ROUND 1 - Pairs

1.

Sometimes called a brunoise after the cutting technique, what is the name in French cuisine for a dice of onion, carrot and celery, used as the basis for many dishes?

2.

What is the name in Italian cuisine for diced onion, carrot and celery sautéed in olive oil, which forms the basis of many Tuscan sauces and other dishes?

3.

What breed of dog was Nana in Peter Pan?

4.

What breed of dog was Toto in The Wizard of Oz?

5.

Which country joined the European Union on 1st July 2013?

6.

Which country adopted the Euro as its currency on 1st January 2014?

7.

The dialogue of the film The Passion of the Christ, directed by Mel Gibson, was spoken in Latin and which other ancient language?

8.

The film Sebastiane, directed by Derek Jarman had English subtitles because the dialogue was spoken in which language?

Sp1

In December 2013 while playing against the Tennessee Titans, Matt Prater of the Denver Broncos set what all-time NFL record?

Sp2

In December 2013, which Denver Broncos player set new NFL records for most touchdown passes and most passing yards in a season?

ROUND 2 - Hidden theme

1.

After a distinguished career which included playing for England between 1989 and 1996, this footballer, born in 1966, retired from playing in 1998.  He played for several clubs including Juventus, Sampdoria and Arsenal, and his managerial roles included Nottingham Forest and a club not far from here.  Who is he?

2.

Which engineer with local connections, born in 1803, was the inventor of the British Standard system of threads for screws?

3.

"Blissful bride of a blissful heir,
Bride of the heir of the kings of the sea,
O joy to the people and joy to the throne."

4.

Rackhouse airfield saw its first flight in 1929.  Its last recorded flight was on the 18th June 1930, after the opening of Barton aerodrome.  What was the alternative name for Rackhouse airfield?

5.

What name is given to any one of the 12,000 species of non-vascular plants of the class Musci?

6.

What is the name of the American on-line news aggregator, launched in 2005 by a woman of Greek descent?

7.

What is the name given to the boundary of a body of air contacting the earth’s surface, which has fallen below the dew point?

8.

Belonging to the genus Betula, it is used as a love token in Germany, a national symbol of Russia and the state tree of New Hampshire. What is it?

Sp.

This animated children’s series of the late 70’s was created by Cosgrove Hall for Thames Television.  The main characters include a Happiness Dragon, Fenella Felloric, the Kettle Witch, King Otto and Queen Doris, Zoomer, Jenny and The Minster of Wheel Estate.  What was the series called?

ROUND 3 - 'University Challenge'

Each question mentions a UK University - some are more tenuous than others!

1.

Have I Got News For You captain Paul Merton appeared in adverts for what brand of soap in the mid-nineties?

2.

Warwick Avenue is situated on what London Underground line?

3.

Belfast was made a city by Queen Victoria in 1888.  Who was Prime Minister at the time?

4.

Although it may have had something to do with this person shouting "Hello Belfast!", what musician has been banned from performing in Bangor, Northern Ireland, because of the obscenity of his lyrics?

5.

Which Tory politician represented Bath for 13 years before becoming a surprise casualty at the 1992 election?

6.

His music often used at American University graduations, Edward Elgar was made Master of the King’s Musick in 1924 - but which German composer did Elgar call "My ideal"?

7.

In the TV drama Mad Men, Roger Sterling Sr sets up business with a lover of Japanese culture and the works of Ayn Rand.  What is the given name and surname of Sterling’s partner?

8.

Mary Robinson left her post as President of Ireland early to become a UN Human Rights Commissioner.  In what year?

Sp1

The most successful team in the southern hemisphere’s Super Rugby tournament, which team play their home games at Christchurch, New Zealand?

Sp2

Manchester is the largest city in New Hampshire, but what is the name of the city’s largest paper?  Its endorsements are often a pivotal part of US Presidential election primaries.

ROUND 4 - Pairs on the Demon Drink

1.

Which Wetherspoons’ pub in Sale is named after a Victorian scientist, who was awarded the Albert Medal for establishing the true relation between heat, electricity and mechanical work?

2.

Which Wetherspoons’ pub in Westhoughton is named after an actor who died aged 51 in the 1970s.  Some of his famous roles were Doyle Lonegan (in The Sting), Mr Blue (in The Taking of Pelham 123) and Quint (in Jaws)?

3.

4.

5.

The gin-based cocktail Singapore Sling includes orange, pineapple and lime juice and, in some recipes, Benedictine. However, which other alcoholic drink is included to give it taste and colour?

6.

The tequila-based cocktail Margarita also includes lime and what other alcoholic ingredient?

7.

Which drink was advertised in the mid 1970s under the slogan 'The pint that thinks it’s a quart'?

8.

Which drink was popularised by the Australian comedian Paul Hogan who commented when at the ballet "Strewth! There's a bloke down there with no strides on!"?

Sp1

The pub name 'Eagle and Child' is named after the coat of arms of which noble English family?

Sp2

The pub name 'The Talbot' is named after the coat of arms of which noble English family?

ROUND 5 - Pairs

1.

A very superstitious family of Formula One drivers, father and son were killed in 1925 and 1955 respectively; both during testing, both on the 26th of a month, both at the exit of a fast left-hand corner, both four days after emerging from a race crash unscathed, both at the age of 36.  What is their family name?

2.

What is the family name of the father and son Formula One drivers who won three championships between them, in 1962, 1968 and 1996?

3.

This Canadian island has had no permanent settlement since 1951 and can thus claim to be the world’s largest uninhabited island.  Situated at the north-west end of Baffin Bay, what is the name of the island, which is more than 8 times the size of its namesake English county?

4.

The world’s second largest uninhabited island is also the largest island in Antarctica.  Part of the British Antarctic Territory, situated in the Bellingshausen Sea off the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, and named after a 19th Century European ruler, what is the island called?

5.

And The Beat Goes On by The Whispers was used as a sample in what 1998 Will Smith song?

6.

Will Smith’s Gettin’ Jiggy With It uses a sample from what 1979 Sister Sledge song?

7.

Which carol is always the first sung in the annual service of Nine Lessons and Carols at King’s College Chapel in Cambridge?

8.

The Christmas carol In the Bleak Midwinter was based on a poem by Christina Rossetti, but who wrote the music for the original version?

Sp1

According to the lyrics of O Mio Babbino Caro, Lauretta threatens to throw herself into what river if her father, the eponymous Gianni Schicchi, disallows her to marry Rinuccio, the boy she loves?

Sp2

In what Gilbert O’Sullivan song does he claim he’ll treat himself to a visit to a nearby tower, "...and climbing to the top / throw myself off"?

Sp3

What is the most populous city in the Central America land bridge that joins Mexico to Colombia?

Sp4

What is the most populous city in the West Indies (i.e. on any Caribbean island)?

ROUND 6 - Hidden theme

1.

Some knew him as Baron Glenavy of Miltown in the County of Dublin, others who read the Irish Times may have known him as Quidnunc, but most people of a certain age probably know him as a regular wit on a BBC panel show.  Who is he?

2.

With a former Massachusetts Governor as defence attorney and a future Supreme Court Justice prosecuting, the trial had become front page news far beyond the town of New Bedford where it took place in 1892.  Whose trial?

3.

The majority of his paintings being located in the Tate, what Romantic artist painted Calais Tower and Margate from The Sea?

4.

Recorded by everyone from Enrico Caruso to Rufus Wainright, what are the first two words of the French version of the hymn O Holy Night?

5.

Which versatile Catholic saint is the patron of, among many other things, public education, mixed race people, and Peru?

6.

What suburb of Manchester was the setting for the controversial BBC3 documentary People Like Us?

7.

Known for their spray-painted Dr Martens as much as for their music, what Coventry new wave band had their biggest hit in 1984 with Love & Pride?

8.

In the 1990’s TV drama Due South, what was the name of the ever-polite Mountie Benton Fraser’s dog, a husky that was hard of hearing?

Sp1

Played by Charles Lawson, which soap character has been on British screens since 1989, although he’s spent long swathes of it in prison for manslaughter and bank robbery?

Sp2

In a long career, who has variously appeared as Fagin on the West End, starred as the UK equivalent to Al Bundy in a remake of Married...With Children, had a Top Ten hit in 1984 and filled in for Leslie Crowther on Stars In Their Eyes Elvis Special?

ROUND 7 - Hidden theme

1.

Which successful band, formed in the 1980s in Whalley Range by Paul Gilbertson and Jim Glennie, used to practice for gigs in a Withington scout hut?

2.

Which American won the Open Golf Championship in 1995 at the Old Course at St Andrew’s?

3.

Which TV personality married Jack Tweed on 22 February 2009 and died of cancer, one month later?

4.

Who is the mother of Carrie Fisher the American actress and author?

5.

Which MP for Ormskirk between 1945 and 1950 was Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works in the Atlee Administration straight after World War II?

6.

Which 20th century sportsman is commemorated by a statue in Dudley town centre in the West Midlands?

7.

Who was the legendary American businessman who was Chairman and CEO of General Electric between 1981 and 2001?

8.

What was the name of the British ambassador to Ireland who was assassinated by the Provisional IRA in 1976?

Sp.

Who stars in BBC3’s Bad Education as Alfie, 'the worst teacher ever to grace the British education system'?

ROUND 8 - Pointless

"We gave 100 people, 100 seconds to name…" and the answers that follow are some of the pointless answers from the BBC quiz series Pointless

1.

Which director was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Director for his 1968 film Romeo and Juliet?

2.

Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall were in four films together.  What was the first one in 1944?

3.

Hans-Adam II is monarch of which country?

4.

Which Lord Chancellor was criticised for this choice of wallpaper in 1998?

5.

What is the family name of the Labour Party leader from 1932 to 1935, and his granddaughter, who has won six Golden Globe Awards?

6.

Joan Enric Vives Sicilia is co-ruler of which country?

7.

Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh appeared to together in five films.  What was the first in 1953?

8.

Which is the only film directed by Alfred Hitchcock to have won the Best Picture Oscar?

Sp1

Name one of the Canadian state capitals of British Colombia, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, or Yukon

Sp2

Who was the first presenter of the BBC TV quiz show A Question of Sport?

Sp3

In the book Treasure Island, who is the cook on the ship Hispaniola?

ROUND 1 - Pairs

1.

Sometimes called a brunoise after the cutting technique, what is the name in French cuisine for a dice of onion, carrot and celery, used as the basis for many dishes?

Mirepoix

2.

What is the name in Italian cuisine for diced onion, carrot and celery sautéed in olive oil, which forms the basis of many Tuscan sauces and other dishes?

Soffritto

3.

What breed of dog was Nana in Peter Pan?

Newfoundland

4.

What breed of dog was Toto in The Wizard of Oz?

Cairn Terrier

5.

Which country joined the European Union on 1st July 2013?

Croatia

6.

Which country adopted the Euro as its currency on 1st January 2014?

Latvia

7.

The dialogue of the film The Passion of the Christ, directed by Mel Gibson, was spoken in Latin and which other ancient language?

Aramaic

8.

The film Sebastiane, directed by Derek Jarman had English subtitles because the dialogue was spoken in which language?

Latin

Sp1

In December 2013 while playing against the Tennessee Titans, Matt Prater of the Denver Broncos set what all-time NFL record?

Longest Field Goal

(64 yards)

Sp2

In December 2013, which Denver Broncos player set new NFL records for most touchdown passes and most passing yards in a season?

Peyton Manning

ROUND 2 - Hidden theme

1.

After a distinguished career which included playing for England between 1989 and 1996, this footballer, born in 1966, retired from playing in 1998.  He played for several clubs including Juventus, Sampdoria and Arsenal, and his managerial roles included Nottingham Forest and a club not far from here.  Who is he?

David Platt

2.

Which engineer with local connections, born in 1803, was the inventor of the British Standard system of threads for screws?

Sir Joseph Whitworth

3.

"Blissful bride of a blissful heir,
Bride of the heir of the kings of the sea,
O joy to the people and joy to the throne."

Princess (later Queen) Alexandra

4.

Rackhouse airfield saw its first flight in 1929.  Its last recorded flight was on the 18th June 1930, after the opening of Barton aerodrome.  What was the alternative name for Rackhouse airfield?

Wythenshawe Airfield

5.

What name is given to any one of the 12,000 species of non-vascular plants of the class Musci?

Moss

6.

What is the name of the American on-line news aggregator, launched in 2005 by a woman of Greek descent?

Huffington Post

7.

What is the name given to the boundary of a body of air contacting the earth’s surface, which has fallen below the dew point?

The Fog Line
 

8.

Belonging to the genus Betula, it is used as a love token in Germany, a national symbol of Russia and the state tree of New Hampshire. What is it?

The Birch
 

Sp.

This animated children’s series of the late 70’s was created by Cosgrove Hall for Thames Television.  The main characters include a Happiness Dragon, Fenella Felloric, the Kettle Witch, King Otto and Queen Doris, Zoomer, Jenny and The Minster of Wheel Estate.  What was the series called?

Chorlton and the Wheelies

Theme: Each answer contains the name (or sound of the name) of a park or open spaces in South Manchester:

Platt Fields, Whitworth Park, Alexandra Park, Wythenshawe Park, Fletcher Moss, Hough End Fields, Fog Lane Park, Birch Fields, Chorlton Park

ROUND 3 - 'University Challenge'

Each question mentions a UK University - some are more tenuous than others!

1.

Have I Got News For You captain Paul Merton appeared in adverts for what brand of soap in the mid-nineties?

Imperial Leather

(Merton College, Oxford)

2.

Warwick Avenue is situated on what London Underground line?

Bakerloo

(Warwick)

3.

Belfast was made a city by Queen Victoria in 1888.  Who was Prime Minister at the time?

Marquess of Salisbury

(Queen’s Belfast)

4.

Although it may have had something to do with this person shouting "Hello Belfast!", what musician has been banned from performing in Bangor, Northern Ireland, because of the obscenity of his lyrics?

Eminem

(Bangor)

5.

Which Tory politician represented Bath for 13 years before becoming a surprise casualty at the 1992 election?

Chris Patten

(Bath)

6.

His music often used at American University graduations, Edward Elgar was made Master of the King’s Musick in 1924 - but which German composer did Elgar call "My ideal"?

Franz Schubert

(Royal College of Music)

7.

In the TV drama Mad Men, Roger Sterling Sr sets up business with a lover of Japanese culture and the works of Ayn Rand.  What is the given name and surname of Sterling’s partner?

Bert Cooper

(Stirling)

8.

Mary Robinson left her post as President of Ireland early to become a UN Human Rights Commissioner.  In what year?

1997

(Robinson College, Cambridge)

Sp1

The most successful team in the southern hemisphere’s Super Rugby tournament, which team play their home games at Christchurch, New Zealand?

Crusaders

(Christ Church)

Sp2

Manchester is the largest city in New Hampshire, but what is the name of the city’s largest paper?  Its endorsements are often a pivotal part of US Presidential election primaries.

(Manchester)

ROUND 4 - Pairs on the Demon Drink

1.

Which Wetherspoons’ pub in Sale is named after a Victorian scientist, who was awarded the Albert Medal for establishing the true relation between heat, electricity and mechanical work?

James Prescott Joule

2.

Which Wetherspoons’ pub in Westhoughton is named after an actor who died aged 51 in the 1970s.  Some of his famous roles were Doyle Lonegan (in The Sting), Mr Blue (in The Taking of Pelham 123) and Quint (in Jaws)?

Robert Shaw

3.

Watney’s Pale Ale

4.

Skol

5.

The gin-based cocktail Singapore Sling includes orange, pineapple and lime juice and, in some recipes, Benedictine. However, which other alcoholic drink is included to give it taste and colour?

Cherry Brandy

(or Cherry Heering - a cherry based liqueur)

6.

The tequila-based cocktail Margarita also includes lime and what other alcoholic ingredient?

Cointreau

(accept Orange-based liqueur)

7.

Which drink was advertised in the mid 1970s under the slogan 'The pint that thinks it’s a quart'?

Whitbread Trophy Bitter

8.

Which drink was popularised by the Australian comedian Paul Hogan who commented when at the ballet "Strewth! There's a bloke down there with no strides on!"?

Foster's Lager

Sp1

The pub name 'Eagle and Child' is named after the coat of arms of which noble English family?

Earls of Derby

(accept Derby)

Sp2

The pub name 'The Talbot' is named after the coat of arms of which noble English family?

(accept Shrewsbury)

ROUND 5 - Pairs

1.

A very superstitious family of Formula One drivers, father and son were killed in 1925 and 1955 respectively; both during testing, both on the 26th of a month, both at the exit of a fast left-hand corner, both four days after emerging from a race crash unscathed, both at the age of 36.  What is their family name?

Ascari

(Antonio and Alberto)

2.

What is the family name of the father and son Formula One drivers who won three championships between them, in 1962, 1968 and 1996?

Hill

(Graham and Damon)

3.

This Canadian island has had no permanent settlement since 1951 and can thus claim to be the world’s largest uninhabited island.  Situated at the north-west end of Baffin Bay, what is the name of the island, which is more than 8 times the size of its namesake English county?

Devon Island

4.

The world’s second largest uninhabited island is also the largest island in Antarctica.  Part of the British Antarctic Territory, situated in the Bellingshausen Sea off the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, and named after a 19th Century European ruler, what is the island called?

Alexander Island

5.

And The Beat Goes On by The Whispers was used as a sample in what 1998 Will Smith song?

Miami

6.

Will Smith’s Gettin’ Jiggy With It uses a sample from what 1979 Sister Sledge song?

He’s The Greatest Dancer

7.

Which carol is always the first sung in the annual service of Nine Lessons and Carols at King’s College Chapel in Cambridge?

Once in Royal David’s City

8.

The Christmas carol In the Bleak Midwinter was based on a poem by Christina Rossetti, but who wrote the music for the original version?

Gustav Holst

Sp1

According to the lyrics of O Mio Babbino Caro, Lauretta threatens to throw herself into what river if her father, the eponymous Gianni Schicchi, disallows her to marry Rinuccio, the boy she loves?

Arno

Sp2

In what Gilbert O’Sullivan song does he claim he’ll treat himself to a visit to a nearby tower, "...and climbing to the top / throw myself off"?

Alone Again, Naturally

Sp3

What is the most populous city in the Central America land bridge that joins Mexico to Colombia?

Guatemala City

Sp4

What is the most populous city in the West Indies (i.e. on any Caribbean island)?

(in the Dominican Republic)

ROUND 6 - Hidden theme

1.

Some knew him as Baron Glenavy of Miltown in the County of Dublin, others who read the Irish Times may have known him as Quidnunc, but most people of a certain age probably know him as a regular wit on a BBC panel show.  Who is he?

Patrick Campbell

2.

With a former Massachusetts Governor as defence attorney and a future Supreme Court Justice prosecuting, the trial had become front page news far beyond the town of New Bedford where it took place in 1892.  Whose trial?

Lizzie Borden

3.

The majority of his paintings being located in the Tate, what Romantic artist painted Calais Tower and Margate from The Sea?

J M W Turner

4.

Recorded by everyone from Enrico Caruso to Rufus Wainright, what are the first two words of the French version of the hymn O Holy Night?

"Minuit Chrétiens"

5.

Which versatile Catholic saint is the patron of, among many other things, public education, mixed race people, and Peru?

St Martin de Porres

6.

What suburb of Manchester was the setting for the controversial BBC3 documentary People Like Us?

Harpurhey

7.

Known for their spray-painted Dr Martens as much as for their music, what Coventry new wave band had their biggest hit in 1984 with Love & Pride?

King

8.

In the 1990’s TV drama Due South, what was the name of the ever-polite Mountie Benton Fraser’s dog, a husky that was hard of hearing?

Diefenbecker

Sp1

Played by Charles Lawson, which soap character has been on British screens since 1989, although he’s spent long swathes of it in prison for manslaughter and bank robbery?

Jim McDonald

(of Coronation Street)

Sp2

In a long career, who has variously appeared as Fagin on the West End, starred as the UK equivalent to Al Bundy in a remake of Married...With Children, had a Top Ten hit in 1984 and filled in for Leslie Crowther on Stars In Their Eyes Elvis Special?

Russ Abbott

Theme: Each answer contains the surname of a Prime Minister of Canada:

Kim Campbell, Sir Robert Borden, John Turner, Jean Chretien, Paul Martin, Stephen Harper, William Lyon McKenzie King, John Diefenbaker, John A MacDonald, Sir John Abbott

ROUND 7 - Hidden theme

1.

Which successful band, formed in the 1980s in Whalley Range by Paul Gilbertson and Jim Glennie, used to practice for gigs in a Withington scout hut?

James

2.

Which American won the Open Golf Championship in 1995 at the Old Course at St Andrew’s?

John Daly

3.

Which TV personality married Jack Tweed on 22 February 2009 and died of cancer, one month later?

Jade Goody

4.

Who is the mother of Carrie Fisher the American actress and author?

Debbie Reynolds

5.

Which MP for Ormskirk between 1945 and 1950 was Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works in the Atlee Administration straight after World War II?

Harold Wilson

6.

Which 20th century sportsman is commemorated by a statue in Dudley town centre in the West Midlands?

Duncan Edwards

7.

Who was the legendary American businessman who was Chairman and CEO of General Electric between 1981 and 2001?

Jack Welch

8.

What was the name of the British ambassador to Ireland who was assassinated by the Provisional IRA in 1976?

Christopher Ewart-Biggs

Sp.

Who stars in BBC3’s Bad Education as Alfie, 'the worst teacher ever to grace the British education system'?

Jack Whitehall

Theme: Each answer contains the surname of one of the convicted Great Train Robbers:

Roy James, John Daly, Gordon Goody, Bruce Reynolds, Charles Wilson, Buster Edwards, Bob Welch, Ronnie Biggs, Jimmy White

ROUND 8 - Pointless

"We gave 100 people, 100 seconds to name…" and the answers that follow are some of the pointless answers from the BBC quiz series Pointless

1.

Which director was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Director for his 1968 film Romeo and Juliet?

Franco Zeffirelli

2.

Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall were in four films together.  What was the first one in 1944?

To Have and Have Not

3.

Hans-Adam II is monarch of which country?

Liechtenstein

4.

Which Lord Chancellor was criticised for this choice of wallpaper in 1998?

Derry Irvine

(redecorated the Palace of Westminster, costing the taxpayer £650,000, including £59,000 on hand-printed wallpaper)

5.

What is the family name of the Labour Party leader from 1932 to 1935, and his granddaughter, who has won six Golden Globe Awards?

Lansbury

(George and Angela.  Angela was also nominated as 'Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series' at every Emmy Awards ceremony from 1985 to 1996, for every single series of Murder, She Wrote, but never won)

6.

Joan Enric Vives Sicilia is co-ruler of which country?

Andorra

(with François Hollande)

7.

Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh appeared to together in five films.  What was the first in 1953?

Houdini

8.

Which is the only film directed by Alfred Hitchcock to have won the Best Picture Oscar?

Rebecca

(in 1940)

Sp1

Name one of the Canadian state capitals of British Colombia, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, or Yukon

(one of)

Victoria,

Yellowknife,

Iqaluit,

Whitehorse

Sp2

Who was the first presenter of the BBC TV quiz show A Question of Sport?

David Vine

Sp3

In the book Treasure Island, who is the cook on the ship Hispaniola?

Long John Silver

(Unfortunately this is not a pointless answer, so you do not leave here tonight with the record prize money of £25,000)