10:34am Wednesday 31st December 2008
By Claire Hack
We can but hope it will be, anyway.
As promised, the answers to the Big Fat Quiz are as follows:
1) The year didn't start too well for one Waltham Forest politician, who was the victim of a smear campaign. Name that politician.
Barry Smith, who suffered physical and verbal abuse after fellow politician Miranda Grell took electioneering too far.
2) Things looked brighter for George and Victoria as January wore on - they met, fell in love and moved in together. What's unusual about George and Victoria's love story?
George and Victoria are cats.
3) "We prayed for our lives on 'hell ride'" was the headline. What was the story?
The driver of a number 55 bus "snapped" and started speeding through rush hour traffic with terrified passengers trapped on board.
4) In February, a letter from Winston Churchill to Sir Wilfred Fish went up for auction, valued at £1,400. Who was Sir Wilfred Fish?
Churchill's dentist.
5) The first house in Waltham Forest to break the seven-figure price barrier went up for sale in March. How much was it going for?
£1.15million
6) Ivan Ilascu was jailed for four months after being caught "double shuffling". What's double shuffling?
Trying to go through Underground station barriers behind a paying customer, without paying.
7) In May, the news broke that the world famous Walthamstow Stadium had fallen victim to a bid from developers. When was it founded?
1933
8) "He is a professionally trained artist and has won awards for agility." Scriptwriter Libby Liburd, of Blackhorse Road, talks about finding the star of her film, Autograph Hunters. Who was the star?
Keane, a Jack Russell
9) Kind-hearted school caretaker Steve Patmore completed a 500-mile trek for charity. How much money did he spend along the way?
None - he travelled all the way from Great Ormond Street Hospital right here in the capital to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow without spending any money at all.
10) Name the sprinter and Chingford native who became the first British woman since 1984 to run in the Olympic 100m final at this year's Summer Games in Beijing.
Jeanette Kwakye
11) Daniel Murphy, the pearly king with a heart of gold, passed away in September. Where was his pearly realm?
Hackney
12) Onwards to autumn and the return of The X Factor. To which grumpy TV comedian did Simon Cowell compare Waltham Forest crooner Daniel Evans?
Ricky Gervais
13) How old was Danielle Carter when she made her international footballing debut in New Zealand?
15
14) Why did artist Damien Hirst threaten legal action against a Leytonstone teenager?
Copyright infringement - 17-year-old graffiti artist "Cartrain" (real name unknown) was threatened with being sued after he used images of Hirst's diamond-encrusted skull, entitled "For the Love of God", in some of his collage work. In 2007, Hirst was himself accused of plagiarising the idea from fellow artist John LeKay.
And that, as they say, is that.
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/trade_directory/