Test your knowledge with the newsquiz

The top solo scorer in last week’s newsquiz was Dominic Hurst with 20.5, ahead of Liz Gerard on 18, Robert Rea, Gavin Devine and Jayme Bryla all on 17, Toby Brown on 16.5 and Ed Mortimer on 15. The top team was Simon, Sue and Will Cole with 21, narrowly ahead of Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe with 20.5. Peter and Stacey and Bruce and Sarah Hayward scored 19, Maura and Phil Parsons 18 and Team Swindle 17. Here is this week’s quiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week’s events. Give it a go and let me know how you get on. 

Today's front pages

1. Prime Boris Johnson described as ‘total rubbish’ reports that he said he would rather see 'bodies pile high' than do what?
2. Boris Johnson was facing questions about the redecoration of his Downing Street flat after reports emerged that the Conservative Party settled a bill for what amount last summer?
3. Responding to the controversy over the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat, Boris Johnson said: 'The one thing I object to in this whole farrago of nonsense is I love ___ ___.’ What are the two missing words?
4. Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced that the UK had ordered how many doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine to ensure that booster jabs can be given from this autumn?
5. Health Secretary Matt Hancock received his vaccine from England’s deputy chief medical officer, Jonathan Van-Tam, at which venue?
6. India officially passed which milestone figure of coronavirus deaths on Wednesday, although the real number is thought to be far greater?
7. Sir Simon Stevens is to step down from which role at the end of July after seven years in the job?

8. Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, Edwin Poots and Gavin Robinson emerged as favourites to replace who?
9. A murder investigation was launched after the body of Julia James, 53, a serving police community support officer was found dead in Akholt Wood near which Kent village?
10. A teacher and a member of support staff suffered injuries while detaining an 18-year-old armed suspect at a college in which English town?
11. UK-Iran national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was sentenced to another year in prison in Iran on charges of what activities against the 'regime’?
12. The White House confirmed that Joe Biden will make his first foreign trip as US president to the UK, attending a G7 summit in which English county in June?
13. Why was 20-year-old Folajimi Olubunmi-Adewole in the headlines?
14. Which company announced it was to make almost 600 people redundant when it closes its factory near Newcastle to concentrate on production centres in York and Halifax?
15. Who denied a charge, at Manchester magistrates court, that he was violent and engaged in behaviour towards a woman, including isolation, belittling, humiliation, harassment, degradation and abuse?
16. A missing navy submarine was found, broken into at least three parts and with all 53 crew dead, off which island?
17. Bafta suspended which actor and director's membership after 20 women accused him of sexual harassment, groping and bullying?
18. Manchester City won the Carabao Cup against Spurs and equalled two records - four League Cup wins in a row and eight in total. Which team’s records did they equal?
19. The only astronaut on Apollo 11 who did not set foot on the moon, in the historic 1969 mission, died aged 90 this week. What was he called?
20. More than 40 people were killed in a crush at the Lag B'Omer religious festival in which country?
21. Welsh authorities are considering that what should only be known by its Welsh name, Yr Wyddfa, and that its English name should be ditched? 
22. Gareth Wild, 39, from Bromley, tweeted ‘this week I completed my Magnum Opus!’ after finishing a six-year challenge to do what?
23. Which film won three Oscars - best picture, best director for Chloé Zhao and best actress for Frances McDormand?
24. At 83, Sir Anthony Hopkins became the oldest ever recipient of best actor at the Oscars, 29 years after winning the same award for playing which character?
25. Jonathan Gibson, a student from Glasgow, became the youngest ever champion of the BBC's Mastermind. How old is he?

Answers here

Time to tackle the newsquiz

The top scorers in last week's newsquiz were Janet Boyle and Robert Rea who both posted 18, just ahead of Toby Brown on 17.5, Gavin Devine on 17 and Dominic Hurst on 16. The top team was The Cole Family with 22, followed by Andy and Amanda 20, The Roberts Family, Bruce and Sarah Hayward and Maura and Phil Parsons with 18, Paul Hindle's team on 17 and Peter and Stacey with 15.5. And there's a hat-tip to quiz regulars who rarely make the leader board but gained personal bests this week ... Ian McCulloch with 14 and Sarah C, who recorded one point a few weeks ago, with four points. Here is this week's newsquiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week. Give it a go and let me know how you get on. 

The demise of the Super League dominated Wednesday's front pages

1. Football’s breakaway Super League had 12 founding members. Six were from England and six from which other two countries? Half a point for each. 

2. Who reacted to football's Super League collapse by tweeting: 'I'm glad the united voice of football fans has been heard and listened to. It is now really important that we use this moment to secure the future health of the game at all levels' and added 'I'm committed to playing my part'.
3. What is the name of the chapel at Windsor Castle where Prince Philip’s funeral was held?
4. On the seat of Prince Philip's favourite driving carriage at his funeral were his cap, whip, brown driving gloves and a red pot containing what?

5. Why was 44-year-old Irene Windsor in the headlines?
6. Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on George Floyd's neck, was found guilty on Tuesday of how many charges?
7. Which country was added to the UK red list from 4am today (Friday) after Prime Minister Boris Johnson cancelled a trip there to promote economic ties? 

8. Prime Minister Boris Johnson told a Downing Street news conference that a new Government group had been set-up to find medicines, including tablets, that could be taken at home to fight Covid-19. What is the group called?

9. The Government announced an internal inquiry into a leak, allegedly by former aide Dominic Cummings, of private messages between Boris Johnson and which businessman?
10. Who described the Government as the 'most distrustful, awful environment' he had ever worked in and compared UK politics to a 'cesspit'?
11. Downing Street announced that it will not be holding White House-style TV press briefings despite spending how much on the hi-tech studio in No 9 Downing Street?
12. What was the name of the pub in Bath where Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer was thrown out by co-owner Rod Humphris?
13. She played Narcissa Malfoy in Harry Potter, Polly Gray in Peaky Blinders and the MP Clair Dowar in Skyfall. Who is she?
14. At a virtual White House summit, American President Joe Biden unveiled an ambitious plan to cut US planet-heating emissions in half by what year?

15. Prime Minister Boris Johnson also urged world leaders to step up plans to cut gas emissions, saying: 'It’s vital for all of us to show that this is not all about some expensive politically correct green act of ___ ___ or however you want to put it.' What are the two missing words?

16. There were arrests at an Extinction Rebellion demonstration in London to mark Earth Day after activists smashed the windows of which company’s headquarters in Canary Wharf?
17. Thirty-nine Post Office workers had their convictions quashed by the Court of Appeal after it was shown that their ‘thefts’ were down to a faulty IT system called what? 
18. A toaster-sized machine called Moxie, on Nasa's Perseverance rover on Mars, created five grams of what this week?
19. Which country expelled 18 Russian diplomats over their suspected involvement in an explosion at an arms depot in 2014 that killed two people?
20. Which country’s president died of his injuries following clashes with rebels, a day after provisional election results projected he would win a sixth term in office?
21. The FA Cup semi-finals at the weekend both ended in 1-0 victories meaning which two teams will play in the cup final on May 15? Half a point for each.
22. Singer Les McKeown, who died aged 65, fronted which Scottish pop band in the 1970s?
23. Britain’s supermarkets are facing a shortage of what after production was suspended due to a shortage of yeast?
24. Which championships changed their rules so that contestants had to write a submission that, according to organisers, 'sticks to the theme, that enlightens people, and doesn't bore the audience. And it all has to be done in 140 words'?
25. Which singer had a social media spat with frozen yoghurt shop The Bigg Chill over its range of diet foods?

Answers here

Time to tackle the newsquiz

The top solo scorers in last week’s newsquiz were Janet Boyle and Toby Brown with 21, just ahead of Dominic Hurst on 20, Jayme Bryla on 19, Gavin Devine on 18, Hannah Tomes and Nick Turner on 16 and Pam Pearce on 15. The top team was once again the Roberts Family with 24, followed by Maura and Phil Parsons (with help from their daughter) 23, Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe 20, Bruce and Sarah Hayward 18 and Amanda Kitson and Andy Austin 17. Here is this week’s newsquiz. There are 25 questions about the week’s events. Give it a go and let me know how you get on.  

Today's front pages

1. Which one of these will not be among the 30 people attending Prince Philip’s funeral? a) Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi b) The Countess Mountbatten of Burma c) Sarah Ferguson d) Mike Tindall

2. Prince Harry paid tribute to Prince Philip in a statement which said: 'He was my grandpa: master of the ___, legend of ___, and cheeky right 'til the end.' What are the two missing words? Half a point for each.

3. What make of vehicle will be used to take Prince Philip’s coffin to his funeral?

4. The Tower of London and Royal Navy warships led the gun salute to mark the death of Prince Philip, firing how many shots from midday last Saturday?

5. The BBC issued a statement, after receiving nearly 110,000 complaints over programmes being postponed for the coverage of Prince Philip's death, and then made a second statement that 'acknowledged viewers were disappointed' that which particular show had been rescheduled?

6. Which country became the first to drop the AstraZeneca vaccine as part of its immunisation programme over suspected blood clots?

7. Why did surge-testing of more than 650,000 people take place in the London areas of Wandsworth, Lambeth and Finchley?

8. Labour said there was 'cronyism at the heart of this Government' after it emerged that Health Secretary Matt Hancock and his sister Emily owned shares in which company that had won contracts from NHS Wales?

9. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to 'correct and reconsider' the 'wrong' decision in the blocking of what?

10. Shirley Williams, who died aged 90, quit the Labour party with Bill Rodgers, Roy Jenkins and David Owen to form a breakaway group, known by what name, that founded the Social Democratic Party?

11. Which company handed dismissal notices to around 1,000 engineers who refused to sign up to tougher employment terms under a controversial 'fire and rehire' scheme?

12. Which country's foreign minister warned Russia that it will bear 'very painful' consequences and called on the West to provide more practical support, saying 'words are not enough'?

13. Police officer Kim Potter, who shot dead a black motorist in which American city, was charged with second-degree manslaughter?

14. A coroner in Hull raised concerns about the danger posed by which weapon after opening the inquest of a 30-year-old man who was killed by a neighbour in Southburn, West Yorkshire?

15. The University of Hull said students on some courses will not be marked down for poor spelling because the need for a high level of proficiency in written English can be seen as 'homogenous, North European, white, male, and ___'. What is the missing word?
16. Beijing critic Jimmy Lai, who was jailed for a year for taking part in unlawful protests, is the billionaire owner of Hong Kong’s last opposition newspaper. What is it called?

17. Rachael Blackmore became the first female jockey to win the Grand National with victory on which horse at Aintree on Saturday? 

18. Big Brother contestant Nikki Grahame died aged 38 from what?

19. A huge section of a cliff collapsed on to a beach and into the sea in the biggest UK rockfall in 60 years in which county?

20. What was the name of the giant rabbit, which broke the Guinness World Record for the longest rabbit in 2010, who was stolen from its home in Worcestershire?

21. What is the name of Britain's number one male tennis player who claimed the biggest win of his career by beating world number one Novak Djokovic in the Monte Carlo Masters?

22. Marks & Spencer began legal action arguing Aldi's caterpillar cake was too similar to its own brand. What are the names of the two cakes? Half a point for each.

23. Which two English football teams reached the semi-finals of the Champions League? Half a point for each. 

24. In a new tournament, The Hundred, the England and Wales Cricket Board is considering changing the word ‘wickets’ to what?

25. Rachel Riley posted a photograph of the Countdown board with nine letters that spelled out what - an anagram clue that she was expecting her second child?

Answers here

Can you join the newsquiz record breakers?

Congratulations to the Roberts Family who scored a maximum 25 points in last week’s newsquiz. Great news knowledge. I had thought it was a record that had never been achieved before but it turns out two teams have previously scored the maximum. They were Sam, Harry, Shannon and Thom and, would you believe, the Roberts Family - both on April 17 last year. Other good team scores last week included Simon, Sue and Will Cole with an impressive 23, Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe on 18 and Peter and Stacey and Bruce and Sarah Hayward on 17.5. The top solo scorers were Gavin Devine and Jayme Bryla with 19, Giles Borg on 18.5, Toby Brown and Dominic Hurst on 18 and Ed Mortimer on 17. Here is this week’s newsquiz. And you could become the all-time record-breaker as there are 26 points up for grabs (there’s a bonus on question 23). Give it a go and let me know how you get on.

Today's front pages

1. Prince Philip, who died today (Friday), married Princess Elizabeth five years before she became Queen and was the longest-serving royal consort in British history. How many years were the couple married?
2. Prince Philip, who died today, was born in 1921 on which Greek island?
3. People under what age are to be offered Pfizer or Moderna vaccines rather than the Oxford/AstraZeneca due to concerns over a risk of blood clots?
4. Deputy chief medical officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, at the Downing Street Press briefing, explained changes to the vaccination programme by saying: 'If you sail a massive liner across the ___ then it’s not really reasonable that you aren’t going to have to make at least one course correction during that voyage.' What is the missing word?
5. In the Government’s next roadmap stage on Monday, April 12, which of these will not be allowed to open a) libraries b) zoos c) community centres d) bowling alleys?
6. Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the Downing Street Press briefing that on April 12 he would be 'cautiously but irreversibly' doing what?
7. Elle Taylor, 24, from Ammanford in Wales, became the first person in the UK to do what?
8. The Treasury released two text messages sent by Chancellor Rishi Sunak to former Prime Minister David Cameron concerning his request for help for which finance firm, where he was an adviser?
9. What was the name of the Conservative MP for Chesham and Amersham and former Welsh Secretary who died aged 68?
10. Why did Kyaw Zwar Minn spend a night in his car in London this week?
11. What did police in Belfast use for the first time in six years on Thursday night after nine nights of disturbances?
12. The body of missing student 19-year-old Richard Okorogheye was found by police in a lake in which woodland area?
13. Why was 83-year-old hotelier Sir Richard Lexington Sutton in the headlines?
14. Four people were arrested during confrontations with HS2 contractors over the felling of trees in Jones' Hill Wood in the Chilterns, an area said to have inspired which writer?
15. Who came under fire from human rights groups and was criticised by two former wives, one of whom described him as a 'rape apologist'?
16. A High Court judge ruled that Andy Green, from Lincolnshire, was entitled to the £1.7million he won from Betfred by playing what game on his phone?
17. The actor who played Eldred Worple in Harry Potter, power plant worker Anatoly Dyatlov in Chernobyl and Martin Goodman in Friday Night Dinner died aged 54. What was he called?
18. Princes William and Harry reportedly reunited this week to sign off a final design for what?
19. Models arrested for posing naked in a high-rise balcony photo shoot in which city were deported?
20. What happened for the first time in the English Football League when Harrogate Town played Port Vale on Monday?
21. Singer Jane Macdonald's partner Eddie Rothe, who died aged 68, was the drummer in which 1960s pop group?
22. Who said she had tears as she laid four places at the dinner table?
23. The Oxford-Cambridge boat race has been held on the River Thames between Putney and Mortlake since 1845 but this year’s race was held 90 miles away on what river? And for a bonus point, who won?
24. Towie’s Tommy Mallet was named on Forbes’s 30 Under 30 list of influential entrepreneurs after his company that sells what product was valued at £2.5million?
25. Brian Robson, 75, is looking for two Irishmen who helped him return home from Australia in 1965 by doing what?

Answers here

A 50-year adventure in Turkey

During lockdown one of my most enjoyable distractions was to proof-read my friend George Dearsley’s first book.
In 1972, after leaving university and before starting as a trainee journalist at the Whitley Bay Guardian, the 21-year-old George went on a road trip to Japan with three pals. On the way they enjoyed an eye-opening adventure in Turkey.

For George, it was the start of a lifelong love affair with the country. After repeated visits, making good friends along the way, George and his wife Carolyn bought a holiday home and later moved to the mountain village of Kaplan to live permanently. 

His memoir - Twelve Camels For Your Wife - covers all aspects of Turkish life. He tells how he grappled with the language, struggled to rebuild a house in the mountains, survived an earthquake and endured the out-of-control antics of his pupils when teaching at a local school. 

There is an insight into the country’s bureaucratic eccentricities, its superstitions, its politics and what to expect if you need medical attention.

There are, of course, plenty of stories of bars and restaurants, Turkish cuisine and the country’s complicated relationship with alcohol. Why, for example, has the national drink changed from raki to ayran, a yoghurt-based drink? 

Carolyn and George with dogs Darcy and Willow on their Turkish balcony

The highlights, though, are the colourful characters and friends that George met along the way.

There is his friend Danny de Souza who had been sentenced to death for possessing cannabis. There is the time he went sailing with an ex-psychiatric patient, who had suffered panic attacks after being shell-shocked, in a yacht that once sank.

He takes us to weddings, funerals, circuses and camel-fights. We join him in the front-row at a circumcision, a disastrous restaurant music night, helping a friend butcher a wild boar in his garden and watching a sword-swallowing act … with a snake.
George leads the reader on a hugely entertaining romp through his 50-year love affair with Turkey and the generosity and eccentricities of its people. It is a great read, at times hilarious, at other times heartbreaking, but there really is never a dull moment. What an adventure. If you fancy a good read you can get a Kindle or paperback edition on Amazon here.

Let's celebrate the pun-demic

One thing that has raised a rare daily smile during the Covid gloom has been the resurgence of the tabloid headline. Here is my latest article in InPublishing magazine, celebrating the pun-demic and applauding the backroom champions whose creativity and humour have raised our spirits during the bleakest of times. I spoke to the headline writers on Metro, The Sun, the Daily Star about their work, and here I showcase their best efforts and share their tips on how to write great tabloid headlines. You can read it here. 

The Good Friday newsquiz ...

The top solo scorers in last week’s newsquiz were Cormac Connelly-Smith, Janet Boyle and Liz Gerard who all clocked up 18. Dominic Hurst, Blaise Tapp and Gavin Devine scored 17 and Ailsa Leslie 16. The top team was Simon, Sue and William Cole with 22.5 followed by Bruce and Sarah Hayward on 21, The Roberts Family and Maura and Phil Parsons 20, Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe 19, Andy and Amanda Kitson 18 and Jess Devonport and Nick Collins 17. A special shoutout goes to Sarah C who scored one - and still posted her result. Here is this week’s quiz. As usual here are 25 questions about the week’s events. Give it a go and let me know your score.

Today's front pages

1. The Government announced it was adding four countries to the red list of places where travel to the UK is virtually banned from April 9. They were the Philippines, Kenya and which other two? Half a point for each.
2. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he believed that if 'we get the virus properly under control, the death rates are near zero, hospital admissions very, very low, that the British ___ in those circumstances will be against vaccine passports’. What is the missing word?
3. Which country’s president announced a nationwide month-long lockdown, with schools closing for at least three weeks and travel banned, adding ‘we will lose control if we do not move now’?
4. Under the Government’s roadmap which of these were not allowed to re-open in England on Monday?
a) zoos b) golf courses c) tennis courts d) riding centres
5. What is the name of the former policeman who went on trial for the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis?
6. What is the name of the new Scottish political party formed by former First Minister Alex Salmond?
7. Businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri gave the Sunday Mirror details of her four-year affair with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, revealing that she codenamed him after which historical figure?
8. What is the name of the London school, embroiled in a row over alleged racist uniform rules, where teachers threatened industrial action and passed a vote of no confidence in the headmaster?
9. BBC correspondent John Sudworth left which country following pressure and threats from the authorities?
10. Why was Samuel Kasumu in the headlines?
11. At least 48 people were killed after a train crashed in a tunnel in which country?
12. Benjamin Hannam, 22, became the first serving policeman to be convicted of what offence? 
13. Denise Coates, founder and majority shareholders of which company, was awarded one of the biggest pay packets in UK history - a salary of £469 million including £48 million in dividends - in the year ending March 29?
14. Which the camera equipment retailer, owned by Dragons’ Den panelist Peter Jones, filed a notice to appoint administrators?
15. The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities said family structure and what else had a bigger impact than race on how people's lives turned out?
16. Save the Children said that at least 43 children had been killed by armed forces in which country since February?
17. Espionage writer John le Carré served as a British diplomat and an MI5 secret agent, but his son Nicholas Cornwell revealed this week that his father was proud to have died as what?
18. The Queen went on her first official royal engagement in five months when she attended a memorial in Runnymede, Surrey, to mark which organisation's centenary?
19. Wales lifted the Six Nations trophy but just missed out on a Grand Slam. Who was the only team to beat them?
20. Who said on Instagram that she had cried for two weeks after a television documentary was shown and added 'and well .... I still cry sometimes!!!!'
21. A £24,000 bronze statue of who, described as a 'vanity project', was unveiled at the University of Winchester?
22. Which country suffered its first World Cup qualifying defeat in 20 years against North Macedonia?
23. Who revealed in her memoir, The Beauty of Living Twice, that a surgeon had increased her breast size without her consent?
24. Nike won a bid to stop art brand MSCHF and rapper Lil Nas X selling a customised version of its Air Max trainers called 'Satan shoes’ which contain what in the sole?
25. Which 25-year-old was revealed to be worth more than £20million in the same week she was nominated for Best Female Solo, Album of the Year and British Single in the Brit Awards?

Answers here