The Times Daily Quiz: Thursday May 1, 2025
2 A 'lactescent' mammal secretes which liquid?
3 In 1791, HMS Pandora reached Tahiti and arrested 14 of which ship's mutineers?
4 Elizabeth Barton, the 'Holy Maid of Kent', was executed for prophesying against Henry VIII's marriage to whom?
5 Who is the Labour MP for Holborn and St Pancras?
6 Taipoxin is purified from the venom of the Australian … what?
7 Which radio DJ's autobiography, Margrave of the Marshes (2005), was completed by his wife, Sheila Ravenscroft?
8 Orson Scott Card's 2001 Women of Genesis novel Rebekah follows the story of which Hebrew patriarch?
9 Real Gone Kid was a 1988 hit for which Scottish band?
10 The House of Glücksburg has ruled which Scandinavian country since 1905?
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Spectator
2 hours ago
- Spectator
Britain needs Peter Mannion MP
The current Labour government grows ever more farcical. Despite its promise to 'tread lightly' on people's lives, we've seen war declared on farmers, private schools, pubs, humour at work and even allotment owners. This week came the news that drivers over the age of 70 must take compulsory driving tests, with a mandatory ban if they fail – presumably so that, when younger relatives start ushering them towards the 'assisted dying' clinic, they won't be able to make a quick getaway. Starmer, on winning the election, promised the 'sunlight of hope', yet things have rarely felt gloomier. Rachel Reeves may have wept for the nation in parliament last month, but its miseries are so often of her devising. You can't help wondering what The Thick of It would make of it all. In Armando Iannucci's satire on 21st-century politics, which ran from 2005–2012, ludicrous policies like the above, some of them apparently dreamt up on the hoof, might have been all in a day's work for characters like Labour MP Nicola Murray (Rebecca Front) – whose greatest policy idea is wooden toys – or Lib Dem Fergus Williams (who buys a bank 'out of social embarrassment'). But how would Peter Mannion MP, the series' urbane, likeable Tory, react to them? Mannion (as played by RSC stalwart Roger Allam) is an old-school Conservative from the Major or late-Thatcher era. He studied classics at university, still smokes and, though married, has the mandatory lovechild with a parliamentary colleague. Increasingly adrift in the 21st century, Mannion is an analogue politician in a digital world. Dressed stubbornly in suit and tie, he winces at phrases like 'silicone playground' and can't even grapple with the functions on his Nokia dumbphone ('Is this 'settings'? I think I've just taken a photo of my feet'). Called a 'digitard' by one character, he's described by another as being 'tuned 24/7 to the Yesterday Channel watching Cash in the Attic and wondering why it's taking place inside his head'. Much of the comedy in Mannion's scenes comes from seeing this relatively dignified politician (apparently based on David Davis, but with an obvious smattering of Ken Clarke as well) wrestle with the new touchy-feely, hug-a-hoodie inanities of David Cameron's Conservative rebranding. 'I'm modern!' he protests at one point. 'I say 'black' instead of 'coloured'. I think women are a good thing. I have no problems with gays – many of them are very well turned out, especially the men. Why is it this last year I'm being made to feel as if I'm always two steps behind, like I can't programme a video or convert everything back to old money?' 'You've still got a video?' his aide asks incredulously. Mannion is a Victor Meldrew before his time, a man tormented to a state of anguish by the sheer silliness of modern life. He is endlessly afflicted by spin doctors and spads who feel the most useful thing he can do is take his tie off; by newspapers which catch him smoking or holding (catastrophically) a bottle of champagne; by members of the public who leave toxic comments on his blog ('You always have a pained expression on your face. Do you take it up the chutney?'). Frequently, losing his cool, he starts to spit out strings of expletives (you need to hear Allam, a classical actor with a voice as beautiful as Michael Gambon's, snarling the f-word to realise how it's done or why that word even exists). In calmer moments, he lapses into an ironic lethargy several steps beyond despair as though, realising the futility of his existence, there is little else to do but make drawling, jaded asides about it. In a post-Blair world of 'uniparty' soundbites and 'caring' initiatives, conservatism itself seems to be collapsing. Asked by Tory director of communications Stewart Pearson – the bane of his life, whose mission is to 'detoxify' the Tory brand – if he's 'up to speed' with the 'new line', Mannion lapses into sarcasm: Well, I don't know, am I? Because I get people stopping me in the street and saying 'Are you still for locking up yobbos?' and I say 'Yeah, of course we are!' And then I think, are we? Because maybe I missed a memo from you. Maybe I should understand yobbos now… or not even call them yobbos. Call them young men with issues around stabbing. If Mannion, with his grey suits and black sense of humour, represents an age of lost common sense, Stewart Pearson (Vincent Franklin) is the man who has no intention of finding it. A kind of walking rainbow flag, always dressed in brightly coloured shirts (untucked and open two buttons), Pearson is the coming era made flesh. He's the kind of man (we all know them) who drinks ginseng tea, wears a high-visibility tabard to ride a bike, and whose dementing natural habitat is the whiteboard brainstorming session: 'Let's architecturalise this… Let's graphicise and three-dimensionalise our response… Time is a leash on the dog of ideas.' 'What was that word I used this morning?' he demands of Mannion at one point. 'You used a lot of words,' says Mannion wearily. 'It was like a fucking Will Self lecture.' The Thick of It ended in 2012 – a year or two before 'woke' came in to land – but now and then you find it deliciously ahead of the curve. In an episode of series 4, Mannion is summoned by Stewart to attend an out-of-town 'thought bubble' group seminar – the kind of life-sapping, compulsory, organised infantilisation we're now accustomed to from our betters. At one point, the characters take part in a 20-questions bonding game where they must guess the political concept written on their foreheads. Mannion, with the word 'inclusivity' flapping above his eyes on a Post-It note, asks a series of increasingly exasperated questions. 'Am I a sensible, solid concept?' ('No'). 'Would I be comfortable talking to Andrew Marr about this concept on television?' ('No'). 'Am I 'diversity'?' 'Oh for fuck's sake,' he snaps when he rips off the label. 'Inclusivity's practically the same as diversity.' Did the writers know then that in the coming decade these two abstract nouns would batter us over the head until we were gurgling in prone stupefaction? Or that the age of Stewart Pearson – that era of bullying power-play shrouded in bright primary colours – had barely begun? Most of us these days have become some form of Peter Mannion – looking at the wreckage of things we once believed in (Radio 4, the sanctity of certain prizes, Oxbridge, the National Trust, you name it) and, like him, asking in bewilderment: 'How the sow's tits did this happen? Nothing matters any more. Politics, faith, values, whatever your thing is. Nothing.' How would Mannion have survived an era of take-the-knee, pronoun badges and rainbow lanyards, or reacted to a government bent on destroying all that he and his supporters hold most dear? It's certainly kinder to him – though a loss to the viewer – that we were never allowed to find out.
Scottish Sun
5 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Bianca Censori spills out of plunging silver thong bodysuit while trapped inside bubble in copycat Kim Kardashian look
Bianca and her rapper husband Kanye West hit back at split rumors BUBBLE OVER Bianca Censori spills out of plunging silver thong bodysuit while trapped inside bubble in copycat Kim Kardashian look BIANCA Censori left very little to the imagination in a plunging silver bodysuit inside a giant bubble. The Australian designer, 30, has become known for her very risque outfits - from her nearly naked dress at the 2025 Grammy Awards to regularly stepping out in fishnet stockings and thong bodysuits. Advertisement 6 Bianca Censori spilled out of plunging silver bodysuit for a new shoot Credit: Instagram/BiancaCensori/gadirrajab 6 The Australian designer was seen rolling around in a plastic ball Credit: Instagram/BiancaCensori/gadirrajab 6 Bianca posed in various positions in a pair of silver stilettos Credit: Instagram/BiancaCensori/gadirrajab 6 Kim Kardashian wowed in a silver swimsuit in 2019 Credit: Instagram 6 Kim sizzled in this silver bodysuit in 2022 Credit: Tiffany & Co/indiana420 And it looked like she was pushing boundaries once again with her latest shoot. Bianca slipped into a tiny silver one-piece and flashed her bum and toned legs. She posed for a series of snaps in various positions on the floor wearing a matching pair killer stilettos. Bianca then seen rolling around in a big plastic ball as she put her sideboob on display. Advertisement She had her dark tresses loose over her shoulders and partly covering her face. The star was seen looking away from the camera and seen bending all over the floor. Bianca looked similar to her rapper husband Kanye West's ex wife Kim Kardashian, who has previously sported a similar look. Kim once dazzled in a silver metallic swimsuit on a beach holiday with daughter Chicago West in 2019, and again in 2022. Advertisement SPLIT FEARS The new photos come after Bianca and Kanye hit back at split rumors by putting on an over-the-top PDA display as the couple got intimate at a South Korea party last month. The pair appeared to take a dip at the knees as his body began to lower onto hers whilst she stuck her tongue out playfully. Kanye West and Bianca Censori tangle tongues in over-the-top PDA at South Korean party ahead of his concert Holding her tongue over the rapper's mouth, he soon stuck his own out as they caressed each other with their tongues in a public open-mouth kiss. Bianca appeared to be wearing a skimpy see-through top whilst Kanye kept his eyes hidden by a pair of shades. Advertisement The couple haven't been spotted out in public as much over the last few weeks with Bianca instead turning up the head with a slew of seductive posts in barely-there underwear and outfits on Instagram. The Aussie model has been sharing several sets of Polaroid photos taken by her husband of late. In all of the snaps, Bianca is stood in front of a white backdrop while showing off her famous curves. This November will mark the couple's third wedding anniversary. Advertisement Shortly after Kanye's divorce from Kim Kardashian in 2022, the rapper began dating Bianca. The pair then got hitched just days after his divorce from the SKIMS founder was finalized. Since their nuptials, Kanye and Bianca often step out in sizzling and NSFW displays - often sparking backlash from the public and fans online. Bianca is often seen wearing very little clothing, and has her breasts and private regions on display while out and about. Advertisement Bianca Censori and Kanye West's relationship Bianca Censori was born on January 5, 1995, in Melbourne, Australia Before her current full-time job, the 30-year-old started a jewelry company called Nylons after leaving high school. After working as a student architect for three years, she completed a master's degree between 2019 and 2020 ahead of moving to Los Angeles. In a radio interview, a childhood friend of Bianca's claimed that Kanye slid into her DMs on Instagram. The rapper reportedly said, "Come and work for me." At which point she says the designer moved to LA to join his company Yeezy as the "head of architecture" - and has been since November 2020. WEDDING BELLS On Friday, October 6, 2023, The Daily Mail reported Kanye and Bianca wed on December 20, 2022. The couple tied the knot under a "confidential marriage license" in the state of California. The two wed in Palo Alto, California, according to the document. The wedding came just one month after Kanye and Kim Kardashian finalized their divorce.
Time Out
9 hours ago
- Time Out
Neil Perry's new restaurant, brought to life in Song Bird's former nest, serves Italian classics with a side of la dolce vita
If the name 'Gran Torino' rings a bell, you might be thinking of the vintage car or the Clint Eastwood movie by the same name. But now, there's another reason to remember it: Neil Perry's latest restaurant. Taking over the former home of his Cantonese diner Song Bird in the heritage-listed Gaden House in Double Bay – which recently had its final flight less than a year after its shiny big opening – Gran Torino serves up Italian classics with a modern Australian spin and that unmistakable Perry polish. Gran Torino is a one-minute walk from Perry's cream-accented flagship diner Margaret – voted the second-best steak restaurant in the world – as well as his casual outpost Next Door (get the burge r) and excellent bakery, Baker Bleu. The elegant two-storey dining room has been reimagined by long-time collaborators, fashion designer Collette Dinnigan and food photographer Earl Carter. Think bold red accents and striking black-and-white photographs from the 1950s and '60s that adorn the walls and add a touch of la dolce vita The menu, crafted by Perry with executive chef Richard Purdue (Margaret, ex- Rockpool, ex- Rosetta) and Margaret's current head chef Ervin Mumajesi, champions seasonal produce from Perry's trusted local suppliers. Dishes are kept authentic to highlight the freshest seafood and prime cuts of meat. Perry says: 'The basis of all Italian cooking is to work with the seasons, so Gran Torino's menu will reflect what's available at the market each day. Antipasti and pasta to begin, followed by seafood and meat for mains. To be cooking these dishes in this beautiful dining room just feels right.' Go with Perry's rec and kick things off with antipasti – the bresaola using thinly sliced Mishima beef topped with Reggiano, or the shaved raw artichokes and fennel, are our picks. Move on to house-made pasta like the pumpkin tortelli with burnt butter, the tagliolini with blue swimmer crab, or the agnolotti del plin that's stuffed with veal and guinea fowl (plin means 'pinch' and refers to the way the pasta is sealed). For mains, how about a mighty 1kg bistecca alla Fiorentina, or a grilled swordfish steak? Make sure you have a separate 'dessert stomach' for classic tiramisu and bomboloni filled with vanilla cream and raspberry conserve. The drinks list is just as enticing, with Bellinis, Martinis, Italian vermouths and Campari, plus drops from Australia to Italy and across to the Americas. And there's more to come. In September, Neil and Samantha Perry will launch Bar Torino in the space that Bobbie's occupied. It will be a more casual Italian spot for spuntini, antipasti, pasta and larger plates, served from midday 'til late. Got a celebratory dinner coming up? Give Gran Torino a try.
