Last night at the Christmas Party, I did a quiz for the Shiny Media staff. On request, here are the questions from the general knowledge round. Remember, they didn't have access to Google or Wikepedia...

1. What is the name of Tin Tin's dog?

2. On a Monopoly board, what colour is The Angel Islington?

3. Margaret, Josephine, Elizabeth and Amy March are better known as what?

4. Brompton Road, South Harrow and York Road are closed stations on which Tube line?

5. The Piazza San Marco is a famous square in which city?

6. Who presented the MTV Video Music Awards this year?

8. In which area of London did Tim Bisley and Daisy Steiner live?

9. From 1600 – 1854 only one European nation could trade with Japan. Who was it?

10. John Everett Millais, Frederic George Stephens,and Thomas Woolner were part of which artistic movement?

11. Which 19th-century French author's grandmother was a former Afro-Caribbean slave?

12. Name all the original Thundercats.

13. Which three teams were relegated from the Barclay's premiership last season?

14. Which artist & designer famously added graffiti to Louis Vuitton bags shortly before his death?

15. Chlorine, Bromine and Iodine are part of which group of elements?

16. Who won the 'Best Actress' award at the 2008 Academy Awards?

17. In 2004, who dumped her boyfriend of 43 years for a surfer called Blaine?

18. What is a Shrike?

19. Which American post-modern author, the writer of Infinite Jest, hung himself earlier this year?

20. What was the name of the home of the Gods in Norse mythology?

21. Which group are Scott Summers, Bobby Drake and Hank McCoy part of?

22. What does DHTML stand for?

23. What marmalade substitute did Paddington Bear recently try in his sandwiches?

24. George Bailey is the main character in which festive film?

25. George Bush, Cameron Diaz, Eliza Dushku and Kelly McAuliffe...who's the odd one out and why?

I've just experienced my first real flat-related emergency. The radiator leaked. All over the living room carpet. This was a disaster waiting to happen, as there'd apparently been a tiny leak to the flat below for a while, but my plumber and the downstairs landlord hadn't been able to communicate efficiently enough to get it looked. So my brand new boiler conked out (again) and then this happened...


Fun, isn't it! Luckily, because my boiler was new when I moved in, the water was clean (apart from that rusty bit around the pipe) so when this dries, it shouldn't be too bad. Most of the 'staining' is just where it's wet, rather than dirty. On the upside, I do now have a boiler that works and radiators that have been freshly bled. On the downside I have a sofa and table out of action, and a tiny fan heater sucking up electricity as it dries this carpet in sections.

I'm currently taking votes on how long it'll take for the whole thing to dry out completely. I'm going with four days. You?

A few quick tips for up and coming online shops / ebay sellers photographing clothes to sell...

1) Get a steamer. Really. Clothes look better when they're not creased to hell.
2) Stop making your models stand like morons.
3) Don't belt things that are empire line. We want to see how they hang normally.
4) Don't belt things that don't come WITH the belt. It's false advertising!
5) Don't photograph things on clear plastic mannequins, ever.
6) Seriously...get a steamer. Or even an IRON!

It amazes me how many decent shops have ridiculously shoddy photography. Theoretically, the clothes should look better in the photos than they do in real life, not the other way around.