There are various themes and formats to the rounds, which the QM will read out as he/she goes through.

ROUND 1 - A Music Round

There is a fairly obvious theme linking all the answers

1.

Inspired by a legendary romance, this 1976 Eric Clapton song is an ode to the unrequited love Clapton had for a friend’s wife, ultimately becoming a classic in rock ballads.  What’s the name of the song?

2.

In this 1969 hit by Creedence Clearwater Revival, who “keeps on burnin’’’ as she rolls down the river?  Tina Turner’s later cover turned it into a soul anthem.

3.

This wistful tune by Fleetwood Mac, released in 1975, is about a woman who embodies independence and beauty.  It’s a tribute to a free spirit known for 'dancing’ to her own tune.  What is the song’s title?

4.

This 1967 track by The Beatles describes a flirtatious encounter with a parking attendant.  What is the name of the song?

5.

In this 1983 hit (turned into an Argentine tango in the film Moulin Rouge) The Police’s lead singer Sting warns a woman with a name taken from a French play about a man with a huge nose, to beware of obsession.  The haunting refrain underscores a message of caution.  What’s the name of the song?

6.

In Simon & Garfunkel’s 1968 folk song, a man begs a woman to come home, and falls on the floor laughing when she does.  This song was covered by Suggs in 1996.  What is the track called?

7.

This Beatles song from the album Rubber Soul tells of a man who desperately wants to tell a foreign woman that he loves her.  What is the name of the melancholy tune?

8.

In this classic Dolly Parton song, a pleading woman implores another not to take away her man. The song has been widely covered and is considered one of Parton’s signature hits.  What’s the song’s title?

Sp1

This song about the end of a romance with a girl, is featured on the Rolling Stones album Goat's Head Soup.  There is apparently no truth that it is named after David Bowie’s first wife who found Bowie and Mick Jagger naked in bed together.  What is the song called?

Sp2

This 1967 song’s lyrics were thought to reference a famous psychedelic substance.  What’s the song’s title?

Go to Round 1 questions with answers

ROUND 2 - Locals

Each answer contains the name of a local pub

1.

Five London Underground stations are named after public houses.  Angel, the Elephant & Castle, Manor House, and Swiss Cottage are four of them.  On the Hammersmith & City and the Circle lines, which is the fifth?

2.

The largest landowners in the UK are: the Forestry Commission, the MoD, The National Trust and National Trust for Scotland, the RSPB, the Duke of Atholl’s Trusts, DEFRA, and the Church of England.  With 678,420 acres which landowner is missing from the above list?

3.

First appearing in 1906, how are Roberta (nicknamed 'Bobbie'), Peter, and Phyllis Waterbury collectively known?

4.

It featured on the coat of arms of John of Gaunt, founder of the House of Lancaster, and James I reportedly ordered it to be displayed on all important public buildings.  What is this heraldic emblem?

5.

Surrounded by 22 golden coins, representing the amalgamation of 22 banks, what logo did Midland Bank introduce in 1965?  In 1997, it was replaced by what has been described as a "bow-tie".

6.

In 1969, what was billed as ‘An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music’?

7.

What first name links a Salford born actor, who was nominated for five Oscars, but never won, the actor Jack Howarth in Coronation Street from 1960 to 1984, and the Boston Strangler?

8.

Consisting of Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka, the stars sometimes known as the Three Kings, or Three Sisters, are better known by what name?

Sp1

This 1968 American espionage thriller film was directed by John Sturgess and starred Rock Hudson, Patrick McGoohan, and Ernest Borgnine.  Loosely based on Alistair MacLean's 1963 novel of the same name, what is it called?

Sp2

Dying in 1805, whose titles included: Vice Admiral of the White Squadron of the Fleet, Commander in Chief of his Majesty's Ships and Vessels in the Mediterranean, Duke of Bronte in the Kingdom of Sicily, Knight Grand Cross of the Sicilian Order of St Ferdinand and of Merit, Member of the Ottoman Order of the Crescent, and Knight Grand Commander of the Order of St. Joachim?

Go to Round 2 questions with answers

ROUND 3 - Hidden theme

1.

From 1481 in Sevilla until 1850 in Mexico, this public ceremony saw the sentences of the Inquisition read out and enforced by civil authorities, in its most extreme form, in death by burning.  What Spanish term was used for this ritual of public penance of condemned heretics and apostates?

2.

Which David Bowie song was released in November 1972 as the lead single to his album Aladdin Sane?  The title is an allusion to the French author of novels such as The Thief's Journal and Our Lady of the Flowers.

3.

Weighing 14lbs 6oz, Martin Ruane was born in Camberwell, London in 1946.  In 1949, his family moved to Broughton in Salford, and he died in Prestwich in 1998.  This wrestler was 6ft 11inches, and, at one stage, weighed 49st 13lbs.  What was his ring name?

4.

In the late Republic and early Empire, a male Roman citizen typically had three names: a first name, a second name identifying the gens (or clan), and a nickname, identifying a particular branch of a gens - e.g. Marcus Tullius Cicero.  Gave the Latin term for any of these three names

5.

What is the anatomical name of the elongated ridge on the floor of each lateral ventricle of the brain, thought to be the centre of emotion, memory, and the autonomic nervous system?

6.

This American actress and singer (1908 – 1984) introduced many Broadway standards including I Got Rhythm, Everything’s Coming Up Roses, I Get A Kick Out of You, You’re the Top and Anything Goes.  Whose signature song was the Irving Berlin song There’s No Business Like Show Business?

7.

Which Oscar-winning actor had a brother called River, and has sisters called Rain, Liberty, and Summer?  (forename and family name required)

8.

In Internet slang, what do the initials DFTT stand for?

Sp1

English comedian, John van der Put has won multiple awards from British magic societies, toured as a support act for Mumford and Sons, has appeared on Penn & Teller: Fool Us, and was an America’s Got Talent finalist.  He now lives in Las Vegas and has a residency at The Flamingo.  What is his stage name?

Sp2

(… and with the theme in the question rather than the answer …)

From the TV series, The Two Ronnies:

Ronnie Barker says: "There now follows a sketch featuring ghosties and ghoulies."

Ronnie Corbett says: "In which I get caught by the ghosties..."

and Ronnie Barker says: "And I get caught by…"

What?

Go to Round 3 questions with answers

ROUND 4 - Bingo Round – ‘On This Day - November 13^th’

Based on the dates given, each quizzer gets to choose a question about People who were born on this day, Events that happened on this day, or People who died on this day

1.

Born 354

Born of Berber origin in Numidia, in Roman North Africa, this theologian and philosopher became bishop of Hippo Regius, also in Numidia.  He is the patron saint of brewers, and theologians. Whose thoughts and writings profoundly influenced the development of Western philosophy and Christianity?

2.

Born 1850

His paternal grandfather, father, two uncles, and maternal grandfather were all lighthouse designers, so this Scot became a novelist, essayist, poet, and travel writer.  Published during his lifetime, whose works ranged from a history book The Pentland Rising in 1866, to The Ebb Tide a short novel with Lloyd Osbourne in 1894?

3.

Born 1955

In 1990, this American actress, comedian, author, and television personality, and EGOT winner, became only the second black woman to win an Oscar.  By what name is Caryn Elaine Johnson better known?

4.

Happened 1940

Which Walt Disney film was first released on this day in 1940, at New York’s Broadway Theatre? The film initially failed to make a profit as WWII cut off distribution to the European market

5.

Happened 1954

On this day in 1954, who won the first ever Rugby League World Cup, defeating France in Paris, in front of around 30,000 spectators?

6.

Happened 1986

The ‘Give It a Whirl’ segment of BBC TV’s The Late, Late Breakfast Show featured dangerous stunts.  On this day in 1986, Michael Lush was killed while rehearsing a stunt, involving bungee jumping from a 120-foot-high crane.  Which presenter resigned two days later, leading to the TV show’s cancellation?

7.

Died 1903 - aged 73

Born on the island of St Thomas in the Dutch West Indies, he is the only artist to have shown his work at all eight Paris Impressionist exhibitions, between 1874 to 1886.  Aged 54, who later took on the Neo-Impressionist style in 1885, studying and working with George Seurat and Paul Signac?

8.

Died 1970 - aged 71

She was MP for Liverpool Exchange from 1945, vice chairman of the Labour Party in 1968, but resigned on health grounds in 1969, and stood down as MP in 1970.  But who is best remembered for accusing Churchill of being "disgustingly drunk", and him replying: "My dear, you are ugly, and what's more, you are disgustingly ugly.  But tomorrow I shall be sober and you will still be disgustingly ugly"?

9.

Died 974 - aged 28

She was a technician at the Kerr-McGee Cimarron Fuel Fabrication Site in Oklahoma.  After reporting health and safety concerns in a nuclear facility, she was found to have plutonium contamination in her body and her home.  While driving to meet a New York Times journalist and a union official, she died in a car crash.  Whose story was the subject a 1983 movie, starring Meryl Streep?

Go to Round 4 questions with answers

ROUND 5 - Bingo Round – People who Died in 2024

Based on the dates and age given, each quizzer gets to choose a question about People who died in 2024

1.

January 24th - Aged 88

In 1972, the Tate Gallery bought Equivalent VIII.  Which US minimalist artist created this arrangement of 120 fire bricks, in two six-by-ten rectangular layers?

2.

February 28th - Aged 66

On April 7th, 6,000 bikers rode from Beverley to Scarborough, raising funds for Cancer Research UK.  On June 8th, 20,000 bikers rode from London to Barrow-in-Furness, raising money for NSPCC Childline and The Institute of Cancer Research.  On behalf of which TV personality did these memorial motorcycle rides take place?

3.

March 17th - Aged 73

This English singer-songwriter was frontman of a rock group that achieved six UK hit singles in the mid-1970s, including the No. 1 hit Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me).  Who later had a further three UK hit singles as a solo artist, including The Phantom of the Opera, a duet with Sarah Brightman?

4.

April 30th - Aged 86

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, who had a string of hit singles, including Peter Gunn, Because They’re Young, and Pepe, and released albums such as Have 'Twangy' Guitar Will Travel and $1,000,000 Worth of Twang?

5.

May 25th - Aged 95

He and his brother were responsible for more motion picture musical song scores than any other songwriting team in film history.  Who gained nine Oscar nominations (including for songs from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Bedknobs and Broomsticks), winning two for Mary Poppins?

6.

June 7th - Aged 90

In December 1968, Apollo 8 took the first men to the Moon.  With Borman and Lovell, who circled the Moon 10 times, broadcast live images and commentary back to Earth, and took the iconic Earthrise photograph?

7.

July 18th - Aged 94

Which American actor and stand-up comedian was also known for monologues involving a driving instructor, introducing tobacco to England and life on a submarine?

8.

August 18th - Aged 88

Best known for his work with directors Luciano Visconti (The Leopard) and Jean-Pierre Melville (Le Samouraï), and acknowledged as one of the world’s most appealing film stars in the 1960s and '70s, who was this actor?

9.

September 27th - Aged 87

A former professional snooker and billiards player, he founded and edited Snooker Scene magazine from 1971 until 2022. Who commentated on snooker for BBC Television from 1978 until 2010?

10.

October 29th - Aged 79

After gaining attention for her 1974 roles in the thriller The Conversation and, as Frederick’s assistant Inga, in the comedy horror Young Frankenstein, who was Oscar-nominated for playing a struggling actress who loses the soap opera role of a female nurse to her boyfriend in the 1982 film Tootsie?

Go to Round 5 questions with answers

ROUND 6 - Politics

1.

Founded in 1869, this US political party was at its peak in the 1920s.  It has nominated a presidential candidate in every election since 1872, including Michael Wood in 2024 who ended up with 1,142 votes.  After the Democrats and Republicans, which is the longest-lived US political party?

2.

He studied law and graduated in 1961, with a thesis on the legal aspects of advertising.  While studying, he was also a double bass player in a group, and performed as a cruise ship crooner.  In later life, he co-wrote AC Milan's anthem.  Who is this politician?

3.

Born William Jefferson Blythe III, in 1946, he led his country from 1993 to2001.  He has received various awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013, and, most recently, the Grand Cross of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk earlier this year.  By what name was he better known?

4.

As part of his reforms, what traditional symbolic item did Kemal Atatürk ban in Turkey in 1925?

5.

Which US president reputedly ruined his country’s hat industry?

6.

Born Herbert Frahm, in 1913.  He led his country from 1969 to 1974 and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971 for his efforts to strengthen cooperation in Western Europe.  By what name was he better known?

7.

While in political office in the 60s and 70s, he played piano at various events, including playing God Bless America at the Grand Ole Opry, accompanying singer Pearl Bailey at a White House concert, and playing Happy Birthday for Duke Ellington.  Who was this politician?

8.

With 43 Members of Parliament, which party is technically the fourth largest in the House of Commons, after Labour, the Conservatives, and the Lib Dems?

Sp1

What job title is inscribed on 10 Downing Street’s letterbox

Sp2

In 1841, which US President delivered the longest ever inaugural speech (8,445 words), despite the cold and rainy weather?  Unfortunately, he caught pneumonia and died just 32 days later.

Sp3

Honorary mayor Stubbs of Talkeetna, Alaska served from 1997 until his death in 2017.  During that time, he was shot by teenagers with a BB gun, and also survived an assassination attempt when he was mauled by a dog.  What was unusual about this honorary mayor?

Go to Round 6 questions with answers

ROUND 7 - Hidden theme

Only One Detective is Needed to Find this Hidden Theme

1.

For contributions to analytic number theory, James Maynard, a Research Professor at Oxford, was one of the four recipients of which award in 2022?

2.

Which novelist won the Booker Prize in 1998 for Amsterdam.  He was also nominated for The Comfort of Strangers, Black Dogs, Atonement, Saturday, and On Chesil Beach?

3.

What names do an Oldham-born University of Manchester physicist and musician, have in common, with a Dundee-born classically trained Shakespearean actor, who starred on the HBO series Succession (2018–2023), for which he won a Golden Globe Award?  (first name and surname required)

4.

Who was First Commissioner of Works from 1929-31 and leader of the Labour Party from 1932-35?  His son was a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain and mayor of the Metropolitan Borough of Poplar in 1924-25.

5.

As the 19th US President (1877-1881), who oversaw the end of Reconstruction, began the efforts that led to civil service reform, and attempted to reconcile the divisions left over from the Civil War?

6.

A confidential 2008 report by Manchester University decided that radiation from whose experiments was not responsible for the deaths of Manchester psychology professors Hugh Wagner (pancreatic cancer 1997) or John Clark (brain tumour 1992)?

7.

According to 1066 and All That, the elder Pitt (Clapham) told the famous poetic general, Wolfe, to conquer Quebec.  At first Wolfe complained that he would rather write which poem, but on being told that it had been written already, he agreed to take Quebec?

8.

In 1969, a divorce petitioner was unable to fund legal representation.  Although not allowed to practise in London, an Australian barrister offered help, but the judge limited it to advice during adjournments.  In 1970, the Court of Appeal ruled that the litigant had been deprived of assistance, and ordered a retrial.  Named after the case, what term is now applied to a litigant’s assistant?

Sp.

In the 1940s she appeared on stage in Appointment with Death, by Agatha Christie, who wrote in a note to her, "I will call you to play my Miss Marple one day, if I can find the time to write another play".  Interred under her married name, Joan Bogle Butler, how is this actress better known?

Go to Round 7 questions with answers

ROUND 8 - 'Spiller over Manchester'

Each question provides two clues to the name of a district within Greater Manchester - first a straight clue and then a ‘punny’ clue (a style pioneered by Greg Spiller of the Ethel Rodin team)

1.

Contains the family homes of both Emmeline Pankhurst and Charles Hallé,
& the pun … Hypermetropia.

2.

Home of the Grade 2* listed Victoria Mill as well as the, now demolished, ‘Tripe Colony’ where workers from Pendlebury’s, Manchester’s leading tripe business, lived,
& the pun … Mr Jupp is doing his hair.

3.

Home for 3 reservoirs that are skirted by the M60 motorway,
& the pun … Wystan’s certain.

4.

Location of King’s Hall which acted as the home of the Hallé orchestra in the years immediately following the second World War,
& the pun … What a campanile might provide.

5.

Where Henry’s brewery was based,
& the pun … Odd behaviour.

6.

Home of the school choir that made the UK’s Christmas number one hit in 1980,
& the pun … Beautiful South’s lead singer shows pity.

7.

Represented in Parliament by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government,
& the pun … The emphasis given by one of the Albert team’s star players.

8.

Childhood home for novelist Howard Jacobson which features prominently in his book about a teenage table tennis champion, The Mighty Walzer,
& the pun … Turn on the light.

Sp.

Home of a temperance Billiard Hall which turned into Bernard Manning’s club,
& the pun … The yell of a best-selling American author.

Go to Round 8 questions with answers

ROUND 1 - A Music Round

There is a fairly obvious theme linking all the answers

1.

Inspired by a legendary romance, this 1976 Eric Clapton song is an ode to the unrequited love Clapton had for a friend’s wife, ultimately becoming a classic in rock ballads.  What’s the name of the song?

Layla

2.

In this 1969 hit by Creedence Clearwater Revival, who “keeps on burnin’’’ as she rolls down the river?  Tina Turner’s later cover turned it into a soul anthem.

Proud Mary

3.

This wistful tune by Fleetwood Mac, released in 1975, is about a woman who embodies independence and beauty.  It’s a tribute to a free spirit known for 'dancing’ to her own tune.  What is the song’s title?

Rhiannon

4.

This 1967 track by The Beatles describes a flirtatious encounter with a parking attendant.  What is the name of the song?

Lovely Rita

5.

In this 1983 hit (turned into an Argentine tango in the film Moulin Rouge) The Police’s lead singer Sting warns a woman with a name taken from a French play about a man with a huge nose, to beware of obsession.  The haunting refrain underscores a message of caution.  What’s the name of the song?

Roxanne

6.

In Simon & Garfunkel’s 1968 folk song, a man begs a woman to come home, and falls on the floor laughing when she does.  This song was covered by Suggs in 1996.  What is the track called?

Cecilia

7.

This Beatles song from the album Rubber Soul tells of a man who desperately wants to tell a foreign woman that he loves her.  What is the name of the melancholy tune?

Michelle

8.

In this classic Dolly Parton song, a pleading woman implores another not to take away her man. The song has been widely covered and is considered one of Parton’s signature hits.  What’s the song’s title?

Jolene

Sp1

This song about the end of a romance with a girl, is featured on the Rolling Stones album Goat's Head Soup.  There is apparently no truth that it is named after David Bowie’s first wife who found Bowie and Mick Jagger naked in bed together.  What is the song called?

Angie

(not after Angie Bowie née Barnett)

Sp2

This 1967 song’s lyrics were thought to reference a famous psychedelic substance.  What’s the song’s title?

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

(by The Beatles)

Theme: Girl's names

ROUND 2 - Locals

Each answer contains the name of a local pub

1.

Five London Underground stations are named after public houses.  Angel, the Elephant & Castle, Manor House, and Swiss Cottage are four of them.  On the Hammersmith & City and the Circle lines, which is the fifth?

Royal Oak

2.

The largest landowners in the UK are: the Forestry Commission, the MoD, The National Trust and National Trust for Scotland, the RSPB, the Duke of Atholl’s Trusts, DEFRA, and the Church of England.  With 678,420 acres which landowner is missing from the above list?

The Crown Estate

3.

First appearing in 1906, how are Roberta (nicknamed 'Bobbie'), Peter, and Phyllis Waterbury collectively known?

The Railway Children

4.

It featured on the coat of arms of John of Gaunt, founder of the House of Lancaster, and James I reportedly ordered it to be displayed on all important public buildings.  What is this heraldic emblem?

The Red Lion

5.

Surrounded by 22 golden coins, representing the amalgamation of 22 banks, what logo did Midland Bank introduce in 1965?  In 1997, it was replaced by what has been described as a "bow-tie".

Griffin

(Do not accept Dragon.  With a lion’s body and the head and wings of an eagle, it is clearly a griffin)

6.

In 1969, what was billed as ‘An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music’?

Woodstock

7.

What first name links a Salford born actor, who was nominated for five Oscars, but never won, the actor Jack Howarth in Coronation Street from 1960 to 1984, and the Boston Strangler?

Albert

(Finney, Tatlock, and DeSalvo)

8.

Consisting of Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka, the stars sometimes known as the Three Kings, or Three Sisters, are better known by what name?

Orion's Belt or the Belt of Orion

Sp1

This 1968 American espionage thriller film was directed by John Sturgess and starred Rock Hudson, Patrick McGoohan, and Ernest Borgnine.  Loosely based on Alistair MacLean's 1963 novel of the same name, what is it called?

Ice Station Zebra

Sp2

Dying in 1805, whose titles included: Vice Admiral of the White Squadron of the Fleet, Commander in Chief of his Majesty's Ships and Vessels in the Mediterranean, Duke of Bronte in the Kingdom of Sicily, Knight Grand Cross of the Sicilian Order of St Ferdinand and of Merit, Member of the Ottoman Order of the Crescent, and Knight Grand Commander of the Order of St. Joachim?

Horatio Nelson

Go back to Round 2 questions without answers

ROUND 3 - Hidden theme

1.

From 1481 in Sevilla until 1850 in Mexico, this public ceremony saw the sentences of the Inquisition read out and enforced by civil authorities, in its most extreme form, in death by burning.  What Spanish term was used for this ritual of public penance of condemned heretics and apostates?

Auto de fe

(accept the Portuguese Auto-da-fé)

2.

Which David Bowie song was released in November 1972 as the lead single to his album Aladdin Sane?  The title is an allusion to the French author of novels such as The Thief's Journal and Our Lady of the Flowers.

Jean Genie

(French author: Jean Genet)

3.

Weighing 14lbs 6oz, Martin Ruane was born in Camberwell, London in 1946.  In 1949, his family moved to Broughton in Salford, and he died in Prestwich in 1998.  This wrestler was 6ft 11inches, and, at one stage, weighed 49st 13lbs.  What was his ring name?

Giant Haystacks

(accept also Haystacks Calhoun, Loch Ness, Loch Ness Monster, or Luke McMasters)

4.

In the late Republic and early Empire, a male Roman citizen typically had three names: a first name, a second name identifying the gens (or clan), and a nickname, identifying a particular branch of a gens - e.g. Marcus Tullius Cicero.  Gave the Latin term for any of these three names

(one of)

Praenomen,

Nomen (also called a nomen gentilicium), or

Cognomen

5.

What is the anatomical name of the elongated ridge on the floor of each lateral ventricle of the brain, thought to be the centre of emotion, memory, and the autonomic nervous system?

Hippocampus

6.

This American actress and singer (1908 – 1984) introduced many Broadway standards including I Got Rhythm, Everything’s Coming Up Roses, I Get A Kick Out of You, You’re the Top and Anything Goes.  Whose signature song was the Irving Berlin song There’s No Business Like Show Business?

Ethel Merman

7.

Which Oscar-winning actor had a brother called River, and has sisters called Rain, Liberty, and Summer?  (forename and family name required)

Joaquin Phoenix

8.

In Internet slang, what do the initials DFTT stand for?

Don’t Feed the Troll

Sp1

English comedian, John van der Put has won multiple awards from British magic societies, toured as a support act for Mumford and Sons, has appeared on Penn & Teller: Fool Us, and was an America’s Got Talent finalist.  He now lives in Las Vegas and has a residency at The Flamingo.  What is his stage name?

Piff the Magic Dragon

Sp2

… and with the theme in the question rather than the answer …

From the TV series, The Two Ronnies:

Ronnie Barker says: "There now follows a sketch featuring ghosties and ghoulies."

Ronnie Corbett says: "In which I get caught by the ghosties..."

and Ronnie Barker says: "And I get caught by…"

What?

"... surprise!"

Theme: Each answer contains the name of a Mythical Creature

Go back to Round 3 questions without answers

ROUND 4 - Bingo Round – ‘On This Day - November 13^th’

Based on the dates given, each quizzer gets to choose a question about People who were born on this day, Events that happened on this day, or People who died on this day

1.

Born 354

Born of Berber origin in Numidia, in Roman North Africa, this theologian and philosopher became bishop of Hippo Regius, also in Numidia.  He is the patron saint of brewers, and theologians. Whose thoughts and writings profoundly influenced the development of Western philosophy and Christianity?

Saint Augustine of Hippo

(Author of Confessions, On Christian Doctrine, and The City of God)

2.

Born 1850

His paternal grandfather, father, two uncles, and maternal grandfather were all lighthouse designers, so this Scot became a novelist, essayist, poet, and travel writer.  Published during his lifetime, whose works ranged from a history book The Pentland Rising in 1866, to The Ebb Tide a short novel with Lloyd Osbourne in 1894?

Robert Louis Stevenson

3.

Born 1955

In 1990, this American actress, comedian, author, and television personality, and EGOT winner, became only the second black woman to win an Oscar.  By what name is Caryn Elaine Johnson better known?

Whoopi Goldberg

(Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Ghost)

4.

Happened 1940

Which Walt Disney film was first released on this day in 1940, at New York’s Broadway Theatre? The film initially failed to make a profit as WWII cut off distribution to the European market

Fantasia

5.

Happened 1954

On this day in 1954, who won the first ever Rugby League World Cup, defeating France in Paris, in front of around 30,000 spectators?

Great Britain

(Do not accept England, Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland.  The RFL has only sent separate home nations teams to the World Cup since 1995.)

6.

Happened 1986

The ‘Give It a Whirl’ segment of BBC TV’s The Late, Late Breakfast Show featured dangerous stunts.  On this day in 1986, Michael Lush was killed while rehearsing a stunt, involving bungee jumping from a 120-foot-high crane.  Which presenter resigned two days later, leading to the TV show’s cancellation?

Noel Edmonds

7.

Died 1903 - aged 73

Born on the island of St Thomas in the Dutch West Indies, he is the only artist to have shown his work at all eight Paris Impressionist exhibitions, between 1874 to 1886.  Aged 54, who later took on the Neo-Impressionist style in 1885, studying and working with George Seurat and Paul Signac?

Camille Pissarro

8.

Died 1970 - aged 71

She was MP for Liverpool Exchange from 1945, vice chairman of the Labour Party in 1968, but resigned on health grounds in 1969, and stood down as MP in 1970.  But who is best remembered for accusing Churchill of being "disgustingly drunk", and him replying: "My dear, you are ugly, and what's more, you are disgustingly ugly.  But tomorrow I shall be sober and you will still be disgustingly ugly"?

Bessie Braddock

9.

Died 974 - aged 28

She was a technician at the Kerr-McGee Cimarron Fuel Fabrication Site in Oklahoma.  After reporting health and safety concerns in a nuclear facility, she was found to have plutonium contamination in her body and her home.  While driving to meet a New York Times journalist and a union official, she died in a car crash.  Whose story was the subject a 1983 movie, starring Meryl Streep?

Karen Silkwood

Go back to Round 4 questions without answers

ROUND 5 - Bingo Round – People who Died in 2024

Based on the dates and age given, each quizzer gets to choose a question about People who died in 2024

1.

January 24th - Aged 88

In 1972, the Tate Gallery bought Equivalent VIII.  Which US minimalist artist created this arrangement of 120 fire bricks, in two six-by-ten rectangular layers?

Carl Andre

2.

February 28th - Aged 66

On April 7th, 6,000 bikers rode from Beverley to Scarborough, raising funds for Cancer Research UK.  On June 8th, 20,000 bikers rode from London to Barrow-in-Furness, raising money for NSPCC Childline and The Institute of Cancer Research.  On behalf of which TV personality did these memorial motorcycle rides take place?

Dave Myers

(of Hairy Bikers fame)

3.

March 17th - Aged 73

This English singer-songwriter was frontman of a rock group that achieved six UK hit singles in the mid-1970s, including the No. 1 hit Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me).  Who later had a further three UK hit singles as a solo artist, including The Phantom of the Opera, a duet with Sarah Brightman?

Steve Harley

4.

April 30th - Aged 86

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, who had a string of hit singles, including Peter Gunn, Because They’re Young, and Pepe, and released albums such as Have 'Twangy' Guitar Will Travel and $1,000,000 Worth of Twang?

Duane Eddy

5.

May 25th - Aged 95

He and his brother were responsible for more motion picture musical song scores than any other songwriting team in film history.  Who gained nine Oscar nominations (including for songs from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Bedknobs and Broomsticks), winning two for Mary Poppins?

Richard M Sherman

6.

June 7th - Aged 90

In December 1968, Apollo 8 took the first men to the Moon.  With Borman and Lovell, who circled the Moon 10 times, broadcast live images and commentary back to Earth, and took the iconic Earthrise photograph?

William Anders

7.

July 18th - Aged 94

Which American actor and stand-up comedian was also known for monologues involving a driving instructor, introducing tobacco to England and life on a submarine?

Bob Newhart

8.

August 18th - Aged 88

Best known for his work with directors Luciano Visconti (The Leopard) and Jean-Pierre Melville (Le Samouraï), and acknowledged as one of the world’s most appealing film stars in the 1960s and '70s, who was this actor?

Alain Delon

9.

September 27th - Aged 87

A former professional snooker and billiards player, he founded and edited Snooker Scene magazine from 1971 until 2022. Who commentated on snooker for BBC Television from 1978 until 2010?

Clive Everton

10.

October 29th - Aged 79

After gaining attention for her 1974 roles in the thriller The Conversation and, as Frederick’s assistant Inga, in the comedy horror Young Frankenstein, who was Oscar-nominated for playing a struggling actress who loses the soap opera role of a female nurse to her boyfriend in the 1982 film Tootsie?

Teri Garr

Go back to Round 5 questions without answers

ROUND 6 - Politics

1.

Founded in 1869, this US political party was at its peak in the 1920s.  It has nominated a presidential candidate in every election since 1872, including Michael Wood in 2024 who ended up with 1,142 votes.  After the Democrats and Republicans, which is the longest-lived US political party?

The Prohibition Party

2.

He studied law and graduated in 1961, with a thesis on the legal aspects of advertising.  While studying, he was also a double bass player in a group, and performed as a cruise ship crooner.  In later life, he co-wrote AC Milan's anthem.  Who is this politician?

Silvio Berlusconi

3.

Born William Jefferson Blythe III, in 1946, he led his country from 1993 to2001.  He has received various awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013, and, most recently, the Grand Cross of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk earlier this year.  By what name was he better known?

Bill Clinton

4.

As part of his reforms, what traditional symbolic item did Kemal Atatürk ban in Turkey in 1925?

Tarboosh or Fez

5.

Which US president reputedly ruined his country’s hat industry?

John F Kennedy

(by going bare-headed)

6.

Born Herbert Frahm, in 1913.  He led his country from 1969 to 1974 and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971 for his efforts to strengthen cooperation in Western Europe.  By what name was he better known?

Willy Brandt

7.

While in political office in the 60s and 70s, he played piano at various events, including playing God Bless America at the Grand Ole Opry, accompanying singer Pearl Bailey at a White House concert, and playing Happy Birthday for Duke Ellington.  Who was this politician?

Richard Nixon

8.

With 43 Members of Parliament, which party is technically the fourth largest in the House of Commons, after Labour, the Conservatives, and the Lib Dems?

The Co-operative Party

(as all its MPs sit and vote with Labour, the distinction between them is seldom made)

Sp1

What job title is inscribed on 10 Downing Street’s letterbox

"First Lord of the Treasury"

(a role usually held by the prime minister)

Sp2

In 1841, which US President delivered the longest ever inaugural speech (8,445 words), despite the cold and rainy weather?  Unfortunately, he caught pneumonia and died just 32 days later.

William Henry Harrison

Sp3

Honorary mayor Stubbs of Talkeetna, Alaska served from 1997 until his death in 2017.  During that time, he was shot by teenagers with a BB gun, and also survived an assassination attempt when he was mauled by a dog.  What was unusual about this honorary mayor?

He was a cat

Go back to Round 6 questions without answers

ROUND 7 - Hidden theme

Only One Detective is Needed to Find this Hidden Theme

1.

For contributions to analytic number theory, James Maynard, a Research Professor at Oxford, was one of the four recipients of which award in 2022?

The Fields Medal

2.

Which novelist won the Booker Prize in 1998 for Amsterdam.  He was also nominated for The Comfort of Strangers, Black Dogs, Atonement, Saturday, and On Chesil Beach?

Ian McEwan

3.

What names do an Oldham-born University of Manchester physicist and musician, have in common, with a Dundee-born classically trained Shakespearean actor, who starred on the HBO series Succession (2018–2023), for which he won a Golden Globe Award?  (first name and surname required)

Brian Cox

4.

Who was First Commissioner of Works from 1929-31 and leader of the Labour Party from 1932-35?  His son was a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain and mayor of the Metropolitan Borough of Poplar in 1924-25.

George Lansbury

5.

As the 19th US President (1877-1881), who oversaw the end of Reconstruction, began the efforts that led to civil service reform, and attempted to reconcile the divisions left over from the Civil War?

Rutherford B Hayes

6.

A confidential 2008 report by Manchester University decided that radiation from whose experiments was not responsible for the deaths of Manchester psychology professors Hugh Wagner (pancreatic cancer 1997) or John Clark (brain tumour 1992)?

Ernest Rutherford

(After the report, it emerged that lab assistant Moira Joy Howard died in 1984 of cancer, lecturers Arthur Reader and Tom Whiston died in 2008 and 2009, both of pancreatic cancer, and computer assistant Vanessa Santos-Leitao died in 2009 of a brain tumour.  All of them worked in what is now the Rutherford Building)

7.

According to 1066 and All That, the elder Pitt (Clapham) told the famous poetic general, Wolfe, to conquer Quebec.  At first Wolfe complained that he would rather write which poem, but on being told that it had been written already, he agreed to take Quebec?

Gray’s Elegy

(...written in a Country Churchyard)

8.

In 1969, a divorce petitioner was unable to fund legal representation.  Although not allowed to practise in London, an Australian barrister offered help, but the judge limited it to advice during adjournments.  In 1970, the Court of Appeal ruled that the litigant had been deprived of assistance, and ordered a retrial.  Named after the case, what term is now applied to a litigant’s assistant?

A McKenzie Friend

Sp.

In the 1940s she appeared on stage in Appointment with Death, by Agatha Christie, who wrote in a note to her, "I will call you to play my Miss Marple one day, if I can find the time to write another play".  Interred under her married name, Joan Bogle Butler, how is this actress better known?

Joan Hickson

Theme: Each answer contains the surname of someone who has played Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple in films or on TV ...

Gracie Fields / Geraldine McEwan / Julie Cox / Angela Lansbury / Helen Hayes / Margaret Rutherford /

Dulcie Gray / Julia McKenzie / Joan Hickson

Go back to Round 7 questions without answers

ROUND 8 - 'Spiller over Manchester'

Each question provides two clues to the name of a district within Greater Manchester - first a straight clue and then a ‘punny’ clue (a style pioneered by Greg Spiller of the Ethel Rodin team)

1.

Contains the family homes of both Emmeline Pankhurst and Charles Hallé,
& the pun … Hypermetropia.

Longsight

& longsightedness

2.

Home of the Grade 2* listed Victoria Mill as well as the, now demolished, ‘Tripe Colony’ where workers from Pendlebury’s, Manchester’s leading tripe business, lived,
& the pun … Mr Jupp is doing his hair.

Miles Platting

& (Miles) Jupp plaiting

3.

Home for 3 reservoirs that are skirted by the M60 motorway,
& the pun … Wystan’s certain.

Audenshaw

& Wystan (H Auden) is sure

4.

Location of King’s Hall which acted as the home of the Hallé orchestra in the years immediately following the second World War,
& the pun … What a campanile might provide.

Belle Vue

& bell view

5.

Where Henry’s brewery was based,
& the pun … Odd behaviour.

Strangeways

Henry (Boddington)

& strange ways

6.

Home of the school choir that made the UK’s Christmas number one hit in 1980,
& the pun … Beautiful South’s lead singer shows pity.

Heaton Mersey

(St Winifred’s – There’s No One Quite Like Grandma)

& (Paul) Heaton’s mercy

7.

Represented in Parliament by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government,
& the pun … The emphasis given by one of the Albert team’s star players.

Ashton-under-Lyne

& Ashton underline

8.

Childhood home for novelist Howard Jacobson which features prominently in his book about a teenage table tennis champion, The Mighty Walzer,
& the pun … Turn on the light.

Prestwich

& press switch

Sp.

Home of a temperance Billiard Hall which turned into Bernard Manning’s club,
& the pun … The yell of a best-selling American author.

Harpurhey

& Harper Lee “hey!”

Go back to Round 8 questions without answers