ROUND 1 - Pairs

1.

In the 1976 Mel Brooks film Silent Movie who was the only actor to have a spoken line?       

2.

Who starred (and won a Golden Globe award) as George Valentin in the 2011 silent movie The Artist?

3.

The Tiwi Islands, comprising Melville Island and Bathurst Island are within 100 miles of which Australian city?

4.

Mount Kosciuszko, the highest mountain in Australia at 2,228m, is on the border between which 2 Australian territories?

5.

Who in 1889 invented the punched cards which bear his name and which were used initially by mechanical devices and later by early computers?

6.

Most computer systems conform to ASCII standards.  What do these initials stand for?                                        

7.

Name the hypothesis that every even number greater than 2 is the sum of 2 prime numbers.

8.

First proposed by Kepler in 1610 and restated as Olber’s Paradox in 1826, how is this astronomical paradox, based on an obvious observation, better known?

Sp1

In August 2009, which European language was declared by UNESCO to have risen from the dead?

Sp2

There are 6 United Nations official languages including English, French, Spanish and Russian.  Name the other 2.

ROUND 2 - Hidden theme

1.

Which 1974 film, nominated for 3 Academy Awards, included a cameo of the Count Basie Orchestra in an unusual outdoor setting?

2.

Name the Australian bowler who first toured England in 1981, taking 42 wickets in the Test Series against England, including 9 in his debut Test match.  

3.

Which Belfast born writer was a hostage in Beirut from April 1986 to August 1990, and gave an account of his years of hostage in his book An Evil Cradling?   

4.

Who was president of the National Union of Mineworkers from 1971 to 1982 and subsequently a Labour peer?

5.

Name the classic Milanese specialty consisting of cross-cut veal shanks braised with vegetables, white wine and broth.                                

6.

Who was Director General of the BBC from 1982 to 1987 when his resignation was allegedly forced by Margaret Thatcher?

7.

Name the 1967 play by Howard Sackler, adapted as a film in 1970 and based on the demand of the American public for a boxer to beat the established world champion, Jack Johnson.

8.

To which Rugby club was Jonny Wilkinson transferred from Newcastle Falcons in 2009?

1.

Arty Farty

Who is currently holding an exhibition at the Royal Academy entitled A Bigger Picture?

2.

He Ain't Heavy

Money for Nothing is the number one hit-track from which best selling album?

3.

General Knowledge

What were General Custer's first two names?

4.

Watching the Detectives

In which long running detective series did Superintendants  Robert 'The Mint' Murray and Jack 'The Biscuit' McVitie appear? 

5.

Opening Lines

From which song is this the opening  line: “I, I will be king and, You, You will be Queen"?

6.

4 Play

Who is missing from this group of four: Fleegle, Drooper, Snorkey and.....?

7.

Watching the Detectives

Who played Italian detective Aurelio Zen in the BBC series Zen last year?  He previously starred as Charles the Second in the series The Power and the Passion.

8.

Name the Year

In which year did the following events occur: Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother died, ex-currencies of Euro-using countries ceased to be legal tender, Pim Fortuyn of the Netherlands assassinated?

9.

Cross Dressing

Which character in M.A.S.H. dressed as a woman in an attempt to get dismissed from the army?          

10.

Poor MI Israelites

What site in Jerusalem is thought to be the last remaining remnant of the Second Jewish Temple built by Herod the Great in the first century BC?

11.

Opening Lines

From which number one song is this the opening line: “You’ve done it all, you’ve broken every code”?

12.

He's My Brother

Which book by historian Stephen E Ambrose took it’s title from the Shakespeare play Henry the Fifth and was made into a TV series starring Donnie Wahlberg and Damian Lewis?

13.

Arty Farty Cross Dressing

The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman now showing at the British Museum is by which artist also known as Claire?

14.

Name the Year

In which year did the following occur: Austria, Finland and Sweden join the EU, Richey Edwards of Manic Street Preachers goes missing on the eve of their US tour, Barings Bank collapses after Nick Leeson loses 1.4 billion on the Tokyo Exchange, and British soldiers cease patrols of Belfast streets?

15.

Poor MI Israelites

In the Bible who was the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, the two youngest sons of Jacob?

16.

General Knowledge

Which General has two aircraft named after him?

17.

4 Play

In literature, which of the Pevensie Children is missing from this list: Lucy, Edmund, Peter, .....?

18.

Cross Dressing

In which 1980’s film did Michael Caine play murdering transvestite psychiatrist Robert Elliot?

ROUND 5 - Pairs

1.

Which cyclist, who won the 2010 Tour de France, was recently stripped of his title for testing positive for a banned substance?

2.

Which tennis player was recently the subject of a slanderous sketch on Les Guignols (the French equivalent of Spitting Image) in which he is depicted as stopping at a petrol station, urinating into the hub of his car and then being booked for speeding - the implication being that his urine was so full of performance enhancing drugs it could power his own vehicle?

3.

The 300th anniversary of the birth of which famous European monarch was recently commemorated in his homeland in January? 

4.

The 300th anniversary of the birth of which famous European philosopher will be commemorated in his homeland and elsewhere this coming June?

5.

What was Major Walter Clopton Wingfield's role in British sport back in 1874?

6.

What was American Barbara Cassani's role in British sport from 2003 to 2004?

7.

Which two former American presidents both died on July 4th 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence?

8.

Which two former American presidents both died within a month of one another on December 26th 1972 and January 22nd 1973?

Sp1

Of which European country was Marie Leczynska Queen from 1725 until her death in 1768, a period of 43 years?

Sp2

Of which European country was  Elisabeth Farnese Queen from 1714 until her husband's death in 1746, a period of 32 years?

ROUND 6 - Hidden theme

1.

Which film actress wrote the 1990 autobiography Little Girl Lost and starred in such films as Poison Ivy, Bad Girls, Boys on the Side and Everyone Says I Love You?

2.

Which Manchester alderman, born in 1843, persuaded philanthropist Andrew Carnegie to fund the construction of a public library in Didsbury in 1915, and in 1919 gifted the gardens of the parsonage where he lived (that still bear his name) to the people of Manchester?

3.

Which common meteorological instrument  is also a slang word for a politician who has frequent changes of opinion?  The National Assembly of Quebec actually banned this slang term as a slur after its use by members of the legislature.

4.

Which of Beatrix Potter's characters flees from a farm only to be befriended by a fox who secretly plans to kill and eat the character before a collie friend from the farm comes to the rescue?

5.

Which Swedish city located in the southernmost province of Scania was founded by the Danes in 990, became a major Christian centre in the Middle Ages boasting one of the tallest cathedrals in Sweden and whose university is one of Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research?

6.

What was the name of the single-movement piano concerto written by British composer Richard Addinsell for the 1941 film Dangerous Moonlight which Spike Milligan later repeatedly referred to as "the bloody awful --------- .----------" (supply the missing words) in his 1971 autobiography Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall?

7.

Which Manchester-born Conservative politician served as Postmaster General from 1957 to 1959 and Minister of Transport from 1959 to 1964. He later fled the country to avoid prosecution for tax evasion and died in exile in Monaco in 1978?

8.

Which 19th century poet laureate dedicated a long poem entitled In Memoriam AHH to his close friend Arthur Henry Hallam who died suddenly at a young age?  The poem was a great favourite of Queen Victoria, who found it a source of solace after the death of Prince Albert.

Sp1

What name links a 4th century Christian saint famous in the Middle Ages as the patron saint of the wool trade and also of afflictions of the throat, with a 17th century mathematician and philosopher?

Sp2

Born in Stoke on Trent in 1899, which famous potter and ceramic artist has been described as the most prolific and possibly important Art Deco ceramics designer of the Twentieth Century?

ROUNDS 7 & 8 - Bingo Blockbuster

Pick a question based on the initial letter(s) of the answer

1.

SC

Who made his TV debut in 1990 as a contestant on Sale of The Century.  Sadly he failed to win the Fiat Uno but was lucky enough to go home with £20 worth of kitchen utensils?

2.

T

Who began his fictional life as a boy scout fighting evil Socialists?

3.

MR

Identify the research scientist who helped food manufacturer J Lyons and Co. maximise their profits by coming up with a process that enabled them to bulk out their ice cream by pumping more air into it.

4.

S

Identify the northern English town on the river Tawd named after its 9th century Viking founder. Its bewildering traffic system and its many oversized roundabouts make it a place to be avoided but its much praised school and community of Transcendental Meditation has done much to restore the sanity of the locals.

5.

BMC

Name the last group of performers to be given a licence to perform with live animals on the stage of the famous Drury Lane theatre in London.

6.

RS

Who is the Manchester-born philosopher who veers very much to the right?  He is perhaps the only modern philosopher ever taken to court by the Pet Shop Boys.

7.

NR

Where were Fenix Two and Marching Song publicly electrocuted a year ago last weekend?

8.

SG

Complete the wording on this film poster from 1973.  “It’s the year 2022.  People are still the same. They will do anything to get what they need.  And they need ……..."

9.

BILB

In Dec 2010 what became the first film from the west  ever to be shown on North Korean television?

10.

OCS

There are currently 697 of these on British high streets. The French are traditionally a little snooty about such things and have only recently opened their first in the city of Lille. Many more are expected to follow.  What are they?              

11.

TWC

Identify the 1st century AD Roman artefact on display in the British Museum.  It's the only one of the chosen '100 objects that changed the world' to have an x-rated warning as it portrays graphic homoerotic scenes.

12.

TDOC

In his youth English poet and novelist George Meredith posed as the model for the wistfully reposed teenage suicide in which famous painting by Henry Wallis?

13.

NOOT

Identify the debut album released in 1970 by Newcastle folk-rock band Lindisfarne.  The title was chosen not to detract from their musical abilities but rather to highlight their unwillingness to follow the mainstream career path of other rock bands of the time.

14.

VD

Traditionally said to have been the first English child born in North America, who was born in 1587 but disappeared the following year along with all 117 Roanoke colonists?

15.

A

Name the small but affluent Pakistani city in the Orash valley 50 kilometres northeast of Islamabad.  It was named after a British army major in 1853 and made world headlines in May 2011 when Osama bin Laden was killed there.

16.

PG

What, according to Descartes, was the seat of the soul, the meeting place of the physical body and the rational soul?

17.

TMWOSCG

Identify the suggested new title for one of Shakespeare’s plays.  In a rare moment of wit, Kaiser Wilhelm made the suggestion in retaliation to the British royal family’s decision to change its name.

18.

EPI

What is the mysterious little patch of traffic-free land in London?  King Henry VIII used to dine there and Dickens used to walk there to seek inspiration. In the 1960s it was a mecca for blues and rock band enthusiasts.

19.

BS

What is the 1977 Tom Waits song inspired by a product that used to be advertised by a series of short witty rhymes posted on billboards along USA highways?

20.

B

Identify the place name that comes next in the following sequence: Turin, St Etienne, Shizuoka, Gelsenkirchen and  ……

ROUND 1 - Pairs

1.

In the 1976 Mel Brooks film Silent Movie who was the only actor to have a spoken line?       

Marcel Marceau

2.

Who starred (and won a Golden Globe award) as George Valentin in the 2011 silent movie The Artist?

Jean Dujardin

3.

The Tiwi Islands, comprising Melville Island and Bathurst Island are within 100 miles of which Australian city?

Darwin

4.

Mount Kosciuszko, the highest mountain in Australia at 2,228m, is on the border between which 2 Australian territories?

Victoria and New South Wales.

5.

Who in 1889 invented the punched cards which bear his name and which were used initially by mechanical devices and later by early computers?

Herman Hollerith

6.

Most computer systems conform to ASCII standards.  What do these initials stand for?                                        

American Standard Code for Information Interchange

7.

Name the hypothesis that every even number greater than 2 is the sum of 2 prime numbers.

Goldbach’s Conjecture

8.

First proposed by Kepler in 1610 and restated as Olber’s Paradox in 1826, how is this astronomical paradox, based on an obvious observation, better known?

The Dark or Black Sky Paradox

Sp1

In August 2009, which European language was declared by UNESCO to have risen from the dead?

The Manx language

(no longer regarded as extinct).

Sp2

There are 6 United Nations official languages including English, French, Spanish and Russian.  Name the other 2.

Chinese and Arabic

ROUND 2 - Hidden theme

1.

Which 1974 film, nominated for 3 Academy Awards, included a cameo of the Count Basie Orchestra in an unusual outdoor setting?

Blazing Saddles

2.

Name the Australian bowler who first toured England in 1981, taking 42 wickets in the Test Series against England, including 9 in his debut Test match.  

Terry Alderman

3.

Which Belfast born writer was a hostage in Beirut from April 1986 to August 1990, and gave an account of his years of hostage in his book An Evil Cradling?   

Brian Keenan

4.

Who was president of the National Union of Mineworkers from 1971 to 1982 and subsequently a Labour peer?

Joe Gormley

5.

Name the classic Milanese specialty consisting of cross-cut veal shanks braised with vegetables, white wine and broth.                                

Ossabuco

6.

Who was Director General of the BBC from 1982 to 1987 when his resignation was allegedly forced by Margaret Thatcher?

Alasdair Milne

7.

Name the 1967 play by Howard Sackler, adapted as a film in 1970 and based on the demand of the American public for a boxer to beat the established world champion, Jack Johnson.

The Great White Hope

8.

To which Rugby club was Jonny Wilkinson transferred from Newcastle Falcons in 2009?

Toulon

Theme: Each answer contains a reference to a Scottish Munro (a mountain over 3,000ft):

The Saddle, Ben Alder, Mount Keen, Cairngorm, Ben Oss, Sgurr Alasdair, Ben Hope & Cairn Toul

1.

Arty Farty

Who is currently holding an exhibition at the Royal Academy entitled A Bigger Picture?

David Hockney

2.

He Ain't Heavy

Money for Nothing is the number one hit-track from which best selling album?

Brothers in Arms

3.

General Knowledge

What were General Custer's first two names?

George  Armstrong

4.

Watching the Detectives

In which long running detective series did Superintendants  Robert 'The Mint' Murray and Jack 'The Biscuit' McVitie appear? 

Taggart

5.

Opening Lines

From which song is this the opening  line: “I, I will be king and, You, You will be Queen"?

Heroes

(by David Bowie)

6.

4 Play

Who is missing from this group of four: Fleegle, Drooper, Snorkey and.....?

Bingo

(from Banana Splits)

7.

Watching the Detectives

Who played Italian detective Aurelio Zen in the BBC series Zen last year?  He previously starred as Charles the Second in the series The Power and the Passion.

Rufus Sewell

8.

Name the Year

In which year did the following events occur: Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother died, ex-currencies of Euro-using countries ceased to be legal tender, Pim Fortuyn of the Netherlands assassinated?

2002

9.

Cross Dressing

Which character in M.A.S.H. dressed as a woman in an attempt to get dismissed from the army?          

Klinger

10.

Poor MI Israelites

What site in Jerusalem is thought to be the last remaining remnant of the Second Jewish Temple built by Herod the Great in the first century BC?

The Western or Wailing Wall

11.

Opening Lines

From which number one song is this the opening line: “You’ve done it all, you’ve broken every code”?

Make me Smile (Come up and see me)

(accept Come up and see me make me smile)

12.

He's My Brother

Which book by historian Stephen E Ambrose took it’s title from the Shakespeare play Henry the Fifth and was made into a TV series starring Donnie Wahlberg and Damian Lewis?

Band of Brothers

13.

Arty Farty Cross Dressing

The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman now showing at the British Museum is by which artist also known as Claire?

Grayson  Perry

14.

Name the Year

In which year did the following occur: Austria, Finland and Sweden join the EU, Richey Edwards of Manic Street Preachers goes missing on the eve of their US tour, Barings Bank collapses after Nick Leeson loses 1.4 billion on the Tokyo Exchange, and British soldiers cease patrols of Belfast streets?

1995

15.

Poor MI Israelites

In the Bible who was the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, the two youngest sons of Jacob?

Rachel

16.

General Knowledge

Which General has two aircraft named after him?

(Arthur Wellesley) Duke of Wellington

(Vickers Wellington and Wellesley)

17.

4 Play

In literature, which of the Pevensie Children is missing from this list: Lucy, Edmund, Peter, .....?

Susan

18.

Cross Dressing

In which 1980’s film did Michael Caine play murdering transvestite psychiatrist Robert Elliot?

Dressed to Kill

ROUND 5 - Pairs

1.

Which cyclist, who won the 2010 Tour de France, was recently stripped of his title for testing positive for a banned substance?

Alberto Contador

2.

Which tennis player was recently the subject of a slanderous sketch on Les Guignols (the French equivalent of Spitting Image) in which he is depicted as stopping at a petrol station, urinating into the hub of his car and then being booked for speeding - the implication being that his urine was so full of performance enhancing drugs it could power his own vehicle?

Rafael Nadal

(The Spanish Tennis Federation are currently suing the offending channel)

3.

The 300th anniversary of the birth of which famous European monarch was recently commemorated in his homeland in January? 

Frederick II 'The Great' of Prussia

4.

The 300th anniversary of the birth of which famous European philosopher will be commemorated in his homeland and elsewhere this coming June?

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

5.

What was Major Walter Clopton Wingfield's role in British sport back in 1874?

He devised the rules for the modern game of Lawn Tennis and patented them in that year

6.

What was American Barbara Cassani's role in British sport from 2003 to 2004?

She was the original head of London's 2012 Olympic bid before resigning in favour of Sebastian Coe

7.

Which two former American presidents both died on July 4th 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence?

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson

8.

Which two former American presidents both died within a month of one another on December 26th 1972 and January 22nd 1973?

Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson

Sp1

Of which European country was Marie Leczynska Queen from 1725 until her death in 1768, a period of 43 years?

France

(she was the wife of Louis XV).

Sp2

Of which European country was  Elisabeth Farnese Queen from 1714 until her husband's death in 1746, a period of 32 years?

Spain

(she was the second wife of Philip V)

ROUND 6 - Hidden themethe popularity of their stylish 1959 TV advert)

1.

Which film actress wrote the 1990 autobiography Little Girl Lost and starred in such films as Poison Ivy, Bad Girls, Boys on the Side and Everyone Says I Love You?

Drew Barrymore

2.

Which Manchester alderman, born in 1843, persuaded philanthropist Andrew Carnegie to fund the construction of a public library in Didsbury in 1915, and in 1919 gifted the gardens of the parsonage where he lived (that still bear his name) to the people of Manchester?

Fletcher Moss

3.

Which common meteorological instrument  is also a slang word for a politician who has frequent changes of opinion?  The National Assembly of Quebec actually banned this slang term as a slur after its use by members of the legislature.

Weather vane

4.

Which of Beatrix Potter's characters flees from a farm only to be befriended by a fox who secretly plans to kill and eat the character before a collie friend from the farm comes to the rescue?

Jemima Puddleduck

5.

Which Swedish city located in the southernmost province of Scania was founded by the Danes in 990, became a major Christian centre in the Middle Ages boasting one of the tallest cathedrals in Sweden and whose university is one of Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research?

Lund

6.

What was the name of the single-movement piano concerto written by British composer Richard Addinsell for the 1941 film Dangerous Moonlight which Spike Milligan later repeatedly referred to as "the bloody awful --------- .----------" (supply the missing words) in his 1971 autobiography Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall?

Warsaw Concerto

7.

Which Manchester-born Conservative politician served as Postmaster General from 1957 to 1959 and Minister of Transport from 1959 to 1964. He later fled the country to avoid prosecution for tax evasion and died in exile in Monaco in 1978?

Ernest Marples

8.

Which 19th century poet laureate dedicated a long poem entitled In Memoriam AHH to his close friend Arthur Henry Hallam who died suddenly at a young age?  The poem was a great favourite of Queen Victoria, who found it a source of solace after the death of Prince Albert.

Alfred (Lord) Tennyson

Sp1

What name links a 4th century Christian saint famous in the Middle Ages as the patron saint of the wool trade and also of afflictions of the throat, with a 17th century mathematician and philosopher?

Blaise

(St Blaise or Blasius and Blaise Pascal).

Sp2

Born in Stoke on Trent in 1899, which famous potter and ceramic artist has been described as the most prolific and possibly important Art Deco ceramics designer of the Twentieth Century?

Clarice Cliff

Theme: Each answer contains the forename or surname of a fictional female detective:

Nancy Drew,  Jessica Fletcher,  Harriet Vane, Jemima Shore, Sarah Lund,  V I Warshawski, Jane Marple, Jane Tennison, Modesty Blaise and Clarice Starling

ROUNDS 7 & 8 - Bingo Blockbuster

Pick a question based on the initial letter(s) of the answer

1.

SC

Who made his TV debut in 1990 as a contestant on Sale of The Century.  Sadly he failed to win the Fiat Uno but was lucky enough to go home with £20 worth of kitchen utensils?

Simon Cowell

2.

T

Who began his fictional life as a boy scout fighting evil Socialists?

Tintin

3.

MR

Identify the research scientist who helped food manufacturer J Lyons and Co. maximise their profits by coming up with a process that enabled them to bulk out their ice cream by pumping more air into it.

Margaret Roberts

(who later, under her married name, continued her crusade to deprive children of dairy products)

4.

S

Identify the northern English town on the river Tawd named after its 9th century Viking founder. Its bewildering traffic system and its many oversized roundabouts make it a place to be avoided but its much praised school and community of Transcendental Meditation has done much to restore the sanity of the locals.

Skelmersdale

5.

BMC

Name the last group of performers to be given a licence to perform with live animals on the stage of the famous Drury Lane theatre in London.

Bertram Mills Circus

6.

RS

Who is the Manchester-born philosopher who veers very much to the right?  He is perhaps the only modern philosopher ever taken to court by the Pet Shop Boys.

Roger Scruton

7.

NR

Where were Fenix Two and Marching Song publicly electrocuted a year ago last weekend?

Newbury Racecourse

8.

SG

Complete the wording on this film poster from 1973.  “It’s the year 2022.  People are still the same. They will do anything to get what they need.  And they need ……..."

Soylent Green

(which was of course food processed from human flesh)

9.

BILB

In Dec 2010 what became the first film from the west  ever to be shown on North Korean television?

Bend It Like Beckham

10.

OCS

There are currently 697 of these on British high streets. The French are traditionally a little snooty about such things and have only recently opened their first in the city of Lille. Many more are expected to follow.  What are they?              

Oxfam Charity Shops

11.

TWC

Identify the 1st century AD Roman artefact on display in the British Museum.  It's the only one of the chosen '100 objects that changed the world' to have an x-rated warning as it portrays graphic homoerotic scenes.

The Warren Cup

12.

TDOC

In his youth English poet and novelist George Meredith posed as the model for the wistfully reposed teenage suicide in which famous painting by Henry Wallis?

The Death of Chatterton

13.

NOOT

Identify the debut album released in 1970 by Newcastle folk-rock band Lindisfarne.  The title was chosen not to detract from their musical abilities but rather to highlight their unwillingness to follow the mainstream career path of other rock bands of the time.

Nicely Out of Tune

14.

VD

Traditionally said to have been the first English child born in North America, who was born in 1587 but disappeared the following year along with all 117 Roanoke colonists?

Virginia Dare

15.

A

Name the small but affluent Pakistani city in the Orash valley 50 kilometres northeast of Islamabad.  It was named after a British army major in 1853 and made world headlines in May 2011 when Osama bin Laden was killed there.

Abbottabad

16.

PG

What, according to Descartes, was the seat of the soul, the meeting place of the physical body and the rational soul?

Pineal Gland

17.

TMWOSCG

Identify the suggested new title for one of Shakespeare’s plays.  In a rare moment of wit, Kaiser Wilhelm made the suggestion in retaliation to the British royal family’s decision to change its name.

The Merry Wives Of Saxe Coburg Gotha

18.

EPI

What is the mysterious little patch of traffic-free land in London?  King Henry VIII used to dine there and Dickens used to walk there to seek inspiration. In the 1960s it was a mecca for blues and rock band enthusiasts.

Eel Pie Island

19.

BS

What is the 1977 Tom Waits song inspired by a product that used to be advertised by a series of short witty rhymes posted on billboards along USA highways?

Burma Shave

20.

B

Identify the place name that comes next in the following sequence: Turin, St Etienne, Shizuoka, Gelsenkirchen and  ……

Bloemfontein

(last 5 venues at which England’s hopes of winning a World Cup football tournament have foundered - in Bloemfontein they not only foundered but floundered)