The House has now risen for the Christmas recess. I am already using the time to catch up on a mass of paperwork as well as responding to comments on my earlier posts. I also plan to use the recess to do some posts on topics that I have been asked to write about. I also thought I would post a few quiz questions over the festive season.
I have been trying to think of questions that may not be answered through a quick Google search. I appreciate my attempts at that to date have not been hugely successful. However, here goes with what, I admit, is not the most seasonal of questions. It touches upon the sheer variety in backgrounds of members of the Lords. The wealth of experience is remarkable.
Shortly after I entered the House, I was sat next to one peer who started chatting about a friend of his who was visiting the House. In order to explain how he knew the individual, he said in a conversational, almost throw-away line, ‘Oh, we were in Colditz together’! The peer spent five years as a prisoner of war in Colditz castle. Can you name him?
Unfortunately it took two seconds to Google the answer, so foiled again! I think we should trust people to declare their use of search engines when replying! I won’t give the answer so we can see if anyone genuinely knows!
Foiled again. At least I have one lined up that I think should prove Google-proof! Let’s see if anyone else can come up with the answer to this one without relying on search engines…
CBC’s The House (The Canadian version of The Week In Westminister) has a way which is pretty robust at foiling Google:
The general style is using a fictitious Lord as an example (apologies if I accidentally describe a real person):
“I am this week’s mystery guest, here are 3 clues to who I am:
“1) I have served 3 prime ministers.
“2) My last employer was my first employer but they have nothing to do with politics.
“3) I am well known in sporting circles.
“Who am I and why was I in the news this week?”
Does that style appeal to you?
hifranc: Many thanks for that – very helpful. I will give it a try. I have already thought of how to use it for the next question.
In the meantime, has everyone Googled the answer to the current question? Is there anyone who knows the answer without having done an online search?
Dear Lord Norton,
I think it is Lord Campbell of Alloway. I have not googled this to confirm!
Howridiculous.
Howridiculous is correct, and it seems I had the wrong answer even with the help of Google! The answer I found was a hereditary peer, the Earl of Harewood. Although to be fair, Lord Harewood was a Member of the House of Lords when Lord Norton entered the House.
Howridiculous is indeed correct. The clue was in the question in that I referred to how long he had spent as a prisoner of war. The Earl of Harewood did not spend most of the war as a POW.