ROUND 1 - Hidden theme

1.

Which Scottish-born American-British actor/singer/dancer played the role of Captain Jack Harkness in a BBC spinoff series?

2.

Which diminutive person has been a majority owner of Queens Park Rangers?  In their 2011 list, Forbes ranked him as the 4th richest person in the UK.  He was married to a former model who is 28 years his junior.

3.

Which British actress appeared as the archangel Gabriel in the film Constantine (2005), won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Michael Clayton in 2007 and was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in We Need to Talk About Kevin?

4.

Which cricketer earned the nickname 'FEC'?  In his autobiography, he is candid about the fact that there are colourful alternatives for 'FEC', the second word being 'Educated' rather than 'England' (the first and third alternative words can be left to the imagination of the reader, but the first is probably not dissimilar to Fr Megson’s favourite word).

5.

What was designed by William Railton and constructed between 1840 and 1843?  It is built from granite, topped with sandstone.  In 2006 it was found to be 14.5 feet (4.4m) shorter than previously supposed.

6.

Who was voted Player of the Tournament in the 2013 rugby union Six Nations Tournament, was player of the series in the 2013 British and Irish Lions tour to Australia and runner-up in the 2013 BBC Sports Personality of the Year competition? (full name required)

7.

Which Victorian novel, dealing with what has become known as dissociative identity disorder, features a London lawyer named Gabriel John Utterson who investigates strange occurrences concerning an old friend?

8.

Which band formed in 1967 and takes its name from a concatenation of the names of two of its early members who are still part of the line up?  The band’s style changed from blues to soft rock in the 1970s.

Sp1

Which entertainer was born in Wigan?  One of his most famous songs was banned by the BBC for its suggestive lyrics.  A remixed version of another of his songs by 2 In A Tent charted in the early 1990s.  Frank Skinner and George Harrison are/were huge admirers.

Sp2

Who played the part of Philip in Rising Damp?

1.

Who wrote the series of books about teenage spy Alex Rider?

2.

Who wrote The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul?

3.

Which boxer, world heavyweight champion from 1935 to 1937, was known as 'The Cinderella Man'?

4.

In Popeye what was the name of Olive Oil’s brother?

5.

Where did Desperate Dan live?

6.

What name is shared by a river in England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland (twice), Queensland and Tasmania?

7.

Which 18th-century author founded the Bow Street runners and wrote the novel Shamela, a parody of Samuel Richardson's Pamela?

8.

Which fruit, bearing the name of the man who first imported it into England in 1724, is known as Reine Claude in France, where it was originally bred?

ROUND 3 - Pot luck

1.

In mediaeval England what were the sumptuary laws concerned with?

2.

Which animals, of the subfamily lutrinae, have the densest fur in the animal kingdom?

3.

4.

Thomas Mann's novel Buddenbrooks is set in his hometown, a city in Schleswig-Holstein famous for its marzipan.  Where is it?

5.

Which is the only river rising in Switzerland that flows into the Black Sea?  The river in question flows through Rosenheim and Passau?

6.

Apart from being Prime Ministers what specifically links: Lord North, Pitt the Younger, Lord Liverpool, the Duke of Wellington, Lord Palmerston, Lord Salisbury and Winston Churchill?

7.

The sentence 'Martin-Jenkins regularly makes spin bowlers nervous' can be used to remember what sequence with a French connection?

8.

The sentence 'Can City ever exceed Manchester United's premier title total?' can be used to remember what?

ROUND 4 - French Picture Round

1.

This is one of the finest of all Gothic Cathedrals.  Its location in a city on the river Cher, geographically very close indeed to the centre of France, meant it was also relatively safe from the ravages of both World Wars, so it retains the majority of its 13th Century glass.  Where is it?

2.

This cathedral is in the south-west of France in a large town on the river Tarn.  As a suitable building stone is not found locally, it is built almost entirely of brick.  Its dominant presence and fortress-like exterior were intended to convey the power and authority of the Christian faith over the Cathars who had been causing some local trouble.  In stark contrast, the interior is splendidly decorated.  Where is it?

3.

What are the two rivers joining towards the South of this major French City?  The heart of the city is called the Presqu’ile.

4.

On the same latitude as Lyon, but further West, these two rivers meet.  The land in between them contains the wine appellation ‘Entre Deux Mers’.  What are the rivers?

5.

What is the name of this fairytale castle, one of the best known Chateaux de la Loire?

6.

What is the name of this Chateau, the largest in the Loire region, it served as a hunting lodge to Francis I?

7.

Who painted this majestic image of A Horse Frightened by a Storm?  The picture dates from 1824 predating by 6 years his most famous picture, (in which Marianne is pictured brandishing the tricolour and a bayoneted musket over a pile of bodies).

8.

Who painted this Charging Chasseur?  The picture dates from 1812 and predates by 6 years his most famous picture, which deals with the aftermath of a maritime disaster.

All the answers are made up of combinations of two-letter chemical element symbols.  For example, if the question was “What is the capital of Kazakhstan?”, the answer would be “AsTaNa” (Arsenic + Tantalum + Sodium).  It is not necessary to name the elements when answering the questions.

1.

What is the surname of the Methodist minister who was the first president of Zimbabwe, who was later imprisoned for sodomy?

2.

Which rhyming phrase is a North American term for a minor collision between motor vehicles derived from the US word for bumper?

3.

Which USA state capital is the birthplace of Nicole Kidman, Bruno Mars and Bette Midler?

4.

Which New World lake is known locally as 'Rock Puma', because its shape has been likened to that of a puma hunting a rabbit?  King George VI would have been pleased to pronounce its name.

5.

Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in 1933, by what name is this American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music better known?  In 1987, the original 1958 recording of her most famous song was used in a commercial for Chanel No. 5 and led to a re-release of the recording.  (full name required)

6.

Which Italian violin virtuoso born in 1782 was friends with Rossini and Berlioz?  He had exceptionally long fingers and was capable of playing three octaves across four strings in a hand span, an extraordinarily difficult feat even by today's standards.

7.

Which entertainer’s real name is Steven Frayne?   He suffers from Crohn’s disease, supports Bradford  City and is best known for his show Magician Impossible.

8.

In the original form of this sport, each team consisted of up to 1,000 men on a field that stretched up to 3 kilometres long and the games lasted from sunup to sundown for two to three days.  It was known by names such as bagataway and tewaarathon. The World Championship of the current incarnation was held in Manchester in 2010.  What's the sport?

Sp.

Which organic compound is also known as vitamin B3?  A deficiency of it leads to the disease pellagra.  It is involved in DNA repair and the production of steroid hormones in the adrenal gland.

ROUND 6 - Hidden theme

1.

In which small, fictional Australian Outback town was the TV series The Flying Doctors set?

2.

Who is the current Astronomer Royal?

3.

Who is a founder member, lead singer and major songwriter for The Strawbs?

4.

What is the name of the road that runs along the North Eastern end of Trent Bridge Cricket Ground and from which this part of the ground gets its name?

5.

How is the pepper, also called the African Bird’s Eye Chilli, best known in the UK?  It is a cultivar of the capsicum frutescens.

6.

Born in 1943 and gaining a degree in Chemistry from Merton College, Oxford this TV personality presented Local Heroes between 1996 and 1999 and What the Romans Did For Us in 2000.  Who is he?

7.

Who wrote the novel The Woman in Black, which has also been turned into a play and film?

8.

In the 1954 Commonwealth Games this English Marathon runner entered the stadium 17 minutes ahead of the second placed runner but collapsed repeatedly and failed to finish.   Who was he?

Sp1

This company was famous for its advertising campaign featuring Patrick Allen in the 1970s.  What was it called?

Sp2

Originally formed by a merger of 2 Oil Drilling companies in 1905 this company has since diversified.  Its corporate HQ is in Swords, Fingal, County Dublin.  What is its name?

ROUND 7 - Pot luck

1.

What is the name of the sleeveless garment worn over the alb by the officiating priest at Mass?

2.

What is the name given to the bitter, aromatic, transparent gum exuded from the bark of the Commiphora?  It is used as a perfume and medicine, and at one time was worth its weight in gold.

3.

A bath fills up in three minutes when the cold tap is turned on and in six minutes when the hot tap is turned on.  How long does it take to fill the bath up when both taps are turned on?

4.

In a three horse race the odds on the first horse are evens and on the second horse two to one against.  What should the odds be on the third horse if the book is fair to both the punter and the bookmaker?

5.

Donald Fagen and Walter Becker are core members of which rock band which formed in the 1970s and got together again in the 1990s?

6.

Who released his second album Shangri La in November 2013?  He also won the Q Award for best new act in 2013.

7.

What is the Trinity-Mirror group's Scottish equivalent of the Daily Mirror?

8.

Which British daily newspaper is printed in the Berliner format?

ROUND 8 - Pairs

1.

Where, amongst others would you be able to find Billy, Borris, Malinda and Markus?

2.

Which item is sold in Ikea with the name Bumerang?

3.

Which composer died of a melanoma on 28 March 1943, in Beverly Hills, California, just four days before the arrival of a telegram from his compatriots congratulating him on the 70th birthday that he never quite reached?  He was buried in Valhalla, New York.  WWII (and 20th century politics) made it very difficult for his body to be returned home.

4.

Which composer died of leukaemia on September 26, 1945 in a hospital in New York City at age 64?  He was buried in New York, but after a request from his native country, he was disinterred and received a state funeral in his homeland in 1988, the final year of communism in that country.

5.

Aficionados of Scrabble will be familiar with the value of 2 letter words such as qi and xu.  Another favourite is zo, (which can also be spelt dzo or zho as it is a romanization of a Tibetan word – and indeed the Himalayas are where zo are most often found.  What is a zo?

6.

Another useful word is gi, (pronounced with a hard 'G', like the cheese ghee).  It derives from the Japanese word for  cloth.  What is a gi?

7.

About whom is the following Tony Benn quotation: "I've only spoken to him once, briefly.  He told me his interest in politics began when he read a book I wrote called Arguments for Democracy.  I said to him 'I take it you didn’t read Arguments for Socialism then?'  He said he hadn't.”?

8.

About whom was Benn talking here: "-------- had as much charisma as a mouse.  He was absolutely monosyllabic.  People say conversation is supposed to be like a game of tennis, but with him it was like tossing biscuits to a dog."?

Spares

1.

Which country trades in the currency Renminbi, meaning 'People's money', although another name for the currency is more commonly used?

2.

Which Northern French Gothic Cathedral has interior vaulting over 48 metres high, making them the tallest vaults in Europe, surpassing those of Amiens by 6 metres?  The structural integrity is maintained by a dramatic array of flying buttresses, themselves now held in place by numerous horizontal metal bars.  Despite being over 50 miles north of Paris, several low budget airlines fly there use this town as a gateway to Paris.

3.

Another 2 letter word - what is a 'xu'?

4.

Which composer died of heart failure on 6th April 1971, in New York at the age of 88?  He was buried at San Michele cemetery in Venice, close to the tomb of Diaghilev.

ROUND 1 - Hidden theme

1.

Which Scottish-born American-British actor/singer/dancer played the role of Captain Jack Harkness in a BBC spinoff series?

John BARROWman

(in Torchwood)

2.

Which diminutive person has been a majority owner of Queens Park Rangers?  In their 2011 list, Forbes ranked him as the 4th richest person in the UK.  He was married to a former model who is 28 years his junior.

Bernie ECCLEStone

3.

Which British actress appeared as the archangel Gabriel in the film Constantine (2005), won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Michael Clayton in 2007 and was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in We Need to Talk About Kevin?

Tilda SWINTON

4.

Which cricketer earned the nickname 'FEC'?  In his autobiography, he is candid about the fact that there are colourful alternatives for 'FEC', the second word being 'Educated' rather than 'England' (the first and third alternative words can be left to the imagination of the reader, but the first is probably not dissimilar to Fr Megson’s favourite word).

Mike ATHERTON

5.

What was designed by William Railton and constructed between 1840 and 1843?  It is built from granite, topped with sandstone.  In 2006 it was found to be 14.5 feet (4.4m) shorter than previously supposed.

NELSON’s Column

6.

Who was voted Player of the Tournament in the 2013 rugby union Six Nations Tournament, was player of the series in the 2013 British and Irish Lions tour to Australia and runner-up in the 2013 BBC Sports Personality of the Year competition? (full name required)

LEIGH Halfpenny

7.

Which Victorian novel, dealing with what has become known as dissociative identity disorder, features a London lawyer named Gabriel John Utterson who investigates strange occurrences concerning an old friend?

(The Strange Case of) Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HYDE

8.

Which band formed in 1967 and takes its name from a concatenation of the names of two of its early members who are still part of the line up?  The band’s style changed from blues to soft rock in the 1970s.

FLEETWOOD Mac

Sp1

Which entertainer was born in Wigan?  One of his most famous songs was banned by the BBC for its suggestive lyrics.  A remixed version of another of his songs by 2 In A Tent charted in the early 1990s.  Frank Skinner and George Harrison are/were huge admirers.

George FORMBY

Sp2

Who played the part of Philip in Rising Damp?

Don WARRINGTON

1.

Who wrote the series of books about teenage spy Alex Rider?

Anthony Horowitz

2.

Who wrote The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul?

Deborah Rodriguez

3.

Which boxer, world heavyweight champion from 1935 to 1937, was known as 'The Cinderella Man'?

(James J) Braddock

4.

In Popeye what was the name of Olive Oil’s brother?

Castor

5.

Where did Desperate Dan live?

Cactusville

6.

What name is shared by a river in England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland (twice), Queensland and Tasmania?

Dee

7.

Which 18th-century author founded the Bow Street runners and wrote the novel Shamela, a parody of Samuel Richardson's Pamela?

Henry Fielding

8.

Which fruit, bearing the name of the man who first imported it into England in 1724, is known as Reine Claude in France, where it was originally bred?

ROUND 3 - Pot luck

1.

In mediaeval England what were the sumptuary laws concerned with?

2.

Which animals, of the subfamily lutrinae, have the densest fur in the animal kingdom?

3.

4.

Thomas Mann's novel Buddenbrooks is set in his hometown, a city in Schleswig-Holstein famous for its marzipan.  Where is it?

5.

Which is the only river rising in Switzerland that flows into the Black Sea?  The river in question flows through Rosenheim and Passau?

6.

Apart from being Prime Ministers what specifically links: Lord North, Pitt the Younger, Lord Liverpool, the Duke of Wellington, Lord Palmerston, Lord Salisbury and Winston Churchill?

They were all wardens of the Cinque ports

7.

The sentence 'Martin-Jenkins regularly makes spin bowlers nervous' can be used to remember what sequence with a French connection?

8.

The sentence 'Can City ever exceed Manchester United's premier title total?' can be used to remember what?

ROUND 4 - French Picture Round

1.

This is one of the finest of all Gothic Cathedrals.  Its location in a city on the river Cher, geographically very close indeed to the centre of France, meant it was also relatively safe from the ravages of both World Wars, so it retains the majority of its 13th Century glass.  Where is it?

Bourges

2.

This cathedral is in the south-west of France in a large town on the river Tarn.  As a suitable building stone is not found locally, it is built almost entirely of brick.  Its dominant presence and fortress-like exterior were intended to convey the power and authority of the Christian faith over the Cathars who had been causing some local trouble.  In stark contrast, the interior is splendidly decorated.  Where is it?

Albi

3.

What are the two rivers joining towards the South of this major French City?  The heart of the city is called the Presqu’ile.

The Rhone and the Saone

4.

On the same latitude as Lyon, but further West, these two rivers meet.  The land in between them contains the wine appellation ‘Entre Deux Mers’.  What are the rivers?

(NB. Not the Gironde – that is the name of the estuary formed by these two rivers)

5.

What is the name of this fairytale castle, one of the best known Chateaux de la Loire?

Chenonceau

6.

What is the name of this Chateau, the largest in the Loire region, it served as a hunting lodge to Francis I?

Chambord

7.

Who painted this majestic image of A Horse Frightened by a Storm?  The picture dates from 1824 predating by 6 years his most famous picture, (in which Marianne is pictured brandishing the tricolour and a bayoneted musket over a pile of bodies).

(the more famous picture being Liberty Leading the People)

8.

Who painted this Charging Chasseur?  The picture dates from 1812 and predates by 6 years his most famous picture, which deals with the aftermath of a maritime disaster.

(the more famous picture being The Raft of the Medusa)

All the answers are made up of combinations of two-letter chemical element symbols.  For example, if the question was “What is the capital of Kazakhstan?”, the answer would be “AsTaNa” (Arsenic + Tantalum + Sodium).  It is not necessary to name the elements when answering the questions.

1.

What is the surname of the Methodist minister who was the first president of Zimbabwe, who was later imprisoned for sodomy?

BaNaNa

(Barium + Sodium)

2.

Which rhyming phrase is a North American term for a minor collision between motor vehicles derived from the US word for bumper?

FeNdEr BeNdEr

(Iron + Neodymium + Erbium + Beryllium)

3.

Which USA state capital is the birthplace of Nicole Kidman, Bruno Mars and Bette Midler?

HoNoLuLu

(Holmium + Nobelium + Lutetium)

4.

Which New World lake is known locally as 'Rock Puma', because its shape has been likened to that of a puma hunting a rabbit?  King George VI would have been pleased to pronounce its name.

5.

Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in 1933, by what name is this American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music better known?  In 1987, the original 1958 recording of her most famous song was used in a commercial for Chanel No. 5 and led to a re-release of the recording.  (full name required)

6.

Which Italian violin virtuoso born in 1782 was friends with Rossini and Berlioz?  He had exceptionally long fingers and was capable of playing three octaves across four strings in a hand span, an extraordinarily difficult feat even by today's standards.

PaGaNiNi

(Protactinium + Gallium + Nickel)

7.

Which entertainer’s real name is Steven Frayne?   He suffers from Crohn’s disease, supports Bradford  City and is best known for his show Magician Impossible.

DyNaMo

(Dysprosium + Sodium + Molybdenum)

8.

In the original form of this sport, each team consisted of up to 1,000 men on a field that stretched up to 3 kilometres long and the games lasted from sunup to sundown for two to three days.  It was known by names such as bagataway and tewaarathon. The World Championship of the current incarnation was held in Manchester in 2010.  What's the sport?

Sp.

Which organic compound is also known as vitamin B3?  A deficiency of it leads to the disease pellagra.  It is involved in DNA repair and the production of steroid hormones in the adrenal gland.

ROUND 6 - Hidden theme

1.

In which small, fictional Australian Outback town was the TV series The Flying Doctors set?

Cooper's Crossing

2.

Who is the current Astronomer Royal?

(Martin) Rees

(accept Baron Rees of Ludlow)

3.

Who is a founder member, lead singer and major songwriter for The Strawbs?

(Dave) Cousins

4.

What is the name of the road that runs along the North Eastern end of Trent Bridge Cricket Ground and from which this part of the ground gets its name?

Radcliffe Road

5.

How is the pepper, also called the African Bird’s Eye Chilli, best known in the UK?  It is a cultivar of the capsicum frutescens.

Piri Piri

6.

Born in 1943 and gaining a degree in Chemistry from Merton College, Oxford this TV personality presented Local Heroes between 1996 and 1999 and What the Romans Did For Us in 2000.  Who is he?

Adam Hart Davis

7.

Who wrote the novel The Woman in Black, which has also been turned into a play and film?

Susan Hill

8.

In the 1954 Commonwealth Games this English Marathon runner entered the stadium 17 minutes ahead of the second placed runner but collapsed repeatedly and failed to finish.   Who was he?

Jim Peters

Sp1

This company was famous for its advertising campaign featuring Patrick Allen in the 1970s.  What was it called?

Barratt Homes

(if they give Barratt Developments accept but read out Barratt Homes for the theme)

Sp2

Originally formed by a merger of 2 Oil Drilling companies in 1905 this company has since diversified.  Its corporate HQ is in Swords, Fingal, County Dublin.  What is its name?

Ingersoll Rand

ROUND 7 - Pot luck

1.

What is the name of the sleeveless garment worn over the alb by the officiating priest at Mass?

2.

What is the name given to the bitter, aromatic, transparent gum exuded from the bark of the Commiphora?  It is used as a perfume and medicine, and at one time was worth its weight in gold.

3.

A bath fills up in three minutes when the cold tap is turned on and in six minutes when the hot tap is turned on.  How long does it take to fill the bath up when both taps are turned on?

4.

In a three horse race the odds on the first horse are evens and on the second horse two to one against.  What should the odds be on the third horse if the book is fair to both the punter and the bookmaker?

5.

Donald Fagen and Walter Becker are core members of which rock band which formed in the 1970s and got together again in the 1990s?

6.

Who released his second album Shangri La in November 2013?  He also won the Q Award for best new act in 2013.

7.

What is the Trinity-Mirror group's Scottish equivalent of the Daily Mirror?

8.

Which British daily newspaper is printed in the Berliner format?

ROUND 8 - Pairs

1.

Where, amongst others would you be able to find Billy, Borris, Malinda and Markus?
 

2.

Which item is sold in Ikea with the name Bumerang?

3.

Which composer died of a melanoma on 28 March 1943, in Beverly Hills, California, just four days before the arrival of a telegram from his compatriots congratulating him on the 70th birthday that he never quite reached?  He was buried in Valhalla, New York.  WWII (and 20th century politics) made it very difficult for his body to be returned home.

(Sergei) Rachmaninov

4.

Which composer died of leukaemia on September 26, 1945 in a hospital in New York City at age 64?  He was buried in New York, but after a request from his native country, he was disinterred and received a state funeral in his homeland in 1988, the final year of communism in that country.

5.

Aficionados of Scrabble will be familiar with the value of 2 letter words such as qi and xu.  Another favourite is zo, (which can also be spelt dzo or zho as it is a romanization of a Tibetan word – and indeed the Himalayas are where zo are most often found).  What is a zo?

6.

Another useful word is gi, (pronounced with a hard 'G', like the cheese ghee).  It derives from the Japanese word for  cloth.  What is a gi?

7.

About whom is the following Tony Benn quotation: "I've only spoken to him once, briefly.  He told me his interest in politics began when he read a book I wrote called Arguments for Democracy.  I said to him 'I take it you didn’t read Arguments for Socialism then?'  He said he hadn't.”?

8.

About whom was Benn talking here: "-------- had as much charisma as a mouse.  He was absolutely monosyllabic.  People say conversation is supposed to be like a game of tennis, but with him it was like tossing biscuits to a dog."?

Spares

1.

Which country trades in the currency Renminbi, meaning 'People's money', although another name for the currency is more commonly used?

China

2.

Which Northern French Gothic Cathedral has interior vaulting over 48 metres high, making them the tallest vaults in Europe, surpassing those of Amiens by 6 metres?  The structural integrity is maintained by a dramatic array of flying buttresses, themselves now held in place by numerous horizontal metal bars.  Despite being over 50 miles north of Paris, several low budget airlines fly there use this town as a gateway to Paris.

Beauvais

3.

Another 2 letter word - what is a 'xu'?

(100 xus make one dong)

4.

Which composer died of heart failure on 6th April 1971, in New York at the age of 88?  He was buried at San Michele cemetery in Venice, close to the tomb of Diaghilev.

(Igor) Stravinsky