Thread 40 Starmer: Prettig Kerstfeest, Nollaig Shona, Hyvää Joulua, Nadolig Llawen ,圣诞快乐, God Jul, Feliz Navidad, Bouan Noué, Nollaig Chridheil.

[DuncinToffee]

Merry Christmas 🎄🎅🎶

Previous thread
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5451789-thread-39-starmer-chwechsaith-dechreuodd-y-plant-ei?page=40&reply=149236698

Anyone up for a puzzle? When I was a kid we used to puzzle over this for the whole Christmas hols. The pupils of King William’s College on the Isle of Man take this quiz before Christmas and again in their return. It was compulsory until 1999, after which I assume internet research made a much better showing after the hols much easier!
The questions are cryptic(ish) and the average score for the first taking of the test is 2. I did (very slightly) better than this at a first read through, but it’s quite fun!
https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2025/dec/18/the-king-williams-college-quiz-2025-are-you-up-to-this-notoriously-difficult-challenge

I hate that quiz! Shows up just how little I actually really know.

Fans of dark irony will be amused at how the Russia use of dark data breaches to fuel its operations are now the helpless victim in it's sights.

And fans of critical thinking will be realising this is one very good reason to avoid the digital ID bollocks currently being floated.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/26/russia-selling-personal-data-
leaks-probiv-ukraine-spies

Just in the middle of assembling my Lego orchid - a present from my youngest daughter.

Last night's Boxing Day soiree was great fun and we did a lot of dancing 😊

Me too

I just had a read through and I know more than I thought I would, including knowing where to look up the things I'm only in the ballpark about.

But then my head is a gigantic repository of utterly useless knowledge gleaned from decades of reading both trashy and non-trashy. I'm in a pub quiz team these days and really, that's the only thing it's good for.

That quiz is HARD. it’s like a particularly taxing episode of University Challenge. 😱

Well I got 2 straight away 🫤

Me three.

I knew a couple and spotted a spelling mistake in the obituary section.

I love quizzes as a general rule but am not a fan of quizzes that are as elitist as this or set to prove how clever the quiz setter is (and the elite public school boys who can answer question on rugger, monarchs and colonial battles).

Harumph.

Celebrity University Challenge is roughly my ideal level! The dog sled one was on there the other day but asked the other way round so the answer was guessable. The place I have forgotten!

PS. I got bored because it was very long but think I know two. Maybe more if I concentrated. I knew one because I read it yesterday in Little Women!

OK, gone back and concentrated a bit more. May know up to 8.

The GCHQ Christmas puzzle is more my thing. I did have to Google a couple of flags, this year, though.

I wonder if, originally, it was set as a piece of homework to encourage the students to research and look things up? In actual books or a library - like we had to do before the internet/Google was invented? That makes a lot more sense to me, as I really can’t see school-age children knowing any of that stuff.

Brigitte Bardot has died

Sadly she falls into that category of "I didn't realise they were still alive" celebrity.

Which is probably a reflection of ones own age ....

I love a quiz too usually but thus is very obscure. I looked up the answer to a couple and they were things I did actually know but hadn’t linked to the question as the wording was convoluted.

I think there have been previous rumours

One for the quizzers

With Bardot's passing, the only named individuals in Billy Joel's We Didn't Start The Fire that are still alive are Bob Dylan, Chubby Checker, and Bernie Goetz. The last one standing will claim The Prize.

Chubby Checker

is still alive ?!!!!!

and (checks notes) "only" 84.

Me too! I suspect we both got the answer to that one…

Yes, I think that was the idea. They weren’t really expected to know it at first sitting. It was a holiday research homework really.

Billy Joel is still alive.

He doesn't explicitly name himself, though, even though he uses"we".

Lego orchid completed! Next project The World of Miss Marple 1000 piece Jigsaw.