ROUND 1 - A Literary and Cinematic Cocktail

1.

Richard Attenborough won the 1983 Oscar for Best Director for which film?

2.

The song The Impossible Dream is from which musical based on a novel by an author who died in the same year as Shakespeare?

3.

In which Woody Allen film does Dr Ross, played by Gene Wilder, fall in love with an Armenian Sheep?

4.

Brother and sister Miles and Flora are characters in which work by Henry James, later turned into an opera by Benjamin Britten?

5.

Which 1976 film, written by Paul Schrader and with a score by Bernard Herrmann, stars Cybill Shepherd as Betsy?

6.

Which 1957 novel by Nevil Shute, turned into a film starring Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner and Fred Astaire, is set in Australia following a nuclear war?  It is also the title of a 1986 song by Chris Rea.

7.

The 2018 film King of Thieves, starring Michael Caine, Jim Broadbent, Tom Courtenay and Ray Winstone is based on which real-life crime committed in 2015?

8.

Which actor, whose real name is Laurence Tureaud, is best known for his TV role as B A Baracus and his film role as Clubber Lang in Rocky III?

Sp1

In the play King Lear, Edgar disguises himself as a beggar with which name?

Sp2

Laura Fairlie, Marian Holcombe and Sergeant Cuff are characters created by which 19th century author?

Go to Round 1 questions with answers

ROUND 2 - Pairs

1.

Which active volcano is the most northerly and easterly of the Aeolian Islands off the north coast of Sicily?

2.

What name is given to a popular Levantine salad consisting of chopped cucumber, radishes, tomatoes and other vegetables, topped with toasted pitta bread?

3.

Which two clubs were the last to compete in an FA Cup final at the original Wembley Stadium?

4.

During the 1966 World Cup Finals, two London venues were used.  One was Wembley, what was the other?

5.

What name is given to the points in an orbital configuration of two large bodies, wherein a small object, affected only by the gravitational forces from the two larger objects, will maintain its position relative to them?

6.

Which island in the Baltic Sea is the most easterly part of the Kingdom of Denmark?

7.

What name is given to both a herb similar to oregano and the dried herb mixed with sesame seeds, sumac and other spices, widely used in Levantine cooking?

8.

What name is given to an asteroid or minor planet that occupies the same orbit as a larger planet, but leading or trailing it (usually at or near Lagrange points 4 and 5)?  The term is also applied to some types of malware.

Sp1

Operations Epsom and Goodwood were Allied attempts to capture which French city in July and August 1944?

Sp2

What medical syndrome is associated with the presence of an extra 'X' chromosome in male humans?

Go to Round 2 questions with answers

ROUND 3 - Hidden theme

1.

Which US artist who died in 1986 was known as the Mother of American modernism?

2.

This Brecht / Weill song was written for the stage in 1927. It has been covered many times, most notably by the Doors in 1967 and David Bowie in 1978. What is its title?

3.

The world’s hottest chilli pepper (2.2 million Scoville heat units) is named after the state in which it was bred. The state in question contains the site of the first action of the American Civil War. Which state?

4.

What begins in Lake Itasca, Minnesota and is the second longest in the United States?

5.

Which US state was discovered in April 1513 and named to commemorate the festival taking place in its founder’s home country at that time?

6.

Who had a US number one hit in 1955 with the song Sixteen Tons?

7.

Specifically, what card game does James Bond (Daniel Craig) play in the pivotal scene of the 2006 film Casino Royale?

8.

What is the flowering climbing plant Parthenocissus Quinquefolia commonly known as?

Sp1

Which state’s nickname is The Natural State?

Sp2

On what did James Monroe spend $15 million in 1803?

Go to Round 3 questions with answers

ROUND 4 - 'Born on this day'

All the answers are the names of individuals born on November 7^th

1.

Born on this day in 1728. Died in 1779.

Natural features named after this person include a mountain range in Antarctica and a crater on the moon.

2.

Born on this day in 1879. Died in 1940.

Played in films by Richard Burton in 1972 and Geoffrey Rush in 2002.

3.

Born on this day in 1867.

Winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903 and for Chemistry in 1916.

4.

Born on this day in 1913.

Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957 at the age of 44 – the second youngest recipient of the award.

5.

Born on this day in 1944.

This footballer has scored more goals for his country than any other. He scored in the quarter finals and semi finals of the 1970 World Cup but failed to score in the final.

6.

Born on this day in 1976.

This tennis player reached the final of the US Open in 1998 and the Wimbledon final in 2003. He led his country to victory in the Davis Cup in 1999 and 2003.

7.

Born on this day in 1988 in Plumstead as Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu.

He has had six number ones in the UK – the most by any rap artist.  By what name is he better known?

8.

Born on this day in 1996 in Auckland as Ellie Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor.

In 2013 she became the youngest solo artist to achieve a number one in the US. By what name is she better known?

Sp

Born on this day in 1978.

This footballer’s clubs included PSV Eindhoven, Celtic and Hull City. He has the longest surname in the history of the Premiership

Go to Round 4 questions with answers

ROUND 5 - Pairs

1.

"What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?  Only the monstrous anger of the guns."

These are the opening lines of which famous poem about the First World War?

2.

He’s not one of the most famed of the First World War poets, but words taken from his poem For The Fallen are spoken every Remembrance Sunday.  Who was he?

3.

Why was 'Galloping Gertie' in the news on this day in 1940?

4.

Why was The Cincinnati Kid in the news on this day in 1980?

5.

Simon Coveney holds what position in Irish political life?

6.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier holds what position in German political life?

7.

Who is missing from this list: Nick Faldo, Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald, Ian Woosnam, Justin Rose?

8.

Who is missing from this list: Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Pete Sampras, John McEnroe?

Sp1

What name is missing from this sentence, spoken on this day in 1962?

“You don’t have ………. to kick around anymore because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference”.

Sp2

What position in EU political life is held by Antonio Tajani?

Go to Round 5 questions with answers

ROUND 6 - Pairs

1.

What is the value of 50? (five to the power zero)

2.

Which Number One single of 1970 contains the lines:

“She ain’t got no money
Her clothes are kinda funny”?

3.

Which Number One single of 1970 contains the (somewhat outdated) lines:

“If her daddy’s rich take her out for a meal
If her daddy’s poor just do what you feel”?

4.

Whose 3rd Symphony is nicknamed the Organ Symphony.  His best known opera is Samson and Delilah.

5.

With a height of 315 feet which cathedral has the 2nd highest spire in England? It is also the burial place of Edith Cavell and the grounds contain a statue of Admiral Nelson.

6.

What is the value of 2-1? (two to the power minus one)

7.

Which composer, a member of the Second Viennese School, composed works including Verklarte Nacht and Pierrot Lunaire.  His best known opera is Moses and Aaron.

8.

With a length of 554 feet which is the 2nd longest cathedral in England?  It is also the burial place of Jane Austen and the setting for the funeral of William the 2nd who died nearby.

Sp1

What is the value of 161/2? (16 to the power half)

Sp2

Which 1966 song by The New Vaudeville Band, which reached number 4 in the UK and Number 1 in the USA, finishes with the line:

“You just stood there and watched as my baby left town”?

Go to Round 6 questions with answers

ROUND 7 - Hidden theme - 'First Men'

1.

In a famous trial in 1979 the judge called him “a crook, a fraud, a sponger, a whiner, a parasite”.  He was played on TV earlier this year by Ben Wishaw.  Who is he?

2.

He was shot on 1 March 2001.  A month later 22 million people watched to find out who had shot him. Who is he?

3.

Which comic character lives at Flat 2, 12 Arbour Road, Highbury?

4.

Who said “All music is folk music.  I ain’t never heard a horse sing a song”?

5.

The 1936 film Sabotage directed by Alfred Hitchcock and the 1977 film The Duellists directed by Ridley Scott are based on the works of which writer?

6.

Which biblical phrase gives its name to a 1955 novel by CS Forester and a 2006 film directed by and starring Robert de Niro?

7.

His nickname was 'American Moses'.  He had 55 wives and 59 children.  Who was he?

8.

Frederick Augustus, the second son of George the Third, is immortalised in which nursery rhyme?

Sp

This footballer made 328 Premiership appearances between 1992 and 2004.  His clubs included Leeds, Oldham and Wolves.

Go to Round 7 questions with answers

ROUND 8 - 'Patron Saints'

To mark All Saints’ Day, a round about patron saints.

Example: Q: Glasgow, those accused of infidelity, salmon. Group who had a 1970 hit with 'In the Summertime'; A: Mungo (Jerry)

1.

Fever, rats, mice (especially field mice!).

Target of accusation of feminine frailty in its author’s lengthiest work, completed between 1599 and 1602.

2.

Archers, orphans, students.

Sister of Gudrun Brangwen in two D.H. Lawrence novels of 1915 and 1920.

3.

Chicken farmers, bastards, Sweden.

Comedian who won the 2013 Edinburgh Comedy award and is married to fellow comedian, Stewart Lee.

4.

Hospital administrators.

Hotel owner who once assaulted his own car with a branch of a tree.

5.

Shepherdesses, poverty, torture victims.

State capital of Saskatchewan and Russian-American singer-songwriter whose albums include Soviet Kitsch, Begin to Hope and Far.

6.

Also shepherdesses.

American singer-songwriter, largely overshadowed by her elder sister, who gained notoriety after assaulting her allegedly philandering brother-in-law in a lift in 2014.

7.

Headaches, motorcycle accidents.

1963 hit by Randy and The Rainbows, later covered, after 'gender reassignment' by Blondie who reached number 2 with it in 1978. 

8.

Snake bites.

Homophobic former editor of the Sunday Telegraph and husband of Lucinda Lambton.

Sp1

Stained glass workers, martyrs, haemorrhage.

Historian, writer and TV presenter who is also Chief Curator at Historical Royal Palaces.

Sp2

Musicians.

Simon and Garfunkel song released as the third single from Bridge Over Troubled Water in April 1970.

Go to Round 8 questions with answers

ROUND 1 -  A Literary and Cinematic Cocktail

1.

Richard Attenborough won the 1983 Oscar for Best Director for which film?

Gandhi

2.

The song The Impossible Dream is from which musical based on a novel by an author who died in the same year as Shakespeare?

Man from La Mancha

3.

In which Woody Allen film does Dr Ross, played by Gene Wilder, fall in love with an Armenian Sheep?

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask)

4.

Brother and sister Miles and Flora are characters in which work by Henry James, later turned into an opera by Benjamin Britten?

Turn of the Screw

5.

Which 1976 film, written by Paul Schrader and with a score by Bernard Herrmann, stars Cybill Shepherd as Betsy?

Taxi Driver

6.

Which 1957 novel by Nevil Shute, turned into a film starring Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner and Fred Astaire, is set in Australia following a nuclear war?  It is also the title of a 1986 song by Chris Rea.

On the Beach

7.

The 2018 film King of Thieves, starring Michael Caine, Jim Broadbent, Tom Courtenay and Ray Winstone is based on which real-life crime committed in 2015?

Hatton Garden Robbery

8.

Which actor, whose real name is Laurence Tureaud, is best known for his TV role as B A Baracus and his film role as Clubber Lang in Rocky III?

Mr T

Sp1

In the play King Lear, Edgar disguises himself as a beggar with which name?

Poor Tom

Sp2

Laura Fairlie, Marian Holcombe and Sergeant Cuff are characters created by which 19th century author?

Wilkie Collins

Theme: The answers contain the names of five cocktails....

Screwdriver (4 and 5), Sex on the Beach (3 and 6), Manhattan (2 and 7), G and T (1 and 8) and Tom Collins (Sp1 and Sp2)

ROUND 2 - Pairs

1.

Which active volcano is the most northerly and easterly of the Aeolian Islands off the north coast of Sicily?

Stromboli

2.

What name is given to a popular Levantine salad consisting of chopped cucumber, radishes, tomatoes and other vegetables, topped with toasted pitta bread?

Fattoush

3.

Which two clubs were the last to compete in an FA Cup final at the original Wembley Stadium?

Chelsea and Aston Villa

4.

During the 1966 World Cup Finals, two London venues were used.  One was Wembley, what was the other?

White City

5.

What name is given to the points in an orbital configuration of two large bodies, wherein a small object, affected only by the gravitational forces from the two larger objects, will maintain its position relative to them?

Lagrange or Lagrangian points

6.

Which island in the Baltic Sea is the most easterly part of the Kingdom of Denmark?

Bornholm

7.

What name is given to both a herb similar to oregano and the dried herb mixed with sesame seeds, sumac and other spices, widely used in Levantine cooking?

Za’atar

8.

What name is given to an asteroid or minor planet that occupies the same orbit as a larger planet, but leading or trailing it (usually at or near Lagrange points 4 and 5)?  The term is also applied to some types of malware.

Trojan

Sp1

Operations Epsom and Goodwood were Allied attempts to capture which French city in July and August 1944?

Caen

Sp2

What medical syndrome is associated with the presence of an extra 'X' chromosome in male humans?

Klinefelter’s syndrome

Go back to Round 2 questions without answers

ROUND 3 - Hidden theme

1.

Which US artist who died in 1986 was known as the Mother of American modernism?

Georgia O’Keeffe

2.

This Brecht / Weill song was written for the stage in 1927. It has been covered many times, most notably by the Doors in 1967 and David Bowie in 1978. What is its title?

Alabama Song

(accept Moon of Alabama)

3.

The world’s hottest chilli pepper (2.2 million Scoville heat units) is named after the state in which it was bred. The state in question contains the site of the first action of the American Civil War. Which state?

South Carolina

(it’s the Carolina Reaper and the first action of the Civil War was the Confederate shelling of the Union Fort Sumter in Charleston harbour)

QM: Carolina is the important word as far as the chilli pepper goes though Fort Sumter is clearly only located in South Carolina. You are free to use your discretion to accept North Carolina if you so wish if only to avoid team 1 agonising over whether it’s North or South, getting it wrong and therefore handing an easy bonus to team 2.

4.

What begins in Lake Itasca, Minnesota and is the second longest in the United States?

Mississippi river

5.

Which US state was discovered in April 1513 and named to commemorate the festival taking place in its founder’s home country at that time?

Florida

(from Pascua Florida, the Spanish festival of flowers that takes place at Easter time)

6.

Who had a US number one hit in 1955 with the song Sixteen Tons?

Tennessee Ernie Ford

7.

Specifically, what card game does James Bond (Daniel Craig) play in the pivotal scene of the 2006 film Casino Royale?

Texas hold ‘em poker (answer must include 'Texas hold ‘em')

8.

What is the flowering climbing plant Parthenocissus Quinquefolia commonly known as?

Virginia Creeper

Sp1

Which state’s nickname is The Natural State?

Arkansas

Sp2

On what did James Monroe spend $15 million in 1803?

The Louisiana purchase

Theme: The eleven states (including both Carolinas) that seceded from the United States to form The Confederate States of America

(as of 11 p.m. on Tuesday and before any mid term results have been declared they are still in the Union)

Go back to Round 3 questions without answers

ROUND 4 - 'Born on this day'

All the answers are the names of individuals born on November 7^th

1.

Born on this day in 1728. Died in 1779.

Natural features named after this person include a mountain range in Antarctica and a crater on the moon.

Captain James Cook

2.

Born on this day in 1879. Died in 1940.

Played in films by Richard Burton in 1972 and Geoffrey Rush in 2002.

Leon Trotsky

3.

Born on this day in 1867.

Winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903 and for Chemistry in 1916.

Marie Curie

4.

Born on this day in 1913.

Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957 at the age of 44 – the second youngest recipient of the award.

Albert Camus

5.

Born on this day in 1944.

This footballer has scored more goals for his country than any other. He scored in the quarter finals and semi finals of the 1970 World Cup but failed to score in the final.

Luigi Riva

(of Italy)

6.

Born on this day in 1976.

This tennis player reached the final of the US Open in 1998 and the Wimbledon final in 2003. He led his country to victory in the Davis Cup in 1999 and 2003.

Mark Philippousis

(of Australia)

7.

Born on this day in 1988 in Plumstead as Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu.

He has had six number ones in the UK – the most by any rap artist.  By what name is he better known?

Tinie Tempah

8.

Born on this day in 1996 in Auckland as Ellie Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor.

In 2013 she became the youngest solo artist to achieve a number one in the US. By what name is she better known?

Lorde

Sp

Born on this day in 1978.

This footballer’s clubs included PSV Eindhoven, Celtic and Hull City. He has the longest surname in the history of the Premiership

Jan Vennegor of Hesselink

Go back to Round 4 questions without answers

ROUND 5 - Pairs

1.

"What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?  Only the monstrous anger of the guns."

These are the opening lines of which famous poem about the First World War?

Anthem For Doomed Youth

(by Wilfred Owen)

2.

He’s not one of the most famed of the First World War poets, but words taken from his poem For The Fallen are spoken every Remembrance Sunday.  Who was he?

Laurence Binyon

(the words being: "At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them."

3.

Why was 'Galloping Gertie' in the news on this day in 1940?

(it was the nickname of)

The Tacoma Narrows Suspension Bridge

(in Washington state which collapsed on 7th November 1940, four months after it opened - the only fatality was the local newspaper editor’s pet dog.)

4.

Why was The Cincinnati Kid in the news on this day in 1980?

Steve McQueen (who played the title role in the 1965 film) died at the age of 50

5.

Simon Coveney holds what position in Irish political life?

(either) Foreign Minister (or) Tánaiste/Deputy Prime Minister

6.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier holds what position in German political life?

President of the Federal Republic

7.

Who is missing from this list: Nick Faldo, Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald, Ian Woosnam, Justin Rose?

Lee Westwood

(Britons to have been ranked world number 1 male golfer)

8.

Who is missing from this list: Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Pete Sampras, John McEnroe?

Andy Roddick

(Americans to have been ranked world number 1 male tennis player)

Sp1

What name is missing from this sentence, spoken on this day in 1962?

“You don’t have ………. to kick around anymore because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference”.

Nixon

(on losing the 1962 California gubernatorial election. Sadly, like almost everything else he said, it was totally untrue.)

Sp2

What position in EU political life is held by Antonio Tajani?

President of the European Parliament

(one of a meagre five presidents that the EU somehow gets by with - especially for you Mr. Donely)

Go back to Round 5 questions without answers

ROUND 6 - Pairs

1.

What is the value of 50? (five to the power zero)

1

2.

Which Number One single of 1970 contains the lines:

“She ain’t got no money
Her clothes are kinda funny”?

Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)

(by Edison Lighthouse)

3.

Which Number One single of 1970 contains the (somewhat outdated) lines:

“If her daddy’s rich take her out for a meal
If her daddy’s poor just do what you feel”?

In the Summertime

(by Mungo Jerry)

4.

Whose 3rd Symphony is nicknamed the Organ Symphony.  His best known opera is Samson and Delilah.

Saint-Saëns

5.

With a height of 315 feet which cathedral has the 2nd highest spire in England? It is also the burial place of Edith Cavell and the grounds contain a statue of Admiral Nelson.

Norwich

6.

What is the value of 2-1? (two to the power minus one)

0.5 or ½

7.

Which composer, a member of the Second Viennese School, composed works including Verklarte Nacht and Pierrot Lunaire.  His best known opera is Moses and Aaron.

Schoenberg

8.

With a length of 554 feet which is the 2nd longest cathedral in England?  It is also the burial place of Jane Austen and the setting for the funeral of William the 2nd who died nearby.

Winchester

(Setter’s note: I was perfectly happy with last week’s question on Salisbury Cathedral - there should be more questions on cathedral dimensions)

Sp1

What is the value of 161/2? (16 to the power half)

4 or -4

(square root of 16)

Sp2

Which 1966 song by The New Vaudeville Band, which reached number 4 in the UK and Number 1 in the USA, finishes with the line:

“You just stood there and watched as my baby left town”?

Winchester Cathedral

Go back to Round 6 questions without answers

ROUND 7 - Hidden theme - 'First Men'

1.

In a famous trial in 1979 the judge called him “a crook, a fraud, a sponger, a whiner, a parasite”.  He was played on TV earlier this year by Ben Wishaw.  Who is he?

Norman Scott

2.

He was shot on 1 March 2001.  A month later 22 million people watched to find out who had shot him. Who is he?

Phil Mitchell

3.

Which comic character lives at Flat 2, 12 Arbour Road, Highbury?

Mr Bean

4.

Who said “All music is folk music.  I ain’t never heard a horse sing a song”?

Louis Armstrong

5.

The 1936 film Sabotage directed by Alfred Hitchcock and the 1977 film The Duellists directed by Ridley Scott are based on the works of which writer?

Joseph Conrad

6.

Which biblical phrase gives its name to a 1955 novel by CS Forester and a 2006 film directed by and starring Robert de Niro?

The Good Shepherd

7.

His nickname was 'American Moses'.  He had 55 wives and 59 children.  Who was he?

Brigham Young

8.

Frederick Augustus, the second son of George the Third, is immortalised in which nursery rhyme?

The Grand Old Duke of York

Sp

This footballer made 328 Premiership appearances between 1992 and 2004.  His clubs included Leeds, Oldham and Wolves.

Denis Irwin

Theme: Each answer includes the name of a man who has walked on the moon....

David Scott; Edgar Mitchell; Pete Conrad; Alan Shepard; Alan Bean; Neil Armstrong; John Young; Charles Duke and James Irwin

Go back to Round 7 questions without answers

ROUND 8 - 'Patron Saints'

To mark All Saints’ Day, a round about patron saints.

Each question gives one or more things that someone is the patron saint of, for or against, plus a clue as to the name; you just need the given name of the saint.

Example: Q: Glasgow, those accused of infidelity, salmon. Group who had a 1970 hit with 'In the Summertime'; A: Mungo (Jerry)

1.

Fever, rats, mice (especially field mice!).

Target of accusation of feminine frailty in its author’s lengthiest work, completed between 1599 and 1602.

Gertrude

(Mother of Hamlet)

2.

Archers, orphans, students.

Sister of Gudrun Brangwen in two D.H. Lawrence novels of 1915 and 1920.

Ursula

3.

Chicken farmers, bastards, Sweden.

Comedian who won the 2013 Edinburgh Comedy award and is married to fellow comedian, Stewart Lee.

Bridget

(or Brigid)

4.

Hospital administrators.

Hotel owner who once assaulted his own car with a branch of a tree.

Basil

(Fawlty)

5.

Shepherdesses, poverty, torture victims.

State capital of Saskatchewan and Russian-American singer-songwriter whose albums include Soviet Kitsch, Begin to Hope and Far.

Regina

(Spektor)

6.

Also shepherdesses.

American singer-songwriter, largely overshadowed by her elder sister, who gained notoriety after assaulting her allegedly philandering brother-in-law in a lift in 2014.

Solange

(Knowles, sister of Beyoncé)

7.

Headaches, motorcycle accidents.

1963 hit by Randy and The Rainbows, later covered, after 'gender reassignment' by Blondie who reached number 2 with it in 1978. 

Denise

8.

Snake bites.

Homophobic former editor of the Sunday Telegraph and husband of Lucinda Lambton.

Peregrine (Worsthorne)

Sp1

Stained glass workers, martyrs, haemorrhage.

Historian, writer and TV presenter who is also Chief Curator at Historical Royal Palaces.

Lucy

(Worsley)

Sp2

Musicians.

Simon and Garfunkel song released as the third single from Bridge Over Troubled Water in April 1970.

Cecilia

Go back to Round 8 questions without answers