ROUND 1 - Reverse pairs across Rounds 1, 2 and 3

1.

The violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter was the fifth wife of which eminent pianist, composer and conductor?  They divorced in 2006 and neither has remarried.

2.

Red Rum won three Grand Nationals and was runner up in two.  Name either of the horses that beat him.

3.

Name the 27-mile long canal first opened in 1829 to bypass Niagara Falls and connect Lake Erie with Lake Ontario.  Its current form is actually a result of five separate projects spanning over 140 years.

4.

Who is the author of the Game of Thrones novel sequence and now one of the most popular worldwide series on television?

5.

Which sporting team might have the cryptic crossword clue: 'American bowlers to take on cricket team here (10)'?

6.

Which MP topped the poll after the first round of voting to replace Michael Howard as leader of the Conservative Party in 2005?

7.

Give a year in the life of the political philosopher Thomas Hobbes.

8.

John-Boy was the eldest Walton child in the popular 1970s US drama series The Waltons but can you name any three of his six siblings?

Go to Round 1 questions with answers

ROUND 2 - Reverse pairs across Rounds 1, 2 and 3

1.

Which singer has a stage alter ego called Sasha Fierce, which is also the title of her third album?

2.

Who said on March 10th 1876: “Mr Watson, come here, I want to see you”?

3.

So far 8 men have captained the England cricket team in Twenty20 internationals since the first match in 2005. Name any four.

4.

Which well-loved children’s novel of 1973 is set in Druid’s Bottom and has characters including a housekeeper called Hephzibah Green and a young disabled adult called Mr Johnny Gotobed?

5.

Hephzibah Menuhin was a virtuoso performer on which instrument?

6.

Since 1946 seven golfers have won back-to-back Open Championships i.e. successfully defended the title won the year before (some have done it on more than one occasion).  Name any three.

7.

The first ever phonograph recording made by Thomas Edison in 1887 is a recitation of a nursery rhyme.  Which one?

8.

What is the stage name of the singer whose forename is the Spanish slang for vagina and whose surname is German slang for penis?

Go to Round 2 questions with answers

ROUND 3 - Reverse pairs across Rounds 1, 2 and 3

1.

Ron Weasley, Harry Potter’s best friend, had six siblings who also appeared in J K Rowling’s novels. Can name any three siblings?

2.

Give a year in the life of the political philosopher Jeremy Bentham.

3.

Which MP topped the poll after the first round of voting to replace Harold Wilson as leader of the Labour party (and Prime Minister) in 1976?

4.

Which sporting team might have the cryptic crossword clue: 'Leicester roughs on the rampage in the county (15)'?

5.

Who was the author of the Poldark novels now serialised for the second time on British television and proving as popular as the first time around?

6.

The 9 mile long Crinan canal built in 1801 and designed by John Rennie is often known as 'Britain's most beautiful shortcut'.  It was built as a bypass for vessels to prevent them from having to travel around what?

7.

Red Rum won three Grand Nationals but two jockeys were involved in his wins.  Name either of them.

8.

Cellist Jacqueline du Pres was married to which eminent pianist and conductor until her death in 1973?  He remarried in 1988.

Go to Round 3 questions with answers

ROUND 4 - Pictures

1.

This painting, The Apple Tree, now in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, was one of five looted in the Nazi era and finally retrieved from the Austrian government in 2006 by the owner’s niece and heir, Maria Altmann.  The artist is a member of the '100 million dollar club' as at least one of his works has sold for a nine-figure sum.  Who is the artist?

2.

This painting Moonlight on the Beach was a present from Walter Gropius to Alma Mahler (widow of Gustav Mahler) when they married.  It was looted in the Nazi era and finally retrieved from the Austrian government by Alma’s granddaughter Marina in 2006.  The artist is also a recent member of the '100 million dollar club'.  Who is the artist?

3.

She is still looking splendid at 65 but in which Olympic athletics event did she win a gold medal (and set a new world record) in 1976?

4.

Pictured on the left is A E J Collins with R P Keigwin both members of the 1902 Clifton College rackets team. However for which sporting achievement is A E J Collins, who fell at First Ypres, better remembered?

5.

In which Czech village is this memorial to 88 children who were murdered in July 1942 in Chelmno death camp in reprisal for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich?  173 men were also executed on June 10th 1942 and the village razed to the ground.

6.

This is a monument to six burghers who offered their lives so that their besieged town might be spared by Edward III during the Hundred Years’ war.  The town was spared and, after a request by Queen Philippa, so were the burghers.  In which French town is this monument?

7.

Who is this Southport born author who shares his name with a comedian/comic actor/presenter born in 1974?

8.

Who is this Nobel Laureate who, perhaps fittingly as an economist, shares his name (at least in 'sound-alike' form) with a comedian/comic actor/presenter born in 1956?

Go to Round 4 questions with answers

ROUND 5 - 'A Setter past his prime'

Each answer contains a number that is ONE more that a prime number between 0 and 100 e.g. an answer might include the number 24 which is one more than the prime 23

1.

For which film did Elizabeth Taylor win her first Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 1960?

2.

Which film of 1987 starring Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins is based on a memoir of the same name by New Yorker, Helene Hanff?

3.

What number connects the atomic number of ruthenium, the accession number of the state of Wisconsin, and the number of candles in a full box of Hanukkah candles including the Shamash candles?

4.

What number connects the atomic number of molybdenum, the Messier number of the Orion Nebula, and in the Old Testament, the number of children mauled to death by two she-bears to punish them for having mocked the prophet Elisha for his baldness?

5.

Which Gerry and Sylvia Anderson supermarionation series featured a nine-year old boy spy whose brain could be programmed by the BIG RAT (brain impulse galvanoscope record and transfer) machine?

6.

Denis Healey was the last surviving member of the first Wilson Cabinet of 1964.  How old was he when he died?

7.

What number connects the number of points in Woodrow Wilson’s 1918 speech on war aims and peace terms and the number of legs on a woodlouse?

8.

What number connects the number of players on a side in Canadian football and the number of the Dimitri Shostakovich symphony subtitled The Year of 1917?

Go to Round 5 questions with answers

ROUND 6 - 'The Law of History'

Each answer contains a word to which the letters L-A-W or S-L-A-W can be added to make another word or pair of words - beware of sound-alikes

1.

Which comedian caused controversy when he described swimmer Rebecca Adlington as “looking like someone who’s looking at themselves in the back of a spoon”?

2.

Who played the role of Peter Brockman in five series of the BBC sitcom Outnumbered?

3.

Which actor plays the role of President Coriolanus Snow in the Hunger Games film franchise?

4.

Which musician was married to comedienne Caroline Aherne from 1994 to 1996 and contributed to her Mrs Merton Show?

5.

In 2015 who scored the fastest test century at Lord’s taking only 85 deliveries to accomplish the feat?

6.

Which classic film short was written and directed by Eric Sykes in 1967 and was remade in 1979 winning a Montreux Rose D’Or in 1980?  Kenny Lynch, Jimmy Edwards and Eric Sykes appeared in both versions.

7.

Which Metrolink tram station on the Altrincham line is situated between Sale and Stretford?

8.

Which model and actress born in 1987 made her film debut as Polly the geek in St Trinian’s in 2007?  In 2014 she played Helen of Troy in Simon Armitage’s The Last Days of Troy at Manchester Exchange Theatre.

Go to Round 6 questions with answers

ROUND 7 - East Asia Bingo

A slight twist on an old favourite - we have bingo but East Asia style!

All questions are connected with countries from the eastern part of the Asian continent.  Pick a country.

1.

Cambodia:

Tonle Sap in central Cambodia is a major tourist destination and is the largest what in South East Asia?

2.

3.

China 2:

Which of the following was NOT a medal-winning event in the 2010 Asian Games held in China: Artistic Roller Skating, Billiards, Kendo, Chess, Go, Golf and Jive dancing?

4.

Who is this Hong Kong actor born in 1955?  Most famous for his action roles in the director John Woo's films The Killer, A Better Tomorrow and Hard Boiled he also appeared in the more traditional Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and the not so traditional Bulletproof Monk.

5.

Japan 1:

What is the name of the Japanese historical period ranging from 1600 to 1868?  It was characterised by being a period of peace, stability and prosperity under the control of the Tokugawa shogunate.

6.

Japan 2:

Ubiquitously eaten in Japan, Miso soup is usually served in a small bowl at the beginning of a meal often accompanying other soups in multi-dish meals.  What foodstuff is its main constituent?

7.

Japan 3:

This city is the second largest in Japan with a population of 3.7 million.  It is one of Japan's main ports and was officially opened in 1859 following the Treaty of Peace and Amity.  Nissan has it headquarters here, and it has large biotechnology and semiconductor sectors, although one of its major rubber products can be seen on Sky Sports most weeks.  Can you name the city?

8.

Korea 1:

The next Winter Olympics is in to be held in February 2018.  Which South Korean city is going to host these games?

9.

10.

11.

12.

Vietnam:

Following an incident involving the USS Maddox on 2nd August 1964 in which the destroyer fired upon North Vietnamese torpedo boats that had allegedly attacked it - and another incident 2 days later which subsequently was admitted to have never occurred, President Johnson passed a resolution named after the area this happened in (or didn’t happen in).  This resolution allowed the US to increase its presence in the region.  Name the resolution.

Go to Round 7 questions with answers

ROUND 8 - Lucky dip

Pick any number from 1-14 for your question.

1.

John Kennedy was the first Roman Catholic president of the USA but who is the only Roman Catholic to have been elected vice-president?

2.

David Rudisha holds which world record set in the track and field competition in the 2012 London Olympics?

3.

Visited by the Cambridgeshires last week, in which city is the Discovery on which Scott and Shackleton travelled to Antarctica in 1902?

4.

How many hemidemisemiquavers are there in a semibreve?

5.

Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard plays the eponymous role in which current BBC drama series?

6.

It was 68,000 square km in 1960, 28,000 square km in 1998 and now only 3,300 square km.  What is it?

7.

Which British TV programme has a theme sung by the choir of Southwark Cathedral and entitled Ecce Homo Qui Est Faba?

8.

The name of the royal house Plantagenet is reputedly due an association of which plant with Count Geoffrey of Anjou?

9.

The Gadsden Purchase of 1853 added territory to two future American states of the Union.  Name both.

10.

Which event of 1836 is named after the building where it occurred?  The building itself was named after the Spanish Poplar or Cottonwood tree.

11.

What connects cricketer Adam Lyth, Iron Maiden in 1982 and the road from Pendlebury to Langho?

12.

Which city was the birthplace of Saint Paul?

13.

Jeremy Corbyn has represented which constituency since 1983?

14.

Which singer’s first solo album released in June 1999 was Schizophonic?  Four of the tracks became hit singles.

Go to Round 8 questions with answers

ROUND 1 - Reverse pairs across Rounds 1, 2 and 3

1.

The violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter was the fifth wife of which eminent pianist, composer and conductor?  They divorced in 2006 and neither has remarried.

Andre Previn

2.

Red Rum won three Grand Nationals and was runner up in two.  Name either of the horses that beat him.

(either)

L’Escargot

(or)

Rag Trade

3.

Name the 27-mile long canal first opened in 1829 to bypass Niagara Falls and connect Lake Erie with Lake Ontario.  Its current form is actually a result of five separate projects spanning over 140 years.

Welland Canal

4.

Who is the author of the Game of Thrones novel sequence and now one of the most popular worldwide series on television?

George R R Martin

5.

Which sporting team might have the cryptic crossword clue: 'American bowlers to take on cricket team here (10)'?

Derbyshire

6.

Which MP topped the poll after the first round of voting to replace Michael Howard as leader of the Conservative Party in 2005?

David Davis

(Cameron topped all subsequent rounds)

7.

Give a year in the life of the political philosopher Thomas Hobbes.

1588 to 1679

8.

John-Boy was the eldest Walton child in the popular 1970s US drama series The Waltons but can you name any three of his six siblings?

(Three from)

Jason, Mary-Ellen, Ben, Erin, Jim-Bob, Elizabeth

ROUND 2 - Reverse pairs across Rounds 1, 2 and 3

1.

Which singer has a stage alter ego called Sasha Fierce, which is also the title of her third album?

Beyoncé Knowles

2.

Who said on March 10th 1876: “Mr Watson, come here, I want to see you”?

Alexander Graham Bell

(first message relayed by telephone)

3.

So far 8 men have captained the England cricket team in Twenty20 internationals since the first match in 2005. Name any four.

(Four from)

Michael Vaughan, Andrew Strauss, Paul Collingwood, Alistair Cook, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Eoin Morgan, James Tredwell

4.

Which well-loved children’s novel of 1973 is set in Druid’s Bottom and has characters including a housekeeper called Hephzibah Green and a young disabled adult called Mr Johnny Gotobed?

Carrie’s War

5.

Hephzibah Menuhin was a virtuoso performer on which instrument?

Piano

6.

Since 1946 seven golfers have won back-to-back Open Championships i.e. successfully defended the title won the year before (some have done it on more than one occasion).  Name any three.

(Three from)

Bobby Locke, Peter Thompso, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Tiger Woods, Padraig Harrington

7.

The first ever phonograph recording made by Thomas Edison in 1887 is a recitation of a nursery rhyme.  Which one?

Mary Had A Little Lamb

8.

What is the stage name of the singer whose forename is the Spanish slang for vagina and whose surname is German slang for penis?

Conchita Wurst

(real name is Thomas Neuwirth)

Go back to Round 2 questions without answers

ROUND 3 - Reverse pairs across Rounds 1, 2 and 3

1.

Ron Weasley, Harry Potter’s best friend, had six siblings who also appeared in J K Rowling’s novels. Can name any three siblings?

(Three from)

Bill, Charlie, Percy, George, Fred, Ginny

2.

Give a year in the life of the political philosopher Jeremy Bentham.

1748 to 1832

3.

Which MP topped the poll after the first round of voting to replace Harold Wilson as leader of the Labour party (and Prime Minister) in 1976?

Michael Foot

(Callaghan topped all subsequent rounds)

4.

Which sporting team might have the cryptic crossword clue: 'Leicester roughs on the rampage in the county (15)'?

Gloucestershire

5.

Who was the author of the Poldark novels now serialised for the second time on British television and proving as popular as the first time around?

Winston Graham

6.

The 9 mile long Crinan canal built in 1801 and designed by John Rennie is often known as 'Britain's most beautiful shortcut'.  It was built as a bypass for vessels to prevent them from having to travel around what?

Kintyre peninsula

(accept 'the Mull of Kintyre')

7.

Red Rum won three Grand Nationals but two jockeys were involved in his wins.  Name either of them.

(either)

Brian Fletcher

(or)

Tommy Stack

8.

Cellist Jacqueline du Pres was married to which eminent pianist and conductor until her death in 1973?  He remarried in 1988.

Daniel Barenboim

Go back to Round 3 questions without answers

ROUND 4 - Pictures

1.

This painting, The Apple Tree, now in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, was one of five looted in the Nazi era and finally retrieved from the Austrian government in 2006 by the owner’s niece and heir, Maria Altmann.  The artist is a member of the '100 million dollar club' as at least one of his works has sold for a nine-figure sum.  Who is the artist?

Gustav Klimt

2.

This painting Moonlight on the Beach was a present from Walter Gropius to Alma Mahler (widow of Gustav Mahler) when they married.  It was looted in the Nazi era and finally retrieved from the Austrian government by Alma’s granddaughter Marina in 2006.  The artist is also a recent member of the '100 million dollar club'.  Who is the artist?

Edvard Munch

3.

She is still looking splendid at 65 but in which Olympic athletics event did she win a gold medal (and set a new world record) in 1976?

Decathlon

(this is Caitlyn, at the time known as Bruce, Jenner)

4.

Pictured on the left is A E J Collins with R P Keigwin both members of the 1902 Clifton College rackets team. However for which sporting achievement is A E J Collins, who fell at First Ypres, better remembered?

The highest score ever in a cricket match

(628 runs not out)

5.

In which Czech village is this memorial to 88 children who were murdered in July 1942 in Chelmno death camp in reprisal for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich?  173 men were also executed on June 10th 1942 and the village razed to the ground.

Lidice

6.

This is a monument to six burghers who offered their lives so that their besieged town might be spared by Edward III during the Hundred Years’ war.  The town was spared and, after a request by Queen Philippa, so were the burghers.  In which French town is this monument?

Calais

7.

Who is this Southport born author who shares his name with a comedian/comic actor/presenter born in 1974?

David Mitchell

8.

Who is this Nobel Laureate who, perhaps fittingly as an economist, shares his name (at least in 'sound-alike' form) with a comedian/comic actor/presenter born in 1956?

Angus Deaton

Go back to Round 4 questions without answers

ROUND 5 - 'A Setter past his prime'

Each answer contains a number that is ONE more that a prime number between 0 and 100 e.g. an answer might include the number 24 which is one more than the prime 23

1.

For which film did Elizabeth Taylor win her first Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 1960?

Butterfield 8

2.

Which film of 1987 starring Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins is based on a memoir of the same name by New Yorker, Helene Hanff?

84 Charing Cross Road

3.

What number connects the atomic number of ruthenium, the accession number of the state of Wisconsin, and the number of candles in a full box of Hanukkah candles including the Shamash candles?

44

4.

What number connects the atomic number of molybdenum, the Messier number of the Orion Nebula, and in the Old Testament, the number of children mauled to death by two she-bears to punish them for having mocked the prophet Elisha for his baldness?

42

5.

Which Gerry and Sylvia Anderson supermarionation series featured a nine-year old boy spy whose brain could be programmed by the BIG RAT (brain impulse galvanoscope record and transfer) machine?

Joe 90

6.

Denis Healey was the last surviving member of the first Wilson Cabinet of 1964.  How old was he when he died?

98

7.

What number connects the number of points in Woodrow Wilson’s 1918 speech on war aims and peace terms and the number of legs on a woodlouse?

14

8.

What number connects the number of players on a side in Canadian football and the number of the Dimitri Shostakovich symphony subtitled The Year of 1917?

12

Go back to Round 5 questions without answers

ROUND 6 - 'The Law of History'

Each answer contains a word to which the letters L-A-W or S-L-A-W can be added to make another word or pair of words - beware of sound-alikes

1.

Which comedian caused controversy when he described swimmer Rebecca Adlington as “looking like someone who’s looking at themselves in the back of a spoon”?

Frankie Boyle

(Boyle’s law)

2.

Who played the role of Peter Brockman in five series of the BBC sitcom Outnumbered?

Hugh Dennis

(Denis Law)

3.

Which actor plays the role of President Coriolanus Snow in the Hunger Games film franchise?

Donald Sutherland

(Sutherland’s Law)

4.

Which musician was married to comedienne Caroline Aherne from 1994 to 1996 and contributed to her Mrs Merton Show?

Peter Hook

(Hooke’s law)

5.

In 2015 who scored the fastest test century at Lord’s taking only 85 deliveries to accomplish the feat?

Ben Stokes

(Stoke’s law)

6.

Which classic film short was written and directed by Eric Sykes in 1967 and was remade in 1979 winning a Montreux Rose D’Or in 1980?  Kenny Lynch, Jimmy Edwards and Eric Sykes appeared in both versions.

The Plank

(Planck’s law)

7.

Which Metrolink tram station on the Altrincham line is situated between Sale and Stretford?

(Danelaw)

8.

Which model and actress born in 1987 made her film debut as Polly the geek in St Trinian’s in 2007?  In 2014 she played Helen of Troy in Simon Armitage’s The Last Days of Troy at Manchester Exchange Theatre.

Lily Cole

(Coleslaw)

Go back to Round 6 questions without answers

ROUND 7 - East Asia Bingo

A slight twist on an old favourite - we have bingo but East Asia style!

All questions are connected with countries from the eastern part of the Asian continent.  Pick a country.

1.

Cambodia:

Tonle Sap in central Cambodia is a major tourist destination and is the largest what in South East Asia?

Lake

(during the wet season it can grow to be almost the area of Wales)

2.

3.

China 2:

Which of the following was NOT a medal-winning event in the 2010 Asian Games held in China: Artistic Roller Skating, Billiards, Kendo, Chess, Go, Golf and Jive dancing?

Kendo

(has only ever been a demonstration sport - chess even had a traditional and a speed version up for grabs)

4.

Who is this Hong Kong actor born in 1955?  Most famous for his action roles in the director John Woo's films The Killer, A Better Tomorrow and Hard Boiled he also appeared in the more traditional Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and the not so traditional Bulletproof Monk.

5.

Japan 1:

What is the name of the Japanese historical period ranging from 1600 to 1868?  It was characterised by being a period of peace, stability and prosperity under the control of the Tokugawa shogunate.

Edo period

6.

Japan 2:

Ubiquitously eaten in Japan, Miso soup is usually served in a small bowl at the beginning of a meal often accompanying other soups in multi-dish meals.  What foodstuff is its main constituent?

Soybeans

(fermented using salt and fungus with a dashi stock)

7.

Japan 3:

This city is the second largest in Japan with a population of 3.7 million.  It is one of Japan's main ports and was officially opened in 1859 following the Treaty of Peace and Amity.  Nissan has it headquarters here, and it has large biotechnology and semiconductor sectors, although one of its major rubber products can be seen on Sky Sports most weeks.  Can you name the city?

Yokohama

(for non-football fans, Yokohama Tyres sponsor Chelsea)

8.

Korea 1:

The next Winter Olympics is in to be held in February 2018.  Which South Korean city is going to host these games?

Pyeongchang

9.

10.

11.

12.

Vietnam:

Following an incident involving the USS Maddox on 2nd August 1964 in which the destroyer fired upon North Vietnamese torpedo boats that had allegedly attacked it - and another incident 2 days later which subsequently was admitted to have never occurred, President Johnson passed a resolution named after the area this happened in (or didn’t happen in).  This resolution allowed the US to increase its presence in the region.  Name the resolution.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Go back to Round 7 questions without answers

ROUND 8 - Lucky dip

Pick any number from 1-14 for your question.

1.

John Kennedy was the first Roman Catholic president of the USA but who is the only Roman Catholic to have been elected vice-president?

Joe Biden

2.

David Rudisha holds which world record set in the track and field competition in the 2012 London Olympics?

Men’s 800m

(NB not the Men’s Boom!)

3.

Visited by the Cambridgeshires last week, in which city is the Discovery on which Scott and Shackleton travelled to Antarctica in 1902?

Dundee

4.

How many hemidemisemiquavers are there in a semibreve?

64

5.

Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard plays the eponymous role in which current BBC drama series?

River

6.

It was 68,000 square km in 1960, 28,000 square km in 1998 and now only 3,300 square km.  What is it?

The Aral Sea

7.

Which British TV programme has a theme sung by the choir of Southwark Cathedral and entitled Ecce Homo Qui Est Faba?

Mr Bean

8.

The name of the royal house Plantagenet is reputedly due an association of which plant with Count Geoffrey of Anjou?

Broom

9.

The Gadsden Purchase of 1853 added territory to two future American states of the Union.  Name both.

Arizona and New Mexico

10.

Which event of 1836 is named after the building where it occurred?  The building itself was named after the Spanish Poplar or Cottonwood tree.

The Alamo

11.

What connects cricketer Adam Lyth, Iron Maiden in 1982 and the road from Pendlebury to Langho?

666

(Lyth was England’s 666th test player, Iron Maiden had a hit single 666, The Number Of The Beast, and the road is the A666)

12.

Which city was the birthplace of Saint Paul?

Tarsus

13.

Jeremy Corbyn has represented which constituency since 1983?

Islington North

14.

Which singer’s first solo album released in June 1999 was Schizophonic?  Four of the tracks became hit singles.

Geri Halliwell

Go back to Round 8 questions without answers