The Editor’s Christmas quiz
Ho-ho-how many mince pies would you gamble on your performance in this year’s quiz? Answers on page 209
Pour a glass of something inspiring and put your knowledge to the test
So that was 2018
1) In January, Theresa May abandoned her pledge to give MPS a vote on what? 2) In the FIFA World Cup in Russia, England’s footballers lost 2–1 to Croatia in the semifinals—which English player scored? 3) There was a deadly outbreak of what among The Queen’s swans earlier this year? 4) It was announced that the UK will go back to blue passports post-brexit, but where will they be made? 5) In our second Royal Wedding of the year, the young daughter of which popstar was bridesmaid to Princess Eugenie?
Sport
1) International athletics venue the Alexander Stadium is in which British city? 2) Which former English cricket captain has appeared in the musical Fat Friends? 3) How many players make up a curling team? 4) The Glazer family owns which English football team? 5) Which Welshman won six World Snooker Championships?
Arts and culture
1) Which pottery form takes its name from the Italian for ‘baked earth’? 2) Which literary characters embark on a journey from the Tabard Inn in Southwark? 3) Which Cornish town has a Tate gallery? 4) Who was the youngest member of The Beatles? 5) Which 1st-century queen was immortalised by both William Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw?
Nature
1) What is the largest wild mammal native to mainland Britain? 2) What is the name of the weather phenomenon affecting planes and ships in which luminous plasma appears on pointed objects? 3) The Colorado beetle is a major pest of which crop? 4) Made from branches and mud, what is the name for the home of a beaver? 5) What colour is the blood of a lobster?
We wish you a merry Christmas
1) In Norwegian households, it’s traditional to hide what to prevent witches from stealing them on Christmas Eve?
2) Who wrote the words ‘and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge’?
3) In which year was The Queen’s first televised Christmas message broadcast?
4) Why, according to the Gospel of Luke, did Joseph and Mary go to Bethlehem?
5) Which milk-based festive drink typically contains rum, bourbon or brandy?