Round 2: Beginnings
- Which novel begins ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times’?
- In which television western did Clint Eastwood begin his career?
- Which bugle call is sounded at the beginning of the military day?
- Which musical instruction means ‘from the beginning’?
- Which Shakespeare play begins ‘If music be the food of love, play on’?
- In skiing, which colour denotes a beginners’ slope?
- Who wanted to ‘begin the beguine’ in 1981?
- What does the prefix ‘tele-’ mean?
- British tanks are usually given names beginning with which capital letter?
- Which children’s classic begins ‘Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy’?
Half-time teaser
How many legs does a woodlouse have?
Round 3: Rivers
- In which river was Christ baptised?
- Which river forms the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe?
- Which celebrated fishing river flows from Basingstoke to Southampton Water?
- On which river does New York City stand?
- Which Russian composer attempted to drown himself in the River Neva as a result of his disastrous marriage?
- Up which Chinese river did the Royal Navy frigate
Amethyst
find itself trapped in 1949?
- Which major river has its source in the Black Forest?
- On which river does Peterborough stand?
- In which river did the Lorelei lure boatmen to their doom?
- Which river forms the border between the USA and Mexico?
Round 4: Pot Luck
- What name did Thomas Hardy give Dorchester in his novels?
- Which sporting organisation is headed by Bernie Ecclestone?
- What line on the hull of a ship indicates its maximum loading level?
- What was Elvis Presley’s middle name?
- There are more calories in a glass of Coke than there are in a glass of lager – true or false?
- Who wrote ‘My guy’?
- Which county cricket team plays at Trent Bridge?
- Who released an album called
Hot Rats
?
36
- Which male tennis player was beaten by Billie Jean King in the famous ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match of 1973?
- Who succeeded Harold Macmillan as prime minister?
Jackpot
Which British actor was the first to receive an Oscar?
Quiz 37
Round 1: Pot Luck
- What is the highest point in Africa?
- What name did the press give to the female members of Tony Blair’s first Cabinet when he took office in 1997?
- Which one of the Spice Girls had hits with ‘Feels so good’, ‘I want you back’ and ‘Tell me’?
- By what name was Istanbul known outside Turkey until 1930?
- Which yachting trophy was won every time it was competed for between 1851 and 1983 by the New York Yacht Club?
- Who adopted ‘Over the rainbow’ as a signature tune?
- There is a higher proportion of redheads in the Scottish Highlands than anywhere else – true or false?
- Which poet wrote a celebrated poem inspired by the drowning of some nuns in a shipwreck?
- What informal name is given to the red ensign flown by British merchant ships?
- Who drew the illustrations for the first editions of A. A. Milne’s
Winnie-the-Pooh
?
Round 2: The Wild West
- Who directed the 1969 western
The Wild Bunch
?
- Who were the original stars of the television western series
Alias Smith and Jones
?
- Which Wild West outlaw was finally shot dead by Sheriff Pat Garrett?
- Which pop group was named after a John Wayne western?
- What single about a native American topped the charts in 1960?
- Which native American tribe accepted Kevin Costner into its ranks in the 1990 film
Dances with Wolves
?
- Which television western series had a theme tune based on Rossini’s
William Tell
overture?
- At which battle in South Dakota between the US army and the Sioux was Chief Sitting Bull killed?
- In which television western series were Billy Blue, Buck and Manolito leading characters?
- Who played the Waco Kid in the comedy western
Blazing Saddles
?
Half-time teaser
How many rooms are there in the White House?
Round 3: Newspapers and Magazines
- Which newspaper boasted the slogan ‘All human life is there’?
- What 1956 society event inspired the headline ‘Egghead weds hourglass’?
- In which satirical magazine is Elizabeth II routinely referred to by the nickname Brenda?
37
- What first appeared in a British newspaper on 2 November 1924?
- Which children’s comic was home to Dennis the Menace and Lord Snooty?
- In 2005 what society event inspired the
Bristol Evening Post
headline ‘Tetbury man weds’?
- In which newspaper was the Beachcomber column a regular feature for many years?
- The 1982
Sun
headline ‘Gotcha!’ greeted news of the sinking of which vessel?
- In which children’s comic was Desperate Dan a leading character?
- Which rival publication sued
Hello!
magazine in 2003 for printing unauthorised pictures of the wedding of Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones?
Round 4: Pot Luck
- David Bowie was born on which other pop star’s twelfth birthday?
- In which novel does Captain Yossarian face a classic no-win situation?
- What is the name of the Jedi knight who trains Luke Skywalker in the
Star Wars
films?
- The Geoffrey Household thriller
Rogue Male
begins with a failed assassination attempt against which national leader?
- Which city is capital of Australia?
- Who was the first England football manager?
- Who was the mother of actress Isabella Rossellini?
- Which film was advertised with the slogan ‘Be afraid. Be very afraid’?
- Which is the most popular tourist attraction in London?
- Which US general had the nickname ‘Blood and Guts’?
Jackpot
What was the name of the censorship code applied to US movies from 1930?
Quiz 38
Round 1: Pot Luck
- Where is Henman Hill?
- In cockney rhyming slang, what is an ‘Auntie Ella’?
- What is a mole’s favourite food?
- Which city is served by Charles de Gaulle airport?
- Marlon Brando and George C. Scott both refused to accept what?
- In which sport was Yogi Berra a well-known figure?
- In which city might one see Leonardo da Vinci’s
Last Supper
?
- Of what band is Roy Wood frontman?
- More tea is grown in China than in India – true or false?
- Which organisation runs the Chelsea Flower Show?
Round 2: Flight
- Who flew the Atlantic in
The Spirit of St Louis
?
- Where in the UK would you find Benbecula airport?
- What kind of animal is a flying fox?
- Which country is home to Labrador Airways?
- Who starred as US president James Marshall in the 1997 film
Airforce One
?
- Of which US state is Concord the capital city?
- In which county is the East Midlands airport?
- What aeronautical first was achieved by Ellen Church in 1930?
- Which US city is served by Logan International airport?
- Which rank in the RAF is more senior – Squadron Leader or Flight Lieutenant?
Half-time teaser
How many lives were lost when the
Titanic
sank in 1912?
Round 3: Famous Addresses
- Who lives at 11 Downing Street?
- Besides Sherlock Holmes, which other notable fictional detective lived in Baker Street?
38
- In Monopoly, what kind of property is the Angel Islington?
- Who works at Lambeth Palace?
- Who lived at Mount Vernon?
- What was the home of Arsenal football club from 1913 to 2006?
- Which branch of the armed services trains its officers at Cranwell?
- Which street in New York is home to the New York Stock Exchange?
- Who was the first British monarch to live in Buckingham Palace?
- Plaques of which colour are erected in London to identify the homes of famous people?
Round 4: Pot Luck
- Which of the following is not one of the Seven Deadly Sins – pride, impatience or anger?
- What name is given to outbursts of uncontrolled aggression among motorists?
- Which US poet wrote
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
?
- Of which city is Hollywood a suburb?
- Which opera features a naval lieutenant called Pinkerton?
- Andrew Fisher, Arthur Fadden and John Gorton have all served as prime minister of which Commonwealth country?
- Who replaced Sir Edward Elgar on a £20 note in 2007?
- Who composed the Eroica Symphony?
- What does the Beaufort Scale measure?
- In which sport are competitors vulnerable to ‘the bonk’?
Jackpot
What disappeared from the British coinage in 1984?
Quiz 39
Round 1: Pot Luck
- By what nickname did Florence Nightingale become known?
- What was the world’s first cloned sheep called?
- Who had a hit in 1970 with ‘Gimme dat ding’?
- Which Spanish football club won the European Championship every year from 1956 to 1960?
- Who was shot by Kristen Shepard in 1980 in front of numerous witnesses?
- Who starred in the 1975 film of Ken Kesey’s
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
?
- Which Regent Street store played a leading role in promoting the decorative style of art known as art nouveau in the early twentieth century?
- The A3 connects which two cities?
- What is the name of Prince Charles’s home in Gloucestershire?
- Who preceded Michael Howard as leader of the Conservative Party?
Round 2: Dogs
- At which battle was Prince Rupert’s dog Boy killed?
- In which children’s classic is the family pet dog called Nana?
- What was the name of the pet dog that found the stolen World Cup trophy in 1966?
- The adjective ‘feisty’ comes from the Old English for ‘farting dog’ – true or false?
- Which cowboy film star took his nickname from that of his dog?
- What is the most popular name for a dog in Britain?
- How was life made easier for dog owners in 1984?
- What is unusual about the basenji breed of dog?
- Who was lead singer with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band?
- What was the name of the dog that appeared in famous advertisements for His Master’s Voice?
Half-time teaser
How many carats were there in the Cullinan diamond before it was cut up for use in the Crown Jewels?
Round 3: Murder Most Foul
- Where was French Revolutionary leader Jean Paul Marat stabbed to death?
- Which country has the highest murder rate in the world?
- How did murderer John George Haigh dispose of the bodies of his victims?
- Who plays Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby in television’s
Midsomer Murders
?
- James Hanratty was hanged in 1961 for a murder that took place in a lay-by on which main road between Luton and Bedford?
- Who was the deranged murderer in Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller
Psycho
?
- Which murderer was arrested in 1910 after a telegraph message was sent to the ship on which he was attempting to flee Britain?
- Notorious US murderer Charles Manson once auditioned for the Monkees – true or false?
- On which moors did the Moors Murders take place?
- At which infamous London address did John Christie murder at least eight women between 1943 and 1953?
39
Round 4: Pot Luck
- In American slang, what is a ‘gumshoe’?
- Who adopted ‘Inka dinka doo’ as a signature tune?
- Who was the Jersey Lily?
- The Hundred Years War actually lasted less than one hundred years – true or false?
- What style of art and interior decoration involves the reduction of ideas to the barest essentials?
- With which other pop star did Bob Geldof set up the Band Aid charity project of 1984?
- What product is sold under the trade name Damart?
- Who beat Scott to the South Pole?
- Where is the University of Warwick located?
- Which river flows through Shrewsbury and Gloucester?
Jackpot
Which style of art is characterised by figures with unnaturally elongated limbs and torsos?
Quiz 40
Round 1: Pot Luck
- In which country is the battlefield of Waterloo located?
- In horse racing, at what age does a colt become a stallion?
- Which Shakespeare play has the subtitle
All Is True
?
- What name was formerly given to the streets in London and New York where many music publishers had their headquarters?
- Where did a peasant girl called Bernadette claim to have seen a vision of the Virgin Mary in 1858?
- Which organisation looks after British lighthouses?
- Which country has sovereignty over the Galapagos Islands?
- Which is the most common blood group in Britain?
- Which British monarch was advised by a group of ministers known as the Cabal?
- Who, in 1988, famously instructed his audience to ‘read my lips’?
Round 2: Biographies
- Which English ‘opium-eater’ made a confession in 1821?
- Who wrote an autobiography entitled
My Life and the Beautiful Game
?
- Whose autobiography was entitled
My Struggle
?
- Who wrote the autobiographical novel
Cider with Rosie
?
- Which dancer called his autobiography
Precious Little Sleep
?
- Who wrote a celebrated memoir about her rural childhood in the fictionalised Lark Rise?
- Whose biography was called
Stand By Your Man
?
- Who wrote autobiographical works entitled
Boy
and
Going Solo
?
- Who wrote an autobiography about the two years, two months and two days he spent living on Walden Pond?
- Who wrote
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas
?