ROUND 1 - Pairs

1.

Which TV personality’s 2020 novel The Thursday Murder Club won several awards for best first novel?

2.

Which classical book was translated and published in 2023, to much critical acclaim, by Emily Wilson, having translated its sequel in 2017?

3.

Which Hertfordshire city is named after England’s first martyr (allegedly)?

4.

Which town is the largest settlement in Wiltshire although not a city (there is one in Wiltshire) and not the county town?

5.

The TV crime drama Unforgotten was launched in 2015 with Nicola Walker playing the Detective Chief Inspector role to Sanjeev Bhaskar’s Detective Inspector.  Who replaced Nicola Walker as the DCI in 2023 for Series 5?

6.

Who played misogynistic detective Gene Hunt in the popular 2006 TV series Life on Mars and in its 2008 sequel Ashes to Ashes?

7.

 The Great Ouse river flows through 5 counties.  Name any 3.

8.

Which king of England was the instigator of the first systematic drainage scheme in the Fens?

Sp.

Designed by Thomas Farnolls Pritchard, who constructed The Iron Bridge across the Severn between 1777 and 1779?

Go to Round 1 questions with answers

ROUND 2 - Run-ons

Definite or indefinite articles optional - may include soundalikes

1.

Historical event that took place on 14th July 1789,

&

a 1989 American comedy drama set in a small Southern town and starring Shirley MacLaine, Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis and Julia Roberts.

2.

The name of the current prime minister of Hungary,

&

the surname of the world's first female prime minister who assumed office in 1960?

3.

Chess term whereby a pawn can capture an enemy pawn that is on an adjacent square,

&

the capital city of the Cantabria region on Spain's northern coast?

4.

Situated in The Macgillycuddy's Reeks mountain range this is the highest mountain in Ireland at 3,414 feet,

&

British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland since 2024?

5.

Popular book on cosmology by Stephen Hawking first published in 1988,

&

a study that evaluates the effectiveness of industrial performance?

6.

Occurring in 1720 this is often referred to as the world's first financial crash and the world's first Ponzi scheme,

&

a British dish made from cooked potatoes and cabbage mixed together and fried that has been referred to as one of the 'great peasant dishes' of the world?

7.

Short story by Edgar Allen Poe first published in 1842 concerning Prince Prospero's attempts to avoid a dangerous plague later made into a 1964 film starring Vincent Price,

&

String Quartet no.14 in D Minor by Franz Schubert composed in 1817 and based on a 1774 poem by Matthias Claudius?

8.

Name of the character in Shakespeare's play Henry VI Part Two who advises rebel leader Jack Cade “let's kill all the lawyers”,

&

the nickname given to Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie for his murderous wartime activities in this French city?

Sp1

Full name and surname of the Duke of Clarence who, according to Shakespeare, was drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine,

&

the first name of the (young) Duke of Omnium in a series of novels by Anthony Trollope?

Sp2

Full name of the aristocratic English author of a 1963 book of social commentary entitled The American Way Of Death,

&

a character from Douglas Addams' comic SCI-FI novel The Hitchhikers' Guide To The Galaxy who befriends the protagonist, Arthur Dent at the beginning of the book?

Go to Round 2 questions with answers

ROUND 3 - 'Not a Feckin' Primrose in Sight'

We'll supply the surname - all you have to do is provide the first (given) name in each case

1.

Russian composer Mussorgsky.

2.

Finnish composer Sibelius.

3.

French painter Delacroix.

4.

Italian painter Modigliani.

5.

The first Mrs Rochester who was banished to the attic in the novel Jane Eyre.

6.

The overly optimistic Mr Micawber in the novel David Copperfield.

7.

The singer and musician known universally as 'Fats' Domino.

8.

Repressed country squire Lord Mayhew who seems to harbour erotic feelings for his introverted Irish estate worker Ted in The Fast Show.

Sp1

Swiss sculptor Giacometti.

Sp2

Madness frontman universally known as 'Suggs'.

Go to Round 3 questions with answers

ROUNDS 4 & 5 - Bingo Rounds

Choose a number 1 to 20 to get your question

1.

What one word was the title of an autobiography by food writer Nigel Slater, and was also the title of a novelty pop song by Streetband featuring Paul Young that charted in 1978 during a baker's strike?

2.

What one word was used to describe Orlando the cat in the stories by children's author Kathleen Hale, and was also the name of the first Scottish band to top the UK charts with their 1969 cover version of the Beatles'  Ob-La- Di, Ob La- Da?

3.

Situated close to the Dutch border in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia,  and known for its extensive Roman ruins what is the only town in Germany to begin with the letter X?

4.

Founded in 16BC during the reign of Roman Emperor Augustus, what is Germany's oldest city and an important site for ancient art treasures and monuments, such as the Porta Nigra, the best-preserved city gate from the ancient world?

5.

Which future British PM was once expelled from his golf club when the tabloid press revealed that he was the illegitimate offspring of a maid servant and a ploughman?

6.

Extrovert Irishman Brendan Bracken served as Churchill's Minister of Information during World War 2.  His habit of referring to himself by his initials is said to have given the inspiration for the creation of which fictional character?

7.

What was the name of the space craft in which Yuri Gagarin made the first voyage into Outer Space in 1961?

8.

Why is the Golden Gate bridge painted plum colour?

9.

The phrase 'green-eyed monster' originated in which Shakespearian play?

10.

The Red River forms the border between Texas and which other American state?

11.

Which medieval sect was persecuted and finally eradicated by the Catholic Church at Chateau de Montsegur in 1244?

12.

Born Jean Chauvin in Picardy in 1509, by what name is he remembered?

13.

In an early episode of the popular TV series Gone Fishing Bob Mortimer confessed to Paul Whitehouse that he had done something terrible to his family in his childhood.  He repeated the same thing on an episode of the equally popular TV series Would I Lie To You?  What did he do?

14.

Which 19th century novel begins with Amelia Sedley's departure from Miss Pinkerton's academy for young ladies?

15.

D H Lawrence adopted the phoenix as a personal symbol.  What bird is named in the title of his first novel?

16.

What type of number can be defined as: "Any number that can be made by dividing one integer by another"?

17.

Which range of hills, west of Bridgwater in Somerset were England's first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, being designated in 1956, and consisting largely of heathland, oak woodlands, ancient parklands and agricultural land?

18.

Back in the good old days why might you not have enjoyed spending the night with the Duke of Exeter's Daughter?

19.

In ancient Greece how might you have been punished by having your name inscribed on a broken shard of pottery?

20.

... and speaking of Belfast being known as the Athens of Ireland (and who isn’t?) ........exactly 2 years before the historic signing of Northern Ireland's 1998 Good Friday peace agreement, a symbolic peace treaty was signed by the mayors of modern Athens and Sparta to formally end which war?

Go to Rounds 4 & 5 questions with answers

ROUND 6 - Announced theme - 'Gods & Goddesses'

Each answer contains the name of a Roman or Greek god or goddess - which may form part of a larger word in the answer

1.

Name the 1972 disaster film starring American actress Shelley Winters who was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance.

2.

President Milton Obote of Uganda, who was overthrown in 1971 by Idi Amin, had which first name?

3.

What was the name of the character played by the late Maggie Smith in the Harry Potter series of films?

4.

Which patron deity of the city of Ephesus was St Paul accused of insulting when he tried to preach to the inhabitants of the city in Acts 10:44-48?

5.

What material is also known as 'hard rubber' or 'ebonite' and is created by treating rubber with sulphur at a high temperature?

6.

What is the name of this 2012 Sci-Fi film directed by Ridley Scott that is a prequel to the events of his earlier 1979 movie Alien?

7.

Name this popular English white wine grape variety, often described as the English equivalent of Sauvignon Blanc and known for its crisp, citrusy, and floral notes?

8.

In Greco-Roman mythology this goddess was the personification of strife who helped cause the Trojan War by throwing an apple amongst her fellow goddesses inscribed “to the fairest”.  When Zeus assigned the decision to Paris he chose to give it to Aphrodite who then helped him to abduct Helen of Troy.  Who was she?

Sp1

From which of the planets in Gustav Holst's Planets Suite is the tune to the hymn I Vow To Thee My Country derived?

Sp2

What word is defined in the Cambridge Dictionary as: “a strong feeling of wanting to have something especially money or possessions”?

Go to Round 6 questions with answers

ROUND 7 - Hidden theme

Beware of soundalikes

1.

Painted in 1871, and officially titled Arrangement in Grey and Black No 1, how is this portrait of a 67 year old woman in profile better known?

2.

Which 1994 novel by Louis de Bernieres, released as a film in 2001, was set on the Greek island of Kefalonia during the Second World War?

3.

Used as fire retardants and pesticides (e.g Malathion), this group of chemicals is now highly regulated due to its possible links to cancer.  Name the chemical group.

4.

Name the 19th century artistic and poetic movement which attempted to portray individual emotional experience and included Verlaine, Rimbaud and Maeterlinck.

5.

Name the oval-shaped hills, largely composed of glacial drift, formed beneath a glacier or an ice sheet and aligned in the direction of ice flow.

6.

Once a kingdom, formerly a county and now a council area, where are St Andrews and Glenrothes situated?

7.

What tree was alleged by medieval monks to have been grown from the staff of Joseph of Arimathea?

8.

What title is accorded to those members of the judiciary, often seen as taking the first step on the judicial ladder towards an appointment to the circuit bench, and, who may sit in both Crown and County Courts?

Sp.

Famous for its collection of steam locomotives, which heritage railway runs from Sheffield Park to East Grinstead?

Go to Round 7 questions with answers

ROUND 8 - Pairs

1.

Used for cordage and twine manufacture what stiff fibre of the Mexican agave plant is named after the Yucatan port from which it was exported?

2.

Mocha coffee takes its name from the port city of Mokha on the Red Sea coast of which country?

3.

Which Irish folk song tells the increasingly exaggerated tale of a magnificent but highly improbable sailing ship?  Its seven-year voyage culminates in a disastrous end when a measles outbreak leaves only the narrator and the captain's dog as survivors.

4.

The melody of which song, a version of a Caribbean sailing song which became a hit for the Beach Boys, was used as the basis for The Famine Song a sectarian song chanted by Glasgow Rangers fans.  In 2009 a Scottish Appeal court ruled that the revised lyric, "The famine's over, why don't you go home?" was racist and inflammatory.

5.

Which long-serving correspondent was appointed BBC News Russian editor in 2022?

6.

Which long-time medical correspondent was appointed the BBC's medical editor in 2020?

7.

The highest point that can be reached in Europe by railway lies just below the summit of which Swiss peak in the Bernese Alps?

8.

Which range of mountains is about 1100 kilometres long and forms the eastern border of Lesotho?

Sp1

You may have missed it last Thursday whilst tuning in to WithQuiz with bated breath and clammy hand to learn the outcome of the Griffin derby, but April 10th is dedicated to the international celebration of which 1849 invention?  The genius inventor was quick to sell his patent for $400 (he needed to pay off a $15 debt) and the company he sold it to duly made a profit of untold millions. The perfection of this product's utility has never been in question (apart from the odd choking controversy) and their symbolic appeal has long been apparent from the rise of punk, to protests against Brexit and Trump.  In India they are kept over generations and passed down to daughters. Ukrainians still use them to ward off evil spirits when attached to children's clothing.  So what name is given to April 10th?

Sp2

What English town is sometimes known as the 'Slough of the North'?

Go to Round 8 questions with answers

Tiebreaker - Nearest to the given answer wins the match

According to the National Audit Office what was the total cumulative time spent by HM Revenue and Customs telephone customers on hold waiting to have their tax queries answered in the year 2022/2023? (express your answer in years)

Go to Tiebreaker question with answer

ROUND 1 - Pairs

1.

Which TV personality’s 2020 novel The Thursday Murder Club won several awards for best first novel?

Richard Osman

2.

Which classical book was translated and published in 2023, to much critical acclaim, by Emily Wilson, having translated its sequel in 2017?

The Iliad

3.

Which Hertfordshire city is named after England’s first martyr (allegedly)?

St Albans

4.

Which town is the largest settlement in Wiltshire although not a city (there is one in Wiltshire) and not the county town?

Swindon

5.

The TV crime drama Unforgotten was launched in 2015 with Nicola Walker playing the Detective Chief Inspector role to Sanjeev Bhaskar’s Detective Inspector.  Who replaced Nicola Walker as the DCI in 2023 for Series 5?

Sinead Keenan

6.

Who played misogynistic detective Gene Hunt in the popular 2006 TV series Life on Mars and in its 2008 sequel Ashes to Ashes?

Philip Glenister

7.

 The Great Ouse river flows through 5 counties.  Name any 3.

(any 3 of)

Northamptonshire,

Buckinghamshire,

Bedfordshire,

Cambridgeshire,

Norfolk

8.

Which king of England was the instigator of the first systematic drainage scheme in the Fens?

Charles I

Sp.

Designed by Thomas Farnolls Pritchard, who constructed The Iron Bridge across the Severn between 1777 and 1779?

Abraham Darby (III)

ROUND 2 - Run-ons

Definite or indefinite articles optional - may include soundalikes

1.

Historical event that took place on 14th July 1789,

&

a 1989 American comedy drama set in a small Southern town and starring Shirley MacLaine, Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis and Julia Roberts.

The Storming of the Bastille /

Steel Magnolias

2.

The name of the current prime minister of Hungary,

&

the surname of the world's first female prime minister who assumed office in 1960?

Viktor Orban /

Bandaranaike

(Mrs Sirimavo Bandaranaike who became Prime Minister of Sri Lanka in 1960)

3.

Chess term whereby a pawn can capture an enemy pawn that is on an adjacent square,

&

the capital city of the Cantabria region on Spain's northern coast?

En passant /

Santander

4.

Situated in The Macgillycuddy's Reeks mountain range this is the highest mountain in Ireland at 3,414 feet,

&

British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland since 2024?

Carrantuohill /

Hilary Benn

(Hilary Benn, actually only spelled with one 'L')

5.

Popular book on cosmology by Stephen Hawking first published in 1988,

&

a study that evaluates the effectiveness of industrial performance?

A Brief History of Time /

Time and Motion

6.

Occurring in 1720 this is often referred to as the world's first financial crash and the world's first Ponzi scheme,

&

a British dish made from cooked potatoes and cabbage mixed together and fried that has been referred to as one of the 'great peasant dishes' of the world?

South Sea Bubble /

Bubble and squeak

7.

Short story by Edgar Allen Poe first published in 1842 concerning Prince Prospero's attempts to avoid a dangerous plague later made into a 1964 film starring Vincent Price,

&

String Quartet no.14 in D Minor by Franz Schubert composed in 1817 and based on a 1774 poem by Matthias Claudius?

Masque of the Red Death /

Death and the Maiden

8.

Name of the character in Shakespeare's play Henry VI Part Two who advises rebel leader Jack Cade “let's kill all the lawyers”,

&

the nickname given to Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie for his murderous wartime activities in this French city?

Dick the Butcher /

Butcher of Lyon

Sp1

Full name and surname of the Duke of Clarence who, according to Shakespeare, was drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine,

&

the first name of the (young) Duke of Omnium in a series of novels by Anthony Trollope?

George Plantagenet /

Plantagenet Palliser

Sp2

Full name of the aristocratic English author of a 1963 book of social commentary entitled The American Way Of Death,

&

a character from Douglas Addams' comic SCI-FI novel The Hitchhikers' Guide To The Galaxy who befriends the protagonist, Arthur Dent at the beginning of the book?

Jessica Mitford /

Ford Prefect

Go back to Round 2 questions without answers

ROUND 3 - 'Not a Feckin' Primrose in Sight'

We'll supply the surname - all you have to do is provide the first (given) name in each case

1.

Russian composer Mussorgsky.

Modest

2.

Finnish composer Sibelius.

Jean

3.

French painter Delacroix.

Eugène

4.

Italian painter Modigliani.

Amedeo

5.

The first Mrs Rochester who was banished to the attic in the novel Jane Eyre.

Bertha (Mason)

6.

The overly optimistic Mr Micawber in the novel David Copperfield.

Wilkins

7.

The singer and musician known universally as 'Fats' Domino.

Antoine

8.

Repressed country squire Lord Mayhew who seems to harbour erotic feelings for his introverted Irish estate worker Ted in The Fast Show.

Ralph

Sp1

Swiss sculptor Giacometti.

Alberto

Sp2

Madness frontman universally known as 'Suggs'.

Graham (McPherson)

Go back to Round 3 questions without answers

ROUNDS 4 & 5 - Bingo Rounds

Choose a number 1 to 20 to get your question

1.

What one word was the title of an autobiography by food writer Nigel Slater, and was also the title of a novelty pop song by Streetband featuring Paul Young that charted in 1978 during a baker's strike?

Toast

2.

What one word was used to describe Orlando the cat in the stories by children's author Kathleen Hale, and was also the name of the first Scottish band to top the UK charts with their 1969 cover version of the Beatles'  Ob-La- Di, Ob La- Da?

Marmalade

3.

Situated close to the Dutch border in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia,  and known for its extensive Roman ruins what is the only town in Germany to begin with the letter X?

Xanten

(pronounced Santen)

4.

Founded in 16BC during the reign of Roman Emperor Augustus, what is Germany's oldest city and an important site for ancient art treasures and monuments, such as the Porta Nigra, the best-preserved city gate from the ancient world?

Trier

5.

Which future British PM was once expelled from his golf club when the tabloid press revealed that he was the illegitimate offspring of a maid servant and a ploughman?

Ramsay McDonald

6.

Extrovert Irishman Brendan Bracken served as Churchill's Minister of Information during World War 2.  His habit of referring to himself by his initials is said to have given the inspiration for the creation of which fictional character?

Big Brother

(BB)

7.

What was the name of the space craft in which Yuri Gagarin made the first voyage into Outer Space in 1961?

Vostok 1

8.

Why is the Golden Gate bridge painted plum colour?

It is the most visible colour in fog

9.

The phrase 'green-eyed monster' originated in which Shakespearian play?

Othello

10.

The Red River forms the border between Texas and which other American state?

Qklahoma

11.

Which medieval sect was persecuted and finally eradicated by the Catholic Church at Chateau de Montsegur in 1244?

The Cathars

12.

Born Jean Chauvin in Picardy in 1509, by what name is he remembered?

John Calvin

13.

In an early episode of the popular TV series Gone Fishing Bob Mortimer confessed to Paul Whitehouse that he had done something terrible to his family in his childhood.  He repeated the same thing on an episode of the equally popular TV series Would I Lie To You?  What did he do?

He burned down the family home

14.

Which 19th century novel begins with Amelia Sedley's departure from Miss Pinkerton's academy for young ladies?

Vanity Fair

15.

D H Lawrence adopted the phoenix as a personal symbol.  What bird is named in the title of his first novel?

The peacock

(The White Peacock, 1911)

16.

What type of number can be defined as: "Any number that can be made by dividing one integer by another"?

A rational number

17.

Which range of hills, west of Bridgwater in Somerset were England's first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, being designated in 1956, and consisting largely of heathland, oak woodlands, ancient parklands and agricultural land?

The Quantock Hills

18.

Back in the good old days why might you not have enjoyed spending the night with the Duke of Exeter's Daughter?

Name given to the rack used as an instrument of torture in the Tower of London

19.

In ancient Greece how might you have been punished by having your name inscribed on a broken shard of pottery?

Banished from your city for a period of time

(accept shunned by society or ostracized)

20.

... and speaking of Belfast being known as the Athens of Ireland (and who isn’t?) ........exactly 2 years before the historic signing of Northern Ireland's 1998 Good Friday peace agreement, a symbolic peace treaty was signed by the mayors of modern Athens and Sparta to formally end which war?

The Peloponnesian War

(431-404 BC)

Go back to Rounds 4 & 5 questions without answers

ROUND 6 - Announced theme - 'Gods & Goddesses'

Each answer contains the name of a Roman or Greek god or goddess - which may form part of a larger word in the answer

1.

Name the 1972 disaster film starring American actress Shelley Winters who was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance.

The Poseidon Adventure

2.

President Milton Obote of Uganda, who was overthrown in 1971 by Idi Amin, had which first name?

Apollo

3.

What was the name of the character played by the late Maggie Smith in the Harry Potter series of films?

Minerva Mcgonagall

4.

Which patron deity of the city of Ephesus was St Paul accused of insulting when he tried to preach to the inhabitants of the city in Acts 10:44-48?

Diana

(accept Artemis)

5.

What material is also known as 'hard rubber' or 'ebonite' and is created by treating rubber with sulphur at a high temperature?

Vulcanite

6.

What is the name of this 2012 Sci-Fi film directed by Ridley Scott that is a prequel to the events of his earlier 1979 movie Alien?

Prometheus

7.

Name this popular English white wine grape variety, often described as the English equivalent of Sauvignon Blanc and known for its crisp, citrusy, and floral notes?

Bacchus

8.

In Greco-Roman mythology this goddess was the personification of strife who helped cause the Trojan War by throwing an apple amongst her fellow goddesses inscribed “to the fairest”.  When Zeus assigned the decision to Paris he chose to give it to Aphrodite who then helped him to abduct Helen of Troy.  Who was she?

Eris

Sp1

From which of the planets in Gustav Holst's Planets Suite is the tune to the hymn I Vow To Thee My Country derived?

Jupiter

Sp2

What word is defined in the Cambridge Dictionary as: “a strong feeling of wanting to have something especially money or possessions”?

Cupidity

Go back to Round 6 questions without answers

ROUND 7 - Hidden theme

Beware of soundalikes

1.

Painted in 1871, and officially titled Arrangement in Grey and Black No 1, how is this portrait of a 67 year old woman in profile better known?

Whistler’s Mother

2.

Which 1994 novel by Louis de Bernieres, released as a film in 2001, was set on the Greek island of Kefalonia during the Second World War?

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin

3.

Used as fire retardants and pesticides (e.g Malathion), this group of chemicals is now highly regulated due to its possible links to cancer.  Name the chemical group.

Organophosphates

4.

Name the 19th century artistic and poetic movement which attempted to portray individual emotional experience and included Verlaine, Rimbaud and Maeterlinck.

Symbolism

(cymbal)

5.

Name the oval-shaped hills, largely composed of glacial drift, formed beneath a glacier or an ice sheet and aligned in the direction of ice flow.

Drumlins

6.

Once a kingdom, formerly a county and now a council area, where are St Andrews and Glenrothes situated?

Fife

7.

What tree was alleged by medieval monks to have been grown from the staff of Joseph of Arimathea?

The Glastonbury or Holy Thorn

(accept hawthorn)

8.

What title is accorded to those members of the judiciary, often seen as taking the first step on the judicial ladder towards an appointment to the circuit bench, and, who may sit in both Crown and County Courts?

Recorders

Sp.

Famous for its collection of steam locomotives, which heritage railway runs from Sheffield Park to East Grinstead?

The Bluebell Line

Theme: Each answer is, or contains, the name of a musical instrument

Go back to Round 7 questions without answers

ROUND 8 - Pairs

1.

Used for cordage and twine manufacture what stiff fibre of the Mexican agave plant is named after the Yucatan port from which it was exported?

Sisal

2.

Mocha coffee takes its name from the port city of Mokha on the Red Sea coast of which country?

Yemen

3.

Which Irish folk song tells the increasingly exaggerated tale of a magnificent but highly improbable sailing ship?  Its seven-year voyage culminates in a disastrous end when a measles outbreak leaves only the narrator and the captain's dog as survivors.

The Irish Rover

4.

The melody of which song, a version of a Caribbean sailing song which became a hit for the Beach Boys, was used as the basis for The Famine Song a sectarian song chanted by Glasgow Rangers fans.  In 2009 a Scottish Appeal court ruled that the revised lyric, "The famine's over, why don't you go home?" was racist and inflammatory.

Sloop John B

5.

Which long-serving correspondent was appointed BBC News Russian editor in 2022?

Steve Rosenberg

6.

Which long-time medical correspondent was appointed the BBC's medical editor in 2020?

Fergus Walsh

7.

The highest point that can be reached in Europe by railway lies just below the summit of which Swiss peak in the Bernese Alps?

Jungfrau

8.

Which range of mountains is about 1100 kilometres long and forms the eastern border of Lesotho?

Drakensberg

Sp1

You may have missed it last Thursday whilst tuning in to WithQuiz with bated breath and clammy hand to learn the outcome of the Griffin derby, but April 10th is dedicated to the international celebration of which 1849 invention?  The genius inventor was quick to sell his patent for $400 (he needed to pay off a $15 debt) and the company he sold it to duly made a profit of untold millions. The perfection of this product's utility has never been in question (apart from the odd choking controversy) and their symbolic appeal has long been apparent from the rise of punk, to protests against Brexit and Trump.  In India they are kept over generations and passed down to daughters. Ukrainians still use them to ward off evil spirits when attached to children's clothing.  So what name is given to April 10th?

International Safety Pin Day

Sp2

What English town is sometimes known as the 'Slough of the North'?

Oldham

(sorry, we ran out of questions and just made that one up)

Go back to Round 8 questions without answers

Tiebreaker - Nearest to the given answer wins the match

According to the National Audit Office what was the total cumulative time spent by HM Revenue and Customs telephone customers on hold waiting to have their tax queries answered in the year 2022/2023? (express your answer in years)

798 years

Go back to Tiebreaker question without answer