ROUND 1 - '...and about time too!'

All the answers contain a timely reference

1.

The father was a Poet Laureate, and one of his sons is an Academy Award-winning actor. What’s the family name?

2.

What sporting first did Charles Bannerman achieve in Melbourne in March 1877?

3.

During his 15 years in advertising, he coined the slogan 'Nice one, Cyril', which everyone remembers as a football chant rather than as part of an advertisement for Wonderloaf. He then spent 14 years writing educational books, before publishing the British Book Awards’ Best Travel Book of the Year in 1989.  Name the book.

4.

Which national daily tabloid newspaper was published between March 1986 and November 1995?

5.

Which national daily tabloid newspaper was founded in 1930, is owned by the People’s Press Printing Society, and is currently edited by Bill Benfield?

6.

What costs £26.00 at Harrods, £38.00 at Claridge’s, £39.00 at the Dorchester, £40.00 at the Savoy and £42.00 at the Ritz?

7.

As of 2010, the LGM-30G version of this nuclear missile is the only land-based ICBM in service in the United States. It is named after the men, who provided a highly mobile, rapidly deployed force that allowed the colonies to respond immediately to war threats during the American Revolutionary War.  What is the missile called?

8.

According to Shakespeare, whose last words were:

"Mount, mount, my soul! Thy seat is up on high;
Whilst my gross flesh sinks downward, here to die"

Sp1

This American broadcaster came to prominence with radio news broadcasts during WW II, which were followed by millions of listeners in America.  He later produced a series of TV news reports that helped lead to the censure of Senator Joseph McCarthy.  Who was he?

Sp2

This cocktail can be made in two different ways: the original (tequila, crème de cassis, lime juice and soda water) and the more popular concoction (tequila, orange juice, and grenadine syrup).  What is it called?

1.

After managing the football teams Nancy-Lorraine, Monaco and Nagoya Grampus Eight, he moved to this country in 1996.  Who is he?

2.

He is the only Scottish player ever to win the European Footballer of the year award (1964) and holds the Manchester United record for most goals in a season (46 in 1963-64).  Who is he?

3.

The two most widely distributed magazines in the world today are published by which religious group?

4.

The author of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is better known for a character that he created in 1953.  What is the name of that character?

5.

Which metric unit did William Napier Shaw, as director of the Meteorological Office, introduce in 1909?

6.

By what name is the ‘English Flute’ better known?

7.

Which Australian tennis player won all four women’s Grand Slam tournaments (i.e. Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open) in 1970?

8.

Which pop group had No. 1 hits in 2001 with Pure and Simple and The Way to Your Love?

Sp1

What is collective term for a group of crows?

Sp2

This one act comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan was first produced on 25 March 1875 at London’s Royalty Theatre.  What is it called?

ROUND 3 - 'Things French'

All the answers have  a French connection

1.

According to a popular nursery rhyme dating from the early nineteenth century, what are little boys made of?

2.

In Greek mythology, who judged a beauty contest between Hera, Athena and Aphrodite?

3.

Among other things, this typographical symbol may be used to strike out portions of a word to avoid offending by using the full form of a profanity.  What is this symbol called?

4.

Discovered in 2003 and described in the journal Nature in September 2006, by what nickname is the astronomical feature SN 2003fg known?

5.

This hard rock/heavy metal band was formed in New York City in January 1973.  Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the current line-up comprises: Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Eric Singer, Tommy Thayer.  Name the band.

6.

In 1996, in the ‘Mad Cow disease’ panic, largely at the instigation of France, the EU banned the import of British beef.  A popular graffito at the time was "If they won’t buy our beef, we won’t buy their…..." what?

7.

What is the common name for an ‘Allocation of Time Motion’, which is a procedure that can be used to restrict the time set aside for debate during the passage of a bill through the House of Commons?

8.

This English writer was best known for her historical novels set in Ancient Greece e.g. The King Must Die, The Last of the Wine, The Mask of Apollo and The Persian Boy.  What is her name?

Sp1

Born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton, this actress is best remembered for appearing in the Road to..... movies, starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. By what name is she better known?

Sp2

Originally this phrase described 'a tattooed species often with a cigarette in his mouth, who is prone to flashing his lights as he descends on his prey'.  It was then more generally applied to drivers of light commercial vehicles, and is now also the title of a successful BBC Three sitcom, filmed in and around Greater Manchester.  What is the phrase?

ROUND 4 - 'Lords and Ladies'

All the answers have a noble of royal connection - occasionally foreign

1.

Who killed Martin Luther King on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee?

2.

The actor, born Marion Michael Morrison, was known by what nickname, taken from the name of the family dog?

3.

When he is not being an Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, sitting on the Advisory Council of the London Symphony Orchestra, being a Patron of Worcestershire County Cricket Club and a Trustee of the National Gallery, he is Governor of the Bank of England and Chairman of the Monetary Policy Committee.  Who is he?

4.

In the early hours of 20 August 1989, a pleasure boat was run down by a dredger and sank, near Cannon Street Railway Bridge on the Thames. 51 of the 131 people on board drowned.  What was the name of the pleasure boat?

5.

What epithet is applied to the political event, which occurred in Germany between June 29-30, 1934 and in Britain on July 13, 1962?

6.

The crime fiction duo, Frederick Dannay and Manfred B Lee, used this as their pseudonym and as the name of their detective.  What was the name?

7.

What meat joint consists of two sirloins left uncut at the backbone?

8.

Hugo Dyson was an Oxford academic, a committed Christian and a member of the Inklings literary group.  At one reading of an author’s efforts, he is recorded as saying ‘'Oh God, not another fucking elf!"  Of which book was he speaking?

Sp1

During the Antarctic winter, this bird treks 31–75 miles over the ice to breeding colonies where the female lays a single egg.  Incubated by the male, while the female returns to the sea to feed.  Parents subsequently take turns foraging at sea and caring for their chick.  By what name is this bird known?

Sp2

These French WWII guerilla bands took their name from the thickets of shrubs on the shores of the Mediterranean.  What was their name?

ROUND 5 - 'Lords and Ladies - The Musical'

Again all the answers have a noble of royal connection

1.

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta had her first UK No. 1 hit in 2008 with Just Dance.  By what name is she better known?

2.

He made his living from albums and concert tours, but he is probably best known as the longest serving British political party leader of the 20th Century.  Who is he?

3.

He broke new ground in jazz by writing extended works and suites, like Black, Brown and Beige and The Perfume Suite, and wrote classic jazz songs, such as Sophisticated Lady and Mood Indigo.  Who was he?

4.

Alexsandr Borodin’s works include an unfinished opera (1869-70 and 1874-87) which includes the Polovtsian Dances.  What is this opera called?

5.

Beethoven’s last piano concerto, the Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, is popularly known as what?

6.

His 1928 recording of Weather Bird with Louis Armstrong, in a style later known as ‘trumpet piano’, was a highly influential duet performance. His orchestra’s 12-year residency at the Grand Terrace Ballroom, Chicago, with national tours and recordings, brought him fame as one of the masters of the swing era.  Who was he?

7.

This humorous pop group, originally formed in 1959, can still be regularly found in cabaret or performing seaside summer seasons.  It was their production of humorous parodies that brought them their greatest success.  UK Singles Chart hits include Call Up the Groups (No. 3 in 1964), Pop Go the Workers (No. 5, 1965), and A Taste of Aggro (No. 3, 1978).  Name the group.

8.

Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970) is an American singer and actress.  Her most recent album, in 2009, was Persona.  She received an Academy Award nomination in 2002 for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Matron 'Mama' Morton in the musical Chicago.  In 2003, she starred with Steve Martin in the major box office success Bringing Down the House.  Who is she?

Sp1

In 1935, he took over the leadership of a jazz orchestra in Kansas City.  After moving to New York, the band quickly achieved national fame. For nearly 50 years, he was one of the most significant big-band leaders.  His compositions include One O’Clock Jump and Jumpin’ at the Woodside.  Who is he?

Sp2

Starting as a jazz pianist in the 1930’s, he is best remembered as a vocalist, particularly with Mona Lisa (1950) and Unforgettable (1951).  Who is he?

ROUND 6 - 'Things Italian'

All the answers have a connection with Ancient Rome and Italy in general

1.

What term was coined in the 1970s to refer to the Gravelly Hill Interchange?

2.

Which writer’s most famous work is probably The Unbearable Lightness of Being, published in 1984?  (first name needed for the theme)

3.

What name connects a thousand red shirts and ‘squashed’ or ‘dead fly biscuits’?

4.

Supposedly invented on 4th July 1924, the main ingredients are romaine lettuce and croutons dressed with parmesan cheese, lemon juice, olive oil, egg, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, and black pepper.  By what name is this classic dish known?

5.

What is the dish called that consists of two halves of an English muffin, topped with ham or bacon, poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce?  It may be named after the banker and yachtsman, who created it, or a retired stock broker, who ordered it in the Waldorf Hotel in 1894, or a lady, who ordered it at Delmonico's.

6.

Complete this film quote: "A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice…..." what?

7.

Who is the fictional narrator of a collection of African American folktales adapted and compiled by Joel Chandler Harris, which was published as a book in 1881?

8.

What first name connects a notoriously bad operatic soprano, a woman sometimes called the 'fastest woman of all time' (based on the fact that she still holds the world record for both the 100 metres and 200 metres, both set in 1988) and an American actress, perhaps best known for her role as the mother, Carol Brady, in the sitcom The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974?

Sp1

By what nickname is Portsmouth Football Club known?

Sp2

This play was first staged at the National Theatre in London in 1980, and became the focus of an unsuccessful private prosecution in 1982 by Mary Whitehouse against the play’s director Michael Bogdanov relating to the on-stage depiction of homosexual rape.  What was its name?

Sp3

In the 1980’s, these conflicts between companies in the East End of Glasgow involved daily violence and intimidation, earned the Strathclyde Police the nickname the ‘serious chimes squad’, and culminated on 16 April 1984 with the murder by arson of six members of the Doyle family. By what name were they known?

ROUND 7 - Hidden theme

1.

This Australian actor is particularly noted for his performances as Henry VIII in a 1970 BBC TV series and a 1972 film.  He was also the illustrator of Captain Beaky, a character, which enjoyed UK success in the early 1980s.  Who is he?

2.

The four classic Western Cardinal virtues are: Temperance or Restraint, Courage or Fortitude, Justice, and what?

3.

Found by Donald Johanson and Tom Gray in 1974 at Hadar in Ethiopia’s Afar Depression, the fossil remains of the Australopithecus afarensis specimen, AL 288-1, are commonly known by what name?

4.

He was King of Scots from March 25, 1306, until his death in 1329. and defeated the English at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.  Who was he?

5.

Conceived in 1903, this UK product and service quality certification mark, is owned and operated by The British Standards Institution.  It covers 450+ individual schemes.  By what name is it best known?

6.

The largest UK manufacturer of this product is based in Norwich, but probably the best known centre of manufacture is Dijon in France.  Name the product.

7.

This soft drink, marketed as having a unique flavour, was created in the 1880s by Charles Alderton of Waco, Texas.  Over the years, it has occasionally marketed itself as having medicinal qualities, but its current slogan is 'Can you handle the taste?'.  What is the soft drink called?

8.

First synthesized by accident in 1898 by the German chemist Hans von Pechmann, while heating diazomethane, it is now the most widely used plastic in the world, and its primary use is within packaging.  What is it?

Sp1

Born on 10 June 1923 in Czechoslovakia, this media proprietor and former MP died on 5 November 1991 and was buried on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem on 10 November 1991.  By what name is Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch better known?

Sp2

The film is probably best known for a scene where the title characters, played by Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal, have lunch in a deli.  Meg Ryan claims that men cannot recognize when a woman fakes an orgasm.  To prove her point, she vividly (but fully clothed) fakes one as other diners watch.  As she casually returns to her meal, a nearby patron (played by director Rob Reiner's mother) places her order: "I'll have what she's having."  Name the film.

Sp3

Five place names in the USA today have a possessive apostrophe. Carlos Elmer's Joshua View, Clarke's Mountain, Ike's Point, and John E's Pond are four.  The fifth, south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, is an island known for being an affluent summer colony.  What is it called?

ROUND 8 - "When shall we three meet again?" - "Well I can do next Tuesday."

1.

The above quotation ("When shall we three meet again?" - "Well, I can do next Tuesday.") is taken from Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett.  The Wyrd Sisters are Nanny Ogg, Magrat Garlick and who?

2.

The three parts of the psychic apparatus defined in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche are Id, Ego and what?

3.

The three main galaxy morphological classifications are Ellipticals, Lenticulars, and what?

4.

In Greek mythology, the three Gorgons were Stheno, Euryale, and who?

5.

‘The Three Tenors’ is a name given to the singers Plácido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti and who?

6.

Hegelian dialectic, comprises three stages of development: an intellectual proposition, a reaction to the proposition, and a resolution of the tension between the two to form a new propostion.  The triad is more simply referred to as thesis, antithesis, and what?

7.

Chico, Harpo and Groucho Marx’s given names were Leonard, Adolph and what?

8.

After the removal of Nikita Khrushchev in October 1964, the Soviet Union went through a period of collective leadership, until June 1977. Power was initially shared between the Premier Alexei Kosygin, the Chairman of the Presidium Anastas Mikoyan, and the General Secretary, whose name was what?

Sp1

The auditory ossicles are the three smallest bones in the human body.  They comprise the malleus or hammer, the incus or anvil and what other bone?  (an answer in either Latin or English is acceptable)

Sp2

In the Hindu concept of the Trimurti, cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the ‘Hindu triad’ or ‘Great Trinity’.  Brahmā is the creator, and Vishnu is the maintainer or preserver.  Who is the destroyer or transformer?

ROUND 1 - '...and about time too!'

All the answers contain a timely reference

1.

The father was a Poet Laureate, and one of his sons is an Academy Award-winning actor. What’s the family name?

Day-Lewis

(Cecil and Daniel)

2.

What sporting first did Charles Bannerman achieve in Melbourne in March 1877?

First Test Match Century

(for Australia against England. 165 – Retired Hurt)

3.

During his 15 years in advertising, he coined the slogan 'Nice one, Cyril', which everyone remembers as a football chant rather than as part of an advertisement for Wonderloaf. He then spent 14 years writing educational books, before publishing the British Book Awards’ Best Travel Book of the Year in 1989.  Name the book.

A Year in Provence

4.

Which national daily tabloid newspaper was published between March 1986 and November 1995?

Today

5.

Which national daily tabloid newspaper was founded in 1930, is owned by the People’s Press Printing Society, and is currently edited by Bill Benfield?

The Morning Star

6.

What costs £26.00 at Harrods, £38.00 at Claridge’s, £39.00 at the Dorchester, £40.00 at the Savoy and £42.00 at the Ritz?

Afternoon Tea

(per person!)

7.

As of 2010, the LGM-30G version of this nuclear missile is the only land-based ICBM in service in the United States. It is named after the men, who provided a highly mobile, rapidly deployed force that allowed the colonies to respond immediately to war threats during the American Revolutionary War.  What is the missile called?

Minuteman

8.

According to Shakespeare, whose last words were:

"Mount, mount, my soul! Thy seat is up on high;
Whilst my gross flesh sinks downward, here to die"

Richard the Second

Sp1

This American broadcaster came to prominence with radio news broadcasts during WW II, which were followed by millions of listeners in America.  He later produced a series of TV news reports that helped lead to the censure of Senator Joseph McCarthy.  Who was he?

Ed Murrow

(Edward Roscoe Murrow - Murrow played himself in the 1960 film Sink the Bismarck! and presumably had the honour of meeting Bardic Eric’s digit)

Sp2

This cocktail can be made in two different ways: the original (tequila, crème de cassis, lime juice and soda water) and the more popular concoction (tequila, orange juice, and grenadine syrup).  What is it called?

Tequila Sunrise

1.

After managing the football teams Nancy-Lorraine, Monaco and Nagoya Grampus Eight, he moved to this country in 1996.  Who is he?

Arsène Wenger

2.

He is the only Scottish player ever to win the European Footballer of the year award (1964) and holds the Manchester United record for most goals in a season (46 in 1963-64).  Who is he?

Denis Law

3.

The two most widely distributed magazines in the world today are published by which religious group?
 

Jehovah’s Witnesses

(The Watchtower - 42 million - and Awake - 41 million)

4.

The author of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is better known for a character that he created in 1953.  What is the name of that character?

James Bond

5.

Which metric unit did William Napier Shaw, as director of the Meteorological Office, introduce in 1909?

The Bar

(as in isobars)

6.

By what name is the ‘English Flute’ better known?

Recorder

7.

Which Australian tennis player won all four women’s Grand Slam tournaments (i.e. Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open) in 1970?

Margaret Court

8.

Which pop group had No. 1 hits in 2001 with Pure and Simple and The Way to Your Love?

Hear’Say

Sp1

What is collective term for a group of crows?

Murder

Sp2

This one act comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan was first produced on 25 March 1875 at London’s Royalty Theatre.  What is it called?

Trial by Jury

ROUND 3 - 'Things French'

All the answers have  a French connection

1.

According to a popular nursery rhyme dating from the early nineteenth century, what are little boys made of?

Frogs and snails and puppy dogs’ tails

(accept slugs, snakes, or snips, as variants of frogs)

2.

In Greek mythology, who judged a beauty contest between Hera, Athena and Aphrodite?

Paris

3.

Among other things, this typographical symbol may be used to strike out portions of a word to avoid offending by using the full form of a profanity.  What is this symbol called?

Asterisk

4.

Discovered in 2003 and described in the journal Nature in September 2006, by what nickname is the astronomical feature SN 2003fg known?

The Champagne Supernova

(after the 1996 Oasis song)

5.

This hard rock/heavy metal band was formed in New York City in January 1973.  Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the current line-up comprises: Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Eric Singer, Tommy Thayer.  Name the band.

Kiss

6.

In 1996, in the ‘Mad Cow disease’ panic, largely at the instigation of France, the EU banned the import of British beef.  A popular graffito at the time was "If they won’t buy our beef, we won’t buy their…..." what?

Letters

7.

What is the common name for an ‘Allocation of Time Motion’, which is a procedure that can be used to restrict the time set aside for debate during the passage of a bill through the House of Commons?

A Guillotine Motion or Guillotine order

(accept Programme Order - also technically correct, but, it should be pointed out, not very French)

8.

This English writer was best known for her historical novels set in Ancient Greece e.g. The King Must Die, The Last of the Wine, The Mask of Apollo and The Persian Boy.  What is her name?

Mary Renault

Sp1

Born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton, this actress is best remembered for appearing in the Road to..... movies, starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. By what name is she better known?

Dorothy Lamour

Sp2

Originally this phrase described 'a tattooed species often with a cigarette in his mouth, who is prone to flashing his lights as he descends on his prey'.  It was then more generally applied to drivers of light commercial vehicles, and is now also the title of a successful BBC Three sitcom, filmed in and around Greater Manchester.  What is the phrase?

White Van Man

('Van' being sort of French for wine - I did warn about bad puns!)

ROUND 4 - 'Lords and Ladies'

All the answers have a noble of royal connection - occasionally foreign

1.

Who killed Martin Luther King on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee?

James Earl Ray

2.

The actor, born Marion Michael Morrison, was known by what nickname, taken from the name of the family dog?

The Duke

(John Wayne)

3.

When he is not being an Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, sitting on the Advisory Council of the London Symphony Orchestra, being a Patron of Worcestershire County Cricket Club and a Trustee of the National Gallery, he is Governor of the Bank of England and Chairman of the Monetary Policy Committee.  Who is he?

Sir Mervyn King

4.

In the early hours of 20 August 1989, a pleasure boat was run down by a dredger and sank, near Cannon Street Railway Bridge on the Thames. 51 of the 131 people on board drowned.  What was the name of the pleasure boat?

The Marchioness

5.

What epithet is applied to the political event, which occurred in Germany between June 29-30, 1934 and in Britain on July 13, 1962?

The Night of the Long Knives

6.

The crime fiction duo, Frederick Dannay and Manfred B Lee, used this as their pseudonym and as the name of their detective.  What was the name?

Ellery Queen

7.

What meat joint consists of two sirloins left uncut at the backbone?

Baron of Beef

8.

Hugo Dyson was an Oxford academic, a committed Christian and a member of the Inklings literary group.  At one reading of an author’s efforts, he is recorded as saying ‘'Oh God, not another fucking elf!"  Of which book was he speaking?

Lord of the Rings

Sp1

During the Antarctic winter, this bird treks 31–75 miles over the ice to breeding colonies where the female lays a single egg.  Incubated by the male, while the female returns to the sea to feed.  Parents subsequently take turns foraging at sea and caring for their chick.  By what name is this bird known?

The Emperor Penguin

Sp2

These French WWII guerilla bands took their name from the thickets of shrubs on the shores of the Mediterranean.  What was their name?

The Maquis

ROUND 5 - 'Lords and Ladies - The Musical'

Again all the answers have a noble of royal connection

1.

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta had her first UK No. 1 hit in 2008 with Just Dance.  By what name is she better known?

Lady Gaga

2.

He made his living from albums and concert tours, but he is probably best known as the longest serving British political party leader of the 20th Century.  Who is he?
 

Screaming Lord Sutch

(Official Monster Raving Loony Party (1983-99) - when Sutch died, Alan 'Howling Laud' Hope and his cat, Cat Mandu, were elected joint party leaders - Hope is now sole leader since Cat Mandu died in a road accident in 2002)

3.

He broke new ground in jazz by writing extended works and suites, like Black, Brown and Beige and The Perfume Suite, and wrote classic jazz songs, such as Sophisticated Lady and Mood Indigo.  Who was he?

Duke Ellington

4.

Alexsandr Borodin’s works include an unfinished opera (1869-70 and 1874-87) which includes the Polovtsian Dances.  What is this opera called?

Prince Igor

5.

Beethoven’s last piano concerto, the Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, is popularly known as what?

The Emperor Concerto

6.

His 1928 recording of Weather Bird with Louis Armstrong, in a style later known as ‘trumpet piano’, was a highly influential duet performance. His orchestra’s 12-year residency at the Grand Terrace Ballroom, Chicago, with national tours and recordings, brought him fame as one of the masters of the swing era.  Who was he?

Earl Hines

7.

This humorous pop group, originally formed in 1959, can still be regularly found in cabaret or performing seaside summer seasons.  It was their production of humorous parodies that brought them their greatest success.  UK Singles Chart hits include Call Up the Groups (No. 3 in 1964), Pop Go the Workers (No. 5, 1965), and A Taste of Aggro (No. 3, 1978).  Name the group.

The Barron Knights
 

8.

Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970) is an American singer and actress.  Her most recent album, in 2009, was Persona.  She received an Academy Award nomination in 2002 for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Matron 'Mama' Morton in the musical Chicago.  In 2003, she starred with Steve Martin in the major box office success Bringing Down the House.  Who is she?

Queen Latifah

(in 2003, unlike many actresses, Latifah had breast reduction surgery to reduce her F size breasts to a double D cup size, as a way of reducing back and shoulder pain)

Sp1

In 1935, he took over the leadership of a jazz orchestra in Kansas City.  After moving to New York, the band quickly achieved national fame. For nearly 50 years, he was one of the most significant big-band leaders.  His compositions include One O’Clock Jump and Jumpin’ at the Woodside.  Who is he?

Count Basie

Sp2

Starting as a jazz pianist in the 1930’s, he is best remembered as a vocalist, particularly with Mona Lisa (1950) and Unforgettable (1951).  Who is he?

Nat ‘King’ Cole

ROUND 6 - 'Things Italian'

All the answers have a connection with Ancient Rome and Italy in general

1.

What term was coined in the 1970s to refer to the Gravelly Hill Interchange?

Spaghetti Junction

2.

Which writer’s most famous work is probably The Unbearable Lightness of Being, published in 1984?  (first name needed for the theme)

Milan Kundera

3.

What name connects a thousand red shirts and ‘squashed’ or ‘dead fly biscuits’?

Garibaldi

4.

Supposedly invented on 4th July 1924, the main ingredients are romaine lettuce and croutons dressed with parmesan cheese, lemon juice, olive oil, egg, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, and black pepper.  By what name is this classic dish known?

Caesar Salad

5.

What is the dish called that consists of two halves of an English muffin, topped with ham or bacon, poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce?  It may be named after the banker and yachtsman, who created it, or a retired stock broker, who ordered it in the Waldorf Hotel in 1894, or a lady, who ordered it at Delmonico's.

Eggs Benedict

6.

Complete this film quote: "A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice…..." what?

Chianti

(Hannibal Lecter from The Silence of the Lambs)

7.

Who is the fictional narrator of a collection of African American folktales adapted and compiled by Joel Chandler Harris, which was published as a book in 1881?

Uncle Remus

8.

What first name connects a notoriously bad operatic soprano, a woman sometimes called the 'fastest woman of all time' (based on the fact that she still holds the world record for both the 100 metres and 200 metres, both set in 1988) and an American actress, perhaps best known for her role as the mother, Carol Brady, in the sitcom The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974?

Florence

(Florence Foster Jenkins, Florence Griffith-Joyner aka Flo-Jo, and Florence Henderson)

Sp1

By what nickname is Portsmouth Football Club known?

Pompey

Sp2

This play was first staged at the National Theatre in London in 1980, and became the focus of an unsuccessful private prosecution in 1982 by Mary Whitehouse against the play’s director Michael Bogdanov relating to the on-stage depiction of homosexual rape.  What was its name?

The Romans in Britain

(This prosecution was defeated when Whitehouse's solicitor, the chief witness against Bogdanov, revealed that he had been sitting at the very back of the theatre when he saw what he claimed to be a penis. Prosecution withdrew after defence counsel demonstrated that the solicitor could have witnessed the actor's thumb protruding from his fist.)

Sp3

In the 1980’s, these conflicts between companies in the East End of Glasgow involved daily violence and intimidation, earned the Strathclyde Police the nickname the ‘serious chimes squad’, and culminated on 16 April 1984 with the murder by arson of six members of the Doyle family. By what name were they known?

The Glasgow Ice Cream Wars

(accept anything that mentions Ice Cream)

ROUND 7 - Hidden theme

1.

This Australian actor is particularly noted for his performances as Henry VIII in a 1970 BBC TV series and a 1972 film.  He was also the illustrator of Captain Beaky, a character, which enjoyed UK success in the early 1980s.  Who is he?

Keith Michell
 

2.

The four classic Western Cardinal virtues are: Temperance or Restraint, Courage or Fortitude, Justice, and what?

Prudence

3.

Found by Donald Johanson and Tom Gray in 1974 at Hadar in Ethiopia’s Afar Depression, the fossil remains of the Australopithecus afarensis specimen, AL 288-1, are commonly known by what name?

Lucy

4.

He was King of Scots from March 25, 1306, until his death in 1329. and defeated the English at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.  Who was he?

Robert the Bruce

(also accept Robert I)

5.

Conceived in 1903, this UK product and service quality certification mark, is owned and operated by The British Standards Institution.  It covers 450+ individual schemes.  By what name is it best known?

The Kitemark

6.

The largest UK manufacturer of this product is based in Norwich, but probably the best known centre of manufacture is Dijon in France.  Name the product.

Mustard
 

7.

This soft drink, marketed as having a unique flavour, was created in the 1880s by Charles Alderton of Waco, Texas.  Over the years, it has occasionally marketed itself as having medicinal qualities, but its current slogan is 'Can you handle the taste?'.  What is the soft drink called?

Dr Pepper

(The Dr Pepper Museum website opens with the 1930s-1940s slogan: 'Good For Life’ and ‘Belching is not encouraged’)

8.

First synthesized by accident in 1898 by the German chemist Hans von Pechmann, while heating diazomethane, it is now the most widely used plastic in the world, and its primary use is within packaging.  What is it?

Polythene

(accept also polyethylene, polyethene or polymethylene)

Sp1

Born on 10 June 1923 in Czechoslovakia, this media proprietor and former MP died on 5 November 1991 and was buried on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem on 10 November 1991.  By what name is Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch better known?

Robert Maxwell

Sp2

The film is probably best known for a scene where the title characters, played by Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal, have lunch in a deli.  Meg Ryan claims that men cannot recognize when a woman fakes an orgasm.  To prove her point, she vividly (but fully clothed) fakes one as other diners watch.  As she casually returns to her meal, a nearby patron (played by director Rob Reiner's mother) places her order: "I'll have what she's having."  Name the film.

When Harry met Sally
 

Sp3

Five place names in the USA today have a possessive apostrophe. Carlos Elmer's Joshua View, Clarke's Mountain, Ike's Point, and John E's Pond are four.  The fifth, south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, is an island known for being an affluent summer colony.  What is it called?

Martha's Vineyard

ROUND 8 - "When shall we three meet again?" - "Well I can do next Tuesday."

1.

The above quotation ("When shall we three meet again?" - "Well, I can do next Tuesday.") is taken from Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett.  The Wyrd Sisters are Nanny Ogg, Magrat Garlick and who?

Granny Weatherwax

2.

The three parts of the psychic apparatus defined in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche are Id, Ego and what?

Super-ego

3.

The three main galaxy morphological classifications are Ellipticals, Lenticulars, and what?

Spirals

4.

In Greek mythology, the three Gorgons were Stheno, Euryale, and who?

Medusa

5.

‘The Three Tenors’ is a name given to the singers Plácido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti and who?

José Carreras

6.

Hegelian dialectic, comprises three stages of development: an intellectual proposition, a reaction to the proposition, and a resolution of the tension between the two to form a new propostion.  The triad is more simply referred to as thesis, antithesis, and what?

Synthesis

(Hegel himself never used this terminology, but ascribed it to Kant)

7.

Chico, Harpo and Groucho Marx’s given names were Leonard, Adolph and what?
 

Julius
(During WW1, Harpo changed his name from Adolph to Arthur, as his name sounded too German.  Little did he know what a good move that was!)

8.

After the removal of Nikita Khrushchev in October 1964, the Soviet Union went through a period of collective leadership, until June 1977. Power was initially shared between the Premier Alexei Kosygin, the Chairman of the Presidium Anastas Mikoyan, and the General Secretary, whose name was what?

Leonid Brezhnev

Sp1

The auditory ossicles are the three smallest bones in the human body.  They comprise the malleus or hammer, the incus or anvil and what other bone?  (an answer in either Latin or English is acceptable)

The stapes or stirrup

Sp2

In the Hindu concept of the Trimurti, cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the ‘Hindu triad’ or ‘Great Trinity’.  Brahmā is the creator, and Vishnu is the maintainer or preserver.  Who is the destroyer or transformer?

Śhiva