As usual the cider-enhanced Chris Walsh has cast a rheumy eye over the predictions I made a year ago and awarded the marks as he saw fit. Adjudications and correct answers in square brackets.
News
- It will be announced that the Duchess of Cambridge is pregnant. [1pt]
- Ed Miliband will be replaced as leader of the Labour party. [0pt]
- The US presidential election will be between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Obama will be re-elected. [1pt]
- At least one country will leave the euro. [0pt]
- Boris Johnson will be re-elected as Mayor of London. [1pt]
- There will be an earthquake in the UK of magnitude 4.0 or above on the Richter scale. (I’m only using this scale as it’s the one used on the Wikipedia page for UK earthquakes.) [0pt]
[Score: 3/6]
Sport
- Great Britain & Northern Ireland will win 21 gold medals at the Summer Olympics, and over 50 medals in total. [1pt: GB&NI won 29 gold and 65 in total]
- Great Britain & Northern Ireland will top the medal table at the Paralympics. [0pt: third, after China and Russia]
- Spain will win the Euro 2012 football tournament. [1pt]
- The United States will regain golf’s Ryder Cup. [0pt: Europe won in a very close finish]
- Jensen Button will regain the Formula One championship. [0pt: Sebastian Vettel]
- Manchester City will win the English Premier League. [1pt: with a last-minute goal on the last day of the season]
[Score: 3/6]
Science and technology
- Having miraculously survived 2011, Steve Ballmer will definitely be fired as Microsoft CEO. [0pt: still there!]
- CERN will announce the official discovery of the Higgs boson. [0.999pt, rounded up to 1pt]
- Apple will launch a TV. [0pt]
- At least one of the co-CEOs of RIM will be fired, and the company will be bought. [0pt: Jim Balsillie resigned but was not fired, and RIM wasn't bought]
- The next version of the iPhone will include an NFC chip. [0pt: rumoured for the 5S]
- Amazon will release a free version of the Kindle. [0pt: but Chris wishes they would, as he sat on his and broke it]
[Score: 1/6]
Entertainment
- The 2012 season of X Factor in the UK will be the last. [0pt: nothing announced - time will tell!]
- In Doctor Who, the replacement for the Ponds will not be from Earth. [0pt: nothing to suggest she's not from earth - time will tell!]
- Best Actress Oscar: Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady. [1pt]
- Best Actor Oscar: Jean Dujardin, The Artist. [1pt]
- Best Picture Oscar: The Artist. [1pt]
- CNN will fire Piers Morgan. [0pt: although competing petitions to deport/refuse repatriation suggest nobody wants him]
[Score: 3/6]
Celebrity Deathwatch
- Former anthropology student, US evangelist Billy Graham. [alive!]
- Former ophthalmology student, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. [alive!]
- Former chemistry student, Baroness Thatcher. [alive!]
- Former naval cadet, Prince Philip. [alive!]
- Former Cassius Clay, Muhammad Ali. [alive!]
- Former Hitler Youth, Pope Benedict XVI. [alive!]
[Score: 0/6]
[Total score: 10/30]
Not as good as last year. I suspect I was a year early on most of the science and technology predictions. And my celebrity deathwatch category maintains its staggering 100% failure record.
Stay tuned for Avaragado’s 2013 predictions…
