ROUND 1 - Pairs

1.

What name is given to a line on a map or chart connecting places with an equal amount of sunshine?

2.

3.

Whose memorial in Southern Cemetery is registered as a Grade 2 listed structure?  It was erected in 1920, a few months after his untimely death.  Built in white marble it consists of a richly carved Celtic cross within an enclosure containing a marble rock and a carved propeller.  The house where he lived in Ladybarn for some time is marked by a blue plaque.

4.

Perhaps unsurprisingly the grandest memorial in Southern cemetery belongs to Manchester’s first multi-millionaire, industrialist and philanthropist.  He is more usefully commemorated by a sumptuous neo-Gothic structure built and donated to Manchester by his widow.  Now owned by the University of Manchester what is this building called?

5.

Which 1994 Pink Floyd album shares its title with an audible signal used in Westminster warning members of the House of Commons or House of Lords that they have eight minutes to get to their chosen lobby to cast their vote?

6.

Which USA president rang the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia to mark his country’s 200th year of independence from Britain?

7.

Three ordinary terraced houses in the London suburban areas of Battersea, Enfield and Thornton Heath and an isolated farm house in Cooneen , Co. Fermanagh were all the subject of much speculation and investigation at various times in the 20th century.  For what reason?

8.

Prior to being damaged by fire in 1939 and demolished five years later which rectory in an isolated village in Essex was said to be the most haunted house in Britain?

Sp1

What are the first names of the two enigmatic children at the heart of the classic Henry James psychological ghost story The Turn of the Screw?

Sp2

A name perhaps better suited to an elderly, forlorn Mancunian gentleman glimpsed eating fish and chips wrapped in a damp edition of The Football Pink outside the once joyous but now elegiac and rusting gates of what used to be his Theatre of Dreams, what is the disappointingly non-hair-raising first name of The Phantom of the Opera?

Go to Round 1 questions with answers

ROUND 2 - Announced theme - A chemical element

The first letter of each answer will give you an anagram of the chemical element with the atomic number 21

1.

What is the surname of the England and Saracens rugby player who was confused with Marcus Rashford by the then Education Secretary Gavin Williamson (!!) when they spoke by zoom in early September this year?

2.

In which entertainment resort complex in Florida, opened two years previously did Richard Nixon deliver his infamous “I am not a crook” speech in 1973?

3.

“History is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake” is a line spoken by Stephen Dedalus in which famous novel?

4.

“'You know I love you”.  He didn’t say anything else.  She said she loved him too and he nodded and continued driving as if nothing at all had happened, which in a way it hadn’t."

This is a paragraph that perfectly sums up the entire plot of which Sally Rooney novel?  Many people loved its BBC3 adaptation during lock down but many others fiddled with the remote doodah between their sweaty thighs and prayed for the virus to come quickly and put everyone out of their misery.

5.

According to figures issued in 2020 which European country has the 6th highest life expectancy in the world at 83.3 years?  It also has Europe’s highest capital city.

6.

Which player made his debut for Manchester United in September 1981 against Swansea City?  Later on that season he scored his first goal for United and in doing so became the first black player to score a competitive goal for the Old Trafford club. (surname only needed)

7.

Although ratification of the twenty-first amendment brought to an end the prohibition of alcohol, the home-brewing of beer remained a criminal activity in the USA for another 45 years.  Which US president eventually signed into law a bill allowing beer to be brewed in domestic households?  (surname only needed)

8.

What is England’s largest landlocked county?

Go to Round 2 questions with answers

ROUND 3 - Chained answers

The last three letters of the first answer become the first three letters of the next answer and so on

1.

Which song written and performed by Marc Cohn in 1990 was covered more successfully by Cher in 1995 and Lone Star in 2003?

2.

Which 2019 Fantasy Drama TV series stars Dafne Keen and Ruth Wilson?

3.

Which Richard Strauss tone poem was inspired by a work of Nietzche?

4.

Which 1983 American comedy film stars Dan Aykroyd?

5.

Which Spanish midfielder currently plays for Monaco?

6.

What name is given to the manipulation of someone to make them question their sanity?

7.

Which film actress appeared in the 1944 film Gaslight?

8.

Which ex-professional boxer is now a Filipino politician?

Go to Round 3 questions with answers

ROUND 4 - Hidden theme

Answers may include full or parts of names

1.

What name links the supreme god of ancient Egypt, with the first three letters of a battle fought in 1706 in which a coalition army led by the Duke of Marlborough defeated a coalition army under the command of the French?

2.

What name links the remains of a Bronze Age man discovered in Amesbury near Stonehenge in 2002, and the surname of the captain of the star ship Enterprise in the Star Trek prequel TV series Starship: Enterprise which ran from 2001 to 2005?

3.

What links a 1990 play by Chilean playwright Ariel Dorfman, and the missing word from the opening line of this popular song from the 1899 Edwardian comedy Floradora:

“Tell me pretty ….......are there any more at home like you?”

4.

What links a popular acronym often used for people regarded as the best ever in their chosen field, and the first part of an alternative name for the Nightjar, a medium-sized nocturnal bird?

5.

What word links the first syllable of the surname of the Bishop of Rochester executed in 1535 for opposing Henry VIII's reformation (later canonised a saint alongside Thomas More), and the surname of a former top ten American tennis player whose first name might suggest he was moody and grumpy?

6.

What word links the first syllable of the surname of an entrepreneur who opened Britain's first known tea-room in London in 1706, and the first syllable of the name of a ladies' fashion originating in the 1920s which involved matching a cardigan usually with a short-sleeved jumper or pullover?

7.

What word links a recently aired 5-part BBC TV series based on a novel of the same name by Ian McGuire and set on board an Arctic whaling ship, with a group of minor deities from Greek mythology known as The Naiads?

8.

What word links the second syllable of the surname of the fearsome headmistress in Roald Dahl's book, Matilda and the first syllable of the common name of a small, Eurasian bird, with the Latin name pyrrhula pyrrhula?

Sp.

What links the second word of a common scientific name for an empirical, measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land, and an object held in the right hand of the Roman goddess Justitia and in modern representations of her as Lady Justice?

Go to Round 4 questions with answers

ROUND 5 - Pairs

1.

Name the river which flows through the market town of Malton, North Yorkshire.  It has namesakes in both Derbyshire and Cumbria?

2.

Which town on the River Derwent in Debyshire boasts several visitor attractions including The Heights of Abraham with its cable-car?

3.

Which leg spinner recently achieved the astonishing figures of 4 wickets for 2 runs in a T20 international for England against West Indies?

4.

Which linguistically irritating player captained Australia in the 2019 Ashes series (played in England, which ended in a 2-2 draw)?

5.

In which classic novel would you find the unscrupulous cad George Wickham?

6.

Charles Dickens is himself often regarded as a cad by modern commentators because of his cruelty and insensitivity to his wife and children.  In later life he took which actress was his mistress?

7.

The fantasy serial drama The Game of Thrones, produced by HBO Entertainments and others was based on the Song of Ice and Fire series of books by which writer?

8.

In lockdown we all (mostly) got used to Zoom.  Which TV program starring David Tennant and Michael Sheen used the medium of Zoom to produce a comedy examining the anxieties, frustrations and opportunities for one-upmanship presented by Zoom?

Sp.

The 1939 excavation of Sutton Hoo was depicted in a 2021 film starring Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes and Lily James.  What was the name of the film?

Go to Round 5 questions with answers

ROUND 6 - Run ons

The last part of the answer to the first question is the first part of the answer to the second question

1.

BBC drama which began in 2014 and starred Tom Burke, Hugo Speer and Peter Capaldi

&

An English pop group formed in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith.

2.

Irish traditional song which was a hit for Thin Lizzie

&

2005 film starring Jake Gyllenhaal.

3.

TV presenter of Springwatch and Animal Park

&

Rock band formed in 1969 from members of several bands; their greatest hit was Natural Born Boogie.

4.

Daytime TV programme recently joined by Jackie Jackson and Tommy Walsh

&

One of the nicknames of Edward the first.

5.

2005 film by Ken Loach about how football is an escape from the trials of everyday life

&

Oldham-born comedian, actor and scriptwriter (1923-2012).

6.

One of the Aran islands

&

1976 hit for Boston which is currently being used to advertise ASDA.

7.

No 1 song for Madness which includes the lines “I’m sorry son but we don’t stock party gimmicks”

&

New York band best known for their hit Scooby Snacks.

8.

Song containing the lyrics “Now I’ve swung back down again, it’s worse than it was before”

&

British TV historical drama which began in 2010.

Sp1

Ed Balls’s highest scoring dance on Strictly Come Dancing

&

Paul Weller’s band after he quit The Jam.

Sp2

Daft Punk’s first No 1

&

1997 song by the Verve which begins “Happiness, more or less”.

Go to Round 6 questions with answers

ROUND 7 - Announced theme - English towns & cities

Each answer contains the name of an English town or city - usual caveats apply i.e. sound-alikes, words within words

1.

Name the author: born in Leeds in 1933, wrote 35 popular works of fiction including her first book A Woman of Substance in 1979.

2.

Founded in 1989 by Charles Dunstone and Julian Brownlie which technology retail company enjoyed enormous success prior to its merger with Dixons in 2014?

3.

Name the American ophthalmologist and former tennis player who had some success on the professional circuit in the 1970s, and became widely known following male-to-female sex reassignment surgery, when she fought to compete as a woman in the 1976 US Open.

4.

Name the UK hip-hop collective that brought grime and underground garage to the masses.  Their 2001 single 21 Seconds was a blockbuster hit, gaining the group their one and only No 1 single in the UK, and a BRIT award.

5.

First performed in the West End in 1941 which Noel Coward play originally starred Margaret Rutherford as the eccentric medium Madame Arcati, called in by the novelist Charles Condomine, who causes difficulties between his second wife Ruth and the ghost of his first wife Elvira?

6.

Which 1951 novel concerning the teenage angst of the protagonist Holden Caulfield, is still a regular best-seller with yearly sales in excess of 1,000,000?

7.

Which Pulitzer Prize winning play premiered on Broadway in 1949, and is a tragedy told through the memories and dreams of its protagonist Willy Loman?

8.

In Tolkien’s 1937 book The Hobbit, what jewel was eagerly sought by the dwarves, particularly their leader Thorin Oakenshield, when they entered the Lonely Mountain?

Sp.

Which Brazilian racing driver won the Formula 1 title 3 times (in 1981,1983 and 1987)?  His identically named son had a very brief Formula 1 career in 2008/9.  (full name required)

Go to Round 7 questions with answers

ROUND 8 - Pairs

1.

2.

3.

The assassination of President John F Kennedy on 22nd November 1963 obscured the fact that two famous British literary figures also departed this life on that day.  Who were they?

4.

Two American presidents, both signers of the Declaration of Independence, passed away on July 4th 1826, the 50th anniversary of its signing.  Who were they?

5.

The playing of the Hallelujah Chorus during the London premiere of Handel's Messiah in 1743 is said to have prompted King George II to do something which obliged everybody else present and everybody present since at a performance to do likewise.  What did he do?

6.

In 1936, during a church service in Durham Cathedral, the playing of the hymn Glorious Things Of Thee Are Spoken (written by John Newton, the author of Amazing Grace) prompted an unexpected response from the German ambassador, Joachim von Ribbentrop, who was present.  What did he do?

7.

Two months ago, 18 year old Emma Raducanu became the first British tennis player to do this since Andy Murray in 2012.  What did she do?

8.

Last month, Cameron Norrie became the first British tennis player ever to win this prestigious tournament, set in the Californian desert with a name that links a reference to Native Americans and places from which you can obtain water.  It is one of the nine Masters 1000 events which are second only to the Grand Slams in tennis.  Where is it?

Sp.

Go to Round 8 questions with answers

ROUND 1 - Pairs

1.

What name is given to a line on a map or chart connecting places with an equal amount of sunshine?

Isohel

2.

Dew point

3.

Whose memorial in Southern Cemetery is registered as a Grade 2 listed structure?  It was erected in 1920, a few months after his untimely death.  Built in white marble it consists of a richly carved Celtic cross within an enclosure containing a marble rock and a carved propeller.  The house where he lived in Ladybarn for some time is marked by a blue plaque.

Sir John Alcock

(the pioneering pilot)

4.

Perhaps unsurprisingly the grandest memorial in Southern cemetery belongs to Manchester’s first multi-millionaire, industrialist and philanthropist.  He is more usefully commemorated by a sumptuous neo-Gothic structure built and donated to Manchester by his widow.  Now owned by the University of Manchester what is this building called?

The John Rylands Library

5.

Which 1994 Pink Floyd album shares its title with an audible signal used in Westminster warning members of the House of Commons or House of Lords that they have eight minutes to get to their chosen lobby to cast their vote?

The Division Bell

6.

Which USA president rang the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia to mark his country’s 200th year of independence from Britain?

Gerald Ford

(on July 4th 1976)

7.

Three ordinary terraced houses in the London suburban areas of Battersea, Enfield and Thornton Heath and an isolated farm house in Cooneen , Co. Fermanagh were all the subject of much speculation and investigation at various times in the 20th century.  For what reason?

All claimed to have been subjected to hauntings

(by poltergeists)

8.

Prior to being damaged by fire in 1939 and demolished five years later which rectory in an isolated village in Essex was said to be the most haunted house in Britain?

Borley

Sp1

What are the first names of the two enigmatic children at the heart of the classic Henry James psychological ghost story The Turn of the Screw?

Miles and Flora

Sp2

A name perhaps better suited to an elderly, forlorn Mancunian gentleman glimpsed eating fish and chips wrapped in a damp edition of The Football Pink outside the once joyous but now elegiac and rusting gates of what used to be his Theatre of Dreams, what is the disappointingly non-hair-raising first name of The Phantom of the Opera?

Erik

ROUND 2 - Announced theme - A chemical element

The first letter of each answer will give you an anagram of the chemical element with the atomic number 21 (which is Scandium)

1.

What is the surname of the England and Saracens rugby player who was confused with Marcus Rashford by the then Education Secretary Gavin Williamson (!!) when they spoke by zoom in early September this year?

(Maro) Itoje

2.

In which entertainment resort complex in Florida, opened two years previously did Richard Nixon deliver his infamous “I am not a crook” speech in 1973?

Disney World

3.

“History is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake” is a line spoken by Stephen Dedalus in which famous novel?

Ulysses

(by James Joyce)

4.

“'You know I love you”.  He didn’t say anything else.  She said she loved him too and he nodded and continued driving as if nothing at all had happened, which in a way it hadn’t."

This is a paragraph that perfectly sums up the entire plot of which Sally Rooney novel?  Many people loved its BBC3 adaptation during lock down but many others fiddled with the remote doodah between their sweaty thighs and prayed for the virus to come quickly and put everyone out of their misery.

Normal People

5.

According to figures issued in 2020 which European country has the 6th highest life expectancy in the world at 83.3 years?  It also has Europe’s highest capital city.

Andorra

6.

Which player made his debut for Manchester United in September 1981 against Swansea City?  Later on that season he scored his first goal for United and in doing so became the first black player to score a competitive goal for the Old Trafford club. (surname only needed)

(Remi) Moses

7.

Although ratification of the twenty-first amendment brought to an end the prohibition of alcohol, the home-brewing of beer remained a criminal activity in the USA for another 45 years.  Which US president eventually signed into law a bill allowing beer to be brewed in domestic households?  (surname only needed)

(Jimmy) Carter

8.

What is England’s largest landlocked county?

Shropshire

Go back to Round 2 questions without answers

ROUND 3 - Chained answers

The last three letters of the first answer become the first three letters of the next answer and so on

1.

Which song written and performed by Marc Cohn in 1990 was covered more successfully by Cher in 1995 and Lone Star in 2003?

Walking in Memphis

2.

Which 2019 Fantasy Drama TV series stars Dafne Keen and Ruth Wilson?

His Dark Materials

3.

Which Richard Strauss tone poem was inspired by a work of Nietzche?

Also Sprach Zarathrustra

4.

Which 1983 American comedy film stars Dan Aykroyd?

Trading Places

5.

Which Spanish midfielder currently plays for Monaco?

Cesc Fabregas

6.

What name is given to the manipulation of someone to make them question their sanity?

Gaslighting

7.

Which film actress appeared in the 1944 film Gaslight?

Ingrid Bergman

8.

Which ex-professional boxer is now a Filipino politician?

Manny Pacquiao

Go back to Round 3 questions without answers

ROUND 4 - Hidden theme

Answers may include full or parts of names

1.

What name links the supreme god of ancient Egypt, with the first three letters of a battle fought in 1706 in which a coalition army led by the Duke of Marlborough defeated a coalition army under the command of the French?

Ram

(the head of the god Amun and Ramillies)

2.

What name links the remains of a Bronze Age man discovered in Amesbury near Stonehenge in 2002, and the surname of the captain of the star ship Enterprise in the Star Trek prequel TV series Starship: Enterprise which ran from 2001 to 2005?

Archer

(the Amesbury Archer and Jonathan Archer)

3.

What links a 1990 play by Chilean playwright Ariel Dorfman, and the missing word from the opening line of this popular song from the 1899 Edwardian comedy Floradora:

“Tell me pretty ….......are there any more at home like you?”

Maiden

(name of the play is Death and the Maiden)

4.

What links a popular acronym often used for people regarded as the best ever in their chosen field, and the first part of an alternative name for the Nightjar, a medium-sized nocturnal bird?

Goat

('Greatest Of All Time' and goatsucker)

5.

What word links the first syllable of the surname of the Bishop of Rochester executed in 1535 for opposing Henry VIII's reformation (later canonised a saint alongside Thomas More), and the surname of a former top ten American tennis player whose first name might suggest he was moody and grumpy?

Fish

(John Fisher and Mardy Fish)

6.

What word links the first syllable of the surname of an entrepreneur who opened Britain's first known tea-room in London in 1706, and the first syllable of the name of a ladies' fashion originating in the 1920s which involved matching a cardigan usually with a short-sleeved jumper or pullover?

Twin

(Thomas Twining and Twinset)

7.

What word links a recently aired 5-part BBC TV series based on a novel of the same name by Ian McGuire and set on board an Arctic whaling ship, with a group of minor deities from Greek mythology known as The Naiads?

Water

(the BBC series was called The North Water whilst the Naiads were water goddesses)

8.

What word links the second syllable of the surname of the fearsome headmistress in Roald Dahl's book, Matilda and the first syllable of the common name of a small, Eurasian bird, with the Latin name pyrrhula pyrrhula?

Bull

(Agatha Trunchbull & Bullfinch)

Sp.

What links the second word of a common scientific name for an empirical, measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land, and an object held in the right hand of the Roman goddess Justitia and in modern representations of her as Lady Justice?

Scales

(Beaufort Scale)

Theme: Each answer represents completely or approximately the English translation of a sign of the Zodiac...

Ram (Aries), Archer (Sagittarius), Maiden (Virgo), Goat (Capricorn), Fish (Pisces), Twin (Gemini), Water (Aquarius), Bull (Taurus),

Scales (Libra)

Go back to Round 4 questions without answers

ROUND 5 - Pairs

1.

Name the river which flows through the market town of Malton, North Yorkshire.  It has namesakes in both Derbyshire and Cumbria?

Derwent

2.

Which town on the River Derwent in Debyshire boasts several visitor attractions including The Heights of Abraham with its cable-car?

Matlock Bath

(accept Matlock)

3.

Which leg spinner recently achieved the astonishing figures of 4 wickets for 2 runs in a T20 international for England against West Indies?

Adil Rashid

4.

Which linguistically irritating player captained Australia in the 2019 Ashes series (played in England, which ended in a 2-2 draw)?

Tim Paine

5.

In which classic novel would you find the unscrupulous cad George Wickham?

Pride and Prejudice

6.

Charles Dickens is himself often regarded as a cad by modern commentators because of his cruelty and insensitivity to his wife and children.  In later life he took which actress was his mistress?

Ellen Ternan

7.

The fantasy serial drama The Game of Thrones, produced by HBO Entertainments and others was based on the Song of Ice and Fire series of books by which writer?

George RR Martin

8.

In lockdown we all (mostly) got used to Zoom.  Which TV program starring David Tennant and Michael Sheen used the medium of Zoom to produce a comedy examining the anxieties, frustrations and opportunities for one-upmanship presented by Zoom?

Staged

Sp.

The 1939 excavation of Sutton Hoo was depicted in a 2021 film starring Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes and Lily James.  What was the name of the film?

The Dig

Go back to Round 5 questions without answers

ROUND 6 - Run ons

The last part of the answer to the first question is the first part of the answer to the second question

1.

BBC drama which began in 2014 and starred Tom Burke, Hugo Speer and Peter Capaldi

&

An English pop group formed in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith.

The Musketeers for Fears

2.

Irish traditional song which was a hit for Thin Lizzie

&

2005 film starring Jake Gyllenhaal.

Whiskey in the Jarhead

3.

TV presenter of Springwatch and Animal Park

&

Rock band formed in 1969 from members of several bands; their greatest hit was Natural Born Boogie.

Kate Humble Pie

4.

Daytime TV programme recently joined by Jackie Jackson and Tommy Walsh

&

One of the nicknames of Edward the first.

Homes under the hammer of the Scots

5.

2005 film by Ken Loach about how football is an escape from the trials of everyday life

&

Oldham-born comedian, actor and scriptwriter (1923-2012).

Looking for Eric Sykes

6.

One of the Aran islands

&

1976 hit for Boston which is currently being used to advertise ASDA.

Inishmore than a feeling

7.

No 1 song for Madness which includes the lines “I’m sorry son but we don’t stock party gimmicks”

&

New York band best known for their hit Scooby Snacks.

House of Fun Lovin’ Criminals

8.

Song containing the lyrics “Now I’ve swung back down again, it’s worse than it was before”

&

British TV historical drama which began in 2010.

Sit Downton Abbey

Sp1

Ed Balls’s highest scoring dance on Strictly Come Dancing

&

Paul Weller’s band after he quit The Jam.

Gangnam Style Council

Sp2

Daft Punk’s first No 1

&

1997 song by the Verve which begins “Happiness, more or less”.

Get Lucky Man

Go back to Round 6 questions without answers

ROUND 7 - Announced theme - English towns & cities

Each answer contains the name of an English town or city - usual caveats apply i.e. sound-alikes, words within words

1.

Name the author: born in Leeds in 1933, wrote 35 popular works of fiction including her first book A Woman of Substance in 1979.

Barbara Taylor Bradford

2.

Founded in 1989 by Charles Dunstone and Julian Brownlie which technology retail company enjoyed enormous success prior to its merger with Dixons in 2014?

Carphone Warehouse

3.

Name the American ophthalmologist and former tennis player who had some success on the professional circuit in the 1970s, and became widely known following male-to-female sex reassignment surgery, when she fought to compete as a woman in the 1976 US Open.

Renée Richards

4.

Name the UK hip-hop collective that brought grime and underground garage to the masses.  Their 2001 single 21 Seconds was a blockbuster hit, gaining the group their one and only No 1 single in the UK, and a BRIT award.

So Solid Crew(e)

5.

First performed in the West End in 1941 which Noel Coward play originally starred Margaret Rutherford as the eccentric medium Madame Arcati, called in by the novelist Charles Condomine, who causes difficulties between his second wife Ruth and the ghost of his first wife Elvira?

Blithe Spirit

6.

Which 1951 novel concerning the teenage angst of the protagonist Holden Caulfield, is still a regular best-seller with yearly sales in excess of 1,000,000?

Catcher in the Rye

7.

Which Pulitzer Prize winning play premiered on Broadway in 1949, and is a tragedy told through the memories and dreams of its protagonist Willy Loman?

Death of a Salesman

8.

In Tolkien’s 1937 book The Hobbit, what jewel was eagerly sought by the dwarves, particularly their leader Thorin Oakenshield, when they entered the Lonely Mountain?

The Arkenstone

Sp.

Which Brazilian racing driver won the Formula 1 title 3 times (in 1981,1983 and 1987)?  His identically named son had a very brief Formula 1 career in 2008/9.  (full name required)

Nelson Piquet

Go back to Round 7 questions without answers

ROUND 8 - Pairs

1.

“Things fall apart;

the centre cannot hold”

2.

“Oh how I wish he'd go away!”

3.

The assassination of President John F Kennedy on 22nd November 1963 obscured the fact that two famous British literary figures also departed this life on that day.  Who were they?

Aldous Huxley,

and C S  Lewis

4.

Two American presidents, both signers of the Declaration of Independence, passed away on July 4th 1826, the 50th anniversary of its signing.  Who were they?

John Adams,

and Thomas Jefferson

(the second and third US presidents)

5.

The playing of the Hallelujah Chorus during the London premiere of Handel's Messiah in 1743 is said to have prompted King George II to do something which obliged everybody else present and everybody present since at a performance to do likewise.  What did he do?

He stood up

6.

In 1936, during a church service in Durham Cathedral, the playing of the hymn Glorious Things Of Thee Are Spoken (written by John Newton, the author of Amazing Grace) prompted an unexpected response from the German ambassador, Joachim von Ribbentrop, who was present.  What did he do?

He gave the Nazi salute

(the hymn was played to the same tune as the German national anthem - the tune had been composed by Joseph Haydn for the Austrian emperor in the 18th century - unsurprisingly no-one has been known to do this since)

7.

Two months ago, 18 year old Emma Raducanu became the first British tennis player to do this since Andy Murray in 2012.  What did she do?

Won the US Open

(one of the 4 Grand Slams of tennis)

8.

Last month, Cameron Norrie became the first British tennis player ever to win this prestigious tournament, set in the Californian desert with a name that links a reference to Native Americans and places from which you can obtain water.  It is one of the nine Masters 1000 events which are second only to the Grand Slams in tennis.  Where is it?

Indian Wells

Sp.

Mary of Teck

(accept Mary, wife of George V....

Each of these women gave birth to two English monarchs: Edmund II, Harthacanute, sons of Emma;

William II, Henry I, sons of Matilda;

Richard I, John, sons of Eleanor;

Edward IV, Richard III, sons of Cecily;

Mary II, Anne, daughters of Anne Hyde;

George IV, William IV, sons of Charlotte;

Edward VIII, George VI, sons of Mary)

Go back to Round 8 questions without answers