Surely someone can find a picture of this online?
November 3rd, 2010
Ten Lords A-Leaping (or, The Most Quintessentially British Story I Read Online Today):
Artw: I'm voting less-than-obviously-not-insane. Though with a member of the house of lords the correct term is "eccentric".
Slightly off-topic, but I still have a bunch of delightfully dotty thank you letters from some British lords.
The evening newspaper I once worked for in Cambridge (UK) got me to organize and write a fun feature on The Twelve Days of Christmas – with a local slant.
There were (and are) tons of House of Lords members attached to Cambridge University (masters of colleges and the like) and I eventually persuaded five fairly elderly chaps with titles to pose for the "ten lords a-leaping" photo – along with with five ordinary mortals with the surname "Lord" – that I found through the Cambridge phone book.
(It took quite a bit of explaining, but the regular Lords liked the idea of meeting the real Lords, and vice versa.)
We got the whole lot to join arms for a delightfully wobbly chorus line portrait outside the newspaper office (and I remember introducing the then vice-chancellor of the university, Lord Adrian to a local builder, called Adrian Lord, which they both found extremely funny).
We sent everyone a copy of the picture – and every one of the (posh) lords politely sent thanks (on their crested personal stationery). They were just signed "Adrian" or "Botts" or "Denby" and the oldest lord – he was in his late eighties, at least – wrote – possibly tongue-in-cheek – that he still hadn't a clue why he'd been required to vigorously waggle his leg for our newspaper photo, but that nevertheless he had enjoyed the occasion immensely!
posted by Jody Tresidder at 3:54 PM on November 3 [27 favorites]