MANY CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR FANTASTIC WINNER! Well done Wayne from Hertford for his brilliant entry – here are the answers in full:
ANSWERS TO STANLEY JOHNSON & FAMILY QUIZ
1) What is Stanley Johnson’s greatest political achievement?
A. He was MEP for the Isle of Wight.
2) What is the name and nationality of Stanley’s grandfather?
A. Ali Kemal Bey, Turkish journalist.
3) When asked what was the source of the Johnson family’s sense of humour, what did Stanley reply?
A. b) Their blond hair.
4) What long established tradition was Rachel Johnson responsible for abolishing when she was at Ashdown School?
A. Corporal punishment. Rachel was discovered having a midnight feast and was given the option of losing two half holidays or being beaten. She chose the beating. The Head, realising he could not beat a girl, abolished the punishment for the whole school.
5) From this list of famous people: Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, Benjamin Disraeli, William Wilberforce and Pericles, select the hero of : a) Stanley Johnson b) Boris Johnson.
A. Stanley’s hero is Winston Churchill. Boris’s hero is Pericles.
6) What sport do Stanley and Boris play together?
A. Squash. (They also play tennis).
7) What literary award did Rachel Johnson win?
A. The annual Literary Review’s Bad Sex in Fiction Award for Shire Hell . See the report here .
8) From this list of famous films, select the favourite of (a) Stanley and (b) Boris.
A. (a) Stanley’s favourite film is “Chariots of Fire”. (b) Boris’s favourite film is “Jaws” and this has given rise to one of his most hilarious jokes. When first running for Mayor of London, Boris declared that another of his heroes was the Mayor of Amity.
9) Stanley Johnson has always firmly believed in the value of a classical education. Could you therefore give an example of praeteritio, using Boris Johnson’s speeches on the website http://boris-johnson.com/ as evidence.
A. “…Praeteritio is a common tool of persuasive speech. A skilled practitioner can ruin an opponent’s reputation while seeming reluctant to do so…”
Praeteritio is a form of irony. It means saying one thing, but meaning another.
A fuller explanation of the term is given in the link below.
http://www.tocquevillian.com/articles/0008.html
Articles by Boris that make use of praeteritio are “MPs’ expenses” “Ayatollah Khomeini” and “Simon Heffer” amongst others.
10) How did Boris Johnson come to be called Boris?
A. Boris is named after Boris Litwin, a White Russian whom Stanley and Charlotte Johnson met in Mexico City. Boris Litwin gave the Johnsons two first class tickets to New York, so that Charlotte, who was 8 months pregnant, could avoid a long and uncomfortable bus journey. In gratitude, Stanley named his first born Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson.
*You can meet Stanley Johnson at the Windsor Festival on Friday 2nd October when he is giving a talk and signing books*
