A Who What Where When and Why UK Quiz

Answer: Boris Johnson

In 2019 Boris Johnson became leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party, succeeding Theresa May. In the United Kingdom, the leader of the party that wins an overall majority of seats in a parliamentary General Election becomes prime minister. Johnson had been the popular choice of Conservative Party members. He called a general election late in 2019 and won with a majority of 80 seats in the House of Commons.

Johnson was a fervent supporter of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union. That had been decided by a referendum in 2016. How the leaving agreement was to be achieved was the core of the general election campaign. That goal came into reality on December 31, 2020.

Answer: Wiltshire

No one quite knows how it was built. The stone circle is made up of rocks not associated with Wiltshire in the south west of England.

The 100 massive upright stones placed in a circular layout date to about 3000BC. One theory is that it was a burial site and monument to the dead. Some believe it was built by ancient Druids to worship the sun.

Answer: Danelaw

The first Viking raids took place in the Eastern and north eastern areas of England in the late 8th Century. The raiders were after easy targets of treasure and artefacts found at monasteries and churches. But while plunder may have been the early attraction, many of the raiders settled down in the east and north of England.

In the 9th Century the Vikings were defeated by a union of Anglo-Saxon people under King Alfred The Great. Although the Battle of Edington in 878 had been a victory for Alfred, he sought to end the wars against the Vikings through the Treaty of Wedmore. This divided England into Anglo Saxon and Viking areas.

Viking raids did not stop, however, and several more took place until 1066 when King Harold , the last Anglo Saxon king of England, defeated a Viking army at the battle of Stamford Bridge.

The raiders and settlers left their mark on places such as Grimsby and Scunthorpe, names that come from the Viking languages.

Answer: Sixth Century AD

It is thought that Christianity came to the western islands off the coast of mainland Europe through Roman artisans and traders who knew of the story of Jesus from their homeland. The Romans, as we know, were not, early on, well disposed towards Christianity. They believed in their several gods: the followers of Christ preached a belief in one God.

Away from the Roman-dominated areas of England and Wales, Christianity grabbed a foothold in Ireland. From there Columba (spellings differ) brought his brand of Christianity to the British mainland.

From about 313AD, Christianity became more tolerated in Rome, after years of repression. In 597 Augustine (Saint Augustine) brought a mission from Rome to convert the Anglo-Saxon people of England to Christianity In that year, Ethelbert became the first king of England to be converted to Christianity. His wife, Queen Bertha was already a Christian. Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury.

Answer: To test his eyes

Dominic Cummings was the man with the power behind British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. He was the strategiser who planned the PM's decisions. Did he have too much power? Many people thought so. It is fair to say that a great many people disliked him.

This was a man who had once been held in contempt of Parliament, yet was working day and daily at Number 10 Downing Street. When the Covid-19 pandemic struck the government brought in a raft of guidance and regulations that people should adhere to. One such measure was that people should stay at home and not travel unnecessarily.

At the end of March, Cummings and his wife became ill with suspected C-19 symptoms. They decided that rather than stay at their London home, they would drive to his parents' home in Durham so that their son could be cared for. After a time there, they were spotted in the small town of Barnard's Castle.

When the news emerged, fury erupted that a senior adviser to the PM had 'broken' the rules. When queried about this, Cummings said he had made the short trip to "test his eyes" to see if he was capable of driving back to London. Cummings was totally unrepentant and unapologetic when he appeared at a bizarre press conference in the garden of 10 Downing Street. He insisted he had done nothing wrong.

Despite his protestations, many critics felt this was the moment when the public's trust in officials had broken down. They alleged that adherence to the lockdown was never as rigid afterwards. Boris Johnson, the prime minister, stuck by Cummings for several months, before eventually Cummings quit.

Answer: Winston Churchill

Born in 1874, Winston Churchill had a varied life as a young man. He was a soldier and war correspondent before being elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) in 1900 for the Conservative Party. He changed allegiance to the Liberals and became First Lord of the Admiralty.

In this position he was heavily criticised for backing the Gallipoli campaign in WWI. It was to be a disaster and cost the lives of many thousand British, Australian, and New Zealand troops, as well, of course, as Turkish defenders. He resigned and went to serve with his army unit in France.

Between the wars he returned to the Conservative Party but lost his seat in 1929. In 1940 he became prime minister and Minister for Defence in an all-party coalition government. As leader of the undefeated Britain, Churchill became a figurehead for defiance. His stirring speeches raised the morale of the British people.

In 1945, he was put out of office when the Conservatives were defeated by Labour. In 1951 he was back in office as PM, serving for four years until he retired through ill health. Churchill's legacy was secured by his wartime leadership. He died in 1965. In 2002, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) aired a series called "100 Greatest Britons". Churchill was placed top in a vote by viewers.

Answer: Grow fruit and vegetables

In many cites in the United Kingdom, people do not have enough space for a private garden at their homes. To ease this, local authorities provide allotments: areas of land fenced off and reserved so the people can plant and grow their own fruit and vegetables. This is seen as valuable space for people to both grow their own produce and to get some relaxation. Having a number of gardeners in close proximity also engenders a degree of competition to see who can grow the largest marrow or cucumber, or the reddest tomatoes.

In England alone in 2020 an estimated 330,000 allotments were in operation. The average individual allotment was about the same size as a tennis court.

Answer: Derry/Londonderry

Completed in 1619, the walls around Derry were to prove their value. The city was attacked and came under siege several times, but was never taken.

The walls are entirely intact, even if the wooden gates have long gone. It is possible to walk right around the walls and see some of the cannon that have been preserved.

Answer: 1666

London suffered two catastrophes in the mid 17th Century, a plague and a fire.

An old rhyme taught to remind kids of the dates ran:
"In sixteen hundred and sixty-five there was hardly anyone left alive
In sixteen hundred and sixty-six, London burnt like rotten sticks." (There are variations).

In the space of about 18 months, 100,000 people, about a quarter of London's population, was killed by bubonic plague. The commonly-held cause - now subject to dispute - was fleas from rats.

Ironically, the disastrous fire that followed in 1666 helped put a stop to the plague. While it destroyed much of the centre of the city, it killed off the rats. The fire broke out in a bakery at Pudding Lane in September 1666. It started on a Sunday morning and was not brought under control until the following Thursday. Remarkably, for all the damage, only six deaths were recorded.

Answer: New discovery on DNA molecule

The work of English physicist Francis Crick and his American biologist colleague James Watson in London and Cambridge in 1953 paved the way for many scientific advances. In particular, they realised that the DNA molecule took the form of a three-dimensional double helix.

They were not the originators of he DNA principle. That had been started off by by Swiss chemist Friedrich Miescher in the late 1860s. Further discoveries by others set the foundations for Crick and Watson.