Have a crack at the newsquiz

The top solo scorer in last week's newsquiz was Gavin Devine with 19, ahead of Toby Brown and Robert Rea with 18 and Marguerite Turner with 17. Bruce and Sarah Hayward were the top team with 21, just ahead of Phil and Maura Parsons on 20 and Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe on 18. Special mention to the Brest of Brittany, Our Peter, Sarah and Joe, who didn't make the leaderboard but clocked up a decent 14. Here is this week's newsquiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week. Give it a go and let me know your score.

Today's front pages

1. For the first time in her 70-year reign the Queen will not appoint the next Prime Minister at Buckingham Palace? Where will she meet the new PM on Tuesday?
2. At the final Tory leadership Hustings at Wembley Arena, Iain Duncan Smith introduced Liz Truss but who, a late-backer of the former Chancellor, introduced Rishi Sunak?
3. Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, who went to United States for talks on how to tackle the spiralling cost of living, was criticised by Labour for 'jetting off to an international ___’? What is the missing word?
4. Tory leadership hopeful Liz Truss pulled out of an interview with which political journalist because she 'could no longer spare the time’?
5. The RMT said its members at Network Rail and 14 train operators would strike on what two dates this month? Half a point for each.
6. Which two Russian words, meaning 'openness of information’ and 'restructuring of the economy and political system’, were introduced to the West by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who died aged 91? Half a point for each.
7. Mikhail Gorbachev featured in a 1998 TV advert in which he walked with his granddaughter across Red Square and into which American chain?
8. Outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged £700million for a new nuclear power plant on the Suffolk coast, with a call to 'go nuclear and go large and go with ___ ___’. What are the two missing words?
9. According to research by pension provider Penfold, what could cost £14 in London in two and a half years, if inflation and energy costs continue in the direction that they are heading?

10. Three Extinction Rebellion protesters went into Parliament and glued themselves together in front of what?  
11. Rapper Takayo Nembhard, 21, died after being stabbed at which event?

12. According to climate minister Sherry Rehman a third of which country was completely submerged?
13. More than 1.1million people who claim Tax Credits will get how much paid into their bank account between today (Friday) and Wednesday?
14. Vicky Bowman, the UK's former ambassador to which country, was jailed for breaching immigration laws?
15. The vice president of which country escaped an assassination attempt when a gunman’s weapon jammed as he aimed it at her head?
16. Which company announced plans to offer free food to its staff from October to January to help with the cost of living?
17. Who was referred to the Attorney General for possible contempt of court after Ryan Giggs's trial was delayed over a comment he made?
18. TV presenter Bill Turnbull, who died aged 66, said his hobby was the reason for leaving BBC Breakfast, claiming he had been 'neglecting my ___ for far too long’. What is the missing word?
19. Which TV presenter had 'a little bit of a breakdown' after being told in a hospital consultation room that she had breast cancer?
20. What did footballer supporters at Liverpool and Tranmere do in the ninth minute of their games at the weekend?
21. Which British-based internet subscription service reported record profits and paid out more than £433million to owner Leonid Radvinsky over the last two years?
22. The last surviving member of which 60s pop group said he was suing the FBI over a 'secret dossier' he believed it held on him and his former bandmates?
23. Liverpool and Celtic both won 9-0 at the weekend but which two teams were they playing? Half a point for each.
24. Politics student Melisa Raouf, 20, became the first Miss England finalist to do what?
25. Duane Hanson, 60, broke the world record by paddling 38 miles down the Missouri River in what?

Answers here

Time to tackle the newsquiz

The top solo scorer in last week's newsquiz was Jayme Bryla with 20, ahead of Toby Brown, Janet Boyle and Marguerite Turner all on 19 and Robert Rea on 16.

The top team was the Green Man Dream Team - Adam Batstone, Lucy Thorpe, David Kohn and Joe and Louise Hart - with 21, ahead of Maura and Phil Parsons on 20, Bruce and Sarah Hayward on 19, Bill Bowkett and Lucy Lamoury on 18 and  Team Brittany (Our Peter, Sarah and Joe) on 16. Here is this week's newsquiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week. Give it a go and let me know your score. 

A selection of today's front pages

1. What was the full name of the nine-year-old girl who was shot dead by a gunman at her family home in Liverpool?
2. Regulator Ofgem announced a new energy price cap from October which means an average household in England, Wales and Scotland will pay a typical annual bill of how much?
3. In an interview with the Spectator, Tory leadership candidate Rishi Sunak was critical of his Government’s Covid lockdown response saying: 'We shouldn’t have empowered the ___ in the way we did.’ What is the missing word?
4. What was Foreign Secretary Liz Truss’s four-word reply when asked, at the Tory leadership hustings in Norwich, if French president Emmanuel Macron was a 'friend or foe’?
5. The best GCSE results in England were in London where 32.6 percent gained the top grade. But which region had the lowest number of top grades with 22.4 per cent? a) East Midlands b) North West c) Yorkshire/Humber and North East d) West Midlands

6. Which company announced it will donate 10 per cent of its profits to help customers cope with soaring bills for the 'duration of the energy crisis’?
7. A TUC report called for a minimum hourly rate of how much to be in place by at least 2030?
8. What is the name of the campaign to tackle the UK’s cost of living crisis which has 450,000 signed-up supporters, including Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, and is planning 50 rallies next month?
9. A report by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change recommended that what should be scrapped in England?
10. Home Office figures published this week showed that 50-60 per cent of asylum seekers who cross the Channel in small boats are of which nationality?
11. On a visit to Kyiv, outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: 'If we’re paying in our energy bills for the evils of Vladimir Putin, the people of Ukraine are paying in their ___.’ What is the missing word?
12. Ukraine denied that its special services were behind the killing of Darya Dugina, the daughter of an ultra-nationalist. How was she killed?
13. The Times reported that an inquiry into the 'toxic' culture of which organisation heard allegations of bullying, misogyny, assault, sexual harassment and drunkenness?
14 What did passenger Sarah Fellowes, 37, describe as ’terrifying’, ‘utter carnage’ and ‘like a disaster movie’?

15. Rab Wardell, 37, died of a heart attack just two days after winning the Scottish championship in which sport?
16. Which comedian said they would throw their hat in the ring as Labour candidate for the Sheffield Central constituency at the next election?
17. In the Duchess of Sussex's Archetypes podcast she recounted that, during a tour of South Africa, her son Archie narrowly escaped what?
18. US President Joe Biden announced he would cancel up to $10,000 (£8,474) in what kind of debts for millions of Americans who earn less than $125,000 each year?
19. Who announced her retirement from football after 161 caps for England and playing in ten major tournaments?
20. What was photographed climbing over roof tiles, going through a bedroom window before falling to the ground in Chandler’s Ford in Hampshire?
21. Rangers qualified for the Champions League by beating PSV Eindhoven in the play-offs and will now join which other British Club in Group A?
22. Mack Rutherford, 17, from Belgium, became the youngest person in the world to do what?
23. Derek Skipper, 92, from Orwell in Cambridgeshire, became the oldest person in Britain to do what?
24. The BBC confirmed that which show, 'with a new breed of superhuman, supersized, superstars', will be returning after 20 years?
25. Sir Elton John gave French diners in Cannes a preview of a new single - a duet with which other singer which was released today?

Answers here

Have a crack at the newsquiz

The top solo scorer in last week’s newsquiz was Marguerite Turner with 21, ahead of Jayme Bryla on 19, Robert Rea on 18, Stuart Bagnall on 17 and Toby Brown on 16. The top team was the Party in the Port gang of Trevor, Carole, Our Peter, Joe and Sarah with a personal best of 19, just ahead of Phil and Maura Parsons on 17.5. Tony Smith’s family, Joe and Lou Hart and Bruce and Sarah Hayward all scored 17. There were also plenty of below average scores, suggesting the quiz was a bit of a toughie. Here is this week’s newsquiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week. Give it a go and let me know your score. 

Today's front pages

1. A recording emerged of Tory leadership candidate Liz Truss complaining that British workers lacked what?

2. Tory leadership hopeful Rishi Sunak claimed to always enjoy which McDonald's meal when out with his daughters - despite the item having not been on sale since March 2020?

3. How many A-level pupils ended up without a guaranteed university place – the highest number in a decade?
4. Maths was the most popular subject taken at A-level this year but which subject fell out of the top ten for the first time?
5. According to estimates, published by the Office for National Statistics, inflation rose to another 40-year high in July to what per cent?
6. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced that the Government was to review whether cyclists should be made to have number plates, insurance and stick to what speed limit?
7. Why was 87-year-old Thomas O'Halloran in the headlines?
8. Author Salman Rushdie, who was stabbed while speaking at an event in New York, had previously had a fatwa issued against him for which 1988 book?
9. UN Secretary General António Guterres said he was 'gravely concerned' about fighting in the city of Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine because it is home to what?
10. What is the name of the MP who pleaded guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to breaching Covid rules by travelling on a train between Scotland and London after being told to self-isolate in September 2020?
11. Republican Liz Cheney lost her seat in Congress for which state to Harriet Hageman, who was backed by former president Donald Trump?

12. Authentic Brands Group, which owns Reebok, Juicy Couture and the image rights to Elvis Presley, offered to buy which UK fashion retailer for £211million?
13. Leeds University student Salma al-Shehab, who had returned home to Saudi Arabia for a holiday, was sentenced to 34 years in prison for what?
14. An explosion ripped through a mosque killing at least 21 people in which city?
15. Manchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy, on trial at Chester Crown Court, is facing one charge of attempted rape, one of sexual assault and how many rapes?
16. A man in his 20s was being hunted after a six-year-old girl was allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted in a van before being left in woodland in which city?
17. Former footballer Ryan Giggs told Manchester Crown Court that he 'called a team-meeting' about what during lockdown?
18. Billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, the majority shareholder of chemical group Ineos, stated an interest in buying what?

19. Why were two Australians called 'overbearing imbeciles' by Venice’s mayor?
20. The prime minister of which country denied taking drugs, saying she only drank alcohol and just partied 'in a boisterous way' after a video of her dancing and singing was leaked?

21. Singer and actor Darius Campbell Danesh, who died aged 41, came third in which TV talent show in 2002?
22. The Oscars apologised to actress Sacheen Littlefeather who was booed 50 years ago after making a speech about the representation of native Americans and rejecting a Best Actor award on behalf of who?
23. Which two Premier League managers were charged with improper conduct by the FA after being shown red cards on Sunday? Half a point for each.
24. What is the name of the comedian whose Edinburgh Fringe performance was cancelled after a theatre said the number of complaints was 'unprecedented' and people had walked out feeling 'unsafe to remain in the venue’?
25. The BBC announced that Amol Rajan will take over which role from autumn 2023?

Answers here

Time to tackle the newsquiz

The top solo scorer in last week’s newsquiz was Robert Rea with a personal best of 23. Also on the leaderboard were Stuart Bagnall and Janet Boyle with 22, Marguerite Turner and Marion Fountayne on 21, Toby Brown on 19, Jayme Bryla on 18 and Chay Quinn and Gavin Devine on 17. The top team was Maura and Phil Parsons with 22, ahead of Bruce and Sarah Hayward, Neil and Jo Benson and Joe and Lou Hart who all scored 21, Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe on 20 and Jess Devonport and Nicolas Collins on 19. Here is this week’s quiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week. Give it a go and let me know your score.

Today's front pages

1. Rishi Sunak suffered a blow to his Tory leadership campaign after which former minister withdrew his support and backed Liz Truss, saying he was 'increasingly concerned' by the campaign's 'consistently changing position' on policy?
2. Rishi Sunak said in an interview this week that he would rather lose the Tory leadership vote than win on what?
3. What did Tory leadership candidate Liz Truss say should not be considered ‘dirty and evil’?
4. What did Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon say was the 'main thing' Tory leadership candidate Liz Truss wanted to talk to her about when they met briefly at Cop26 last year?
5. Consumer champion Martin Lewis said it was 'tragic news' and urged the 'zombie government' to come up with an immediate action plan after the energy price cap was forecast to reach what figure from January?
6. Water companies announced a hosepipe ban in the UK. Which one of these can people not do once a ban is announced? a) Top up a fishpond b) Water a new lawn within 28 days of it being laid c) Fill a fountain used for religious practices d) Clean a car
7. Sainsbury's and Tesco joined Marks and Spencer, Aldi and Waitrose in removing what from their shelves during the current heatwave?
8. What is the name of the Florida home of President Donald Trump which was raided by the FBI?
9. Olivia Newton-John, who died this week aged 73, had two UK Number One hits in 1978 with John Travolta. Name them both. Half a point for each.
10. Who said on Sunday: 'We were backed into a corner by the system, stripped of all our rights’?
11. What is the name of the water park in Windsor where an 11-year-old girl died after she got into difficulty?
12. Ukraine President Vladimir Zelensky said in a speech this week that ‘this Russian war began with ___ and must end with ___ - with its liberation’. What is the missing word?
13. Ryan Giggs appeared at Manchester Crown Court where he denied using controlling and coercive behaviour and assaulting his ex-girlfriend who is called what?
14. A 47-year-old man was killed and three people were injured in a series of shootings and a stabbing on which island?
15. A man brandishing a knife was shot dead by police at which European airport?
16. What is the name of the American actress whose car was engulfed in flames after hitting a building in Los Angeles?
17. All children aged one to nine living in Greater London are to be offered a vaccine against which virus that was detected in sewage?

18. Domino's Pizza's stores in which country were closed after the firm that operated its outlets filed for bankruptcy?
19. Judith Durham, who died aged 79, was the vocalist of which band that had hits including I’ll Never Find Another You and The Carnival Is Over in the 1960s?
20. What was the name of the writer and illustrator of The Snowman, When the Wind Blows and Fungus the Bogeyman who died aged 88?
21. Johnson & Johnson announced it would stop making and selling what from next year?
22. A beluga whale that strayed into what river died during an ambitious rescue effort intended to help it back to its traditional cold Arctic waters?

23. Which group paid tribute to their 'great friend' and bandmate, bass player Darryl Hunt who died aged 72?
24. Serena Williams, announcing she was stepping away from tennis after the US Open, said she never liked the word retirement and added 'maybe the best word to describe what I'm up to is ___’. What is the missing word?
25. Rock legend Ozzy Osbourne made a surprise appearance to close the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham with a rendition of which song?

Answers here

Time to tackle the newsquiz

The top solo scorers in last week’s newsquiz were Liz Gerard and Robert Rea both with 21, ahead of Marion Fountayne, Janet Boyle and Marguerite Turner on 20, Daisy Graham-Brown and Tom Savage on 18, Toby Brown on 17 and Aadam Patel on 16. The top team was Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe with a PB of 23 ahead of Neil and Jo Benson on 20.5, Phil and Maura Parsons on 20, Bruce and Sarah Hayward on 19 and Joe and Lou Hart on 17. Here is this week's quiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week. Give it a go and let me know your score.

A selection of today's front pages

1. England’s Beth Mead was awarded the Golden Boot for Euro 2022 after scoring how many goals in the tournament?
2. The captain of the England Lionesses, Leah Williamson, is to become the first person to be awarded the Freedom of which city?
3. Why was Chloe Kelly given a yellow card in England’s 2-1 victory against Germany in the Women's Euro final?
4. Tory leadership hopeful Rishi Sunak said that, if he became Prime Minister, NHS patients would be fined how much if they missed their GP or hospital appointments?
5. Tory leadership candidate Rishi Sunak said he would cut the basic tax rate to what per cent by the end of the next parliament if he becomes prime minister?

6. After the European Court of Human Rights refused a request to delay withdrawing his treatment, the family of 12-year-old Archie Battersbee sought legal permission to move him from the Royal London Hospital to where?
7. Which company announced the second highest quarterly profit in its history of $8.5billion (£6.9billion)?
8. The Bank of England warned the UK will fall into recession as it raised interest rates to what per cent?
9. Which company suspended ticket sales for short-haul flights from Heathrow Airport until August 15?
10. Lithuanian national Deividas Skebas, 22, was charged with the murder of a nine-year-old girl who was stabbed to death in which town?
11. What did China's foreign minister Wang Yi say was 'manic, irresponsible and irrational’?
12. The Sunday Times reported that the Prince of Wales had accepted a payment of £1million for his charitable fund from which family?
13. Which supermarket announced it was removing best-before dates from nearly 500 fresh food products in September in an effort to reduce food waste?
14. Far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was ordered to pay $4.1million in damages by a court in Texas over his repeated claims what was a hoax?
15. Which country reported what is thought to be Europe’s first monkeypox-related death in the current outbreak?
16. American president Joe Biden said that the leader of al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was killed in a drone strike in which city?
17. Why was 24-year-old Matt Wells taken to hospital?
18. A ship carrying 26,000 tonnes of what left Ukraine - the first since the Russian invasion?

19. Twins Bernardo and Arthur Lima, who were joined at the head, were successfully separated in an operation using virtual reality in which country?
20. Why were politicians Jacob Rees-Mogg, Nadine Dorries, Ben Wallace and singer Holly Valance in the Cotswolds at the weekend?
21. Who overcame 'the self-doubt' that left her contemplating the end of her career to win England’s first velodrome gold of the Commonwealth Games in the women’s 10km scratch race?
22. American actress Nichelle Nichols, who died aged 89, was once celebrated by the Rev Martin Luther King Jr for playing 'the first non-stereotypical role portrayed by a Black woman in television history.’ Which TV programme was it?
23. What happened for the first time in British waters since 1874 near Penzance in Cornwall?
24. Which TV show is to end on BBC Two after 17 years with its host saying: 'We just couldn’t be more silly than the news was already’?
25. Actors Kym Marsh, Will Mellor and radio presenter Richie Anderson will be taking part in what?

Answers here

Trainee Daisy wins newsquiz champagne

Trainee (from left): Dolly Busby, Bill Bowkett, Daisy Graham-Brown with the champagne, Aadam Patel, Issy Stanley, Sophie Mitchell and, in the inset, Maya Wilson Autzen

I said farewell to the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday trainees today. They now go to the Mail newsrooms in London, Dublin, Glasgow and the Evening Standard on placement. They are a bright and likeable bunch. I wish them well and look forward to their success stories. The trainees had some first class sessions this week. On Monday they had safety awareness training from Charlie McGrath and Grant Wootton. They also had a session with digital editor Ailsa Leslie who talked about MailPlus and showed them how to use the Glide software. They then covered a breaking story in real time, built it for MailPlus and had their work assessed by production editor Chris Dean. They also enjoyed talks by Susie Coen from the investigations team and deputy political editor John Stevens. Aadam Patel racked up more bylines including his report from the ODI at Headingley.

Last night we had farewell drinks in the Greyhound. We finished the week, as always, with the newsquiz. This week’s winner was Daisy Graham-Brown with 18, ahead of Aadam on 16. The top scorer over the three weeks was Daisy who won the Champagne.
In last week’s quiz the top solo scorer was Tom Savage with 20, ahead of Stuart Bagnall and Aadam Patel on 19, Daisy Graham-Brown and Jayme Bryla on 18 and Robert Rea on 16. The top team was Maura and Phil Parsons with 21, Marguerite Turner’s team and the Three Legs drinkers (Bryan, Heather, Kevin, Mandy, Peter, Stacey and Jim) both on 19, Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe on 17 and Bruce and Sarah Hayward on 16. Here is this week’s newsquiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week. Give it a go and let me know your score. 

Today's front pages

1. What is the name of the TalkTV political editor who fainted during the televised Tory leadership debate?
2. In an apparent change of strategy, Tory leadership hopeful Rishi Sunak pledged to scrap VAT on what next year?
3. The televised Tory leadership debate on the BBC, hosted by Sophie Raworth, was broadcast from which city?
4. Culture secretary Nadine Dorries tweeted about the Tory leadership contest, saying: 'Liz Truss⁩ will be travelling the country wearing her ___ which cost circa £4.50 from Claire Accessories. Meanwhile Rishi visits Teesside in Prada shoes worth £450 and sported a £3,500 bespoke suit.’ What is the missing word?
5. The cost of living crunch meant a McDonald’s cheeseburger went up to £1.19 from 99p, a price it had been for how many years?
6. Doug Bannister, the chief executive of the Port of Dover, said it was 'absolutely true' that what was the main cause of the chaos at the border over the weekend?
7. What is the name of the junior shadow transport minister, who joined striking rail workers on a picket line, who was fired by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer for 'making unauthorised media appearances’?
8. England’s Lionesses beat Sweden 4-0 in the Euro 2022 semi-final at which football stadium?
9. Who scored England’s third goal against Sweden in the Euro 2022 semi-final with a back-heel?
10. The judge in the Wagatha Christie case, ruling that Rebekah Vardy had not been libelled by Coleen Rooney, said it was likely that Vardy had deleted her WhatsApp chat with her agent Caroline Watt and the phone was deliberately dropped where?

11. James Lovelock, the British environmental scientist and creator of what theory, that the Earth acts as a single living organism, died aged 103?
12. Former Northern Ireland first minister Lord Trimble, an architect of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, who died aged 77, was leader of which political party from 1995 to 2005?
13. UK holidaymakers travelling to Spain may now have to prove they have how many euros per day to spend on their visit?
14. Broadcaster Nicky Campbell revealed that he was the victim of abuse at a private school in which city during the 1970s?
15. Why did the life sentencing of 25-year-old Ben Oliver at the Old Bailey make legal history?
16. Why was eight-year-old Tess Dolan in the headlines?
17. Who reached the UK charts Top Ten in the 1960s with Hole In The Ground and Right Said Fred?
18. Yorkshire teacher Louise Atkinson died after falling 100 feet in which mountain range?
19. The Met Office said that July had been the driest month in England since which year?
20. The entire board of which organisation resigned ahead of the publication of a report which highlighted 448 examples of institutional racism?
21. Which former BBC newsreader fought off a bag snatcher who rugby-tackled her and left her with a gash in her arm in a French village?
22. What is the name of the official mascot of Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games?
23. Which Birmingham pop band closed the opening ceremony at the Commonwealth Games?

24. According to bookmakers Paddy Power, Glasgow is odds on favourite, followed by Manchester, London, Birmingham and Liverpool, to do what?
25. Manchester United and England footballer, and free school meals campaigner, Marcus Rashford guest edited which publication?

Answers here

Trainee Aadam wins newsquiz with 19

The Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday trainees enjoyed another busy week in Kensington. They had sessions with leader writer Neil Darbyshire, consultant editor and columnist Andrew Pierce, associate editor Stephen Wright and there was a Q&A panel with some of last year’s trainees. Editor emeritus Peter Wright went through the editor’s code and the Mail’s lawyers covered contempt, libel, bribery, privacy, copyright and data protection.

The trainees also pitched story ideas to chief reporter Sam Greenhill and deputy chief reporter Inderdeep Bains, Femail editor Fiona Hardcastle and MailOnline travel editor Ted Thornhill. Sports trainee Aadam Patel spent the weekend covering the cricket, including the T20 Finals Day at Edgbaston and England’s ODI defeat in Manchester. He got three bylines on MailOnline - read his stories here, here and here - and two in the paper.

Aadam and Maya Wilson-Autzen did subbing shifts on Thursday night and both got their work published. The trainees also examined headlines, pictures and graphics. The headline of the week award was shared by Daisy Graham-Brown and Sophie Mitchell. We finished as always with the newsquiz. The winner this week with 19 was Aadam, just ahead of Daisy on 18. In last week’s newsquiz the top solo scorer was Chay Quinn with 22, ahead of Marguerite Turner and Janet Boyle on 20, Robert Rea on 18 and trainee Daisy and Stuart Bagnall on 17. The Three Legs drinkers of Nicky, Les, Andrew, Linda, Bryan and Heather were the highest scoring team with 18, ahead of Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe on 16. It must have been a tough one as many regular high-scorers posted scores below 16.
Here is this week’s quiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week. Give it a go and see if you can beat Aadam’s score.

A selection of today's front pages

1. The Met Office issued provisional maximum temperatures for Tuesday showing that an all-time record of 40.3C for the UK had been reached at which Lincolnshire village?
2. What is the name of the village, on the outskirts of east London, where 19 houses were destroyed after grass fires broke out during the heatwave?
3. What movie phrase did Boris Johnson use to sign off his final Prime Minister’s Question Time?
4. The Government survived a no-confidence vote by what majority?
5. Who was eliminated in the fourth round of the Tory leadership ballot, coming fourth with 59 votes?
6. Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss will go head to head for the Tory leadership after winning how many votes each in round five? Half a point for each.
7. Which TV channel cancelled Tuesday’s planned leadership debate after Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss pulled out?
8. Which senior Tory MP was suspended from the party after he missed the vote of confidence in Boris Johnson's government because he was in Moldova?

9. Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that Britain’s inflation rate rose to a 40-year high of what percentage last month?
10. Outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson wore a full RAF uniform and took selfies of himself when flying in what type of RAF plane?
11. The BBC apologised and said it would pay damages to who for unfounded allegations she was having an affair with the Prince of Wales?
12. Prince Harry delivered a lecture on the state of the world at the UN headquarters in New York to mark an international day in whose honour?
13. What was Geoff Wightman doing while his son Jake won the 1500 metres at the World Championships?
14. Camelot said that a UK ticket-holder had claimed the biggest ever jackpot of how much after Tuesday's EuroMillions draw?
15. Five people were taken to hospital with stab and gunshot wounds after an attack in a nightclub in which European resort?
16. Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine this week unveiled a new treatment for which condition, meaning that patients are effectively cured with a single injection?
17. The Football Association announced that what could be banned from English grassroots football in two seasons time?
18. Which game was rebranded as quadball?
19. England’s Lionesses beat which team 2-1 to set up a Euro 2022 semi-final?
20. Which animals were released into the Kent countryside to become the first of their species to roam Britain for thousands of years?
21. Who signed off from one-day international cricket with a message that players were not cars which could be filled up with petrol?
22. Singer Jennifer Lopez filed documents to legally change her last name to what?
23. Jamie Allen quit which football team’s pre-season training, 11 days after signing a new contract with the club, to join TV show Love Island?

24. Who described having hallucinations caused by Parkinsons including 'bumping into a strange figure on the stairs when I get up at night’?
25. Swede Henrik Stenson was sacked from what sporting role?

Answers here

Farewell to two newspaper giants

In the last few weeks the newspaper world has lost two giant characters. I was privileged to work with both and they will be missed enormously.

Jim Fitzpatrick

I met Jim Fitzpatrick in the mid 1990s when he was chairman of The Irish News based in Belfast. He was a gentleman, charming from the outset, but he was also a tough and committed newspaper man. Jim was a lawyer, a Catholic, a nationalist, a father of eight, a devout family man and, from the 1980s, the owner of The Irish News. 

He was also a passionate and determined supporter of peace in Northern Ireland. At his funeral the Taoiseach Micheal Martin recognised Jim’s crucial role in the early days of the embryonic peace process. 

The Irish News may have been Northern Ireland’s only nationalist paper but its repudiation of the country's violent conflict was unequivocal. I worked with Jim and his son Dominic, the paper’s chief executive, over the years. 

We redesigned the paper, taking it from a broadsheet to a Euro (Berliner) format and later to a compact. I did training and, along with my colleague Mike Brough, redesigned different sections and provided camera-ready pages.

Jim, Dominic, editors Tom Collins and Noel Doran and the staff were a joy to work with. They were professional and focused but always social, generous and charming. I remember, just before the millennium, I had been working in the Donegall Street offices and was about to leave for Christmas at home. Jim presented me with a bottle of Irish News whiskey, which he had commissioned to bring in the year 2000.

It was a collector’s item that would be valuable in years to come. He handed me the bottle as a gift and said, I am only giving it to you on condition you drink it, not keep it. And I did. When he passed away aged 92 at the end of June, I raised a glass of whiskey, with an e, to his amazing legacy.

Mike Lowe

I had heard of Mike Lowe’s reputation, long before I met him. When he was editing the Derby Telegraph he brought his editorial football team on a tour of the North and played newspaper sides including The Northern Echo, the paper I was editing. I was on holiday and didn’t play but when I got back our captain, Teesside hard man Brian Page, recounted the bloodbath that had taken place. For the first time ever, he said, our team refused to go for a drink with the opposition. The story goes that, on the same trip, there was a similar experience by the Hull Daily Mail team. Mike, for most of his career, led a crazy gang.

It wasn’t until I set up the Editorial Centre in Hastings in 1995 that I actually met him. He left Derby and became editor of the Bristol Evening Post, sending all his trainees to us. He then asked me to get involved in consultancy, design and training. Mike’s view was that he could do everything I was doing, probably better, but he just didn’t have the time - so I would have to do!

The Bristol Evening Post's front page after Prince 

Charles's wedding to Camilla was announced

We quickly became friends. He was forthright, knew exactly what he wanted, and happy to rip anything to pieces if he didn’t like it. There was no pussy-footing around with Mike. He was so refreshing to work with.

What soon became clear from my work trips to Bristol was that pub time was actually part of the job. In the pub we pored over everything that had gone on in the office. He was at home there - often outrageous, happy to spar with anyone on any topic but always funny and generous. In the mid-90s we had many a lively conversation about his beloved Manchester United and my Newcastle. How I relished the 5-0 victory at St James’s Park in 1996 - a rare upper hand.

Newcastle played Arsenal in the FA Cup final on May 16, 1998. It was my birthday … but tickets were like gold-dust. That morning, resigned to watching it on television, there was 'a happy birthday' message from my wife and kids chalked on the blackboard in our kitchen. Above it were pinned two tickets for the game.

How on earth did she get those? She replied with one word: Lowey.

Mike was certainly a one-off, with a reputation as a maverick and a bon-viveur. But he was also a first-class newspaperman, a real wordsmith and an inspiration with impressive instincts and vision. He edited the Gloucester Citizen, Derby Telegraph, Bristol Evening Post and then moved into magazines at Cotswold Life. They all bore his stamp. He also wrote the Grey Cardigan column in the Press Gazette, the acerbic views of a world-weary sub editor on the Daily Beast. It was always close to the bone but very, very funny. Mike died last week, far too young at 68. I, and hundreds of others who crossed his path, will miss him.