1.

In the cartoon strip Peanuts, what is the name of Charlie Brown’s younger sister?

2.

Which singer, previously a member of the bands The Hassles and Attila, released his first solo album, Cold Spring Harbor, in 1971?

3.

Formed in 2010 by a merger of the UK businesses of Orange and T-mobile, Britain’s most popular mobile network is EE. For what do the initials EE stand?

4.

Which is the most populous town or city in the French region of Burgundy (Bourgogne)?

5.

Which is the largest of the islands that make up the archipelago known as the Society Islands?

6.

Members of the group of organic compounds known as furans always contain carbon, hydrogen and which other chemical element?

7.

What edible item is on the cover of the Rolling Stones album Let It Bleed?

8.

The Staples Center in Los Angeles is home to two NBA basketball teams: the Lakers and which other?

9.

Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake premiered on this day (20 February) in which year?  (allow two years either way)

10.

Whose autobiography Twisting My Melon was published in 2011?

11.

Who is the director of the current cinema release Les Misérables?

12.

What is the name of the operating system used by Apple’s iPhone and iPad?

13.

Which battle in September 1854, an Anglo-French victory, is generally regarded as the first engagement of the Crimean War?

14.

Which band currently has two albums in the UK charts: Sigh No More and Babel?

15.

Which year saw Ajax crowned European football champions, Vicky Leandros win the Eurovision Song Contest for Luxembourg and the deaths of Harry S Truman, Margaret Rutherford and Cecil Day-Lewis?

16.

Which year saw Bayern Munich crowned European football champions, The Netherlands (represented by Teach-In) win the Eurovision Song Contest and the deaths of P G Wodehouse, Éamon de Valera and Dmitri Shostakovich?

17.

Which group currently has two albums in the UK charts: Take Me Home and Up All Night?

18.

The early twentieth century naval battle of Port Arthur is generally regarded as the first engagement of which war?

19.

What is the name of Apple’s web browser that is pre-installed on the iPhone and iPad?

20.

In the current cinema release Hitchcock, who plays Janet Leigh?

21.

Which best-selling author’s latest publication, published in October 2012, is The Racketeer?

22.

Rossini’s ballet The Barber of Seville premiered on this day (20 February) in which year? (allow two years either way)

23.

Named after the airline that sponsors it, the United Center is home to which US basketball team, six-times NBA champions during the 1990s?

24.

What sort of animal can be seen on the cover of the Pink Floyd album Atom Heart Mother?

25.

Members of the group of organic compounds known as pyrimidines always contain carbon, hydrogen and which other chemical element?

26.

Isabela Island is the largest of which Pacific group of islands?

27.

Which is the most populous town or city in the French region of Brittany (Bretagne)?

28.

In the UK which larger mobile network is the carrier for the telecommunications companies LycaMobile, GT Mobile, Giffgaff and Tesco Mobile?

29.

Which singer, previously a member of the folk group The Chad Mitchell Trio, released his first solo album, Rhymes & Reasons, in 1969?

30.

In the cartoon strip Peanuts, which character is perpetually surrounded by a cloud of dirt and dust?

ROUND 2 - Stockport style - Written - The Wall

Round 2 is somewhat different to the ‘normal’ written round.

On the sheets provided, teams should provide ten answers: five groups and five connections.  Each correct group of four will score one point and the correct reason a further point.  As normally applies in a written round, if only one team answers correctly they score two points.  Four correctly grouped items scores a point, even if the reason is wrong.  Likewise a correct connection, even though the four items in the group are incorrect, still scores a point.

ROUND 3 - WithQuiz style - Hidden theme

1.

During his time at Hamburg, former Manchester City player Nigel de Jong’s uncompromising playing style earned him the nickname 'Der Rasenmäher'. What does this mean in English?

2.

Give the stage name of the entertainer who was born Daniel Patrick Carroll in County Cork in 1927 and whose theme tune was On Mother Kelly's Doorstep.

3.

What was the name of the dance troupe that appeared regularly on Top of the Pops from 1976 to 1981?  They replaced Ruby Flipper and were themselves succeeded by Zoo in 1982?

4.

What are the first five words, if the last line is "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever"?

5.

Which American musician and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador had his only UK top ten hit in 1983 with Rockit, which was taken from his Future Shock album?

6.

What is the two-word name of the Fast Show character who is an accident-prone, elderly gentleman with the catchphrase “Oh bugger!”?

7.

In the first half of the twentieth century which Hollywood star appeared in almost 300, mostly silent, films that helped to define the Western genre?  His more notable starring roles include those in Riders of the Purple Sage and the original (1932) version of Destry Rides Again.

8.

Which music hall song, written in 1915, features the lyrics “When they ask me to dine I say no. I've just had a banana with Lady Diana”?  Supposedly by a down-at-heel man with delusions of grandeur, the song is traditionally performed by a female singer dressed in scruffy male attire.

ROUND 4 - WithQuiz style - A Benedict-related round in celebration of Megson’s impending promotion

1.

Which sauce is traditionally used in the dish Eggs Benedict?

2.

Played by Dirk Benedict, what was the full name of the character known as Faceman in the TV series The A-Team?

3.

In which of Shakespeare’s comedies are Benedick and Beatrice tricked into falling in love?

4.

Which Radio 4 comedy that features an independent British airline has recently finished its fourth series and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Captain Martin Crieff?

5.

Approximately 30% of the liqueur Bénédictine consumed in Britain is drunk in which Lancashire town and surrounding area? The town’s miners’ social club is thought to be the largest outlet in the world and the drink’s popularity probably originates from World War I, when soldiers from local regiments acquired the taste whilst serving in France.

6.

According to some legends this Wessex-born Benedictine monk of the 7th and 8th centuries established the practice of using a decorated fir tree at Christmas. He is better known as the patron saint of Germany.  Who is he?

7.

Benediction, The Ice Palace and The Offshore Pirate were published in Flappers and Philosophers, a 1920 collection of short stories by which American author?

8.

In the USA Benedict Arnold is infamous as a traitor, following his change of sides during the War of Independence. His treachery became public after the discovery of his plan to surrender which garrison to the British?

ROUND 5 - WithQuiz style - TV comedy blockbuster round

The first letter or letters of each answer are given; all questions are on TV comedy

1.

PM

In the classic Dad’s Army ‘Don’t tell him Pike’ scene, who played the German U-Boat Captain?

2.

DOAA

In Yes Minister Jim Hacker was the minister in which fictional government department?

3.

LV

In The League of Gentlemen what was the name of the town’s mayor, played by Roy ‘Chubby’ Brown. The character was inspired by and has the same name as the Mayor of Amity in the film Jaws?

4.

TYO

Oil, Bomb, Flood, Bambi and Nasty were episodes of which TV comedy?       

5.

PC

Which actress appeared in the first series of The Liver Birds, but was replaced by Nerys Hughes from series two onwards?

6.

B

Which ITV comedy, a satire on working-class period dramas, was set in the fictional town of Utterley and featured the feuding Hardacre and Fairchild families?

7.

MT

What was Alan Partridge’s final suggestion in his catalogue of ideas for TV programmes that included Arm Wrestling With Chas & Dave, Inner City Sumo, Youth Hostelling with Chris Eubank and Cooking in Prison?

8.

CI

Three gentlemen called Crilly, McGuire and Hackett, together with their housekeeper, lived where?

ROUND 6 - WithQuiz style - Pick Your Own Topic

1.

Cricket

Which current Lancashire cricketer is the son of a Lancashire player of the 1970s and ‘80s and the grandson of 1950s West Indian star, Sonny Ramadhin?

2.

Twitter

At a modest number 27 in the world top 100, with about 11½ million followers and some way behind key opinion leaders such as Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, Justin Timberlake and Kim Kardashian, which singer is the most-followed British celebrity on Twitter?

3.

Medical abbreviations

In medical circles the blood component haemoglobin is usually represented by which two-letter abbreviation?

4.

Film stars

Former Hollywood star Anthony Quinn was born in which country?       

5.

Planets

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are known collectively as ‘the gas giants’. Which gas is the major constituent of the atmosphere of all four?

6.

Cities

The Palace Theatre, the Etihad Stadium, Albert Park, Brunswick Street and Parliament House are visitor attractions in which city?

7.

Prisons

What is the name of the Category A men’s prison that is a few miles east of Evesham, Worcestershire?

8.

US Politics

Who is the current US Secretary of State?

1.

Which household appliance was invented in the 1920s by the chief engineer of a Swedish industrial gas company?

2.

Which country is the world’s largest producer of potatoes, tomatoes, wheat, apples and peanuts, amongst many other crops?

3.

What would you be buying if your purchase involved the use of a ‘Brannock device’?

4.

Although popularised in Batman, the term ‘Gotham’ was originally applied to New York City by which American author, in his nineteenth century satirical publication Salmagundi?

5.

In ancient Rome for what would a tunica molesta have been used?

6.

Which classic of children’s literature was banned in China’s Hunan province in 1931 as it was feared it would cause children to think of humans and animals as being equal?

7.

What sort of information would you find on the website 'zoopla.co.uk'?

8.

On the newly-opened East Manchester line, which Metrolink stop comes between New Islington and Etihad Campus?

9.

Which British comedian is the star and co-director of the 2009 film The Invention of Lying?

10.

Who is the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and, at 40, the youngest member of the Cabinet?

1.

What surname connects Tina McIntyre and a former England football manager?

2.

Which American actor and voiceover artist, also the creator of the animated series Family Guy, will host this week’s Academy Awards ceremony?

3.

Which American investment guru is the CEO of a company that sounds like an amalgamation of an English county and one of the stars of a current UK box office hit?

4.

What is the official language of Andorra?

5.

Currently showing on BBC3, what is the title of the ‘documentary’ programme that features the residents of Harpurhey?

1.

In what year was the famous red, white and blue roundel introduced as the logo of the London Underground system?

2.

The Imperial War Museum’s Lord Ashcroft Gallery is home to a collection of Victoria Crosses comprising how many medals?

1.

In the cartoon strip Peanuts, what is the name of Charlie Brown’s younger sister?

Sally

2.

Which singer, previously a member of the bands The Hassles and Attila, released his first solo album, Cold Spring Harbor, in 1971?

Billy Joel

3.

Formed in 2010 by a merger of the UK businesses of Orange and T-mobile, Britain’s most popular mobile network is EE. For what do the initials EE stand?

Everything Everywhere

4.

Which is the most populous town or city in the French region of Burgundy (Bourgogne)?

Dijon

5.

Which is the largest of the islands that make up the archipelago known as the Society Islands?

Tahiti

6.

Members of the group of organic compounds known as furans always contain carbon, hydrogen and which other chemical element?

Oxygen

7.

What edible item is on the cover of the Rolling Stones album Let It Bleed?

A cake

8.

The Staples Center in Los Angeles is home to two NBA basketball teams: the Lakers and which other?

Clippers

9.

Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake premiered on this day (20 February) in which year?  (allow two years either way)

1877

(accept 1875–79)

10.

Whose autobiography Twisting My Melon was published in 2011?

Shaun Ryder

11.

Who is the director of the current cinema release Les Misérables?

Tom Hooper

12.

What is the name of the operating system used by Apple’s iPhone and iPad?

iOS

13.

Which battle in September 1854, an Anglo-French victory, is generally regarded as the first engagement of the Crimean War?

Battle of Alma

14.

Which band currently has two albums in the UK charts: Sigh No More and Babel?

Mumford & Sons

15.

Which year saw Ajax crowned European football champions, Vicky Leandros win the Eurovision Song Contest for Luxembourg and the deaths of Harry S Truman, Margaret Rutherford and Cecil Day-Lewis?

1972

16.

Which year saw Bayern Munich crowned European football champions, The Netherlands (represented by Teach-In) win the Eurovision Song Contest and the deaths of P G Wodehouse, Éamon de Valera and Dmitri Shostakovich?

1975

17.

Which group currently has two albums in the UK charts: Take Me Home and Up All Night?

One Direction

18.

The early twentieth century naval battle of Port Arthur is generally regarded as the first engagement of which war?

Russo-Japanese War

19.

What is the name of Apple’s web browser that is pre-installed on the iPhone and iPad?

Safari

20.

In the current cinema release Hitchcock, who plays Janet Leigh?

Scarlett Johansson

21.

Which best-selling author’s latest publication, published in October 2012, is The Racketeer?

John Grisham

22.

Rossini’s ballet The Barber of Seville premiered on this day (20 February) in which year? (allow two years either way)

1816

(accept 1814–18)

23.

Named after the airline that sponsors it, the United Center is home to which US basketball team, six-times NBA champions during the 1990s?

Chicago (Bulls)

24.

What sort of animal can be seen on the cover of the Pink Floyd album Atom Heart Mother?

A cow

25.

Members of the group of organic compounds known as pyrimidines always contain carbon, hydrogen and which other chemical element?

Nitrogen

26.

Isabela Island is the largest of which Pacific group of islands?

Galápagos Islands

27.

Which is the most populous town or city in the French region of Brittany (Bretagne)?

Rennes

28.

In the UK which larger mobile network is the carrier for the telecommunications companies LycaMobile, GT Mobile, Giffgaff and Tesco Mobile?

O2

29.

Which singer, previously a member of the folk group The Chad Mitchell Trio, released his first solo album, Rhymes & Reasons, in 1969?

John Denver

30.

In the cartoon strip Peanuts, which character is perpetually surrounded by a cloud of dirt and dust?

Pig-pen

ROUND 2 - Stockport style - Written - The Wall

Round 2 is somewhat different to the ‘normal’ written round.

On the sheets provided, teams should provide ten answers: five groups and five connections.  Each correct group of four will score one point and the correct reason a further point.  As normally applies in a written round, if only one team answers correctly they score two points.  Four correctly grouped items scores a point, even if the reason is wrong.  Likewise a correct connection, even though the four items in the group are incorrect, still scores a point.

ROUND 3 - WithQuiz style - Hidden theme

1.

During his time at Hamburg, former Manchester City player Nigel de Jong’s uncompromising playing style earned him the nickname 'Der Rasenmäher'. What does this mean in English?

'The Lawnmower'

2.

Give the stage name of the entertainer who was born Daniel Patrick Carroll in County Cork in 1927 and whose theme tune was On Mother Kelly's Doorstep.

Danny La Rue

3.

What was the name of the dance troupe that appeared regularly on Top of the Pops from 1976 to 1981?  They replaced Ruby Flipper and were themselves succeeded by Zoo in 1982?

Legs and Co

4.

What are the first five words, if the last line is "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever"?

"The Lord is my shepherd"

5.

Which American musician and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador had his only UK top ten hit in 1983 with Rockit, which was taken from his Future Shock album?

Herbie Hancock

6.

What is the two-word name of the Fast Show character who is an accident-prone, elderly gentleman with the catchphrase “Oh bugger!”?

Unlucky Alf

7.

In the first half of the twentieth century which Hollywood star appeared in almost 300, mostly silent, films that helped to define the Western genre?  His more notable starring roles include those in Riders of the Purple Sage and the original (1932) version of Destry Rides Again.

Tom Mix

8.

Which music hall song, written in 1915, features the lyrics “When they ask me to dine I say no. I've just had a banana with Lady Diana”?  Supposedly by a down-at-heel man with delusions of grandeur, the song is traditionally performed by a female singer dressed in scruffy male attire.

Burlington Bertie (from Bow)

Theme: Each answer contains a term or phrase used in bingo calling:
Lawnmower = 14 (original blade size in inches); Danny La Rue = several numbers ending in ‘2’ (e.g. 52 and 72); Legs eleven; (Psalm) 23; Herbie the VW Beetle = No. 53; Unlucky for some 13; Tom Mix = 6; Burlington Bertie = 30

ROUND 4 - WithQuiz style - A Benedict-related round in celebration of Megson’s impending promotion

1.

Which sauce is traditionally used in the dish Eggs Benedict?

Hollandaise

2.

Played by Dirk Benedict, what was the full name of the character known as Faceman in the TV series The A-Team?

Templeton Peck

3.

In which of Shakespeare’s comedies are Benedick and Beatrice tricked into falling in love?

Much Ado About Nothing

4.

Which Radio 4 comedy that features an independent British airline has recently finished its fourth series and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Captain Martin Crieff?

Cabin Pressure

5.

Approximately 30% of the liqueur Bénédictine consumed in Britain is drunk in which Lancashire town and surrounding area? The town’s miners’ social club is thought to be the largest outlet in the world and the drink’s popularity probably originates from World War I, when soldiers from local regiments acquired the taste whilst serving in France.

Burnley

6.

According to some legends this Wessex-born Benedictine monk of the 7th and 8th centuries established the practice of using a decorated fir tree at Christmas. He is better known as the patron saint of Germany.  Who is he?

Boniface

7.

Benediction, The Ice Palace and The Offshore Pirate were published in Flappers and Philosophers, a 1920 collection of short stories by which American author?

F Scott Fitzgerald

8.

In the USA Benedict Arnold is infamous as a traitor, following his change of sides during the War of Independence. His treachery became public after the discovery of his plan to surrender which garrison to the British?

West Point

ROUND 5 - WithQuiz style - TV comedy blockbuster round

The first letter or letters of each answer are given; all questions are on TV comedy

1.

PM

In the classic Dad’s Army ‘Don’t tell him Pike’ scene, who played the German U-Boat Captain?

Philip Madoc

2.

DOAA

In Yes Minister Jim Hacker was the minister in which fictional government department?

Department of Administrative Affairs

3.

LV

In The League of Gentlemen what was the name of the town’s mayor, played by Roy ‘Chubby’ Brown. The character was inspired by and has the same name as the Mayor of Amity in the film Jaws?

Larry Vaughan

4.

TYO

Oil, Bomb, Flood, Bambi and Nasty were episodes of which TV comedy?       

The Young Ones

5.

PC

Which actress appeared in the first series of The Liver Birds, but was replaced by Nerys Hughes from series two onwards?

Pauline Collins

6.

B

Which ITV comedy, a satire on working-class period dramas, was set in the fictional town of Utterley and featured the feuding Hardacre and Fairchild families?

Brass

7.

MT

What was Alan Partridge’s final suggestion in his catalogue of ideas for TV programmes that included Arm Wrestling With Chas & Dave, Inner City Sumo, Youth Hostelling with Chris Eubank and Cooking in Prison?

Monkey Tennis

8.

CI

Three gentlemen called Crilly, McGuire and Hackett, together with their housekeeper, lived where?

Craggy Island

(in Father Ted)

ROUND 6 - WithQuiz style - Pick Your Own Topic

1.

Cricket

Which current Lancashire cricketer is the son of a Lancashire player of the 1970s and ‘80s and the grandson of 1950s West Indian star, Sonny Ramadhin?

Kyle Hogg

2.

Twitter

At a modest number 27 in the world top 100, with about 11½ million followers and some way behind key opinion leaders such as Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, Justin Timberlake and Kim Kardashian, which singer is the most-followed British celebrity on Twitter?

Adele

3.

Medical abbreviations

In medical circles the blood component haemoglobin is usually represented by which two-letter abbreviation?

Hb

4.

Film stars

Former Hollywood star Anthony Quinn was born in which country?       

Mexico

5.

Planets

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are known collectively as ‘the gas giants’. Which gas is the major constituent of the atmosphere of all four?

Hydrogen

6.

Cities

The Palace Theatre, the Etihad Stadium, Albert Park, Brunswick Street and Parliament House are visitor attractions in which city?

Melbourne

7.

Prisons

What is the name of the Category A men’s prison that is a few miles east of Evesham, Worcestershire?

Long Lartin

8.

US Politics

Who is the current US Secretary of State?

John Kerry
(replaced Hilary Clinton from 1 Feb 2013)

1.

Which household appliance was invented in the 1920s by the chief engineer of a Swedish industrial gas company?

AGA cooker
(from Aktiebolaget Svenska Gasaccumolator)

2.

Which country is the world’s largest producer of potatoes, tomatoes, wheat, apples and peanuts, amongst many other crops?

China

3.

What would you be buying if your purchase involved the use of a ‘Brannock device’?

Footwear
(it's the ‘slidy thing’ used to measure shoe size)

4.

Although popularised in Batman, the term ‘Gotham’ was originally applied to New York City by which American author, in his nineteenth century satirical publication Salmagundi?

Washington Irving

5.

In ancient Rome for what would a tunica molesta have been used?

As a method of execution
(using a shirt soaked in a flammable substance)

6.

Which classic of children’s literature was banned in China’s Hunan province in 1931 as it was feared it would cause children to think of humans and animals as being equal?

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

7.

What sort of information would you find on the website 'zoopla.co.uk'?

Property/house prices

8.

On the newly-opened East Manchester line, which Metrolink stop comes between New Islington and Etihad Campus?

Holt Town

9.

Which British comedian is the star and co-director of the 2009 film The Invention of Lying?

Ricky Gervais

10.

Who is the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and, at 40, the youngest member of the Cabinet?

Danny Alexander

1.

What surname connects Tina McIntyre and a former England football manager?

Keegan
(Coronation Street actress Michelle and Kevin)

2.

Which American actor and voiceover artist, also the creator of the animated series Family Guy, will host this week’s Academy Awards ceremony?

Seth MacFarlane

3.

Which American investment guru is the CEO of a company that sounds like an amalgamation of an English county and one of the stars of a current UK box office hit?

Warren Buffett

(CEO of Berkshire Hathaway)

4.

What is the official language of Andorra?

Catalan

5.

Currently showing on BBC3, what is the title of the ‘documentary’ programme that features the residents of Harpurhey?

People Like Us

1.

In what year was the famous red, white and blue roundel introduced as the logo of the London Underground system?

1908

2.

The Imperial War Museum’s Lord Ashcroft Gallery is home to a collection of Victoria Crosses comprising how many medals?

210