Friday 26 March 2021

Time to tackle the newsquiz

The top solo scorer in last week’s newsquiz was Toby Brown with 19, followed by Robert Rea and Sally Tipper with 17, Pam Pearce 16 and Ed Mortimer 15. The top team was Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe with 21 ahead of Nicola and Rob Lawrence and Bruce and Sarah Hayward who both scored 19 and Maura and Phil Parsons with 17. Here is this week’s quiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the last seven days. Give it a go and let me know how you get on. 

Today's front pages

1. New Covid regulations, approved by MPs on Thursday, mean that people from England and Wales who try to leave the country for a holiday can be fined up to how much from Monday?
2. When the Government’s stay at home instruction is dropped next week it is to be replaced with a five-word slogan which says ’Take this ___ ___ ___’. what are the three missing words?
3. The National Day of Reflection, marking one year since the UK first went into lockdown, was organised by which charity?
4. Which European politician said: ‘We didn't go fast enough, strong enough on this. We thought the vaccines would take time to take off.’
5. In a Zoom meeting with backbenchers Prime Minister Boris Johnson was reported to have said that the reason the UK had vaccine success was because of two things. Capitalism was one, what was the other?
6. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he was ‘delighted' to be able to tell the commons that what place had 'become the first nation in the world to complete its entire adult vaccination programme’? 
7. The Scottish Government confirmed that more than 154,000 NHS Scotland staff, including nurses, are to be offered a pay rise of at least what per cent?
8. Twenty-one police officers were injured and police cars damaged at Kill the Bill protests on Sunday and Tuesday nights in which city?
9. What is the name of the container ship, owned by Taiwanese company Evergreen, that blocked the Suez Canal?
10. The Government announced that what was to be cut from 82,040 to 72,500 in 2025?
11. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport announced that what should happen at Government buildings every day and urged councils to follow suit?
12. The headteacher of Batley Grammar School in West Yorkshire suspended a teacher who allegedly showed what to pupils during a lesson?
13. Whose new jobs include chief impact officer for 
BetterUp, a mental health business, and commissioner at the Aspen Institute?
14. Government-appointed commissioners will oversee parts of which city’s council after a report found a 'serious breakdown of governance' and multiple failures?
15. Investors, including Aviva, said they would not buy shares in the planned £8.8 billion flotation of which company after concerns were raised over workers’ rights?
16. Which car that became the byword for a type of British male motorist, after being used by Tony Blair in 1990s speeches, is to be phased out after five million sales over 29 years?
17. In England’s 5-0 World Cup qualifier against San Marino, who came on as a substitute for his first cap and scored his first goal with his first shot?
18. Santander announced plans to close exactly how many branches across the country due to the shift to mobile and online banking?
19. What was the title of the ITV documentary that followed broadcaster Kate Garraway’s husband's battle with coronavirus?
20. Footballers Frank Worthington and Peter Lorimer, who died this week, both began and ended their club careers in which English county?
21. What was the nickname given to the seal who took up residence near Hammersmith Bridge in London but who was put-down by vets after a dog attack?
22. From June 23 where will you find this quote: 'This is only a foretaste of what is to come, and only the shadow of what is going to be’?
23. Who gave birth to her third child, Lucas Philip, on her bathroom floor after she was unable to make it to hospital in time?
24. US actor George Segal, who died aged 87, was nominated for an Oscar for his role as Nick in which 1966 film?
25. Which journalist and news presenter was announced as the new host of Mastermind?

Answers here

Friday 19 March 2021

Mail looking for New York trainees


The Daily Mail in New York is looking for trainee journalists. The successful trainees will start in the summer on a two-year-long programme that involves intense training, assessment and on-the-job experience. If you are interested in popular journalism, have an American passport and want to work for the world’s biggest English-language newspaper website, this could be the opportunity you are waiting for.

Trainees from an earlier course in the DailyMail.com newsroom in New York

You will need to be prepared to work for a round-the-clock operation, with nightshifts, regular weekends and you will be covering national and international news at a fast pace. The successful applicants will probably have a journalism degree or have shown a commitment to journalism by writing for their student newspaper/website and gained work experience in newsrooms. 

New York and London trainees at the Mail's Kensington offices

The course starts with an intensive in-house training month during which trainees are introduced to Mail style and culture before joining the DailyMail.com newsroom in New York. You will be paid a competitive salary while you train. Following the two years, there will be an opportunity to apply for a secondment to the London or Sydney office.
To apply please send a covering letter, your CV and the three best examples of your work to sue.ryan@dailymail.co.uk by Friday March 26. Interviews will be held in April.

Test your knowledge with the newsquiz

The top solo scorer in last week’s newsquiz was Sam Neve with 21, closely followed by Janet Boyle on 20.5, Jayme Bryla on 19 and Blaise Tapp on 17. The top team was Simon, Sue and Will Cole with another impressive 24. The Roberts Family scored 22, Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe 21.5, Bruce and Sarah Hayward 20.5, Maura and Phil Parsons 20, Andy and Amanda Kitson, 18.5 and Peter and Stacey 16. 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. Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens appeared at the Old Bailey, via a video link from Belmarsh Prison, charged with murder of Sarah Everard and what other offence?
2. Why did a photograph of 28-year-old Patsy Stevenson go viral?
3. Government plans to beef up police powers to deal with protests came a step closer to becoming law when the second reading of the Police, Crime, ___ and Courts Bill was passed by MPs with a majority of 96. What is the missing word?
4. Health Secretary Matt Hancock admitted a delayed shipment of five million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from the Serum Institute in which country was behind the shortage about to hit the UK?
5. The European Medicines Agency reviewed the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine after 13 EU states suspended its use over fears of blood clots. But which of these countries did not stop using the vaccine? a) Italy b) Belgium c) Germany d) Spain
6. Former Downing Street advisor Dominic Cummings, giving evidence to the Science and Technology Committee, described what as 'a smoking ruin' at the start of the pandemic?
7. At a Downing Street Press briefing this week deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam weighed in to defend the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, saying that the jabs 'don't save lives if they're in the ___'. What is the missing word?
8. A Government Integrated Review of security, defence, development and foreign policy recommended that a cap on what should increase from 180 to 260?
9. The first photographs of Downing Street’s new £2.6 million White House-style media briefing room were released with what household item inadvertently nestled in a corner?
10. Which retailer announced plans to permanently close its 61 stores, affecting 603 employees?
11. Which Conservative MP used parliamentary privilege to reveal messages indicating aides knew about harassment complaints against Alex Salmond two months before Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says she was told about them?
12. Which company announced its first annual loss, of £13.7 million, since floating on the stock market 37 years ago but said it would make a comeback by opening 100 new shops?
13. Detectives, investigating the murder of Stuart Lubbock at whose house 20 years ago, arrested a 50-year-old man?
14. Which sports investment platform collapsed into administration and had its gambling licence suspended, triggering losses for tens of thousands of savers?
15. The operators of which theme park were fined £1 million over safety failings which led to the death of an 11-year-old girl on a water rapids ride?
16. Eight people were killed in mass shootings at three massage parlours in which US city?
17. Formula 1 commentator Murray Walker, who died aged 97, was famous for many quotes including this one which features on a Silverstone greeting card: 'There's nothing wrong with the car, except it's ___ ___.' What are the two missing words?
18. Former undisputed world middleweight champion Marvin Hagler, who died aged 66, changed his first name to what in 1982?
19. Which programme attracted a record number of complaints, 57,121, to Ofcom … 12,600 more than the previous highest in 2007?
20. Sabine Schmitz, who died aged 51, was the only woman to win the Nurburgring 24 Hours and a former presenter of which BBC television programme?
21. Former EastEnders actress Patsy Palmer shut down an interview with Good Morning Britain after a headline described her as: 'Patsy Palmer: ___ to a wellness guru'. What is the missing word?
22. Rachael Blackmore, 31, made history when she became the first woman to do what?
23. Chris Wilder became the third Premier League manager to lose his job this season when he parted company with which club?
24. Which Netflix film received the most 'nods' with ten Oscar nominations?
25. Who became only the fourth artist, after Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder, to win the album of the year prize three times at The Grammys?

Answers here

Friday 12 March 2021

Time to tackle the newsquiz

Two teams, the Roberts Family and Simon, Sue and Will Cole, scored a record-equalling 24 in last week’s newsquiz. Other good team efforts included Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe and Rob Lawrence and Robert Rea who both scored 21. Next came Bruce and Sarah Hayward with 20 and Stacey and Peter with 19. The top solo scorer was Blaise Tapp with 21, followed by Liz Gerard and Phil Lambell both on 20, Janet Boyle and Alan Geere 19, Nicola Lawrence, Gavin Devine, Toby Brown and Nick Turner who all scored 18. Amanda Kitson, smashing the Udimore village record, and Jayme Bryla both scored 17. Here is this week’s quiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week. Give it a go and let me know how you get on. 

The Sussex's dominate Tuesday's front pages

1. Following Oprah Winfrey's interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Buckingham Palace issued a statement that said ‘while some ___ may vary, they are taken very seriously.’ What is the missing word?
2. In the interview Meghan said she and Harry had a secret marriage ceremony, three days before their royal wedding, with who in their ‘backyard’?
3. Who was the first member of the Royal family to personally comment on the Oprah Winfrey interview by insisting: 'We're very much not a racist family’? 
4. In the two-hour documentary, Oprah Winfrey went on a tour of Meghan and Harry’s garden and visited a hen coop called what?
5. Piers Morgan stormed off the set of Good Morning Britain after which co-presenter criticised the way he continued to 'trash' the Duchess of Sussex?
6. Ian Murray resigned his position as executive director of which organisation after issuing a defence against claims made by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex that the British Press was systematically racist?
7. Thomas Markle, talking about his relationship with daughter Meghan, said 'we all make mistakes’ but that he had never done two things that Harry had. What were they? Half a point for each.
8. Police have objected to a vigil called Reclaim These Streets, planned after Sarah Everard went missing, which is due be held tomorrow (Saturday) evening at a bandstand in which London park?
9. Green Party peer Baroness Jones suggested in the House of Lords, during a debate on violence against women, that what should be banned each day from 6pm?
10. Countries, including Italy, Denmark and Norway, suspended the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine following reports that a small number of people had developed what?
11. Which European country announced it was to ease travel restrictions, because of the improving health situation, to and from seven countries including the UK?
12. Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed that what group of people will be prioritised in the next tranche of Covid vaccines, alongside those aged between 16 and 65 with underlying health conditions?
13. Which world-famous London site opened as a vaccination centre this week, with broadcaster Stephen Fry among the first people to get a jab there?
14. Why was 61-year-old doctor Richard Freeman in the headlines?
15. Winston Marshall, the banjo player from which band, announced he was 'taking time away' to 'examine my blindspots' after a backlash on social media for praising a controversial right-wing writer?
16. Who announced his resignation, in a video message to his followers, saying: 'We've done it, we've achieved it. For me, I feel my political career, in the sense of actively leading a political party, fighting election campaigns. I think now's the moment to say I have done it’?
17. On Sunday the Pope prayed at ruined churches in which city, a former ISIS stronghold, in northern Iraq?
18. What is the name of leader of the Reclaim Party who announced he was standing for election as Mayor of London and, if elected, would lift lockdown the next day?
19. High Court judge Mr Justice Swift ruled that the online guidance on how to answer a question relating to what in this year’s census should be altered?
20. Robin Olsen, whose family were attacked by machete-wielding raiders, is a goalkeeper for which football team?
21. What was removed from the White House and sent back to the Biden family home in Delaware?
22. Steve Gerrard steered Glasgow Rangers to their first Scottish Premier League title in how many years?
23. Trevor Peacock, who died aged 89, was best known for playing the bumbling Jim Trott in which television programme?
24. A 4.6 billion-year-old lump of space rock crashed into the driveway of a house in which Gloucestershire town?
25. Why has tennis player Andy Murray reportedly pulled out of next week's 
ATP Tour event in Dubai?

Answers here

Friday 5 March 2021

Have a crack at the newsquiz

The top scorer in last week’s newsquiz was Kieran Corcoran with 20 followed by Janet Boyle on 19, Sam Ormiston and Gavin Devine 17 and Pam Pearce 16. The top teams were Simon, Sue and Will Cole with 22 followed by Peter and Stacey 21, Maura and Phil Parsons and the Roberts Family both on 20, Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe 19, Bruce and Sarah Hayward and Paul Hindle, Lynne Swift and team with 18. Here is this week’s quiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week. Give it a go and let me know how you get on.


Thursday's pages dominated by the Budget (with a bit of Meghan)

1. Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced in the Budget there would be a rise in Corporation Tax in 2023, the first since 1974, from 19 per cent to what?
2. The Chancellor announced in the Budget that hundreds of jobs would be moved to a Treasury campus in which town?
3. It was also announced in the Budget that the contactless card limit is to rise from £45 to what amount?
4. The Government’s proposed pay rise of what per cent for nurses was described as 'pitiful' by the Royal College of Nursing?
5. Buckingham Palace said it was to investigate claims in which newspaper that the Duchess of Sussex had bullied royal staff?
6. The Duchess of Sussex said Buckingham Palace could not expect her and Prince Harry to be silent if it was 'perpetuating ___ about us'. What is the missing word?
7. Italy imposed the first EU-sanctioned export ban on vaccines when it blocked 250,000 AstraZeneca doses from going to which country?
8. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that what had narrowed to 379 households in south-east England?
9. Which country announced it will open its borders to Britons who had two vaccinations from May 1 - even though UK Government travel restrictions will still be in force?
10. For how many hours on Wednesday did Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon give evidence to a Holyrood committee looking at the investigation into harassment complaints against her predecessor Alex Salmond?
11. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told the Holyrood committee: 'I would never have wanted to ___ Alex Salmond - I would never, ever have wanted any of this to happen. I had no motive, intention or desire to ___ Alex Salmond.' What is the missing word?
12. Amazon opened a till-less grocery store in London - its first 'just walk out' shop outside the US. What is the shop called?
13. Where did a Second World War C-47 Dakota perform a flypast?
14. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was given a three-year prison sentence for what offence?
15. An article by former Daily Mirror editor Roy Greenslade on his support for the IRA prompted him to resign his post as an honorary professor at which university?
16. Footballer Ian St John, who died aged 82, signed for Liverpool from his home town club in 1961 and, once his playing career was over in 1973, returned to the same club as manager. Name the club.
17. Which company was revealed to have 40 names, including Boyle, Gallagher, O'Donnell, McGuinness, Murphy and O’Reilly, on an 'undesirables' list?
18. Hundreds of students were evacuated after a World War Two bomb was found at which university?
19. Why was the 9pm Avanti West Coast train from London Euston to Manchester on Tuesday delayed and then taken out of service?
20. The estate of which author announced six books will no longer be published because of racially insensitive imagery?
21. Irish amateur jockey Rob James and trainer Gordon Elliott apologised and were put under investigation after being filmed doing what?
22. Actor Johnny Briggs, who died aged 85, played which character in Coronation Street for 30 years?
23. Which television programme collected the best actor, best actress, best supporting actress and best series awards at the Golden Globes?
24. Ant Middleton said on Instagram 'don't employ a lion if you want a kitten' after he was sacked from which Channel 4 show?
25. Who accused the Netflix show Ginny and Georgia of degrading women for featuring a joke about her which she branded 'deeply sexist'?

Answers here