Prize crossword / Christmas quiz

£50 Prize Crossword No. 11 Send entries to Prize crossword, RMT, Unity House, 39 Chalton Street, London NW1 1JD by January 14 with your name and address. Winner and solution in next issue. set by Elk PROTECTING AND PROMOTING OUR MEMBERS’ INTERESTS A LAW FIRM WITH A HEART? BAH, HUMBUG! FOR FREE LEGAL ASSISTANCE, CALL THE HELPLINE 0800 587 7516 in England, Wales and Ireland 0800 328 1014 in Scotland Seasons Greetings Although many of you will be working to ensure families are re-united for Christmas, everyone at Thompsons hopes you too get a rest Unlike other law firms, we are uniquely committed to the trade union movement and deliver a first-class legal service to injured members 13. Non-standard language (5) 15. One who serves or waits (9) 18. Queen or London palace (9) 19. Sweep the strings of a guitar to play chords (5) 21,28. Seasonal greeting, follows 9, 10 (5,3,4) 23. Constellation – Ursa Major (5,4) 25. OK – that should be easy! (2,7) 26. Red-breasted bird, often seen on 10 cards (5) 27. Momentum, incentive, impulse (7) 28. See 21 DOWN 1. Instrument for finding direc- tion (7) 2. Alice’s mad companion (5,4) 3. Similarity in sound of two or more words – as in poetry (5) 4. Man’s first name – or former Spurs star Steve (9) 5. Pop these to start celebrating (5) 6. A guitar like this would be difficult to 19 (2,7) 7. Citizen of ancient empire or modern capital (5) 8. Plum duff is the traditional one at 10 (7) 14. Contains the sauce for main course (5, 4) 16. Skilled (male?) worker or seller of wares (9) 17. Pleasant, enjoyable (9) 18. Ancient West African civili- sation - and golden stool - found here (7) 20. seafarer - Coleridge’s was very old (7) 22. Your toast will do this, when done (3, 2) 23. High winds (5) 24. Do this to a fit, or a snow- ball (5) Winner of prize crossword No. 10 is Mike Rose from Exmouth Last month’s solution ACROSS 1. Lakeland county (7) 5. Placed in the middle or focused on mid-point (7) 9, 10. Seasonal greeting (5,9) 11. Track and field sports (9) 12. Effective firing distance, or line (of mountains, say) (5) 36 The year in review 1. What was thrown at Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson by Arsenal players during the infamous “battle of the buffet” Old Trafford foodfight? a) Beer b) Pizza c) Peanuts d) All of the above 2. Viz Magazine celebrated which anniversary during 2004? a) 21 years b) 25 years c) 30 years 3. Runner Kelly Holmes twice struck gold for Britain over which distances at the Athens 2004 Olympics? 4. How many new member states joined the European Union this year? 5. Which British politician described allegations over his private life during 2004 as “an inverted pyramid of piffle”? 6. RMT unveiled a plaque this year dedicated to British rail workers and seafarers who sacrificed their lives during which war? 7. From which British newspaper did George Galloway win £150,000 libel damages this year? 8. Which African country celebrated its 10th anniversary of democracy during 2004? 9. Over which national team did Greece triumph in the final of football’s Euro 2004? 10. Mark Thatcher was arrested during 2004 over alleged links with a planned coup in which country? 11. Which 2004 British film comedy saw zombies rising in suburban London? 12. What is the name of the Cornish village hit by a freak flash flood on August 16, 2004? 13. Which cricket team beat England in the 2004 ICC Championship final? 14. Which country hands over the European Union presidency on December 31? 15. From which Caribbean nation was Jean-Bertrand Aristide deposed as President in a Washington-backed coup this year? 16. In the 2004 American Presidential election, which candidate won the state of California: Bush or Kerry? 17. Which head of state appeared in an episode of The Simpsons during 2004? 18. Which veteran New York punk guitarist, famed for songs such as Blitzkrieg Bop and Teenage Lobotomy, died in 2004? 19. Who won the Wimbledon 2004 Ladies title? 20. Which author won this year’s Booker Prize? 21. Which country was awarded the wooden spoon in the 2004 Rugby Union Six-Nations? 22. For which country did Ruslana win the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest? 23. Which horse won the 2004 Grand National? 24. Who sang the line: "Well, tonight thank God it's them instead of you" on Band Aid 2004? a) Bono b) Justin Hawkins (The Darkness) c) Shane Macgowan 25. Who replaced Mark Hughes as Wales football coach during 2004? General knowledge 26. What does the White represent in the Irish tricolour? 27. In the Peanuts cartoon strip, whose team always beats Charlie Brown’s at baseball? 28. How many miles of track are there on the British rail network? a) 23,000 miles b) 33,000 miles c) 43,000 miles 29. Harland & Wolff shipbuilders are based at which seaport? 30. Which UK shipping forecast area is situated furthest West? a) Hebrides b) Bailey c) Dogger 31. Who had a Christmas Number 1 hit with Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West) in 1971? 32. Who is the village chief in the French cartoon strip Asterix the Gaul? a) Getafix b) Vitalstatistix c) Dogmatix 33. Which year did British women win the right to vote? 34. Which UK rail service is nicknamed the Clockwork Orange? 35. By what name is the 12th Day of Christmas (January 6) also known? 36. The year 2005 marks the centenary of which of the following? a) Entente Cordiale signed between Britain and France b) Labour Representation Committee becomes the Labour Party c) Albert Einstein states that E=mc2 37. Which is the only London Underground station specifically named after a football team? 38. What year was the National Union of Railwaymen (forerunner of RMT) founded? a) 1886 b) 1899 c) 1913 39. Which voluminous opera singer haunts cartoon hero Tintin throughout Herge’s Adventures of Tintin? a) Calculus b) Haddock c) Castifiore 40. Jim Connell reputedly wrote the words to which famous song inspired by the 1889 dock strike, on a train journey from Charing Cross to New Cross, London? 41. Which famous actor died on Christmas Day, 1977? a) Charlie Chaplin b) James Stewart c) Elvis Presley 42. Which of the following is not a character in the board game Cluedo? a) Professor Plumb b) Baron von Beanz Meanz Heinz c) Colonel Mustard 43. Which country has the longest rail tunnel in the world? 44. By what name is Boxing Day better known in Ireland? 45. What is another name for a ship’s load mark? 46. At which Olympic Games did five-time champion rower Steve Redgrave win his first gold medal? 47. Which singer was born on Christmas Day, 1971? a) Dido b) Kylie Minogue c) Posh Spice 48. If you were positioned at 0º latitude and 0º longitude then where in the world would you be? a) Greenwich b) Atlantic Ocean c) Ghana 49. What is the name of a notorious sea current off Norway which has entered the English language as a word meaning a violent or turbulent situation? 50. If you collected all the presents given by “my true love” in the song, the 12 Days of Christmas, how many would you have? a) 78 b) 12 c) 256 d) 364 Questions set by Chris Kasrils The RMT Christmas quiz 37 Answers 1. (b) Pizza; 2. (b) 25 years; 3. 800 and 1,500 metres; 4.Ten; 5.Boris Johnson; 6. Spanish Civil War (1936-39); 7. Daily Telegraph; 8. South Africa; 9. Portugal; 10. Equatorial Guinea; 11. Shaun of the Dead; 12. Boscastle; 13. West Indies; 14. Holland; 15. Haiti; 16. Kerry; 17. Queen Elizabeth II; 18. Johnny Ramone; 19. Maria Sharapova; 20. Alan Hollinghurst (for The Line of Beauty); 21. Scotland; 22. Ukraine; 23. Amberleigh House; 24 .(a) Bono; 25. John Toshack; 26. Peace; 27. Peppermint Patty’s 28. (a) 23,000 miles; 29. Belfast; 30. (b) Bailey; 31. Benny Hill; 32. (b) Vitalstatistix; 33. 1918; 34. Glasgow underground; 35. Epiphany; 36. (c) Albert Einstein states that E=mc2; 37. Arsenal; 38. (c) 1913; 39. (c) Castifiore; 40. The Red Flag; 41. (a) Charlie Chaplin; 42. (b) Baron von Beanz Meanz Heinz; 43. Japan; 44. St Stephen’s Day. 45. Plimsoll line; 46. Los Angeles 1984; 47. (a) Dido; 48. Atlantic Ocean; 49. Maelstrom; 50. (d) 364.