52 weeks 52 questions, part two

Quiz of the year's news

It's part two of the Magazine's four-volume compilation of the best of the year's quizzes. Today it's April - June.PLUS a special bonus question each day - see below for details.

1.) Multiple Choice Question

David Davis resigned as MP for Haltemprice in June to fight a by-election on the issue of civil liberties. But which fictional MP also held the seat?

1. Hugh Abbot (The Thick of It)
2. Jim Hacker (Yes Minister)
3. Alan B'Stard (The New Statesman)
4. Francis Urquhart (House of Cards)

2.) Multiple Choice Question

A venerable institution, which in April set about its first major recruitment drive for 40 years. Which one?

1. European Space Agency
2. Avon
3. Catholic Church

3.) Multiple Choice Question

In April the Met Office's long-range forecast predicted a "typical British summer". Meaning what?

1. Average temps, average rainfall
2. Warmer than average, near/above average rain
3. Soaring temps, drought
4. Below average temps, near/above average rain

4.) Multiple Choice Question

M&S does the best adverts (for clothes) but its food ads are the most irritating, according to a poll in April. Which one of these is also in the three most hated ads?

1. Kerry Katona for Iceland
2. Singing Howard for Halifax
3. PC World

5.) Multiple Choice Question

Gwyneth Dunwoody MP died in April, aged 77. Which cause did she fight for - and try to involve then PM Tony Blair - after "detecting sadness"?

1. Every committee head to be called "chairperson"
2. Monument to the suffragettes
3. Return of original Winnie the Pooh toys from New York

Info

And here are the toys... still in New York.Click NEXT to continue.

6.) Multiple Choice Question

In May scientists unpicked the DNA of the duck-billed platypus - Australia's oddest animal - to find that its genes are...

1. Mammal
2. Bird
3. Mammal and bird
4. Mammal, bird and reptile

7.) Multiple Choice Question

May was quite a month for political memoirs packed with uncomfortable revelations. "I hate this man" - said who of Tony Blair, after an awkward scene?

1. His fundraiser Lord Levy
2. His deputy John Prescott
3. His wife Cherie Booth

8.) Multiple Choice Question

"I was completely over-competent". Said who, in May?

1. Kevin Shaw, fired from The Apprentice (although not for over-competence)
2. John Prescott, according to Lord Levy's newly serialised memoirs
3. Ronnie O'Sullivan, hitting a maximum 147 break in the World Snooker Championship

9.) Missing Word Question

US chain drops * ad

1. 'porn link'
2. 'gun-toting'
3. 'terror scarf'

Info

The ad was pulled as the celebrity chef's wrap resembled a traditional Arab keffiyeh.Click NEXT to continue.

10.) Multiple Choice Question

During his visit to the Isle of Lewis in June, it took Donald Trump 97 seconds to complete what?

1. Defend his plans for a golf course to a public inquiry
2. Repair his flamboyant hairstyle after a gust of wind
3. Tour the house where his mother was born

11.) Multiple Choice Question

Robert Mugabe was stripped of his honorary knighthood in late June as part of a growing chorus of concern over his regime. The last foreigner to experience this rare dishonour?

1. Uganda's Idi Amin
2. Romania's Nicolae Ceausescu
3. Chile's Augusto Pinochet

12.) Multiple Choice Question

And finally, a birthday question. Pop royalty, every one. And each celebrated their 50th in 2008. The oldest?

1. Michael Jackson
2. Paul Weller
3. Madonna
4. Prince

Answers

1. It's Alan B'Stard, played by Rik Mayall in the ITV comedy series the New Statesman. Originally, the seat was purely fictional - but came into being as Haltemprice and Howden in 1997, with a boundary re-drawing.
2. It's Avon, which launched a new TV campaign featuring young sales reps. The ESA also set out to recruit astronauts, its first major push since the early 1990s. And the Catholic Church said it needed more junior priests to replace retirees.
3. A "typical British summer" is warmer than average with near/above average rainfall, says the Met Office. Although this is somewhat at odds with calling it "typical".
4. Howard and the other singing staff of Halifax bank came second, and third was Slimfast.
5. It's the Winnie the Pooh toys, over which she clashed with then mayor Rudolph Giuliani. As for the other two causes, her grandmothers were both suffragettes - and she insisted on being known as chairman of the Transport Select Committee.
6. It's a unique mix of mammal, bird and reptile. Mammal as it suckles its young on milk; bird as its 10 sex chromosomes are similar to its winged cousins; reptile as it has genes which support egg laying, and males have venomous spurs on their hind legs.
7. It was Cherie Blair, reflecting on how after a difficult birth with Euan, the couple's eldest child, Tony made her pose for a Northern Echo photographer, "Sedgefield MP, wife and newborn son being the theme".
8. It was Kevin Shaw, fired mid-series after a memorable pitch to Clinton Cards in which he likened the company's failure to buy his eco-message greeting cards, to George W Bush not signing the Kyoto Agreement.. He then corrected himself to say "over-confident".
9. It's "terror scarf". Dunkin' Donuts pulled an advert following complaints that the black and white scarf worn by celebrity chef Rachael Ray offered symbolic support for Islamic extremism. Click NEXT to reveal all.
10. It was visiting the house where his mother was born in 1912, one of six children of a fisherman. "I didn't think it was appropriate for me to go around making an inspection," he said.
11. It was Ceausescu in 1989, the day before his execution. The Queen approved the step of removing Mr Mugabe's award, as a statement of "revulsion" at human rights abuses in Zimbabwe.
12. It's Paul Weller, who marked his 50th on 28 May. Prince's big day was on 7 June, Madonna hit the big 5-0 on 16 August, and Michael Jackson on 29 August.

Your Score

0 - 4 : Die Another Day

5 - 9 : Borderline

10 - 12 : Ray of Light

Bonus question

In addition to the 12 questions above, there is also a bonus question for each of the four parts of this quiz. That's how we reach the magic total of 52 questions.

52 weeks, part one

With each part of the quiz we will publish a photograph - the first and second are above. What is the link between them? You may, if you work out the answer, tell us using the form below. But there will be no prizes except a Christmas helping of kudos. The answer will be published with the fourth part of the quiz on Tuesday 23 December.

Parts three and four of the quiz will be published on Monday and Tuesday.

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For a complete archive of past quizzes and our weekly news quiz, 7 days 7 questions, visit the Magazine page and scroll down.