ROUND 1 - 'Pairs in the Beginning'

1.

Which female protagonist, in the opening lines of an English novel of 1925, decided to "buy the flowers herself"?

2.

The opening lines of which French novel of 1942 find the protagonist unsure of whether his mother died today or yesterday?

3.

The wordless opening scene of which Oscar-winning film of 2007, set in the early twentieth century, sees the protagonist shatter his leg in a pit in the New Mexico desert?

4.

The wordless opening scene of which Oscar-winning film of 1962, set in the early twentieth century, sees the protagonist die in a motorcycle accident?

5.

The reign of which king of England, the first of his name and born in 1068, witnessed a dispute with Anselm of Canterbury and the White Ship disaster?

6.

The reign of which king of England, the first of his name and born in 1566, witnessed the Hampton Court Conference and the Addled Parliament?

7.

According to Henry VI Part 2, what is “the first thing we do”?

8.

And according to the Leonard Cohen song, what is the first thing we do before Berlin?

Sp1

Which Estonian composer’s first symphony is known as the Polyphonic?

Sp2

Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1887, which composer’s first is known as The Unforeseen?

Go to Round 1 questions with answers

ROUND 2 - Run-ons

1.

A European ruler crowned in Rome on Christmas Day 800,

&

A very large, long-haired domestic breed of cat.

2.

A museum founded in 1764 when a German art collector sold 317 paintings to a 'great' monarch in the east,

&

A 1920 novel by Edith Wharton.

3.

Mountainous masterpiece by Caspar David Friedrich,

&

A song which took Paul Gascoigne to #2 in the UK charts in 1990.

4.

Golf course in Lancashire which hosted the 2017 Open Championship,

&

A TV presenter whose 'big banana' swept into eternity in the following year.

5.

European sporting venue named after a First World War flying ace,

&

A fifteenth-century Scottish place of worship that has been mooted as the resting place of the Holy Grail.

6.

Tramstop on the East Didsbury line named after the daughter of a seventh-century King of Mercia,

&

A 1985 Talking Heads single on which David Byrne knew where he was going but did not know where he had been.

7.

Fictional TV novelist who investigated more than 260 deaths between 1984 and 2003 somehow without ever arousing suspicion herself,

&

A Didsbury-based youth football club which counts Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, and Danny Welbeck among its alumni.

8.

French engineer known as the father of thermodynamics,

&

A five-word phrase taken from Yeats’s Sailing to Byzantium which became the title of a Cormac McCarthy novel.

Sp1

A sexual infection known by the French as 'the great pox'” and by everyone else as 'the French disease',

&

An international agreement which enacted the dreaded Article 50.

Sp2

American company that was the subject of the book and film The Smartest Guys in the Room,

&

A fictitious TV newsreader who proclaimed that “diversity” was “an old, old wooden ship”.

Go to Round 2 questions with answers

ROUND 3 - 'The Power Behind the Throne'

In this round, you will be given the photo of a person (or persons), and asked to name their famous spouse from the description in the question text.

1.

2.

This old man has been poisoning public discourse for decades, but who is he married to now?  Jack Nicholson probably threw her out of a window in Batman.

3.

The House of Commons paid tribute to this departed member in January this year.  Who was his wife, who has twice been Leader of the Opposition?

4.

Hilariously, this MP is the UK’s Anti-Corruption Champion.  Who is his wife, who has been CEO of TalkTalk and more recently squandered £37bn?

5.

This guy famously cuts down and keeps the nets from every final that he wins.  Which singer’s house is he filling with these nets?

6.

Both of these men were once married to the same actress (though, thankfully, not at the same time).  Something wild, and a body double, who was she?

7.

This chap won an Oscar in 2008 for the screenplay for Milk.  Who is his husband, who has recently taken up knitting?

8.

This entrepreneur founded Reddit.  His wife is the GOAT, and her on-screen father just slapped a man on stage. Who is she?

Sp1

The husband won an Oscar in 2008; she won an Oscar in 2009.  Who is she?

Sp2

Known for her portrayals of fearsome matriarchs, this man’s wife sadly passed away last year.  Who is she?

Sp3

Donald Trump secured this rapper’s release from Swedish police custody in 2019.  Who is his Barbadian amour?

Go to Round 3 questions with answers

ROUND 4 - Internal pairs

1.

Bordering the west of Lombardy, which north-western region of Italy is home to the cities of Alessandria, Asti, Cuneo, and Novara?  Its union with Sardinia was key to the unification of Italy.

2.

Which country, which was the major constituent of the German Empire, was formally abolished by decree of the Allied Control Council in 1947?

3.

The plesiosaurus and ichthyosaurus were among the discoveries of which fossil hunter who lived in Lyme Regis from 1799 to 1847?

4.

Name either of the two historians whose podcast The Rest Is History has been riding high in all such charts for the past two years.

5.

Name either of the two political figures, both of whom have been expelled from their respective parties, who have recently begun a sister podcast to The Rest Is History, inevitably called The Rest Is Politics.

6.

The palaeontologist Gideon Mantell named his most significant discovery, which he (or maybe his wife) made in Sussex in the 1820s, after which tropical reptile?

7.

Which major European country of the Middle Ages ceased to exist when its territories were absorbed by France and Austria in the 1470s?

8.

Bordering the south of Lazio, which southern region of Italy is home to the cities of Avellino, Caserta, and Salerno, and the ruins of Herculaneum?

Sp1

South of Piedmont and north-west of Tuscany, which region of Italy is home to the cities of Imperia, Savona, and La Spezia?

Sp2

Which major country disappeared from the map of Europe between 1795 and 1918?

Go to Round 4 questions with answers

ROUND 5 - 'Wordle'

In this round, each answer contains only five letters and would be a valid entry into a Wordle grid.

2 clues are given for each question: one concerning films, another maybe a little more cryptic.

1.

Which 1990 blockbuster contributed to the sprouting of pottery-related fetishes?  It has nothing to do with well-paid, but anonymous writers.

2.

Which 1994 non-stop action movie was parodied in a Father Ted episode featuring the amorous and very hairy milkman Pat Mustard?  He wasn’t on amphetamines, honest.

3.

Which 2014 film starring Bill Nighy and Imelda Staunton concerned the activist group 'Lesbians and Gays Support The Miners'?  It might also be regarded as a deadly sin.

4.

Which 1993 film concerned the dietary habits of a Uruguayan rugby team during an unscheduled spell in the Andes?  Simple Minds were kicking too.

5.

What 1956 movie was James Dean’s last?  He played the ranch-hand Jett Rink who strikes it lucky in the Texan oilfields, but he could also have been in the haystacks.

6.

Which 1971 action film starring Richard Rountree helped the struggling MGM studio to avoid bankruptcy?  Robert Kilroy-Silk once invited his contestants to do this, or to share.

7.

Geoffrey Rush won the Academy Award for Best Actor for this film, which later helped Take That to #1 in the charts in 2007.

8.

Denzel Washington won his first Academy Award (this was for Best Supporting Actor) for this American Civil War film.  If it were old, it would be a flag.

Sp.

What was the name of Joaquin Phoenix’s recent Oscar winning film as well as a hit by the Steve Miller Band?

Go to Round 5 questions with answers

ROUND 6 - 'Next in Sequence'

For the points, simply identify what comes next in the sequence; where numbers are given in the question, numbers are not required in the answer.

1.

Helium (1), Lithium (3), Sodium (11), and ___?

2.

In music:

The Bringer of War, The Bringer of Peace, The Winged Messenger, and ___?

3.

3 countries (1995); 11 countries (2004); Bulgaria and Romania (2007), and ___?

4.

In order of publication:

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; and ___?

5.

David Trimble, Ian Paisley, Peter Robinson, and ___?

6.

Domitian, Nerva, Trajan, and ___?

7.

California (54), Texas (40), Florida (30), and ___?

8.

Lewis Hamilton (103), Michael Schumacher (91), Sebastian Vettel (53), and ___?

Sp1

Istanbul (15m), Moscow (12m), London (9m), and ___?

Sp2

Viscount Palmerston, Lord John Russell, William Gladstone, and ___?

Go to Round 6 questions with answers

ROUND 7 - Announced theme with paired questions - 'Do Not Pass Go!'

Each answer contains a word or phrase one might associate with the UK version of Monopoly.

1.

Which comedian, noted for his quickfire delivery, won the prize for best joke at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2010 and 2014, and has starred with Lee Mack in the BBC sitcom Not Going Out?

2.

Which comedian hosted the Brit Awards from 2018 to 2021?  He starred as the hapless teacher Alfie Wickers in the BBC sitcom Bad Education and has travelled with his father in a Netflix series.

3.

Allowing for name changes and the inclusion of the Premier League, there have been seven divisions in English league football: the Premier League, Division 1, Division 2, Division 3, Division 3 North, Division 3 South, and Division 4.  Which is the only club to have played in all seven divisions?

4.

Which football team lifted the only major trophy in their history (so far) when they defeated Queens Park Rangers in the 1986 Football League Cup Final?

5.

Which title has been held temporarily by the following people:

Richard, the Duke Gloucester; John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland; Lord Parker, the Lord Chief Justice; and George, the Prince of Wales?

6.

John Dudley’s son, Robert Dudley, was awarded which title by Elizabeth I in 1564?  He was responsible for fortifying Tilbury as the Spanish Armada approached, and walked beside the queen as she gave her 'Heart and Stomach of a King' speech.

7.

What was Eurythmics’ only UK No. 1 single?  Released in 1985, it features a harmonica solo by Stevie Wonder.

8.

Which musical ensemble topped the UK charts for four weeks 1973 with the instrumental Eye Level, the theme from the popular TV series Van der Valk?

Sp.

Which English city recently cancelled its twinning arrangement with Volgograd, with whom it shares a comparably traumatic history?

Go to Round 7 questions with answers

ROUND 8 - Reverse pairs

1.

Which vertically and intellectually challenged MP recently complained that none of the UK’s 'woke' publishers would touch his autobiography Spartan Victory, which he subsequently self-published to widespread hilarity?

2.

Two elements in the Periodic Table begin with the letter Y; they have the atomic numbers 39 and 70.  Name one of them.

3.

Much to blame for the 2008 financial crisis, for what do the letters 'CDO' stand?

4.

Much in the news since 2014, which city was founded in 1869 by the Welshman John Hughes, who operated a steel plant and several coalmines in the vicinity?

5.

Equally in the news since 2014, what is the name of the special operations unit with neo-Nazi sympathies which has been fighting Russian invaders in the Donbas?

6.

Equally to blame for the 2008 financial crisis, for what do the letters 'MBS' stand?

7.

With the atomic number 23, and deriving its name from the Old Norse for the goddess Freya, what is the only chemical element beginning with the V?

8.

Name any two of the four current Cabinet ministers who in 2012 published the economic treatise Britannia Unchained, in which they claimed that “the British are among the worst idlers in the world”.

Sp1

Which piece of classical music from the 1930s connects the Oliver Stone film Platoon and a top 10 hit for the DJ William Orbit?

Sp2

Which institution in the south-west of England was initially founded as a means of housing several thousand Frenchmen between 1809 and 1814?

Go to Round 8 questions with answers

ROUND 1 - 'Pairs in the Beginning'

1.

Which female protagonist, in the opening lines of an English novel of 1925, decided to "buy the flowers herself"?

2.

The opening lines of which French novel of 1942 find the protagonist unsure of whether his mother died today or yesterday?

3.

The wordless opening scene of which Oscar-winning film of 2007, set in the early twentieth century, sees the protagonist shatter his leg in a pit in the New Mexico desert?

4.

The wordless opening scene of which Oscar-winning film of 1962, set in the early twentieth century, sees the protagonist die in a motorcycle accident?

5.

The reign of which king of England, the first of his name and born in 1068, witnessed a dispute with Anselm of Canterbury and the White Ship disaster?

6.

The reign of which king of England, the first of his name and born in 1566, witnessed the Hampton Court Conference and the Addled Parliament?

James (I)

7.

According to Henry VI Part 2, what is “the first thing we do”?

“(Let’s) kill all the lawyers”

8.

And according to the Leonard Cohen song, what is the first thing we do before Berlin?

"Take Manhattan"

Sp1

Which Estonian composer’s first symphony is known as the Polyphonic?

(Arvo) Part

Sp2

Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1887, which composer’s first is known as The Unforeseen?

(Heitor) Villa-Lobos

ROUND 2 - Run-ons

1.

A European ruler crowned in Rome on Christmas Day 800,

&

A very large, long-haired domestic breed of cat.

2.

A museum founded in 1764 when a German art collector sold 317 paintings to a 'great' monarch in the east,

&

A 1920 novel by Edith Wharton.

The Hermitage /

Age of Innocence

3.

Mountainous masterpiece by Caspar David Friedrich,

&

A song which took Paul Gascoigne to #2 in the UK charts in 1990.

Wanderer above the Sea /

Sea of Fog on the Tyne

4.

Golf course in Lancashire which hosted the 2017 Open Championship,

&

A TV presenter whose 'big banana' swept into eternity in the following year.

Royal Birkdale /

Dale Winton

5.

European sporting venue named after a First World War flying ace,

&

A fifteenth-century Scottish place of worship that has been mooted as the resting place of the Holy Grail.

6.

Tramstop on the East Didsbury line named after the daughter of a seventh-century King of Mercia,

&

A 1985 Talking Heads single on which David Byrne knew where he was going but did not know where he had been.

St Werburgh’s Road /

Road to Nowhere

7.

Fictional TV novelist who investigated more than 260 deaths between 1984 and 2003 somehow without ever arousing suspicion herself,

&

A Didsbury-based youth football club which counts Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, and Danny Welbeck among its alumni.

Jessica Fletcher /

Fletcher Moss Rangers

8.

French engineer known as the father of thermodynamics,

&

A five-word phrase taken from Yeats’s Sailing to Byzantium which became the title of a Cormac McCarthy novel.

Sadi Carnot /

No Country for Old Men

Sp1

A sexual infection known by the French as 'the great pox'” and by everyone else as 'the French disease',

&

An international agreement which enacted the dreaded Article 50.

Syphilis /

Lisbon Treaty

Sp2

American company that was the subject of the book and film The Smartest Guys in the Room,

&

A fictitious TV newsreader who proclaimed that “diversity” was “an old, old wooden ship”.

Go back to Round 2 questions without answers

ROUND 3 - Pictures - 'The Power Behind the Throne'

In this round, you will be given the photo of a person (or persons), and asked to name their famous spouse from the description in the question text.

1.

Laura Kenny (nee Trott)

(Picture of Jason Kenny)

2.

This old man has been poisoning public discourse for decades, but who is he married to now?  Jack Nicholson probably threw her out of a window in Batman.

3.

The House of Commons paid tribute to this departed member in January this year.  Who was his wife, who has twice been Leader of the Opposition?

4.

Hilariously, this MP is the UK’s Anti-Corruption Champion.  Who is his wife, who has been CEO of TalkTalk and more recently squandered £37bn?

5.

This guy famously cuts down and keeps the nets from every final that he wins.  Which singer’s house is he filling with these nets?

6.

Both of these men were once married to the same actress (though, thankfully, not at the same time).  Something wild, and a body double, who was she?

7.

This chap won an Oscar in 2008 for the screenplay for Milk.  Who is his husband, who has recently taken up knitting?

Tom Daley

(Picture of Dustin Lance Black)

8.

This entrepreneur founded Reddit.  His wife is the GOAT, and her on-screen father just slapped a man on stage. Who is she?

Serena Williams

(Picture of Alexis Ohanian)

Sp1

The husband won an Oscar in 2008; she won an Oscar in 2009.  Who is she?

Penelope Cruz

(Picture of Javier Bardem)

Sp2

Known for her portrayals of fearsome matriarchs, this man’s wife sadly passed away last year.  Who is she?

Helen McCrory

(Picture of Damian Lewis)

Sp3

Donald Trump secured this rapper’s release from Swedish police custody in 2019.  Who is his Barbadian amour?

Rihanna

(Picture of A$ap Rocky)

Go back to Round 3 questions without answers

ROUND 4 - Internal pairs

1.

Bordering the west of Lombardy, which north-western region of Italy is home to the cities of Alessandria, Asti, Cuneo, and Novara?  Its union with Sardinia was key to the unification of Italy.

Piedmont

2.

Which country, which was the major constituent of the German Empire, was formally abolished by decree of the Allied Control Council in 1947?

Prussia

3.

The plesiosaurus and ichthyosaurus were among the discoveries of which fossil hunter who lived in Lyme Regis from 1799 to 1847?

Mary Anning

4.

Name either of the two historians whose podcast The Rest Is History has been riding high in all such charts for the past two years.

(or) Dominic Sandbrook

5.

Name either of the two political figures, both of whom have been expelled from their respective parties, who have recently begun a sister podcast to The Rest Is History, inevitably called The Rest Is Politics.

(or) Rory Stewart

6.

The palaeontologist Gideon Mantell named his most significant discovery, which he (or maybe his wife) made in Sussex in the 1820s, after which tropical reptile?

(the iguanodon)

7.

Which major European country of the Middle Ages ceased to exist when its territories were absorbed by France and Austria in the 1470s?

Burgundy

8.

Bordering the south of Lazio, which southern region of Italy is home to the cities of Avellino, Caserta, and Salerno, and the ruins of Herculaneum?

Campania

Sp1

South of Piedmont and north-west of Tuscany, which region of Italy is home to the cities of Imperia, Savona, and La Spezia?

Liguria

Sp2

Which major country disappeared from the map of Europe between 1795 and 1918?

Poland

Go back to Round 4 questions without answers

ROUND 5 - 'Wordle'

In this round, each answer contains only five letters and would be a valid entry into a Wordle grid.

2 clues are given for each question: one concerning films, another maybe a little more cryptic.

1.

Which 1990 blockbuster contributed to the sprouting of pottery-related fetishes?  It has nothing to do with well-paid, but anonymous writers.

Ghost

2.

Which 1994 non-stop action movie was parodied in a Father Ted episode featuring the amorous and very hairy milkman Pat Mustard?  He wasn’t on amphetamines, honest.

Speed

3.

Which 2014 film starring Bill Nighy and Imelda Staunton concerned the activist group 'Lesbians and Gays Support The Miners'?  It might also be regarded as a deadly sin.

Pride

4.

Which 1993 film concerned the dietary habits of a Uruguayan rugby team during an unscheduled spell in the Andes?  Simple Minds were kicking too.

Alive

5.

What 1956 movie was James Dean’s last?  He played the ranch-hand Jett Rink who strikes it lucky in the Texan oilfields, but he could also have been in the haystacks.

Giant

6.

Which 1971 action film starring Richard Rountree helped the struggling MGM studio to avoid bankruptcy?  Robert Kilroy-Silk once invited his contestants to do this, or to share.

Shaft

7.

Geoffrey Rush won the Academy Award for Best Actor for this film, which later helped Take That to #1 in the charts in 2007.

Shine

8.

Denzel Washington won his first Academy Award (this was for Best Supporting Actor) for this American Civil War film.  If it were old, it would be a flag.

Glory

Sp.

What was the name of Joaquin Phoenix’s recent Oscar winning film as well as a hit by the Steve Miller Band?

Joker

Go back to Round 5 questions without answers

ROUND 6 - 'Next in Sequence'

For the points, simply identify what comes next in the sequence; where numbers are given in the question, numbers are not required in the answer.

1.

Helium (1), Lithium (3), Sodium (11), and ___?

Potassium

(Group 1 of the periodic table)

2.

In music:

The Bringer of War, The Bringer of Peace, The Winged Messenger, and ___?
 

The Bringer of Jollity

(i.e. Jupiter from Holst’s Planets Suite)

3.

3 countries (1995); 11 countries (2004); Bulgaria and Romania (2007), and ___?

(newest members of the EU in ascending chronological sequence)

4.

In order of publication:

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; and ___?

The Silver Chair

5.

David Trimble, Ian Paisley, Peter Robinson, and ___?

(First Ministers of Northern Ireland in ascending chronological sequence)

6.

Domitian, Nerva, Trajan, and ___?

Hadrian

(Roman emperors in ascending chronological sequence)

7.

California (54), Texas (40), Florida (30), and ___?

New York

(US states in descending sequence of size of Electoral College votes, descending)

8.

Lewis Hamilton (103), Michael Schumacher (91), Sebastian Vettel (53), and ___?

Alain Prost

(Number of F1 Grand Prix victories, in descending order)

Sp1

Istanbul (15m), Moscow (12m), London (9m), and ___?

(Cities in Europe in descending sequence of size of population)

Sp2

Viscount Palmerston, Lord John Russell, William Gladstone, and ___?

(Liberal PMs in ascending chronological sequence)

Go back to Round 6 questions without answers

ROUND 7 - Announced theme with paired questions - 'Do Not Pass Go!'

Each answer contains a word or phrase one might associate with the UK version of Monopoly.

1.

Which comedian, noted for his quickfire delivery, won the prize for best joke at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2010 and 2014, and has starred with Lee Mack in the BBC sitcom Not Going Out?

Tim Vine

(Vine Street)

2.

Which comedian hosted the Brit Awards from 2018 to 2021?  He starred as the hapless teacher Alfie Wickers in the BBC sitcom Bad Education and has travelled with his father in a Netflix series.

Jack Whitehall

(Whitehall)

3.

Allowing for name changes and the inclusion of the Premier League, there have been seven divisions in English league football: the Premier League, Division 1, Division 2, Division 3, Division 3 North, Division 3 South, and Division 4.  Which is the only club to have played in all seven divisions?

(Coventry Street)

4.

Which football team lifted the only major trophy in their history (so far) when they defeated Queens Park Rangers in the 1986 Football League Cup Final?

Oxford United

(Oxford Street)

5.

Which title has been held temporarily by the following people:

Richard, the Duke Gloucester; John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland; Lord Parker, the Lord Chief Justice; and George, the Prince of Wales?

6.

John Dudley’s son, Robert Dudley, was awarded which title by Elizabeth I in 1564?  He was responsible for fortifying Tilbury as the Spanish Armada approached, and walked beside the queen as she gave her 'Heart and Stomach of a King' speech.

7.

What was Eurythmics’ only UK No. 1 single?  Released in 1985, it features a harmonica solo by Stevie Wonder.

(The Angel Islington)

8.

Which musical ensemble topped the UK charts for four weeks 1973 with the instrumental Eye Level, the theme from the popular TV series Van der Valk?

Sp.

Which English city recently cancelled its twinning arrangement with Volgograd, with whom it shares a comparably traumatic history?

Coventry

(Volgograd is Stalingrad)

(Coventry Street)

Go back to Round 7 questions without answers

ROUND 8 - Reverse pairs

1.

Which vertically and intellectually challenged MP recently complained that none of the UK’s 'woke' publishers would touch his autobiography Spartan Victory, which he subsequently self-published to widespread hilarity?

Mark Francois

2.

Two elements in the Periodic Table begin with the letter Y; they have the atomic numbers 39 and 70.  Name one of them.

either Ytterbium

or Yttrium

3.

Much to blame for the 2008 financial crisis, for what do the letters 'CDO' stand?

Collateralized debt obligation

4.

Much in the news since 2014, which city was founded in 1869 by the Welshman John Hughes, who operated a steel plant and several coalmines in the vicinity?
 

Donetsk

5.

Equally in the news since 2014, what is the name of the special operations unit with neo-Nazi sympathies which has been fighting Russian invaders in the Donbas?

The Azov Battalion

6.

Equally to blame for the 2008 financial crisis, for what do the letters 'MBS' stand?

Mortgage-backed securities

7.

With the atomic number 23, and deriving its name from the Old Norse for the goddess Freya, what is the only chemical element beginning with the V?

Vanadium

8.

Name any two of the four current Cabinet ministers who in 2012 published the economic treatise Britannia Unchained, in which they claimed that “the British are among the worst idlers in the world”.

(2 from)

Dominic Raab, Priti Patel, Kwasi Kwarteng, Liz Truss

Sp1

Which piece of classical music from the 1930s connects the Oliver Stone film Platoon and a top 10 hit for the DJ William Orbit?

Adagio for Strings

(by Samuel Barber)

Sp2

Which institution in the south-west of England was initially founded as a means of housing several thousand Frenchmen between 1809 and 1814?

Dartmoor Prison

Go back to Round 8 questions without answers