Kids Co, Calais and ketchup ... the big summer 2015 quiz
Whether you’ve spent the holidays basking by the pool in Marbella or dragging the kids out of the house for some fresh air – you may have missed the key events of the past few weeks. Here are 30 questions about the staggering and silly news stories of summer 2015
Saturday 29 August 2015 14.27 BST
Save for later1The charity Kids Company controversially closed in August. Where was its founder, Camila Batmanghelidjh, born?IrelandIranIraq2Which collective noun was David Cameron condemned for using to describe migrants trying to get through the Channel tunnel to Britain?A swarmA plagueA bevy3Labour leadership candidate Jeremy Corbyn’s ideas include women-only train carriages, a Brexit from Nato, scrapping Trident, and a return of the 50% tax rate for high earners. Which of the following is also part of his credo?LGBT-only shortlists for prospective Labour parliamentary candidatesCycle lanes for vegan beardiesRenationalising the railways, gas and electricity4Why did London Underground workers go on strike this summer?Over management plans to end final-salary pensionsOver new shift patterns and payments for 24-hour weekend servicesBecause they want to hold management to ransom by making it impossible for hardworking Londoners get to work5Which Labour leadership candidate said that the party needs to be “as passionate about wealth creation as we are about wealth distribution”?Liz KendallAndy BurnhamYvette Cooper6“Fav moment of Oban public meeting tonight captured in this pic,” SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon tweeted on Wednesday 26 August. What had happened?Malmö dumped Celtic out of the Champions LeagueSturgeon helped Paul propose to his long-term partner, IanShe wowed party faithful with a karaoke rendition of The Proclaimers’ Over and Done With7If Stevie Wonder had been British he would have had to rename his classic Hotter than July album Damper than July. How many millimetres of rain fell on the UK between 1 and 26 July (clue: the record is 146mm in 2009)?93mm125mm148mm8Which artwork was recreated in bread by contestant Dorret Conway during The Great British Bake Off’s showstopper challenge?Munch’s The ScreamMichelangelo’s DavidTracey Emin’s My Bed9Irrepressible axeman Dave Grohl broke his leg in a stage fall at a gig in Gothenburg in June but returned after hospital treatment to finish the set with his leg in plaster. What songs did the rest of his band, the Foo Fighters, play while he was away?Nirvana’s Smells like Teen Spirit and Rod Stewart’s Hot LegsQueen’s Tie Your Mother Down and the Rolling Stones’ Miss YouPharrell Williams’ Happy and Beyoncé’s Crazy in Love10In May, Guardian film critic Peter Bradshaw described Pixar’s latest film Inside Out as a “buoyant, sweet-natured comedy” about a girl controlled by five different mood-entities. Who voices the mood-entity called Joy?Amy PoehlerTina FeyAlison Brie11According to Guardian theatre critic Michael Billington’s review of Hamlet at the Barbican in August, Benedict Cumberbatch is “imprisoned by a dismal production that elevates visual effects above narrative coherence and exploration of character”. How many stars did he give the production?OneTwoThree12With which one-liner did comedian Darren Walsh win the prize for the funniest gag at this year’s Edinburgh festival fringe?I just deleted all the German names off my phone. It’s Hans freeI heard a rumour that Cadbury is bringing out an oriental chocolate bar. Could be a Chinese WispaI can give you the cause of anaphylactic shock in a nutshell13The BBC broadcast a segment of Songs of Praise from a makeshift church at the Calais migrant camp in August. What is the camp known as?The RitzThe JungleLe Centre d’appui au secteur Pas de Calais d’aide aux sans-abri14When the Alexander McQueen show Savage Beauty, devoted to the work of the late British designer, closed on August 3, 480,000 people had seen it making the exhibition the Victoria and Albert museum’s most successful. What was the name of McQueen’s 1992 degree show?Jack the Ripper Stalks His VictimsThe Widows of CullodenPlato’s Atlantis15One Direction went to No 1 in 82 countries with their new single Drag Me Down this summer and the track broke streaming records, earning the highest first-week streams for a single in the UK with 2.03m plays. Where was the video filmed?Nasa’s Space Vehicle Mock-up FacilityOn the set of RuPaul’s Drag RaceCern’s Large Hadron Collider16Nicola Benedetti impressed critics at the Proms with her performance of Korngold’s violin concerto on 10 August. But what did she play as an encore?Die Königin der Nacht from Die ZauberflöteMarietta’s Song from Die Tote StadtSenta’s Ballad from Der Fliegende Holländer17The Booker longlist was announced in July. Which writer wasn’t on it?Anne EnrightAnne TylerJohn Banville18Which two footballers broke Aston Villa fans’ hearts by jogging on to two allegedly bigger clubs this summer?Peter Withe and Stan CollymoreFabian Delph and Christian Benteke“Pongo” Waring and Chico Hamilton19“There is no corruption in football,” Fifa chairman Sepp Blatter told BBC Sport in August. In June, however, a leading figure in South Africa’s successful bid to host the 2010 World Cup broke ranks to say that there may be some truth in the hotly disputed claim that a $10m bribe was paid by his government to host the tournament. What was that gentleman’s name?Jack WarnerSolly MalatsiTokyo Sexwale20How far did Greg Rutherford jump to win gold at the World Athletics Championships?8.21m8.32m8.41m21What happened in what Beijing called China’s Black Monday this August?The Hong Kong Currency Susan fell by 12.1%The Shanghai Composite fell by 8.5%The Chengdu Dragon rose by 6.2%22Only one of the following is true of Greece. But which?In March, youth unemployment stood at 49.7%In June, half a million Greeks applied for humanitarian relief to pay for food and help with rent and electricityIn August, the average value of pensions had fallen by 27% compared with the previous year23Heinz Tomato ketchup has been downgraded in Israel. Why?It’s made in IranIt’s not kosherIt contains too few tomatoes to be labelled ketchup according to Israeli standards24“This number isn’t normal,” said Antonio Lorca, the bullfighting critic for El País, commenting on August’s death toll at the annual bull running through the streets of Pamplona. How many people died (at the time of going to press)?1027225Which European politician justified their austerity plan in July with the following tweet: “This deal will lead to a european programme. The IMF will only have a technical consulting role. The troika as we know it, ends.”George OsborneWolfgang SchäubleAlexis Tsipras26On 18 August, Khaled al-Asaad was beheaded in a public square. Who was he?Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s brotherAn archaeologist and keeper of Palmyra’s cultural artefactsAn imam at Baghdad’s Al-Kadhimiya mosque27What happened to Asli Cakir Alptekin in August?She was branded a drugs cheat and stripped of her 1500m gold medal from the 2012 London OlympicsShe scored an own goal that led to Germany beating Turkey 3-2 in the final of the Women’s World Netball tournamentThe silver medallist refused to shake the hand of World Athletics championship heptathlon winner Jessica Ennis-Hill on the podium in protest at British policies in Syria28Who said in June: “The legacy of slavery, Jim Crow, discrimination in almost every institution of our lives that casts a long shadow and that’s still part of our DNA that’s passed on”?Jeb BushKanye WestBarack Obama29“I owe him my life because he threw himself in front of me when the shooting started,” said Saera Wilson of her fiance, Matthew James in June. At which north African beach resort had the couple been holidaying before the massacre that killed 38 tourists?BenghaziSousseEssaouira30Three Americans and a Briton all received the Légion d’Honneur from French president Francois Hollande in August for subduing an armed man on a train bound for Paris. Where had the train begun its journey?Bodmin ParkwayAmsterdamCologne
