Québec, not about Canada as a whole.

"Mon Pays" was written for a 1965 National Film Board film, "La Neige a fondu sur la Manicouagan (The Snow Has Melted on the Manicouagan)" about a woman who longs to escape her life in Northern Québec. Over the years it has gained some cultural and political significance, and become a Québec anthem of sorts.

One lovely cover (you should really check it out online, it's beautiful) is from
Monique Leyrac - she won grand prize at the Sopot International Song Festival in Poland in 1965 with it.

agony is humming this quietly to herself as she looks out the window at the snow and ice that has really been hanging on for far too long.

Answer: Chess

Mikhail Botvinnik, who was World Chess Champion from 1948 until 1963, lost the title twice, to Vasily Smyslov in 1957 and Mikhail Tal in 1960. Botvinnik was an entrenched Soviet, and officials encouraged a number of players (notably the great Estonian player Paul Keres) to purposely put up meek resistance, guaranteeing Botvinnik's victory. For the 1952 international Chess Olympiad, the Soviet players voted for Keres over the "World Champion" to lead the team!

Meanwhile, the two Winter Kings had opposite styles of play. Smyslov's reputation was as a solid player and an endgame computer. Tal, whom Garry Kasparov considered an exemplary genius, was famed for his mastery of sacrifices, often winning games on time while his opponents grappled with the complications. Both were larger-than life characters: Smyslov an opera singer, Tal a piano-player and ladies' man who chain smoked at the board.

Question by etymonlego, who's more of a winter pawn than a king.

Answer: Winter Haven, Florida

If unfamiliar with Winter Haven, the popular, family oriented vacation spot for "snowbirds" escaping the harsh northern US winters, your clue was "safe and sound." This particular haven has a dizzying array of entertainment options, the crown jewel being the LEGOLAND Florida Resort. Yes it's commercial, but the 150 acre theme park has something for just about anyone. It includes 1930s-style botanical gardens, all manner of shows and revues, more than fifty rides, and of course a water park. Perhaps the most memorable feature of this park is Miniland USA, featuring re-creations of iconic US locations such as the Golden Gate Bridge, the Kennedy Space Center and Daytona Raceway. The city also proudly calls itself "The Chain of Lakes City," for the elaborate web of small lakes formed by dissolving ground limestone, forming sinkholes.

Winter Park, Colorado is a major ski resort; Winter Beach is, surprise surprise, a beach resort; and Winterset, Iowa is the birthplace of the Duke, John Wayne!

Question submitted by Nealzineatser, who, having spent several winters in New Haven, Connecticut, can assure you that place is no resort nor a winter haven.

Answer: Lindisfarne

Lindisfarne emerged from an amalgamation of other bands in and around Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in 1968. The classic line-up featured Alan Hull, Ray Jackson, Simon Cowe, Rod Clements and Ray Laidlaw.

Their first album, "Nicely Out Of Tune" appeared in 1970 and "Winter Song" was one of the tracks. As well as the general introduction quoted in the question, it went to to ask listeners "do you spare one thought" for the homeless tramp; the gypsy; and Jesus.

The song was written by lead singer Alan Hull - sometimes known as "the Geordie Dylan" for his incisive and socially relevant lyrics.

The band went through several line-up changes and sadly Alan Hull died at at the age of 50 in 1995. By 2026, only Rod Clement of the original line-up remained.

Question by darksplash.

Answer: Volcano

The 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia resulted in the volcanic winter of 1816 affecting weather and humanity worldwide. The ash plume in the atmosphere blotted out the sun and produced cooler, wetter temperatures that resulted in Northern Hemisphere crop failures, food shortages and even snow storms in June.

The silver lining is that all that gloom inspired gothic literature from authors like Mary Shelley as she worked on "Frankenstein," and even later Edgar Allen Poe, drawing inspiration from other writers surviving that winter.

Question submitted by Aquarian and winter-lover, TemptressToo.

Answer: Minnesota and North Dakota

"Fargo" was filmed during winter 1995, with most of the outdoor scenes shot in northern Minnesota and North Dakota. Originally it had been planned to have them shot around the Twin Cities area where much of the rest of the movie was filmed, but here's the reason so few winter movies are shot in actual winter. It was an unusually mild winter, and there wasn't enough snow.

Production had to move north until they found the snowy world they were looking for.

This quizwriter lives in a famously cold place, and always enjoys seeing a movie that portrays a northern winter realistically. The scene where Jerry (William H Macy) can't just jump in his car and drive away, but has to get out and clean off the windshield first struck home as few scenes in movies have.

This question was written by agony, who is now on her way out to scrape the ice off her car windows.

Answer: Donna Summer

The album 'Four Seasons of Love' was released by Donna Summer on the 11th October 1976. The album was produced by Summer's long-time collaborators Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte. The concept behind the album tells the story of a relationship relating its events to the four seasons. Of the four tracks on the album, two were released as singles, these being 'Spring Affair' and 'Winter Melody' with the latter only seeing some success in the UK making it into the top thirty on the UK Singles Chart peaking at number twenty-seven.

Question submitted by SisterSeagull

Answer: Sochi, Russia (2014)

Sochi, Russia, has an average temperature of 47-degrees Fahrenheit, making it a strange choice for a Winter Olympics. During the games, the city had ZERO real snow, instead using snow blowers, grooming machines and 710,000 cubic meters of real snow they had stored from the previous winter to prepare the event venues. As such, it was the warmest host city to ever welcome Olympians from across the globe.

QMG member, TemptressToo, skated on over to polish this cold one off.