Names

I have to say that there are many things in life I could try to blame on my mum, but one that she is definitely responsible for is causing immense grief when it comes to online security. Almost every password protected account requires you to provide an answer to a back-up question; the universally popular ‘Mother’s maiden name’ question. And since my mother’s maiden name is ‘de la Perrelle’ it makes this all the more interesting. For anyone concerned that I have just revealed my final barrier to online fraud, I should point out that this is neither my password nor my ‘secret’ question. Basically because it is simply not possible to spell it correctly. Either spaces are not acceptable, or there’s some confusion over the number of ‘r’s and ‘l’s involved. It is nothing short of massively inconvenient, despite its interesting origin on the Channel Islands. It’s also quite interesting if you subscribe to the commonly held belief that you can derive your porn star name from your first pet and your mother’s maiden name, giving me ‘Hetty de la Perrelle’. Not so much porn star as 1930s burlesque dancer I suspect! And in case you were wondering, my first pet’s name was not my secret question either. Hetty was a chicken, by the way.