Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

You'd think these people had never seen snow before! (The snowmen with guitars I find particularly unnerving.) Yes, Britain grinds to a halt and stares in wonderment saying "What is this cold, white substance mysteriously falling out of the sky? It must be a miracle!"

Er, no. It's not a miracle. It's called weather.

Apparently it's the "biggest snowfall for 7 years" This does not excite me. What do they want us to say? Shit! Seven years! I was, gosh, only 19 then! It's not got quite the same ring as, say, "biggest snowfall since 1650", and anyway, it's not like we're lighting bonfires on the Thames. All it means is we need to wait three times as long for a tube and I fell flat on my arse sliding down Queen's Crescent. (That must have looked silly.) It's also bollocks. I remember making Snow Angels (I know, I have such a full and exciting life) in St James Park in 2003. I'm sure you couldn't have done that with yesterday's pitiful offering, which had all but disappeared by the time I left Back Hill at lunchtime.

Schools have closed, on the basis that children might hurt themselves in the snow. This reasoning is based on the notion that, without school to go to, children will sit safely snuggled up at home gazing in awe at the snow through their windows, and will not be, say, hurling snowballs at each other, the 46 bus (we were hit by 5 different troupes of children on the way in - I told you everyone hated the 46 bus) or, indeed, engaging in more traditional pastimes such as shoplifting and nicking cars.

Speaking of lunch (I kind of was earlier. Come on, keep up!) my boss seems to think I am somehow aiming at becoming a Size 0 model, and has taken to asking me what I've eaten for breakfast. A slice of toast, since you ask, followed by chocolate mini bites at work. Not very Prada, if you ask me.

As I have no other news, and interaction on this blog has dropped to an all-time low this week, I thought I'd try out my quiz on you. There are no trick questions - it's designed to try and give our Night Shelter guests something to do, and indeed, something to do that doesn't involve hitting each other or nicking our spoons. Answers on a postcard, or, failing that, my comments page.

Have a good weekend.

Night Shelter Quiz

Film and TV
1. Who wrote “A Prairie Home Companion”?
2. Tony Blair, Mel Gibson, Richard Gere, REM, Ian McKellan, Aerosmith and The Red Hot Chilli Peppers have all appeared as characters where?
3. Which film includes the line “You’re only supposed to blow the bloody doors off”?
4. Who are Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po?
5. Laurence Fishburne had his first major film role in which 1979 film?
6. Which TV series features a detective with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?
7. Who was the other male lead alongside Bing Crosy in “White Christmas”?
8. Ben Elton, Rik Mayall and Lise Mayer co-wrote which cult TV series?
9. Which was the first colour film to win the Best Picture Oscar?
10. Michael Palin, John Cleese, Kevin Kline and Jamie Lee Curtis co-starred in which 1988 film?

Music
1. Reg Dwight is the real name of which singer/songwriter?
2. Which song starts with the line “breaking rocks in the hot sun”?
3. “Penny Lane” was on one side of a double-A. What was on the other?
4. Who can be seen playing mandolin in the video of “Maggie May”?
5. In their 1967 hit, the Monkees took the last train to where?
6. Which song starts “They paved Paradise, put up a parking lot”?
7. Which act, representing the UK, won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1997?
8. Who has daughters called Fifi Trixibelle and Peaches?
9. Which singer became famous through Myspace with “Smile”?
10. “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles” has become the theme song for which football team?


Sport
1. Who plays at Valley Parade?
2. Which famous racehorse died in November 2006?
3. Which cricketer was nicknamed “The Cat”
4. How long is the Great North Run?
5. Which team is known as The Blades?
6. The Indianapolis Colts recently beat which team to win the Super Bowl?
7. What is the nickname of champion boxer Ricky Hatton?
8. How many pockets does a snooker table have?
9. Where were the Winter Olympics held in 1994?
10. In golf, US Masters Champion Vijay Singh is from which country?

General Knowledge
1. What is the largest building in the United States?
2. What is the capital of Australia?
3. What was John Wayne’s real name?
4. Which extinct creature got its name from the Portuguese word for “stupid”?
5. How do you say “No Worries” in Swahili?
6. In which year did the Euro first become official useable currency?
7. According to Douglas Adams, what is the answer to the Meaning of Life?
8. The streets of Atlantic City were used in the first official version of what?
9. On the periodic table, Pb is the symbol for which element?
10. What were Little Boy and Fat Man?