Quiz Of The Year: Would you credit it?

1997: in which a high-flyer was brought down by a Twigg, and a venerable magazine published its first picture of a nude. But who were the perpetrators, and what other shocks made the headlines? William Hartston is master of ceremonies for the quiz of the year.

Month by month

A trip through the year to test your memory of some of the major - and minor - events from January to December.

1. January. Tony Bullimore featured prominently in the news this month. What did he do?

2. February. Scientists in Scotland cloned a sheep: what was its name?

3. March. How did an extra-terrestrial make Four become Five?

4. April. Which big cat couldn't be mastered in Augusta?

5. May. The number of Liberal Democrat MPs rose from 20 after the 1992 election to 46 this year; what was their change in percentage of the vote?

6. June. Which country's population increased by over 6.3m at the end of this month?

7. July. A robot explorer from the Pathfinder mission sent back photographs from which planet?

8. August. Which was the last country visited by Princess Diana in her campaign against landmines?

9. September. Which government minister admitted she is a lesbian?

10. October. Why did the Merchant of Buckingham shut up shop?

11. November. Who said to whom, "You're ghastly. Nobody likes you. You should resign."

12. December. How did Around the World in Eighty Days (or less) turn into Gone With The Wind?

Where in the world?

The general election and change of government dominated British news this year, but the rest of the world managed to keep going, too. Can you identify the locations of the following news items?

13. Why was Chances Peak in the Soufriere Hills in the news?

14. Of which country was Pamela Gordon elected Prime Minister?

15. King Michael returned to his home country for the first official visit in 50 years.

16. Which city won the right to stage the Olympic games in 2004?

17. Where did Mary beat Mary to follow Mary?

18. Which country's leader warned that the West might invade it for its watermelons?

19. In which country was it suggested that tourism might be improved by mass circumcision ceremonies?

20. Which country was invited to join the Commonwealth in August?

21. Where did Stephen Martin and David Mitchell walk to?

22. Where did a jumbo jet crash, killing 200?

Who on earth?

All of the subjects of these questions were famous for at least 15 minutes this year - but can you remember their names or why they were in the news?

23. What was the name of the driver who was killed alongside Princess Diana and Dodi al Fayed?

24. Who found a Spirit Level handy for his Whitbread?

25. What was the name of the judge in the Louise Woodward trial?

26. Which crime writer, who took her seat in the House of Lords this year, has a polar bear on her coat of arms?

27. Who was dropped from a Shredded Wheat advertising campaign because his marriage broke up?

28. Thrust SSC was the name of the car that broke the sound barrier; what was the name of its driver?

29. What do Sir Denis Rooke, Sir Norman Foster and Lord Denning have in common?

30. Who wrote Hapworth 16, 1924, his first novel for 34 years?

31. Who described whom as "the oldest young man in captivity"?

32. Jennifer Murray became the first woman to go round the world in a ... what?

Quotes of the year

If you want to do this the hard way, just read the quotes and try to identify who said them. But for a better chance of getting some of them right, try matching the quotations with the lists of male and female names given at the end.

He said:

Which men were quoted as making each of the following remarks?

33. "Obrazovaniye, obrazovaniye, obrazovaniye."

34. "I'm very frivolous, impatient and impulsive. I'd rather read cheap thrillers than Shakespeare."

35. "Appearing with the Spice Girls will give me enormous street cred."

36. "I'm not a saint. I never claimed to be a saint. My suits are not white, they're off-white."

37. "When the curtain falls, it's time to get off the stage."

38. "We should put the spin doctors in spin clinics, where they can meet other spin patients and be treated by spin consultants. The rest of us can get on with the proper democratic process."

39. "I am going to behave in a manner that is suitable and proper."

40. "The Blair government is so pure that its rarefied atmosphere makes ordinary mortals' noses bleed."

41. "Being Chancellor is not a woman's job. There is a difference between the sexes and people who don't know that don't know what people are like with their clothes off. So there."

42. "If I had my time again, I would like to take up archaeology."

Match the above quotes to the following names: a) Martin Bell, b) Tony Benn, c) Tony Blair, d) Richard Briers, e) Alan Clark, f) Sir John Gielgud, g) Lord Hattersley, h) Lord Healey, i) John Major, j) Bill Wyman.

She said:

43. "My husband just wanted to watch television, while I wanted to be on it."

44. "The English aristocracy is now only the middle class with knobs on."

45. "Every decent Essex household has a garden gnome."

46. "With every smell, I smell food. With every sight I see food. I can almost hear food. I want to spade the whole lot through my mouth at Mach 2. Basta!"

47. "[My husband] has taken to reading newspapers off the shelves in our local newsagent, but we always welcome copies of yesterday's from neighbours."

48. "I am not comfortable running around in the nude."

49. "A society which worships perfection of form instead of inner goodness is itself ugly and disfigured."

50. "I am very patient, so long as I get my own way in the end."

Match the above quotes to the following names:

a) Kim Basinger, b) Edwina Currie, c) Teresa Gorman, d) Christine Hamilton, e) Baroness Thatcher, f) Vivienne Westwood, g) Ann Widdecombe, h) The Duchess of York.

Winners

Some of the success stories of the year:

51. Which major event did Great Britain win in Munich in June?

52. Which world championship was won by Robbie Foldvari?

53. Which English batsman scored a double century in a Test match against Australia?

54. The UK won the Eurovision Song Contest; can you name the song or the singer?

55. Martina Hingis became the youngest winner of a tennis Grand Slam this century when she won the Australian Open. How old was she?

56. Who beat Stephen Hendry in the final of the world snooker championships?

57. Which book topped a Waterstone's poll of the hundred most highly regarded by British readers?

58. Who pronounced himself gobsmacked, when he learnt that he had won the Nobel Prize for Literature?

59. Which deity's minor items gained a major award?

60. Etienne Bacrot, at the age of 13, became the youngest ever... what?

Losers

Some of the less successful names of 1997

61. Which was the losing team in the FA Cup final?

62. Which former high-flyer was brought down to earth by a Twigg?

63. Which world champion was undone by colourful technology?

64. Who came last in the first round of the Conservative leadership election in June?

65. What was the unusual ending of the WBC world heavyweight fight between Lennox Lewis and Oliver McCall?

66. How did a cobbler lose out after running into a new town?

67. Who was banned after biting off more than he could chew?

68. Who lost in the men's singles final at Wimbledon?

69. From which organisation did a chief executive resign in May and a chairman in December?

70. Which sporting non-participant is in jail after the father of all tax bills?

Small Numbers

The answers to this set of questions are the numbers from zero to 12 - but which are which?

71. The number of prime ministers in the past 200 years younger than Tony Blair.

72. Leaders of the Conservative Party in the past 200 years younger than William Hague.

73. Oscars won by The English Patient.

74. Extramarital affairs Earl Spencer was accused of having.

75. Consecutive European Cup 100-metres victories for Linford Christie.

76. Beards in the cabinet.

77. Britons in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.

78. Novels by Frederick Forsyth - who says that Icon will be his last.

79. Chicken sandwiches sold every second in the UK.

80. Times round the world all the Barbie dolls ever sold would stretch.

81. Pounds you have to spend in 1997 to purchase what pounds 1 could buy in 1961.

82. Mistakes in the map of Europe on the new (now withdrawn) Italian 1000 lira coin.

83. Rises in interest rates since the general election.

Large Numbers

Another mix-and-match round. This time, the answers are 72, 77, 92, 101, 115, 151, 187, 179, 229, 279 - which are which?

84. Number of Labour women MPs elected on 1 May.

85. Days Louise Woodward spent in jail.

86. Overall Labour Majority.

87. Times a year the average French person makes love according to a survey by Durex.

88. Nominations for the cleanest public toilet in Singapore.

89. Minutes of television watched by the average Briton every day.

90. Countries that broadcast TV coverage of Miss World.

91. Sex-related questions posed to President Clinton by Paula Jones's lawyers.

92. Tory MPs who voted for William Hague in the final leadership ballot.

93. Runs scored by England in the first innings of the Lord's Test against Australia.

In Memoriam

This year, as every other, we mourned the loss of some well-loved figures. Who were the following people who died in 1997?

94. Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, by what name was she better known?

95. The cleric who wrote for children about trains.

96. The great cricketer who played for Arsenal.

97. The party leader who stood against David Mellor.

98. The quizmaster whose prizes rose in powers of two.

99. The editor of a Sunday newspaper for more than 30 years.

100. A man whose two names joined together to form a household appliance.

101. American leading man who starred in The Night of the Hunter.

102. Creator of the Daleks.

103. Creator of the world's most famous safety-pins.

104. A large father named Shirley.

105. A great thinker who combined an Old Testament prophet with a capital city.

And finally...

106. Which BBC programme was described by a former producer as "a ferment of greed, sexual passion and family discord, racial hatred and rampant, radical feminism"?

107. Whose Great Apes have been helped by taking drugs in a lavatory?

108. What brightened our horizons with a visit in the early part of the year but will not be seen again in our lifetimes?

109. Where could you find fluff, dust, burnt wood, a skeleton, 26 policemen, and noisy, coloured cushions?

110. Who was chosen to succeed Ray Reardon as chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association?

111. Ricky Green ate five scrambled eggs, four sausage patties, eight slices of toast, six bacon slices and four pints of milk in Texas. What happened next?

112. How did 55 errors make 2 increase to 21,556?

113. Which 55 years' accumulated achievement was snuffed out in 37 days?

114. Where will a new portrait of the Queen by Ian Rank-Broadley be on show next year?

115. Which magazine celebrated its centenary by publishing its first nudes?

ANSWERS

Month-by-month

1. Survived for five days in an air pocket beneath his upturned yacht in the South Pacific.

2. Dolly.

3. Channel 5, the fifth terrestrial channel, began broadcasting on 30 March.

4. Tiger Woods won the US Masters Golf.

5. Down from 17.9 to 16.8.

6. China, when Britain's lease on Hong Kong ran out.

7. Mars.

8. Bosnia.

9. Angela Eagle.

10. Piers Merchant resigned after newspaper reports of an affair with an 18 year old.

11. Harry Enfield to Peter Mandelson.

12. Richard Branson's round-the-world balloon attempt was abandoned when his balloon was blown away.

Where in the world?

13. It is the Montserrat volcano that erupted.

14. Bermuda.

15. Romania.

16. Athens.

17. The Irish Republic, where Mary McAleese defeated Mary Banotti in the election to succeed Mary Robinson.

18. Libya.

19. Malaysia.

20. Israel.

21. The North Pole - the first Britons to walk there unaided.

22. Guam.

Who on earth?

23. Henri Paul.

24. Seamus Heaney won the Whitbread Book of the Year award for The Spirit Level.

25. Hiller Zobel.

26. Ruth Rendell.

27. Glenn Hoddle.

28. Andy Green.

29. All were elevated to the Order of Merit.

30. J D Salinger.

31. Julian Critchley so described William Hague.

32. Helicopter.

He said

33. Tony Blair when taking part in a Russian soap opera.

34. Sir John Gielgud.

35. Richard Briers.

36. Martin Bell.

37. John Major.

38. Tony Benn.

39. Alan Clark.

40. Lord Hattersley.

41. Lord Healey.

42. Bill Wyman.

She said

43. Edwina Currie.

44. Vivienne Westwood.

45. Teresa Gorman.

46. The Duchess of York.

47. Christine Hamilton.

48. Kim Basinger.

49. Ann Widdecombe.

50. Baroness Thatcher.

Winners

51. European Cup Athletics.

52. Billiards World Matchplay.

53. Nasser Hussein.

54. "Love Shine a Light", by Katrina and the Waves.

55. 16.

56. Ken Doherty.

57. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.

58. Dario Fo.

59. The God of Small Things won the Booker Prize for Arundhati Roy.

60. Chess grandmaster.

Losers

61. Middlesbrough.

62. Michael Portillo.

63. Garry Kasparov beaten by Deep Blue.

64. Michael Howard.

65. McCall broke down in tears and wouldn't continue.

66. Michael Schumacher (shoe-maker) lost his chances of winning the world motor racing championship after colliding with Jacques Villeneuve (new town) in the Spanish Grand Prix.

67. Mike Tyson.

68. Cedric Pioline.

69. Royal Opera House.

70. Peter Graf, father of Steffi.

Small Numbers

71. 1

72. 0

73. 9

74. 12

75. 8

76. 3

77. 2

78. 10

79. 6

80. 7

81. 11

82. 4

83. 5

Large Numbers

84. 101

85. 279

86. 79

87. 151

88. 187

89. 229

90. 115

91. 72

92. 92

93. 77

In Memoriam

94. Mother Teresa.

95. Rev Wilbert Awdry, creator of Thomas the Tank Engine.

96. Denis Compton.

97. Sir James Goldsmith.

98. Hughie Green, host of Double Your Money.

99. John Junor.

100. Ken Wood.

101. Robert Mitchum.

102. Terry Nation.

103. Gianni Versace.

104. The wrestler Shirley Crabtree, also known as Big Daddy.

105. Sir Isaiah Berlin.

And finally ...

106. The Archers.

107. Will Self's novel Great Apes gained extra publicity when its author was accused of drug-taking on John Major's plane.

108. The comet Hale-Bopp.

109. The short-list for the Turner Prize.

110. Jeffrey Archer.

111. He was executed. That was his chosen last meal.

112. The LibDem majority at Winchester, after a re-run caused by the discovery of 55 faulty ballot papers.

113. The sales of Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" were overtaken by Elton's "Candle in the Wind".

114. On our coins.

115. Country Life.