In the Stockport style rounds, if the answer to a question is a person’s name, the surname is sufficient.

In the themed rounds the usual caveats apply (i.e. soundalikes and part words may be employed in pursuit of a theme).

ROUND 1 - Stockport format - Verbal

1.

Which famous person was killed at the so-called Battle of Kealakekua Bay in 1779?

2.

The new city of Nusantara is scheduled to replace the capital of which country on August 17th?

3.

Who was the first Briton to attain EGOT status?  He won an Emmy in 1991 at the age of 87, making him the oldest to achieve the status, having won it for his role in the TV drama Summer’s Lease.

4.

Which film of the 2020s is the first film to win best picture, best director and three acting prizes?

5.

The Kazungala Bridge, which opened in 2021 and sits at the 'quasi-quadripoint' where 4 African countries (almost) meet, spans which river?

6.

Who was awarded a Booker Prize posthumously in 2010, more than 30 years after his death and for a book published 40 years earlier?

7.

Which novel of 1886 begins with a lawyer named Utterson being told about a sinister-looking man who trampled a young girl after accidentally bumping into her and being forced to pay her family £100 to avoid a scandal?

8.

Born in Chester, which conductor founded the BBC Symphony Orchestra?  After retiring from the BBC in 1950, he became chief conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

9.

Apteryx australis is the scientific name for the common kiwi.  What is the English translation of its genus name?

10.

In American politics, what is the specific connection between the pairs of years: 1797/1825; 1841/1889; and 1989/2001; but not 1865/1963?

11.

With the maiden name Fairfax, which scientist was elected in 1835 as one of the first female Honorary Members of the Royal Astronomical Society along with Caroline Herschel?

12.

Two sporting trophies are named after the ancestral family of a British PM who served more than one term.  Name either of them.

13.

Who became the first footballer to have twice scored the opening goal in a Premiership season? He scored for Arsenal in the first match of the 2020/21 season, having previously scored on his debut for the same team in 2017?

14.

Which company was founded in 1906 by brothers W K and J H, employees of the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan?

15.

Lioness, Mildmay, Windrush, Weaver, Suffragette and Liberty are due to replace Ginger by the end of the year where, specifically, in London?

16.

The Russian island of Big Diomede and the US island of Little Diomede are 2.4 miles apart in the Bering Strait and are separated by the International Date Line.   By what nicknames are they known?

17.

Which company was founded in 1964 as 'Blue Ribbon Sports', by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight, before changing to its current name in 1978?

18.

Who became the first player to score a hat trick on the opening day of a Premier League season, when he scored for Liverpool against Leeds in 2020?

19.

Why is the America’s Cup so named?

20.

Margaret Thatcher graduated from Somerville College in 1947 with a degree in chemistry.  Which future Chemistry Nobel Laureate was her supervisor?

21.

William Harrison is famous for having the shortest US Presidency, but which longest record did he also set?

22.

What is the common name of the bird Mimus polyglottus?  It is the state bird of a number of states of the USA.

23.

Grace Bumbry was the first black opera singer to appear at which festival when she played the role of Venus in 1961?

24.

In which novel is the titular character an orphan who, at the start of the novel, lives with their maternal uncle's family, the Reeds, at Gateshead Hall?

25.

Four people have won both the Booker Prize and the Nobel Prize in Literature.  Name one of them.

26.

The 1915 Çanakkale Bridge, which opened in 2022 and is the longest suspension bridge in the world, is the first fixed crossing over which stretch of water?

27.

Three film remakes have been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar after the original won the category.  They are All Quiet On The Western Front (1930/2022), West Side Story (1961/2021), and which other in 1935/1962?

28.

Which actress wrote the 1926 play Sex under the pseudonym Jane Mast?  She starred in the Broadway production under her own name and was subsequently sentenced to ten days in jail for obscenity.

29.

Which island nation consists of 15 provinces, the largest of which is Camagüey (pr. kamagway), plus one special municipality: the smaller island of Isla de la Juventud?

30.

On his third and fatal expedition on HMS Resolution, whom did James Cook appoint as its sailing master, in which capacity he was instrumental in navigating the expedition back to England?

Sp1

The acronym LASER stands for 'light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation'.  In a similar vein, what does the letter M stand for in the acronym MASER?

Sp2

Commonly used on utility bills, which unit of energy is equal to 3.6 megajoules?

Go to Round 1 questions with answers

ROUND 2 - Stockport format - Written - Themed

Each answer references the name of an EGOT winner

1.

Who represented the UK in the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin?  As a catholic, the person in question received death threats from the IRA who regarded them as a traitor for appearing for the UK.

2.

Who has been the CEO of News UK since 2015?  In 2000 the person in question became the youngest editor of a British national newspaper at News of the World.

3.

Who was granted the first busker’s licence on the London Underground in 2003?  The person in question was the only classical musician chosen to play at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, during which they were the soloist playing Elgar’s Salut d’Amour accompanied by the LSO.

4.

Who wrote the series of novels The Vampire Chronicles?

5.

In numismatics, what 6-letter term is used for the principal inscription on a coin?  In HTML the same term represents a caption for the <fieldset> element

6.

Which body of water drains Manitoba plus parts of other Canadian provinces and some states of the USA?

7.

Which annual international sporting competition is named after a person who eventually served as US Secretary of War from 1925 to 1929?

8.

Which British artist was attached to the Canadian forces as a war artist during WW1?  He subsequently became a leading portrait artist whose subjects included T E Lawrence and Dylan Thomas.

9.

What was the surname of the Earl of Bothwell, the third husband of Mary, Queen of Scots?

Which American cultural critic coined the term 'Monkey Trial' for the Scopes Trial? He wrote The American Language, a multi-volume study of how the English language is spoken in the United States.

What is the common name for J S Bach’s 1741 composition BWV 988 that consists of an aria plus 30 pieces for a two-manual harpsichord?

Go to Round 2 questions with answers

ROUND 3 - WithQuiz format - Announced theme

This round reflects the setter’s fondness for the Inspector Rebus novels of Ian Rankin.

Each question is a pictorial rebus that represents a protagonist in a series of crime novels or TV programmes.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Go to Round 3 questions with answers

ROUND 4 - WithQuiz format - Hidden theme

1.

What are the three 'J's in the nickname of the city of Dundee?

2.

Which Scottish band was formed by Roddy Frame in 1980?  Their song Somewhere In My Heart reached #3 on the UK singles chart.

3.

On which British island would you find Parys Mountain?

4.

In 1993, who recited their poem On the Pulse of Morning at the inauguration of Bill Clinton?

5.

Who is the current manager of Brentford FC?

6.

What is the name of the NASA program that landed two probes on Mars in 1976?

7.

Which battle during the Crimean War earned the name 'The Soldier's Battle' due to the role of troops fighting mostly on their own initiative due to the foggy conditions?

8.

The cholecyst is a small hollow organ of the body which is more commonly known by what name?  Its contents are needed for the digestion of fats.

Sp

Which painting depicts a man and his daughter modelled by the artist’s sister Nan Graham and their dentist Byron McKeeby?

Go to Round 4 questions with answers

ROUND 5 - WithQuiz format - Hidden theme

1.

What 6-letter word is the program at the core of a computer's operating system that facilitates interactions between hardware and software components?

2.

What does the abbreviation GDPR stand for?

3.

What is the operating name for the charity Young Lives vs Cancer that was formed in 2005?

4.

In Treasure Island, what's the name of the inn at which the 'black spot' is delivered?

5.

In 2020 what did the NFL team Washington Redskins replace the name Redskins with?

6.

Which 1930 comedy by Noël Coward concerns a divorced couple who, while honeymooning with their new spouses, discover that they are staying in adjacent rooms at the same hotel?

7.

Which husband-and-wife duo had UK hits in the 1970s with Love Will Keep Us Together and Do That to Me One More Time?

8.

Which band had UK hits in the 1970s with Easy and Stil?

Sp

What is the two word name of the elderly boar, a.k.a. Willingdon Beauty, that draws up the principles of the revolution in Animal Farm?

Go to Round 5 questions with answers

ROUND 6 - WithQuiz format - Hidden theme - Home & Away'

1.

Who holds the record for the most appearances for Liverpool FC?

2.

Which 1971 film is based on the 1969 novel The Siege of Trencher's Farm and was filmed in the Cornish village of St Buryan?

3.

Which actress, born in Morecambe, played different characters in two series of Alan Bennett's Talking Heads, in 1988 and 1998?

4.

Which private college in Crowthorne, Berkshire originally educated sons of deceased officers who had held commissions in the Army?

5.

Which British driver stood in for Lewis Hamilton in Bahrain in 2020 after Hamilton tested positive for coronavirus?

6.

Which knighted Belfast-born performer caused controversy when he released new songs in 2020, which had messages of protest against COVID-19 lockdowns in the UK?

7.

In response to the line: “Sir, you are no gentleman!”, which film character replied: “And, you, Miss, are no lady”?

8.

Who captained Liverpool FC to its first Premier League title?

Sp

What collective name was given to a group of structures built during the Victorian period that were the most costly and extensive system of fixed defences undertaken in Britain in peacetime?  Named after a prime minister, those around Portsmouth were ridiculed because they faced inland.

Go to Round 6 questions with answers

Tiebreaker

Go to Tiebreaker question with answer

ROUND 1 - Stockport format - Verbal

1.

Which famous person was killed at the so-called Battle of Kealakekua Bay in 1779?

James Cook

2.

The new city of Nusantara is scheduled to replace the capital of which country on August 17th?

Indonesia

3.

Who was the first Briton to attain EGOT status?  He won an Emmy in 1991 at the age of 87, making him the oldest to achieve the status, having won it for his role in the TV drama Summer’s Lease.

John Gielgud

4.

Which film of the 2020s is the first film to win best picture, best director and three acting prizes?

Everything Everywhere All at Once

5.

The Kazungala Bridge, which opened in 2021 and sits at the 'quasi-quadripoint' where 4 African countries (almost) meet, spans which river?

Zambezi

(the countries are Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe)

6.

Who was awarded a Booker Prize posthumously in 2010, more than 30 years after his death and for a book published 40 years earlier?

J G Farrell

7.

Which novel of 1886 begins with a lawyer named Utterson being told about a sinister-looking man who trampled a young girl after accidentally bumping into her and being forced to pay her family £100 to avoid a scandal?

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

8.

Born in Chester, which conductor founded the BBC Symphony Orchestra?  After retiring from the BBC in 1950, he became chief conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Adrian Boult

9.

Apteryx australis is the scientific name for the common kiwi.  What is the English translation of its genus name?

Without wing

(wingless)

10.

In American politics, what is the specific connection between the pairs of years: 1797/1825; 1841/1889; and 1989/2001; but not 1865/1963?

Two people with the same surname became President of the USA in each year of the pair, and the second President was a direct descendent of the first

(Adams, Harrison, Bush, Johnson)

11.

With the maiden name Fairfax, which scientist was elected in 1835 as one of the first female Honorary Members of the Royal Astronomical Society along with Caroline Herschel?

Mary Somerville

12.

Two sporting trophies are named after the ancestral family of a British PM who served more than one term.  Name either of them.

(either)

The (Epsom) Derby

(or)

The Stanley Cup

(named after the Stanley family who are the Earls of Derby)

13.

Who became the first footballer to have twice scored the opening goal in a Premiership season? He scored for Arsenal in the first match of the 2020/21 season, having previously scored on his debut for the same team in 2017?

Alexandre Lacazette

14.

Which company was founded in 1906 by brothers W K and J H, employees of the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan?

Kellogg’s

15.

Lioness, Mildmay, Windrush, Weaver, Suffragette and Liberty are due to replace Ginger by the end of the year where, specifically, in London?

London Overground

(they are the new names for the existing network)

16.

The Russian island of Big Diomede and the US island of Little Diomede are 2.4 miles apart in the Bering Strait and are separated by the International Date Line.   By what nicknames are they known?

Tomorrow Island (Big Diomede) and

Yesterday Island (Small Diomede)

17.

Which company was founded in 1964 as 'Blue Ribbon Sports', by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight, before changing to its current name in 1978?

Nike

18.

Who became the first player to score a hat trick on the opening day of a Premier League season, when he scored for Liverpool against Leeds in 2020?

Mohamed Salah

19.

Why is the America’s Cup so named?

After the winning yacht of the first event which was named 'America'

20.

Margaret Thatcher graduated from Somerville College in 1947 with a degree in chemistry.  Which future Chemistry Nobel Laureate was her supervisor?

Dorothy Hodgkin

21.

William Harrison is famous for having the shortest US Presidency, but which longest record did he also set?

The longest inaugural address

22.

What is the common name of the bird Mimus polyglottus?  It is the state bird of a number of states of the USA.

Mockingbird

23.

Grace Bumbry was the first black opera singer to appear at which festival when she played the role of Venus in 1961?

Bayreuth

(in Tannhäuser)

24.

In which novel is the titular character an orphan who, at the start of the novel, lives with their maternal uncle's family, the Reeds, at Gateshead Hall?

Jane Eyre

25.

Four people have won both the Booker Prize and the Nobel Prize in Literature.  Name one of them.

(one of)

V S Naipaul, Nadine Gordimer, J M Coetzee, William Golding

(NB: post-quiz research confirmed Kazuo Ishiguro as also belonging to this list)

26.

The 1915 Çanakkale Bridge, which opened in 2022 and is the longest suspension bridge in the world, is the first fixed crossing over which stretch of water?

The Dardanelles

(a.k.a. Strait of Gallipoli or Hellespont)

27.

Three film remakes have been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar after the original won the category.  They are All Quiet On The Western Front (1930/2022), West Side Story (1961/2021), and which other in 1935/1962?

Mutiny On The Bounty

28.

Which actress wrote the 1926 play Sex under the pseudonym Jane Mast?  She starred in the Broadway production under her own name and was subsequently sentenced to ten days in jail for obscenity.

Mae West

29.

Which island nation consists of 15 provinces, the largest of which is Camagüey (pr. kamagway), plus one special municipality: the smaller island of Isla de la Juventud?

Cuba

30.

On his third and fatal expedition on HMS Resolution, whom did James Cook appoint as its sailing master, in which capacity he was instrumental in navigating the expedition back to England?

William Bligh

Sp1

The acronym LASER stands for 'light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation'.  In a similar vein, what does the letter M stand for in the acronym MASER?

Microwave

Sp2

Commonly used on utility bills, which unit of energy is equal to 3.6 megajoules?

Kilowatt-hour

ROUND 2 - Stockport format - Written - Themed

Each answer references the name of an EGOT winner

1.

Who represented the UK in the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin?  As a catholic, the person in question received death threats from the IRA who regarded them as a traitor for appearing for the UK.

Clodagh Rodgers

(EGOT - Richard Rodgers)

2.

Who has been the CEO of News UK since 2015?  In 2000 the person in question became the youngest editor of a British national newspaper at News of the World.

Rebekah Brooks

(EGOT - Mel Brooks)

3.

Who was granted the first busker’s licence on the London Underground in 2003?  The person in question was the only classical musician chosen to play at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, during which they were the soloist playing Elgar’s Salut d’Amour accompanied by the LSO.

Julian Lloyd Webber

(EGOT - Andrew Lloyd Webber)

4.

Who wrote the series of novels The Vampire Chronicles?

Anne Rice

(EGOT - Tim Rice)

5.

In numismatics, what 6-letter term is used for the principal inscription on a coin?  In HTML the same term represents a caption for the <fieldset> element

Legend

(EGOT - John Legend)

6.

Which body of water drains Manitoba plus parts of other Canadian provinces and some states of the USA?

Hudson Bay

(EGOT - Jennifer Hudson)

7.

Which annual international sporting competition is named after a person who eventually served as US Secretary of War from 1925 to 1929?

Davis Cup

(EGOT - Viola Davis)

8.

Which British artist was attached to the Canadian forces as a war artist during WW1?  He subsequently became a leading portrait artist whose subjects included T E Lawrence and Dylan Thomas.

Augustus John

(EGOT - Elton John)

9.

What was the surname of the Earl of Bothwell, the third husband of Mary, Queen of Scots?

10.

Which American cultural critic coined the term 'Monkey Trial' for the Scopes Trial? He wrote The American Language, a multi-volume study of how the English language is spoken in the United States.

H L Mencken

(EGOT - Alan Menken)

Sp.

What is the common name for J S Bach’s 1741 composition BWV 988 that consists of an aria plus 30 pieces for a two-manual harpsichord?

Goldberg Variations

(EGOT - Whoopi Goldberg)

ROUND 3 - WithQuiz format - Announced theme

This round reflects the setter’s fondness for the Inspector Rebus novels of Ian Rankin.

Each question is a pictorial rebus that represents a protagonist in a series of crime novels or TV programmes.

1.

Jessica Fletcher

(Jessica Chastain + Norman Stanley Fletcher)

2.

Sherlock Holmes

(Antony Sher + Sean Lock + Larry Holmes)

3.

Kay Scarpetta

(Kay Burley + Scar + the prefix ‘peta’)

4.

Sexton Blake

(Johnny Sexton + Quentin Blake)

5.

Vera Stanhope

(Vera Lynn + Stan + Hope diamond)

6.

Jules Maigret

(Crown Jewels + Vanessa Mae + Linda Gray)

7.

Lord Peter Wimsey

(Jack Lord + Peter Rabbit + Wim Hof + C)

8.

Cormoran Strike

(Cormorant + Strike)

Go back to Round 3 questions without answers

ROUND 4 - WithQuiz format - Hidden theme

1.

What are the three 'J's in the nickname of the city of Dundee?

Jute, Jam, Journalism

2.

Which Scottish band was formed by Roddy Frame in 1980?  Their song Somewhere In My Heart reached #3 on the UK singles chart.

Aztec Camera

3.

On which British island would you find Parys Mountain?

Anglesey

4.

In 1993, who recited their poem On the Pulse of Morning at the inauguration of Bill Clinton?

Maya Angelou

5.

Who is the current manager of Brentford FC?

Thomas Frank

6.

What is the name of the NASA program that landed two probes on Mars in 1976?

Viking

7.

Which battle during the Crimean War earned the name 'The Soldier's Battle' due to the role of troops fighting mostly on their own initiative due to the foggy conditions?

Inkerman

8.

The cholecyst is a small hollow organ of the body which is more commonly known by what name?  Its contents are needed for the digestion of fats.

Gall bladder

Sp

Which painting depicts a man and his daughter modelled by the artist’s sister Nan Graham and their dentist Byron McKeeby?

American Gothic

Theme: Each answer hides the name of an ancient tribe or civilisation

Go back to Round 4 questions without answers

ROUND 5 - WithQuiz format - Hidden theme

1.

What 6-letter word is the program at the core of a computer's operating system that facilitates interactions between hardware and software components?

Kernel

2.

What does the abbreviation GDPR stand for?

General Data Protection Regulation

3.

What is the operating name for the charity Young Lives vs Cancer that was formed in 2005?

CLIC Sargent

4.

In Treasure Island, what's the name of the inn at which the 'black spot' is delivered?

Admiral Benbow

5.

In 2020 what did the NFL team Washington Redskins replace the name Redskins with?

Commanders

6.

Which 1930 comedy by Noël Coward concerns a divorced couple who, while honeymooning with their new spouses, discover that they are staying in adjacent rooms at the same hotel?

Private Lives

7.

Which husband-and-wife duo had UK hits in the 1970s with Love Will Keep Us Together and Do That to Me One More Time?

Captain & Tennille

8.

Which band had UK hits in the 1970s with Easy and Stil?

Commodores

Sp

What is the two word name of the elderly boar, a.k.a. Willingdon Beauty, that draws up the principles of the revolution in Animal Farm?

Old Major

Theme: Each answer contains the name of an armed services role

Go back to Round 5 questions without answers

ROUND 6 - WithQuiz format - Hidden theme - 'Home & Away'

1.

Who holds the record for the most appearances for Liverpool FC?

Ian Callaghan

2.

Which 1971 film is based on the 1969 novel The Siege of Trencher's Farm and was filmed in the Cornish village of St Buryan?

Straw Dogs

3.

Which actress, born in Morecambe, played different characters in two series of Alan Bennett's Talking Heads, in 1988 and 1998?

Thora Hird

4.

Which private college in Crowthorne, Berkshire originally educated sons of deceased officers who had held commissions in the Army?

Wellington

5.

Which British driver stood in for Lewis Hamilton in Bahrain in 2020 after Hamilton tested positive for coronavirus?

George Russell

6.

Which knighted Belfast-born performer caused controversy when he released new songs in 2020, which had messages of protest against COVID-19 lockdowns in the UK?

Van Morrison

7.

In response to the line: “Sir, you are no gentleman!”, which film character replied: “And, you, Miss, are no lady”?

Rhett Butler

8.

Who captained Liverpool FC to its first Premier League title?

Jordan Henderson

Sp

What collective name was given to a group of structures built during the Victorian period that were the most costly and extensive system of fixed defences undertaken in Britain in peacetime?  Named after a prime minister, those around Portsmouth were ridiculed because they faced inland.

Palmerston Forts

(or Palmerston Follies)

Theme: Each answer contains the name of a person who has held both the roles of UK Home Secretary and UK Foreign Secretary

Tiebreaker

a) Since 1980, how many football teams has Neil Warnock managed, including those as interim or caretaker?

b) As at 28th April 2024, excluding dwarf planets such as Pluto, according to NASA how many moons are there in the solar system?

308

20 plus 288 (Earth 1; Mars 2: Jupiter 95; Saturn 146; Uranus 28; Neptune 16)