Well, that’s that for another year. How was your Christmas?
I trust you’ve got rid of the turkey, indigestion and lingering in-laws and are re-stocking ready for a big New Year’s Eve.
Because 2019 deserves one almighty “good riddance” as we all pin our hopes on a happy, prosperous and less divisive 2020.
The last 12 months have been “quite bumpy” as the Queen pointed out with typical understatement in her Christmas message.
But there have also been many laughs along the way with bizarre, bonkers and intriguing events hitting the headlines – many of which have featured in this column.
How many will you remember, though? The answers are at the end of the quiz - don't peak!
I’ve taken a look back at some of my favourite offbeat stories to set you this Quirky Quiz of 2019.
1 Piers Morgan cried on Good Morning Britain when forced to eat which tasty new pastry from Greggs?
2 Police had nothing to go on when raiders pinched a solid gold treasure worth £4.8million from Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. What was it?
3 Which legendary fashion designer left a chunk of his £153million fortune to his beloved moggie Choupette in his will?
4 What nickname did footballer’s wife Coleen Rooney get after planting fake stories on her Instagram account in a bid to catch a sneak?
5 Who arrived at No10 and gave Carrie Symonds a big wet kiss?
6 The Queen went to a meeting of Sandringham WI and took part in a special version of which TV quiz?
7 What is the name of the pet parrot of Sir Lindsay Hoyle the new Speaker of the House of Commons?
8 Why will JR Hartley now have to let his fingers do the walking on a computer keyboard if he wants to find a copy of his Fly Fishing book?
9 Count Binface, Lord Buckethead and a Muppet fought to become MP for Uxbridge and Hillingdon at the general election , but who beat them?
10 What were pupils at a school in Cumbria banned from wearing?
11 Which pop star had a botched tattoo that was meant to say “7 Rings” in Japanese but came out as “tiny BBQ grill.”
12 Jimmy Chipolata joined Nottingham University as its first official what?
13 Who taught us all how to “spark joy” by folding our knickers more neatly?
14 Where did 195 naturists set a world record for riding a roller coaster in the nuddie?
15 The first all-female space walk was cancelled when Nasa failed to take one small step. What were they short of?
16 What unusual task did Angela Kelly, the Queen’s dresser, confess to performing for Her Majesty?
17 Why did the Co-op’s new range of gingerbread figures please the PC police?
18 Which actress was accused of hypocrisy, actually, after jetting to London from L.A to join a climate change protest.
19 Why was Prince Andrew so Sure he wasn’t at a nightclub with a sex-trafficking victim and why doesn’t he need his Mum deodorant?
20 What May event did M&S mark with a special lettuce, guacamole, bacon and tomato sandwich?
21 According to a Radio Times survey, one in five people have pulled a sickie from work to do what?
22 What did Gwyneth Paltrow urge us all to get to spice up our love lives?
23 What are students banned from doing when guest speakers are welcomed to Oxford University?
24 Name the serial killer played by Jodie Comer in hit series Killing Eve?
25 What did Diane Abbott apologise for doing on a London train?
26 “For this issue I imagined, why would we swim in the shallow end of the pool when we could go to the deep end?” Who used this watery metaphor when she guest-edited Vogue magazine.
27 What is the name of Jeremy Corbyn ’s cat?
28 Which TV star came to regret his relationship with a barmaid this summer?
29 Kate and William revealed Prince Louis’s first word was the christian name of a national treasure. Who
30 Zola became an online sensation when a video emerged of her singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Who is Zola?
31 What TV show taught us about melts, fanny flutters and being mugged off?
32 In Cornwall, which sporting officials threatened to go on strike because of swearing and verbal abuse in the game?
33 Pop star Mel B caused a buzz by launching her own range of what?
34 In September, who finished what he started doing 32 years ago on Radio 4?
35 Which famous film director confessed to a foot fetish and included ten minutes of toe shots in his latest blockbuster?
36 Growing numbers of single men are owning cats and one in four say their feline friends take the pressure off finding a partner. What were these blokes dubbed?
37 On a prison visit the PM was shocked to see an X-ray of a lag with contraband stuffed up his backside – contained in what?
38 What did Olivia Colman say her husband stole from Buckingham Palace during a charity event?
39 Faro airport in Portugal was put on shutdown after pranksters snatched a priceless item from duty free. What was it?
40 Who got edited out of Home Alone 2 before it was shown on TV in Canada this Christmas?
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ANSWERS
1 Vegan sausage roll
2 Toilet
3 Karl Lagerfeld
4 Wagatha Christie
5 Dilyn the dog
6 Pointless
7 Boris
8 Yellow Pages went digital
9 Boris
10 Fake tan
12 Therapy dog
13 Marie Kondo
14 Blackpool
15 Female size space suits
16 Wearing in her shoes
17 They’re gender neutral
18 Dame Emma Thompson
19 Claims he can’t sweat
20 Pride
21 Binge-watch box sets
22 An Intimacy Coach
23 Clapping
24 Villanelle
25 Drinking a can of Mojito
26 Meghan, Duchess of Sussex
27 El Gato
28 Paul Hollywood
29 Mary Berry
30 A seal
31 Love Island
32 Bowls umpires
33 Sex toys
34 John Humphrys (quit Today)
35 Quentin Tarantino
36 Catchelors
37 A Kinder Egg
38 Loo roll
39 Cardboard cut out of Cliff Richard
40 Donald Trump
