ROUND 1 - Pairs

1.

Who married Lettice in 1941 in a ceremony where the guard of honour was provided by two lines of cardboard penguins?

2.

What stroke of luck befell Violet Jessop on 14th April 1912 and 21st November 1916?

3.

Which musician recorded Ornithology in 1946 in collaboration with trumpeter Benny Harris?

4.

The album Amarok, released in 1990, is the 13th album by which multi-instrumentalist whose landmark first album was released in 1973?  It incorporated a hidden message in Morse code to 'RB' that told the recipient to go forth and multiply.

5.

Which composer, nicknamed the 'Emancipator of Dissonance', suffered from triskaidekaphobia and, somewhat spookily, died on Friday 13th July 1951 at the age of 76 – a number whose digits also add up to 13?

6.

By what name is J S Bach’s work Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht (Be still, stop chattering), that tells of an addiction, better known?

7.

Which Briton was the third female recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1964 and the second woman to receive the Order of Merit?  She confirmed the structure of penicillin, vitamin B12 and insulin.

8.

What surname is shared by a Nobel Physics laureate who discovered the first subatomic particle, and the first British scientist to be elevated to the House of Lords?

Go to Round 1 questions with answers

ROUND 2 - Hidden theme

1.

Which novel of 1749 features the eponymous character, his lover Lady Belladona, his half-brother Blifil, Sophia Western, and Squire Allworthy?  The 1963 film adaptation won the Best Picture Oscar.

2.

Who wrote the novel American Psycho?

3.

The death of which famously taciturn US President caused Dorothy Parker to say "How could they tell?"?

4.

Which song of 1968 contains the lyric:

"Who finds the money when you pay the rent
Did you think that money was Heaven sent?"?

5.

Which Ivy League university is in Ithaca, New York state?  John Cleese has taught there since 1999.

6.

What is the name of the Irish author, a pioneer of so-called ‘chick-lit’, who has penned titles such as Watermelon and Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married?  She is a regular guest on Strictly Come Dancing – It Takes Two.

7.

What was the middle name of the person whose death in 1876 by a river in Montana was claimed to have been caused by, amongst others, Rain-in-the-Face, Flat Lip, and Buffalo Calf Road Woman?

8.

Who is captain of the England women's cricket team?

Sp.

What four-word phrase, coined during the early days of computer programming, can also be used to refer to any decision-making systems where failure to make right decisions with precise, accurate data could lead to wrong, nonsensical results.

Go to Round 2 questions with answers

ROUND 3 - Pairs

1.

Named after a famous coach with Italian heritage, what is the name of the Super Bowl trophy?

2.

Named after the Governor general of Canada at the time it was first awarded what is the name of the championship trophy awarded to the NHL play-off winners?

3.

This significant composer died in 1809.  Alas, soon after burial, his skull was stolen by a phrenologist.  It was only reunited with the rest of the body in 1954.  The head had been replaced with that of another person in the interim, such that the tomb in Eisenstadt now contains one body and two skulls.  Who was the composer?

4.

This significant artist died on a visit to France in 1828.  When his native country asked for his repatriation in 1899, the tomb in Bordeaux was found to contain two bodies.  Worse, there was only one head.  It was impossible to work out who was who, thus the tomb in the church of San Antonio de La Florida (whose frescoes he had painted) has two skeletons and one skull.  Who was the artist?

5.

There are five candidates for the Labour party deputy leadership.  Angela Rayner is the runaway favourite and Richard Burgon is the joke candidate.  Name one of the three other candidates.

6.

Following the election of Lindsey Hoyle as a speaker of the House of Commons, three deputy speakers were elected in January.  Name one of them.

7.

The German city of Koblenz, (whose name is derived from the Latin word 'confluentes') sits at the confluence of 2 major rivers.  Name them

8.

Currently famous for the Wu-flu, the city of Wuhan (whose name is partially helpful here) sits at the conference of two major rivers.  Name them.

Go to Round 3 questions with answers

ROUND 4 - Pairs

1.

Which author recently wrote Big Sky which sees the return of Jackson Brodie?

2.

Apparently the highest paid actress in the world since 2018 who plays the part of JoJo Rabbit's mother in the recent film of the same name?

3.

The composer of Hello Dolly and Mame died a short time ago with fulsome obituaries in the better papers.  What was his surname?

4.

The musical Gypsy has just been put on at the Royal Exchange.  The words and lyrics are by Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim.  What is the surname of the composer of the music?  The composer also wrote the music for Funny Girl.

5.

The girl' s name Stacey is the diminutive of which name popular in Eastern Europe?

6.

Lola is the diminutive of which name?

7.

Blue Remembered Hills by Rosemary Sutcliff and The Wind's Twelve Quarters by Ursula Le Guin are books with titles taken from poems by which author?

8.

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman, In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck and Eyeless in Gaza by Aldous Huxley are all books with titles taken from poems by which author?

Go to Round 4 questions with answers

ROUND 5 - 'A Buggy round'

Each answer contains the name of an insect which can be seen on the written page but not necessarily heard by the ear

1.

Which member of the post-Impressionist school, born 1864 died 1901, painted La Blanchisseuse which sold for $22 million at Christies in 2005?

2.

Mentioned in the book of Job this animal is thought to be a hippopotamus.  The word is used to describe a great beast or something huge or gigantic.  What is it?

3.

What is the name of the 1988 film directed by Tim Burton in which the plot concerns a recently deceased couple who haunt the house to try dislodge the new owners.  In order to do so they employ a miscreant poltergeist.

4.

John McConnell added £59 billion on November 19 to the other promises made in the Labour manifesto to the delight of which people represented by a pressure group formed in 2015?

5.

In the play Macbeth what is the name of Banquo's son?

6.

(This insect is in French)  What is the name of the stock character in old Italian comedy dressed in the black costume of the Spanish don and characterised as a boastful coward?

7.

Which Austrian born actor played the Warsaw Concerto in the film Dangerous Moonlight?  He also played in the Life and Death of Colonel Blimp and The Red Shoes.

8.

Which character, whose first appearance in film was in 1940, was appointed as a conscience to the film's title character.

Go to Round 5 questions with answers

ROUND 6 - Pairs

1.

Where is the location of the referees who monitor the VAR system during Premier league games?

2.

The VAR officials can monitor penalty incidents, offsides, red card incidents and which other type of incident, which doesn't directly involve an infringement of the rules and can occur anywhere on the pitch?

3.

Which name for a group of elementary particles is the same as the smallest Greek coin which had the value of 1/100th of a drachma?

4.

The existence of which elementary particle was postulated in 1930 but the particle itself wasn't discovered until 1956?

5.

Silvio Berlusconi is the president of which political party in Italy?

6.

The German government at the moment is a coalition between the CDU, CSU and which other party, which has consistently been one of the 2 largest parties in Germany since the war?

7.

There are 4 versions of the original Magna Carta still in existence.  One is in Lincoln Cathedral, 2 are in the British library.  Where is the 4th?

8.

What is at the centre of the Mappa Mundi held in Hereford Cathedral?

Go to Round 6 questions with answers

ROUND 7 - Pairs

1.

Which former holder of the Order of Merit and recipient of a Nobel Peace Prize said "Courageous people do not fear forgiving"?

2.

Described as the 'Bad boy of fin-de-siècle London' which artist currently has a major exhibition at Tate Britain opening on 4th March?

3.

4.

Which film won the most awards at the recent BAFTA ceremony?

5.

Which country derives its name from Saint Christopher and the Spanish for 'Our Lady of the Snows'?

6.

Which African country, comprising an island region and a mainland region, lies on both sides of the equator, but not actually on it?  A new capital, Ciudad de la Paz, is due to be completed in 2020.

7.

Which ingredient is added to Bechamel to make Mornay sauce?

8.

Sauce hollandaise consists of butter, egg yolks and which other ingredient?

Go to Round 7 questions with answers

ROUND 8 - Pairs

1.

Which metropolitan area in Africa with a population of about 4,000,000 is the largest in the world not bordering a body of water?

2.

After Mongolia (with two people per km²) the country with the next lowest population density is in Africa.  This country, where people drive on the left, gained independence in 1990.  Where is it?

3.

What comes fourth in this chronological list: James, David, Theresa,…?

4.

(Due to personal circumstances there are technically two possible answers  to this question)

Similarly what’s next in this chronological list:  McCaulay, Sheffield, May,…?

5.

Multiply the number of Rachmaninov piano concertos by the number of Shostakovich Symphonies.  What number do you get?

6.

Multiply the number of Mahler Symphonies (including the unfinished one, for exclusion of doubt) by the number of piano concertos written by Beethoven.  What number do you get?

7.

The compounds of which element, number 48, are used to make a number of different pigments; most notably vibrant yellows, oranges and reds, but also green and brown?

8.

The compounds of which element, atomic number 25, are used to make a number of different pigments; most importantly violet and blue, but also grey, brown and black?

Sp1

Who wrote The Gathering which won the Booker Prize in 2007?

Sp2

What is the capital of the Pakistani state of Punjab.  It is the second largest city in Pakistan by population.

Sp3

The much mentioned Robinson College, Cambridge was supported by an initial donation of £17 million from Sir George Robinson.  In what type of business did he initially make his money?

Sp4

A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh, Beneath the Bleeding by Val McDermid and Consider Phlebas by Ian M Banks are all books with titles that are quotations from poems by which author?

Go to Round 8 questions with answers

ROUND 1 - Pairs

1.

Who married Lettice in 1941 in a ceremony where the guard of honour was provided by two lines of cardboard penguins?

Allen Lane

(the founder of Penguin books)

2.

What stroke of luck befell Violet Jessop on 14th April 1912 and 21st November 1916?

She survived the sinking of both RMS Titanic and its sister ship HMHS Britannic

3.

Which musician recorded Ornithology in 1946 in collaboration with trumpeter Benny Harris?

Charlie 'Bird' Parker

4.

The album Amarok, released in 1990, is the 13th album by which multi-instrumentalist whose landmark first album was released in 1973?  It incorporated a hidden message in Morse code to 'RB' that told the recipient to go forth and multiply.

Mike Oldfield

('RB' is Richard Branson)

5.

Which composer, nicknamed the 'Emancipator of Dissonance', suffered from triskaidekaphobia and, somewhat spookily, died on Friday 13th July 1951 at the age of 76 – a number whose digits also add up to 13?

Arnold Schoenberg

6.

By what name is J S Bach’s work Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht (Be still, stop chattering), that tells of an addiction, better known?

The Coffee Cantata

7.

Which Briton was the third female recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1964 and the second woman to receive the Order of Merit?  She confirmed the structure of penicillin, vitamin B12 and insulin.

Dorothy Hodgkin

8.

What surname is shared by a Nobel Physics laureate who discovered the first subatomic particle, and the first British scientist to be elevated to the House of Lords?

Thomson

(J J Thomson discovered the electron, and William Thomson was ennobled as Lord Kelvin)

ROUND 2 - Hidden theme

1.

Which novel of 1749 features the eponymous character, his lover Lady Belladona, his half-brother Blifil, Sophia Western, and Squire Allworthy?  The 1963 film adaptation won the Best Picture Oscar.

Tom Jones

2.

Who wrote the novel American Psycho?

Bret Easton Ellis

3.

The death of which famously taciturn US President caused Dorothy Parker to say "How could they tell?"?

Calvin Coolidge

4.

Which song of 1968 contains the lyric:

"Who finds the money when you pay the rent
Did you think that money was Heaven sent?"?

Lady Madonna

5.

Which Ivy League university is in Ithaca, New York state?  John Cleese has taught there since 1999.

Cornell

6.

What is the name of the Irish author, a pioneer of so-called ‘chick-lit’, who has penned titles such as Watermelon and Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married?  She is a regular guest on Strictly Come Dancing – It Takes Two.

Marian Keyes

7.

What was the middle name of the person whose death in 1876 by a river in Montana was claimed to have been caused by, amongst others, Rain-in-the-Face, Flat Lip, and Buffalo Calf Road Woman?

8.

Who is captain of the England women's cricket team?

Heather Knight

Sp.

What four-word phrase, coined during the early days of computer programming, can also be used to refer to any decision-making systems where failure to make right decisions with precise, accurate data could lead to wrong, nonsensical results.

'Garbage in, garbage out'

Theme: Each answer contains the name of a performer a James Bond film theme....

Tom Jones, Sheena Easton, Rita Coolige, Madonna, Chris Cornell, Alicia Keyes, Louis Armstrong, Gladys Knight and Garbage.

Go back to Round 2 questions without answers

ROUND 3 - Pairs

1.

Named after a famous coach with Italian heritage, what is the name of the Super Bowl trophy?

The Vince Lombardi trophy

2.

Named after the Governor general of Canada at the time it was first awarded what is the name of the championship trophy awarded to the NHL play-off winners?

The (Lord) Stanley cup

3.

This significant composer died in 1809.  Alas, soon after burial, his skull was stolen by a phrenologist.  It was only reunited with the rest of the body in 1954.  The head had been replaced with that of another person in the interim, such that the tomb in Eisenstadt now contains one body and two skulls.  Who was the composer?

Josef Haydn

(a similar fate befell the composer’s lesser known brother, Michael, also a composer)

4.

This significant artist died on a visit to France in 1828.  When his native country asked for his repatriation in 1899, the tomb in Bordeaux was found to contain two bodies.  Worse, there was only one head.  It was impossible to work out who was who, thus the tomb in the church of San Antonio de La Florida (whose frescoes he had painted) has two skeletons and one skull.  Who was the artist?

Francisco Goya

(it’s likely that he too was a victim of phrenology)

5.

There are five candidates for the Labour party deputy leadership.  Angela Rayner is the runaway favourite and Richard Burgon is the joke candidate.  Name one of the three other candidates.

(one from)

Rosenna Allin-Khan,

Ian Murray,

Dawn Butler

6.

Following the election of Lindsey Hoyle as a speaker of the House of Commons, three deputy speakers were elected in January.  Name one of them.

(one from)

Eleanor Laing,

Rosie Winterton,

Nigel Evans

7.

The German city of Koblenz, (whose name is derived from the Latin word 'confluentes') sits at the confluence of 2 major rivers.  Name them

Rhine and Mosel

8.

Currently famous for the Wu-flu, the city of Wuhan (whose name is partially helpful here) sits at the conference of two major rivers.  Name them.

Yangtze and Han

Go back to Round 3 questions without answers

ROUND 4 - Pairs

1.

Which author recently wrote Big Sky which sees the return of Jackson Brodie?

Kate Atkinson

2.

Apparently the highest paid actress in the world since 2018 who plays the part of JoJo Rabbit's mother in the recent film of the same name?

Scarlett Johansson

3.

The composer of Hello Dolly and Mame died a short time ago with fulsome obituaries in the better papers.  What was his surname?

Herman

4.

The musical Gypsy has just been put on at the Royal Exchange.  The words and lyrics are by Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim.  What is the surname of the composer of the music?  The composer also wrote the music for Funny Girl.

 Styne

5.

The girl' s name Stacey is the diminutive of which name popular in Eastern Europe?

Anastasia

6.

Lola is the diminutive of which name?

Dolores

7.

Blue Remembered Hills by Rosemary Sutcliff and The Wind's Twelve Quarters by Ursula Le Guin are books with titles taken from poems by which author?

A E Housman

8.

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman, In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck and Eyeless in Gaza by Aldous Huxley are all books with titles taken from poems by which author?

John Milton

Go back to Round 4 questions without answers

ROUND 5 - 'A Buggy round'

Each answer contains the name of an insect which can be seen on the written page but not necessarily heard by the ear

1.

Which member of the post-Impressionist school, born 1864 died 1901, painted La Blanchisseuse which sold for $22 million at Christies in 2005?

Toulouse-Lautrec

2.

Mentioned in the book of Job this animal is thought to be a hippopotamus.  The word is used to describe a great beast or something huge or gigantic.  What is it?

Behemoth

3.

What is the name of the 1988 film directed by Tim Burton in which the plot concerns a recently deceased couple who haunt the house to try dislodge the new owners.  In order to do so they employ a miscreant poltergeist.

Beetlejuice

4.

John McConnell added £59 billion on November 19 to the other promises made in the Labour manifesto to the delight of which people represented by a pressure group formed in 2015?

The WASPIS

5.

In the play Macbeth what is the name of Banquo's son?

Fleance

6.

(This insect is in French)  What is the name of the stock character in old Italian comedy dressed in the black costume of the Spanish don and characterised as a boastful coward?

Scaramouche

7.

Which Austrian born actor played the Warsaw Concerto in the film Dangerous Moonlight?  He also played in the Life and Death of Colonel Blimp and The Red Shoes.

Anton Walbrook

8.

Which character, whose first appearance in film was in 1940, was appointed as a conscience to the film's title character.

Jiminy Cricket

Go back to Round 5 questions without answers

ROUND 6 - Pairs

1.

Where is the location of the referees who monitor the VAR system during Premier league games?

Stockley Park

2.

The VAR officials can monitor penalty incidents, offsides, red card incidents and which other type of incident, which doesn't directly involve an infringement of the rules and can occur anywhere on the pitch?

Mistaken identity

3.

Which name for a group of elementary particles is the same as the smallest Greek coin which had the value of 1/100th of a drachma?

Lepton

4.

The existence of which elementary particle was postulated in 1930 but the particle itself wasn't discovered until 1956?

Neutrino

5.

Silvio Berlusconi is the president of which political party in Italy?

Forza Italia

6.

The German government at the moment is a coalition between the CDU, CSU and which other party, which has consistently been one of the 2 largest parties in Germany since the war?

SPD

(Sozialistichdemokratische Partei Deutschlands)

7.

There are 4 versions of the original Magna Carta still in existence.  One is in Lincoln Cathedral, 2 are in the British library.  Where is the 4th?

Salisbury Cathedral

8.

What is at the centre of the Mappa Mundi held in Hereford Cathedral?

Jerusalem

Go back to Round 6 questions without answers

ROUND 7 - Pairs

1.

Which former holder of the Order of Merit and recipient of a Nobel Peace Prize said "Courageous people do not fear forgiving"?

Nelson Mandela

2.

Described as the 'Bad boy of fin-de-siècle London' which artist currently has a major exhibition at Tate Britain opening on 4th March?

Aubrey Beardsley

3.

Billie Eilish

4.

Which film won the most awards at the recent BAFTA ceremony?

1917

5.

Which country derives its name from Saint Christopher and the Spanish for 'Our Lady of the Snows'?

Saint Kitts and Nevis

6.

Which African country, comprising an island region and a mainland region, lies on both sides of the equator, but not actually on it?  A new capital, Ciudad de la Paz, is due to be completed in 2020.

Equatorial Guinea

7.

Which ingredient is added to Bechamel to make Mornay sauce?

Cheese

8.

Sauce hollandaise consists of butter, egg yolks and which other ingredient?

Lemon juice

(accept vinegar)

Go back to Round 7 questions without answers

ROUND 8 - Pairs

1.

Which metropolitan area in Africa with a population of about 4,000,000 is the largest in the world not bordering a body of water?

Johannesburg

2.

After Mongolia (with two people per km²) the country with the next lowest population density is in Africa.  This country, where people drive on the left, gained independence in 1990.  Where is it?

Namibia

3.

What comes fourth in this chronological list: James, David, Theresa,…?

Alexander

(proper first names of PMs; yes, Gordon was actually James Brown)

4.

(Due to personal circumstances there are technically two possible answers  to this question)

Similarly what’s next in this chronological list:  McCaulay, Sheffield, May,…?

Symonds

(accept Wheeler; these are the family/maiden names of the most recent prime ministerial escorts)

5.

Multiply the number of Rachmaninov piano concertos by the number of Shostakovich Symphonies.  What number do you get?

60

(4 x 15 = 60)

6.

Multiply the number of Mahler Symphonies (including the unfinished one, for exclusion of doubt) by the number of piano concertos written by Beethoven.  What number do you get?

50

(10 x 5 = 50)

7.

The compounds of which element, number 48, are used to make a number of different pigments; most notably vibrant yellows, oranges and reds, but also green and brown?

Cadmium

8.

The compounds of which element, atomic number 25, are used to make a number of different pigments; most importantly violet and blue, but also grey, brown and black?

Manganese

Sp1

Who wrote The Gathering which won the Booker Prize in 2007?

Ann Enright

Sp2

What is the capital of the Pakistani state of Punjab.  It is the second largest city in Pakistan by population.

Lahore

Sp3

The much mentioned Robinson College, Cambridge was supported by an initial donation of £17 million from Sir George Robinson.  In what type of business did he initially make his money?

Radio and TV Rentals

Sp4

A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh, Beneath the Bleeding by Val McDermid and Consider Phlebas by Ian M Banks are all books with titles that are quotations from poems by which author?

T S Eliot

Go back to Round 8 questions without answers