ROUND 1 - Themed - '’Twas a dark and stormy round'

1.

Which 1978 film has the tagline: 'The night he came home'?

2.

Which 1999 film contains the famous quote: “I see dead people”?

3.

Which 1902 short story by W W Jacobs is considered by many to be the perfect ghost story?

4.

Which Cambridge academic, born in 1862, became famous for his atmospheric ghost stories such as: Oh Whistle and I’ll come to you, my Lad?

5.

Which rectory in Essex was the scene for much alleged poltergeist activity in the 1930s and was dubbed, 'Britain’s most haunted building' by the press?

6.

Which mountaineer and occultist, who died in Hastings in 1947, was reviled by the press for his love of sex, drugs and black magic and was dubbed, 'the wickedest man in the world'?

7.

Name this film:

8.

Name this film:

ROUND 2 - 'Who the Dickens is that?'

1.

In which Dickens’ novel would you find the character, Captain Cuttle?

2.

In David Copperfield, what was the name of David’s charming school friend who later eloped with Emily Peggotty?

3.

The novel Jack Maggs is widely regarded as borrowing its story heavily from Dickens’ Great Expectations.  Who was the Booker prize winning author of this 1997 novel?

4.

Which British film actress starred in David Lean’s 1946 film of Great Expectations as the youthful Estella and starred again in the 1988 TV remake as the elderly Miss Haversham?

5.

What was the name of the debtors’ prison in which Dickens’ father, John Dickens and his character, William Dorritt were both incarcerated?

6.

In the 2005 BBC version of Bleak House, who played the spontaneously combusting drunkard, Krook?

7.

A contemporary of Dickens, he toured Britain and the US with him, wrote several works in collaboration with him (including No Thoroughfare and The Frozen Deep) and wrote many popular novels in his own right.  Name this writer.

8.

To whom was Dickens referring when he called this great literary contemporary, (whose first published work was scenes From a Clerical Life), and her long term partner, the ugliest couple in London?

ROUND 3 - Hidden theme - 'If I ruled the world'

Note that the first letter of each answer spells out something that might happen on this very night

1.

Which king of England was murdered in the Tower of London on the night of May 21st/22nd 1471?

2.

In honour of which visiting future Russian monarch was the famous Cesarewitch horse race first named and run at Newmarket in 1839?

3.

Which Pope, a close friend of the pioneering Italian scientist Galileo, later turned against him and had him imprisoned for defending Copernicus’ theory that the sun, and not the earth, is at the centre of the universe?

4.

A beautiful, painted limestone bust of this famous Egyptian queen was discovered by German archaeologists in 1912 and is now one of the most famous exhibits in the Berlin Museum.  What was the name of the queen?

5.

Which 14th century Mongol conqueror was the subject of a play by Christopher Marlowe written between 1587 and 1588?

6.

Name the 15th century ruler of Castile who received from the Pope the surname 'The Catholic' and who was responsible for establishing the Spanish Inquisition.

7.

In Greek mythology, which king of Pylos accompanied Jason and the Argonauts and later, in old age, acted as the chief advisor to the Greek leaders during the Trojan war?

8.

The last monarch of the German kingdom of Hanover (who was deposed by the Prussians in 1866) shared exactly the same name and numeral as his distant cousin, the last British monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.  What name and number did they share?

ROUND 4 - Themed Pictures - 'Who makes up a face like this?'

Name the 2 famous people whose faces have been grafted together

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

ROUNDS 5-8 - Bingo Quiz

1.

Which radio personality, who died in 1996, is commemorated by a blue plaque in the ticket hall of Mornington Crescent tube station in London?

2.

On July 4 this year, which Russian city was elected to host the 2014 Winter Olympic games?

3.

In which Manchester church would you find the Mosley chapel, named after the family of the late Sir Oswald of British fascist fame?

4.

In the most recent BBC series of Who Do You Think You Are which celebrity was found to be a direct descendant of King Edward I?

5.

Writer Albert Camus, fashion designer, Yves Saint Laurent and footballer, Zinedine Zidane were all born in which country?

6.

A statue of which former Prime Minister was recently unveiled in London by the Prince of Wales but was controversially attacked in some quarters for the racist opinions the late PM had supposedly held?

7.

Which member of the royal family recently appeared as an extra on the set of the film The Young Victoria about the early life of her great-great-great-great grandmother?

8.

The first appeared in Becontree in 1931 followed a few months later by a second in Burnt Oak, North London.  Like ragweed, they continue to proliferate.  At the moment, there are approximately 1800 of them worldwide ...Oops, there’s another one!  What are they?

9.

Which religion or religious community refers to its place of worship as a gurdwara meaning ‘doorway to the guru’?

10.

How was the mountain known as Pik Stalina, or Stalin Peak, in present day Tajikistan, renamed between 1962 and 1991?

11.

Which British actress, the star of such iconic films as Black Narcissus, Heaven Knows Mr Allison and The Sundowners, and who was awarded an honorary Oscar by Hollywood in 1997, died recently at the age of 86?

12.

Britain’s best selling pop single in 1977 shares its name with which successful BBC comedy series of the 1990s?

13.

Which Manchester-born historian and TV presenter has recently produced a 6-part series for the BBC called The Story of India to mark the 60th anniversary this year of India’s independence?

14.

Diana Ross was the first to do it, Roberto Baggio was the last.  Do what and when?

15.

Beginning with Babur in 1526 and ending with Bahadur Shah II in 1857, what title did this dynasty of Indian rulers give themselves?

16.

In the hit parade of 1966, which famous English building “stood and watched as my baby left town”?

17.

The last surviving member of the famed Hollywood rat pack (whose other members were Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davies junior and Peter Lawford, in case you needed reminding) finally went to join his buddies in that great casino in the sky.  He was 89.  Who was he?

18.

El fasher (or Al-fashir) is the chief town of which large, troubled African region?

19.

In a domestic sense, what first was recently achieved on the French political scene by Nicholas Sarkozy?

20.

Which iconic TV programme has the unofficial Latin motto: 'ludus non nisi sanguineus'?

21.

Which country currently has a king called Harald and a queen called Sonja?

22.

Which English county is the setting for Laurie Lee’s Cider with Rosie?

23.

In which play does Mr Pugh dream about mixing for his wife a poison unknown to toxicology?

24.

For what purpose are the class of drugs known as statins commonly prescribed?

25.

For which Oscar-winning film did Bob Dylan write Lay Lady Lay only to have it refused because he missed his deadline?

26.

The contest to hold the 2014 Commonwealth Games will be decided in November.  Which two cities are currently competing for this honour?

27.

Why is a large sycamore tree on a village green in Dorset still a shrine of pilgrimage for Britain’s trade unionists?

28.

In astronomical units of distance, what is the ratio of a light year to a parsec?

29.

What did Mario Basler do in Barcelona on May 26 1999 that almost made him famous?

30.

Two British-born scientists, Martin Evans and Oliver Smithies shared one of this year’s Nobel prizes with the Italian-born US scientist, Mario Capecchi.  Which prize?

31.

France is divided into 22 regions.  Name the region that is the second smallest in size but that has the highest population?

32.

In honour of which Withington-born stage and film actor was a blue plaque recently placed on the house in Everett Road where he was born?

33.

Name the 2 American State capitals whose name ends in ‘....apolis’?

34.

In which organ of the body is a cup-like sac called the Bowman’s capsule located?

35.

In which recently renovated London building will a bronze statue of the late Poet Laureate, John Betjeman, be unveiled on November 12th in recognition of his campaign in the 1960s to save the building from demolition?

36.

Which Roman emperor’s dying words were: “Oh dear, I think I am becoming a god!”?

37.

The tallest person ever to get to number one in the UK charts did so exactly 40 years ago. Who was he?

38.

Which English actor is starring opposite Cate Blanchett as Sir Walter Raleigh in the soon-to-be released film, Elizabeth: the Golden Age (a sequel to the earlier 1998 film Elizabeth)?

39.

What specifically do the following people have in common: Herbert Hoover, Alfred Landon, Wendell Wilkie and Thomas Dewey?

40.

Who shared the 2007 Nobel Peace prize with the Swiss-based Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)?

41.

In June 1882, Daniel Adamson invited several prominent Manchester businessmen to dinner at his mansion in Didsbury called The Towers.  He proposed a plan for something which many of them felt would be impossible to achieve.  What was his plan?

42.

In which European country was a general election recently won by a politician called Donald Tusk?

ROUND 1 - Themed - '’Twas a dark and stormy round'

1.

Which 1978 film has the tagline: 'The night he came home'?

Halloween

2.

Which 1999 film contains the famous quote: “I see dead people”?

The Sixth Sense

3.

Which 1902 short story by W W Jacobs is considered by many to be the perfect ghost story?

The Monkey’s Paw

4.

Which Cambridge academic, born in 1862, became famous for his atmospheric ghost stories such as: Oh Whistle and I’ll come to you, my Lad?

M R James

5.

Which rectory in Essex was the scene for much alleged poltergeist activity in the 1930s and was dubbed, 'Britain’s most haunted building' by the press?

Borley Rectory

6.

Which mountaineer and occultist, who died in Hastings in 1947, was reviled by the press for his love of sex, drugs and black magic and was dubbed, 'the wickedest man in the world'?

Aleister Crowley

7.

Name this film:

Shaun of the Dead

8.

Name this film:

Young Frankenstein

ROUND 2 - Themed - 'Who the Dickens is that?'

1.

In which Dickens’ novel would you find the character, Captain Cuttle?

Dombey and Son

2.

In David Copperfield, what was the name of David’s charming school friend who later eloped with Emily Peggotty?

James Steerforth

3.

The novel Jack Maggs is widely regarded as borrowing its story heavily from Dickens’ Great Expectations.  Who was the Booker prize winning author of this 1997 novel?

Peter Carey

4.

Which British film actress starred in David Lean’s 1946 film of Great Expectations as the youthful Estella and starred again in the 1988 TV remake as the elderly Miss Haversham?

Jean Simmons

5.

What was the name of the debtors’ prison in which Dickens’ father, John Dickens and his character, William Dorritt were both incarcerated?

The Marshalsea

6.

In the 2005 BBC version of Bleak House, who played the spontaneously combusting drunkard, Krook?

Johnny Vegas

7.

A contemporary of Dickens, he toured Britain and the US with him, wrote several works in collaboration with him (including No Thoroughfare and The Frozen Deep) and wrote many popular novels in his own right.  Name this writer.

Wilkie Collins

8.

To whom was Dickens referring when he called this great literary contemporary, (whose first published work was scenes From a Clerical Life), and her long term partner, the ugliest couple in London?

George Eliot

ROUND 3 - Hidden theme - 'If I ruled the world'

Note that the first letter of each answer spells out something that might happen on this very night

1.

Which king of England was murdered in the Tower of London on the night of May 21st/22nd 1471?

Henry VI

2.

In honour of which visiting future Russian monarch was the famous Cesarewitch horse race first named and run at Newmarket in 1839?

Alexander II

3.

Which Pope, a close friend of the pioneering Italian scientist Galileo, later turned against him and had him imprisoned for defending Copernicus’ theory that the sun, and not the earth, is at the centre of the universe?

Urban VIII

4.

A beautiful, painted limestone bust of this famous Egyptian queen was discovered by German archaeologists in 1912 and is now one of the most famous exhibits in the Berlin Museum.  What was the name of the queen?

Nefertiti

5.

Which 14th century Mongol conqueror was the subject of a play by Christopher Marlowe written between 1587 and 1588?

Tamburlaine or Timur

(Marlowe’s play was entitled Tamburlaine the Great)

6.

Name the 15th century ruler of Castile who received from the Pope the surname 'The Catholic' and who was responsible for establishing the Spanish Inquisition.

Isabel or Isabella I

7.

In Greek mythology, which king of Pylos accompanied Jason and the Argonauts and later, in old age, acted as the chief advisor to the Greek leaders during the Trojan war?

Nestor

8.

The last monarch of the German kingdom of Hanover (who was deposed by the Prussians in 1866) shared exactly the same name and numeral as his distant cousin, the last British monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.  What name and number did they share?

George V

(in 1917, the British George V changed his family’s name to the more English-sounding Windsor)

ROUND 4 - Themed Pictures - 'Who makes up a face like this?'

Name the 2 famous people whose faces have been grafted together

1.

(top) Arnold Schwarzenegger,

(bottom) Brad Pitt

2.

(top) Vanessa Feltz,

(bottom) Anthea Redfern

3.

(top) Sting,

(bottom) Clint Eastwood

4.

(top) Michael Douglas,

(bottom) Kirk Douglas

5.

(top) Bruce Willis,

(bottom) Tom Hanks

6.

(top) Bjork,

(bottom) Kelly Osborne

7.

(top) George Michael,

(bottom) Robbie Williams

8.

(top) Brian Clough,

(bottom) Terry Venables

ROUNDS 5-8 - Bingo Quiz

1

Which radio personality, who died in 1996, is commemorated by a blue plaque in the ticket hall of Mornington Crescent tube station in London?

Willie Rushton

2.

On July 4 this year, which Russian city was elected to host the 2014 Winter Olympic games?

Sochi

3.

In which Manchester church would you find the Mosley chapel, named after the family of the late Sir Oswald of British fascist fame?

St James’s Church, Didsbury

4.

In the most recent BBC series of Who Do You Think You Are which celebrity was found to be a direct descendant of King Edward I?

Matthew Pinsent

5.

Writer Albert Camus, fashion designer, Yves Saint Laurent and footballer, Zinedine Zidane were all born in which country?

Algeria

6.

A statue of which former Prime Minister was recently unveiled in London by the Prince of Wales but was controversially attacked in some quarters for the racist opinions the late PM had supposedly held?

David Lloyd George

7

Which member of the royal family recently appeared as an extra on the set of the film The Young Victoria about the early life of her great-great-great-great grandmother?

Princess Beatrice

(elder daughter of Prince Andrew and the former Sarah Ferguson; she played one of Victoria's ladies in waiting)

8

The first appeared in Becontree in 1931 followed a few months later by a second in Burnt Oak, North London.  Like ragweed, they continue to proliferate.  At the moment, there are approximately 1800 of them worldwide ...Oops, there’s another one!  What are they?

Tesco stores

9.

Which religion or religious community refers to its place of worship as a gurdwara meaning ‘doorway to the guru’?

Sikhs or Sikhism

10.

How was the mountain known as Pik Stalina, or Stalin Peak, in present day Tajikistan, renamed between 1962 and 1991?

Pik Kommunizma, or Communism Peak

(it was the highest peak in what was then the USSR - since 1998 it has been called Ismoil Somoni Peak)

11.

Which British actress, the star of such iconic films as Black Narcissus, Heaven Knows Mr Allison and The Sundowners, and who was awarded an honorary Oscar by Hollywood in 1997, died recently at the age of 86?

Deborah Kerr

12.

Britain’s best selling pop single in 1977 shares its name with which successful BBC comedy series of the 1990s?

Knowing Me, Knowing You

(.... Aha!!)

13

Which Manchester-born historian and TV presenter has recently produced a 6-part series for the BBC called The Story of India to mark the 60th anniversary this year of India’s independence?

Michael Wood

14.

Diana Ross was the first to do it, Roberto Baggio was the last.  Do what and when?

Miss a penalty kick in the 1994 World Cup in the USA

(Ms Ross missed hers during the televised opening ceremony .... just ask any Brazilian when Roberto missed his!)

15.

Beginning with Babur in 1526 and ending with Bahadur Shah II in 1857, what title did this dynasty of Indian rulers give themselves?

The Great Moghul

(pronounced 'mow-gul')

16.

In the hit parade of 1966, which famous English building “stood and watched as my baby left town”?

Winchester Cathedral

(by the New Vaudeville Band)

17.

The last surviving member of the famed Hollywood rat pack (whose other members were Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davies junior and Peter Lawford, in case you needed reminding) finally went to join his buddies in that great casino in the sky.  He was 89.  Who was he?

Joey Bishop

18.

El fasher (or Al-fashir) is the chief town of which large, troubled African region?

Darfur

(in Sudan)

19

In a domestic sense, what first was recently achieved on the French political scene by Nicholas Sarkozy?

He was the first French President to get divorced

20.

Which iconic TV programme has the unofficial Latin motto: 'ludus non nisi sanguineus'?

Mastermind

(meaning 'it’s only a bloody game' - first coined by the late, great Magnus himself)

21.

Which country currently has a king called Harald and a queen called Sonja?

Norway

22.

Which English county is the setting for Laurie Lee’s Cider with Rosie?

Gloucestershire

23.

In which play does Mr Pugh dream about mixing for his wife a poison unknown to toxicology?

Under Milk Wood

(by Dylan Thomas)

24.

For what purpose are the class of drugs known as statins commonly prescribed?

Lowering cholesterol

25

For which Oscar-winning film did Bob Dylan write Lay Lady Lay only to have it refused because he missed his deadline?

Midnight Cowboy

26.

The contest to hold the 2014 Commonwealth Games will be decided in November.  Which two cities are currently competing for this honour?

Glasgow and Abuja

(the latter being the capital of Nigeria)

27.

Why is a large sycamore tree on a village green in Dorset still a shrine of pilgrimage for Britain’s trade unionists?

The Tolpuddle Martyrs held their meetings under this tree

(in the village of Tolpuddle, of course)

28.

In astronomical units of distance, what is the ratio of a light year to a parsec?

Approximately 3 light years = 1 parsec

(3.262 light years to be precise)

29.

What did Mario Basler do in Barcelona on May 26 1999 that almost made him famous?

He scored for Bayern Munich against Manchester United in the European Champions Cup final

(unfortunately, his fame was overtaken by events in the last 2 minutes!)

30.

Two British-born scientists, Martin Evans and Oliver Smithies shared one of this year’s Nobel prizes with the Italian-born US scientist, Mario Capecchi.  Which prize?

Physiology or Medicine

31

France is divided into 22 regions.  Name the region that is the second smallest in size but that has the highest population?

Ile-de-France

(which includes Paris)

32.

In honour of which Withington-born stage and film actor was a blue plaque recently placed on the house in Everett Road where he was born?

Robert Donat

(whose screen role in Goodbye Mr Chips beat Clark Gable’s role in Gone with the Wind for the 1939 best actor Oscar!)

33.

Name the 2 American State capitals whose name ends in ‘....apolis’?

Indianapolis (capital of Indiana)

Annapolis (capital of Maryland)

34.

In which organ of the body is a cup-like sac called the Bowman’s capsule located?

Kidney

35.

In which recently renovated London building will a bronze statue of the late Poet Laureate, John Betjeman, be unveiled on November 12th in recognition of his campaign in the 1960s to save the building from demolition?

St Pancras station

36.

Which Roman emperor’s dying words were: “Oh dear, I think I am becoming a god!”?

Vespasian

(builder of the Colosseum)

37.

The tallest person ever to get to number one in the UK charts did so exactly 40 years ago. Who was he?

Long John Baldry

38.

Which English actor is starring opposite Cate Blanchett as Sir Walter Raleigh in the soon-to-be released film, Elizabeth: the Golden Age (a sequel to the earlier 1998 film Elizabeth)?

Clive Owen

39.

What specifically do the following people have in common: Herbert Hoover, Alfred Landon, Wendell Wilkie and Thomas Dewey?

They were defeated in successive US Presidential elections by Franklin D Roosevelt

40

Who shared the 2007 Nobel Peace prize with the Swiss-based Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)?

Al Gore

(the well-known former US Presidential candidate - he has not yet received anything for inventing the internet!)

41.

In June 1882, Daniel Adamson invited several prominent Manchester businessmen to dinner at his mansion in Didsbury called The Towers.  He proposed a plan for something which many of them felt would be impossible to achieve.  What was his plan?

To build the Manchester Ship Canal

42.

In which European country was a general election recently won by a politician called Donald Tusk?

Poland