ROUND 1 - Stockport format - Verbal

1.

Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky.  Which constellation is it part of?  (the Latin or English name will be accepted)

2.

From 1871 to 1885, it was 0.  From 1886 to 1891, it was 1.  From 1891 to 1894, 2.  From 1894 to 1970, 3.  From 1971 to 1991, 4.  From 1992 onwards, 5.  What is it?

3.

Starting on January 2nd 1928, it is now the longest-running programme on British radio.  Over the years it has been broadcast from London, Bristol, Bedford, back in London, Emmanuel Church in Didsbury, and now MediaCityUK.  What is this series called?

4.

Which sports commentator came out with such gems as:

"And now excuse me while I interrupt myself!",

"… the first five places are filled with five different cars" and

"There's nothing wrong with the car except it's on fire"?

5.

If Kathleen Jamie is the Scottish one, and Hanan Issa is the Welsh one, who is their English equivalent?

6.

Yellow Mama was built by a British carpenter in 1927.  Last used in May 2002, it is now stored in Holman Prison, Alabama, in case anyone wants to use it.  What is Yellow Mama?

7.

The actress and human rights activist Bianca Pérez-Mora Macías was married to Mick Jagger from 1971 to 1978.  In which country was she born?

8.

Which country’s capital is nicknamed ‘The City of White Marble’, banned black cars because they are bad luck, and, although not technically banned, doesn’t allow women drivers?

9.

What is the national bird of Bolivia, Chile, Columbia, and Ecuador?

10.

Rene Laennac invented which aid for doctors in 1810?

11.

From the mid 70’s to the mid 90’s, if the vocalist was Joey, the lead guitarist was Johnny, and the bass guitarist was Dee Dee, who was the drummer?

12.

Born to a poor peasant family, he was conscripted into the Imperial Russian Army in WW1.  In WW2, he organized the defence of Leningrad, Moscow, and Stalingrad.  He helped plan the Battle of Kursk, and he took part in the Battle of Berlin.  Who accepted the German surrender on May 8th 1945?

13.

What did the American Gutzon Borglum create between 1927 and 1941?

14.

Selling for $12,400,000, at Christie’s New York in 2022, whose Le Violon d’Ingres is the most expensive photo sold at auction?

15.

The 1642 painting Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq or The Shooting Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch, is better known as what?

16.

Francis Bacon created more than 45 paintings in the 1950s and early 1960s, often known as the Screaming Popes.  They were based on which artist’s Portrait of Innocent X from around 1650?

17.

In Munich on April 30th 1945, the day of Hitler’s suicide, which war photojournalist and former student of Man Ray, was photographed in Hitler’s bath?

18.

Inspired by Édouard de Laboulaye in 1865, what was designed and built by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi and Gustave Eiffel between 1875 and 1886?

19.

He spent his time in the office managing the logistics of the mass deportation of Jews to the extermination camps. Which unremarkable bureaucrat was described as the ‘banality of evil’?

20.

In the late 60’s and the 70’s, Percy was the vocalist, Led Wallet was the lead guitarist, and Jonesy was the bass guitarist and keyboardist.  What was the nickname of the drummer?

21.

Which medical tool was developed by Sanctorius in 1612?

22.

What is the state bird of Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas?

23.

In 2001, the President of Turkmenistan banned what form of dancing as "decidedly un-Turkmenlike"?

24.

The model and actress Rachel Hunter was married to Rod Stewart from 1990 to 2006.  In which country was she born?

25.

What links the French surgeon and physiologist Antoine Louis and German engineer Tobias Schmidt in the 1780s, Nicolas Pelletier in 1792, and Hamida Djandoubi in 1977?

26.

In a 1786 article, who did the writer Henry Mackenzie describe as "this Heaven-taught ploughman"?

27.

From 2010 until 2021, the Formula 1 Driver’s Titles were all won by Lewis Hamilton or Sebastian Vettel, with just one exception.  Who won in 2016?

28.

It was first broadcast by the BBC Home Service on April 9th 1947, from the Broadoak Hotel, Ashton-under-Lyne.  The first panellists were Bill Sowerbutts, Fred Loads, Tom Clark and Dr E.W. Sansome.  Still broadcast on BBC radio, what is this series called?

29.

From 1880 to 1888, it was 4.  From 1889 to 1899, it was 5.  From 1900 to 1938, 6.  From 1939 to 1945, 8. From 1946 onwards, it is back to 6.  What is it?

30.

Discovered in 1915 by Robert Innes, and located 4.2465 light-years away, the nearest-known star to the Sun is in which constellation?  (the Latin or English name will be accepted)

Sp1

The Holy See has Observer status at the United Nations.  How many full members are there with names that follow ‘Vatican City’ in the alphabet?

Sp2

The State of Palestine has Observer status at the United Nations.  How many full members are there with names that begin with ‘P’ that follow Palestine in the alphabet?

Go to Round 1 questions with answers

ROUND 2 - Stockport format - Written

1.

Established in 1863, which is the largest non-Muslim religious minority in Iran?

2.

In total, how many times were Peter O’Toole and Glenn Close nominated for Oscars, without ever winning?

3.

In August 1945, what did Tsutomu Yamaguchi and Jacob Beser have in common?

4.

Judging by some of his book titles, which author has an appreciation of Dire Straits (Love Over Scotland and Espresso Tales), Oscar Wilde (The Importance of Being Seven), John Irving (The World According to Bertie), and Milan Kundera (The Unbearable Lightness of Scones)?

5.

Released in September 2021, this is Tony Bennett’s sixty-first and final studio album, and Lady Gaga's seventh.  Consisting of renditions of various jazz standards by Cole Porter, what is this album called?

6.

By the end of WW1, he was a Marshal of France.  After WW2, he was convicted of treason, but his death sentence was commuted to life in prison.  He died in 1951.  Who did Charles de Gaulle describe as "successively banal, then glorious, then deplorable, but never mediocre"?

7.

Who is the only UK Prime Minister to have completed a PhD?

8.

John Taylor was a British eye surgeon, self-promoter, and medical charlatan, who blinded hundreds of people.  Name the two famous composers who he blinded in April 1750 and August 1758.

9

Which former US politician and Nobel laureate said:

"Corrupt politicians make the other 10% look bad."?

Which physicist’s name links a crater on the far side of the moon, a mountain range on Venus, a gap within the 'C' Ring of Saturn, and an asteroid numbered 12760?

On June 29 1971, what unenviable record was created by Georgi Dobrovolski, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev?

Go to Round 2 questions with answers

ROUND 3 - WithQuiz format - Hidden theme

Each answer has a link to one particular well-known person

1.

Which acronym is used by oncologists to describe the condition of a person with cancer who has been successfully treated and is in complete remission?  It is also a derogatory term in Scotland for a hooligan, lout or petty criminal.

2.

Ignoring Oxbridge colleges with the same name but different spellings or punctuation (i.e. Magdalen/Magdalene, Queens’/Queen’s, St Catharines/St Catherines), there are six colleges with the same name.  Which one is missing from this list: Corpus Christi, Pembroke, St John’s, Trinity, Wolfson?

3.

The third son of the Grand Sharif of Mecca was born in 1883.  Between 1916 and 1918, he led the Northern Army against the Ottomans in what would become western Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria.  Who was the first King of Iraq, ruling from 1921 to 1933?

4.

What is the name of the only coastal city and seaport in Jordan?  The nearby King Hussein International Airport is the country’s only civilian airport outside Amman.

5.

He has been described as "Terry Wogan’s heir apparent as Britain's favourite Irishman".  In 2015, he interviewed Stephen Hawking for BBC One. He currently hosts Blockbusters on Comedy Central. Who is he?  (the first name is required for the theme)

6.

What name links a sea that was discovered in 1841, an island with Mt Erebus, the southernmost active volcano on Earth, and an ice shelf where Roald Amundsen started his 1911 expedition?

7.

In 1925, who was chronologically the second Irishman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature?

8.

The Tank Museum is the museum of the Royal Tank Regiment and the Royal Armoured Corps.  With almost 300 vehicles from 26 countries, it is the largest collection of tanks and the third largest collection of armoured vehicles in the world.  It includes a British First World War Mark I, the world’s oldest surviving combat tank.  About 12 miles west of Poole, where is this museum?

The archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley is best known for his excavations at Ur between 1922 and 1934.  Earlier between 1912 and 1914, he excavated a Hittite city on the Turkish/Syrian border.  He and his assistant apparently worked for British Naval Intelligence, monitoring the building of Germany's Berlin-to-Baghdad railway.  What was the city called?

According to one story, this actor got drunk in pub with a friend, and decided to go to a play.  During the play, the actor nudged his friend and said: "You’ll like this, this is where I come on… Oh, fuck!"  Who was the actor?

Go to Round 3 questions with answers

ROUND 4 - WithQuiz format - Hidden theme

1.

Which gardening and hand tool supplier was founded in 1760, and is still headquartered in Sheffield?

2.

In orbital mechanics, a type of spaceflight flyby that saves propellant by using the gravity of a planet to alter the path and speed of a spacecraft, is called a gravity assist, or a swing-by.  What other term is more generally used to describe this manoeuvre?

3.

Which typographical symbol is used in printed matter in the following ways:

• as a reference mark to refer the reader to a footnote, marginal note, etc.

• beside a person’s name to indicate that the person is deceased

• beside a date to indicate that it is a person’s death date?

4.

What is missing from this list:

• Wands (also called batons, clubs, staffs, staves, or rods),

• Pentacles (also called coins, disks, or rings)

• Cups (also called goblets, chalices, or vessels)?

5.

The initial melody is called ‘the leader.’  The imitative melody, played in a different voice by ‘the follower,’ must be an exact replication of the leader’s rhythms and intervals - or a transformation thereof.  In music, what term describes this contrapuntal compositional technique?

6.

In the early 1950s, this Midlands-based motorcycle producer was the world’s largest, with a quarter of the global market.  However the management failed to appreciate the importance of the resurgent Japanese motorcycle industry.  Effectively bankrupt, which company became defunct in 1972?

7.

What two-word term is commonly given to a research institute or pressure group that researches and often lobbies on specific topics, such as social policy, economics, and culture?  Examples include the Fabian Society, the Bow Group, the Institute for Fiscal Studies, and the Centre for Policy Studies.

8.

What word links:

• a brass musical instrument which incorporates several feet of telescopic tubing like the trombone, invented in the 1910s

• an American brand of bubble gum that was introduced in 1947

• a range of gel and freezing treatments by Diomed, to remove verrucas?

Sp1

With a fibreglass body, a steel box-section chassis, and Ford engines, what name was used for the series of British sports cars models manufactured by Reliant from 1964 to 1986?  Over the 22 years, it evolved from a coupé (GT), into a sports estate (GTE), and a convertible version (GTC).

Sp2

What term is applied to shoe heels varying in height from 1 inch to 10 inches or more, with a diameter on the ground of less than a ½ inch?

Sp3

Which US new wave band was formed in Athens, Georgia in 1976?  Their best performing albums in the UK were Cosmic Thing and Good Stuff, which both reached No. 8 in 1989 and 1992 respectively, and their best singles were Love Shack, which reached No. 2 in 1989, and (Meet) The Flintstones, which reached No. 3 in 1994.

Go to Round 4 questions with answers

ROUND 5 - WithQuiz format - On February 7th

Four questions about people who were born on this day & four questions about people who died on this day

1.

Born 1478.  He wrote polemics against Luther, Zwingli, and Tyndale.  Refusing to take the Oath of Supremacy, he was executed.  Who did Pope Pius XI canonise, and John Paul II declare the patron saint of statesmen and politicians?

2.

Born 1885. In 1930, which US author became the first writer from the Americas to win the Nobel Prize in Literature?  Novels include Our Mr. Wrenn: The Romantic Adventures of a Gentle Man in 1914 through to The God-Seeker in 1949

3.

Born 1908.  Which Olympic gold medallist swimmer, starred in 1930s and 40s films, portraying the top three syndicated comic-strip heroes of the 1930s: Tarzan, Flash Gordon, and Buck Rogers?

4.

Born 1937.  For 10 years he was economics editor for The Times, and in the early 70s the presenter of the LWT programme Weekend World.  In 1977, his father -in-law became Prime Minister.  He was only 40 years old, was not a diplomat, and had never held any public office.  Whose appointment as Ambassador to the United States caused some controversy and accusations of nepotism?

5.

Died 1994.  He was described as "possibly the greatest Polish composer since Chopin".  His compositions, of which he was a notable conductor, included his four symphonies, the Variations on a Theme by Paganini, the Concerto for Orchestra, and his Cello Concerto.  Who was he?

6.

Died 1979.  With doctorates in anthropology and medicine, he was posted to Auschwitz in 1943, where he conducted research on twins, people with eyes of two different colours, dwarves, and people with physical disabilities.  Who finally drowned after a stroke while swimming off the coast of Brazil?

7.

Died 1871.  In Braunschweig, Germany, he started making guitars and zithers, and then graduated to pianos.  He emigrated to New York in 1850 with five of his sons.  In the early 1850s, the family worked for other piano companies until they could establish their own production company.  Who was he?

8.

Died 1873.  He was an Irish writer of Gothic tales, ghost stories, mystery novels, and horror fiction. Whose works included the locked-room mystery Uncle Silas, the lesbian vampire novella Carmilla, and the historical novel The House by the Churchyard?

Sp1

Born 1942.  In The New Avengers in 1976 and 77, Patrick Macnee again played John Steed, and Joanna Lumley played Purdey.  The other partner was a crack marksman and trained martial artist. What was his name? (either his real name or the part he played will do)

Sp2

Died 2000.  In his first World of Magic TV special in 1975, he successfully performed Houdini’s water torture illusion.  His last TV special was World of Magic VII in 1982.  In 1992, as a Natural Law Party candidate in the UK general election, he contested the Blackpool South constituency, finishing 4th of 4, with 173 votes.  In 1993, as a Natural Law Party of Canada candidate, he ran for the Toronto riding of Rosedale, finishing 6th of 10.  Who was this Canadian magician, illusionist, escape artist, and politician?

Go to Round 5 questions with answers

ROUND 6 - WithQuiz format - Run-ons

1.

In the mid-90s, which duo had three No. 1 hits with Unchained Melody, I Believe and What Becomes of the Brokenhearted?

&

Between 2007 and 2023, who played for Hertha BSC, Hamburger SV, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Lyon? (first name required for the run-on)

2.

Released in 1980, what is the Star Wars: Episode V film called?

&

Which 1985 film features Marty, ‘Doc’ and a DeLorean?

3.

Which French heroine and martyr was burned at the stake in 1431?

&

Which monument stands at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle in Paris.

4.

Which catchphrase, put into the mouth of the chancellor Denis Healey by 1970s impressionist Mike Yarwood, was actually taken up by Healey?

&

Originally published in a boys’ weekly story paper from 1908 to 1940, which fictional schoolboy went to Greyfriars School?

5.

Born in Newton Heath, who joined Granada in 1971 and presented ITV’s This Morning between 1988 and 2001 and 2019 and 2020?

&

Which 1939 novel starts with the line "riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodious vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs"?

6.

Which actor first found success between 1993 and 1997, as the eponymous hero of an ITV series set in the Napoleonic Wars?

&

By what name is the dish ‘skinheads on a raft’ better known?

7.

Which hugely popular football comic strip was introduced in the Tiger in 1954?

&

There are 25 pubs in Weatherfield - which is by far the best known?

8.

A short-lived whirlwind is often known as a Dust Devil or Dirt Devil.  What is it more commonly called in Australia?

&

Born Herbert Frahm in 1913, by what name is this Chancellor of West Germany and Nobel Prize winner known?

Sp1

The party drug ‘Ice’ or ‘Glass’ (clear or shiny blue-white chunks of methamphetamine) is more commonly known as what?

&

The Holy Club was formed in Oxford in 1729 to systematically serve God every hour of the day.  The leader of the club used what term of mockery, given by other college students, as a title of honour?

Sp2

Which song by George Harrison was the UK’s biggest-selling single of 1971, and the first No. 1 single by an ex-Beatle?

&

Hugo Dyson was a member of the Inklings literary group in Oxford, and a committed Christian. During a reading of a work in progress, he exclaimed "Oh no! Not another fucking elf!"  From which series of novels was the reading being given?

Go to Round 6 questions with answers

Tiebreakers

1.

In the fifth tier of Argentine football, in a match between rival Buenos Aires teams Claypole and Victoriano Arenas in 2011, two players were red-carded in the first half.  In the second half, it boiled over into a mass brawl.  In total, how many red cards were shown in the match?

2.

During the winter, the North American Blue Grouse or Dusky Grouse (Dendragapus obscurus) inhabits mountainous pine forests.  When nesting time begins in the spring, it migrates to deciduous woodlands to feed on the early crop of seeds and fresh leaves.  How far is this migration?  (in metres please)

Go to Tiebreaker questions with answers

ROUND 1 - Stockport format - Verbal

1.

Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky.  Which constellation is it part of?  (the Latin or English name will be accepted)

Canis Major or Greater Dog

(Sirius is also known as the ‘Dog Star’, reflecting its prominence in that constellation)

2.

From 1871 to 1885, it was 0.  From 1886 to 1891, it was 1.  From 1891 to 1894, 2.  From 1894 to 1970, 3.  From 1971 to 1991, 4.  From 1992 onwards, 5.  What is it?

Points for a try in Rugby Union

(accept ‘Points for a try in Rugby’, but not for ‘a try in Rugby League’)

3.

Starting on January 2nd 1928, it is now the longest-running programme on British radio.  Over the years it has been broadcast from London, Bristol, Bedford, back in London, Emmanuel Church in Didsbury, and now MediaCityUK.  What is this series called?

The Daily Service

4.

Which sports commentator came out with such gems as:

"And now excuse me while I interrupt myself!",

"… the first five places are filled with five different cars" and

"There's nothing wrong with the car except it's on fire"?

Murray Walker

5.

If Kathleen Jamie is the Scottish one, and Hanan Issa is the Welsh one, who is their English equivalent?

Simon Armitage

(Poet Laureate)

6.

Yellow Mama was built by a British carpenter in 1927.  Last used in May 2002, it is now stored in Holman Prison, Alabama, in case anyone wants to use it.  What is Yellow Mama?

An Electric Chair

(In July 2002, a revision to Alabama's death penalty allowed inmates to choose execution by either lethal injection or electrocution.  Since then, 42 have chosen lethal injection, none have chosen electrocution)

7.

The actress and human rights activist Bianca Pérez-Mora Macías was married to Mick Jagger from 1971 to 1978.  In which country was she born?

Nicaragua

8.

Which country’s capital is nicknamed ‘The City of White Marble’, banned black cars because they are bad luck, and, although not technically banned, doesn’t allow women drivers?

Turkmenistan

9.

What is the national bird of Bolivia, Chile, Columbia, and Ecuador?

Andean Condor

10.

Rene Laennac invented which aid for doctors in 1810?

Stethoscope

11.

From the mid 70’s to the mid 90’s, if the vocalist was Joey, the lead guitarist was Johnny, and the bass guitarist was Dee Dee, who was the drummer?

Tommy

(of the Ramones)

12.

Born to a poor peasant family, he was conscripted into the Imperial Russian Army in WW1.  In WW2, he organized the defence of Leningrad, Moscow, and Stalingrad.  He helped plan the Battle of Kursk, and he took part in the Battle of Berlin.  Who accepted the German surrender on May 8th 1945?

Georgy Zhukov

13.

What did the American Gutzon Borglum create between 1927 and 1941?

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

14.

Selling for $12,400,000, at Christie’s New York in 2022, whose Le Violon d’Ingres is the most expensive photo sold at auction?

Man Ray

15.

The 1642 painting Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq or The Shooting Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch, is better known as what?

The Night Watch

(by Rembrandt)

16.

Francis Bacon created more than 45 paintings in the 1950s and early 1960s, often known as the Screaming Popes.  They were based on which artist’s Portrait of Innocent X from around 1650?

Diego Velázquez

17.

In Munich on April 30th 1945, the day of Hitler’s suicide, which war photojournalist and former student of Man Ray, was photographed in Hitler’s bath?

Lee Miller

(she then took a bath and slept in Hitler’s bed)

18.

Inspired by Édouard de Laboulaye in 1865, what was designed and built by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi and Gustave Eiffel between 1875 and 1886?

The Statue of Liberty

(or more properly, Liberty Enlightening the World)

19.

He spent his time in the office managing the logistics of the mass deportation of Jews to the extermination camps. Which unremarkable bureaucrat was described as the ‘banality of evil’?

Otto Adolf Eichmann

20.

In the late 60’s and the 70’s, Percy was the vocalist, Led Wallet was the lead guitarist, and Jonesy was the bass guitarist and keyboardist.  What was the nickname of the drummer?

Bonzo

(John Bonham of Led Zeppelin)

21.

Which medical tool was developed by Sanctorius in 1612?

Thermometer

22.

What is the state bird of Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas?

Mockingbird

23.

In 2001, the President of Turkmenistan banned what form of dancing as "decidedly un-Turkmenlike"?

Ballet

(at the same time he banned opera and circuses)

24.

The model and actress Rachel Hunter was married to Rod Stewart from 1990 to 2006.  In which country was she born?

New Zealand

25.

What links the French surgeon and physiologist Antoine Louis and German engineer Tobias Schmidt in the 1780s, Nicolas Pelletier in 1792, and Hamida Djandoubi in 1977?

Guillotine

(inventors, and, in France, first person executed, last person executed)

26.

In a 1786 article, who did the writer Henry Mackenzie describe as "this Heaven-taught ploughman"?

Robert Burns

27.

From 2010 until 2021, the Formula 1 Driver’s Titles were all won by Lewis Hamilton or Sebastian Vettel, with just one exception.  Who won in 2016?

Nico Rosberg

(Hamilton’s team mate at Mercedes)

28.

It was first broadcast by the BBC Home Service on April 9th 1947, from the Broadoak Hotel, Ashton-under-Lyne.  The first panellists were Bill Sowerbutts, Fred Loads, Tom Clark and Dr E.W. Sansome.  Still broadcast on BBC radio, what is this series called?

Gardeners’ Question Time

29.

From 1880 to 1888, it was 4.  From 1889 to 1899, it was 5.  From 1900 to 1938, 6.  From 1939 to 1945, 8. From 1946 onwards, it is back to 6.  What is it?

Number of cricket balls in an over

30.

Discovered in 1915 by Robert Innes, and located 4.2465 light-years away, the nearest-known star to the Sun is in which constellation?  (the Latin or English name will be accepted)

Centaurus or The Centaur

(the star Proxima Centauri is part of the Alpha Centauri triple star system)

Sp1

The Holy See has Observer status at the United Nations.  How many full members are there with names that follow ‘Vatican City’ in the alphabet?

5

(Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe)

Sp2

The State of Palestine has Observer status at the United Nations.  How many full members are there with names that begin with ‘P’ that follow Palestine in the alphabet?

7

(Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal)

ROUND 2 - Stockport format - Written

1.

Established in 1863, which is the largest non-Muslim religious minority in Iran?

The Baháʼí Faith

2.

In total, how many times were Peter O’Toole and Glenn Close nominated for Oscars, without ever winning?

16

(8 times each)

3.

In August 1945, what did Tsutomu Yamaguchi and Jacob Beser have in common?

They survived both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings

(Yamaguchi was the only person recognized by the Japanese government as surviving both explosions. He died in 2010.  Beser was the only crew member to fly on both missions)

4.

Judging by some of his book titles, which author has an appreciation of Dire Straits (Love Over Scotland and Espresso Tales), Oscar Wilde (The Importance of Being Seven), John Irving (The World According to Bertie), and Milan Kundera (The Unbearable Lightness of Scones)?

Alexander McCall Smith

5.

Released in September 2021, this is Tony Bennett’s sixty-first and final studio album, and Lady Gaga's seventh.  Consisting of renditions of various jazz standards by Cole Porter, what is this album called?

Love for Sale

6.

By the end of WW1, he was a Marshal of France.  After WW2, he was convicted of treason, but his death sentence was commuted to life in prison.  He died in 1951.  Who did Charles de Gaulle describe as "successively banal, then glorious, then deplorable, but never mediocre"?

Philippe Pétain

7.

Who is the only UK Prime Minister to have completed a PhD?

Gordon Brown

(Edinburgh University, 1982, with a thesis The Labour Party and Political Change in Scotland 1918–1929)

8.

John Taylor was a British eye surgeon, self-promoter, and medical charlatan, who blinded hundreds of people.  Name the two famous composers who he blinded in April 1750 and August 1758.

Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel

9.

Which former US politician and Nobel laureate said:

"Corrupt politicians make the other 10% look bad."?

Henry Kissinger

10.

Which physicist’s name links a crater on the far side of the moon, a mountain range on Venus, a gap within the 'C' Ring of Saturn, and an asteroid numbered 12760?

James Clerk Maxwell

Sp.

On June 29 1971, what unenviable record was created by Georgi Dobrovolski, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev?

The only people to die in space

ROUND 3 - WithQuiz format - Hidden theme

Each answer has a link to one particular well-known person

1.

Which acronym is used by oncologists to describe the condition of a person with cancer who has been successfully treated and is in complete remission?  It is also a derogatory term in Scotland for a hooligan, lout or petty criminal.

NED

(No Evidence of Disease/ Non-Educated Delinquent)

2.

Ignoring Oxbridge colleges with the same name but different spellings or punctuation (i.e. Magdalen/Magdalene, Queens’/Queen’s, St Catharines/St Catherines), there are six colleges with the same name.  Which one is missing from this list: Corpus Christi, Pembroke, St John’s, Trinity, Wolfson?

Jesus

3.

The third son of the Grand Sharif of Mecca was born in 1883.  Between 1916 and 1918, he led the Northern Army against the Ottomans in what would become western Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria.  Who was the first King of Iraq, ruling from 1921 to 1933?

Faisal I

(accept also Fayṣal al-Awwal ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn ‘Alī al-Hāshimī)

4.

What is the name of the only coastal city and seaport in Jordan?  The nearby King Hussein International Airport is the country’s only civilian airport outside Amman.

Aqaba

5.

He has been described as "Terry Wogan’s heir apparent as Britain's favourite Irishman".  In 2015, he interviewed Stephen Hawking for BBC One. He currently hosts Blockbusters on Comedy Central. Who is he?  (the first name is required for the theme)

Dara Ó Briain

6.

What name links a sea that was discovered in 1841, an island with Mt Erebus, the southernmost active volcano on Earth, and an ice shelf where Roald Amundsen started his 1911 expedition?

Ross

7.

In 1925, who was chronologically the second Irishman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature?

George Bernard Shaw

(after WB Yeats in 1923, and before Samuel Beckett in 1969 and Seamus Heaney in 1995)

8.

The Tank Museum is the museum of the Royal Tank Regiment and the Royal Armoured Corps.  With almost 300 vehicles from 26 countries, it is the largest collection of tanks and the third largest collection of armoured vehicles in the world.  It includes a British First World War Mark I, the world’s oldest surviving combat tank.  About 12 miles west of Poole, where is this museum?

Bovington

Sp1

The archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley is best known for his excavations at Ur between 1922 and 1934.  Earlier between 1912 and 1914, he excavated a Hittite city on the Turkish/Syrian border.  He and his assistant apparently worked for British Naval Intelligence, monitoring the building of Germany's Berlin-to-Baghdad railway.  What was the city called?

Carchemish

Sp2

According to one story, this actor got drunk in pub with a friend, and decided to go to a play.  During the play, the actor nudged his friend and said: "You’ll like this, this is where I come on… Oh, fuck!"  Who was the actor?

Peter O’Toole

Theme: Lawrence of Arabia

Answers comprise his family nickname, his Oxford college, who fought alongside, two places he went to in WW1, two pseudonyms adopted after WW1, where he died, where he excavated, and actor who played him

Go back to Round 3 questions without answers

ROUND 4 - WithQuiz format - Hidden theme

1.

Which gardening and hand tool supplier was founded in 1760, and is still headquartered in Sheffield?

Spear & Jackson

2.

In orbital mechanics, a type of spaceflight flyby that saves propellant by using the gravity of a planet to alter the path and speed of a spacecraft, is called a gravity assist, or a swing-by.  What other term is more generally used to describe this manoeuvre?

A gravitational slingshot

3.

Which typographical symbol is used in printed matter in the following ways:

• as a reference mark to refer the reader to a footnote, marginal note, etc.

• beside a person’s name to indicate that the person is deceased

• beside a date to indicate that it is a person’s death date?

Dagger symbol, or Obelus

4.

What is missing from this list:

• Wands (also called batons, clubs, staffs, staves, or rods),

• Pentacles (also called coins, disks, or rings)

• Cups (also called goblets, chalices, or vessels)?

Swords

(accept Blades - they are the card suits in Tarot)

5.

The initial melody is called ‘the leader.’  The imitative melody, played in a different voice by ‘the follower,’ must be an exact replication of the leader’s rhythms and intervals - or a transformation thereof.  In music, what term describes this contrapuntal compositional technique?

Canon

6.

In the early 1950s, this Midlands-based motorcycle producer was the world’s largest, with a quarter of the global market.  However the management failed to appreciate the importance of the resurgent Japanese motorcycle industry.  Effectively bankrupt, which company became defunct in 1972?

BSA or Birmingham Small Arms

7.

What two-word term is commonly given to a research institute or pressure group that researches and often lobbies on specific topics, such as social policy, economics, and culture?  Examples include the Fabian Society, the Bow Group, the Institute for Fiscal Studies, and the Centre for Policy Studies.

Think Tank

8.

What word links:

• a brass musical instrument which incorporates several feet of telescopic tubing like the trombone, invented in the 1910s

• an American brand of bubble gum that was introduced in 1947

• a range of gel and freezing treatments by Diomed, to remove verrucas?

Bazooka or Bazuca

 

Sp1

With a fibreglass body, a steel box-section chassis, and Ford engines, what name was used for the series of British sports cars models manufactured by Reliant from 1964 to 1986?  Over the 22 years, it evolved from a coupé (GT), into a sports estate (GTE), and a convertible version (GTC).

Reliant Scimitar

Sp2

What term is applied to shoe heels varying in height from 1 inch to 10 inches or more, with a diameter on the ground of less than a ½ inch?

Stilettos

Sp3

Which US new wave band was formed in Athens, Georgia in 1976?  Their best performing albums in the UK were Cosmic Thing and Good Stuff, which both reached No. 8 in 1989 and 1992 respectively, and their best singles were Love Shack, which reached No. 2 in 1989, and (Meet) The Flintstones, which reached No. 3 in 1994.

The B-52s

Theme: Each answer refers to some sort of weapon

Go back to Round 4 questions without answers

ROUND 5 - WithQuiz format - On February 7th

Four questions about people who were born on this day & four questions about people who died on this day

1.

Born 1478.  He wrote polemics against Luther, Zwingli, and Tyndale.  Refusing to take the Oath of Supremacy, he was executed.  Who did Pope Pius XI canonise, and John Paul II declare the patron saint of statesmen and politicians?

Sir Thomas More

2.

Born 1885. In 1930, which US author became the first writer from the Americas to win the Nobel Prize in Literature?  Novels include Our Mr. Wrenn: The Romantic Adventures of a Gentle Man in 1914 through to The God-Seeker in 1949

Sinclair Lewis

3.

Born 1908.  Which Olympic gold medallist swimmer, starred in 1930s and 40s films, portraying the top three syndicated comic-strip heroes of the 1930s: Tarzan, Flash Gordon, and Buck Rogers?

‘Buster’ Crabbe

(or Clarence Crabbe II)

4.

Born 1937.  For 10 years he was economics editor for The Times, and in the early 70s the presenter of the LWT programme Weekend World.  In 1977, his father -in-law became Prime Minister.  He was only 40 years old, was not a diplomat, and had never held any public office.  Whose appointment as Ambassador to the United States caused some controversy and accusations of nepotism?

Sir Peter Jay

5.

Died 1994.  He was described as "possibly the greatest Polish composer since Chopin".  His compositions, of which he was a notable conductor, included his four symphonies, the Variations on a Theme by Paganini, the Concerto for Orchestra, and his Cello Concerto.  Who was he?

Witold Lutosławski

6.

Died 1979.  With doctorates in anthropology and medicine, he was posted to Auschwitz in 1943, where he conducted research on twins, people with eyes of two different colours, dwarves, and people with physical disabilities.  Who finally drowned after a stroke while swimming off the coast of Brazil?

Josef Mengele

7.

Died 1871.  In Braunschweig, Germany, he started making guitars and zithers, and then graduated to pianos.  He emigrated to New York in 1850 with five of his sons.  In the early 1850s, the family worked for other piano companies until they could establish their own production company.  Who was he?

Henry E Steinway

(accept Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg)

8.

Died 1873.  He was an Irish writer of Gothic tales, ghost stories, mystery novels, and horror fiction. Whose works included the locked-room mystery Uncle Silas, the lesbian vampire novella Carmilla, and the historical novel The House by the Churchyard?

Sheridan Le Fanu

Sp1

Born 1942.  In The New Avengers in 1976 and 77, Patrick Macnee again played John Steed, and Joanna Lumley played Purdey.  The other partner was a crack marksman and trained martial artist. What was his name? (either his real name or the part he played will do)

Gareth Hunt

or

Mike Gambit

Sp2

Died 2000.  In his first World of Magic TV special in 1975, he successfully performed Houdini’s water torture illusion.  His last TV special was World of Magic VII in 1982.  In 1992, as a Natural Law Party candidate in the UK general election, he contested the Blackpool South constituency, finishing 4th of 4, with 173 votes.  In 1993, as a Natural Law Party of Canada candidate, he ran for the Toronto riding of Rosedale, finishing 6th of 10.  Who was this Canadian magician, illusionist, escape artist, and politician?

Doug Henning

Go back to Round 5 questions without answers

ROUND 6 - WithQuiz format - Run-ons

1.

In the mid-90s, which duo had three No. 1 hits with Unchained Melody, I Believe and What Becomes of the Brokenhearted?

&

Between 2007 and 2023, who played for Hertha BSC, Hamburger SV, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Lyon? (first name required for the run-on)

Robson & Jerome Boateng

2.

Released in 1980, what is the Star Wars: Episode V film called?

&

Which 1985 film features Marty, ‘Doc’ and a DeLorean?

The Empire Strikes Back to the Future

3.

Which French heroine and martyr was burned at the stake in 1431?

&

Which monument stands at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle in Paris.

Joan of Arc de Triomphe

4.

Which catchphrase, put into the mouth of the chancellor Denis Healey by 1970s impressionist Mike Yarwood, was actually taken up by Healey?

&

Originally published in a boys’ weekly story paper from 1908 to 1940, which fictional schoolboy went to Greyfriars School?

(What a) Silly Billy Bunter

5.

Born in Newton Heath, who joined Granada in 1971 and presented ITV’s This Morning between 1988 and 2001 and 2019 and 2020?

&

Which 1939 novel starts with the line "riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodious vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs"?

Judy Finnegan’s Wake

6.

Which actor first found success between 1993 and 1997, as the eponymous hero of an ITV series set in the Napoleonic Wars?

&

By what name is the dish ‘skinheads on a raft’ better known?

Sean Bean/s on Toast

7.

Which hugely popular football comic strip was introduced in the Tiger in 1954?

&

There are 25 pubs in Weatherfield - which is by far the best known?

Roy of the Rovers Return

8.

A short-lived whirlwind is often known as a Dust Devil or Dirt Devil.  What is it more commonly called in Australia?

&

Born Herbert Frahm in 1913, by what name is this Chancellor of West Germany and Nobel Prize winner known?

Willy Willy Brandt

Sp1

The party drug ‘Ice’ or ‘Glass’ (clear or shiny blue-white chunks of methamphetamine) is more commonly known as what?

&

The Holy Club was formed in Oxford in 1729 to systematically serve God every hour of the day.  The leader of the club used what term of mockery, given by other college students, as a title of honour?

Crystal Meth/odists

Sp2

Which song by George Harrison was the UK’s biggest-selling single of 1971, and the first No. 1 single by an ex-Beatle?

&

Hugo Dyson was a member of the Inklings literary group in Oxford, and a committed Christian. During a reading of a work in progress, he exclaimed "Oh no! Not another fucking elf!"  From which series of novels was the reading being given?

My Sweet Lord of the Rings

Tiebreakers

1.

In the fifth tier of Argentine football, in a match between rival Buenos Aires teams Claypole and Victoriano Arenas in 2011, two players were red-carded in the first half.  In the second half, it boiled over into a mass brawl.  In total, how many red cards were shown in the match?

36

(22 players, plus 14 substitutes and coaches)

2.

During the winter, the North American Blue Grouse or Dusky Grouse (Dendragapus obscurus) inhabits mountainous pine forests.  When nesting time begins in the spring, it migrates to deciduous woodlands to feed on the early crop of seeds and fresh leaves.  How far is this migration?  (in metres please)

300 metres