Answers III

Answers to the quiz of the year 2020. Questions are repeated, so that you can use this page for a read-out quiz if you like.

1. Which Assembly met, on 11th January, for the first time following its election in May 2017?
   1. The Northern Ireland Assembly (it had been suspended since before that election)
2. On 13th January, Buckingham Palace gave assent to a “period of transition”.  What transition?
   1. The transition of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (Prince Harry and Meghan) out of being active members of the royal family (the event was dubbed “Megxit”)
3. Which notable fantasy cartographer died, aged 95, on 16th January?
   1. Christopher Tolkein (who drew the original maps for The Lord of the Rings)
4. On 5th February, who was acquitted of abuse of power?
   1. Donald Trump (he was also acquitted of obstruction of Congress)
5. The Academy Award for Best Picture was given for the first time, on 9^th February, to a film not in the English language.  In which language was the film made?
   1. Korean (the film was the South Korean film Parasite)
6. On 29th February, which country made all public transport free at the point of use?
   1. Luxembourg
7. On the next day, 1st March, which rail company was brought under the control of the UK Government, having previously been owned (ultimately) by the Government of Germany?
   1. Northern/Arriva Rail North (Arriva is owned by Deutsche Bahn)
8. Which chef, with an apt surname, died on 11th March?
   1. Michel Roux (Sr.)
9. On 23rd March, which US state abolished the death penalty, becoming the 22nd to do so?
   1. Colorado
10. Which store chain, that went into administration for the second time on 6^th April, was founded by William Clark in 1778?
    1. Debenhams
11. Who suspended his presidential campaign on 8th April, leaving Joe Biden as the presumptive Democratic nominee?
    1. Bernie Sanders
12. Which part of the Common Travel Area (roughly speaking, the British Isles) became the last part to legalise same-sex marriage, doing so on 23rd April?
    1. Sark (one of the Channel Islands: Northern Ireland did so in January/February)
13. On 6th May, the National Assembly for Wales was renamed to the “Welsh Parliament” in English, and to what in Welsh?
    1. Senedd Cymru
14. On 28th May, Royal Mail released a collection of stamps to commemorate the 60th anniversary of which television programme, which would take place later in the year?
    1. Coronation Street
15. On 30th May, two men rode a Dragon, setting off from a peninsula in Florida.  Where did they arrive the next day?
    1. The International Space Station (the mission was SpaceX Crew Dragon Demo-2, launching NASA astronauts from Cape Kennedy)
16. On 6th June, in a newly designated square in Washington, DC, protestors added three words, “Defund the Police”, to three words painted the previous day by the city council.  Which words did the city paint?
    1. “Black Lives Matter” (the square is Black Lives Matter Plaza NW)
17. On 15th June, a cat was found dead in London, having been killed by a car.  He had been the subject of nine books and a film, with another film released later in the year.  What was the cat’s name?
    1. Bob (the subject of A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen)
18. On 27th June, Micheál Martin replaced Leo Varadkar in which office, normally known in English by its name in another language?
    1. Taoiseach (head of government of Ireland; the word is an Irish word roughly translated as “chief” or “leader”)
19. On 15th July, a statue of Jen Reid by the artist Marc Quinn was placed on a recently-vacated plinth in a British city; it was removed by the council the next day.  Which city?
    1. Bristol (the plinth had been for the statue of the slaver Edward Colston, removed on 7th June by protestors)
20. Which American civil rights leader and congressman (who shared a name with a British department store) died on 17th July?
    1. John Lewis
21. On 30th July, it was announced that which book, once chosen by Alan Carr on Desert Island Discs, would be discontinued?
    1. The Argos catalogue
22. The actress Laila Morse, who plays Mo Harris in EastEnders, turned 75 on 1st August.  She was born one day too late ever to be eligible to receive what from her employer?
    1. A TV Licence (free licences for the over-75s were abolished on that day by the BBC)
23. On 13th August, Netflix announced that who would be the final Prince Philip in The Crown, replacing Tobias Menzies?
    1. Jonathan Pryce
24. On 27th August, who became the leader of the Liberal Democrats?
    1. Sir Ed Davey (beating Layla Moran by 63.5% to 36.5%)
25. On 4th September, which former Australian Prime Minister was controversially appointed to be a trade advisor to the Government of the United Kingdom?
    1. Tony Abbott
26. The longest-serving Prime Minister of which country resigned on 16th September, on health grounds?
    1. Japan (Shinzo Abe)
27. On 19th September, a 1634 edition of The Two Noble Kinsmen was discovered at the Royal Scots College in Spain.  The play is generally considered to have been written by John Fletcher, and which other playwright?
    1. William Shakespeare
28. On 1st October, the European Union announced that it had commenced legal action against the United Kingdom over which Bill of Parliament, which would (in amended form) become law in December?
    1. The Internal Market Bill (now the Internal Market Act 2020—they alleged that it broke international law by overriding parts of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement)
29. On 11th October, which male tennis player equalled the men’s record for most Grand Slam singles titles, when he won the French Open?
    1. Rafael Nadal
30. Which islands were declared to be free of land mines on 23rd October, 38 years after the mines were placed?
    1. The Falklands/Las Malvinas
31. Dominic Chappell was given a six-year prison sentence on 5th November, having been convicted of tax evasion.  Which department store chain did he once briefly and controversially own?
    1. BHS
32. He died on 8th November, having been the long-time host of a game show that is an American institution.
    1. Who is Alex Trebek?  (He hosted Jeopardy, in which contestants’ responses must be phrased as questions.)
33. On 15th November, Lewis Hamilton won the Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship for the seventh time.  Whose record did he equal by doing so?
    1. Michael Schumacher
34. Upon what did Nepal and China come to an official agreement on 8th December?
    1. The height of Mount Everest (its summit is 8,848.86m above sea level)
35. On 14th December, Jesy Nelson announced, citing her mental health, that she was leaving which musical group?
    1. Little Mix
36. Also on 14th December, the Electoral College of the United States officially cast its votes for President and Vice-President.  In 2016, ten electors were considered “faithless”, voting for someone to whom they were not pledged.  How many faithless electors were there this year?
    1. Zero