1.

Which football team, currently in the Premiership, have lost more FA Cup semi-final games than any other club?

2.

Who, along with his sidekick Sergei, is the principal meerkat in the advertising campaign for the comparethemarket.com insurance website?

3.

'Pi day' is on March 14 (3/14 by the US calendar convention).  When is 'Pi approximation day'?

4.

In golfing slang, though possibly not likely to be used by Peter Alliss, what is meant by an 'Adolf Hitler'?

5.

6.

7.

Name either of the two English cathedrals that have UNESCO World Heritage site status.

8.

Which poet wrote the following lines:

1.

Which poet wrote the following lines:

2.

Which Tudor Queen Consort is interred at Peterborough Cathedral?

3.

In which year of the 1890s did the following occur: the deaths of Charles Hallé and Louis Pasteur, the births of Babe Ruth and Jack Dempsey, Roentgen's discovery of X-rays, the invention of volleyball and and in Ireland Michael Cleary, who killed his wife, being convicted of manslaughter, not murder, because he believed she was a changeling left behind after her abduction by fairies?

4.

With a population of 1.3 million which is Japan's fifth most populous island?  It is the birthplace of karate and the site of the largest amphibious assault in WW2.

5.

In golfing slang, though perhaps not likely to be used by Peter Alliss, what is meant by an 'Arthur Scargill'?

6.

7.

Who is the slightly sinister front man for the Direct Line insurance campaign portrayed by actor Harvey Keitel? The character was originally seen in the film Pulp Fiction.

8.

Which football team, currently in the Premiership, has reached the FA Cup final on four occasions but has never won the trophy?

1.

65 year-old musician Harry Wayne Casey is best known for his work as singer, writer and producer with which group?

2.

Which company produce the popular Scottish soft drink "Irn-Bru" now selling well in the Palace of Westminster, apparently?

3.

Which 1945 film, an adaptation of Noel Coward's one act play Still Life, heavily features Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto Number Two on the sound track?

4.

In which 1961 film does Spencer Tracy play judge Dan Haywood and Burt Lancaster defendant Ernst Janning?

5.

For which film did Jodie Foster win her first Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role?

6.

For which film did Harrison Ford have his only Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role that he did not win?

7.

Who partnered Jeremy Bates in the winning mixed doubles Wimbledon Championship in 1987, the last time it was won by an all British pair?

8.

Which horse won the Derby in 1999, one of only six horses to have won the race with a four letter name?

Sp1

Which retailer, founded in 1850, was advertised by Bruce Forsyth in the 1980s and 1990s but went into administration in 2004?

Sp2

Who was Lord Chief Justice from 2008 to 2013?

1.

Who was the last Cardinal Archbishop of Canterbury?  Conveniently he died on the same day that the protestant Elizabeth I ascended the throne.

2.

What was the name of the young priest played by Graham Norton in the Channel 4 comedy series Father Ted?

3.

Which actress was twice married to playwright Robert Bolt and was nominated for a best actress Academy Award for her role in the 1970 film Ryan's Daughter?

4.

Which German-born biochemist received the 1945 Nobel prize in Medicine (or Physiology) for his work on penicillin along with Alexander Fleming and Howard Florey?

5.

Which MP lost his Twickenham seat at the 2015 General Election?

6.

Which Hanna-Barbera cartoon series featured a detective working for the Finkerton Detective Agency?

7.

Which comedy series of the early 2000s included the characters: Pauline Campbell-Jones, Matthew Chinnery, Hilary Briss and Bernice Woodall?

8.

Which Welsh comedian has replaced Jack Dee as host of the spin off show The Apprentice - You're Fired in 2016?

Sp1

Who, on his 90th birthday in 2003, was registered as an honorary player with the Football League and given the shirt Number 90 by Plymouth Argyle?

Sp2

What is the nickname of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home of the Indianapolis 500?

1.

Which band, founded in Los Angeles in 1971 and still going strong, have had one UK singles No 1 hit and twenty-three studio albums including A Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing (1972), Angst in my Pants (1982), Gratuitous Sax and Senseless Violins (1994) and The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman (2009)?  They have recently formed a supergroup with Franz Ferdinand.

2.

Which actor played the role of Pope Kiril I, the first Russian pope, in the 1968 film The Shoes of the Fisherman?

3.

Two veteran actors played Nellie and Eli Pledge in the 1970s long-running sitcom Nearest and Dearest written by Vince Powell.  Catchphrases included "Has he been?" and "You big girl's blouse".  Name either of the two actors.

4.

Solve the following cryptic crossword clue: 'Bear with Barker - Corbett had a hand in this popular duo. (5, 3, 5)'.

5.

Who is the MP for North East Somerset described by parliamentary sketch writers as "the honourable member for the early 20th century"?

6.

7.

Actor Tom Oliver has played which Neighbours character for almost 25 years?

8.

Which of Shakespeare's plays has the highest number of characters in the cast list to die before the play's end?

1.

Captain Macmorris is the only Irishman to appear in a Shakespeare play.  Which one?

2.

Which actress played Eastenders' character Pat Butcher for over 25 years until the character's death from pancreatic cancer in 2012?

3.

Who is the author of the 20th century novel Charlotte Gray?

4.

Who is the long serving MP for North Somerset (formerly Woodspring) whose star is rising again as Brexiteers gain cabinet influence?

5.

Solve the following cryptic crossword clue: 'Taff's harmony led rousing anthem. (four words)'.

6.

7.

Which actor is playing the role of Pope Pius XIII, the first American pope, in the Sky Atlantic drama series The Young Pope?

8.

Which band active since 1985 have had fourteen studio albums including Back in the DHSS (1985), Voyage to the Bottom of the Road (1997), The Cammell Laird Social Club (2002) and CSI Ambleside (2008)?

1.

Which football team has won the Swiss national League 27 times and the Swiss Cup 19 times?

2.

Name the member of a famous racing family who was the winning trainer of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in 1979, 2013 and 2014 as well as numerous other Group 1 races including four 1000 Guineas.

3.

In the Beano comic what is the name of Dennis the Menace's little sister?  She was born on 19th September 1998 and voted the naughtiest baby in Beanotown when only one week old.

4.

By what name is the American Claudia Alta Taylor, who was born in 1912 and died in 2007, better known?

5.

Which musician was appointed to the OBE in 2005, 19 years after his better known colleague had been knighted for similar charitable work?

6.

The areca nut (the seed of the arica palm) is often wrapped in the leaves of which vine to produce a mild stimulant and euphoriant which is also unfortunately carcinogenic.  What is the vine leaf called?

7.

Ralph Vaughan Williams wrote only a few pieces of incidental music, but for which play performed at Trinity College Cambridge in 1909, did he write a 1 hour 45 minute piece?  The 10-minute overture is a popular piece on Classic FM.

8.

Dimitri Shostakovich wrote a lot of incidental music for Soviet films including which 1955 film from a novel by Ethel Voynich?  The music was also used for the TV series Reilly, Ace of Spies and is frequently played on Classic FM.

ROUND 8 - Bingo

Pick a number between 1 and 15 to get your question

1.

What is the name of Donald Trump's son by his third wife Melania?

2.

Christmas Island in the Pacific, where Britain conducted its H-bomb testing, is part of which republic nation?

3.

The judge Christmas Humphreys, who died in 1983, was for many years the most prominent convert to which religion?

4.

Carabosse is the villain in which classical ballet?

5.

Which composer's first symphony, 20 years in the writing, is sometimes referred to as Beethoven's 10th because of stylistic similarities to Beethoven's work?

6.

 Which two veteran rock stars from the same band fathered children this year?  One had twin girls, and the other a son who became an immediate great-uncle to his half-sister's grandchild.

7.

Which organ of the body is affected by Pick's Disease?

8.

Which single word connects songs by British Indie rock group Razorlight, German industrial rock group Rammstein, a song from the Neil Diamond film The Jazz Singer and a song from a 1957 Broadway musical?

9.

In geology the KT boundary corresponds to a time 65 million years ago when dinosaurs became extinct.  Which unusual chemical element has been found in rock strata that suggested there might have been a huge asteroid strike to cause the extinction?

10.

What single word connects a French department, a Swiss canton and the island where George Orwell wrote 1984?

11.

This year's (2016) Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the President of which country?

12.

What is the title of Beyoncé Knowles' latest album released in April 2016 to great acclaim?

13.

Which company, in existence for almost 450 years, cast the bells of Big Ben and the Liberty Bell?

14.

Chemical element number 117 (15 atoms observed so far) has now been officially named.  From which US state does it derive its name?

15.

Allegedly this songwriter informed his secretary: "Grab your pen and take down this song.  I just wrote the best song I've ever written.  Heck, I just wrote the best song that anybody's ever written!"  Who was the songwriter and what was the song?

1.

Which football team, currently in the Premiership, have lost more FA Cup semi-final games than any other club?

Everton

(13 defeats so far)

2.

Who, along with his sidekick Sergei, is the principal meerkat in the advertising campaign for the comparethemarket.com insurance website?

Aleksandr Orlov

3.

'Pi day' is on March 14 (3/14 by the US calendar convention).  When is 'Pi approximation day'?

22nd July

(22/7 by the English convention of the calendar)

4.

In golfing slang, though possibly not likely to be used by Peter Alliss, what is meant by an 'Adolf Hitler'?

Two shots in the bunker

5.

6.

7.

Name either of the two English cathedrals that have UNESCO World Heritage site status.

Canterbury or Durham

8.

Which poet wrote the following lines:

W B Yeats

(An Irish Airman Foresees His Death)

1.

Which poet wrote the following lines:

Wilfred Owen

(Strange Meeting)

2.

Which Tudor Queen Consort is interred at Peterborough Cathedral?

Catherine of Aragon

3.

In which year of the 1890s did the following occur: the deaths of Charles Hallé and Louis Pasteur, the births of Babe Ruth and Jack Dempsey, Roentgen's discovery of X-rays, the invention of volleyball and and in Ireland Michael Cleary, who killed his wife, being convicted of manslaughter, not murder, because he believed she was a changeling left behind after her abduction by fairies?

1895

4.

With a population of 1.3 million which is Japan's fifth most populous island?  It is the birthplace of karate and the site of the largest amphibious assault in WW2.

Okinawa

5.

In golfing slang, though perhaps not likely to be used by Peter Alliss, what is meant by an 'Arthur Scargill'?

Good strike but a poor result

6.

7.

Who is the slightly sinister front man for the Direct Line insurance campaign portrayed by actor Harvey Keitel? The character was originally seen in the film Pulp Fiction.

Winston Wolfe

8.

Which football team, currently in the Premiership, has reached the FA Cup final on four occasions but has never won the trophy?

Leicester City

1.

65 year-old musician Harry Wayne Casey is best known for his work as singer, writer and producer with which group?

KC and the Sunshine Band

2.

Which company produce the popular Scottish soft drink "Irn-Bru" now selling well in the Palace of Westminster, apparently?

A G Barr

3.

Which 1945 film, an adaptation of Noel Coward's one act play Still Life, heavily features Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto Number Two on the sound track?

Brief Encounter

4.

In which 1961 film does Spencer Tracy play judge Dan Haywood and Burt Lancaster defendant Ernst Janning?

Judgment at Nuremberg

5.

For which film did Jodie Foster win her first Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role?

The Accused

6.

For which film did Harrison Ford have his only Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role that he did not win?

Witness

7.

Who partnered Jeremy Bates in the winning mixed doubles Wimbledon Championship in 1987, the last time it was won by an all British pair?

Jo Durie

8.

Which horse won the Derby in 1999, one of only six horses to have won the race with a four letter name?

Oath

Sp1

Which retailer, founded in 1850, was advertised by Bruce Forsyth in the 1980s and 1990s but went into administration in 2004?

Courts

Sp2

Who was Lord Chief Justice from 2008 to 2013?

Igor, Lord Judge

1.

Who was the last Cardinal Archbishop of Canterbury?  Conveniently he died on the same day that the protestant Elizabeth I ascended the throne.

Reginald Pole

2.

What was the name of the young priest played by Graham Norton in the Channel 4 comedy series Father Ted?

Father Noel Furlong

3.

Which actress was twice married to playwright Robert Bolt and was nominated for a best actress Academy Award for her role in the 1970 film Ryan's Daughter?

Sarah Miles

4.

Which German-born biochemist received the 1945 Nobel prize in Medicine (or Physiology) for his work on penicillin along with Alexander Fleming and Howard Florey?

Ernst Chain

5.

Which MP lost his Twickenham seat at the 2015 General Election?

Vince Cable

6.

Which Hanna-Barbera cartoon series featured a detective working for the Finkerton Detective Agency?

Inch High, Private Eye

7.

Which comedy series of the early 2000s included the characters: Pauline Campbell-Jones, Matthew Chinnery, Hilary Briss and Bernice Woodall?

The League of Gentlemen

8.

Which Welsh comedian has replaced Jack Dee as host of the spin off show The Apprentice - You're Fired in 2016?

Rhod Gilbert

Sp1

Who, on his 90th birthday in 2003, was registered as an honorary player with the Football League and given the shirt Number 90 by Plymouth Argyle?

Michael Foot

Sp2

What is the nickname of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home of the Indianapolis 500?

The Brickyard

1.

Which band, founded in Los Angeles in 1971 and still going strong, have had one UK singles No 1 hit and twenty-three studio albums including A Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing (1972), Angst in my Pants (1982), Gratuitous Sax and Senseless Violins (1994) and The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman (2009)?  They have recently formed a supergroup with Franz Ferdinand.

Sparks

2.

Which actor played the role of Pope Kiril I, the first Russian pope, in the 1968 film The Shoes of the Fisherman?

Anthony Quinn
 

3.

Two veteran actors played Nellie and Eli Pledge in the 1970s long-running sitcom Nearest and Dearest written by Vince Powell.  Catchphrases included "Has he been?" and "You big girl's blouse".  Name either of the two actors.

Hylda Baker and Jimmy Jewel

4.

Solve the following cryptic crossword clue: 'Bear with Barker - Corbett had a hand in this popular duo. (5, 3, 5)'.

'Sooty and Sweep'

5.

Who is the MP for North East Somerset described by parliamentary sketch writers as "the honourable member for the early 20th century"?

Jacob Rees-Mogg
 

6.

7.

Actor Tom Oliver has played which Neighbours character for almost 25 years?

Lou Carpenter

8.

Which of Shakespeare's plays has the highest number of characters in the cast list to die before the play's end?

1.

Captain Macmorris is the only Irishman to appear in a Shakespeare play.  Which one?

Henry V (Fifth)

2.

Which actress played Eastenders' character Pat Butcher for over 25 years until the character's death from pancreatic cancer in 2012?

Pam St Clement
 

3.

Who is the author of the 20th century novel Charlotte Gray?

Sebastian Faulks

4.

Who is the long serving MP for North Somerset (formerly Woodspring) whose star is rising again as Brexiteers gain cabinet influence?

Liam Fox
 

5.

Solve the following cryptic crossword clue: 'Taff's harmony led rousing anthem. (four words)'.

'Land of my Fathers'

6.

7.

Which actor is playing the role of Pope Pius XIII, the first American pope, in the Sky Atlantic drama series The Young Pope?

Jude Law
 

8.

Which band active since 1985 have had fourteen studio albums including Back in the DHSS (1985), Voyage to the Bottom of the Road (1997), The Cammell Laird Social Club (2002) and CSI Ambleside (2008)?

1.

Which football team has won the Swiss national League 27 times and the Swiss Cup 19 times?

Grasshopper Club Zurich (accept Grasshoppers)

2.

Name the member of a famous racing family who was the winning trainer of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in 1979, 2013 and 2014 as well as numerous other Group 1 races including four 1000 Guineas.

Criquette Head-Maarek (accept Criquette Head)

3.

In the Beano comic what is the name of Dennis the Menace's little sister?  She was born on 19th September 1998 and voted the naughtiest baby in Beanotown when only one week old.

Bea
 

4.

By what name is the American Claudia Alta Taylor, who was born in 1912 and died in 2007, better known?

Lady Bird Johnson

5.

Which musician was appointed to the OBE in 2005, 19 years after his better known colleague had been knighted for similar charitable work?

Midge Ure
 

6.

The areca nut (the seed of the arica palm) is often wrapped in the leaves of which vine to produce a mild stimulant and euphoriant which is also unfortunately carcinogenic.  What is the vine leaf called?

Betel leaf

(and the combination is erroneously called betel nut, but in this quiz accept anything with the word 'betel' in it)

7.

Ralph Vaughan Williams wrote only a few pieces of incidental music, but for which play performed at Trinity College Cambridge in 1909, did he write a 1 hour 45 minute piece?  The 10-minute overture is a popular piece on Classic FM.

The Wasps
 

8.

Dimitri Shostakovich wrote a lot of incidental music for Soviet films including which 1955 film from a novel by Ethel Voynich?  The music was also used for the TV series Reilly, Ace of Spies and is frequently played on Classic FM.

The Gadfly
 

Theme: Each answer contains the name of an insect

ROUND 8 - Bingo

Pick a number between 1 and 15 to get your question

1.

What is the name of Donald Trump's son by his third wife Melania?

Barron

2.

Christmas Island in the Pacific, where Britain conducted its H-bomb testing, is part of which republic nation?

Kiribati

3.

The judge Christmas Humphreys, who died in 1983, was for many years the most prominent convert to which religion?

Buddhism

4.

Carabosse is the villain in which classical ballet?

Sleeping Beauty

5.

Which composer's first symphony, 20 years in the writing, is sometimes referred to as Beethoven's 10th because of stylistic similarities to Beethoven's work?

Johannes Brahms

6.

 Which two veteran rock stars from the same band fathered children this year?  One had twin girls, and the other a son who became an immediate great-uncle to his half-sister's grandchild.

Ronnie Wood and Mick Jagger

7.

Which organ of the body is affected by Pick's Disease?

Brain

8.

Which single word connects songs by British Indie rock group Razorlight, German industrial rock group Rammstein, a song from the Neil Diamond film The Jazz Singer and a song from a 1957 Broadway musical?

America
 

9.

In geology the KT boundary corresponds to a time 65 million years ago when dinosaurs became extinct.  Which unusual chemical element has been found in rock strata that suggested there might have been a huge asteroid strike to cause the extinction?

Iridium
 

10.

What single word connects a French department, a Swiss canton and the island where George Orwell wrote 1984?

Jura

11.

This year's (2016) Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the President of which country?

Colombia

12.

What is the title of Beyoncé Knowles' latest album released in April 2016 to great acclaim?

Lemonade

13.

Which company, in existence for almost 450 years, cast the bells of Big Ben and the Liberty Bell?

Whitechapel Bell Foundry

14.

Chemical element number 117 (15 atoms observed so far) has now been officially named.  From which US state does it derive its name?

Tennessee

(the element is tennessine)

15.

Allegedly this songwriter informed his secretary: "Grab your pen and take down this song.  I just wrote the best song I've ever written.  Heck, I just wrote the best song that anybody's ever written!"  Who was the songwriter and what was the song?

White Christmas by Irving Berlin