Withington Pub Quiz League - questions 08/10/25

WithQuiz League paper 08/10/25

Set by: The Opsimaths

QotW: R2/Q1

Average Aggregate Score: 79.5

(Season's Ave. Agg.: 79.5)

"No gimmicks and plenty of points on offer."

"The paper was mostly OK apart from the rail round."

"We looked forward to tonight's paper from the Opsimaths because we have usually done well - and tonight was certainly no exception."

ROUND 1 - Hidden Theme

All answers are in chronological order

(For the QM’s benefit, the connections are explained in brackets. Not to be disclosed until after the round is over)

Which fictional Detective Superintendent, based in Devon and Cornwall, was created by W J Burley in 1968, and featured in 22 novels? The ITV series (1993 to 1998) starred Jack Shepard in the title role.

In 1969, which British sailor became the first person to sail single-handedly non-stop around the world?

Robin and his wife Angela, two of their sons Edward and James, and five of their grandchildren Emilia, Freddie, Jack, Laurence and Lydia, are all actors and actresses. Name this acting dynasty.

The 1st Duke of Wellington, was born in Dublin in 1769 and died in Kent in 1852. This soldier and Tory politician was twice Prime Minister. What was his family name, before it was changed in 1798?

Which Taiwanese filmmaker won Best Director Oscars for Brokeback Mountain in 2005 and Life of Pi in 2012?

On April 15th 1865, the American physician Samuel Mudd splinted a broken left fibula. Who was his patient?

What is the name of the mascot of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden, who appears in the artwork of all their concerts, their album covers, and their merchandise?

Which nursery rhyme character opens their food storage facility, but finds it devoid of canine treats?

Sp1

Frank Zappa and his second wife had four children. The youngest were Dweezil, Ahmet, and Diva. In 1982, Valley Girl by Zappa, featured his 14-year-old eldest child’s monologue in San Fernando ‘valleyspeak’ with lyrics such as ‘grody to the max’ and ‘gag me with a spoon.’ It was his only ever Top 40 hit. What was the name of this daughter?

Sp2

Uniquely, he served three separate terms as Labour Party leader in three different decades (1908-1910, 1914-1917, 1931-1932). As Home Secretary in 1922, he was Labour’s first ever cabinet minister. Who, in 1934, won a Nobel Peace Prize for his work as Chairman of the League of Nations Disarmament Conference in 1931-1934?

Go to Round 1 questions with answers

ROUND 2 - British Prehistory

At the behest of his wife, Cecil Chubb went to an auction in Salisbury in 1915. Instead of the set of dining chairs or a set of curtains, which he was sent to purchase, what did he buy for £6,600?

Parts of Thomas Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge are set here, and in the 1967 movie version of Far From the Madding Crowd, Sergeant Troy (played by Terence Stamp) displayed his swordsmanship to Bathsheba Everdene (Julie Christie) on the huge multiple grass ramparts. What is this Iron Age hill fort in Dorset, one of the largest and most complex in Europe, called?

This settlement in Orkneys was occupied from about 3180 BC to 2500 BC. It consisted of ten clustered houses, made of flagstones in earthen dams, with stone hearths, beds, cupboards, toilets, and drains. Which site is Europe's most complete Neolithic village?

This conical hill, with terraced slopes, rises from the Somerset Levels. Mentioned in Celtic mythology, particularly with King Arthur, which prehistoric site is topped by the 14th-century St Michael's Tower?

Completed in c. 2400 BC, the largest artificial mound in Europe compares in height and volume to the Egyptian pyramids. What is this monument called, which is the swollen womb of the Earth Goddess, or, a burial mound for a king and his horse, or, a giant astronomical sun dial, or something else?

Despite its name, this is not a burial site. This Neolithic flint mining complex in Norfolk was worked between c. 2600 and c. 2300 BC, but production may have continued through the Bronze and Iron Ages and later, owing to the low cost of flint compared with metals. What is the name of this site?

Settlement began here as early as 3000 BC. An Iron Age hill fort was erected c. 400 BC, and it was occupied in the Roman and Saxon periods. Later, the Normans built a castle, a stone curtain wall, a cathedral, and later still, a royal palace. Which site is also known as a pocket borough for the Pitt Family, before the abolition of rotten boroughs by the 1832 Reform Act?

Built and much altered between about 2850 BC to 2200 BC, which Neolithic site has a huge circular bank and ditch, encircling the largest megalithic stone circle in the world, which in turn encloses two smaller stone circles?

Sp1

Occupation started here between 9335 BC and 9275 BC, and lasted for about 800 years. Finds include Britain's oldest structure, 21 red deer stag skull-caps, that may have been headdresses, and nearly 200 projectile points made of red deer antler. Which site, about five miles south of Scarborough, is generally regarded as the most important and informative Mesolithic site in Britain?

Sp2

Created some time between 1380 and 550 BC, this 360ft long geoglyph was formed from deep trenches filled with crushed white chalk in Oxfordshire. In August 2002, which prehistoric hill figure was defaced with the addition of a rider and three dogs by members of the Real Countryside Alliance?

Go to Round 2 questions with answers

ROUND 3 - Announced Theme – ‘Lines’

200 years ago, the first railway line in the world – the Stockton/Darlington line in Durham – opened.

Here is a round on well-known railway lines and rail transit systems

What is the name of the Adelaide to Darwin railway service that crosses Australia south to north?

The railway line which connects Exeter and Barnstaple in Devon is generally known by what name?

The Jungfrau railway in Switzerland features a station, now disused, inside a mountain which has a window which opens up onto what?

The British Isles have three mountain railways which ascend to a height of over 2,000 feet; one climbs to the summit of Snowdon, one to the summit of Cairngorm, but which mountain is ascended by the other?

Which station is currently both the northernmost and the westernmost on the London Underground system?

Which is currently the westernmost tram stop on Manchester’s Metrolink system?

The West Highland line in Scotland runs from Glasgow Queen’s Street to 2 West of Scotland ports; one is Oban, what is the other?

Which London mainline terminus was the first to be opened in 1836?

Sp1

Between 1929 and 1972 what was the name of the luxury express train service operating between London and Paris?

Sp2

Since 1904 the late morning train service leaving London Paddington for Penzance has been known as what?

Go to Round 3 questions with answers

ROUND 4 - Run-Ons

Each run-on has a Literary Reference

This novel was published in 1847 under the pen name Ellis Bell;

a tourist attraction in Matlock Bath, Derbyshire, supposedly resembling an area in Quebec, where James Wolfe died in a 1759 battle.

Released as a film earlier this year, what is the third book in the Bridget Jones series called?

this 2008 film, based on a 2006 novel of the same name is set in Nazi-occupied Poland and follows the son of an SS officer, who befriends a Jewish prisoner of his age.

In August 1968, this single was the Beatles' first release on their Apple record label, and became the year's top-selling single in the UK, the US, Australia, and Canada;

this was Thomas Hardy’s last completed novel, was published in 1895, and is concerned particularly with issues of class, education, religion, morality, and marriage.

A Mann Booker Prize winner, about a boy named after a French swimming pool;

a Bristol-based company with 17 UK restaurants and cafes, including outlets in the Northern Quarter and on Deansgate, as well as supplying pubs, food retailers, and markets.

Celebrating sexual love, The Song of Songs or Canticle of Canticles is unlike most of the Hebrew Bible, in that it does not focus on laws, covenants, or divine worship. By what other name is this poem known?

the American abolitionist, who wrote the memoir Twelve Years a Slave.

A Chuck Berry song, released in 1958, about an illiterate ‘country boy’ from the New Orleans area, who plays guitar, and might one day have his ‘name in lights’;

published in 1921-1923, the most translated novel of Czech literature, is a satirical comedy about a good-humoured, simple-minded, middle-aged man in the Austro-Hungarian army in WW1.

Published in 1891, Oscar Wilde's only novel was subject to much controversy and criticism, but is now considered a classic of Gothic literature;

winner of the Turner Prize (2003) and Erasmus Prize (2021), he is known for his ceramics, tapestries, and cross-dressing. Images of ‘Claire’ and ‘Alan Measles’ often appear in his work.

Shakespeare’s only play set in the Trojan War;

from 2017 to 2022, she is both the first female and the first openly gay officer to lead the Metropolitan Police Service.

Sp1

In 1943, Hermann Hesse’s last full-length novel chronicles Joseph Knecht's education, joining the Castilian Order, mastery of their synthesis of human learning, and advancement to become Magister Ludi;

published in 1996, the first novel of the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R R Martin.

Sp2

A dystopian novel that starts with the line: "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen."

a 1970 book about the 20-year correspondence between book-lovers Helene Hanff and Frank Doel.

Go to Round 4 questions with answers

ROUND 5 - Reverse paired Science questions

What four-word phrase was first used in Herbert Spencer’s 1864 book Principles of Biology?

There are six types of quarks, known as flavours. Up, down, top and bottom are four of them. Name either of the other two flavours.

In biology, there are eight principal ranks in the taxonomic hierarchy. Which one is missing from this list: domain, kingdom, class, order, family, genus, species?

Which astronomical objects are classified as: primordial, stellar-mass, intermediate-mass and supermassive?

Which astronomical objects are classified as: Type I: No hydrogen, Type II: Shows hydrogen, or Type III: Electron-capture?

In the 20th century, biological classification also began categorizing organisms into groups, based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. What name is given to these groups consisting of an ancestor and all its descendants?

There are five elementary bosons. Higgs bosons, Z bosons, and W bosons are three of them. Name either of the other two.

What word was coined by the Lancaster-born biologist Sir Richard Owen in 1842?

Sp1

Alpha, beta, gamma, and delta are four of the main brain wave types. Which Greek letter is given to the other main type? With a frequency of 8-12 Hz, they are produced when you are in a relaxed state, such as daydreaming or light sleep?

Sp2

The red giant Omicron Ceti (later named Mira), the eclipsing binary Algol, Chi Cygni, Delta Cephei, and Beta Lyrae, are among the earliest identified examples of which astronomical phenomenon? There are now 46,000 identified in the Milky Way, and 10,000 in other galaxies.

Sp3

Beyond the five classic senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch, there are others such as balance, and the abilities to feel temperature or pain. What is the sense of proprioception?

Go to Round 5 questions with answers

ROUND 6 - 'A Rose by any Other Name'

A round about foreign words that have found their way into English

Which political term came from an Irish word for ‘outlaw’ or ‘robber’? It described Irish Catholics who lost their lands to English settlers, and survived by raiding and plundering. The term came to England during 1679-1681, to associate supporters of James’ hereditary right to the throne with the despised Irish Catholic outlaws.

What Hindustani loanword meaning ‘dust or soil-coloured’, was used in connection with the British Army from 1868 until the late 1960s?

Which drink takes its name from the Arabic term ‘qahwa’ (pronounced kah-wah, with the emphasis on the first syllable) which is related to an Arabic noun meaning power or energy?

Which breed of dog derives its name from a German word meaning ‘to splash about in the water’?

Which country takes its name from a Shona word meaning ‘house of stones’ or ‘venerated houses’?

Which word derives from a Chinese pronunciation of the English word ‘business’? In the OED, all attestations until 1855 mean ‘business; an action, occupation, or affair’. It then began to refer to a language, and by the late 19th century, the term is used in a more general sense to refer to any simplified language.

Which Hebrew word means a ‘shapeless mass’ or ‘embryo’? It was most famously used by the 16th-century rabbi Judah Löw ben Bezulel of Prague, in Gustav Meyrink’s 1915 novel, and for a classic German film in 1920.

What Hawaiian word means ‘the cool breeze’ or, more specifically ‘the cool mountain breeze’? Those who have seen the films Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure,The Matrix, or John Wick should know.

Sp1

This dish originates from Tamil cuisine. The simplest version includes chicken or mutton, fried onion, and spices. Southern Indian versions commonly call for lentils. From the Tamil for ‘pepper-water’, what do we call this dish?

Sp2

Walter Santesso was in the 1960 film La Dolce Vita directed by Federico Fellini. What was the name of the news photographer he played, which is now the eponym for his profession?

Go to Round 6 questions with answers

ROUND 7 - Paired questions

Which Spanish grape variety, named for its early ripening properties, is the primary grape used in Rioja wines?

Which French grape variety, probably named after the French word for blackbird, is one of the primary grapes used in Bordeaux wine?

Which budget hotel chain has a purple logo with a white moon and yellow stars and the slogan “Rest Easy”?

Which budget hotel chain has a blue and red logo showing a side profile of a person lying in bed?

First coming to prominence as one half of the band Slow Club, what is the stage name of the singer, songwriter, and actress Rebecca Lucy Taylor?

Rebecca Lucy Taylor played Sally Bowles opposite Jake Sheres’ Emcee in the West End revival of which musical at the Playhouse Theatre from September 2023 until March 2024?

Which awards, which aim to recognise people who have, not on purpose, contributed to human evolution by their own stupidity, were created by Wendy Northcutt?

Which awards, which have been given for studies such as the analysis of the rate of growth of one fingernail over 35 years, the pizza preferences of certain lizards and the feasibility of having live homing pigeons inside missiles to guide their flight paths, were launched in 1991?

Sp1

Which English actor played an ex-Detective Constable cum law enforcement agent from 1977 to 1983, a Chief Constable from 1993 to 1995, a Judge from 2001 to 2007, and a Chief Inspector from 2007 to 2017?

Sp2

Which English actor played a Detective Sergeant from 1975 to 1978, an ex-con from 1979 to 1989, and a former Detective Sergeant from 2003 to 2015?

Go to Round 7 questions with answers

ROUND 8 - Announced theme - 'Happy Families'

A hidden theme round, hinted at by the title. Beware of soundalikes and part words

This multimedia brand was founded in 1985 as a home video rental shop in Dallas, Texas. At its peak, it employed 84,300 people and had 9,094 stores, including ones in Didsbury, West Didsbury, Fallowfield and Chorlton. Which chain struggled against internet retailers, and now has only one store still open?

With the catchphrases, "I’m a doctor, not a…" and "He’s dead, Jim", Dr. Leonard H McCoy is better known by what nickname?

In Oscar Wilde’s play The Importance of Being Earnest which fictional invalid is a key plot device?

From 2010 which two-word phrase was used in the international press to refer to Silvio Berlusconi’s alleged sex parties with prostitutes, which caused a major political scandal in Italy?

Derived from the card game poker, what term describes a stock corporation with a large capitalisation, a national reputation for quality, reliability, and the ability to operate profitably in both good and bad times, that trades on a major stock exchange? The Dow Jones consists of 30 such US-based stocks.

Which range of limestone hills runs from Weston-super-Mare to the Frome valley, and overlooks the Somerset Levels?

From 379 to 395, who was the last emperor to rule the entire Roman Empire before its administration was split between the Western and Eastern Roman Empires? He was also instrumental in establishing the orthodox doctrine for Nicene Christianity, which encompasses most of today's Christian churches.

From a children’s TV series created and produced for the BBC from 1955 to 1967, and then for ITV from 1968 until 1992, who is this?

(At this point, the QM should raise one hand, and wriggle their thumb and first two fingers, as though they are manipulating a glove puppet)

Sp1

From July 17th to August 2nd 1945, Stalin, Truman, and Churchill (replaced on July 26th by Attlee) met to negotiate terms for the end of World War II. In which city?

Sp2

What two-word term for excessive bureaucracy originated in the early 16th century, when Charles V of Spain started to separate dossiers that required immediate discussion by the Council of State, from files that were treated in an ordinary administrative way?

Sp3

Originating in the Southern US, which dish is a creamy type of porridge made from coarsely ground dried maize or hominy, cooked in warm salted water or milk? They are often served with flavourings, such as butter and cheese or honey butter, as a breakfast dish.

Go to Round 8 questions with answers

ROUND 1 - Hidden Theme

All answers are in chronological order

(For the QM’s benefit, the connections are explained in brackets. Not to be disclosed until after the round is over)

Charles Wycliffe

(John Wycliffe. Lollardy, founded c. 1382)

In 1969, which British sailor became the first person to sail single-handedly non-stop around the world?

Robin Knox-Johnston

(John Knox. Presbyterianism, founded 1560)

Robin and his wife Angela, two of their sons Edward and James, and five of their grandchildren Emilia, Freddie, Jack, Laurence and Lydia, are all actors and actresses. Name this acting dynasty.

The Fox family

(George Fox. Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers, 1647)

The 1st Duke of Wellington, was born in Dublin in 1769 and died in Kent in 1852. This soldier and Tory politician was twice Prime Minister. What was his family name, before it was changed in 1798?

Arthur Wesley

(the family changed the name to Wellesley in 1798}

(John Wesley. Methodists, 1738)

Which Taiwanese filmmaker won Best Director Oscars for Brokeback Mountain in 2005 and Life of Pi in 2012?

Ang Lee

(Ann Lee. Shakers, 1747)

On April 15th 1865, the American physician Samuel Mudd splinted a broken left fibula. Who was his patient?

John Wilkes Booth

(Mudd was imprisoned for conspiring with Booth in Lincoln’s assassination, but later pardoned)

(William & Catherine Booth. Salvation Army, 1865)

What is the name of the mascot of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden, who appears in the artwork of all their concerts, their album covers, and their merchandise?

Eddie or Eddie the Head

(Mary Baker Eddy. Christian Science, 1879)

Which nursery rhyme character opens their food storage facility, but finds it devoid of canine treats?

Old Mother Hubbard

(L Ron Hubbard. Scientology, 1953)

Sp1

Moon or Moon Unit

(Yong (Sun) Myung Moon. Unification Church, 1954)

Sp2

Arthur Henderson

(Bobby Henderson. The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, 2005)

Theme: Each answer contains the name of a religious or cult leader

Go back to Round 1 questions without answers

ROUND 2 - British Prehistory

At the behest of his wife, Cecil Chubb went to an auction in Salisbury in 1915. Instead of the set of dining chairs or a set of curtains, which he was sent to purchase, what did he buy for £6,600?

Stonehenge

(... and about 30 acres of land. It cost about £668,000 in today’s money)

Maiden Castle

Skara Brae

Glastonbury Tor

Silbury Hill

Grime’s Graves

Old Sarum

Avebury

Sp1

Star Carr

Sp2

Uffington White Horse

Go back to Round 2 questions without answers

ROUND 3 - Announced Theme – ‘Lines’

200 years ago, the first railway line in the world – the Stockton/Darlington line in Durham – opened.

Here is a round on well-known railway lines and rail transit systems

What is the name of the Adelaide to Darwin railway service that crosses Australia south to north?

The Ghan

The railway line which connects Exeter and Barnstaple in Devon is generally known by what name?

The Tarka Line

The Jungfrau railway in Switzerland features a station, now disused, inside a mountain which has a window which opens up onto what?

North face of the Eiger

The British Isles have three mountain railways which ascend to a height of over 2,000 feet; one climbs to the summit of Snowdon, one to the summit of Cairngorm but which mountain is ascended by the other?

Snaefell

(on the Isle of Man)

Which station is currently both the northernmost and the westernmost on the London Underground system?

Chesham

Which is currently the westernmost tram stop on Manchester’s Metrolink system?

The Trafford Centre

The West Highland line in Scotland runs from Glasgow Queen’s Street to 2 West of Scotland ports; one is Oban, what is the other?

Mallaig

Which London mainline terminus was the first to be opened in 1836?

London Bridge

Sp1

Between 1929 and 1972 what was the name of the luxury express train service operating between London and Paris?

Flèche d’Or or Golden Arrow

Sp2

Since 1904 the late morning train service leaving London Paddington for Penzance has been known as what?

Cornish Riviera Express

Go back to Round 3 questions without answers

ROUND 4 - Run-Ons

Each run-on has a Literary Reference

This novel was published in 1847 under the pen name Ellis Bell;

a tourist attraction in Matlock Bath, Derbyshire, supposedly resembling an area in Quebec, where James Wolfe died in a 1759 battle.

Wuthering Heights of Abraham

Released as a film earlier this year, what is the third book in the Bridget Jones series called?

this 2008 film, based on a 2006 novel of the same name is set in Nazi-occupied Poland and follows the son of an SS officer, who befriends a Jewish prisoner of his age.

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

In August 1968, this single was the Beatles' first release on their Apple record label, and became the year's top-selling single in the UK, the US, Australia, and Canada;

this was Thomas Hardy’s last completed novel, was published in 1895, and is concerned particularly with issues of class, education, religion, morality, and marriage.

Hey Jude The Obscure

A Mann Booker Prize winner, about a boy named after a French swimming pool;

a Bristol-based company with 17 UK restaurants and cafes, including outlets in the Northern Quarter and on Deansgate, as well as supplying pubs, food retailers, and markets.

Life of Pieminister

the American abolitionist, who wrote the memoir Twelve Years a Slave.

Song of Solomon Northup

A Chuck Berry song, released in 1958, about an illiterate ‘country boy’ from the New Orleans area, who plays guitar, and might one day have his ‘name in lights’;

published in 1921-1923, the most translated novel of Czech literature, is a satirical comedy about a good-humoured, simple-minded, middle-aged man in the Austro-Hungarian army in WW1.

Johnny B. Goode/Good Soldier Švejk

Published in 1891, Oscar Wilde's only novel was subject to much controversy and criticism, but is now considered a classic of Gothic literature;

winner of the Turner Prize (2003) and Erasmus Prize (2021), he is known for his ceramics, tapestries, and cross-dressing. Images of ‘Claire’ and ‘Alan Measles’ often appear in his work.

The Picture of Dorian Grayson Perry

Shakespeare’s only play set in the Trojan War;

from 2017 to 2022, she is both the first female and the first openly gay officer to lead the Metropolitan Police Service.

Troilus & Cressida Dick

Sp1

published in 1996, the first novel of the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R R Martin.

The Glass Bead Game of Thrones

Sp2

A dystopian novel that starts with the line: "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen."

a 1970 book about the 20-year correspondence between book-lovers Helene Hanff and Frank Doel.

1984 Charing Cross Road

Go back to Round 4 questions without answers

ROUND 5 - Reverse paired Science questions

What four-word phrase was first used in Herbert Spencer’s 1864 book Principles of Biology?

"Survival of the fittest"

There are six types of quarks, known as flavours. Up, down, top and bottom are four of them. Name either of the other two flavours.

Charm or Strange

In biology, there are eight principal ranks in the taxonomic hierarchy. Which one is missing from this list: domain, kingdom, class, order, family, genus, species?

Phylum

(do not accept division, sometimes used in botany in place of phylum)

Which astronomical objects are classified as: primordial, stellar-mass, intermediate-mass and supermassive?

Black Holes

Which astronomical objects are classified as: Type I: No hydrogen, Type II: Shows hydrogen, or Type III: Electron-capture?

Supernovae

Clades

There are five elementary bosons. Higgs bosons, Z bosons, and W bosons are three of them. Name either of the other two.

Photons or Gluons

What word was coined by the Lancaster-born biologist Sir Richard Owen in 1842?

Dinosaur

Sp1

Theta

Sp2

Variable stars

Sp3

Beyond the five classic senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch, there are others such as balance, and the abilities to feel temperature or pain. What is the sense of proprioception?

Knowing where your body parts are

... in other words, the sense that allows you to perceive the location and movements of your body parts. (e.g. to walk without consciously thinking about where to place your foot next, or to touch your elbow with your eyes closed)

Go back to Round 5 questions without answers

ROUND 6 - 'A Rose by any Other Name'

A round about foreign words that have found their way into English

Tory

What Hindustani loanword meaning ‘dust or soil-coloured’, was used in connection with the British Army from 1868 until the late 1960s?

Khaki

Which drink takes its name from the Arabic term ‘qahwa’ (pronounced kah-wah, with the emphasis on the first syllable) which is related to an Arabic noun meaning power or energy?

Coffee

Which breed of dog derives its name from a German word meaning ‘to splash about in the water’?

Poodle

(from ‘pudel’ or ‘pudelhund’, reflecting the breed's history as a water-retrieving hunting dog)

Which country takes its name from a Shona word meaning ‘house of stones’ or ‘venerated houses’?

Zimbabwe

Pidgin

Golem

Keanu

(as in the actor’s name Keanu Reeves)

Sp1

Mulligatawny soup

Sp2

Walter Santesso was in the 1960 film La Dolce Vita directed by Federico Fellini. What was the name of the news photographer he played, which is now the eponym for his profession?

Paparazzo

(grudgingly accept paparazzi)

Go back to Round 6 questions without answers

ROUND 7 - Paired questions

Which Spanish grape variety, named for its early ripening properties, is the primary grape used in Rioja wines?

Tempranillo

Which French grape variety, probably named after the French word for blackbird, is one of the primary grapes used in Bordeaux wine?

Merlot

Which budget hotel chain has a purple logo with a white moon and yellow stars and the slogan “Rest Easy”?

Premier Inn

Which budget hotel chain has a blue and red logo showing a side profile of a person lying in bed?

Travelodge

First coming to prominence as one half of the band Slow Club, what is the stage name of the singer, songwriter, and actress Rebecca Lucy Taylor?

Self-Esteem

Rebecca Lucy Taylor played Sally Bowles opposite Jake Sheres’ Emcee in the West End revival of which musical at the Playhouse Theatre from September 2023 until March 2024?

Cabaret

Which awards, which aim to recognise people who have, not on purpose, contributed to human evolution by their own stupidity, were created by Wendy Northcutt?

The Darwin Awards

The Ig Nobel Prizes

Sp1

Martin Shaw

(in The Professionals, The Professionals, Judge John Deed, and Inspector George Gently)

Sp2

Which English actor played a Detective Sergeant from 1975 to 1978, an ex-con from 1979 to 1989, and a former Detective Sergeant from 2003 to 2015?

Dennis Waterman

(in The Sweeney, Minder, and New Tricks)

Go back to Round 7 questions without answers

ROUND 8 - Announced theme - 'Happy Families'

A hidden theme round, hinted at by the title. Beware of soundalikes and part words

Blockbuster or Blockbuster Video

With the catchphrases, "I’m a doctor, not a…" and "He’s dead, Jim", Dr. Leonard H McCoy is better known by what nickname?

Bones

(from Star Trek)

In Oscar Wilde’s play The Importance of Being Earnest which fictional invalid is a key plot device?

Bunbury

From 2010 which two-word phrase was used in the international press to refer to Silvio Berlusconi’s alleged sex parties with prostitutes, which caused a major political scandal in Italy?

Bunga Bunga

Blue chip

Which range of limestone hills runs from Weston-super-Mare to the Frome valley, and overlooks the Somerset Levels?

The Mendip Hills or simply the Mendips

Theodosius

From a children’s TV series created and produced for the BBC from 1955 to 1967, and then for ITV from 1968 until 1992, who is this?

(At this point, the QM should raise one hand, and wriggle their thumb and first two fingers, as though they are manipulating a glove puppet)

Sooty (in the nude)

Sp1

From July 17th to August 2nd 1945, Stalin, Truman, and Churchill (replaced on July 26th by Attlee) met to negotiate terms for the end of World War II. In which city?

Potsdam

Sp2

Red Tape

Sp3

Grits

Theme: Each answer contains the name of a family in the Happy Families card game:

Block, the barber / Bones, the butcher / Bun, the baker / Bung, the Brewer/ Chip, the carpenter / Dip, the dyer / Dose, the doctor /

Soot, the sweep / Pots, the painter / Tape, the tailor / Grits, the grocer

Go back to Round 8 questions without answers