ROUND 1 - Hidden theme

1.

The Sefton Suite at this Liverpool hotel is reputedly an exact replica of the Titanic’s First Class Smoking Lounge.  Guests have included Roosevelt and Churchill, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, and Laurel & Hardy.  Which hotel is this?

2.

They were similar in construction to ancient Greek and Roman theatres, but smaller and provided with a roof for acoustic purposes.  With a name that means ‘singing place’, what type of ancient building was designed for musical activities such as singing, musical shows, and poetry competitions?

3.

Which chemical element, discovered in 1803 by the English chemist William Hyde Wollaston, was named after an asteroid, which was itself named after an epithet of the Greek goddess Athena?

4.

Despite his successes as both Viceroy of India (1899-1905) and Foreign Secretary (1919-1924), who was passed over by Bonar Law and other Conservative Party Leaders in favour of Stanley Baldwin for Prime Minister in 1923?   (family name only required)

5.

As of 2021, the Duke of Westminster and his family were 12th on the Sunday Times Rich List with an estimated net worth of £10 billion.  At the time, he was the world's richest person aged under 30.  What is his family name?

6.

She was born at St. Mary’s Hospital in Fallowfield in 1923, and died at the Alexandra Hospital in Cheadle in 1986.  Which actress became one of the first sex symbols of British TV, in a role she portrayed from 1960 until 1984?

7.

The Accademia, the Scalzi, and the Costituzione or Calatrava.  Which other is missing from this list?

8.

This Somali café, run by Charlie Ali, was legendary in the 1970s.  Open until 4 am, it served Chicken Biryani that was ordered hot, very hot, or suicide.  What was this much-loved Mancunian institution called?

Sp1

In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the United Federation of Planets, Klingons and Romulans are allies against the Founders, Vorta, and Jem’Hadar.  What is this latter coalition from the Gamma Quadrant called?

Sp2

What name links a former ITV franchise and a Spanish province?

Go to Round 1 questions with answers

ROUND 2 - Sport

1.

Which event in 2012 included 40 sheep, 12 horses, 10 chickens, 10 ducks, 9 geese, 3 cows, 3 sheep dogs and 2 goats?

2.

In 1983, aged 17, this player seriously considered quitting tennis when he killed a linesman.  Who was this player, who went on to win six Grand Slam titles, including two Wimbledon titles?

3.

During the 2002 Soccer World Cup, Ahn Jung-hwan from South Korea scored a golden goal against Italy in extra time, knocking the Italians out of the World Cup.  How did his home club reward him the very next day?

4.

The six-times Olympic gold medallist, Sir Chris Hoy was born in 1976.  Aged 6, he was inspired to take up cycling after seeing BMX bikes in which blockbuster film?

5.

In which sport would you find cleavers, macons, and squares?

6.

In which sport might you come across ‘Christmas Curry’, ‘A Dream of Brown Trousers’, ‘Vroom with a Ewe’, ‘The Snivelling Shit’ and ‘The Minging Gardens of Babylon’?

7.

After the break-up of the Soviet Union, which country’s basketball team couldn’t afford to participate in the 1992 Olympics, until the Grateful Dead funded the team’s expenses?

8.

Despite winning 2 golds, 2 silvers, and 6 bronzes in 19 winter Olympics, which European country has participated in the summer Olympics 18 times, without winning a single medal?

Sp1

In October 2000, Lee Todd, the Cross Farm Park Celtic striker, was sent off after 2 seconds, and later fined £27 and banned for 35 days.  For what reason did referee Peter Kearle red card him?

Sp2

What sets the cox in the 1900 Olympic coxed pairs apart from all other Olympic gold medal winners?

Go to Round 2 questions with answers

ROUND 3 - Women's Rights

1.

Who was Archbishop of Canterbury when England’s first women priests were ordained?

2.

Libby Lane was the first woman bishop of the Church of England.  She is now bishop of Derby.  From March 2015 to February 2019, where did she first serve as bishop?

3.

Although she did not take up her seat in Westminster, in 1918 Constance Markiewicz was the first woman to be elected as an MP.  Which political party did she represent?

4.

In 1906, which was the first European country to give women the right to vote and stand for Parliament?

5.

In answer to a question from Winston Churchill about what disguise he should wear to a masquerade ball, which MP is said to have replied "Why don't you come sober, Prime Minister?"?

6.

Which British women’s rights activist died in 1960, aged 78?  Named "an honorary Ethiopian" by Haile Selassie and given a full state funeral, she is the only foreigner buried in front of Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa. (both names required)

7.

In parts of this European country, women were allowed to vote in 1971.  But which European country did not fully grant women voting rights until 1990?

8.

Which British writer and women’s rights advocate died in 1797, aged 38?  She wrote extensively during her brief career, and is perhaps best known for her 1792 feminist philosophical work A Vindication of the Rights of Women.

Sp1

In which year was Female Genital Mutilation made a specific criminal offence in the UK?  (leeway +/- 2 years)

Sp2

In which year was Forced Marriage made a criminal offence in this country?

Go to Round 3 questions with answers

ROUND 4 - "A Film by Any Other Name…"

By what names are the following films better known in the English-speaking world?

1.

In Sweden, which 1968 Western is called Harmonica: The Avenger?

2.

In China, which 1990 romcom is called I Will Marry a Prostitute to Save Money?

3.

In Hong Kong, which 1989 sports fantasy drama is called Imaginary Dead Baseball Players Live in My Cornfield?

4.

In France, which 1999 sci-fi film is called The Young People Who Traverse Dimensions While Wearing Sunglasses?

5.

In Israel, which 2009 animated sci-fi comedy is called It’s Raining Falafel?

6.

Which 2010 British comedy-drama film based on a real 1968 event is called We Want Sex Equality in France or simply We Want Sex in Germany and Italy?

7.

In France, which 1990 comedy is called Mom, I Missed the Plane?

8.

In France, which 1993 comedy sports film is called Rasta Rocket?

Sp1

In China, which 1995 biopic is called Big Liar?

Sp2

In Italy, which 1967 comedy film, with some songs, is called Please, Don’t Touch the Old Ladies?

Sp3

In Hungary, which 1979 sci-fi film is called The Eighth Passenger: Death?

Sp4

In its native Sweden, this 2009 crime thriller is called Men Who Hate Women.  What is it called in the UK and USA?

Go to Round 4 questions with answers

ROUND 5 - "So Good They Initialled Them Twice"

1.

Which journalist, food and travel writer, and author died in 2016?  Numerous complaints were made to the Press Complaints Commission and the Commission for Racial Equality about his articles. He is often remembered for a 2010 TV review, when he described Clare Balding as "a dyke on a bike".

2.

Which rock band was formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas?  For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021.

3.

The world’s largest nocturnal primate is a lemur native to Madagascar, with a long thin middle finger, which it uses to forage for grubs.  What is it called?

4.

It was formed in 2010 with the merger of Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile UK and France Télécom’s Orange UK.  Now part of BT’s consumer division, along with the BT and Plusnet brands, what is this brand called?

5.

Eric Clapton described him as "one of the most important artists in the history of rock".  In 2008, he received a Grammy Award for his album The Road to Escondido.  Who is this American guitarist, singer, songwriter and sound engineer, whose influence has also been acknowledged by Mark Knopfler, Neil Young, Waylon Jennings and others?

6.

Chester was home to the Goteddsday football match, which was so violent, it was banned in 1533.  To replace it, the local mayor introduced an annual horse race meeting in 1593, and Chester is the world’s oldest racecourse still in operation.  The mayor’s name gave rise to which horsey term?

7.

Often cited as the first true punk rock group, this band formed in New York in 1974, dissolved in 1996, and by 2014, all four founder members were dead.  They were Joey, Johnny, Tommy and who else?

8.

Better known by the penname Saki, which British writer lived from 1870 until 1916, and wrote witty, mischievous and sometimes macabre stories satirizing Edwardian society and culture?

Sp1

According to one source, Taiyuan leads a list of Top Ten cities with 119.6 per 1,000 people.  London is the only non-Chinese city in the list, being ranked 3rd with 67.5 per 1,000.  What are we talking about?

Sp2

Designed for the Great Western Steamship Company, she was the largest passenger ship in the world from 1845 to 1854, and was the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic Ocean, which she did in 1845, in 14 days.  What was she called?

Go to Round 5 questions with answers

ROUND 6 - "Same Surname"

Each question defines two people with the same surname - each answer requires the surname, and first names or, in the case of one of the spares, a nickname

1.

A Sheffield-born singer, known for his gritty voice, spasmodic body movement in performance, and distinctive versions of popular songs of varying genres,

&

a Sheffield-born singer, who, as the founder and only consistent member of the band Pulp, became a figurehead of Britpop of the mid-1990s.

2.

This British ornithologist and painter helped found the WWF and, in 1973, was the first person to be knighted for work in wild animal conservation,

&

this Scottish-born author had a railway station named after one of his novels.

3.

This Welsh privateer became a plantation owner, and three times Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica between 1674 and 1682,

&

this rugby union player earned 29 Welsh caps in the 1950s, was one of the original team captains in A Question of Sport, and from 1976 to 1987 was Head of BBC Television Sport and Outside Broadcasts.

4.

‘La Stupenda’ was an Australian coloratura soprano from 1947 to 1990; she was much honoured and was awarded the Order of Merit in 1991,

&

he painted a portrait of Churchill at Parliament’s behest, which was given to Churchill on his 80th birthday; Churchill so disliked it, that it was later burnt.

5.

This English poet was killed one week before the signing of the Armistice,

&

this Lancaster-born biologist, comparative anatomist, and palaeontologist coined the word ‘dinosaur’ in 1841.

6.

The ‘real’ name of the Artful Dodger in Dickens’ Oliver Twist,

&

the outspoken atheist who came to prominence with his 1976 book The Selfish Gene.

7.

The Scottish actor who played Hannibal Lecktor in a 1986 film,

&

the Manchester University professor who started his TV career presenting six episodes of Horizon between 2005 and 2009?

8.

This British actor played a policeman, who was killed off in a 1950 film, but was resurrected for a TV series which ran from 1955 until 1976,

&

after his brother Sam died, this US film executive assumed control of the eponymous film studio in the 1950s, by buying out his brothers, Harry and Albert.

Sp1

This MP controversially appeared in I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here in 2022,

&

this TV presenter hosted Room 101 from 1994 to 1999, and They Think It’s All Over from 1995 to 2004.

Sp2

This basketball player retired in 1991 after announcing that he had HIV, but returned to play in the 1992 US Olympic basketball ‘Dream Team’, to win Olympic gold in Barcelona,

&

formerly one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, this actor is also known by his ring name ‘The Rock’.

Go to Round 6 questions with answers

ROUND 7 - Run ons

1.

Supposedly derived from rugby scrummaging, which idiom means ‘when easy solutions haven’t worked, something more radical needs to be done’?

&

In which pub game do competitors propel currency across a table top?

2.

Which English snooker player won the 1984 Masters, the 1992 UK Championship, but never the World Championships, despite being in six finals?

&

Which company sacked 696 people on April 15th 1912?

3.

Which song title is common to a 1940 song, perhaps best known from the 1962 Nat King Cole version, a 1968 Bee Gees song, a 2005 Oasis song, and a 2012 Christina Aguilera song?

&

In which 1949 Nancy Mitford novel does Fanny Wincham (née Logan) narrate the story of Polly Hampton?

4.

Which American musician’s most celebrated works include Tutti Frutti in 1955 and Long Tall Sally and Good Golly, Miss Molly in 1956?

&

Until the last queen, who was the longest living British head of state, dying at the age of 85?

5.

In 1967, The Yardbirds reworked a song by US singer-songwriter Jake Holmes, and it became a centrepiece of their tours.  Jimmy Page took it with him to Led Zeppelin.  With new lyrics and vocal line for their debut album, what became a signature song for the group?

&

Based in Cardiff, which financial services comparison website launched in 2001, becoming the UK’s first car insurance comparison site?

6.

Since 1903, the USA has sent an annual cheque for $4,085 to Cuba.  This cheque, which Cuba hasn’t accepted since Castro took power, pays for what?

&

Starting off as The Saxons, which Scottish pop band gained teen-idol popularity in the 1970s?

7.

Invented around 1750, which hard dry biscuit, often eaten with cheese, was named after its place of origin and its physician inventor?

&

From 1653 to 1658, who was addressed as ‘Your Most Serene Highness’?

8.

The final episode ended with the longest serving actor asking "Did I lock the door?"; broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010, which is the world’s longest running sitcom?

&

They usually come in five shapes: kidney, crown, rhombus, circle and oblong.  Which confection was introduced in 1909 by Charles Maynard?

Sp1

Which 1977-78 TV series starred child actors Adrian Dannatt and Bonnie Langford, with Diana Dors as Mrs Bott?

&

Which notable bastard was born in Normandy in c1028 and died in Rouen in 1087?

Sp2

Originally recorded in 1941 by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra, it was the first song to receive a gold record, which was presented in 1942, for sales of 1.2 million copies; what was it called?

&

The voice for this 'gentle, hairy, non-English-speaking co-pilot’ was created from recordings of walruses, lions, camels, rabbits, tigers, badgers, and bears, particularly a black bear named Tarik, from a zoo in San Jose; what is this Wookie called?

Go to Round 7 questions with answers

ROUND 8 - "It’s All Hebrew to Me"

Each answer contains a letter of the Hebrew alphabet

1.

In 2014, which film character was played by Isobelle Molloy as a child, Ella Purnell as a teen, and Angelina Jolie as an adult, and again by Angelina Jolie in 2019?

2.

Which venue is this a description of: built 1599, destroyed by fire 1613, rebuilt 1614, closed 1642, pulled down 1644-45, re-opened approximately 750 feet away in 1997?

3.

His first book was a comic fantasy novel The Carpet People in 1971; his last book was another comic fantasy novel The Shepherd’s Crown published in 2015, the year he died.  Who was he?

4.

On January 30th 1968, North Vietnamese troops and the Viet Cong launched a series of surprise attacks during the Vietnamese New Year, when many South Vietnamese troops were on holiday.   The name given to the offensive is the truncated version of the Lunar New Year festival name in Vietnamese.  What is that name?

5.

Which form of singing involves repeated and rapid changes of pitch between the low-pitch ‘chest voice’ and the high-pitch falsetto, and is used in many cultures worldwide?  It became popular in the 1830s, and is still a major feature of folk music in Switzerland, Austria and southern Germany.

6.

Born in Prague in 1883, many of this German-speaking writer’s short stories were published before he died in obscurity in 1924, but whose novels The Trial, The Castle, and Amerika were all published posthumously?

7.

A 1931 surrealist painting by Dali depicts a dreamworld where normally solid watches appear to be limp and melting in a desolate landscape.  What is the proper title of the painting sometimes referred to as Melting Clocks, The Soft Watches or The Melting Watches?

8.

This wine brand was launched in 1923 and between the 1950s and 1980s was a very popular international brand.  Until the late 1990s, it was only available as a Liebfraumilch, but which wine is now available in a whole range of wines of various origins?

Sp1

From the end of 1983 until April 19th 1993, Vernon Howell led a group called the General Association of Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventists.  By what name is Vernon Howell better known?

Sp2

Produced since 1996, which model of small family car shares its name with an earlier 1959-71 model?  About 40% of newly built cars by its Czech manufacturer are this model.

Go to Round 8 questions with answers

ROUND 1 - Hidden theme

1.

The Sefton Suite at this Liverpool hotel is reputedly an exact replica of the Titanic’s First Class Smoking Lounge.  Guests have included Roosevelt and Churchill, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, and Laurel & Hardy.  Which hotel is this?

Britannia Adelphi Hotel

(accept 'Adelphi' by itself, but not Britannia, as this is the name of the chain)

2.

They were similar in construction to ancient Greek and Roman theatres, but smaller and provided with a roof for acoustic purposes.  With a name that means ‘singing place’, what type of ancient building was designed for musical activities such as singing, musical shows, and poetry competitions?

Odeon

3.

Which chemical element, discovered in 1803 by the English chemist William Hyde Wollaston, was named after an asteroid, which was itself named after an epithet of the Greek goddess Athena?

Palladium

4.

Despite his successes as both Viceroy of India (1899-1905) and Foreign Secretary (1919-1924), who was passed over by Bonar Law and other Conservative Party Leaders in favour of Stanley Baldwin for Prime Minister in 1923?   (family name only required)

(George Nathaniel) Curzon

(1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston - a.k.a. The Lord Curzon of Kedleston, or The Earl Curzon of Kedleston)

5.

As of 2021, the Duke of Westminster and his family were 12th on the Sunday Times Rich List with an estimated net worth of £10 billion.  At the time, he was the world's richest person aged under 30.  What is his family name?

Grosvenor

6.

She was born at St. Mary’s Hospital in Fallowfield in 1923, and died at the Alexandra Hospital in Cheadle in 1986.  Which actress became one of the first sex symbols of British TV, in a role she portrayed from 1960 until 1984?

Pat Phoenix

(as Elsie Tanner in Coronation Street)

7.

The Accademia, the Scalzi, and the Costituzione or Calatrava.  Which other is missing from this list?

The Rialto

(Bridges spanning the Grand Canal in Venice)

8.

This Somali café, run by Charlie Ali, was legendary in the 1970s.  Open until 4 am, it served Chicken Biryani that was ordered hot, very hot, or suicide.  What was this much-loved Mancunian institution called?

The Plaza

Sp1

In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the United Federation of Planets, Klingons and Romulans are allies against the Founders, Vorta, and Jem’Hadar.  What is this latter coalition from the Gamma Quadrant called?

The Dominion

Sp2

What name links a former ITV franchise and a Spanish province?

Granada

Theme: Each answer contains the name of a cinema or theatre

ROUND 2 - Sport

1.

Which event in 2012 included 40 sheep, 12 horses, 10 chickens, 10 ducks, 9 geese, 3 cows, 3 sheep dogs and 2 goats?

The London Olympics opening ceremony

2.

In 1983, aged 17, this player seriously considered quitting tennis when he killed a linesman.  Who was this player, who went on to win six Grand Slam titles, including two Wimbledon titles?

Stefan Edberg

(Edberg struck the linesman in the groin with a serve. Already off balance trying to dodge the ball, the linesman fell backward and hit his head on the court. He died in the hospital a week or so later of a subdural hematoma)

3.

During the 2002 Soccer World Cup, Ahn Jung-hwan from South Korea scored a golden goal against Italy in extra time, knocking the Italians out of the World Cup.  How did his home club reward him the very next day?

They sacked him

(Perugia owner Luciano Gaucci cancelled his contract, saying, "I have no intention of paying a salary to someone who has ruined Italian football.")

4.

The six-times Olympic gold medallist, Sir Chris Hoy was born in 1976.  Aged 6, he was inspired to take up cycling after seeing BMX bikes in which blockbuster film?

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

(accept E.T.)

5.

In which sport would you find cleavers, macons, and squares?

Rowing

(they are types of oars)

6.

In which sport might you come across ‘Christmas Curry’, ‘A Dream of Brown Trousers’, ‘Vroom with a Ewe’, ‘The Snivelling Shit’ and ‘The Minging Gardens of Babylon’?

Climbing

(names of rock climbs in Gwynedd, the Avon Gorge, the Lake District, Millstone Edge, and Mingulay in the Outer Hebrides)

7.

After the break-up of the Soviet Union, which country’s basketball team couldn’t afford to participate in the 1992 Olympics, until the Grateful Dead funded the team’s expenses?

Lithuania

(the team wore tie-dye uniforms)

8.

Despite winning 2 golds, 2 silvers, and 6 bronzes in 19 winter Olympics, which European country has participated in the summer Olympics 18 times, without winning a single medal?

Liechtenstein

Sp1

In October 2000, Lee Todd, the Cross Farm Park Celtic striker, was sent off after 2 seconds, and later fined £27 and banned for 35 days.  For what reason did referee Peter Kearle red card him?

Foul and abusive language

(as Todd said: "We were about to kick-off and the referee reminded us about swearing, like he normally did. And as he walked past me, he blew the whistle for kick-off, but blew it right in my ear. I bent down, muttered ‘Fuck me ref, that was loud!' and the next thing I knew, I had a red card in my face.")

Sp2

What sets the cox in the 1900 Olympic coxed pairs apart from all other Olympic gold medal winners?

Nobody knows who he was

(The Dutch team decided that their cox was too heavy for them to win the final, so they recruited a boy from the crowd. The Dutch team won gold, but the boy disappeared into the crowd and was never seen again. He may be the youngest Olympic gold winner in history, and his identity is only known from a single photograph taken of Brandt, Klein, and him.)

Go back to Round 2 questions without answers

ROUND 3 - Women's Rights

1.

Who was Archbishop of Canterbury when England’s first women priests were ordained?

George Carey

(on March 12th 1994, 32 women were ordained by Bishop Barry Rogerson in Bristol Cathedral)

2.

Libby Lane was the first woman bishop of the Church of England.  She is now bishop of Derby.  From March 2015 to February 2019, where did she first serve as bishop?

Stockport

3.

Although she did not take up her seat in Westminster, in 1918 Constance Markiewicz was the first woman to be elected as an MP.  Which political party did she represent?

Sinn Féin

(for the St Patrick district of Dublin)

4.

In 1906, which was the first European country to give women the right to vote and stand for Parliament?

Finland

5.

In answer to a question from Winston Churchill about what disguise he should wear to a masquerade ball, which MP is said to have replied "Why don't you come sober, Prime Minister?"?

Nancy Astor

6.

Which British women’s rights activist died in 1960, aged 78?  Named "an honorary Ethiopian" by Haile Selassie and given a full state funeral, she is the only foreigner buried in front of Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa. (both names required)

Sylvia Pankhurst

7.

In parts of this European country, women were allowed to vote in 1971.  But which European country did not fully grant women voting rights until 1990?

Switzerland

(a Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland gave women voting rights in the Appenzell Innerrhoden canton)

8.

Which British writer and women’s rights advocate died in 1797, aged 38?  She wrote extensively during her brief career, and is perhaps best known for her 1792 feminist philosophical work A Vindication of the Rights of Women.

Mary Wollstonecraft

Sp1

In which year was Female Genital Mutilation made a specific criminal offence in the UK?  (leeway +/- 2 years)

1985

(when the Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act was passed)

Sp2

In which year was Forced Marriage made a criminal offence in this country?

It’s not!

(the Forced Marriage 'Civil Protection' Act, passed in July 2007, uses civil solutions which avoid criminalising family members, but if a Forced Marriage Protection Order is contravened, perpetrators can be jailed for up to 2 years)

Go back to Round 3 questions without answers

ROUND 4 - "A Film by Any Other Name…"

By what names are the following films better known in the English-speaking world?

1.

In Sweden, which 1968 Western is called Harmonica: The Avenger?

Once Upon a Time in the West

2.

In China, which 1990 romcom is called I Will Marry a Prostitute to Save Money?

Pretty Woman

3.

In Hong Kong, which 1989 sports fantasy drama is called Imaginary Dead Baseball Players Live in My Cornfield?

Field of Dreams

4.

In France, which 1999 sci-fi film is called The Young People Who Traverse Dimensions While Wearing Sunglasses?

The Matrix

5.

In Israel, which 2009 animated sci-fi comedy is called It’s Raining Falafel?

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

6.

Which 2010 British comedy-drama film based on a real 1968 event is called We Want Sex Equality in France or simply We Want Sex in Germany and Italy?

Made in Dagenham

(the film's theme song is performed by Sandie Shaw, herself a former Ford Dagenham clerk)

7.

In France, which 1990 comedy is called Mom, I Missed the Plane?

Home Alone

8.

In France, which 1993 comedy sports film is called Rasta Rocket?

Cool Runnings

Sp1

In China, which 1995 biopic is called Big Liar?

Nixon

Sp2

In Italy, which 1967 comedy film, with some songs, is called Please, Don’t Touch the Old Ladies?

The Producers

Sp3

In Hungary, which 1979 sci-fi film is called The Eighth Passenger: Death?

Alien

Sp4

In its native Sweden, this 2009 crime thriller is called Men Who Hate Women.  What is it called in the UK and USA?

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Go back to Round 4 questions without answers

ROUND 5 - "So Good They Initialled Them Twice"

1.

Which journalist, food and travel writer, and author died in 2016?  Numerous complaints were made to the Press Complaints Commission and the Commission for Racial Equality about his articles. He is often remembered for a 2010 TV review, when he described Clare Balding as "a dyke on a bike".

A A Gill

2.

Which rock band was formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas?  For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021.

ZZ Top

(ironically, Frank Beard was the only one without a beard.  As an aside: Mick Edwicker, late of the Albert Club, was asked to join ZZ Top.  He was a good guitarist, and he also had a very long beard at the time. He turned it down.)

3.

The world’s largest nocturnal primate is a lemur native to Madagascar, with a long thin middle finger, which it uses to forage for grubs.  What is it called?

Aye-Aye

4.

It was formed in 2010 with the merger of Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile UK and France Télécom’s Orange UK.  Now part of BT’s consumer division, along with the BT and Plusnet brands, what is this brand called?

EE

(formerly 'Everything Everywhere')

5.

Eric Clapton described him as "one of the most important artists in the history of rock".  In 2008, he received a Grammy Award for his album The Road to Escondido.  Who is this American guitarist, singer, songwriter and sound engineer, whose influence has also been acknowledged by Mark Knopfler, Neil Young, Waylon Jennings and others?

J J Cale

6.

Chester was home to the Goteddsday football match, which was so violent, it was banned in 1533.  To replace it, the local mayor introduced an annual horse race meeting in 1593, and Chester is the world’s oldest racecourse still in operation.  The mayor’s name gave rise to which horsey term?

Gee-gee

(from Henry Gee)

7.

Often cited as the first true punk rock group, this band formed in New York in 1974, dissolved in 1996, and by 2014, all four founder members were dead.  They were Joey, Johnny, Tommy and who else?

Dee-Dee

(of the Ramones)

8.

Better known by the penname Saki, which British writer lived from 1870 until 1916, and wrote witty, mischievous and sometimes macabre stories satirizing Edwardian society and culture?

H H Munro

(Hector Hugh Munro)

Sp1

According to one source, Taiyuan leads a list of Top Ten cities with 119.6 per 1,000 people.  London is the only non-Chinese city in the list, being ranked 3rd with 67.5 per 1,000.  What are we talking about?

CCTV cameras

(in public spaces)

Sp2

Designed for the Great Western Steamship Company, she was the largest passenger ship in the world from 1845 to 1854, and was the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic Ocean, which she did in 1845, in 14 days.  What was she called?

SS Great Britain

Go back to Round 5 questions without answers

ROUND 6 - "Same Surname"

Each question defines two people with the same surname - each answer requires the surname, and first names or, in the case of one of the spares, a nickname

1.

A Sheffield-born singer, known for his gritty voice, spasmodic body movement in performance, and distinctive versions of popular songs of varying genres,

&

a Sheffield-born singer, who, as the founder and only consistent member of the band Pulp, became a figurehead of Britpop of the mid-1990s.

Joe Cocker

&

Jarvis Cocker

2.

This British ornithologist and painter helped found the WWF and, in 1973, was the first person to be knighted for work in wild animal conservation,

&

this Scottish-born author had a railway station named after one of his novels.

Sir Peter Scott

&

Sir Walter Scott

3.

This Welsh privateer became a plantation owner, and three times Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica between 1674 and 1682,

&

this rugby union player earned 29 Welsh caps in the 1950s, was one of the original team captains in A Question of Sport, and from 1976 to 1987 was Head of BBC Television Sport and Outside Broadcasts.

Sir Henry Morgan

&

(Clifford) ‘Cliff’ Morgan

4.

‘La Stupenda’ was an Australian coloratura soprano from 1947 to 1990; she was much honoured and was awarded the Order of Merit in 1991,

&

he painted a portrait of Churchill at Parliament’s behest, which was given to Churchill on his 80th birthday; Churchill so disliked it, that it was later burnt.

Joan Sutherland

&

Graham Sutherland

5.

This English poet was killed one week before the signing of the Armistice,

&

this Lancaster-born biologist, comparative anatomist, and palaeontologist coined the word ‘dinosaur’ in 1841.

Wilfred Owen

&

Richard Owen

6.

The ‘real’ name of the Artful Dodger in Dickens’ Oliver Twist,

&

the outspoken atheist who came to prominence with his 1976 book The Selfish Gene.

Jack Dawkins

&

Richard Dawkins

(accept Clinton Dawkins)

7.

The Scottish actor who played Hannibal Lecktor in a 1986 film,

&

the Manchester University professor who started his TV career presenting six episodes of Horizon between 2005 and 2009?

Brian Cox

&

Brian Cox

8.

This British actor played a policeman, who was killed off in a 1950 film, but was resurrected for a TV series which ran from 1955 until 1976,

&

after his brother Sam died, this US film executive assumed control of the eponymous film studio in the 1950s, by buying out his brothers, Harry and Albert.

Jack Warner

(of The Blue Lamp and Dixon of Dock Green)

&

Jack Warner

(of Warner Brothers)

Sp1

This MP controversially appeared in I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here in 2022,

&

this TV presenter hosted Room 101 from 1994 to 1999, and They Think It’s All Over from 1995 to 2004.

Matthew Hancock

(accept Matt Hancock)

&

Nick Hancock

Sp2

This basketball player retired in 1991 after announcing that he had HIV, but returned to play in the 1992 US Olympic basketball ‘Dream Team’, to win Olympic gold in Barcelona,

&

formerly one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, this actor is also known by his ring name ‘The Rock’.

(Earvin) ‘Magic’ Johnson

&

Dwayne Johnson

Go back to Round 6 questions without answers

ROUND 7 - Run ons

1.

Supposedly derived from rugby scrummaging, which idiom means ‘when easy solutions haven’t worked, something more radical needs to be done’?

&

In which pub game do competitors propel currency across a table top?

When Push Comes to Shove /

Shove Ha’penny

2.

Which English snooker player won the 1984 Masters, the 1992 UK Championship, but never the World Championships, despite being in six finals?

&

Which company sacked 696 people on April 15th 1912?

Jimmy White /

White Star Line

(to avoid paying the survivors’ wages, the Titanic crew was sacked when it sank, on the grounds that they ‘disembarked on the high seas’)

3.

Which song title is common to a 1940 song, perhaps best known from the 1962 Nat King Cole version, a 1968 Bee Gees song, a 2005 Oasis song, and a 2012 Christina Aguilera song?

&

In which 1949 Nancy Mitford novel does Fanny Wincham (née Logan) narrate the story of Polly Hampton?

Let There be Love /

Love in a Cold Climate

4.

Which American musician’s most celebrated works include Tutti Frutti in 1955 and Long Tall Sally and Good Golly, Miss Molly in 1956?

&

Until the last queen, who was the longest living British head of state, dying at the age of 85?

Little Richard /

Richard Cromwell

(born 1626, Lord Protector 1658-59, died 1712)

5.

In 1967, The Yardbirds reworked a song by US singer-songwriter Jake Holmes, and it became a centrepiece of their tours.  Jimmy Page took it with him to Led Zeppelin.  With new lyrics and vocal line for their debut album, what became a signature song for the group?

&

Based in Cardiff, which financial services comparison website launched in 2001, becoming the UK’s first car insurance comparison site?
 

Dazed and Confused /

Confused.com

6.

Since 1903, the USA has sent an annual cheque for $4,085 to Cuba.  This cheque, which Cuba hasn’t accepted since Castro took power, pays for what?

&

Starting off as The Saxons, which Scottish pop band gained teen-idol popularity in the 1970s?

(The lease on) Guantánamo Bay /

Bay City Rollers

7.

Invented around 1750, which hard dry biscuit, often eaten with cheese, was named after its place of origin and its physician inventor?

&

From 1653 to 1658, who was addressed as ‘Your Most Serene Highness’?

Bath Oliver /

Oliver Cromwell

(Bath Oliver after Dr. William Oliver of Bath. Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector)

8.

The final episode ended with the longest serving actor asking "Did I lock the door?"; broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010, which is the world’s longest running sitcom?

&

They usually come in five shapes: kidney, crown, rhombus, circle and oblong.  Which confection was introduced in 1909 by Charles Maynard?

Last of the Summer Wine /

Wine Gums

Sp1

Which 1977-78 TV series starred child actors Adrian Dannatt and Bonnie Langford, with Diana Dors as Mrs Bott?

&

Which notable bastard was born in Normandy in c1028 and died in Rouen in 1087?

Just William /

William the Conqueror

Sp2

Originally recorded in 1941 by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra, it was the first song to receive a gold record, which was presented in 1942, for sales of 1.2 million copies; what was it called?

&

The voice for this 'gentle, hairy, non-English-speaking co-pilot’ was created from recordings of walruses, lions, camels, rabbits, tigers, badgers, and bears, particularly a black bear named Tarik, from a zoo in San Jose; what is this Wookie called?

Chattanooga Choo Choo /

Chewbacca

Go back to Round 7 questions without answers

ROUND 8 - "It’s All Hebrew to Me"

Each answer contains a letter of the Hebrew alphabet

1.

In 2014, which film character was played by Isobelle Molloy as a child, Ella Purnell as a teen, and Angelina Jolie as an adult, and again by Angelina Jolie in 2019?

Maleficent

(alef)

2.

Which venue is this a description of: built 1599, destroyed by fire 1613, rebuilt 1614, closed 1642, pulled down 1644-45, re-opened approximately 750 feet away in 1997?

The Globe Theatre

(beth)

3.

His first book was a comic fantasy novel The Carpet People in 1971; his last book was another comic fantasy novel The Shepherd’s Crown published in 2015, the year he died.  Who was he?

Terry Pratchett

(chet)

4.

On January 30th 1968, North Vietnamese troops and the Viet Cong launched a series of surprise attacks during the Vietnamese New Year, when many South Vietnamese troops were on holiday.   The name given to the offensive is the truncated version of the Lunar New Year festival name in Vietnamese.  What is that name?

The Tet Offensive

(from Tết Nguyên Đán)

(tet)

5.

Which form of singing involves repeated and rapid changes of pitch between the low-pitch ‘chest voice’ and the high-pitch falsetto, and is used in many cultures worldwide?  It became popular in the 1830s, and is still a major feature of folk music in Switzerland, Austria and southern Germany.

Yodeling

(yod)

6.

Born in Prague in 1883, many of this German-speaking writer’s short stories were published before he died in obscurity in 1924, but whose novels The Trial, The Castle, and Amerika were all published posthumously?

Franz Kafka

(kaf)

7.

A 1931 surrealist painting by Dali depicts a dreamworld where normally solid watches appear to be limp and melting in a desolate landscape.  What is the proper title of the painting sometimes referred to as Melting Clocks, The Soft Watches or The Melting Watches?

The Persistence of Memory

(accept the Catalan ‘La Persistència de la Memòria’ or any reasonably close answer that includes the word 'Memory')

(mem)

8.

This wine brand was launched in 1923 and between the 1950s and 1980s was a very popular international brand.  Until the late 1990s, it was only available as a Liebfraumilch, but which wine is now available in a whole range of wines of various origins?

Blue Nun

(nun)

Sp1

From the end of 1983 until April 19th 1993, Vernon Howell led a group called the General Association of Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventists.  By what name is Vernon Howell better known?

David Koresh

(resh)

Sp2

Produced since 1996, which model of small family car shares its name with an earlier 1959-71 model?  About 40% of newly built cars by its Czech manufacturer are this model.

Octavia

(by Škoda)

(tav)

Go back to Round 8 questions without answers