ROUND 1 - Hidden theme

Usual caveats apply

1.

Which 1991 novel by Brett Easton Ellis was filmed in 2000 with Christian Bale in the lead role?

2.

Which historical figure died in June 1941 in Doorn, Netherlands at age 82?

3.

Which globally-famous brewery, based in the north German city of Bremen since 1873, was bought out by Anheuser-Busch in 2001?

4.

Which war leader of the Lakota people fought at Little Big Horn and was killed in Camp Robinson, Nebraska in 1877?

5.

Which cartoon character, popular in cinemas, on TV and in comic books, from 1942 onwards was known as 'Super Raton' in Spanish?

6.

Who is the only Simpson’s character to be shown with five fingers?  He has appeared five times in the series beginning with Homer the Heretic in 1994.

7.

Which children’s design classic was originally sold from 1969 to 1980 and was available in colours such as Infra Red, Ultra Violet, Fizzy Lemon and Space Blue?

8.

Which British military unit, formed in 1936, lost more men than any other in WWII but was barely rated a mention in Winston Churchill’s VE-day speech?

Sp

Which rapper was born Armando Christian Perez in Miami in 1981?

Go to Round 1 questions with answers

ROUND 2 - Announced theme – 'Captains'

Each answer contains a word or name that can follow ‘Captain’

1.

Which singer, TV personality and author married Shane Richie in 1990?

2.

What, according to Basil Fawlty, would be his wife’s specialist subject on Mastermind?

3.

In 1695 who was convicted of perjury, an offence he had committed years previously, and sentenced to be whipped through the streets of London for five days each week for as long as he lived?

4.

What does the medical term 'hematuria' designate?

5.

Which was the furthest northeast of the historic counties of Wales?

6.

Which 1811 novel, originally published anonymously, tells the story of the Dashwood family, especially the two older daughters, Elinor and Marianne?

7.

An Arbroath smokie consists of what?

8.

Which Leeds thoroughfare has one end of Headingley cricket ground named after it? 

Sp

Who currently captains England’s one-day cricket team?

Go to Round 2 questions with answers

ROUND 3 - Announced theme - '1936'

A significant year for one of the Bards

1.

In December 1936, who was kidnapped in what came to be known as the ‘Xi'an Incident’?

2.

In which modern-day country did Italian troops carry out the 'March of the Iron Will' in May 1936?

3.

Where did the first Butlins open in April 1936?

4.

...and which female celebrity, from Hull, opened it?

5.

Which huge US construction project was completed in March 1936, five years after it began?

6.

New York’s Triborough Bridge also opened in 1936.  After which politician was it re-named in 2008?

7.

Who won the Oscar for Best Director in 1936 for Mr Deeds Goes to Town?

8.

Which US dramatist won the 1936 Nobel Prize for Literature?

Go to Round 3 questions with answers

ROUND 4 - Pairs

1.

What principle in quantum mechanics states that two or more identical fermions cannot occupy the same quantum state within a quantum system simultaneously?

2.

One state of matter not subject to the Pauli exclusion principle was named after two theoretical physicists who proposed it in the 1920s.  It was not produced in a lab until 1995?

3.

Who was the first Scottish band to have a UK Number 1 hit single?  They reached No 1 in January 1969 with a song written by Lennon and McCartney.

4.

What is the biggest selling single ever recorded by a Scottish band?  The song reached No 1 in the UK charts in June 1971 for Middle of the Road.

5.

In which country does the beer Singha originate?

6.

Hite, Max and Cass are all beers brewed in which country?

7.

In 1981, at the age of 76, who became the oldest winner of the Best Actor Oscar?  Born in Nebraska in 1905, he was also nominated in the Best Actor category for his role in the 1940 film version of The Grapes of Wrath.

8.

In 2003, at the age of 29, who became the youngest winner of the Best Actor Oscar for The Pianist? Born in New York in 1973 and the star of several films, he also appeared in the fourth series of the BBC drama, Peaky Blinders.

Go to Round 4 questions with answers

ROUND 5 - Hidden theme

Usual caveats apply

1.

Who successfully led the 'Ever Victorious Army' in 1863-1864 during the Taiping Rebellion in China?  His career closed, fatally, in defeat in North-East Africa in January 1885.

2.

Which classical poet is Dante’s guide through Hell?

3.

She has the most Academy Award nominations without a win of any living actor.  Her most famous character gave us the expression ‘Bunny Boiler’ in a 1987 film.  Who is she?

4.

Their 1970 version of a song by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, was their breakthrough No. 1 US and No. 6 UK chart hit.  It won them a Grammy in 1971.  Who were this duo?

5.

Located in Faversham, Kent, it is one of two breweries claiming the title of 'the oldest brewery in Britain'.  Bishop’s Finger is their heavyweight contender.

6.

Which British father and son company dominated motor-racing design in the 1950s with their rear-engined cars?  Their name survives in a (now BMW-owned) performance car model to this day.

7.

Which footballing family boast brothers Les and Dennis, their sons Clive, Bradley and Martin and nephew Paul (a double FA cup winner with West Ham and Tottenham).

8.

Which Scottish ballerina appeared in seven films the first being The Red Shoes in 1948?

Sp

Which South Manchester council ward transferred from Manchester Central to Manchester Gorton parliamentary constituency in 2010?

Go to Round 5 questions with answers

ROUND 6 - Pairs

1.

Which is the nearest capital city to Moscow?

2.

Which is the closest capital city to Beijing?

3.

Patrick McGoohan, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and Johnny Cash all played the part of a murderer in which TV series?

4.

Another 1970s legend, Ernie (he drove the fastest milkcart in the West), was unlawfully killed with what stale comestible?

5.

Nipper the Jack Russell was the model for which iconic painting by Francis Barraud?

6.

Which legendary canine can be found at the bottom end of George IV Bridge in Edinburgh?

7.

Kays of Scotland are the exclusive manufacturer of what item for the Winter Olympics?

8.

Star Xing Pai of Beijing manufactures what item for this sport’s World Championship?  It weighs up to 1250 kg.

Go to Round 6 questions with answers

ROUND 7 - Pairs

1.

What measure of distance is defined as the average distance between the Earth and the Sun?

2.

Equal to about 3.26 light years, what is defined as the distance at which one Astronomical Unit subtends an angle of one Arc Second?

3.

Which film fits the cryptic description: 'Orange juice with bits in (surely not)'?

4.

Which film fits the cryptic description: 'English prince has muck on his hands'?

5.

Which school did Douglas Jardine, Oswald Moseley, Geoffrey Howe and Anthony Trollope all attend?

6.

Which school did Jawahaarlal Nehru, Benedict Cumberbatch and seven British Prime Ministers attend?

7.

Which broadcaster, who died in 1994, suggested that Macclesfield was "the centre of the Universe"?

8.

In 2010 Macclesfield’s MP of 38 years stepped down, as did his wife, the MP for Congleton, after an expenses row.  Who is he?

Go to Round 7 questions with answers

ROUND 8 - Hidden theme

Usual caveats apply

1.

Which bridge over the Irwell, between Manchester and Salford was completed in 1820 and shared its name with a contemporary bridge in London?

2.

Rufus the hawk plays a vital role in what sporting event?

3.

Who survived an assassination attempt on 3 July 1842?  The third that year, amazingly.

4.

With a postcode TW9 3AE it has 132 hectares, 40 listed buildings and its own constabulary.  What?

5.

The first live album by Motorhead, released in 1981, was called No Sleep ‘til….  Where?

6.

Who was the vicar’s daughter, born 1945, who starred in 1970s films: Exposé, Hardcore and Let’s Get Laid?

7.

Pubs including The Oliver St., John Gogarty, the Turk's Head, the Foggy Dew, The Auld Dubliner and Bad Bobs can all be found in this neighbourhood south of the Liffey.  Where?

8.

Which 2014 film, directed by and starring George Clooney, told the story of attempts to save culturally-important items in formerly Nazi-occupied Europe?

Sp

Which idiomatic expression seems to date from early 1800s America when hunting raccoons with packs of dogs was common? 

Go to Round 8 questions with answers

Spares

1.

Whose name attaches to the mathematical formula in complex analysis which establishes the fundamental relationship between the trigonometric functions and the complex exponential function?

2.

Euler’s polyhedron formula tells us that if you add the number of vertices on a polyhedron to its number of faces, then subtract the number of edges, you will always end up with… what?

3.

If a 'treponema pallidum particle agglutination' assay, or TPPA test, were to be run on your blood, what disease would be suspected?

4.

Situated at the southernmost tip of the Cardomon Hills is the southernmost point of India.  What is it called?

Go to Spare questions with answers

ROUND 1 - Hidden theme

Usual caveats apply

1.

Which 1991 novel by Brett Easton Ellis was filmed in 2000 with Christian Bale in the lead role?

American Psycho

2.

Which historical figure died in June 1941 in Doorn, Netherlands at age 82?

Kaiser Wilhelm II

3.

Which globally-famous brewery, based in the north German city of Bremen since 1873, was bought out by Anheuser-Busch in 2001?

Becks

4.

Which war leader of the Lakota people fought at Little Big Horn and was killed in Camp Robinson, Nebraska in 1877?

Crazy Horse

5.

Which cartoon character, popular in cinemas, on TV and in comic books, from 1942 onwards was known as 'Super Raton' in Spanish?

Mighty Mouse

6.

Who is the only Simpson’s character to be shown with five fingers?  He has appeared five times in the series beginning with Homer the Heretic in 1994.

God

7.

Which children’s design classic was originally sold from 1969 to 1980 and was available in colours such as Infra Red, Ultra Violet, Fizzy Lemon and Space Blue?

(Raleigh) Chopper

8.

Which British military unit, formed in 1936, lost more men than any other in WWII but was barely rated a mention in Winston Churchill’s VE-day speech?

Bomber Command

Sp

Which rapper was born Armando Christian Perez in Miami in 1981?

Pitbull

Theme: Each answer contains a famous footballers’ nickname

ROUND 2 - Announced theme – 'Captains'

Each answer contains a word or name that can follow ‘Captain’

1.

Which singer, TV personality and author married Shane Richie in 1990?

Coleen Nolan

2.

What, according to Basil Fawlty, would be his wife’s specialist subject on Mastermind?

"The bleeding obvious"

3.

In 1695 who was convicted of perjury, an offence he had committed years previously, and sentenced to be whipped through the streets of London for five days each week for as long as he lived?

Titus Oates

4.

What does the medical term 'hematuria' designate?

Blood in the urine

5.

Which was the furthest northeast of the historic counties of Wales?

Flint(shire)

6.

Which 1811 novel, originally published anonymously, tells the story of the Dashwood family, especially the two older daughters, Elinor and Marianne?

Sense and Sensibility

7.

An Arbroath smokie consists of what?

(Smoked) haddock

8.

Which Leeds thoroughfare has one end of Headingley cricket ground named after it? 

Kirkstall Lane

Sp

Who currently captains England’s one-day cricket team?

Eoin Morgan

Go back to Round 2 questions without answers

ROUND 3 - Announced theme - '1936'

A significant year for one of the Bards

1.

In December 1936, who was kidnapped in what came to be known as the ‘Xi'an Incident’?

Chiang Kai-Shek

2.

In which modern-day country did Italian troops carry out the 'March of the Iron Will' in May 1936?

Ethiopia

3.

Where did the first Butlins open in April 1936?

(Ingoldmells near) Skegness

4.

...and which female celebrity, from Hull, opened it?

Amy Johnson

5.

Which huge US construction project was completed in March 1936, five years after it began?

The Hoover Dam

6.

New York’s Triborough Bridge also opened in 1936.  After which politician was it re-named in 2008?

Robert F Kennedy

7.

Who won the Oscar for Best Director in 1936 for Mr Deeds Goes to Town?

Frank Capra

8.

Which US dramatist won the 1936 Nobel Prize for Literature?

Eugene O’Neill

Go back to Round 3 questions without answers

ROUND 4 - Pairs

1.

What principle in quantum mechanics states that two or more identical fermions cannot occupy the same quantum state within a quantum system simultaneously?

Pauli

(exclusion principle)

2.

One state of matter not subject to the Pauli exclusion principle was named after two theoretical physicists who proposed it in the 1920s.  It was not produced in a lab until 1995?

Bose-Einstein condensate

3.

Who was the first Scottish band to have a UK Number 1 hit single?  They reached No 1 in January 1969 with a song written by Lennon and McCartney.

Marmalade

4.

What is the biggest selling single ever recorded by a Scottish band?  The song reached No 1 in the UK charts in June 1971 for Middle of the Road.

Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep

5.

In which country does the beer Singha originate?

Thailand

6.

Hite, Max and Cass are all beers brewed in which country?

South Korea

7.

In 1981, at the age of 76, who became the oldest winner of the Best Actor Oscar?  Born in Nebraska in 1905, he was also nominated in the Best Actor category for his role in the 1940 film version of The Grapes of Wrath.

Henry Fonda

8.

In 2003, at the age of 29, who became the youngest winner of the Best Actor Oscar for The Pianist? Born in New York in 1973 and the star of several films, he also appeared in the fourth series of the BBC drama, Peaky Blinders.

Adrien Brody

Go back to Round 4 questions without answers

ROUND 5 - Hidden theme

Usual caveats apply

1.

Who successfully led the 'Ever Victorious Army' in 1863-1864 during the Taiping Rebellion in China?  His career closed, fatally, in defeat in North-East Africa in January 1885.

(General) Gordon

2.

Which classical poet is Dante’s guide through Hell?

Virgil

3.

She has the most Academy Award nominations without a win of any living actor.  Her most famous character gave us the expression ‘Bunny Boiler’ in a 1987 film.  Who is she?

Glenn Close

4.

Their 1970 version of a song by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, was their breakthrough No. 1 US and No. 6 UK chart hit.  It won them a Grammy in 1971.  Who were this duo?

The Carpenters

5.

Located in Faversham, Kent, it is one of two breweries claiming the title of 'the oldest brewery in Britain'.  Bishop’s Finger is their heavyweight contender.

Shepherd Neame

6.

Which British father and son company dominated motor-racing design in the 1950s with their rear-engined cars?  Their name survives in a (now BMW-owned) performance car model to this day.

Cooper

7.

Which footballing family boast brothers Les and Dennis, their sons Clive, Bradley and Martin and nephew Paul (a double FA cup winner with West Ham and Tottenham).

Allen

8.

Which Scottish ballerina appeared in seven films the first being The Red Shoes in 1948?

Moira Shearer

Sp

Which South Manchester council ward transferred from Manchester Central to Manchester Gorton parliamentary constituency in 2010?

Whalley Range

Theme: Forenames and surnames from the Mercury space programme.

Astronauts...

Alan Shepard, Gordon Cooper, Virgil Grissom, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, and the two that did not have “Thunderbirds” characters named after them, Wally Schirra and Deke Slayton

Go back to Round 5 questions without answers

ROUND 6 - Pairs

1.

Which is the nearest capital city to Moscow?

Minsk

2.

Which is the closest capital city to Beijing?

Pyongyang

3.

Patrick McGoohan, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and Johnny Cash all played the part of a murderer in which TV series?

Columbo

4.

Another 1970s legend, Ernie (he drove the fastest milkcart in the West), was unlawfully killed with what stale comestible?

A pork pie

(a rock cake would also be acceptable here - research the lyrics if you care why)

5.

Nipper the Jack Russell was the model for which iconic painting by Francis Barraud?

His Master’s Voice

6.

Which legendary canine can be found at the bottom end of George IV Bridge in Edinburgh?

Greyfriars Bobby

7.

Kays of Scotland are the exclusive manufacturer of what item for the Winter Olympics?

Curling stones

8.

Star Xing Pai of Beijing manufactures what item for this sport’s World Championship?  It weighs up to 1250 kg.

Snooker tables

Go back to Round 6 questions without answers

ROUND 7 - Pairs

1.

What measure of distance is defined as the average distance between the Earth and the Sun?

Astronomical Unit

2.

Equal to about 3.26 light years, what is defined as the distance at which one Astronomical Unit subtends an angle of one Arc Second?

A parsec

3.

Which film fits the cryptic description: 'Orange juice with bits in (surely not)'?

Pulp Fiction

4.

Which film fits the cryptic description: 'English prince has muck on his hands'?

Dirty Harry

5.

Which school did Douglas Jardine, Oswald Moseley, Geoffrey Howe and Anthony Trollope all attend?

Winchester

6.

Which school did Jawahaarlal Nehru, Benedict Cumberbatch and seven British Prime Ministers attend?

Harrow

7.

Which broadcaster, who died in 1994, suggested that Macclesfield was "the centre of the Universe"?

Brian Redhead

8.

In 2010 Macclesfield’s MP of 38 years stepped down, as did his wife, the MP for Congleton, after an expenses row.  Who is he?

Nicholas Winterton

Go back to Round 7 questions without answers

ROUND 8 - Hidden theme

Usual caveats apply

1.

Which bridge over the Irwell, between Manchester and Salford was completed in 1820 and shared its name with a contemporary bridge in London?

Blackfriars

2.

Rufus the hawk plays a vital role in what sporting event?

Wimbledon

3.

Who survived an assassination attempt on 3 July 1842?  The third that year, amazingly.

Queen Victoria

4.

With a postcode TW9 3AE it has 132 hectares, 40 listed buildings and its own constabulary.  What?

Kew Gardens

5.

The first live album by Motorhead, released in 1981, was called No Sleep ‘til….  Where?

Hammersmith

6.

Who was the vicar’s daughter, born 1945, who starred in 1970s films: Exposé, Hardcore and Let’s Get Laid?

Fiona Richmond

7.

Pubs including The Oliver St., John Gogarty, the Turk's Head, the Foggy Dew, The Auld Dubliner and Bad Bobs can all be found in this neighbourhood south of the Liffey.  Where?

Temple Bar

8.

Which 2014 film, directed by and starring George Clooney, told the story of attempts to save culturally-important items in formerly Nazi-occupied Europe?

(The) Monuments Men

Sp

Which idiomatic expression seems to date from early 1800s America when hunting raccoons with packs of dogs was common? 

'Barking up the wrong tree'

Theme: Each answer contains the name, or part of the name, of a London Underground District Line station

Go back to Round 8 questions without answers