ROUND 1 - Mini Bingo

In this round, contestants are invited to pick a number between 1 and 10

1.

Sebastian Flyte’s teddy bear Aloysius, in Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited, is said to be based on Archibald a teddy bear who accompanied which famous literary figure to Oxford in the 1920s?

2.

A 1966 film starring Charlton Heston and a decapitated racehorse in a 1972 film share the name of which African city?

3.

What do Frederick Fowell, Richard Starkey and Charles Hatcher – all born in the early 1940s – have in common?

4.

Which country has Where is My Home as its National Anthem?

5.

The fictional character Quatermass is only usually referred to by his surname.  What was his first name?

6.

Where, for around 13 weeks a year for the last 5 years, might you spot Mountford and Hewer?

7.

Why was Derek Walcott in the news in Spring 2009?

8.

In 1911, the London Underground employed a one-legged man called ‘Bumper’ Harris to do what?

9.

Which military award came into being in 1993 and is second only to the Victoria Cross for bravery in action?

10.

By what name is the drug Fluoxetine Hydrochloride better known?

ROUND 2 - Mini Bingo

In this round, contestants are invited to pick a number between 1 and 10

1.

Malcolm Morley, Howard Hodgkin, Gilbert & George, Richard Deacon and Tony Cragg were the first five winners of what?

2.

Name 2 of the 3 rivers that make Manhattan an island.

3.

Which country’s constitution requires that the President must be a Catholic Christian, the Prime Minister a Sunni Muslim, and the Speaker of the country’s Parliament a Shia Muslim?

4.

Which English national hero is buried in a sarcophagus that was originally made for Cardinal Wolsley?

5.

The fictional character Rambo is only usually referred to by his surname.  What was his first name?

6.

What do (or did) the following pop groups all have in common: Radiohead, All Saints and Crowded House?

7.

What is the title of Graham Greene’s novel that is based in Haiti?

8.

Which group’s albums include Surrealistic Pillow (1967), After Bathing at Baxter’s (1968) and Crown of Creation (1968)?

9.

Which city is 83 miles from Manchester, 132 miles from London, and 151 miles from Newcastle?

10.

Who is the only director to have won 4 Oscars?

ROUND 3 - 'A Plague Upon You'

Each answer contains a reference to one of the 10 plagues of Egypt appearing in the Book of Exodus. Some of the answers are soundalikes

1.

What was the name of the desperado who attempted to steal the crown jewels from the Tower of London in 1671?

2.

What is the proper name for a depression in the face of a brick?

3.

“In llama land there’s a one-man band and he’ll toot his flute for you”. From which Sammy Cahn/Jimmy van Heusen song does this lyric come?

4.

What do pink eye, bloat and lumpy jaw have in common?

5.

“For a fixed amount of an ideal gas kept at a fixed temperature, pressure and volume are inversely proportional” By what name is this statement known?

6.

Taking a slow train from Manchester Piccadilly to Chester, what is the fourth stop along the line?

7.

In which 1975 film, based on a celebrated novel by American Nathanael West, did Donald Sutherland play a character called Homer Simpson?

8.

Which famous novel tells the story of Marlow, an Englishman, who takes a foreign assignment from a Belgian trading company as a ferry-boat captain in Africa?

Sp.

Richard the Lionheart, Henry VIII and Charles I all came to the throne under similar circumstances. What were they?

1.

Whose monument, a triangular tower on the Blackdown Hills, overlooks his namesake town?

2.

London has Nelson’s column, but in which British city is Wellington’s column?

3.

Julius Caesar adopted the motto “Veni vidi vici” after defeating Pharnaces II, son of Mithradates VI, ruler of which kingdom situated in what is now Turkey?

4.

General Sir Charles Napier, whose statue is in Trafalgar Square, is reputed to have sent a message consisting of the single Latin word “peccavi” after his 1842 conquest of which province, now in Pakistan?

5.

What physical characteristic does a bird have if it is described as palmiped?

6.

What physical characteristic does a mammal have if it is described as plantigrade?

7.

Which artificial lake is the second largest lake in England by surface area, exceeded in size by Windemere?

8.

Which lake in Northern Ireland is the second largest in the UK, by surface area? 

Sp1

David II (1329-1371) was the son of which Scottish king? 

Sp2

Edward, who briefly deposed David II between 1332 and 1336 was the son of which Scottish king?

1.

Formed in 1906, which car manufacturing company had a trend of using letters of the Greek alphabet to name its models?

2.

Which car manufacturer has Neptune's trident badge as its logo?

3.

The girls' name Dolly is a diminutive of which name?

4.

The girls' name Peggy is a diminutive of which name?

5.

What is DBC Pierre's own preferred nationality - which would have rendered him ineligible for the 2003 Booker Prize that he won for Vernon God Little?

6.

There are two countries eligible for the MAN Booker Prize that aren't in the Commonwealth of Nations.  Name one of them.

7.

What is the name of the Manchester nightclub opened in 1994 and named after the factory that occupied the 200-year old venue on a rundown industrial estate in Manchester's Northern Quarter?

8.

What was the name of the Manchester nightclub that was originally on Brazenose Street in 1963 before moving to Whitworth Street two years later - the street made more famous by the Hacienda in the 1980s?

Sp1

Name two of the three primary aspects of the divine in some Hindu denominations - collectively they are known as the Trimurti.

Sp2

The Five Ks are articles of faith that Sikhs are obliged (but not forced) to wear at all times. They are: Kesh, Kanga, Kachchhera, Kara and Kirpan.  Name two of them in English.  Note that the Turban is not an answer.

ROUND 6 - ‘One of Our Something or Others Is Missing’

In each case the question is the same: ‘Who or what is missing from this list?’

1.

Miss. Scarlett, Professor Plum, Reverend Green, Mrs. White, Mrs. Peacock, Dr. Black... (The character’s title is also required)

2.

Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley...

3.

From an animated family: Scott, Virgil, Alan, Gordon, John...

4.

Fluorine, Chlorine, Bromine, Iodine...

5.

Up, Down, Top, Bottom, Strange and…

6.

Name the male character, with his title, missing from this list: Lieutenant Green, Captains Scarlet, Blue, Black, Ochre, Gray, Brown, Indigo and Magenta, Doctor Fawn...

7.

After the first of Caesar, Pompey and Crassus, the second was Octavian, Mark Antony and…

8.

Iron, Westie dog, Racing car, Top hat, Boot, Thimble...

Sp.

Brynner, McQueen, Vaughan, Coburn, Bronson, Bucholz...

ROUND 7 - Mini Bingo

In this round, contestants are invited to pick a number between 1 and 10

1.

The Cassian Way, a Roman road, runs between which two cities?

2.

What does a tegestologist collect?

3.

Before Boris Becker, who was the last player born in Germany to win Wimbledon's men’s singles?

4.

Which is the only country to have a square national flag?

5.

In Greek mythology which name is both one of the Three Graces and one of the Nine Muses?

6.

Opening with the theme tune to Topcat, whose radio show on Talksport is known as The Mother of all Talk Shows?

7.

Who in 1945 came out of an elevator carrying a violin case, in 1947 got off a train carrying a cello, and in 1951 got on a train with a double bass?

8.

Name the country that is next in this sequence: MA, DZ, TN, LAR.

9.

Which is the most southerly landlocked country in Africa?

10.

Jean-Paul Sartre’s trilogy entitled Roads to Freedom comprised The Age of Reason, The Reprieve and which other book?

ROUND 8 - Mini Bingo

In this round, contestants are invited to pick a number between 1 and 10

1.

Which is the most westerly landlocked country in Africa?

2.

In which Hitchcock film is he seen tossing some litter away while Robert Donat and Lucie Mannheim run from the theatre?

3.

Which 80’s television detective series starred Pierce Brosnan and Stephanie Zimbalist?

4.

Born in 1900 and declared missing after a flight in 1944, this French novelist is best known for his story The Little Prince (1944).  Who is he?

5.

The herb, Foeniculum vulgare, grows 3-4 feet tall, is graceful and aromatic, is edible and medicinal.   What is this herb commonly known as?

6.

The rings on the Olympic flag represent colours used at least once in every national flag around the world.  What colours are the Olympic rings?

7.

According to the title of a 2009 film, what is Manchester postman Eric Peters doing?

8.

Which German, described by Charles Darwin as “the greatest scientific traveller who ever lived”, gave his name to many species and geographical features, including a squid, a penguin, a sea current, and a range of mountains?

9.

What country forms the background for Grahame Greene’s novel The Heart of the Matter?

10.

Name either of the two Cricketers have achieved 1,000 runs, 100 wickets and 100 catches in both test matches and one-day internationals.

ROUND 1 - Mini Bingo

In this round, contestants are invited to pick a number between 1 and 10

1.

Sebastian Flyte’s teddy bear Aloysius, in Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited, is said to be based on Archibald a teddy bear who accompanied which famous literary figure to Oxford in the 1920s?

John Betjeman

2.

A 1966 film starring Charlton Heston and a decapitated racehorse in a 1972 film share the name of which African city?

Khartoum

3.

What do Frederick Fowell, Richard Starkey and Charles Hatcher – all born in the early 1940s – have in common?

They all changed their name to Starr (Freddie, Ringo and Edwin)

4.

Which country has Where is My Home as its National Anthem?

The Czech Republic

5.

The fictional character Quatermass is only usually referred to by his surname.  What was his first name?

Bernard

6.

Where, for around 13 weeks a year for the last 5 years, might you spot Mountford and Hewer?

On The Apprentice

(They are Margaret and Nick, Alan Sugar’s sidekicks)

7.

Why was Derek Walcott in the news in Spring 2009?

He withdrew from the race to become Oxford Professor of Poetry following claims of sexual harassment 25 years earlier

8.

In 1911, the London Underground employed a one-legged man called ‘Bumper’ Harris to do what?

To spend his time riding up and down its first newly installed escalator, to show two-legged people how safe it was

9.

Which military award came into being in 1993 and is second only to the Victoria Cross for bravery in action?

The Conspicuous Gallantry Cross

10.

By what name is the drug Fluoxetine Hydrochloride better known?

Prozac

ROUND 2 - Mini Bingo

In this round, contestants are invited to pick a number between 1 and 10

1.

Malcolm Morley, Howard Hodgkin, Gilbert & George, Richard Deacon and Tony Cragg were the first five winners of what?

The Turner Prize

2.

Name 2 of the 3 rivers that make Manhattan an island.

(2 from) East, Hudson and Harlem

3.

Which country’s constitution requires that the President must be a Catholic Christian, the Prime Minister a Sunni Muslim, and the Speaker of the country’s Parliament a Shia Muslim?

Lebanon

4.

Which English national hero is buried in a sarcophagus that was originally made for Cardinal Wolsley?

Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson

5.

The fictional character Rambo is only usually referred to by his surname.  What was his first name?

John

6.

What do (or did) the following pop groups all have in common: Radiohead, All Saints and Crowded House?

They all contain, or contained, pairs of siblings

7.

What is the title of Graham Greene’s novel that is based in Haiti?

The Comedians

8.

Which group’s albums include Surrealistic Pillow (1967), After Bathing at Baxter’s (1968) and Crown of Creation (1968)?

Jefferson Airplane

9.

Which city is 83 miles from Manchester, 132 miles from London, and 151 miles from Newcastle?

Lincoln

10.

Who is the only director to have won 4 Oscars?

John Ford (The Informer in 1935, The Grapes of Wrath in 1940, How Green was My Valley in 1941 and The Quiet Man in1952

ROUND 3 - 'A Plague Upon You'

Each answer contains a reference to one of the 10 plagues of Egypt appearing in the Book of Exodus. Some of the answers are soundalikes

1.

What was the name of the desperado who attempted to steal the crown jewels from the Tower of London in 1671?

Thomas Blood

2.

What is the proper name for a depression in the face of a brick?

Frog

3.

“In llama land there’s a one-man band and he’ll toot his flute for you”. From which Sammy Cahn/Jimmy van Heusen song does this lyric come?

Come Fly with Me

4.

What do pink eye, bloat and lumpy jaw have in common?

They are all types of Cattle Disease

5.

“For a fixed amount of an ideal gas kept at a fixed temperature, pressure and volume are inversely proportional” By what name is this statement known?

Boyle’s Law

6.

Taking a slow train from Manchester Piccadilly to Chester, what is the fourth stop along the line?

Hale

7.

In which 1975 film, based on a celebrated novel by American Nathanael West, did Donald Sutherland play a character called Homer Simpson?

The Day of the Locust

8.

Which famous novel tells the story of Marlow, an Englishman, who takes a foreign assignment from a Belgian trading company as a ferry-boat captain in Africa?

Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad

Sp.

Richard the Lionheart, Henry VIII and Charles I all came to the throne under similar circumstances. What were they?

Their elder brothers predeceased them before they could inherit

1.

Whose monument, a triangular tower on the Blackdown Hills, overlooks his namesake town?

1^st Duke of Wellington

2.

London has Nelson’s column, but in which British city is Wellington’s column?

Liverpool

3.

Julius Caesar adopted the motto “Veni vidi vici” after defeating Pharnaces II, son of Mithradates VI, ruler of which kingdom situated in what is now Turkey?

Pontus

4.

General Sir Charles Napier, whose statue is in Trafalgar Square, is reputed to have sent a message consisting of the single Latin word “peccavi” after his 1842 conquest of which province, now in Pakistan?

Sindh (Peccavi is Latin for “I have sinned”)

5.

What physical characteristic does a bird have if it is described as palmiped?

Webbed feet

6.

What physical characteristic does a mammal have if it is described as plantigrade?

Walks with feet flat on the ground (or words to that effect)

7.

Which artificial lake is the second largest lake in England by surface area, exceeded in size by Windemere?

Rutland Water

8.

Which lake in Northern Ireland is the second largest in the UK, by surface area? 

Lower Lough Erne

Sp1

David II (1329-1371) was the son of which Scottish king? 

Robert the Bruce (or Robert I)

Sp2

Edward, who briefly deposed David II between 1332 and 1336 was the son of which Scottish king? 

John Bailliol

1.

Formed in 1906, which car manufacturing company had a trend of using letters of the Greek alphabet to name its models?

Lancia

2.

Which car manufacturer has Neptune's trident badge as its logo?

Maserati

3.

The girls' name Dolly is a diminutive of which name?

Dorothy

4.

The girls' name Peggy is a diminutive of which name?

Margaret (via the medieval Meggie)

5.

What is DBC Pierre's own preferred nationality - which would have rendered him ineligible for the 2003 Booker Prize that he won for Vernon God Little?

Mexican, although he was born in South Australia

6.

There are two countries eligible for the MAN Booker Prize that aren't in the Commonwealth of Nations.  Name one of them.

Ireland or Zimbabwe

7.

What is the name of the Manchester nightclub opened in 1994 and named after the factory that occupied the 200-year old venue on a rundown industrial estate in Manchester's Northern Quarter?

Sankeys Soap

8.

What was the name of the Manchester nightclub that was originally on Brazenose Street in 1963 before moving to Whitworth Street two years later - the street made more famous by the Hacienda in the 1980s?

The Twisted Wheel Club

Sp1

Name two of the three primary aspects of the divine in some Hindu denominations - collectively they are known as the Trimurti.

(2 from) Brahma (the Creator), Vishnu (the Maintainer), Shiva (the Destroyer or Transformer)

Sp2

The Five Ks are articles of faith that Sikhs are obliged (but not forced) to wear at all times. They are: Kesh, Kanga, Kachchhera, Kara and Kirpan.  Name two of them in English.  Note that the Turban is not an answer.

(2 from) Uncut Hair, Wooden Comb, Undergarment or Pants, Iron Bracelet, Strapped Dagger

ROUND 6 - ‘One of Our Something or Others Is Missing’

In each case the question is the same: ‘Who or what is missing from this list?’

1.

Miss. Scarlett, Professor Plum, Reverend Green, Mrs. White, Mrs. Peacock, Dr. Black... (The character’s title is also required)

Colonel Mustard

(from the board game Cluedo)

2.

Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley...

Lauderdale

(Members of the original Cabal)

3.

From an animated family: Scott, Virgil, Alan, Gordon, John...

The father Jeff Tracey

(from the TV series Thunderbirds)

4.

Fluorine, Chlorine, Bromine, Iodine...

Astatine

(Halogens)

5.

Up, Down, Top, Bottom, Strange and…

Charm

(Flavours of quarks)

6.

Name the male character, with his title, missing from this list: Lieutenant Green, Captains Scarlet, Blue, Black, Ochre, Gray, Brown, Indigo and Magenta, Doctor Fawn...

Colonel White

(from the TV series Captain Scarlet & the Mysterons)

7.

After the first of Caesar, Pompey and Crassus, the second was Octavian, Mark Antony and…

Marcus Aemilius Lepidus

(in the Second Triumvirate)

8.

Iron, Westie dog, Racing car, Top hat, Boot, Thimble...

Battleship

(Counters from Monopoly)

Brynner, McQueen, Vaughan, Coburn, Bronson, Bucholz...

Brad Dexter

(Members of the Magnificent Seven in the film)

ROUND 7 - Mini Bingo

In this round, contestants are invited to pick a number between 1 and 10

1.

The Cassian Way, a Roman road, runs between which two cities?

Rome and Florence

2.

What does a tegestologist collect?

Beer mats

3.

Before Boris Becker, who was the last player born in Germany to win Wimbledon's men’s singles?

John McEnroe

4.

Which is the only country to have a square national flag?

Switzerland or Vatican City

5.

In Greek mythology which name is both one of the Three Graces and one of the Nine Muses?

Thalia

6.

Opening with the theme tune to Topcat, whose radio show on Talksport is known as The Mother of all Talk Shows?

George Galloway

7.

Who in 1945 came out of an elevator carrying a violin case, in 1947 got off a train carrying a cello, and in 1951 got on a train with a double bass?

Alfred Hitchcock

(in his cameos in Spellbound, The Paradine Case and Strangers on A Train)

8.

Name the country that is next in this sequence: MA, DZ, TN, LAR.

Egypt

(Going easterly in International Car Registrations: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya)

9.

Which is the most southerly landlocked country in Africa?

Lesotho

10.

Jean-Paul Sartre’s trilogy entitled Roads to Freedom comprised The Age of Reason, The Reprieve and which other book?

Iron in the Soul

ROUND 8 - Mini Bingo

In this round, contestants are invited to pick a number between 1 and 10

1.

Which is the most westerly landlocked country in Africa?

Mali

2.

In which Hitchcock film is he seen tossing some litter away while Robert Donat and Lucie Mannheim run from the theatre?

The 39 Steps

3.

Which 80’s television detective series starred Pierce Brosnan and Stephanie Zimbalist?

Remington Steele

4.

Born in 1900 and declared missing after a flight in 1944, this French novelist is best known for his story The Little Prince (1944).  Who is he?

Antoine Marie Roger de Saint-Exupery

5.

The herb, Foeniculum vulgare, grows 3-4 feet tall, is graceful and aromatic, is edible and medicinal.   What is this herb commonly known as?

Bronze fennel

6.

The rings on the Olympic flag represent colours used at least once in every national flag around the world.  What colours are the Olympic rings?

Blue, yellow, black, green and red

7.

According to the title of a 2009 film, what is Manchester postman Eric Peters doing?

Looking for Eric

8.

Which German, described by Charles Darwin as “the greatest scientific traveller who ever lived”, gave his name to many species and geographical features, including a squid, a penguin, a sea current, and a range of mountains?

Alexander von Humboldt

9.

What country forms the background for Grahame Greene’s novel The Heart of the Matter?

Sierra Leone

10.

Name either of the two Cricketers have achieved 1,000 runs, 100 wickets and 100 catches in both test matches and one-day internationals.

Carl Hooper or Jacques Kallis