ROUND 1 - Announced theme - 'Lucky Numbers'

A number appears or is obscured in each answer

1.

Boron is a chemical element with the symbol B and which atomic number?

2.

Which isotope of carbon is used in the radioactive dating of objects containing wood or materials made from plants?

3.

Adam and the Ants had their 3rd British Number One hit with which song in the Summer of 1982?

4.

The lyrics of which 1979 song which reached number 3 in the charts begin with the line: "Why don't you get back into bed?" repeated 10 times.

5.

Give the missing 7 letter word in this quotation, the opening line of the poem Cargoes by John Masefield: “Quinquireme of ??????? from distant Ophir, Rowing home to haven in sunny Palestine”.

6.

The painter Augustus John and his sister Gwen (an equally talented painter and lover of Ethel, sorry Auguste, Rodin) were both born in which delightful Welsh seaside town?

7.

Set in Oregon in 1850 but based ultimately on an Ancient Roman legend, which 1954 musical film is particularly known for its imaginative choreography, which makes dance numbers out of such mundane frontier pursuits as chopping wood and raising a barn?

8.

In which 1957 film do all the main characters remain nameless until the very end when Number 8 tells Number 9 that he is Davis and Number 9 replies that he is Mc Cardle?

Sp1

“Bat, bi, hiru, lau, bost.”  In which European language am I counting from 1 to 5?

Sp2

(A special BOGOF offer available only to those of you who speak at least two EU languages)

Awarded the Iron Cross for bravery in the First World War which German soldier later became an artist?  Noted for his ruthless and harshly realistic depictions of life in the Weimar Republic and the brutality of war, he joined forces with George Grosz and Max Beckmann to found a new art movement known in English as 'New Objectivity'.

Go to Round 1 questions with answers

ROUND 2 - Pairs

1.

Trench coats worn by British soldiers of all ranks in both World Wars were made and supplied by which company founded by John Emary in 1851 at 46 Regent Street, London?  The company's name is the Latin for 'watershield'.

2.

Which upmarket department store in Great Marlborough Street, London is famous for its floral and graphic prints?  In the 1890s it encouraged designers of the Arts and Crafts movement to such an extent that in Italy it gave its name to the style that we know as Art Nouveau.

3.

4.

What is the name of the low mountain range located in western Germany and eastern Belgium that shares its name with a notable Parisian landmark?

5.

Which Commonwealth country derives its name from the Spanish names given to its two main islands?  In English the names mean Ancient and Bearded.

6.

Which Country and Western music singer performed guest vocals on the KLF's 1991 hit Justified and Ancient?

7.

Which group of people spent their first night huddled together on the floor of a tiny church hall in Chester-Le -Street and their last night in the more hospitable surroundings of the Edgware Rotary Club.  They reached their destination the following afternoon after 26 days on the road.

8.

In which Bedfordshire town on the river Lea did the Jarrow Marchers spend the night two nights before reaching Edgware?  They received their warmest welcome here.  The locals were proud of their Socialist history and for the part they had played in the memorable headline of 1919 'Town Hall Burnt Down During Peace Day Celebrations'.  This happened when a group of disabled ex-Servicemen chanting "Don't pity us, give us work" were so infuriated by a patronising speech by the Lord Mayor that they barricaded him into the Town Hall and set fire to it whilst singing "We'll Keep the Home Fires Burning".

Sp1

By what name is the fictional character Jimmy Gatz better known.

Sp2

How is the fictional character Bertha Mason more commonly known?

Go to Round 2 questions with answers

ROUND 3 - 'Sexual Ealing'

A Round of London lyrics

1.

Give the next line in this hit from the charts in 1978:

“I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand,

Walkin’ through the streets of Soho in the rain,

He was lookin’ for the place called Lee Ho Fooks,

For to get a big dish of beef chow mein”.

2.

“I may be right, I may be wrong,

But I’m perfectly willing to swear,

That when you turned and smiled at me......"

What line comes next in this popular song from 1939?

3.

Session musician Ralph Ravenscroft did it in the 1970s.  Bob Holness of Blockbusters fame emphatically did NOT do it.  What?

4.

Glaswegian rock band The Fratellis had a number 5 hit in the UK charts in 2006 with which song about a boisterous evening spent in the company of an exotic dancer?  It quickly became an anthem heard at football grounds all over Germany and Holland although it was originally adopted by fans both at Celtic Park and at Stamford Bridge.

5.

Also the name of a celebrated beer what is the common name for the small flower with the official name Saxifraga urbium?  The flower quickly provided shoots of recovery on bombed out sites during the London Blitz and this symbolic resilience was celebrated in a 1941 song of the same name written by Noel Coward.

6.

Which dance derived its name and inspiration from a song in a 1937 London based musical?  It soon became a wildly popular craze in both America and Europe.  The Germans loved it despite the Nazis describing it as a "work of Jewish mischief and animalistic hopping".  In Rome an embarrassed Mussolini fell over in the British embassy while trying to perform it despite having paid for an instructor to teach him the steps.

7.

What iconic west London dance and entertainment venue is missing from this list of Reasons To Be Cheerful (Part 3) compiled by Ian Dury and the Blockheads:

“Summer, Buddy Holly, the working folly,
Good golly, Miss Molly and boats
......????.............., the Bolshoi Ballet
Jump back in the alley and nanny goats."?

8.

Ending up more or less where we started off, which song from the 1986 EP Poguetry in Motion contains these lyrics:

“We watched our friends grow up together
And we saw them as they fell
Some of them fell into Heaven
Some of them fell into Hell”?

Sp1

“Into its great shadowed vault I go
Hail the Pentecostal morn.”

What is the popular name for the spectacularly ornate Catholic church which Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds celebrated with these lyrics in 1997?  It is officially called The Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and it stands close to the Victoria and Albert Museum in Knightsbridge.

Sp2

Which late 19th century ballad by Percy French waxes lyrical about the beauty of a certain part of Northern Ireland but begins with this line:

“Oh, Mary, this London's a wonderful sight
With people here working by day and by night
They don't sow potatoes nor barley nor wheat
But there's gangs of them diggin' for gold in the street”?

Go to Round 3 questions with answers

ROUND 4 - Offset pairs

1.

Which name connects songs by the following acts: The Rolling Stones, Kenny Rogers and The Kaiser Chiefs?

2.

Which 2019 Quenton Tarantino film stars Brad Pitt, Leonardo di Caprio and Margot Robbie?

3.

Tom Fletcher and Dougie Poynter have written a series of children’s books entitled The Dinosaur That Pooped Christmas, The Dinosaur That Pooped A Planet, etc.  Of which pop group are they members?

4.

Which Netflix Sci Fi/horror series, first aired in 2016 stars Winona Ryder as a mother whose son disappears from his home in a small town in Indiana?

5.

Which HBO crime series which first aired in 2014 and starred Matthew Mc Conaghey and Woody Harrelson in its first season concerns the pursuit of a serial killer over a period of 17 years?

6.

Which comedian/actor, formerly part of a comedy duo, wrote the children’s books The Night I Met Father Christmas and The Boy Who Made the World Disappear?

7.

Which British actress has played Natasha Roscoff on TV and starred in the films Baby Driver in 2018 and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society in 2018?

8.

What name connects songs by the following acts: Harry Belafonte, Credence Clearwater Revival and Danny Wilson?

Sp1

Who was the first grime artist to headline at Glastonbury?

Sp2

Which name connects Kenny Rogers and Little Richard?

Go to Round 4 questions with answers

ROUND 5 - Pairs

1.

This Korean made black comedy swept the board at the recent Oscars with 4 awards including one for its director and became the first foreign language film in Hollywood history to win the Best Picture award.  What is its English name?

2.

Renee Zellwegger won the Best Actress award at the recent Oscars for her portrayal of which former movie star and entertainer?

3.

4.

5.

After his recent State of the Union speech to Congress, Donald Trump made a seemingly discourteous gesture towards the Democratic House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi.  What was he accused of doing?

6.

How did House Speaker Nancy Pelosi respond to this apparent snub?

7.

Two part answer required:

Which Prince of Wales is said to have caught typhoid after swimming in the Thames which led to his untimely death?  Name him and the monarch's whose son he was.

8.

Two part answer required:

Which Prince of Wales was killed fighting for his father at the Battle of Tewkesbury?  Name him and the monarch's whose son he was.

Sp1

In the recently released film The Two Popes, two veteran Welsh actors portray Benedict XVI and the future Pope Francis.  Anthony Hopkins portrayed Benedict but who portrayed Francis (he was nominated for an award for this role in the Best Supporting Actor category at the recent Oscars)?

Sp2

Showing currently on Sky Atlantic and HBO, the TV drama series, The New Pope, features a fictional Pope Pius XIII who is in a coma and not thought to recover.  He is replaced in the meantime by a fictional Pope John Paul III played by veteran American actor, John Malkovich.  Which British actor portrays Pius XIII?

Go to Round 5 questions with answers

ROUND 6 - Announced theme

All answers begin with one of the two letter abbreviations for American States (any leading definite or indefinite article being ignored).

A: (The) Middlewood Way (Michigan)

1.

What 1983 film was the last to star Sean Connery as James Bond?  Co-stars included Kim Basinger and Rowan Atkinson, and the title was allegedly based on a remark by Sean Connery's wife about his return to the role of Bond.

2.

Originally the Fuller Building, this triangular 22-story, 285-foot tall steel-framed landmark building is located at 175 Fifth Avenue in the borough of Manhattan, New York City.  Give its popular name.

3.

Name the secret organisation in the Harry Potter series, founded by Albus Dumbledore to fight Lord Voldemort and his followers, the Death Eaters.  The organisation lends its name to the fifth book of the series, Harry Potter and the ......

4.

Described stingingly by The Irish Times as a "a work of unparalleled depravity", what was Iain Banks' first novel, published in 1984, concerning a psychopathic teenager living on a remote Scottish island?

5.

Name the ancient Chinese Military treatise dating roughly from the 5th century BC attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu ('Master Sun') and which inspired many military leaders including Mao Tse Tung and General 'Storming' Norman Swarzkopf.

6.

This 1969 British comedy and musical film directed by Richard Attenborough, had a cast including Maggie Smith, Dirk Bogarde, John Gielgud and John Mills among many other stars.  Name this somewhat subversive directorial debut.

7.

Name the Puccini (Ed: this should have read 'Verdi') opera which tells the tragic story of the licentious Duke of Mantua, and his hunch-backed court jester whose beautiful daughter Gilda he seduces.

8.

Which US mountain range with a northeast–southwest orientation runs for about 400 miles (640 km) from north-central Pennsylvania, through western Maryland and eastern West Virginia to south western Virginia?

Sp.

What word can mean both a unit of weight in the apothecaries' system, equal to 20 grains and a hesitation with regard to wrong doing?

Go to Round 6 questions with answers

ROUND 7 - Pairs

1.

Since February 2017 where can you read the slogan “Democracy Dies in Darkness” on a daily basis?

2.

Trade Unionist Eugene V Debs campaigned on five occasions as a Socialist candidate for the presidency of the USA.  What was unique about his final campaign for the 1920 election?

3.

Whenever their paths meet which two football clubs, near neighbours and bitter rivals contest what in recent years has become humorously known as The Old Farm derby?

4.

Which two English football clubs contest the so-called A23 or M23 derby?  In terms of proximity it struggles to qualify as a true derby; nor is their rivalry traditional, appearing to date only from the 1970s.

5.

Which American physicist, who died in 2019, won the Nobel prize in 1969 for his work on the theory of elementary particles?  He was best known for his study of particle physics, the smallest parts that make up the universe and for introducing the word 'quark' (via James Joyce) into the world of science.

6.

“He was a great scientist but he spent a great deal of his effort generating anecdotes about himself”, this was Gell-Mann’s rather surly opinion of which fellow New Yorker and Nobel laureate?  By the time he died in 1988 this theoretical physicist had built up a reputation as one of the most famous and flamboyant scientists of the 20th century.

7.

Who wrote the 1985 novel Illywhacker which is narrated by the 139 year old Australian small time confidence trickster Herbert Badgery?

8.

Jack Crabb is the 111 year old American frontiersman and narrator of which 1964 novel by Thomas Berger?

Sp1

A recently released USA customs form was filled in and signed by which three men upon their arrival in Honolulu on 24th July 1969?

Sp2

Buzz Aldrin also recently released his travel expenses claim form for the same journey.  How much did he claim in additional travel expenses from Houston to the moon and back?

Go to Round 7 questions with answers

ROUND 8 - Given theme - 'Fr Megson's 50 Shades of Wahey'

1.

His first name was Pearl and he was a dentist.  Using his more macho second name and making no mention of dentistry, he also wrote popular adventure stories and in 1912 his novel Riders of the Purple Sage became a best seller.  Who was he?

2.

What is the title of the 51 foot long sculpture found standing outside Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport?  It was originally built by local apprentices and used as part of the International Garden Festival held in that city in 1984.

3.

You know that colour you get on your off-white sheets when you can’t sleep and spend the early morning crushing fleas?  Well, the stylish French have given us a word for this dark red or purple-brownish shade and funnily enough it is also their word for a flea.  What is it?

4.

In an emotional scene in this Puccini opera, the popular Humming Chorus is hummed off-stage as night falls and Madame Butterfly, her maid, Suzuki, and her baby keep vigil, awaiting (in vain) the return of her American husband.  What is his name and naval rank?

5.

The English name of which European country derives from the name given to it in the Venetian dialect in the 14th century?  In its own present day language it is called Crna Gora (pronounced 'Cerna Gora').

6.

Who became the first footballer to score a 'golden goal' in World Cup finals history when he did so in 1998 in extra time against Paraguay?

7.

The title of which 1974 novel by Tom Sharpe, a satirical look at the struggle between tradition and reform in a fictional college of Cambridge University, refers to the name given by the characters to a stroke caused by overeating?

8.

For the opening sequences of the film Blade Runner director Ridley Scott found inspiration for his vision of a dysfunctional Los Angeles of the future closer to home in the industrial landscape in and around which town in the north east of England?

Sp1

Fiskars is the oldest design business still operating in its native Finland.  Since 1967 it has sold over 1 billion pairs of scissors worldwide.  For their scissors to be truly iconic they have to have handles of which colour?

Sp2

What was designed in 1978 by Gilbert Baker and given its first outing that year at a downtown San Francisco parade?  The original handmade versions had a turquoise stripe representing 'Art' and a hot-pink stripe representing 'Sex'.  Sadly these colours had to be removed because they were hard to reproduce in mass production workshops.

Go to Round 8 questions with answers

ROUND 1 - Announced theme - 'Lucky Numbers'

A number appears or is obscured in each answer

1.

Boron is a chemical element with the symbol B and which atomic number?

5

2.

Which isotope of carbon is used in the radioactive dating of objects containing wood or materials made from plants?

Carbon 14

3.

Adam and the Ants had their 3rd British Number One hit with which song in the Summer of 1982?

Goody Two shoes

4.

The lyrics of which 1979 song which reached number 3 in the charts begin with the line: "Why don't you get back into bed?" repeated 10 times.

Reasons To Be Cheerful (Part 3)

(by Ian Dury and the Blockheads)

5.

Give the missing 7 letter word in this quotation, the opening line of the poem Cargoes by John Masefield: “Quinquireme of ??????? from distant Ophir, Rowing home to haven in sunny Palestine”.

Nineveh

6.

The painter Augustus John and his sister Gwen (an equally talented painter and lover of Ethel, sorry Auguste, Rodin) were both born in which delightful Welsh seaside town?

Tenby

7.

Set in Oregon in 1850 but based ultimately on an Ancient Roman legend, which 1954 musical film is particularly known for its imaginative choreography, which makes dance numbers out of such mundane frontier pursuits as chopping wood and raising a barn?

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

8.

In which 1957 film do all the main characters remain nameless until the very end when Number 8 tells Number 9 that he is Davis and Number 9 replies that he is Mc Cardle?

12 Angry Men

Sp1

“Bat, bi, hiru, lau, bost.”  In which European language am I counting from 1 to 5?

Basque

Sp2

(A special BOGOF offer available only to those of you who speak at least two EU languages)

Awarded the Iron Cross for bravery in the First World War which German soldier later became an artist?  Noted for his ruthless and harshly realistic depictions of life in the Weimar Republic and the brutality of war, he joined forces with George Grosz and Max Beckmann to found a new art movement known in English as 'New Objectivity'.

Otto Dix

ROUND 2 - Pairs

1.

Trench coats worn by British soldiers of all ranks in both World Wars were made and supplied by which company founded by John Emary in 1851 at 46 Regent Street, London?  The company's name is the Latin for 'watershield'.

Aquascutum

2.

Which upmarket department store in Great Marlborough Street, London is famous for its floral and graphic prints?  In the 1890s it encouraged designers of the Arts and Crafts movement to such an extent that in Italy it gave its name to the style that we know as Art Nouveau.

Liberty

(Liberty's store)

3.

The Palace of Luxembourg

4.

What is the name of the low mountain range located in western Germany and eastern Belgium that shares its name with a notable Parisian landmark?

The Eifel range

5.

Which Commonwealth country derives its name from the Spanish names given to its two main islands?  In English the names mean Ancient and Bearded.

Antigua and Barbuda

6.

Which Country and Western music singer performed guest vocals on the KLF's 1991 hit Justified and Ancient?

Tammy Wynette

7.

Which group of people spent their first night huddled together on the floor of a tiny church hall in Chester-Le -Street and their last night in the more hospitable surroundings of the Edgware Rotary Club.  They reached their destination the following afternoon after 26 days on the road.

The Jarrow Marchers

(The Jarrow Crusade)

8.

In which Bedfordshire town on the river Lea did the Jarrow Marchers spend the night two nights before reaching Edgware?  They received their warmest welcome here.  The locals were proud of their Socialist history and for the part they had played in the memorable headline of 1919 'Town Hall Burnt Down During Peace Day Celebrations'.  This happened when a group of disabled ex-Servicemen chanting "Don't pity us, give us work" were so infuriated by a patronising speech by the Lord Mayor that they barricaded him into the Town Hall and set fire to it whilst singing "We'll Keep the Home Fires Burning".

Luton

Sp1

By what name is the fictional character Jimmy Gatz better known.

Jay Gatsby

(accept 'The Great Gatsby')

Sp2

How is the fictional character Bertha Mason more commonly known?

Mrs Rochester

(in Jane Eyre)

Go back to Round 2 questions without answers

ROUND 3 - 'Sexual Ealing'

A Round of London lyrics

1.

Give the next line in this hit from the charts in 1978:

“I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand,

Walkin’ through the streets of Soho in the rain,

He was lookin’ for the place called Lee Ho Fooks,

For to get a big dish of beef chow mein”.

“AH – WOO Werewolves of London”

(by Warren Zevon - note to QMs: don’t penalise them if they omit the howl but tell them they must make a bloodcurdling howling noise before you can award the points)

2.

“I may be right, I may be wrong,

But I’m perfectly willing to swear,

That when you turned and smiled at me......"

What line comes next in this popular song from 1939?

A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square

3.

Session musician Ralph Ravenscroft did it in the 1970s.  Bob Holness of Blockbusters fame emphatically did NOT do it.  What?

Play the saxophone on Baker Street

(by Gerry Rafferty)

4.

Glaswegian rock band The Fratellis had a number 5 hit in the UK charts in 2006 with which song about a boisterous evening spent in the company of an exotic dancer?  It quickly became an anthem heard at football grounds all over Germany and Holland although it was originally adopted by fans both at Celtic Park and at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea Dagger

5.

Also the name of a celebrated beer what is the common name for the small flower with the official name Saxifraga urbium?  The flower quickly provided shoots of recovery on bombed out sites during the London Blitz and this symbolic resilience was celebrated in a 1941 song of the same name written by Noel Coward.

London Pride

6.

Which dance derived its name and inspiration from a song in a 1937 London based musical?  It soon became a wildly popular craze in both America and Europe.  The Germans loved it despite the Nazis describing it as a "work of Jewish mischief and animalistic hopping".  In Rome an embarrassed Mussolini fell over in the British embassy while trying to perform it despite having paid for an instructor to teach him the steps.

The Lambeth Walk

7.

What iconic west London dance and entertainment venue is missing from this list of Reasons To Be Cheerful (Part 3) compiled by Ian Dury and the Blockheads:

“Summer, Buddy Holly, the working folly,
Good golly, Miss Molly and boats
......????.............., the Bolshoi Ballet
Jump back in the alley and nanny goats."?

Hammersmith Palais

8.

Ending up more or less where we started off, which song from the 1986 EP Poguetry in Motion contains these lyrics:

“We watched our friends grow up together
And we saw them as they fell
Some of them fell into Heaven
Some of them fell into Hell”?

A Rainy Night in Soho

(Shane MacGowan and the Pogues)

Sp1

“Into its great shadowed vault I go
Hail the Pentecostal morn.”

What is the popular name for the spectacularly ornate Catholic church which Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds celebrated with these lyrics in 1997?  It is officially called The Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and it stands close to the Victoria and Albert Museum in Knightsbridge.

The Brompton Oratory

Sp2

Which late 19th century ballad by Percy French waxes lyrical about the beauty of a certain part of Northern Ireland but begins with this line:

“Oh, Mary, this London's a wonderful sight
With people here working by day and by night
They don't sow potatoes nor barley nor wheat
But there's gangs of them diggin' for gold in the street”?

The Mountains of Mourne

Go back to Round 3 questions without answers

ROUND 4 - Offset pairs

1.

Which name connects songs by the following acts: The Rolling Stones, Kenny Rogers and The Kaiser Chiefs?

Ruby

2.

Which 2019 Quenton Tarantino film stars Brad Pitt, Leonardo di Caprio and Margot Robbie?

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

3.

Tom Fletcher and Dougie Poynter have written a series of children’s books entitled The Dinosaur That Pooped Christmas, The Dinosaur That Pooped A Planet, etc.  Of which pop group are they members?

McFly

4.

Which Netflix Sci Fi/horror series, first aired in 2016 stars Winona Ryder as a mother whose son disappears from his home in a small town in Indiana?

Stranger Things

5.

Which HBO crime series which first aired in 2014 and starred Matthew Mc Conaghey and Woody Harrelson in its first season concerns the pursuit of a serial killer over a period of 17 years?

True Detective

6.

Which comedian/actor, formerly part of a comedy duo, wrote the children’s books The Night I Met Father Christmas and The Boy Who Made the World Disappear?

Ben Miller

7.

Which British actress has played Natasha Roscoff on TV and starred in the films Baby Driver in 2018 and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society in 2018?

Lily James

8.

What name connects songs by the following acts: Harry Belafonte, Credence Clearwater Revival and Danny Wilson?

Mary

(Mary’s Boy Child , Proud Mary and Mary’s Prayer)

Sp1

Who was the first grime artist to headline at Glastonbury?

Stormzy

Sp2

Which name connects Kenny Rogers and Little Richard?

Lucille

Go back to Round 4 questions without answers

ROUND 5 - Pairs

1.

This Korean made black comedy swept the board at the recent Oscars with 4 awards including one for its director and became the first foreign language film in Hollywood history to win the Best Picture award.  What is its English name?

 Parasite

2.

Renee Zellwegger won the Best Actress award at the recent Oscars for her portrayal of which former movie star and entertainer?

Judy Garland

(the film is simply called Judy)

3.

Anna Karenina

4.

Catch-22

5.

After his recent State of the Union speech to Congress, Donald Trump made a seemingly discourteous gesture towards the Democratic House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi.  What was he accused of doing?

He refused to shake her outstretched hand

6.

How did House Speaker Nancy Pelosi respond to this apparent snub?

She ripped up her copy of his speech

7.

Two part answer required:

Which Prince of Wales is said to have caught typhoid after swimming in the Thames which led to his untimely death?  Name him and the monarch's whose son he was.

Henry (Stuart) son of James I

(in 1612)

8.

Two part answer required:

Which Prince of Wales was killed fighting for his father at the Battle of Tewkesbury?  Name him and the monarch's whose son he was.

Edward (of Lancaster) son of Henry VI

(in 1471)

Sp1

In the recently released film The Two Popes, two veteran Welsh actors portray Benedict XVI and the future Pope Francis.  Anthony Hopkins portrayed Benedict but who portrayed Francis (he was nominated for an award for this role in the Best Supporting Actor category at the recent Oscars)?

Jonathan Pryce

Sp2

Showing currently on Sky Atlantic and HBO, the TV drama series, The New Pope, features a fictional Pope Pius XIII who is in a coma and not thought to recover.  He is replaced in the meantime by a fictional Pope John Paul III played by veteran American actor, John Malkovich.  Which British actor portrays Pius XIII?

Jude Law

Go back to Round 5 questions without answers

ROUND 6 - Announced theme

All answers begin with one of the two letter abbreviations for American States (any leading definite or indefinite article being ignored).

A: (The) Middlewood Way (Michigan)

1.

What 1983 film was the last to star Sean Connery as James Bond?  Co-stars included Kim Basinger and Rowan Atkinson, and the title was allegedly based on a remark by Sean Connery's wife about his return to the role of Bond.

Never Say Never Again

(Nebraska)

2.

Originally the Fuller Building, this triangular 22-story, 285-foot tall steel-framed landmark building is located at 175 Fifth Avenue in the borough of Manhattan, New York City.  Give its popular name.

(The) Flatiron Building

(Florida)

3.

Name the secret organisation in the Harry Potter series, founded by Albus Dumbledore to fight Lord Voldemort and his followers, the Death Eaters.  The organisation lends its name to the fifth book of the series, Harry Potter and the ......

Order of the Phoenix

(Oregon)

4.

Described stingingly by The Irish Times as a "a work of unparalleled depravity", what was Iain Banks' first novel, published in 1984, concerning a psychopathic teenager living on a remote Scottish island?

(The) Wasp Factory

(Washington)

5.

Name the ancient Chinese Military treatise dating roughly from the 5th century BC attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu ('Master Sun') and which inspired many military leaders including Mao Tse Tung and General 'Storming' Norman Swarzkopf.

(The) Art of War

(Arkansas)

6.

This 1969 British comedy and musical film directed by Richard Attenborough, had a cast including Maggie Smith, Dirk Bogarde, John Gielgud and John Mills among many other stars.  Name this somewhat subversive directorial debut.

Oh! What a Lovely War

(Ohio)

7.

Name the Puccini (Ed: this should have read 'Verdi') opera which tells the tragic story of the licentious Duke of Mantua, and his hunch-backed court jester whose beautiful daughter Gilda he seduces.

Rigoletto

(Rhode Island)

8.

Which US mountain range with a northeast–southwest orientation runs for about 400 miles (640 km) from north-central Pennsylvania, through western Maryland and eastern West Virginia to south western Virginia?

(The) Allegheny Mountains

(Alabama)

Sp.

What word can mean both a unit of weight in the apothecaries' system, equal to 20 grains and a hesitation with regard to wrong doing?

Scruple

(South Carolina)

Go back to Round 6 questions without answers

ROUND 7 - Pairs

1.

Since February 2017 where can you read the slogan “Democracy Dies in Darkness” on a daily basis?

On the masthead of The Washington Post

(the decision to adopt the slogan was taken one month after Donald Trump became president)

2.

Trade Unionist Eugene V Debs campaigned on five occasions as a Socialist candidate for the presidency of the USA.  What was unique about his final campaign for the 1920 election?

He conducted his entire campaign from prison

(while serving a 10 year sentence for sedition for urging American soldiers not to fight their German working class brothers in World War One)

3.

Whenever their paths meet which two football clubs, near neighbours and bitter rivals contest what in recent years has become humorously known as The Old Farm derby?

Norwich City and Ipswich Town

4.

Which two English football clubs contest the so-called A23 or M23 derby?  In terms of proximity it struggles to qualify as a true derby; nor is their rivalry traditional, appearing to date only from the 1970s.

Crystal Palace and Brighton and Hove Albion

5.

Which American physicist, who died in 2019, won the Nobel prize in 1969 for his work on the theory of elementary particles?  He was best known for his study of particle physics, the smallest parts that make up the universe and for introducing the word 'quark' (via James Joyce) into the world of science.

(Murray) Gell-Mann

6.

“He was a great scientist but he spent a great deal of his effort generating anecdotes about himself”, this was Gell-Mann’s rather surly opinion of which fellow New Yorker and Nobel laureate?  By the time he died in 1988 this theoretical physicist had built up a reputation as one of the most famous and flamboyant scientists of the 20th century.

(Richard) Feynman

7.

Who wrote the 1985 novel Illywhacker which is narrated by the 139 year old Australian small time confidence trickster Herbert Badgery?

Peter Carey

8.

Jack Crabb is the 111 year old American frontiersman and narrator of which 1964 novel by Thomas Berger?

Little Big Man

Sp1

A recently released USA customs form was filled in and signed by which three men upon their arrival in Honolulu on 24th July 1969?

Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins

(asked to declare any items that they had brought back from their journey they wrote “moon rock and moon dust samples”)

Sp2

Buzz Aldrin also recently released his travel expenses claim form for the same journey.  How much did he claim in additional travel expenses from Houston to the moon and back?

$33.31 cents

(happily he was paid the full amount)

Go back to Round 7 questions without answers

ROUND 8 - Given theme - 'Fr Megson's 50 Shades of Wahey'

1.

His first name was Pearl and he was a dentist.  Using his more macho second name and making no mention of dentistry, he also wrote popular adventure stories and in 1912 his novel Riders of the Purple Sage became a best seller.  Who was he?

Zane Grey

2.

What is the title of the 51 foot long sculpture found standing outside Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport?  It was originally built by local apprentices and used as part of the International Garden Festival held in that city in 1984.

Yellow Submarine

3.

You know that colour you get on your off-white sheets when you can’t sleep and spend the early morning crushing fleas?  Well, the stylish French have given us a word for this dark red or purple-brownish shade and funnily enough it is also their word for a flea.  What is it?

Puce

4.

In an emotional scene in this Puccini opera, the popular Humming Chorus is hummed off-stage as night falls and Madame Butterfly, her maid, Suzuki, and her baby keep vigil, awaiting (in vain) the return of her American husband.  What is his name and naval rank?

Lieutenant Pinkerton

5.

The English name of which European country derives from the name given to it in the Venetian dialect in the 14th century?  In its own present day language it is called Crna Gora (pronounced 'Cerna Gora').

Montenegro

(The Black Mountain)

6.

Who became the first footballer to score a 'golden goal' in World Cup finals history when he did so in 1998 in extra time against Paraguay?

Laurent Blanc

(for France)

7.

The title of which 1974 novel by Tom Sharpe, a satirical look at the struggle between tradition and reform in a fictional college of Cambridge University, refers to the name given by the characters to a stroke caused by overeating?

Porterhouse Blue

8.

For the opening sequences of the film Blade Runner director Ridley Scott found inspiration for his vision of a dysfunctional Los Angeles of the future closer to home in the industrial landscape in and around which town in the north east of England?

Redcar

Sp1

Fiskars is the oldest design business still operating in its native Finland.  Since 1967 it has sold over 1 billion pairs of scissors worldwide.  For their scissors to be truly iconic they have to have handles of which colour?

Orange

Sp2

What was designed in 1978 by Gilbert Baker and given its first outing that year at a downtown San Francisco parade?  The original handmade versions had a turquoise stripe representing 'Art' and a hot-pink stripe representing 'Sex'.  Sadly these colours had to be removed because they were hard to reproduce in mass production workshops.

The Rainbow Flag

Go back to Round 8 questions without answers