This column is for all those readers who think I am too darn serious, too darn often. I know, I know, I can be: just not this week, for a change.

Instead I give you my idea of a fun way to see off the old year and to usher in the new, as well as a chance to pocket $100.

I have literally combed through my back issues of The Royal Gazette (yes, really) to come up with a set of quotes, reported remarks of various people over the course of last year. All you have to do is match each quote with the right speaker.

Easy, huh? Well, maybe not: while some are obvious, one or two are not, of course, as we test just how closely you were following the news in 2013.

The first person to guess all of them correctly wins $100.

You can either post your answer on The Royal Gazette website or write me at jbarritt@ibl.bm.

Please, one entry per person, and if you insist on hiding behind a pseudonym do state your favourite charity, otherwise the money will go to my favourite charity, the Bermuda Housing Trust, should you win. Contest closes next week.

Them’s the rules. Enjoy.

1. “Having looked under the hood it is clear that the state of Government finances is every bit as bad as we had feared it might be when we were on the outside”.

2. “Principled thinking is ancient thinking. There’s nothing new under the sun. Old thinking is all the vices of humanity — the back-stabbing, the envy, the jealousy, the lack of cooperation. I’m here to tell you I have very little tolerance for it”.

3. “When I heard the word xenophobia had come up, I recognised that is not a word that should be placed in politics”.

4. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. My thing was to highlight the cuts (had I been able to speak). I recognise that in these times cuts have to be made but I think the cuts should have been more balanced”.

5. “It is the right thing to do as we try to progress toward a society free of discrimination and I look forward to supporting it in Parliament”.

6. “What costs us the election was that it was called too late. I was of the view it needed to be called before the worst of the recession could take effect. That, more than any other factor, ultimately cost us.”

7. “I believe that all MPs should be drug tested and have been willing to be drug tested for many years”.

8. “To achieve these game changers to attract development, this Government will lay the Gaming Referendum Bill this session and we expect to hold a referendum at the end of the summer or beginning of fall.”

9. “Business is done by meeting with potential investors. That’s it. And a manufactured conspiracy to say that some members that went were members of a previous political party is a complete nonsense”.

10. “Whilst I passionately believe in the right of free speech as a fundamental premise of our democracy, if what I have to say causes hurt or anguish to any individual, I am deeply regretful for that”.

11. “I know it is going to be tough. Right now we need to stick together. We need to make sure we are our brothers’ keeper”.

12. “We are approaching the point where there may be no choice but to ask the courts once again to assist the Government to do the right thing.”

13. “There’s never been a better time for the people who have means to get the best price available now. I wouldn’t say that the people with means are not doing anything, there’s some, but not enough, to boost or stimulate the economy.”

14. “I made the overture and I was just seeking clarification. I think the public, particularly at that time, had a right to understand the process.”

15. “We can’t cut our way to recovery — we have to find ways to grow our economy”.

16. “We are in a very deep hole — and the order has been set out by Government: stop digging”.

17. “Overall, this is extremely good news for Bermudians and Bermuda business, it demonstrates quantitative evidence that there is growth and renewed confidence in Bermuda as a place to do business.”

18. “I don’t think anybody envisaged the complexity of the problem that we face and the amount of work you had to do to get there. The Government appreciates the sacrifice that everyone has put into bringing this document in such a short period of time.”

19. “My colleagues and I have paid close attention to what people have been saying about the planned closure of the clinic.”

20. “Transparency, accountability and fairness do not seem to be the Corporation’s strongest suits”.

Your choices:

a. Former Education Minister Senator Nalton Brangman;

b. PLP Shadow Minister Michael Weeks;

c. PLP MP Walton Brown;

d. OBA MP Jeff Sousa;

e. Deputy Premier (who was Acting Premier at the time) Michael Dunkley;

f. Independent MP Terry Lister;

g. Ombudsman Arlene Brock;

h. PLP MP Rolfe Commissiong;

i. Minister of Finance Bob Richards;

j. SAGE Commission Chairman Brian Duperreault;

k. Shadow AG Kim Wilson;

l. AG Mark Pettingill;

m. Stuart Hayward of BEST;

n. Premier Craig Cannonier;

o. BPSU President Kevin Grant;

p. Economic Development Minister Dr Grant Gibbons;

q. Former Health Minister Pat Gordon Pamplin;

r. Opposition Leader Marc Bean;

s. Tourism Minister Shawn Crockwell;

t. Government Leader in the Senate, Senator Michael Fahy.

Seems hard? Here’s one answer to start you off: 16.a. Good luck with the remaining 19.