Will Hay quiz: A reminder

Liberal England is currently running a quiz with two copies of Graham Rinaldi's biography of Will Hay as prizes.

To win one of them just email me the answers to these three questions:

1. What is the name of the 1942 film in which Will Hay satirised Nazi Germany?
2. Which two actors regularly appeared in films as Will Hay's sidekicks?
3. Who played "Will Silly" (an affectionate parody of Will Hay) in Harry Enfield's television special Norbert Smith - A Life?

The competition closes at 2359 on Monday 7 September.

While you are working out the answers, here is Neil Clark's review from the Sunday Express:

Mention the name Will Hay to the person in the street and the following responses are generally given: The schoolmaster film comedian; he made funny films with an old man and a fat boy; and the railway film, Oh, Mr Porter!” writes Graham Rinaldi in his meticulously researched and richly entertaining biography of one of the most popular and influential comedians Britain has ever produced.

A package of discs arrives in the post

Interesting, I think. Now I can live off other people's Child Benefit for the rest of my life.

It turns out to be the prizes in The Great Liberal England Taking Liberties DVD Quiz.

Taking Liberties DVD quiz: Answers and winners

Thank you to everyone who entered my Taking Liberties DVD quiz.

The draw took place at Bonkers Hall this afternoon. Lord B drew the winners from his second-best top hat, superintended by Meadowcroft and the Revd Hughes.

The lucky winners were:

• H. E. Elsom
• Paul Evans
• Will Howells
• Bill Miller
• Bernard Salmon

Congratulations to all five. And thanks to Revolver Entertainment for donating the prizes.

And the answers?

1. Chris Atkins
2. Henry Porter
3. Clarence Henry Willcock
4. Lord Chief Justice Goddard
5. Brian Haw
6. Maya Anne Evans
7. John Reid
8. "We Don't Need Another Hero" by Tina Turner
9. Lord Avebury
10. Keith Chegwin

If there had been a bonus prize it would have gone to Helen Elsom for pointing out that Clement Freud also appeared in Polanski's Macbeth.

Taking Liberties DVD competition

Entries for the Great Liberal England Win a Taking Liberties DVD Quiz close at midnight on Friday.

To encourage you to take part, here is a review of the film from the BBC site:

Tony Blair will have even fewer fans after the shocking documentary Taking Liberties. British filmmaker Chris Atkins has tracked down a host of victims of the increased security measures introduced by New Labour both pre- and post-9/11. From peaceful protesters to suspected terrorists, many have been detained and had their lives turned upside down for flimsy reasons. Disturbing footage combines with amusing testimonies and commentary in this Bowling For Columbine-style documentary that's as entertaining as it is educational.

Atkins goes a long way to make sure his documentary isn't boring: fast editing, an indie soundtrack, and comments from famous faces including Mark Thomas, Claire Short, Tony Ben, Ken Clarke and Boris Johnson mean this is rarely dull. The commentary by Ashley Jensen cites history to argue that New Labour has restricted our civil liberties more than past dictators. Interviewees are articulate, sympathetic and apparently innocent: two young sisters were locked up after a peaceful demo; an RAF veteran was arrested for wearing an anti-Blair t-shirt, and - much more seriously - Moazzam Begg suffered three years of questionable interrogations at Guantanamo Bay - without charge.

Speaking out against the proposed identity card scheme, Taking Liberties is both a call to action and a warning against a future where the current restrictions escalate into a Big Brother society. It will doubtless cause controversy, but that's the intention: to start a debate. When it calls itself "The Most Important Film Of The Decade," it may not be exaggerating the point as much as you might think.

Reminder: Win a Taking Liberties DVD

Enter the Liberal England quiz and win a Taking Liberties DVD.

A few minutes with Google could bring you hours of pleasure.

Win the Taking Liberties DVD

A reminder that Liberal England is running a quiz where you can win a copy of the newly released DVD Taking Liberties.

Win a copy of the Taking Liberties DVD

A few weeks ago I reviewed Taking Liberties, the book of the film, in Liberal Democrat News.

Thanks to the kind people at Revolver Entertainment, I can now offer you a chance to win a copy of the Taking Liberties DVD.

And it's well worth winning. Reviewing the film in the Guardian, Peter Bradshaw said:

It may not tell us much that's new, but there's something exhilarating about this thoroughly enjoyable and worthwhile docu-blast against Tony Blair's insidious diminution of native British liberties.

Simply e-mail me the answers to the following 10 questions by 11.59 p.m. on Friday 16 November.

The five (count 'em) winners will be drawn out of Lord Bonkers' best top hat after that. If you are one of them I shall e-mail you and ask for a postal address so that I can send you your prize.

I had hoped to make all the questions relevant to civil liberties, but I was struggling towards the end and had to ask Lord Bonkers to help. I am afraid we rather wandered off the topic after that.

Anyway, here are the questions; I look forward to receiving your entry.

The Taking Liberties Quiz

1. Who directed the film Taking Liberties?

2. Which journalist, known for his articles on civil liberties, wrote the foreword to the book Taking Liberties.

3. Who refused to show his identity card to a policeman in 1950, saying: "I am a Liberal and I am against this sort of thing."

4. In the subsequent court case, which famous judge said “to demand a national registration identity card from all and sundry is wholly unreasonable”.

5. Which permanent demonstrator has successfully resisted all official attempts to remove him from Parliament Square?

6. Name the woman who was arrested in Whitehall, under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act, for reading out the names of British soldiers who had died in Iraq.

7. In August 2006 who said: “Sometimes we may have to modify some of our freedoms in the short term to prevent their misuse”?

8. Which hit record did Laurence Dallaglio sing on? (Both artist and title please.)

9. Which Liberal Democrat peer owns the ancient monument Silbury Hill?

10. Who played Fleance in Roman Polanski’s 1970 film of Macbeth?

This quiz is not open to friends or employees of Lord Bonkers, nor to current or former inmates of the Bonkers' Home for Well-Behaved Orphans.