ROUND 1 - 'The O I Know That Round'

All the answers in this round end with the letter ‘O’

1.

Name the city that hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics.

2.

What did Rudyard Kipling describe as "great, grey-green, greasy…all set about with fever trees"?

3.

He is currently the music director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal and the Bavarian State Opera, but from 1992 to 1999, he was principal conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester.  Who is he?

4.

Which British publishing company was founded in 1973 by Carmen Callil and primarily publishes books by women writers, but also works with feminist themes by male writers?

5.

In 1980, 9-week old Azaria Chamberlain disappeared from an Australian campsite.  In 2012, in the fourth inquest into her disappearance, the coroner announced her cause of death as what?

6.

Who was the Prime Minister of Italy 1963-1968 and 1974-76, who was kidnapped and killed by the Red Brigades in 1978?

7.

This unit of currency was used historically in Spain, Portugal, and in their colonies in South America, Asia, and Africa.  It is still used in Cape Verde.  What is it called?

8.

What name links the father of Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit, and a Womble named after a Japanese province?

Sp1

First appearing in May 1984, this animated quartet comprises Raphael and which three others?

Sp2

This model construction system was conceived in 1898, patented in 1901, and received its current name in 1907.  What is this toy called?

ROUND 2 - Bingo Round with Elements in the Questions

Quizzers are invited to pick an Atomic number/Element abbreviation

1.

11 Na

‘Sir Humphry Davy/Abominated gravy./He lived in the odium/Of having discovered sodium’ is the first ever example of which type of poem?

2.

26 Fe

From 1935, an Iron was a token in the board game Monopoly.  What replaced it in 2013?

3.

28 Ni

A Nickel is a slang term for a US coin.  How many cents would you have, if you had the following coins: a Nickel, a Dime, Two Bits, and a Quarter?

4.

29 Cu

The 19th-century Danish archaeologist Christian Thomsen proposed the Three Age System, from stone age to bronze age to iron age.  Nowadays six periods are generally recognised: the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Copper Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age.  What is the technical term for the Copper Age?

5.

36 Kr

Superman was born on the planet Krypton.  As an infant, he was rocketed to Earth by his scientist father, moments before Krypton’s destruction.  Give either his birth-name or the name of his father.  (It doesn’t matter if the answerer doesn’t know which name is which)

6.

47 Ag

Departing on his white stallion, the Lone Ranger would shout, "Hi-Yo, Silver! Away!" - but what was the name of Tonto’s horse?  (you have a choice of two)   

7.

50 Sn

Which world leader, who died in 1970, once said "Really, you know, my only international rival is Tintin!  We're both little fellows who won't be got at by the big fellows."?

8.

51 Sb

The song starts: "There's antimony, arsenic, aluminum, selenium,/And hydrogen and oxygen and nitrogen and rhenium" sung to the tune of the Major-General's Song from The Pirates of Penzance.  Written in 1959, it listed all the elements then known.  Who wrote and sang it?

9.

79 Au

In which play did Shakespeare write "All that glisters is not gold"?

10.

82 Pb

A cover version of this song, by Collective Consciousness Society, got to No. 13 in the UK singles charts in 1970 and was the Top Of The Pops theme tune from 1970 to 1977.  Name the Led Zeppelin song.

11.

88 Ra

After discovering radium and polonium with Pierre Curie, Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903 and for Chemistry in 1911.  Name any other person or organisation that has won two or more Nobel Prizes of any sort.
 

12.

94 Pu

Hotblack Desiato is front man for the plutonium rock band Disaster Area in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. He is incredibly rich, occasionally buying star systems.  For tax reasons, he once spent a year doing what?

ROUND 3 - Linked Questions with a Hidden Connection

All the answers have something in common and there is also an underlying progressive connection - the theme can be revealed following the spare question

1.

Which major Hollywood character won two consecutive Best Picture Oscars in 1939 and 1940?  The latter, for Rebecca, was Alfred Hitchcock’s first Hollywood production.

2.

In homage to the American R&B/soul singers Teddy Pendergrass and Barry White, who was the one-man ‘sex machine’ created by the comedian Lenny Henry?

(Hint: He was something of an animal)

3.

Which US President (full name please) signed Executive Order 9981, that ended racial segregation of the Armed Forces?

4.

What organisation is based at 85 Vauxhall Cross, SE1 7TP?

5.

This Scottish writer wrote his mainstream fiction under his given name, but included the initial of his adopted middle name when he wrote science fiction.  Under what name did he publish his first science fiction book, Consider Phlebas, and subsequent sci-fi books? 

6.

Who became the 21st US president, after James A Garfield was assassinated in September 1881?

7.

Which African-American educator caused huge controversy and attracted epithets from the southern press and politicians too loathsome to repeat, after being invited to the White House for dinner by Theodore Roosevelt? 

8.

David Threllfall does it in the original, Manchester version, but who plays Frank Gallagher in the American remake of Shameless?

Sp.

Who, after a successful military career, was the 18th President of the United States from 1869 to 1877?  (full name please)

Pick any topic from 1 to 20.  All answers comprise three names, and all three are required. Some are hyphenated; some are not.

1.

Openings

Danny Boyle directed the Olympics opening ceremony in London, but which Australian-born dancer, choreographer and theatre director was responsible for the opening ceremony of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester?

2.

Prize Winners

Who is the only person to be awarded both a Nobel Prize and an Oscar?

3.

A Scary Question?

Who portrayed Buffy Summers in the 1997-2003 US TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer?

4.

Fast Women 1

Who is considered ‘the fastest woman of all time’, based on the fact that the world records she set in 1988 for both the 100 metres (10.49 seconds) and 200 metres (21.34 seconds) still stand and have yet to be seriously challenged?

5.

Paramilitaries

A friend wrote of her: "Anyone who had come into touch with her gentle influence, her interest in all womanly arts, and her love of birds, insects, and flowers, would scoff at the idea of her being the president of a sort of Amazon Cadet Corps".  Who wrote The Handbook for Girl Guides or How Girls Can Help to Build Up the Empire published in 1912?

6.

Snappers

In 1947 Magnum Photos was founded by the photographers: Robert Capa, David Seymour, William Vandivert, George Rodger and whom?

7.

My Cockney Rhyming Friend

Who became, for a brief period, the provisional President of the newly proclaimed Republic of China in February 1912, and later co-founded the Kuomintang, serving as its first leader?

8.

Poetry

Born in Salford, he first became well known in the late 1970s as a ‘punk poet’.  He released several albums in the 70s and 80s, including his debut album Où est la maison de fromage in 1978.  He continues to perform regularly.  Who is he?

9.

Isn’t He Fragrant?

The 1949 short film For Scent-imental Reasons, won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.  It featured Penelope Pussycat and which stereotypically French character?

(QM: Please spell out 'Scent-imental')

10.

Literature

Who won the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature and is perhaps best known for his novels such as: One Hundred Years of Solitude, Autumn of the Patriarch, and Love in the Time of Cholera?

11.

History

As Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford, he was best known for his 1947 book The Last Days of Hitler.  In 1983, he authenticated the Hitler Diaries, which were soon shown to be forgeries.  What was his name before he was made Baron Dacre of Glantonvor in 1979

12.

Opera

This soprano was known for her lack of rhythm, pitch, and tone; her aberrant pronunciation; and generally poor singing ability.  She restricted her rare performances to a few favourite venues and an annual recital at the New York Ritz-Carlton.  Aged 76, she finally yielded to public demand, and booked the Carnegie Hall for October 25, 1944.  She would have been totally bankrupt if 5,000 people hadn’t turned up for the 3,000 tickets.  Who was she?

13.

Fast Women 2

When told during a 1963 trial that William Astor (3rd Viscount Astor) denied an affair or having even met her, who famously replied "He would, wouldn’t he?"

14.

Classical Music

Complete this list of ‘The Five’: Mily Balakirev, Alexander Borodin, César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, and who?

15.

The Hand that Rocks the Cradle

Who was nanny to Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and his brother, Prince Harry, between 1993 and 1999?  (Her nickname with surname is acceptable in this instance)

16.

Film

In 1981, he starred in Gregory’s Girl, and in 1999, in Gregory’s Two Girls.  In 2013, he starred alongside Brad Pitt in World War Z.  He also performed as Master of Ceremonies in the premiere performance of Tubular Bells II at Edinburgh Castle in 1992.  Who is he?

17.

The Law & Food

In 1968, she became England’s youngest barrister at that time.  A champion of country sports, she was convicted in 2009 of attending illegal hare-coursing events.  In 2012, speaking on badger culling, she suggested either making a ham of the dead badger or treating it like lean pork.  Who is this legal and culinary heavyweight?

18.

Sport

Which cricket journalist and past MCC President was the longest serving commentator on BBC Radio’s Test Match Special, from 1973 until diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2012?

19.

Song & Dance

She is best known for chart hits Murder On the Dance Floor, Take Me Home, Music Gets the Best of Me and Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love), and has also appeared on Strictly Come Dancing.  Who is she?

20.

Closures

Who was the first person to be referred to officially as ‘Prime Minister’, and is the only person to date to hold the positions of both Prime Minister and Father of the House at the same time?  His last words were "This is not the end of me".

ROUND 6 - Hidden Theme

At least one word in each answer connects with the next answer in a disjointed sort of way

1.

Which fictional detective was played on TV by Kenneth More in 1974 and by Mark Williams in 2013 and 2014?

2.

In the early 60’s, an MC at the Manchester Sports Guild Folk Club booked (on an expenses-only basis) an up-and-coming folk singer, who was in Birmingham at the time.  After his first set, the singer came up to Frank Duffy and said "Is it OK if my buddy joins me in the second half?"  Frank said: "Sure. What's his name?  I'll give him the build-up".  The singer told him his friend’s name.  Frank said: "Stop f***ing me around, Paul!  WHAT'S HIS NAME?"  What was the name of the singer’s friend?

3.

What song gave its name to a 1936 Bing Crosby film and a 1978 TV series by Dennis Potter?

4.

His novels include Foucault’s Pendulum, The Island of the Day Before and most recently, in 2010, The Prague Cemetery.  What was the name of his first novel, published in 1980?

5.

According to the saying by Erasmus "the one-eyed man is king" of where?  

6.

What phrase does the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry apply to the seventeen elements comprising the fifteen lanthanides, plus scandium and yttrium?

7.

Their first album was From Genesis to Revelation in 1969, and their third album was Nursery Cryme in 1971.  What was the name of their second album, released in 1970?

8.

The 17th-century carving of a group of 3 animals called Mizaru, Kikazaru and Iwazaru over the door of a Japanese shrine is believed to be the origin of which well-known maxim?

Sp1

This novel from 1940 tells the story of a Catholic priest in the Mexican state of Tabasco during the 1930’s.  In 2005, The Labyrinthine Ways was chosen by Time magazine as one of the hundred best English language novels since 1923.  What is the novel called over here?  

Sp2

Since 1934, the Augusta National Golf Course in Georgia has hosted the annual Masters Tournament.  What nickname is given to the second shot at the 11th hole, all of the 12th, and the first two shots at the 13th?

ROUND 7 - Bingo Round

Pick a number from 1 to 12.  Each question number appears in the respective answer, sometimes as a sound-alike.

1.

The original 'Colemanball' was spoken by Ron Pickering.  In the Montreal Olympics, he described the Cuban gold medallist, nicknamed ‘El Caballo’ ('The Horse'), as running "down the back straight, opening his legs and showing his class".  Who was the athlete?

2.

In 1774, Captain Cook named the islands the New Hebrides, a name that lasted until independence in 1980.  By what name is this South Pacific island nation now known?

3.

The father was a U.S. singer-songwriter and folk musician, perhaps best known for This Land is Your Land, recorded in 1944.  A folk singer son of his is perhaps best known for the talking blues song Alice's Restaurant Massacre, released in 1967. What’s the family name?

4.

What is missing from this list: electric bathroom plugs, saw tips for covering saws, two letter ‘O’s for a gate, three tins of peas, brown pumps (size 9), tap washers, and billhooks?

5.

Who started off On a Treasure Island in 1947 and ended up Together Again in 1963?

6.

Rick Wakeman played keyboards for the groups Strawbs and Yes, and has latterly appeared on TV’s Grumpy Old Men.  What was the name of his first studio album as a solo artist, released in January 1973?

7.

Gareth Thomas, Michael Keating, Sally Knyvette, Paul Darrow, David Jackson, Jan Chappell, and the voice of Peter Tuddenham were the original cast of which TV series, which ran from January 1978 to December 1981?

8.

Which catchphrase, involving the number 8, did Bruce Forsyth use in the early ‘70s?

9.

DNA is composed of cytosine, thymine, and which two other nucleobases? 

10.

By what name is the pharaoh Amenhotep IV better known?  

11.

At the beginning of the Lord of the Rings, and, in his own words, how old is Bilbo Baggins?

12.

Based on the 1853 slave narrative by Solomon Northup, the 2013 film won three Academy Awards.  The Best Picture win made Steve McQueen the first black producer ever to have received the award and the first black person to direct a Best Picture.  What was the name of the book/film?

ROUND 8 - 'Opsimaths Go Large'

All the answers contain adjectives relating to large or big

1.

For what are these, the statistics: 1st class 62%, 2nd class 41%, 3rd class 25%, Crew 24%?

2.

If 'Little Boy' was on 6th August 1945, what was on 9th August 1945?

3.

He made his television début in April 1987, as a roving presenter for Through the Keyhole, and is currently a judge on the TV series Food Glorious Food.  Who is he?

4.

Born Cyril Mead and Edward McGinnis, these two had their own TV show from 1978 until 1991.  What was the show called?

5.

What phrase links the scientists Georges Lemaître and Fred Hoyle, with a TV series starring Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, and Kaley Cuoco (latterly known as Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting)?

6.

Which British comedy troupe features Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding?

7.

Their debut album was Blue Lines in 1991, and their most recent was Heligoland in 2010.  Which group, from Bristol, consists of Robert ‘3D’ Del Naja and Grant ‘Daddy G’ Marshall?

8.

Complete the title of this 1558 polemic by John Knox: "The first blast of the trumpet against…"

Sp1

Born in 1953, Terry Gene Bollea was a six-time WWF/WWE World Heavyweight Champion between1984-2002 and a six-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion between1994-1999.  By what ring name is he better known?

Sp2

Which abbreviation is used to describe an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship?

ROUND 1 - 'The O I Know That Round'

All the answers in this round end with the letter ‘O’

1.

Name the city that hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics.

Nagano

(Oslo was 1952, Sapporo was 1972 and Sarajevo 1984)

2.

What did Rudyard Kipling describe as "great, grey-green, greasy…all set about with fever trees"?

The Limpopo River

(in his story The Elephant’s Child in the Just So Stories)

3.

He is currently the music director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal and the Bavarian State Opera, but from 1992 to 1999, he was principal conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester.  Who is he?

Kent Nagano

4.

Which British publishing company was founded in 1973 by Carmen Callil and primarily publishes books by women writers, but also works with feminist themes by male writers?

Virago

5.

In 1980, 9-week old Azaria Chamberlain disappeared from an Australian campsite.  In 2012, in the fourth inquest into her disappearance, the coroner announced her cause of death as what?

"Being attacked and taken by a dingo."

(accept any reasonable answer that mentions Dingo)

6.

Who was the Prime Minister of Italy 1963-1968 and 1974-76, who was kidnapped and killed by the Red Brigades in 1978?

Aldo Moro

(two for the price of one as Dave Barras might say)   

7.

This unit of currency was used historically in Spain, Portugal, and in their colonies in South America, Asia, and Africa.  It is still used in Cape Verde.  What is it called?

Escudo

8.

What name links the father of Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit, and a Womble named after a Japanese province?

Bungo

Sp1

First appearing in May 1984, this animated quartet comprises Raphael and which three others?

Donatello, Leonardo and Michelangelo

(Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

Sp2

This model construction system was conceived in 1898, patented in 1901, and received its current name in 1907.  What is this toy called?

Meccano

(Lego didn’t begin manufacture until 1949)

ROUND 2 - Bingo Round with Elements in the Questions

Quizzers are invited to pick an Atomic number/Element abbreviation

1.

11 Na

‘Sir Humphry Davy/Abominated gravy./He lived in the odium/Of having discovered sodium’ is the first ever example of which type of poem?

Clerihew

(invented by and named after Edmund Clerihew Bentley)

2.

26 Fe

From 1935, an Iron was a token in the board game Monopoly.  What replaced it in 2013?

A Cat

3.

28 Ni

A Nickel is a slang term for a US coin.  How many cents would you have, if you had the following coins: a Nickel, a Dime, Two Bits, and a Quarter?

65

(5+10+25+25; two Bits and a Quarter are the same thing)

4.

29 Cu

The 19th-century Danish archaeologist Christian Thomsen proposed the Three Age System, from stone age to bronze age to iron age.  Nowadays six periods are generally recognised: the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Copper Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age.  What is the technical term for the Copper Age?

Chalcolithic

(accept also Eneolithic)

5.

36 Kr

Superman was born on the planet Krypton.  As an infant, he was rocketed to Earth by his scientist father, moments before Krypton’s destruction.  Give either his birth-name or the name of his father.  (It doesn’t matter if the answerer doesn’t know which name is which)

(either)

Kal-El

(or)

Jor-El respectively

6.

47 Ag

Departing on his white stallion, the Lone Ranger would shout, "Hi-Yo, Silver! Away!" - but what was the name of Tonto’s horse?  (you have a choice of two)   

White Feller or Scout

7.

50 Sn

Which world leader, who died in 1970, once said "Really, you know, my only international rival is Tintin!  We're both little fellows who won't be got at by the big fellows."?

Charles de Gaulle

8.

51 Sb

The song starts: "There's antimony, arsenic, aluminum, selenium,/And hydrogen and oxygen and nitrogen and rhenium" sung to the tune of the Major-General's Song from The Pirates of Penzance.  Written in 1959, it listed all the elements then known.  Who wrote and sang it?

Tom Lehrer

9.

79 Au

In which play did Shakespeare write "All that glisters is not gold"?

The Merchant of Venice

10.

82 Pb

A cover version of this song, by Collective Consciousness Society, got to No. 13 in the UK singles charts in 1970 and was the Top Of The Pops theme tune from 1970 to 1977.  Name the Led Zeppelin song.

Whole Lotta Love

(a 1997 re-release by Led Zeppelin only got to No. 21, but is still the best ever rating for a UK single by the group)

11.

88 Ra

After discovering radium and polonium with Pierre Curie, Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903 and for Chemistry in 1911.  Name any other person or organisation that has won two or more Nobel Prizes of any sort.
 

(one of...)

Linus Pauling

(Chemistry 1954, Peace 1962)

John Bardeen

(Physics 1956 & 1972)

Frederick Sanger

(Chemistry 1958 & 1980)

International Committee of the Red Cross

(Peace 1917, 1944 & 1963)

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees

(Peace 1954 & 1981)

12.

94 Pu

Hotblack Desiato is front man for the plutonium rock band Disaster Area in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. He is incredibly rich, occasionally buying star systems.  For tax reasons, he once spent a year doing what?

Being dead

ROUND 3 - Linked Questions with a Hidden Connection

All the answers have something in common and there is also an underlying progressive connection - the theme can be revealed following the spare question

1.

Which major Hollywood character won two consecutive Best Picture Oscars in 1939 and 1940?  The latter, for Rebecca, was Alfred Hitchcock’s first Hollywood production.

David O Selznick

2.

In homage to the American R&B/soul singers Teddy Pendergrass and Barry White, who was the one-man ‘sex machine’ created by the comedian Lenny Henry?

(Hint: He was something of an animal)

Theophilus P Wildebeeste

3.

Which US President (full name please) signed Executive Order 9981, that ended racial segregation of the Armed Forces?

Harry S Truman

4.

What organisation is based at 85 Vauxhall Cross, SE1 7TP?

MI6

5.

This Scottish writer wrote his mainstream fiction under his given name, but included the initial of his adopted middle name when he wrote science fiction.  Under what name did he publish his first science fiction book, Consider Phlebas, and subsequent sci-fi books? 

Iain M Banks

6.

Who became the 21st US president, after James A Garfield was assassinated in September 1881?

Chester A Arthur

7.

Which African-American educator caused huge controversy and attracted epithets from the southern press and politicians too loathsome to repeat, after being invited to the White House for dinner by Theodore Roosevelt? 

Booker T Washington

8.

David Threllfall does it in the original, Manchester version, but who plays Frank Gallagher in the American remake of Shameless?

William H Macy

Sp.

Who, after a successful military career, was the 18th President of the United States from 1869 to 1877?  (full name please)

Ulysses S Grant

Pick any topic from 1 to 20.  All answers comprise three names, and all three are required. Some are hyphenated; some are not.

1.

Openings

Danny Boyle directed the Olympics opening ceremony in London, but which Australian-born dancer, choreographer and theatre director was responsible for the opening ceremony of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester?

Craig Revel Horwood

2.

Prize Winners

Who is the only person to be awarded both a Nobel Prize and an Oscar?

George Bernard Shaw

(for Literature in 1925 and for his work on the film Pygmalion in 1938)

3.

A Scary Question?

Who portrayed Buffy Summers in the 1997-2003 US TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer?

Sarah Michelle Gellar

4.

Fast Women 1

Who is considered ‘the fastest woman of all time’, based on the fact that the world records she set in 1988 for both the 100 metres (10.49 seconds) and 200 metres (21.34 seconds) still stand and have yet to be seriously challenged?

Florence Griffith Joyner

(she died in her sleep as a result of an epileptic seizure in 1998 aged 38)

5.

Paramilitaries

A friend wrote of her: "Anyone who had come into touch with her gentle influence, her interest in all womanly arts, and her love of birds, insects, and flowers, would scoff at the idea of her being the president of a sort of Amazon Cadet Corps".  Who wrote The Handbook for Girl Guides or How Girls Can Help to Build Up the Empire published in 1912?

Agnes Baden-Powell

6.

Snappers

In 1947 Magnum Photos was founded by the photographers: Robert Capa, David Seymour, William Vandivert, George Rodger and whom?

Henri Cartier-Bresson

7.

My Cockney Rhyming Friend

Who became, for a brief period, the provisional President of the newly proclaimed Republic of China in February 1912, and later co-founded the Kuomintang, serving as its first leader?

Sun Yat-Sen

8.

Poetry

Born in Salford, he first became well known in the late 1970s as a ‘punk poet’.  He released several albums in the 70s and 80s, including his debut album Où est la maison de fromage in 1978.  He continues to perform regularly.  Who is he?

John Cooper Clarke

9.

Isn’t He Fragrant?

The 1949 short film For Scent-imental Reasons, won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.  It featured Penelope Pussycat and which stereotypically French character?

(QM: Please spell out 'Scent-imental')

Pepé Le Pew

10.

Literature

Who won the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature and is perhaps best known for his novels such as: One Hundred Years of Solitude, Autumn of the Patriarch, and Love in the Time of Cholera?

Gabriel García Márquez

11.

History

As Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford, he was best known for his 1947 book The Last Days of Hitler.  In 1983, he authenticated the Hitler Diaries, which were soon shown to be forgeries.  What was his name before he was made Baron Dacre of Glantonvor in 1979

Hugh Trevor-Roper

12.

Opera

This soprano was known for her lack of rhythm, pitch, and tone; her aberrant pronunciation; and generally poor singing ability.  She restricted her rare performances to a few favourite venues and an annual recital at the New York Ritz-Carlton.  Aged 76, she finally yielded to public demand, and booked the Carnegie Hall for October 25, 1944.  She would have been totally bankrupt if 5,000 people hadn’t turned up for the 3,000 tickets.  Who was she?

Florence Foster Jenkins

13.

Fast Women 2

When told during a 1963 trial that William Astor (3rd Viscount Astor) denied an affair or having even met her, who famously replied "He would, wouldn’t he?"

Mandy Rice-Davies

14.

Classical Music

Complete this list of ‘The Five’: Mily Balakirev, Alexander Borodin, César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, and who?

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

15.

The Hand that Rocks the Cradle

Who was nanny to Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and his brother, Prince Harry, between 1993 and 1999?  (Her nickname with surname is acceptable in this instance)

Alexandra Legge-Bourke or ‘Tiggy’ Legge-Bourke

16.

Film

In 1981, he starred in Gregory’s Girl, and in 1999, in Gregory’s Two Girls.  In 2013, he starred alongside Brad Pitt in World War Z.  He also performed as Master of Ceremonies in the premiere performance of Tubular Bells II at Edinburgh Castle in 1992.  Who is he?

John Gordon Sinclair

17.

The Law & Food

In 1968, she became England’s youngest barrister at that time.  A champion of country sports, she was convicted in 2009 of attending illegal hare-coursing events.  In 2012, speaking on badger culling, she suggested either making a ham of the dead badger or treating it like lean pork.  Who is this legal and culinary heavyweight?

Clarissa Dickson Wright

(the ‘Fat Lady’, Clarissa Theresa Philomena Aileen Mary Josephine Agnes Elsie Trilby Louise Esmerelda Dickson Wright)

18.

Sport

Which cricket journalist and past MCC President was the longest serving commentator on BBC Radio’s Test Match Special, from 1973 until diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2012?

Christopher Martin-Jenkins

19.

Song & Dance

She is best known for chart hits Murder On the Dance Floor, Take Me Home, Music Gets the Best of Me and Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love), and has also appeared on Strictly Come Dancing.  Who is she?

Sophie Ellis-Bextor

20.

Closures

Who was the first person to be referred to officially as ‘Prime Minister’, and is the only person to date to hold the positions of both Prime Minister and Father of the House at the same time?  His last words were "This is not the end of me".

Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman

(in later years, both he and his wife, who were reportedly enormous eaters, each weighed nearly 20 stone)

ROUND 6 - Hidden Theme

At least one word in each answer connects with the next answer in a disjointed sort of way

1.

Which fictional detective was played on TV by Kenneth More in 1974 and by Mark Williams in 2013 and 2014?

Father Brown

2.

In the early 60’s, an MC at the Manchester Sports Guild Folk Club booked (on an expenses-only basis) an up-and-coming folk singer, who was in Birmingham at the time.  After his first set, the singer came up to Frank Duffy and said "Is it OK if my buddy joins me in the second half?"  Frank said: "Sure. What's his name?  I'll give him the build-up".  The singer told him his friend’s name.  Frank said: "Stop f***ing me around, Paul!  WHAT'S HIS NAME?"  What was the name of the singer’s friend?

Art Garfunkel

3.

What song gave its name to a 1936 Bing Crosby film and a 1978 TV series by Dennis Potter?

Pennies from Heaven

4.

His novels include Foucault’s Pendulum, The Island of the Day Before and most recently, in 2010, The Prague Cemetery.  What was the name of his first novel, published in 1980?

The Name of the Rose

(by Umberto Eco)

5.

According to the saying by Erasmus "the one-eyed man is king" of where?  

"The kingdom of the blind"

(accept ‘land’, but point out that ‘kingdom’ is necessary for the theme)

6.

What phrase does the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry apply to the seventeen elements comprising the fifteen lanthanides, plus scandium and yttrium?

Rare earth elements

(also accept rare earth metals)

7.

Their first album was From Genesis to Revelation in 1969, and their third album was Nursery Cryme in 1971.  What was the name of their second album, released in 1970?

Trespass

(albums by the group Genesis)  

8.

The 17th-century carving of a group of 3 animals called Mizaru, Kikazaru and Iwazaru over the door of a Japanese shrine is believed to be the origin of which well-known maxim?

"See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil"

Sp1

This novel from 1940 tells the story of a Catholic priest in the Mexican state of Tabasco during the 1930’s.  In 2005, The Labyrinthine Ways was chosen by Time magazine as one of the hundred best English language novels since 1923.  What is the novel called over here?  

The Power and the Glory

(by Graham Greene)

Sp2

Since 1934, the Augusta National Golf Course in Georgia has hosted the annual Masters Tournament.  What nickname is given to the second shot at the 11th hole, all of the 12th, and the first two shots at the 13th?

Amen Corner 

ROUND 7 - Bingo Round

Pick a number from 1 to 12.  Each question number appears in the respective answer, sometimes as a sound-alike.

1.

The original 'Colemanball' was spoken by Ron Pickering.  In the Montreal Olympics, he described the Cuban gold medallist, nicknamed ‘El Caballo’ ('The Horse'), as running "down the back straight, opening his legs and showing his class".  Who was the athlete?

Alberto Juantorena

2.

In 1774, Captain Cook named the islands the New Hebrides, a name that lasted until independence in 1980.  By what name is this South Pacific island nation now known?

Vanuatu

3.

The father was a U.S. singer-songwriter and folk musician, perhaps best known for This Land is Your Land, recorded in 1944.  A folk singer son of his is perhaps best known for the talking blues song Alice's Restaurant Massacre, released in 1967. What’s the family name?

Guthrie

(Woody and Arlo)

4.

What is missing from this list: electric bathroom plugs, saw tips for covering saws, two letter ‘O’s for a gate, three tins of peas, brown pumps (size 9), tap washers, and billhooks?

Fork handles

(accept 'Four Candles' - taken from the Two Ronnies’ sketch)

5.

Who started off On a Treasure Island in 1947 and ended up Together Again in 1963?

The Famous Five

(by Enid Blyton)

6.

Rick Wakeman played keyboards for the groups Strawbs and Yes, and has latterly appeared on TV’s Grumpy Old Men.  What was the name of his first studio album as a solo artist, released in January 1973?

The Six Wives of Henry VIII

7.

Gareth Thomas, Michael Keating, Sally Knyvette, Paul Darrow, David Jackson, Jan Chappell, and the voice of Peter Tuddenham were the original cast of which TV series, which ran from January 1978 to December 1981?

Blake’s 7

8.

Which catchphrase, involving the number 8, did Bruce Forsyth use in the early ‘70s?

"Let’s meet the eight who are going to generate"

(in The Generation Game)

9.

DNA is composed of cytosine, thymine, and which two other nucleobases? 

Adenine and Guanine

10.

By what name is the pharaoh Amenhotep IV better known?  

Akhenaten

11.

At the beginning of the Lord of the Rings, and, in his own words, how old is Bilbo Baggins?

Eleventy-one today!

(accept any answer that says ‘eleventy-one’ - do not accept ‘one hundred and eleven’)

12.

Based on the 1853 slave narrative by Solomon Northup, the 2013 film won three Academy Awards.  The Best Picture win made Steve McQueen the first black producer ever to have received the award and the first black person to direct a Best Picture.  What was the name of the book/film?

Twelve Years a Slave

ROUND 8 - 'Opsimaths Go Large'

All the answers contain adjectives relating to large or big

1.

For what are these, the statistics: 1st class 62%, 2nd class 41%, 3rd class 25%, Crew 24%?

Survival rates on the Titanic

2.

If 'Little Boy' was on 6th August 1945, what was on 9th August 1945?

'Fat Man'

3.

He made his television début in April 1987, as a roving presenter for Through the Keyhole, and is currently a judge on the TV series Food Glorious Food.  Who is he?

Loyd Grossman

4.

Born Cyril Mead and Edward McGinnis, these two had their own TV show from 1978 until 1991.  What was the show called?

The Little and Large Show

5.

What phrase links the scientists Georges Lemaître and Fred Hoyle, with a TV series starring Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, and Kaley Cuoco (latterly known as Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting)?

The Big Bang Theory

(proposed by GL; term coined by FH; JG, JP, KC stars of the comedy series)

6.

Which British comedy troupe features Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding?

The Mighty Boosh

7.

Their debut album was Blue Lines in 1991, and their most recent was Heligoland in 2010.  Which group, from Bristol, consists of Robert ‘3D’ Del Naja and Grant ‘Daddy G’ Marshall?

Massive Attack

8.

Complete the title of this 1558 polemic by John Knox: "The first blast of the trumpet against…"

"… the monstrous regimen of women"

(accept also the commonly misquoted 'regiment' - the tract attacks female monarchs, arguing that rule by females is contrary to the Bible)

Sp1

Born in 1953, Terry Gene Bollea was a six-time WWF/WWE World Heavyweight Champion between1984-2002 and a six-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion between1994-1999.  By what ring name is he better known?

Hulk Hogan

Sp2

Which abbreviation is used to describe an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship?

OS

(Ordinary Seaman - as in 'oversize')