ROUND 1 - Pairs

1.

Where in Scotland would you find The Robert Burns Birthplace Museum?

2.

Where in Wales would you find the Dylan Thomas Centre?

3.

Justine Greening, Secretary of State for International Development, is the MP for which constituency?

4.

Andrew Mitchell, Government Chief Whip, is the MP for which constituency?

5.

What connects Mario Vargas Llosa, Thomas Transtromer and Mo Yan?

6.

What connects Richard Wright, Susan Philipsz and Mart Boyce?

7.

Saintpaulia is a plant in the UK which is usually know by which name?

8.

The garden plant Hypericum is usually known by which name?

1.

The name of which city in the British Isles means 'Mouth of the sandbars (or shoals)'?

2.

What links Humphrey, Sybil, Treasury Bill and Larry?  

3.

Who was the last English player to be named European Footballer of the Year?

4.

Which Verdi opera is set in Berkshire?

5.

Which musician is the father of Nora Jones?        

6.

In fiction where did the Starkadders live?   

7.

“Had we but world enough and time” is the opening line from the poem To his Coy Mistress by which author?

8.

Whose albums include The Red Shoes, The Dreaming and The Kick Inside?

ROUND 3 - Pairs

1.

In which sport does the ball have to comply with the following specifications?

• It must be made of wood or of synthetic material

• It must carry the maker's mark and have secured confirmation by the FIPJP that it complies exactly with the relevant specification

• It must have a diameter of 30mm (+ or - 1mm)

2.

To which sport do the following ball specifications apply?

• It must be spherical and either be made of leather or a synthetic material,

• It must not have a shiny or slippery surface and is usually resinated,

• In the men’s game, the diameter (NB this was a mistake in the published paper and should have read 'circumference') 58-60cm, in women’s it is 54-56cm

3.

How many players on each side in Handball?

4.

What is the target score in boules (petanque)?

5.

Closely related to Catalan, and sometimes called ‘Provençal’ what is the language that is sometimes found alongside French on road signs in Provence?

6.

Which region of France is home to speakers of the Ch’ti dialect?

7.

Over what is the traditional Jewish blessing of kiddush performed before the meal on the eve of Sabbath?

8.

Following kiddush, the blessing is repeated over a challah.  What is a challah?

ROUND 4 - Pot pourri

1.

Which former Yugoslavian city with a population of 150,000 and situated near the Albanian border was known as Titograd between 1948 and 1992?

2.

Which city in Russia with a population of roughly one million and situated in the foothills of the Urals was known as Molotov between 1940 and 1957?

3.

In which battle in 1586 was Sir Philip Sidney mortally wounded?

4.

Which is the only side in the English second division of the football league at the moment to have played in the Premier division?

5.

Which club has been relegated the most times from the Premier division having only spent one year in this division on the four occasions it has played there?  The club lies comfortably in the top half of the championship at the moment.

6.

What links the prophet Samuel, the American Civil War, Neil Diamond and The Virginian?

7.

There is a statue of a foreign composer outside Centurion house on Deansgate between John Dalton Street and Jacksons Row.  What is the name of the composer?

8.

In Stalybridge there is a statue of the music hall performer Jack Judge with a First World War soldier standing by him.  What did Jack Judge do in Stalybridge to deserve his statue?

ROUND 5 - Pairs

1.

The former butler to the Pope has been on trial in the Vatican for stealing private documents and correspondence.  What is his name?

2.

A Russian-born artist has been accused of defacing a Rothko mural at the Tate Modern.  What is his name?

3.

Which poet was the librettist for Benjamin Britten’s opera Paul Bunyan?

4.

Which composer, more usually associated with opera, composed the Petite Messe Solemnelle in 1863?

5.

If the word 'sekt' appears on a German or Austrian wine bottle what does it indicate?

6.

What word s used to indicate that a German wine is dry?

7.

Austerlitz is known as the Battle of the 3 Emperors - Napoleon was one - name any one of the others.

8.

What name has been given to the period between the return of Napoleon from exile on Elba and the restoration of King Louis XVIII?

ROUND 6 - Pot pourri

1.

Who was the first person to carry the Olympic Torch in the UK on May 19th 2012?

2.

Gitche Gumee in the Song of Hiawatha is which body of water?

3.

What was Richard III's heraldic badge (i.e. personal device)?  

4.

What were the 4 plays by Shakespeare performed in the recent BBC Production The Hollow Crown?

5.

Who owns the South African mine where 36 mine workers, 2 police and 4 other people were killed recently? 

6.

Where do London Welsh play their home games?

7.

Which 19th-century book has the alternative name Virtue Betrayed?

8.

Who is the only British Prime Minister, formerly married to Beatrice Becket, to have been divorced when he took office?

ROUND 7 - Hidden theme

1.

Which bird (passer domesticus) is the world's most widely distributed wild bird?

2.

Which song was a No.1 for the New Seekers in January 1972?

3.

Which town in the constituency of Delyn has the oldest town charter in Wales dating from 1284 and has more Polish speakers than Welsh speakers?

4.

Which actor won best supporting Oscar in 2004 for his role in Million Dollar Baby?

5.

Who has been a stunt double for Timothy Dalton, Roger Moore, Michael Caine, Pierce Brosnan and Val Kilmer and once jumped the Great Wall of China on a motorbike?

6.

Mercury is the largest constituent by weight of dental amalgam.  What substance is the next largest constituent by weight?

7.

Which musical written by Willy Russell is loosely based  on a 1844 novel by Alexandra Dumas?

8.

Which Dutch town on the north bank of the Nieuwe Waterweg Ship Canal is opposite the Europort in Rotterdam and is near the towns of Delft and Monster?

ROUND 8 - Pot pourri

1.

Which amateur football team was formed in 1948 from players from Oxford and Cambridge universities.  The club won the amateur FA cup in 1952 and 1953.

2.

The Japanese word kamikaze, translated as 'Divine wind', is given to the typhoons that wrecked the invasion fleets that threatened Japan in the late 13thcentury.  Who was the ruler that ordered these invasions?

3.

Which family of birds, some species of which migrate to Britain, is related to the hummingbird and is the only kind that uses saliva to build its nest?

4.

 What does the word ballistic mean in the term 'Ballistic Missile'?

5.

What is the collective name for the several hundred elementary particles that are formed from various types of quarks, anti-quarks and combinations of these?

6.

Who was the mayor of Leningrad who was assassinated in 1934 and has given his name posthumously to an institution known throughout the world?

7.

On the 17th of October 1777 General Burgoyne, after trying to gain control of the Hudson River Valley,  surrendered to the American forces after which battle?  The battle shares its name with an old established US horse-racing course.

8.

Which was the most populous country in the world not to win any medal at all at the London Summer Olympics this year?  In fact this country has not won a medal at a Summer Olympics since 1992

Spares

1.

Who is the only man who held the position of British Prime Minister to die in 10, Downing Street?

2.

The Treaty of Ghent of 1814 concluded a war between which 2 countries?

3.

The flag of which country is the oldest state flag still in use?   

4.

In July 2006, the number plate VIP1 - once assigned to the Popemobile - was sold for £285,000 to a buyer who is no stranger to ostentatious purchases.  Who was it?

5.

Which composer, more usually associated with orchestral and piano music composed three short operas: Aleko (1892), The Miserly Knight (1904) and Francesca da Rimini (1905)?

ROUND 1 - Pairs

1.

Where in Scotland would you find The Robert Burns Birthplace Museum?

Alloway

(accept Ayr)

2.

Where in Wales would you find the Dylan Thomas Centre?

Swansea

3.

Justine Greening, Secretary of State for International Development, is the MP for which constituency?

Putney, Roehampton & Southfields

(accept Putney)

4.

Andrew Mitchell, Government Chief Whip, is the MP for which constituency?

Sutton Coldfield

5.

What connects Mario Vargas Llosa, Thomas Transtromer and Mo Yan?

Nobel Prize for Literature Winners

(for 2010, 2011, 2012)

6.

What connects Richard Wright, Susan Philipsz and Mart Boyce?

Turner Prize Winners

(for 2009, 2010, 2011)

7.

Saintpaulia is a plant in the UK which is usually know by which name?

African Violet

8.

The garden plant Hypericum is usually known by which name?

St John's Wort

1.

The name of which city in the British Isles means 'Mouth of the sandbars (or shoals)'?

Belfast

2.

What links Humphrey, Sybil, Treasury Bill and Larry?  

All cats that live(d) at 10, Downing Street

3.

Who was the last English player to be named European Footballer of the Year?

Michael Owen

(in 2001)

4.

Which Verdi opera is set in Berkshire?

Falstaff

5.

Which musician is the father of Nora Jones?        

Ravi Shankar

6.

In fiction where did the Starkadders live?   

Cold Comfort Farm

7.

“Had we but world enough and time” is the opening line from the poem To his Coy Mistress by which author?

Andrew Marvell

8.

Whose albums include The Red Shoes, The Dreaming and The Kick Inside?

Kate Bush

ROUND 3 - Pairs

1.

In which sport does the ball have to comply with the following specifications?

• It must be made of wood or of synthetic material

• It must carry the maker's mark and have secured confirmation by the FIPJP that it complies exactly with the relevant specification

• It must have a diameter of 30mm (+ or - 1mm)

Boules

(or petanque; refers to the cochonnet or jack - the acronym stands for Fédération Internationale de Pétanque et Jeu Provençal)

2.

To which sport do the following ball specifications apply?

• It must be spherical and either be made of leather or a synthetic material,

• It must not have a shiny or slippery surface and is usually resinated,

• In the men’s game, the diameter (NB this was a mistake in the published paper and should have read 'circumference') 58-60cm, in women’s it is 54-56cm

Handball

(size changes to accommodate average hand sizes in the various groups)

3.

How many players on each side in Handball?

Seven

4.

What is the target score in boules (petanque)?

Thirteen

5.

Closely related to Catalan, and sometimes called ‘Provençal’ what is the language that is sometimes found alongside French on road signs in Provence?

Occitan

(accept Langue d’Oc)

6.

Which region of France is home to speakers of the Ch’ti dialect?

Pas de Calais

(or Picardy or the far north-east)

7.

Over what is the traditional Jewish blessing of kiddush performed before the meal on the eve of Sabbath?

Cup of Wine or grape juice

8.

Following kiddush, the blessing is repeated over a challah.  What is a challah?

Braided loaf of bread

ROUND 4 - Pot pourri

1.

Which former Yugoslavian city with a population of 150,000 and situated near the Albanian border was known as Titograd between 1948 and 1992?

Podgorica

2.

Which city in Russia with a population of roughly one million and situated in the foothills of the Urals was known as Molotov between 1940 and 1957?

Perm

3.

In which battle in 1586 was Sir Philip Sidney mortally wounded?

Zutphen

4.

Which is the only side in the English second division of the football league at the moment to have played in the Premier division?

Bradford City

5.

Which club has been relegated the most times from the Premier division having only spent one year in this division on the four occasions it has played there?  The club lies comfortably in the top half of the championship at the moment.

Crystal Palace

6.

What links the prophet Samuel, the American Civil War, Neil Diamond and The Virginian?

Shiloh

(Samuel was raised there, Civil War battle, song - actually Shilo, Ranch)

7.

There is a statue of a foreign composer outside Centurion house on Deansgate between John Dalton Street and Jacksons Row.  What is the name of the composer?

Chopin

8.

In Stalybridge there is a statue of the music hall performer Jack Judge with a First World War soldier standing by him.  What did Jack Judge do in Stalybridge to deserve his statue?

He wrote It's a Long Way to Tipperary in the town

ROUND 5 - Pairs

1.

The former butler to the Pope has been on trial in the Vatican for stealing private documents and correspondence.  What is his name?

(Paolo) Gabriele

2.

A Russian-born artist has been accused of defacing a Rothko mural at the Tate Modern.  What is his name?

(Vladimir) Umanets

3.

Which poet was the librettist for Benjamin Britten’s opera Paul Bunyan?

W H Auden

4.

Which composer, more usually associated with opera, composed the Petite Messe Solemnelle in 1863?

Rossini

5.

If the word 'sekt' appears on a German or Austrian wine bottle what does it indicate?

It is a sparkling wine

6.

What word s used to indicate that a German wine is dry?

Trocken

7.

Austerlitz is known as the Battle of the 3 Emperors - Napoleon was one - name any one of the others.

(either)

Alexander I of Russia

(or)

Francis II of Austria

8.

What name has been given to the period between the return of Napoleon from exile on Elba and the restoration of King Louis XVIII?

The Hundred Days    

ROUND 6 - Pot pourri

1.

Who was the first person to carry the Olympic Torch in the UK on May 19th 2012?

Ben Ainslie

2.

Gitche Gumee in the Song of Hiawatha is which body of water?

Lake Superior

3.

What was Richard III's heraldic badge (i.e. personal device)?  

White Boar

4.

What were the 4 plays by Shakespeare performed in the recent BBC Production The Hollow Crown?

Richard II,

Henry IV Part 1,

Henry IV Part 2,

Henry V

5.

Who owns the South African mine where 36 mine workers, 2 police and 4 other people were killed recently? 

Lonmin

6.

Where do London Welsh play their home games?

Kassam Stadium, Oxford

(accept Oxford United's ground)

7.

Which 19th-century book has the alternative name Virtue Betrayed?

Vanity Fair

8.

Who is the only British Prime Minister, formerly married to Beatrice Becket, to have been divorced when he took office?

Anthony Eden

ROUND 7 - Hidden theme

1.

Which bird (passer domesticus) is the world's most widely distributed wild bird?

House SPARROW

2.

Which song was a No.1 for the New Seekers in January 1972?

I'd Like to TEACH the World to Sing

3.

Which town in the constituency of Delyn has the oldest town charter in Wales dating from 1284 and has more Polish speakers than Welsh speakers?

FLINT

4.

Which actor won best supporting Oscar in 2004 for his role in Million Dollar Baby?

MORGAN Freeman

5.

Who has been a stunt double for Timothy Dalton, Roger Moore, Michael Caine, Pierce Brosnan and Val Kilmer and once jumped the Great Wall of China on a motorbike?

Eddie KIDD

6.

Mercury is the largest constituent by weight of dental amalgam.  What substance is the next largest constituent by weight?

SILVER 

7.

Which musical written by Willy Russell is loosely based  on a 1844 novel by Alexandra Dumas?

BLOOD Brothers

8.

Which Dutch town on the north bank of the Nieuwe Waterweg Ship Canal is opposite the Europort in Rotterdam and is near the towns of Delft and Monster?

HOOK of Holland

ROUND 8 - Pot pourri

1.

Which amateur football team was formed in 1948 from players from Oxford and Cambridge universities.  The club won the amateur FA cup in 1952 and 1953.

Pegasus

2.

The Japanese word kamikaze, translated as 'Divine wind', is given to the typhoons that wrecked the invasion fleets that threatened Japan in the late 13thcentury.  Who was the ruler that ordered these invasions?

Kubla Khan

3.

Which family of birds, some species of which migrate to Britain, is related to the hummingbird and is the only kind that uses saliva to build its nest?

Swift

(apodidae)

4.

 What does the word ballistic mean in the term 'Ballistic Missile'?

The missile is partially guided to its target with the final stage of the descent being that of a projectile acting under gravity

('Ballistics' means the science of projectiles)

5.

What is the collective name for the several hundred elementary particles that are formed from various types of quarks, anti-quarks and combinations of these?

Hadrons

6.

Who was the mayor of Leningrad who was assassinated in 1934 and has given his name posthumously to an institution known throughout the world?

(Sergey) Kirov

7.

On the 17th of October 1777 General Burgoyne, after trying to gain control of the Hudson River Valley,  surrendered to the American forces after which battle?  The battle shares its name with an old established US horse-racing course.

Saratoga

8.

Which was the most populous country in the world not to win any medal at all at the London Summer Olympics this year?  In fact this country has not won a medal at a Summer Olympics since 1992

Pakistan

Spares

1.

Who is the only man who held the position of British Prime Minister to die in 10, Downing Street?

Henry Campbell-Bannerman

2.

The Treaty of Ghent of 1814 concluded a war between which 2 countries?

USA and Great Britain

3.

The flag of which country is the oldest state flag still in use?   

Denmark

4.

In July 2006, the number plate VIP1 - once assigned to the Popemobile - was sold for £285,000 to a buyer who is no stranger to ostentatious purchases.  Who was it?

Roman Abramovich

5.

Which composer, more usually associated with orchestral and piano music composed three short operas: Aleko (1892), The Miserly Knight (1904) and Francesca da Rimini (1905)?

Rachmaninov