Can you complete Thomas Eaton’s fiendishly difficult Christmas quiz?
The questions
1 Which seasonal figure was murdered by his brother, Boleslaus the Cruel?
2 Why does a Welsh hamlet in the Tywi Valley get extra post at this time of year?
3 A Brit award winner in 2017, which singer’s stage name was inspired by watching Steptoe and Son?
4 Why was “covfefe” in the news in May?
5 What festive item was first recorded in Britain on Cornhill in 1444?
6 Whose six wickets won England the Women’s Cricket World Cup in July?
7 Settled this year, what did the legal case Naruto vs David Slater involve?
8 What first hosted its annual Christmas lectures in 1825?
What links:
9 All the people pictured above?
10 Churchill; Winter; Enable; Wings of Eagles; Capri?
11 Golden Slumbers; One Day I’ll Fly Away; Half The World Away; Real Love?
12 Viscum album; ilex aquifolium; hedera helix?
13 The people, place and animal pictured below?
14 William I (by Ealdred of York) and the Emperor Charlemagne (by Pope Leo III)?
15 Lifting device; green tea; greylag; Antonio Banderas; four-time Lord Mayor; New Order bassist?
The answers
1 Good King Wenceslas.
2 Bethlehem postmark.
3 Rag’n’Bone Man.
4 Tweeted by Donald Trump.
5 Christmas tree.
6 Anya Shrubsole.
7 Selfie taken by macaque monkey.
8 Royal Institution.
9 Isaac Newton; Cab Calloway; Sissy Spacek; Dido; Justin Trudeau, all born on Christmas Day.
10 Winners of Classics in 2017: 2,000 Guineas; 1,000 Guineas; Oaks; Derby; St Leger.
11 John Lewis Christmas advert songs 2017-14.
12 Seasonal plants: mistletoe; holly; ivy.
13 Feature in the 12 Days of Christmas song: Lord’s cricket ground; drummer Ringo Starr; Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan; turtle; Billie Piper; Steve Coogan as Alan Partridge.
14 Crowned on Christmas Day: London, 1066; Rome, 800.
15 Panto characters: Jack; (Widow) Twankey; (Mother) goose; Puss In Boots (voiced); Dick Whittington; (Peter) Hook.
