ROUND 1 - 'A Tribute to the Oscars'

1.

The most tweeted photograph in history was taken at the 2014 Oscars.  Who took it?

2.

Which ex-Chelsea footballer plays a Swiss doctor in the Oscar-nominated film The Theory of Everything?

3.

A team of architects including Oscar Niemeyer and Le Corbusier collaborated in the design of which building?

4.

In 2004 which film was nominated for 11 Oscars and won every one – the biggest Oscar sweep in history?  (full title required)

5.

Cardinal Oscar Romero was assassinated in 1980 in which Central American city?

6.

Who designed the tomb of Oscar Wilde?  His other works include the statue Liverpool Resurgent outside the Lewis’ store in Liverpool.

7.

In The Muppets where does Oscar the Grouch live?

8.

Which song written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein begins with the words:

“There’s never been a better time to start in life; It ain’t too early and it ain’t too late”?

Sp1

Who was the last actor to win back-to-back Oscars?

Sp2

How many pieces are there in a Chocolate Orange?

Sp3

In cricket what is a diamond duck?

1.

Who is this?  Born in Santa Monica in 1951.  She has appeared in films by Woody Allen and Wes Anderson and as Morticia in the Addams Family films.

2.

Who is this?  Born in London in 1927.  She appeared in The Avengers, Danger Man, The Prisoner and two Carry On films, most notably as the vampirish Valeria in Carry On Screaming.  She was also a guest on the Morecambe and Wise show on four occasions.

3.

At which ground did Swansea City play their home games between 1912 and 2005?

4.

Which horse fell in his first ever race, was pulled up in his only attempt at the Champion Hurdle, but went on to win 4 King George VI chases and the 1990 Cheltenham Gold Cup, a race that was subsequently voted the greatest ever horse race by readers of the Racing Post?

5.

Which singer’s debut album, Alright Still, was released in 2006?

6.

Which singer’s best selling album, Missundaztood, was released in 2002?

7.

Which 1984 novel by Mary Wesley was later made into a TV series starring Felicity Kendal, Paul Eddington and Jennifer Ehle?

8.

Which 1967 novel by Ira Levin was subsequently made into a film starring Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes?

Sp1

Which 1967 hit by The Foundations was included in the film There’s Something About Mary, with the cast miming to the original?

Sp2

Lutefisk, a traditional Christmas dish in Scandinavia, is made by drying which fish, which is then soaked in water and then steeped in a lye of soda and slaked lime?

ROUND 3 - Pairs

1.

In the Second World War how was the Junkers 87 better known?

2.

In the Second World War how was the Lockheed P51 better known?

3.

From which hit of 1979 do the following lines come:

"I got a job with Stanley
He said I'd come in handy
And started me on Monday
So I had a bath on Sunday"?

4.

From which hit of 1979 do the following lines come:

"The juice of the carrot, the smile of a parrot
A little drop of claret - anything that rocks
Elvis and Scotty, the days when I ain't spotty,
Sitting on the potty, curing smallpox"?

5.

Sofie Grabol is best known in this country for appearing in which TV series?

6.

Laure Berthaud, Judge Roban, Gilou and Tintin are characters in which TV series?

7.

In mathematics what do you get when you differentiate ex (e to the x)?

8.

In mathematics what do you get when you differentiate sin x?

Sp.

What is the most reactive of the Halogen elements?

ROUND 4 - Hidden theme

1.

Which major New York City thoroughfare runs from Bowling Green in the financial district, north for 33 miles ending at Sleepy Hollow?

2.

Which Dame of the British Empire was born on April 8th 1941 in Tintwistle?

3.

Which motor racing circuit held the first ever British Grand Prix in 1926?

4.

What is bounded to the North by 110th Street, to the East by 5th Avenue, to the South by 59th Street and to the West by 8th Avenue?

5.

In which (unofficial) district of London does Westminster Cathedral stand?

6.

Who holds the world record for the women’s marathon?

7.

Who was the Roman goddess of fruit trees, gardens and orchards?

8.

Which city with a population of approximately 300,000 is located at coordinates 61 degrees 13 minutes North, 149 degrees 54 minutes West?

ROUND 5 - 'Centenaries'

2015 is a year of centenaries – Magna Carta, Agincourt, Waterloo - here are some perhaps less well known centenaries

1.

In 315, what form of punishment was abolished in the Roman Empire?

2.

In 1515, which local educational establishment was endowed by Hugh Oldham?

3.

In 1615, which German astronomer published Dissertatio cum Nuncio Sidereo (Conversations with a Sidereal Messenger) in response to Galileo’s discovery of the moons of Jupiter?

4.

In 1715, which battle marked the furthest incursion of rebel forces into England during the Jacobite rising?

5.

In 1815, which mathematician and early pioneer in computing was born in London?

6.

...also in 1815, what was invented, partly in response to a major disaster at Felling, County Durham three years earlier?

7.

In 1915, what was the name of the travelling salesman who awoke to find himself transformed into a ‘monstrous vermin’?

8.

...also in 1915, which controversial D W Griffith film premiered in Los Angeles?

Sp1

In 1215, Pietro Angelerio was born.  Seventy nine years later, he did something which no-one else ever did voluntarily until 2013.  How is he better known?

Sp2

In 1815, which battle, at which the British were decisively defeated, marked the effective end of the inaccurately named 'War of 1812'?

ROUND 6 - Hidden theme

1.

Which fictional characters live at 62 West Wallaby Street, Wigan?

2.

Who wrote the lyrics of the songs That Old Black Magic, Autumn Leaves and Moon River?

3.

Who said in 1940: “They sowed the wind and now they are going to reap the whirlwind”?

4.

The symbol of which British company is a red ribbon around a yellow sun?

5.

Where can the Archipelago Sea be found?

6.

Examples of this architectural style include the Musee D’Orsay in Paris and Grand Central Station in New York. What is it called?

7.

This Hollywood actor was born in 1980.  His films include White House Down and Foxcatcher.  His first name is the same as the surname of an actress nominated for an Oscar for her performance in Six Degrees of Separation.  His second name is the first name of an actress who is the youngest ever Oscar winner.  Who is he?

8.

Which performer links the film the Lion King, the TV series Top Gear and the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics?

Sp1

The model village of Saltaire is located in which Yorkshire town?

Sp2

This Czech-born actor is best known for his portrayal of Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus in a series of films.  He died in 2012 at the age of 95.  Who is he?

ROUND 7 - Pairs

1.

Which composer, whose first name was Achille-Claude, composed the the opera Pelleas and Melisande?  In 1915 he was one of the first patients to have a colostomy bag fitted.

2.

Which composer, first name Arnold, invented the twelve tone system.  His most famous work was Verklarte Nacht (Transfigured Night).  He suffered from triskaidekaphobia and died on Friday 13th 1951.

3.

Vanarama is the sponsor of which league?

4.

Who is the sponsor of the Rugby Union Premiership?

5.

Lanchester Polytechnic is the former name of which university?

6.

Which polytechnic is now De Montfort University?

7.

Matthew Shardlake appears in a series of novels by which author?

8.

Private detective, Jackson Brodie appears in a series of novels by which author?

Sp.

Which TV series connects Georges Lemaitre and Howard Wolowitz?

ROUND 8 - 'The Brits'

We started with a tribute to gushing sentimentality and gross over-consumption so we may as well finish with another one!  Full names are required for all answers

1.

Who was the chairman of the National Coal Board from 1971 to 1982?  His period in charge included  the miners’ strikes of the early 70s that undermined the Heath government.

2.

Which businessman, who made his money in property - particularly petrol stations, was jailed in 1990 for his part in the Guinness share trading fraud, only a year after being named as one of Britain's richest men?

3.

Who was Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin from 1713 up to his death in 1745?

4.

Who is the patron saint of all charitable works and also, intriguingly, of Madagascar?

5.

Who was born Terence Nelhams-Wright on June 23rd 1940?

6.

Which Britpop star wrote the opera Dr. Dee, premiered at the Manchester Festival in 2011?

7.

What was smashed into ten pieces in Plaza de Cibeles, Madrid in the early hours of April 21st 2011?

8.

For which team was Ayrton Senna driving when he was killed at Imola on May 1st 1994?

Sp.

What is unusual about Chopin’s Etude, Opus 10 no.5 in G-flat major?

ROUND 1 - 'A Tribute to the Oscars'

1.

The most tweeted photograph in history was taken at the 2014 Oscars.  Who took it?

Bradley Cooper

2.

Which ex-Chelsea footballer plays a Swiss doctor in the Oscar-nominated film The Theory of Everything?

Frank Leboeuf

3.

A team of architects including Oscar Niemeyer and Le Corbusier collaborated in the design of which building?

The United Nations Headquarters in New York

4.

In 2004 which film was nominated for 11 Oscars and won every one – the biggest Oscar sweep in history?  (full title required)

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

5.

Cardinal Oscar Romero was assassinated in 1980 in which Central American city?

San Salvador

6.

Who designed the tomb of Oscar Wilde?  His other works include the statue Liverpool Resurgent outside the Lewis’ store in Liverpool.

Sir Jacob Epstein

7.

In The Muppets where does Oscar the Grouch live?

In a trash can

8.

Which song written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein begins with the words:

“There’s never been a better time to start in life; It ain’t too early and it ain’t too late”?

Oklahoma

Sp1

Who was the last actor to win back-to-back Oscars?

Tom Hanks

(In 1993 for Philadelphia and in 1994 for the unspeakable Forrest Gump)

Sp2

How many pieces are there in a Chocolate Orange?

Twenty

Sp3

In cricket what is a diamond duck?

A player who is run out for nought having never faced a ball

1.

Who is this?  Born in Santa Monica in 1951.  She has appeared in films by Woody Allen and Wes Anderson and as Morticia in the Addams Family films.

Anjelica Huston

2.

Who is this?  Born in London in 1927.  She appeared in The Avengers, Danger Man, The Prisoner and two Carry On films, most notably as the vampirish Valeria in Carry On Screaming.  She was also a guest on the Morecambe and Wise show on four occasions.

Fenella Fielding

3.

At which ground did Swansea City play their home games between 1912 and 2005?

Vetch Field

4.

Which horse fell in his first ever race, was pulled up in his only attempt at the Champion Hurdle, but went on to win 4 King George VI chases and the 1990 Cheltenham Gold Cup, a race that was subsequently voted the greatest ever horse race by readers of the Racing Post?

5.

Which singer’s debut album, Alright Still, was released in 2006?

Lily Allen

6.

Which singer’s best selling album, Missundaztood, was released in 2002?

Pink

7.

Which 1984 novel by Mary Wesley was later made into a TV series starring Felicity Kendal, Paul Eddington and Jennifer Ehle?

The Camomile Lawn

8.

Which 1967 novel by Ira Levin was subsequently made into a film starring Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes?

Rosemary’s Baby

Sp1

Which 1967 hit by The Foundations was included in the film There’s Something About Mary, with the cast miming to the original?

Build Me Up Buttercup

Sp2

Lutefisk, a traditional Christmas dish in Scandinavia, is made by drying which fish, which is then soaked in water and then steeped in a lye of soda and slaked lime?

Ling

(mmmmm, sounds delicious!)

ROUND 3 - Pairs

1.

In the Second World War how was the Junkers 87 better known?

Stuka

2.

In the Second World War how was the Lockheed P51 better known?

Mustang

3.

From which hit of 1979 do the following lines come:

"I got a job with Stanley
He said I'd come in handy
And started me on Monday
So I had a bath on Sunday"?

Up the Junction

4.

From which hit of 1979 do the following lines come:

"The juice of the carrot, the smile of a parrot
A little drop of claret - anything that rocks
Elvis and Scotty, the days when I ain't spotty,
Sitting on the potty, curing smallpox"?

Reasons to be Cheerful (Part 3)

(accept answer without 'Part 3')

5.

Sofie Grabol is best known in this country for appearing in which TV series?

The Killing

(she plays Sarah Lund)

6.

Laure Berthaud, Judge Roban, Gilou and Tintin are characters in which TV series?

Spiral

7.

In mathematics what do you get when you differentiate ex (e to the x)?

ex

8.

In mathematics what do you get when you differentiate sin x?

cos x

Sp.

What is the most reactive of the Halogen elements?

Fluorine

ROUND 4 - Hidden theme

1.

Which major New York City thoroughfare runs from Bowling Green in the financial district, north for 33 miles ending at Sleepy Hollow?

Broadway

2.

Which Dame of the British Empire was born on April 8th 1941 in Tintwistle?

Vivienne Westwood

3.

Which motor racing circuit held the first ever British Grand Prix in 1926?

Brooklands

4.

What is bounded to the North by 110th Street, to the East by 5th Avenue, to the South by 59th Street and to the West by 8th Avenue?

Central Park

(New York)

5.

In which (unofficial) district of London does Westminster Cathedral stand?

Victoria

6.

Who holds the world record for the women’s marathon?

Paula Radcliffe

7.

Who was the Roman goddess of fruit trees, gardens and orchards?

Pomona

8.

Which city with a population of approximately 300,000 is located at coordinates 61 degrees 13 minutes North, 149 degrees 54 minutes West?

Anchorage

(Alaska)

ROUND 5 - 'Centenaries'

2015 is a year of centenaries – Magna Carta, Agincourt, Waterloo - here are some perhaps less well known centenaries

1.

In 315, what form of punishment was abolished in the Roman Empire?

Crucifixion

2.

In 1515, which local educational establishment was endowed by Hugh Oldham?

Manchester Grammar School

3.

In 1615, which German astronomer published Dissertatio cum Nuncio Sidereo (Conversations with a Sidereal Messenger) in response to Galileo’s discovery of the moons of Jupiter?

Johannes Kepler

4.

In 1715, which battle marked the furthest incursion of rebel forces into England during the Jacobite rising?

Battle of Preston

5.

In 1815, which mathematician and early pioneer in computing was born in London?

Ada Lovelace

6.

...also in 1815, what was invented, partly in response to a major disaster at Felling, County Durham three years earlier?

Davy Lamp

7.

In 1915, what was the name of the travelling salesman who awoke to find himself transformed into a ‘monstrous vermin’?

Gregor Samsa

(in Kafka’s Metamorphosis)

8.

...also in 1915, which controversial D W Griffith film premiered in Los Angeles?

Birth of a Nation

Sp1

In 1215, Pietro Angelerio was born.  Seventy nine years later, he did something which no-one else ever did voluntarily until 2013.  How is he better known?

Pope Celestine V

Sp2

In 1815, which battle, at which the British were decisively defeated, marked the effective end of the inaccurately named 'War of 1812'?

Battle of New Orleans

ROUND 6 - Hidden theme

1.

Which fictional characters live at 62 West Wallaby Street, Wigan?

Wallace and Gromit

2.

Who wrote the lyrics of the songs That Old Black Magic, Autumn Leaves and Moon River?

Johnny Mercer

3.

Who said in 1940: “They sowed the wind and now they are going to reap the whirlwind”?

Sir Arthur 'Bomber' Harris

4.

The symbol of which British company is a red ribbon around a yellow sun?

Walker's Crisps

5.

Where can the Archipelago Sea be found?

Baltic Sea

(between the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland)

6.

Examples of this architectural style include the Musee D’Orsay in Paris and Grand Central Station in New York. What is it called?

Beaux-arts

7.

This Hollywood actor was born in 1980.  His films include White House Down and Foxcatcher.  His first name is the same as the surname of an actress nominated for an Oscar for her performance in Six Degrees of Separation.  His second name is the first name of an actress who is the youngest ever Oscar winner.  Who is he?

Channing Tatum

(Stockard Channing and Tatum O’Neal)
 

8.

Which performer links the film the Lion King, the TV series Top Gear and the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics?

Rowan Atkinson

Sp1

The model village of Saltaire is located in which Yorkshire town?

Shipley

Sp2

This Czech-born actor is best known for his portrayal of Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus in a series of films.  He died in 2012 at the age of 95.  Who is he?

Herbert Lom

ROUND 7 - Pairs

1.

Which composer, whose first name was Achille-Claude, composed the the opera Pelleas and Melisande?  In 1915 he was one of the first patients to have a colostomy bag fitted.

Debussy

2.

Which composer, first name Arnold, invented the twelve tone system.  His most famous work was Verklarte Nacht (Transfigured Night).  He suffered from triskaidekaphobia and died on Friday 13th 1951.

Schoenberg

3.

Vanarama is the sponsor of which league?

Football Conference

4.

Who is the sponsor of the Rugby Union Premiership?

Aviva

5.

Lanchester Polytechnic is the former name of which university?

Coventry

6.

Which polytechnic is now De Montfort University?

Leicester

7.

Matthew Shardlake appears in a series of novels by which author?

C J Sansom

8.

Private detective, Jackson Brodie appears in a series of novels by which author?

Kate Atkinson

Sp.

Which TV series connects Georges Lemaitre and Howard Wolowitz?

Big Bang Theory

(inventor of the theory and a character in the series)

ROUND 8 - 'The Brits'

We started with a tribute to gushing sentimentality and gross over-consumption so we may as well finish with another one!  Full names are required for all answers

1.

Who was the chairman of the National Coal Board from 1971 to 1982?  His period in charge included  the miners’ strikes of the early 70s that undermined the Heath government.

Derek Ezra

2.

Which businessman, who made his money in property - particularly petrol stations, was jailed in 1990 for his part in the Guinness share trading fraud, only a year after being named as one of Britain's richest men?

Gerald Ronson

3.

Who was Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin from 1713 up to his death in 1745?

Jonathan Swift

4.

Who is the patron saint of all charitable works and also, intriguingly, of Madagascar?

St Vincent de Paul

5.

Who was born Terence Nelhams-Wright on June 23rd 1940?

Adam Faith

6.

Which Britpop star wrote the opera Dr. Dee, premiered at the Manchester Festival in 2011?

Damon Albarn

7.

What was smashed into ten pieces in Plaza de Cibeles, Madrid in the early hours of April 21st 2011?

Coppa del Rey

(Spanish FA Cup, dropped from the top of Real Madrid’s victory parade bus by Sergio Ramos)

8.

For which team was Ayrton Senna driving when he was killed at Imola on May 1st 1994?

Williams

Sp.

What is unusual about Chopin’s Etude, Opus 10 no.5 in G-flat major?

The right hand part is played exclusively on the black keys