Here’s the 4th annual Bond Vigilantes quiz.  Twenty questions as usual, with one bonus point available – and in past years you didn’t always need a full house to win the prize.  The closing date for entries is midday on Friday 17th December. 

When we started giving away Amazon vouchers in 2008 the top prize was £100 and it was also £100 in 2009.  In the light of rising consumer prices we thought that this year we should increase it in line with inflation.  But which measure to use?  If we uplifted by the UK RPI the prize would be £104.50 – but what if an Irish client won?  It would be a windfall gain for them as their inflation rate justifies a prize of just £100.70.  If only we could get hold of Google’s new online consumer index, the GPI, which would be most appropriate and indicates a “very clear deflationary trend” – alas it’s not yet published.  So after much deliberation we are going to increase the top prize to £103.20, to help the government’s desired move away from the RPI and towards the lower CPI rate.  And like the government we need to make savings to finance our budgetary burden, so we decided that you are all in this together, and the second and third prizes have therefore been reduced in value somewhat (you get a copy each of The Big Short by Michael Lewis) with no fourth prize.  Entry details below.
 
1. Who overcomes his fear of flying and a drinking problem to win the love of an air stewardess on a flight from LA to Chicago?

2. Who is the world’s largest private sector employer?

3. Which Three Letter Acronym (TLA) links Scottish ski lifts, Innocent Smoothies and Pringles?

4. Which Scandinavian Billy has sold over 40 million units?

5. What was recorded in Lagos, won a Grammy and has a front cover that pictures Michael Parkinson dressed as a convict?

6. Please identify A, B, C and D

“A is not B” – Elena Salgado, A Finance minister, Feb 2010.
“C is not B” – the Economist, 22nd April 2010.
“D is not in B Territory” – D Finance Minister Brian Lenihan, November 2010.
“B is not D” – George Papaconstantinou, B Finance minister, 8th November 2010.
“A is neither D nor C” – Elena Salgado, A Finance minister, 16 November 2010.
“Neither A nor C is D” – Angel Gurria, Secretary-general OECD, 18th Nov 2010.

Bonus point, identify X and Y

“X is not Y” – Jan Winiecki X MPC member

7. Which word comes from the name of a cattle rancher who went against convention and didn’t brand his cows?

8. What is this?

9. What did you have to do to get into Morrissey’s first ever solo gig, back in 1988?

10. Why would it be wrong to call her Stacey, Jane or quiet girl?

11. What is the Chinese credit rating agency called, and what is its rating for the United States?

12. What is the Chinese name for this popular Dim Sum dish?

13. What do Vince Hilaire, Andre Previn (and the LSO), and Desmond Tutu have in common?

14. Who, collectively, are these guys?

15. ”Ireland stands as a shining example of the art of the possible in long-term economic policymaking, and that is why I am in Dublin: to listen and to learn.”  Who said that in February 2006?

16. ”Who is Jxxx Gxxx?” – the opening line of an old book that is influencial once again.  Fill in the blanks.

17. What will Marcus Trescothick get £1,000,000 for if he does it next year?

18. Which now famous grafitti artist orginally worked using the tag “SAMO”?

19. What was this dog called?


20. Complete the joke: “I’ve just bought a new aftershave that smells of breadcrumbs…”

To enter the competition, please click here  and to view the T&Cs, please click here .

The information we collect from you is used solely to to notify you should you win the competition.