Your Questions, er, Question Answered

Unfortunately, our log of your questions is clogged by billions of searches for Annel1se H3sme, whose name I'm having to disguise in order not to worsen the problem. Many people, somewhat distastefully, are arriving from a forum in which an individual I am sure is not a true gentleman expresses a wish to make use of Ms H3sme's face for something that is probably not terribly hygienic and might indeed lead to an eye infection. How such tawdriness could even enter your mind upon viewing her angelic face is beyond my ability to comprehend.

And you S@ra Be@ny people are persistent, too.

Apart from that, what do you wish to know?

What does Kenny Chesney look like without his hat? He looks like.... this. For real! Or, er, allegedly. Thanks to our reader Anonymous for that link.

How did the universe begin? I'm sure you don't mean the Hallmark Universe. The origins of the universe in which we live are entirely unknown. Which is nice. It doesn't pay to know everything, because then you have what is called plausible deniability

Some scientists believe (or have faith that) it began as an explosion they call the Big Bang, though of what they can't say. What was there before the Big Bang, what form did it take, and how did that begin? Others think that an older universe simply shrank back in on itself to a point of singularity, turned inside out, and began again. Some religionists believe that a supreme being created the universe. But, again with the platform problem: how did the supreme being come into, er, being? I tend to think that it's all a dream, and will be cancelled next season when viewing figures drop.

Is our universe the only one? Lacking evidence to the contrary, it's possible to believe in something called the multiverse, based on the theory that - every second of every day - people make choices that cause time-lines to diverge. In one such universe, you are reading this and finding in quite interesting and amusing. In another, you are filled with a nameless rage. In still another, you decide to watch EastEnders instead. I'm assuming EastEnders is better in your universe than it is in ours.

Shelagh Fogarty's name seems to have been coming up a lot. Her BBC Bio is here. She's a woman of strong convictions who follows her own moral compass, I think it's fair to say. You may have read of her having an on-air disagreement with Geoffrey Boycott, that well known professional Yorkshireman and feminist. The two of them have history - the first time they met, he said to Fogarty, "Hello Leggy," and she's hated him ever since. With good reason, I think. I bet if you cornered her at a party and she was pissed, she'd tell you that she fucking hates that Boycott.

I'm afraid that's your lot this time.