ROUND 1 - Paired with Round 2

1.

There are currently 22 members of the Order of Merit.  Two of them are doctors of medicine (in surgical disciplines).  Name ONE of them.

2.

Give a year in the life of the sculptor and artist Donatello (Donato Bardi).

3.

Which darts player was the first to have a televised 9 dart finish?  Achieved in October 1984 he had six treble 20s and an outshot with treble 17, treble 18 and double 18

4.

Dolly the cloned sheep is dead but there are four identical clones of Dolly that are still alive.  All their names start with the letter 'D'.  Name any ONE.

5.

Which Chesterfield-born politician was the only woman in Harold Wilson’s first Cabinet?

6.

Now in its ninth series which actress plays DCI Vera Stanhope in the ITV police drama Vera?

7.

Whose Piano Concerto No 2 in F major was composed for his son Maxim’s 19th birthday?  Maxim premiered the piece during his graduation from his music conservatory.

8.

Who is the author of the Middle England the long awaited sequel to The Rotters’ Club and The Closed Circle?

Go to Round 1 questions with answers

ROUND 2 - Paired with Round 1

1.

Due for publication in September 2019 who is the author of The Testaments the long awaited sequel to a 1985 work of speculative fiction?  The 1985 book has had film and television adaptations.

2.

Whose Piano Concerto No 4 in B flat major for the left hand was commissioned by the one-armed pianist Paul Wittgenstein in 1931?  Wittgenstein never performed the work because he “did not yet appreciate its inner logic”.  The piece was only premiered after the composer’s death.

3.

With a third series on the way which actress plays Sergeant Catherine Cawood in the BBC police drama Happy Valley?

4.

Which Manchester-born politician was the only woman in Clement Atlee’s first Cabinet until her untimely death in 1947?

5.

The UK’s four nuclear powered ballistic missile submarines are known as the V-boats because all the names start with the letter 'V'.  Name any ONE.

6.

Who was the first player to achieve a maximum 147 break in the World Snooker Championships at the Crucible in April 1983?  His hapless opponent was Terry Griffiths.

7.

Give a year in the life of the sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

8.

Of the 22 members of the Order of Merit two are former Prime Ministers but neither is from the UK. Name ONE of them.

Go to Round 2 questions with answers

ROUND 3 - Hidden theme

1.

Who has established The Silver Line, a telephone helpline offering advice and friendship to lonely older people?

2.

The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols has been broadcast on radio every Christmas Eve since 1928 (except 1930) from which venue?

3.

Which singer-songwriter has had two critically acclaimed and commercially successful albums Wanted on Voyage (2014) and Staying at Tamara’s (2018)?

4.

Who, at the age of 19 years and 45 days, has been the youngest ever All Black New Zealand rugby player?

5.

Which musician, the sixth recipient of the Gershwin Prize, is commonly nicknamed the 'Piano Man'?

6.

Which Birmingham born poet, musician, actor and playwright declined an OBE in 2003 commenting “…no way Mr Blair, no way Mrs Queen. I am profoundly anti-empire”?

7.

Born the son of the Irish cleric Faithful Teate he later became Poet Laureate from 1692-1715.  He rewrote King Lear to give it a happy ending and also wrote the words for While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night.  Who was he?

8.

The 1967 Four Yorkshiremen sketch features four ageing successful Yorshiremen reminiscing on their humble origins and trying to outdo one another with increasingly unlikely tales of childhood deprivation and hardship.  It was reprised in a 1989 Comic Relief book under the title The Good Old Days with the four characters named in the script.  One was called Josiah.  Name any ONE of the other three.

Go to Round 3 questions with answers

ROUND 4 - 'Tim's theme'

All the answers are connected by a common theme.

Noting that his round last year on 'A Trip Through the Scottish Borders' was given a thumbs down, Tim has decided to aim higher.

1.

What is the common name of the tree Alnus glutinosa.  The dry timber was used for making charcoal and clogs.  Under water the wood is very durable and was used for deep foundations of buildings including the Rialto Bridge in Venice.

2.

Which actor who died in 2005 played Minister of Defence Sir Frederick Gray in six James Bond movies?

3.

Which actress appeared in the BBC series Bleak House (2005) and Great Expectations (2011) and currently plays Jean Milburn in the Netflix series Sex Education?

4.

The MP for Peterborough has trodden in the same pile of doodoo as Chris Huhne and is awaiting sentencing for perverting the course of justice.  Her surname is Onasanya.  What is her forename?

5.

What is the name of the island surrounded by the first statutory marine conservation area?  It is also the name of a shipping forecast area.

6.

What is the name given to a flat cake of oatmeal, barley or peasemeal baked on a griddle?

7.

Which semi precious stone, a smoky, yellow or wine coloured quartz is often used as decoration on kilt pins and the handles of skean dhus?

8.

Which name connects at least eight UK rivers, a former county and a peerage (now extinct) conferred on a British Prime Minister?

Go to Round 4 questions with answers

Mike H’s Latin American and South American Pot Pourri - Mike has been to most of these places in his career

1.

Which was the first country in the world to abolish its military?

2.

Who was the fourth Latin American and first Colombian to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature?

3.

In which capital city is the longest continuously operating university in the Americas?

4.

Which two countries fought what became known as 'The Football War following border tensions exacerbated by a World Cup qualifying eliminator in 1970?

5.

The seventh largest island in the West Indies is the Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth) formerly known as the Isla de Pinos (Isle of Pines).  It is part of which country?

6.

Spanish and Guarani are the official languages of which country?

7.

The spectacular Iguazu Falls (82 m high, 2.7 km wide) are in the national parks of which two countries?

8.

The Fray Bentos brand of corned beef is now owned by Baxters.  Fray Bentos is the capital of the Rio Negro department in which country?

Go to Round 5 questions with answers

ROUND 6 - 'Body Parts'

All answers contain a part of the human body, sometimes as part of a longer word

1.

This company first developed its most famous product in 1958 although its forerunners began in 1941.  In 2015 it became acclaimed as the world's most powerful brand and by this stage had produced 600 billion units over its history.  Can you name the company?

2.

This 30 hectare island is found in the British Virgin Islands north of Virgin Gorda.  It is privately owned by the world's 388th richest man who usually resides there too, and operates it as a resort for the rich and famous.  What is the name of this island?

3.

Which song originally released in 1971 by The Who then covered in 2003 by Limp Bizkit contains the following lyrics: “No one knows what it's like to feel these feelings, Like I do, and I blame you! No one bites back as hard on their anger.”?

4.

This railway station in Tokyo is the world's busiest with an average of 3.5 million passengers and 20,000 trains a day.  What is it called?

5.

The Arabs defeated the Byzantine Empire in 636 as they swept out of Arabia bringing Islam with them under the Rashidun Caliphate in a series of engagements that lasted six days.  By what name is this battle known?

6.

What word is common to the following: a friar of a strict group of Franciscan monks, a breed of fancy pigeons, and a small monkey often used in films and television?

7.

What word is common to the following: a fictional sub-aquatic town, the nickname of a US state department located near the Potomac River, and three English villages containing the words 'Happy', 'Boggy', and'Pratt's' respectively?

8.

Name the former English test cricketer born in 1970 whose father and grandfather both played cricket for the West Indies.

Go to Round 6 questions with answers

ROUND 7 - 'Society leaders'

Every answer contains the name of an eminent scientist who has also held the office of President of the Royal Society - they are in chronological order

1.

What appeared on the reverse side of the British farthing from 1937 until its abolition as legal tender in 1960?

2.

The granddaughter of Nobel Physics laureate Max Born, she came fourth in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, but went on to greater things in the musical world.  Who is she?

3.

What term first appeared in print in 1975 to describe a tribe of young people whose most popular social venues included the White Horse pub in Fulham and the Admiral Codrington in Chelsea?

4.

Which 2013 film starred Emma Thompson as P L Travers and Tom Hanks as Walt Disney?

5.

Who represented Tennessee in the US House of Representatives 1827-31 and 1833-35?  John Wayne portrayed him in a film of 1960.

6.

Which New Zealand born cricketer was the highest paid player in the Indian Premier League in 2017 and was acquitted of affray in 2018?

7.

Which golfer, who died in 2018, is the only man to win the same post-1945 major three times in succession?

8.

Who was the 19th US President from 1877-1881 despite losing the popular vote and following a disputed Electoral College vote?

Go to Round 7 questions with answers

ROUND 8 - Blockbuster Bingo

Pick your own question according to the first letters of the words in the answers

1.

GH

The theory that The Earth is not a collection of independent mechanisms but a single living organism was proposed by scientist James Lovelock (who will celebrate his hundredth birthday this year).  Its name was suggested by William Golding.  What is the theory called?

2.

GV

What is the name for poetry characterized by pithy expression of sententious or weighty maxims.  A group of these poets existed in Greece in the 6th Century BC.

3.

 LSC

Travelling along the St. Lawrence Seaway between Lake Huron and Lake Erie near to Detroit you come across a smaller lake, but still sizeable at 1,100 square kilometres, considerably larger than any British lake.  It is known for its extremely shallow nature with an average depth of just 11 feet.  Can you name it?

4.

OHW

The Great Siege of Malta in 1565 and the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 are part of which conflict?

5.

PC

This popular attraction located in Derbyshire is also known locally as 'The Devil's Arse'.  How is it more usually known?

6.

PNTAB

This top 10 album from 1990 by a Manchester band has a title that alludes to a less than angelic lifestyle of its members.  What is it called?

7.

RMO

Can you give the name of the dish that consists of bull's testicles that have been peeled, coated in flour, seasoned and then deep-fried?

8.

SF

This financial term arose out of Royal Navy slang denoting refuse fat, the sale of which, usually to tallow makers, was considered a cook's perk.  Can you name it?

9.

SN

Sociopathic criminals Doug and Dinsdale Piranha who employed a combination of violence and sarcasm to intimidate the London underworld and bring the city to its knees were themselves terrorised by a giant imaginary animal (according to Monty Python).  How was this animal known?

10.

U

This is a movement in the Church of Rome that favours the centralised authority and influence of the pope, as opposed to local independence.  The name is derived from Latin and was formerly applied to a non-Italians elected pope who came from beyond the Alps.

Go to Round 8 questions with answers

Spares

1.

The first Monday of the year when a gift for good luck is traditionally given is known as what? Historically it predates Boxing Day.

2.

Which city in the Americas suffered a huge earthquake in September 1985 of Mercalli intensity IX (Violent) killing over 5,000 people?

3.

Which bird was on the reverse side of an Irish farthing?

4.

Whose novels include The Cumbrian Trilogy and The Soldier’s Return Quartet?

5.

Where will the 2019 Open Championship be held?

6.

Was this quiz easier or harder than finding a Brexit solution?

Go to Spare questions with answers

ROUND 1 - Paired with Round 2

1.

There are currently 22 members of the Order of Merit.  Two of them are doctors of medicine (in surgical disciplines).  Name ONE of them.

(either) Sir Magdi Yacoub

(or) Lord Darzi

2.

Give a year in the life of the sculptor and artist Donatello (Donato Bardi).

1386 to 1466

3.

Which darts player was the first to have a televised 9 dart finish?  Achieved in October 1984 he had six treble 20s and an outshot with treble 17, treble 18 and double 18

4.

Dolly the cloned sheep is dead but there are four identical clones of Dolly that are still alive.  All their names start with the letter 'D'.  Name any ONE.

(one of) Daisy, Debbie,  Dianna or Denise

5.

Which Chesterfield-born politician was the only woman in Harold Wilson’s first Cabinet?

6.

Now in its ninth series which actress plays DCI Vera Stanhope in the ITV police drama Vera?

Brenda Blethyn

7.

Whose Piano Concerto No 2 in F major was composed for his son Maxim’s 19th birthday?  Maxim premiered the piece during his graduation from his music conservatory.

Dimitri Shostakovich

8.

Who is the author of the Middle England the long awaited sequel to The Rotters’ Club and The Closed Circle?

ROUND 2 - Paired with Round 1

1.

Due for publication in September 2019 who is the author of The Testaments the long awaited sequel to a 1985 work of speculative fiction?  The 1985 book has had film and television adaptations.

2.

Whose Piano Concerto No 4 in B flat major for the left hand was commissioned by the one-armed pianist Paul Wittgenstein in 1931?  Wittgenstein never performed the work because he “did not yet appreciate its inner logic”.  The piece was only premiered after the composer’s death.

Sergei Prokofiev

3.

With a third series on the way which actress plays Sergeant Catherine Cawood in the BBC police drama Happy Valley?

4.

Which Manchester-born politician was the only woman in Clement Atlee’s first Cabinet until her untimely death in 1947?

5.

The UK’s four nuclear powered ballistic missile submarines are known as the V-boats because all the names start with the letter 'V'.  Name any ONE.

6.

Who was the first player to achieve a maximum 147 break in the World Snooker Championships at the Crucible in April 1983?  His hapless opponent was Terry Griffiths.

Cliff Thorburn

7.

Give a year in the life of the sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

8.

Of the 22 members of the Order of Merit two are former Prime Ministers but neither is from the UK. Name ONE of them.

Go back to Round 2 questions without answers

ROUND 3 - Hidden theme

1.

Who has established The Silver Line, a telephone helpline offering advice and friendship to lonely older people?

Esther Rantzen

2.

The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols has been broadcast on radio every Christmas Eve since 1928 (except 1930) from which venue?

King’s College, Cambridge

3.

Which singer-songwriter has had two critically acclaimed and commercially successful albums Wanted on Voyage (2014) and Staying at Tamara’s (2018)?

George Ezra

4.

Who, at the age of 19 years and 45 days, has been the youngest ever All Black New Zealand rugby player?

5.

Which musician, the sixth recipient of the Gershwin Prize, is commonly nicknamed the 'Piano Man'?

Billy Joel

6.

Which Birmingham born poet, musician, actor and playwright declined an OBE in 2003 commenting “…no way Mr Blair, no way Mrs Queen. I am profoundly anti-empire”?

Benjamin Zephaniah

7.

Born the son of the Irish cleric Faithful Teate he later became Poet Laureate from 1692-1715.  He rewrote King Lear to give it a happy ending and also wrote the words for While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night.  Who was he?

Nahum Tate

8.

The 1967 Four Yorkshiremen sketch features four ageing successful Yorshiremen reminiscing on their humble origins and trying to outdo one another with increasingly unlikely tales of childhood deprivation and hardship.  It was reprised in a 1989 Comic Relief book under the title The Good Old Days with the four characters named in the script.  One was called Josiah.  Name any ONE of the other three.

(one of) Joshua Obadiah Ezekiel

Theme: Each answer contains the name of one of the Old Testament books...

Esther, Kings, Ezra, Jonah, Joel, Zephaniah, Nahum, Joshua, Obadiah, and Ezekiel

Go back to Round 3 questions without answers

ROUND 4 - 'Tim's theme'

All the answers are connected by a common theme.

Noting that his round last year on 'A Trip Through the Scottish Borders' was given a thumbs down, Tim has decided to aim higher.

1.

What is the common name of the tree Alnus glutinosa.  The dry timber was used for making charcoal and clogs.  Under water the wood is very durable and was used for deep foundations of buildings including the Rialto Bridge in Venice.

Alder

2.

Which actor who died in 2005 played Minister of Defence Sir Frederick Gray in six James Bond movies?

Geoffrey Keen

3.

Which actress appeared in the BBC series Bleak House (2005) and Great Expectations (2011) and currently plays Jean Milburn in the Netflix series Sex Education?

Gillian Anderson

4.

The MP for Peterborough has trodden in the same pile of doodoo as Chris Huhne and is awaiting sentencing for perverting the course of justice.  Her surname is Onasanya.  What is her forename?

Fiona

5.

What is the name of the island surrounded by the first statutory marine conservation area?  It is also the name of a shipping forecast area.

Lundy

6.

What is the name given to a flat cake of oatmeal, barley or peasemeal baked on a griddle?

Bannock

7.

Which semi precious stone, a smoky, yellow or wine coloured quartz is often used as decoration on kilt pins and the handles of skean dhus?

Cairngorm

8.

Which name connects at least eight UK rivers, a former county and a peerage (now extinct) conferred on a British Prime Minister?

Avon

Theme: Each answer contains the name of a Scottish Munro mountain...

Ben Alder, Mount Keen, Sgurr nan Gillean, Sgurr Fiona, Maoile Lunndaidh, Cairn Bannock, Cairn Gorm and Ben Avon

Go back to Round 4 questions without answers

ROUND 5 - 'Mike H's theme'

Mike H’s Latin American and South American Pot Pourri - Mike has been to most of these places in his career

1.

Which was the first country in the world to abolish its military?

(on Dec 1st 1948 by President Jose Figueres Ferrer after victory in the civil war)

2.

Who was the fourth Latin American and first Colombian to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature?

(in 1982)

3.

In which capital city is the longest continuously operating university in the Americas?

(since May 12th 1551 by Charles V’s royal decree)

4.

Which two countries fought what became known as 'The Football War following border tensions exacerbated by a World Cup qualifying eliminator in 1970?

El Salvador and Honduras

5.

The seventh largest island in the West Indies is the Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth) formerly known as the Isla de Pinos (Isle of Pines).  It is part of which country?

6.

Spanish and Guarani are the official languages of which country?

Paraguay

7.

The spectacular Iguazu Falls (82 m high, 2.7 km wide) are in the national parks of which two countries?

Argentina Brazil

8.

The Fray Bentos brand of corned beef is now owned by Baxters.  Fray Bentos is the capital of the Rio Negro department in which country?

Go back to Round 5 questions without answers

ROUND 6 - 'Body Parts'

All answers contain a part of the human body, sometimes as part of a longer word

1.

This company first developed its most famous product in 1958 although its forerunners began in 1941.  In 2015 it became acclaimed as the world's most powerful brand and by this stage had produced 600 billion units over its history.  Can you name the company?

2.

This 30 hectare island is found in the British Virgin Islands north of Virgin Gorda.  It is privately owned by the world's 388th richest man who usually resides there too, and operates it as a resort for the rich and famous.  What is the name of this island?

3.

Which song originally released in 1971 by The Who then covered in 2003 by Limp Bizkit contains the following lyrics: “No one knows what it's like to feel these feelings, Like I do, and I blame you! No one bites back as hard on their anger.”?

4.

This railway station in Tokyo is the world's busiest with an average of 3.5 million passengers and 20,000 trains a day.  What is it called?

5.

The Arabs defeated the Byzantine Empire in 636 as they swept out of Arabia bringing Islam with them under the Rashidun Caliphate in a series of engagements that lasted six days.  By what name is this battle known?

6.

What word is common to the following: a friar of a strict group of Franciscan monks, a breed of fancy pigeons, and a small monkey often used in films and television?

7.

What word is common to the following: a fictional sub-aquatic town, the nickname of a US state department located near the Potomac River, and three English villages containing the words 'Happy', 'Boggy', and'Pratt's' respectively?

Bottom

8.

Name the former English test cricketer born in 1970 whose father and grandfather both played cricket for the West Indies.

Go back to Round 6 questions without answers

ROUND 7 - 'Society leaders'

Every answer contains the name of an eminent scientist who has also held the office of President of the Royal Society - they are in chronological order

1.

What appeared on the reverse side of the British farthing from 1937 until its abolition as legal tender in 1960?

The wren

2.

The granddaughter of Nobel Physics laureate Max Born, she came fourth in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, but went on to greater things in the musical world.  Who is she?

Olivia Newton-John

3.

What term first appeared in print in 1975 to describe a tribe of young people whose most popular social venues included the White Horse pub in Fulham and the Admiral Codrington in Chelsea?

Sloane Ranger

4.

Which 2013 film starred Emma Thompson as P L Travers and Tom Hanks as Walt Disney?

Saving Mr Banks

5.

Who represented Tennessee in the US House of Representatives 1827-31 and 1833-35?  John Wayne portrayed him in a film of 1960.

Davy Crockett

6.

Which New Zealand born cricketer was the highest paid player in the Indian Premier League in 2017 and was acquitted of affray in 2018?

Ben Stokes

7.

Which golfer, who died in 2018, is the only man to win the same post-1945 major three times in succession?

Peter Thomson

8.

Who was the 19th US President from 1877-1881 despite losing the popular vote and following a disputed Electoral College vote?

Rutherford B Hayes

The scientists were:

Christopher Wren (architect and astronomer), Isaac Newton (mathematician and physicist), Hans Sloane (physician and collector), Joseph Banks (naturalist and botanist), Humphry Davy (chemist and inventor), George Stokes (mathematician and physicist), William Thomson (mathematical physicist) (and Joseph Thomson (physicist)), and Ernest Rutherford (physicist and reluctant chemist)

Go back to Round 7 questions without answers

ROUND 8 - Blockbuster Bingo

Pick your own question according to the first letters of the words in the answers

1.

GH

The theory that The Earth is not a collection of independent mechanisms but a single living organism was proposed by scientist James Lovelock (who will celebrate his hundredth birthday this year).  Its name was suggested by William Golding.  What is the theory called?

Gaia Hypothesis

2.

GV

What is the name for poetry characterized by pithy expression of sententious or weighty maxims.  A group of these poets existed in Greece in the 6th Century BC.

Gnomic Verse

3.

 LSC

Travelling along the St. Lawrence Seaway between Lake Huron and Lake Erie near to Detroit you come across a smaller lake, but still sizeable at 1,100 square kilometres, considerably larger than any British lake.  It is known for its extremely shallow nature with an average depth of just 11 feet.  Can you name it?

4.

OHW

The Great Siege of Malta in 1565 and the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 are part of which conflict?

5.

PC

This popular attraction located in Derbyshire is also known locally as 'The Devil's Arse'.  How is it more usually known?

Peak Cavern

6.

PNTAB

This top 10 album from 1990 by a Manchester band has a title that alludes to a less than angelic lifestyle of its members.  What is it called?

7.

RMO

Can you give the name of the dish that consists of bull's testicles that have been peeled, coated in flour, seasoned and then deep-fried?

8.

SF

This financial term arose out of Royal Navy slang denoting refuse fat, the sale of which, usually to tallow makers, was considered a cook's perk.  Can you name it?

9.

SN

Sociopathic criminals Doug and Dinsdale Piranha who employed a combination of violence and sarcasm to intimidate the London underworld and bring the city to its knees were themselves terrorised by a giant imaginary animal (according to Monty Python).  How was this animal known?

10.

U

This is a movement in the Church of Rome that favours the centralised authority and influence of the pope, as opposed to local independence.  The name is derived from Latin and was formerly applied to a non-Italians elected pope who came from beyond the Alps.

Go back to Round 8 questions without answers