ROUND 1 - One Answer

Each question comprises two parts, both of which give the same one-word answer

e.g. Q: What name connects a moon of Saturn and the TV comedy ‘Friends’? A: Phoebe

1.

What word links a revolution involving Celeste Caeiro on April 25th 1974, and evaporated milk?

2.

Which name links a city in Nebraska, and a beach in Normandy?

3.

Which name links the US President Theodore Roosevelt’s second son, and The Muppet Show?

4.

What name is an international photographic cooperative founded by Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and others, and a 1.5 litre wine bottle?

5.

What name links the world’s first computer programmer Ada Lovelace’s father and the writer who created Widow Twankey?

6.

What name links a role played by Patrick Stewart in a ‘photo negative’ 1997 Shakespearean stage production, and a board game?

7.

What name links the detonation of a nuclear device on July 16th 1945 and a term in the academic year at the Universities of Oxford, Dublin, and Canterbury Christ Church?

8.

What name links a multiple Wimbledon champion and a group of aliens in the Star Trek franchise?

Sp1

What is the name of a Puccini opera, and an annual award given by the Mystery Writers of America?

Sp2

What name links an 1855 operetta by Offenbach and a 2015 concert by the Eagles of Death Metal?

Go to Round 1 questions with answers

ROUND 2 - Two Part Answers that Rhyme

Answers in this round include reduplicative words i.e. answers like handstand, or hoi polloi

1.

Referring to the late 1890’s, Lance Corporal Jones in Dad’s Army often said: "They don’t like it up ‘em".  Who ‘don’t like it up ‘em’?

2.

In 1793, a British envoy refused to do this and, it was said, failed to get trade concessions as a result.  In 1794 a Dutch ambassador did this multiple times, but still didn’t get any concessions. What was ‘this’?

3.

This monthly magazine was first published in October 1993.  In keeping with its classic rock aesthetic, Bob Dylan and John Lennon were its first cover stars.  What is it called?

4.

In the 1961 comedy film One, Two, Three, as a torture, the East German police repeatedly play, with pitch variations, a novelty song about a girl in revealing swimwear.  What is the song called?

5.

Which description might be used of a sportsman who is guilty of unnatural intercourse with elongated ellipsoidal balls?

6.

What is a horticultural term that is also used for a fan of a US rock band, formed in 1965 and disbanded in 1995?

7.

Located about 5 miles south of Scarborough, which archaeological site is generally regarded as the most important Mesolithic site in Great Britain?

8.

Over 21 years, this dance troupe of five overweight middle-aged ladies, including the ‘Mighty Atom’ Mo Moreland, appeared on TV, notably with Les Dawson, and, on stage, including 5 Royal Command performances, and, by personal invitation, for Prince Rainier in Monaco.  What was the troupe called?

Sp1

Raymond Bessone was a British hairdresser from the 1930’s to the 1960’s.  By what nickname was he known?

Sp2

Which 1968 Beatles song has a spiral title?

Go to Round 2 questions with answers

ROUND 3 - Ménage à Trois

1.

Hadrian’s Wall runs across Northumberland, Cumbria, and which other county?

2.

From June 11th until June 21st 1940, the Hal Far Fighter Flight had only three operational aircraft, serial numbers N5519, N5520, and N5531.  A local newspaper later applied what three names to these aircraft?

3.

What three-part phrase refers to the Roman Catholic rite of excommunication by anathema, following a formula introduced by Pope Zachary in the 8th century?

4.

If Clint Eastwood was ‘Il Buono’, and Lee Van Cleef was ‘Il Cattivo’, who was ‘Il Brutto’?

5.

The Three Choirs Festival of sacred music has been performed annually since about 1715, by the cathedral choirs of Gloucester, Hereford, and which other cathedral?

6.

Which counterculture phrase, also the title of his 1966 spoken word album, was popularised by Timothy Leary?

7.

Mizaru, Kikazura, and Iwazura are a Japanese pictorial maxim, which embodies which proverbial principle?

8.

Blaenavon Industrial Landscape, and Pontcysyllte (pronounced Pont – kus – sulth – the) Aqueduct and Canal are two of the three UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Wales.  Name any one of the four separate sites that make up the third UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Sp1

Chico was originally Leonard.  Harpo was originally Adolph.  And Grouch was originally who?

Sp2

What links sixty days after Easter, a Texan city, and Oxbridge colleges?

Go to Round 3 questions with answers

ROUND 4 - Order Please!

Put these four in order

Pens and paper might prove handy

1.

Put these parts of the digestive system in the order that food passes through them:

Colon, Duodenum, Ileum, Rectum.

2.

Staring with the earliest, put these books in the order that they won the Booker Prize:

The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson, The Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie, Paddy Clark Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle.

3.

The TV variety show, Sunday Night at the London Palladium (later The London Palladium Show) ran from 1955 to 1969, and has been revived several times.  Starting with the earliest, put these hosts in the order they first presented it:

Bruce Forsyth, Jimmy Tarbuck, Tommy Trinder, Norman Vaughan.

4.

Starting with the earliest, put these four in the order they received the Nobel Peace Prize:

Dag Hammarskjöld, George C. Marshall, Mother Teresa, Lech Wałęsa.

5.

Starting with the earliest, put these four in the order they received the Nobel Prize for Physics:

Antoine Henri Becquerel, Niels Bohr, Sir James Chadwick, Max Planck.

6.

Starting with the oldest, put these children’s programmes in the order they were made by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin: Bagpuss, the Clangers, Noggin the Nog, Pogles’ Wood.

7.

Starting with the earliest, put these four books in the order they were published:

The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers, She by H. Rider Haggard, Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs, The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells.

8.

Starting with the most common in the UK, put these four blood groups in order:

A, AB, B, O.

Sp1

Starting with the oldest, put these foods and drinks in the order they were invented:

Baileys Irish Cream, Ciabatta bread, Deep Fried Mars Bars, Instant Noodles

Sp2

Starting with the oldest, put the Beatles John, Paul, George and Ringo in the order they were born.

Go to Round 4 questions with answers

ROUND 5 - The English Civil War & Commonwealth

Questions relate to events in Britain between 1642 and 1660

1.

His 1644 polemic Areopagitica opposed licensing in printing and censorship.  Better known for poetry, who wrote this impassioned philosophical defence of the right to freedom of speech and expression?

2.

Committed to popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law, and religious tolerance, from 1642 to 1651, which political movement presented their ideas in petitions, pamphlets, the manifesto Agreement of the People and their newspaper The Moderate?

3.

Originally called 'The Children of Light', which movement was started by the son of a Leicestershire weaver, after he had a vision at Pendle Hill in 1652?

4.

In 1642, the Puritans banned all plays.  How did the impresario William Davenant get round this ban with his play The Siege of Rhodes in 1656?

5.

Thomas à Becket was murdered in 1170, Simon Sudbury was beheaded in 1381, and Thomas Cranmer was put to death by burning in 1556.  Which Archbishop of Canterbury was beheaded in 1645?

6.

In 1646 and 1647, Robert Boyle refers to "our invisible college" in London.  Another group, The Philosophical Society of Oxford was run under a set of rules still held by the Bodleian Library.  These groups of physicians and natural philosophers were precursors to which organization granted a royal charter by Charles II in 1660?

7.

In 1651, in an early example of social contract theory, which English philosopher described the lives of individuals in a state of nature as "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short" and, to avoid "the war of all against all", argued for rule by an absolute sovereign, provided he made proper use of it?

8.

Originally founded in 1600, which English commercial operation set up a permanent fund in 1657 to finance ventures, hitherto subscribed individually or as temporary joint stocks?

Sp1

Possibly baptised with the first name 'Unless-Jesus-Christ-Had-Died-For-Thee-Thou-Hadst-Been-Damned', by which preacher and leather-seller’s surname is the 1653 Little Parliament better known?

Sp2

Although he denied impersonating Jesus, Parliament found James Naylor guilty of blasphemy in 1656.  Narrowly escaping execution, various other punishments were mooted.  What punishment did two Colonels sitting in Parliament suggest?

Go to Round 5 questions with answers

ROUND 6 - Hidden Theme '...but Size Does Matter!'

1.

Paraphrased from the Scottish nursery rhyme of 1841, who "…runs through the town / Up stairs and down stairs in his night-gown / Tapping at the window, crying at the lock / Are the children in their bed, for it's past ten o'clock?"?

2.

Which trip hop group had No. 1 hits in 1998 and 2003 with the albums Mezzanine and 100th Window?

3.

According to Gaelic legend, when challenged to a fight by Benandonner, what did Finn MacCool build from near Bushmills in County Antrim to the isle of Staffa?

4.

The music hall comedian Harry Relph was best known for his Big Boot Dance, for which he wore boots with soles 28 inches long.  What was his stage name?

5.

Built near Geneva by CERN between 1998 and 2008, the LHC is the world’s largest single machine.  What does LHC stand for?

6.

Originally a partnership between Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin, which TV production company was responsible for The Clangers, Noggin the Nog, Ivor the Engine, Pogles’ Wood and Bagpuss?

7.

In a jazz song from 1931, Cab Calloway has the audience repeating scat phrases (for example, "Hi De Hi De Hi De Ho"), until they are too fast and complicated for the audience to repeat.  What is the title of this song, which was arguably the first jazz record to sell a million copies?

8.

In the 1698, which foreign monarch worked incognito in the royal dockyards at Deptford?

Sp1

By what name is the 1876 Battle of Greasy Grass better known?

Sp2

The following quote is from The Two Ronnies: "The annual London Health and Beauty Contest was won today by Miss Wapping."  Who were second and third?

Go to Round 6 questions with answers

ROUND 7 - Hidden theme

1.

This light orchestral violinist retired in 1990, after a career lasting 70 years.  He is perhaps best remembered as leader of the Palm Court Orchestra and trio, on BBC Radio.  In The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band’s recording The Intro and the Outro, he is described as ‘very appealing’.  Who was he?

2.

What is the title of the 1990 album by Black Sabbath, which is named after the Norse god of law, justice, war and heroic glory, who was the son of Odin and half-brother of Thor?

3.

Unveiled in 1808, the USA’s oldest military monument honours heroes from the First Barbary War.  It is named after a city founded by Greeks in the 7th century BC.  Name this city which, apart from seven weeks in 2011, has been its country’s capital since independence in 1951?

4.

Blue Peter’s original and unnamed puppy died of distemper a few days after her first appearance.  What was the name of her replacement, who was on the show from 1962 to 1977?

5.

In the Middle Ages, this was defined as the area of land that could be ploughed in one day by a yoke of oxen.  It has no prescribed shape, but any area of 43,560 square feet can be described as what?

6.

Three pubs in Nottingham all claim to be the oldest in England.  The Bell Inn and Ye Olde Salutation Inn are two of them.  What is the name of the third, which claims to have been established in 1189?

7.

What is the title of the 1936 Aldous Huxley novel, which originates from a phrase in Milton’s Samson Agonistes?

8.

This historic suburb consists of streets bounded by the Oxford Canal, Worcester College, Walton Street, and Walton Well Road.  What is this Oxford suburb called?

Sp.

Fought on April 6-7 1862 in South West Tennessee, the Battle of Pittsburg Landing is more commonly known as the Battle of what?

Go to Round 7 questions with answers

ROUND 8 - Literary Animals

1.

One critic described this novella as "so banal that it had to be sold to adults; kids would have seen through it", but it topped the US best sellers list in 1972 and 1973.  Which title character’s last words were "Poor Fletch.  Don’t believe what your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation. Look with your understanding, find out what you already know, and you’ll see the way to fly"?

2.

This literary character is put to death on a stone table, but, the next morning is resurrected by the "Deeper Magic from before the Dawn of Time".  Who is the "son of the Emperor beyond the sea"?

3.

Which fictional character is described as "a large, rather fierce-looking Berkshire boar" who is "not much of a talker" and has "a reputation for getting his own way"?

4.

In the tradition of Brits playing villains in American films, George Sanders, with his smooth suave bass voice and upper-class English accent voices which intelligent, sophisticated, and merciless character, in a 1967 film?

5.

Found in many high streets, what is the name of the Greek hero Odysseus’ loyal and faithful dog?

6.

His mother is killed by a hunter, he leaves the jungle, visits a big city, returns to bring the benefits of civilisation to his community, and is appointed king.  Which fictional character first appeared in 1931?

7.

Which literary character started out being called Edward, but lived "under the name of Sanders"?

8.

The eponymous antagonist of this novel is described as having two prominent white areas around "a peculiar snow-white wrinkled forehead, and a high, pyramidical white hump".  The rest of his body is of stripes and patches between white and grey.  What is his name?

Sp1

For his horse, the knight chose "a name, to his thinking, lofty, sonorous, and significant of his condition as a hack before he became what he now was, the first and foremost of all the hacks in the world".  What name did the title character choose for his horse?

Sp2

In the PG Wodehouse novels and short stories, what is Lord Emsworth’s black Berkshire sow called?

Go to Round 8 questions with answers

ROUND 1 - One Answer

Each question comprises two parts, both of which give the same one-word answer

e.g. Q: What name connects a moon of Saturn and the TV comedy ‘Friends’? A: Phoebe

1.

What word links a revolution involving Celeste Caeiro on April 25th 1974, and evaporated milk?

Carnation

(Celeste Caeiro offered carnations to the soldiers at the end of the Estado Novo dictatorship in Portugal, and other demonstrators followed suit, placing carnations in the muzzles of guns and on the soldiers' uniforms)

2.

Which name links a city in Nebraska, and a beach in Normandy?

Omaha

3.

Which name links the US President Theodore Roosevelt’s second son, and The Muppet Show?

Kermit

4.

What name is an international photographic cooperative founded by Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and others, and a 1.5 litre wine bottle?

Magnum

5.

What name links the world’s first computer programmer Ada Lovelace’s father and the writer who created Widow Twankey?

Byron

(The poet Lord Byron, and his second cousin, the dramatist Henry Byron, who created the character)

6.

What name links a role played by Patrick Stewart in a ‘photo negative’ 1997 Shakespearean stage production, and a board game?

Othello

(Stewart played Othello with an otherwise all-black cast)

7.

What name links the detonation of a nuclear device on July 16th 1945 and a term in the academic year at the Universities of Oxford, Dublin, and Canterbury Christ Church?

Trinity

8.

What name links a multiple Wimbledon champion and a group of aliens in the Star Trek franchise?

Borg

Sp1

What is the name of a Puccini opera, and an annual award given by the Mystery Writers of America?

Edgar

Sp2

What name links an 1855 operetta by Offenbach and a 2015 concert by the Eagles of Death Metal?

Bataclan

(accept any reasonable approximation)

ROUND 2 - Two Part Answers that Rhyme

Answers in this round include reduplicative words i.e. answers like handstand, or hoi polloi

1.

Referring to the late 1890’s, Lance Corporal Jones in Dad’s Army often said: "They don’t like it up ‘em".  Who ‘don’t like it up ‘em’?

The Fuzzy Wuzzies

2.

In 1793, a British envoy refused to do this and, it was said, failed to get trade concessions as a result.  In 1794 a Dutch ambassador did this multiple times, but still didn’t get any concessions. What was ‘this’?

Kowtow

(kneeling and touching one’s head to the ground in front of the Chinese Emperor)

3.

This monthly magazine was first published in October 1993.  In keeping with its classic rock aesthetic, Bob Dylan and John Lennon were its first cover stars.  What is it called?

Mojo

4.

In the 1961 comedy film One, Two, Three, as a torture, the East German police repeatedly play, with pitch variations, a novelty song about a girl in revealing swimwear.  What is the song called?

Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini

5.

Which description might be used of a sportsman who is guilty of unnatural intercourse with elongated ellipsoidal balls?

Rugger bugger

6.

What is a horticultural term that is also used for a fan of a US rock band, formed in 1965 and disbanded in 1995?

Dead Head

(to prune dead flower heads and a fan of the Grateful Dead)

7.

Located about 5 miles south of Scarborough, which archaeological site is generally regarded as the most important Mesolithic site in Great Britain?

Star Carr

8.

Over 21 years, this dance troupe of five overweight middle-aged ladies, including the ‘Mighty Atom’ Mo Moreland, appeared on TV, notably with Les Dawson, and, on stage, including 5 Royal Command performances, and, by personal invitation, for Prince Rainier in Monaco.  What was the troupe called?

The Roly Polys

Sp1

Raymond Bessone was a British hairdresser from the 1930’s to the 1960’s.  By what nickname was he known?

Mr Teasy-Weasy

Sp2

Which 1968 Beatles song has a spiral title?

Helter Skelter

Go back to Round 2 questions without answers

ROUND 3 - Ménage à Trois

1.

Hadrian’s Wall runs across Northumberland, Cumbria, and which other county?

Tyne & Wear

2.

From June 11th until June 21st 1940, the Hal Far Fighter Flight had only three operational aircraft, serial numbers N5519, N5520, and N5531.  A local newspaper later applied what three names to these aircraft?

Faith, Hope and Charity

(accept in any order - Gloster Sea Gladiator biplanes during the Siege of Malta)

3.

What three-part phrase refers to the Roman Catholic rite of excommunication by anathema, following a formula introduced by Pope Zachary in the 8th century?

Bell, Book and Candle

(accept in any order - the bishop recited the anathema, 12 priests responded: ‘Fiat, fiat, fiat’, the bishop then rang a bell, closed a holy book, and he and the priests snuffed out their candles)

4.

If Clint Eastwood was ‘Il Buono’, and Lee Van Cleef was ‘Il Cattivo’, who was ‘Il Brutto’?

Eli Wallach

5.

The Three Choirs Festival of sacred music has been performed annually since about 1715, by the cathedral choirs of Gloucester, Hereford, and which other cathedral?

Worcester

6.

Which counterculture phrase, also the title of his 1966 spoken word album, was popularised by Timothy Leary?

Turn on, tune in, drop out

(accept in any order)

7.

Mizaru, Kikazura, and Iwazura are a Japanese pictorial maxim, which embodies which proverbial principle?

'See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil'

(accept in any order - Mizaru, Kikazura, and Iwazura, also known as The Three Wise Monkeys)

8.

Blaenavon Industrial Landscape, and Pontcysyllte (pronounced Pont – kus – sulth – the) Aqueduct and Canal are two of the three UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Wales.  Name any one of the four separate sites that make up the third UNESCO World Heritage Site.

(any one of)

Caernarfon, Conwy, Beaumaris or Harlech Castles

(collectively, the Castles and Town Walls of Edward I)

Sp1

Chico was originally Leonard.  Harpo was originally Adolph.  And Grouch was originally who?

Julius

Sp2

What links sixty days after Easter, a Texan city, and Oxbridge colleges?

Corpus Christi

Go back to Round 3 questions without answers

ROUND 4 - Order Please!

Put these four in order

Pens and paper might prove handy

1.

Put these parts of the digestive system in the order that food passes through them:

Colon, Duodenum, Ileum, Rectum.

1. Duodenum

2. Ileum

3. Colon

4. Rectum.

2.

Staring with the earliest, put these books in the order that they won the Booker Prize:

The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson, The Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie, Paddy Clark Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle.

1. Midnight’s Children (1981)

2. Paddy Clark Ha Ha Ha (1993)

3. The Life of Pi (2002)

4. The Finkler Question (2010)

3.

The TV variety show, Sunday Night at the London Palladium (later The London Palladium Show) ran from 1955 to 1969, and has been revived several times.  Starting with the earliest, put these hosts in the order they first presented it:

Bruce Forsyth, Jimmy Tarbuck, Tommy Trinder, Norman Vaughan.

1. Tommy Trinder (1955-58)

2. Bruce Forsyth (1958-60)

3. Norman Vaughan (1962-65)

4. Jimmy Tarbuck (1965-67)

4.

Starting with the earliest, put these four in the order they received the Nobel Peace Prize:

Dag Hammarskjöld, George C. Marshall, Mother Teresa, Lech Wałęsa.

1. George C Marshall (1953)

2. Dag Hammarskjöld (1961)

3. Mother Teresa (1979)

4. Lech Wałęsa (1983)

5.

Starting with the earliest, put these four in the order they received the Nobel Prize for Physics:

Antoine Henri Becquerel, Niels Bohr, Sir James Chadwick, Max Planck.

1. Becquerel (1903)

2. Planck (1918)

3. Bohr (1922)

4. Chadwick (1935)

6.

Starting with the oldest, put these children’s programmes in the order they were made by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin: Bagpuss, the Clangers, Noggin the Nog, Pogles’ Wood.

1. Noggin the Nog (1959-65)

2. Pogles’ Wood (1965-68)

3. The Clangers (1969-72)

4. Bagpuss (1974)

7.

Starting with the earliest, put these four books in the order they were published:

The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers, She by H. Rider Haggard, Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs, The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells.

1. She (1887)

2. The War of the Worlds (1898)

3. The Riddle of the Sands (1903)

4. Tarzan of the Apes (1912)

8.

Starting with the most common in the UK, put these four blood groups in order:

A, AB, B, O.

1. O (48%)

2. A (38%)

3. B (10%)

4. AB (3%)

...according to the NHS website)

Sp1

Starting with the oldest, put these foods and drinks in the order they were invented:

Baileys Irish Cream, Ciabatta bread, Deep Fried Mars Bars, Instant Noodles

1. Instant Noodles

(1958: by Momofuku Ando in Japan)

2. Baileys Irish Cream

(1971: by a team headed by Tom Jago for Gilbeys of Ireland)

3. Ciabatta

(1982: by Arnaldo Cavallar in Verona)

4. Deep Fried Mars Bars

(1992: attributed to John Davie in the Haven Chip Bar in Stonehaven, near Aberdeen)

Sp2

Starting with the oldest, put the Beatles John, Paul, George and Ringo in the order they were born.

1. Ringo Starr (July 1940)

2. John Lennon (October 1940)

3. Paul McCartney (1942)

4. George Harrison (1943)

Go back to Round 4 questions without answers

ROUND 5 - The English Civil War & Commonwealth

Questions relate to events in Britain between 1642 and 1660

1.

His 1644 polemic Areopagitica opposed licensing in printing and censorship.  Better known for poetry, who wrote this impassioned philosophical defence of the right to freedom of speech and expression?

John Milton

(full title: Areopagitica; A speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicenc'd Printing, to the Parlament of England)

2.

Committed to popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law, and religious tolerance, from 1642 to 1651, which political movement presented their ideas in petitions, pamphlets, the manifesto Agreement of the People and their newspaper The Moderate?

The Levellers

3.

Originally called 'The Children of Light', which movement was started by the son of a Leicestershire weaver, after he had a vision at Pendle Hill in 1652?

The Quakers

(accept also Society of Friends, Friends Church, or Friends)

4.

In 1642, the Puritans banned all plays.  How did the impresario William Davenant get round this ban with his play The Siege of Rhodes in 1656?

By setting it to music

(the first ever opera in English)

5.

Thomas à Becket was murdered in 1170, Simon Sudbury was beheaded in 1381, and Thomas Cranmer was put to death by burning in 1556.  Which Archbishop of Canterbury was beheaded in 1645?
 

Archbishop Laud

(Simon Sudbury was buried in Canterbury, but, since his head was in St. Gregory’s church at Sudbury in Suffolk, he was interred with a cannonball as replacement)

6.

In 1646 and 1647, Robert Boyle refers to "our invisible college" in London.  Another group, The Philosophical Society of Oxford was run under a set of rules still held by the Bodleian Library.  These groups of physicians and natural philosophers were precursors to which organization granted a royal charter by Charles II in 1660?

The Royal Society

7.

In 1651, in an early example of social contract theory, which English philosopher described the lives of individuals in a state of nature as "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short" and, to avoid "the war of all against all", argued for rule by an absolute sovereign, provided he made proper use of it?

Thomas Hobbes

(in his book Leviathan)

8.

Originally founded in 1600, which English commercial operation set up a permanent fund in 1657 to finance ventures, hitherto subscribed individually or as temporary joint stocks?

East India Company

Sp1

Possibly baptised with the first name 'Unless-Jesus-Christ-Had-Died-For-Thee-Thou-Hadst-Been-Damned', by which preacher and leather-seller’s surname is the 1653 Little Parliament better known?

Barebone’s Parliament

(after Praise-God Barebone as he was more commonly known)

Sp2

Although he denied impersonating Jesus, Parliament found James Naylor guilty of blasphemy in 1656.  Narrowly escaping execution, various other punishments were mooted.  What punishment did two Colonels sitting in Parliament suggest?

A Haircut

(...so that he looked less like Jesus.  He was finally sentenced to being put in the pillory, having a red-hot iron bored through his tongue, branding with a B for Blasphemer on his forehead, other public humiliations, and then two years hard labour)

Go back to Round 5 questions without answers

ROUND 6 - Hidden Theme '...but Size Does Matter!'

1.

Paraphrased from the Scottish nursery rhyme of 1841, who "…runs through the town / Up stairs and down stairs in his night-gown / Tapping at the window, crying at the lock / Are the children in their bed, for it's past ten o'clock?"?

Wee Willie Winkie

2.

Which trip hop group had No. 1 hits in 1998 and 2003 with the albums Mezzanine and 100th Window?

Massive Attack

3.

According to Gaelic legend, when challenged to a fight by Benandonner, what did Finn MacCool build from near Bushmills in County Antrim to the isle of Staffa?

The Giant’s Causeway

4.

The music hall comedian Harry Relph was best known for his Big Boot Dance, for which he wore boots with soles 28 inches long.  What was his stage name?

Little Tich

(he was 4ft 6in.  The terms ‘titchy’ or ‘titch’, for things that are small, are derived from this stage name)

5.

Built near Geneva by CERN between 1998 and 2008, the LHC is the world’s largest single machine.  What does LHC stand for?

Large Hadron Collider

6.

Originally a partnership between Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin, which TV production company was responsible for The Clangers, Noggin the Nog, Ivor the Engine, Pogles’ Wood and Bagpuss?

Smallfilms

7.

In a jazz song from 1931, Cab Calloway has the audience repeating scat phrases (for example, "Hi De Hi De Hi De Ho"), until they are too fast and complicated for the audience to repeat.  What is the title of this song, which was arguably the first jazz record to sell a million copies?

Minnie the Moocher

8.

In the 1698, which foreign monarch worked incognito in the royal dockyards at Deptford?

Peter the Great

Sp1

By what name is the 1876 Battle of Greasy Grass better known?

Battle of the Little Bighorn

Sp2

The following quote is from The Two Ronnies: "The annual London Health and Beauty Contest was won today by Miss Wapping."  Who were second and third?

"Second was Miss Not-Quite-So-Wapping and third was Miss Absolutely-Piffling"

Theme: Each answer contains a reference to size: Wee, Massive, Giant, etc

Go back to Round 6 questions without answers

ROUND 7 - Hidden theme

1.

This light orchestral violinist retired in 1990, after a career lasting 70 years.  He is perhaps best remembered as leader of the Palm Court Orchestra and trio, on BBC Radio.  In The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band’s recording The Intro and the Outro, he is described as ‘very appealing’.  Who was he?

Max Jaffa

2.

What is the title of the 1990 album by Black Sabbath, which is named after the Norse god of law, justice, war and heroic glory, who was the son of Odin and half-brother of Thor?

Tyr

3.

Unveiled in 1808, the USA’s oldest military monument honours heroes from the First Barbary War.  It is named after a city founded by Greeks in the 7th century BC.  Name this city which, apart from seven weeks in 2011, has been its country’s capital since independence in 1951?

Tripoli

4.

Blue Peter’s original and unnamed puppy died of distemper a few days after her first appearance.  What was the name of her replacement, who was on the show from 1962 to 1977?

Petra

5.

In the Middle Ages, this was defined as the area of land that could be ploughed in one day by a yoke of oxen.  It has no prescribed shape, but any area of 43,560 square feet can be described as what?

Acre

6.

Three pubs in Nottingham all claim to be the oldest in England.  The Bell Inn and Ye Olde Salutation Inn are two of them.  What is the name of the third, which claims to have been established in 1189?

Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem

7.

What is the title of the 1936 Aldous Huxley novel, which originates from a phrase in Milton’s Samson Agonistes?

Eyeless in Gaza

8.

This historic suburb consists of streets bounded by the Oxford Canal, Worcester College, Walton Street, and Walton Well Road.  What is this Oxford suburb called?

Jericho

Sp.

Fought on April 6-7 1862 in South West Tennessee, the Battle of Pittsburg Landing is more commonly known as the Battle of what?

Battle of Shiloh

Theme: Each answer contains the name of a city in the Near East

Go back to Round 7 questions without answers

ROUND 8 - Literary Animals

1.

One critic described this novella as "so banal that it had to be sold to adults; kids would have seen through it", but it topped the US best sellers list in 1972 and 1973.  Which title character’s last words were "Poor Fletch.  Don’t believe what your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation. Look with your understanding, find out what you already know, and you’ll see the way to fly"?

Jonathan Livingston Seagull

2.

This literary character is put to death on a stone table, but, the next morning is resurrected by the "Deeper Magic from before the Dawn of Time".  Who is the "son of the Emperor beyond the sea"?

Aslan

3.

Which fictional character is described as "a large, rather fierce-looking Berkshire boar" who is "not much of a talker" and has "a reputation for getting his own way"?

Napoleon

(in George Orwell’s Animal Farm)

4.

In the tradition of Brits playing villains in American films, George Sanders, with his smooth suave bass voice and upper-class English accent voices which intelligent, sophisticated, and merciless character, in a 1967 film?

Shere Khan

(in The Jungle Book)

5.

Found in many high streets, what is the name of the Greek hero Odysseus’ loyal and faithful dog?

Argos

6.

His mother is killed by a hunter, he leaves the jungle, visits a big city, returns to bring the benefits of civilisation to his community, and is appointed king.  Which fictional character first appeared in 1931?

Babar the Elephant

7.

Which literary character started out being called Edward, but lived "under the name of Sanders"?

Winnie-the-Pooh

8.

The eponymous antagonist of this novel is described as having two prominent white areas around "a peculiar snow-white wrinkled forehead, and a high, pyramidical white hump".  The rest of his body is of stripes and patches between white and grey.  What is his name?

Moby Dick

Sp1

For his horse, the knight chose "a name, to his thinking, lofty, sonorous, and significant of his condition as a hack before he became what he now was, the first and foremost of all the hacks in the world".  What name did the title character choose for his horse?

Rocinante

Sp2

In the PG Wodehouse novels and short stories, what is Lord Emsworth’s black Berkshire sow called?

The Empress of Blandings

Go back to Round 8 questions without answers