ROUND 1 - 'The Sum is greater than the parts'

By what name are the following collectively known?   

1.

Duchess, Berlioz, Marie and Toulouse

2.

Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron

3.

James Brine, James Hammett, George Loveless, James Loveless, Thomas Standfield and John Standfield

4.

Chris Adams, Vin Tanner, Harry Luck, Bernardo O’Reilly, Lee, Chico and Britt

5.

Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka

6.

Spring, September, When Falling Asleep and At Sunset

7.

Justine, Balthazar, Mountolive and Clea

8.

John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett

Sp1

Lisa Scott-Lee, Claire Richards, Faye Tozer, Ian “H” Watkins, and Lee Latchford-Evans

Sp2

Gerry Conlon, Paul Hill, Paddy Armstrong and Carole Richardson

Go to Round 1 questions with answers

ROUND 2 - Pairs

1.

What is the value of 4! (factorial of 4)?

2.

What name links a Glasgow cathedral and a group whose lead singer was Ray Dorset?

3.

What name links an Edinburgh cathedral and a footballer who managed the Republic of Ireland, West Bromwich Albion, Shamrock Rovers and Vancouver Whitecaps?

4.

5.

Which composer, born in St Petersburg in 1833, is best known for the symphonic poem In the Steppes of Central Asia and The Polovtsian Dances from his opera Prince Igor?

6.

Real Sociedad is a football club based in which city in Spain?

7.

Real Betis is a football club based in which Spanish city?

8.

Which composer, born in Tbilisi in 1903, is best known for the Sabre Dance from the ballet Gayane and the Adagio from Spartacus which was used as the theme music for The Onedin Line?

Sp1

Osasuna is a football club based in which city in the North of Spain?

Sp2

What name links a cathedral in the Orkneys and a famous quizmaster?

Go to Round 2 questions with answers

ROUND 3 - Announced theme - 'Chess'

1.

Today marks the start of the 2021 World Chess Championship match.  Who are the two players involved?

2.

Which ‘World of Adventure’ has the postcode KT9 2NE?

3.

'1. e4 c5'.  What name is given to this chess opening?

4.

Whom did Magnus Carlsen defeat to become world chess champion in 2013?

5.

Which fictional city is the setting for the TV comedy Parks and Recreation?

6.

What name is given to a position in chess where any move a player makes would significantly worsen their position?

7.

What name is given to a dish of potatoes, mashed and combined with egg, butter and cheese, then piped into swirls and baked in the oven?

8.

The title of which American TV crime drama is also the name of a British professional football club?

Sp1

What food product can be made in a chessel?

Sp2

Magnus Carlsen is the highest rated chess player of all time (according to the official FIDE ratings). Which Russian, who, in 1997, was the first world champion to be defeated by a computer (Deep Blue) is the second highest?

Go to Round 3 questions with answers

ROUND 4 - Hidden theme

1.

What is the name for a small yeast cake, saturated in alcohol and sometimes filled with whipped cream?

2.

Which British TV comedy drama series, first shown in 2012, stars Derek Jacobi, Anne Reid and Sarah Lancashire as Alan, Celia and Caroline?

3.

For which road cycling team does Mark Cavendish ride?

4.

What is the name for the group of Mexican table sauces, normally served at room temperature and usually made from tomatoes, chillies, onion and cilantro?

5.

Which South Indian dish, sometimes to be found on curry house menus, is a lentil and mixed vegetable stew flavoured with turmeric, chillies, ginger and tamarind?

6.

Regarded as a 'comeback' single, this 1975 No.1 hit was their first top ten single since How Can You Mend A Broken Heart? four years previously.  What’s the title of the song?

7.

Martin Scorsese made a film of a famous concert which took place in San Francisco on Thanksgiving Day 1976.  What was the title of the film?

8.

This city was a major slave trading port in the USA in the pre civil war era, and saw the first full battle of the civil war in its harbour at Fort Sumter.  What city?

Sp.

All NATO pilots use the same code word to confirm that they have fired an air to air missile.  What’s the codeword?

Go to Round 4 questions with answers

ROUND 5 - Pairs

1.

Which opera written by Benjamin Britten to commemorate the coronation of Elizabeth II was based on the life of Elizabeth I?

2.

In Physics which letter is used to represent Planck’s constant?

3.

In Physics which letter is usually used to represent electric charge?

4.

The title of which opera by Mozart is the name of a King of Crete at the time of the Trojan Wars?

5.

Lord Summerisle and Willow MacGregor are characters from which 1973 British film directed by Robin Hardy?

6.

Which novel by Douglas Stuart, telling the story of a childhood in 1980s Glasgow, won the 2020 booker Prize?

7.

Which novel by Maggie O’Farrell, telling the story of a childhood in 16th Century England, won the 2020 Women’s prize for Fiction?

8.

Charlie Croker and Mr Bridger are characters from which 1969 British film directed by Peter Collinson?

Sp1

King Mark of Cornwall is a leading character in which Wagner opera?

Sp2

In Physics which Greek letter is usually used to represent wavelength?

Go to Round 5 questions with answers

ROUND 6 - Hidden theme - 'Below the belt'

1.

This Manchester cleric lived from 1754 to 1821.  He is a character in the novel The Manchester Man.  He is perhaps best known for having a pub on the corner of Charles Street and Princess Street named after him.  Who is he?  (full name required)

2.

On 1 December 1976 the Sex Pistols made an infamous TV appearance on Bill Grundy’s Today show.  What was the Daily Mirror’s headline the following day?

3.

Who wrote the following lines:

"I don’t want to be nice, I think it’s clever to swear; Better seek some sound advice, better look elsewhere"?  (full name required)

4.

Which is the largest of the Western Isles?

5.

It was painted in 1821 and hangs in the National Gallery.  In a 2005 BBC poll it was voted the second most popular painting to be found in a British gallery (after Turner’s Fighting Temeraire). What is it called?

6.

What name links a diminutive American singer born in Honolulu in 1985; a conductor best known for first performances of works by Gustav Mahler; and a brand of tobacco?

7.

In which British city can be found St Mary’s Tower, Claypotts Castle and the Mills Observatory?

8.

It opened to the public in 2000.  It has featured in films including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Thunderbirds and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.  What is it?

Sp.

Which Thomas Hardy novel takes its title from a line in Thomas Gray’s poem Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard?

Go to Round 6 questions with answers

ROUND 7 - 'Bird’s-eye views of World Heritage Sites'

In each case you will be told the continent it is found in

1.

Name this site in Asia.

2.

Name this site in South America.

3.

Name this African site.

4.

Name this European city.

5.

Name this Site in North America.

6.

Name this site in Africa.

7.

Name this site in Europe.

8.

Name this European site.

Sp1

Name this European city.

Sp2

Name this South American site.

Go to Round 7 questions with answers

ROUND 8 - Pot pourri pairs

1.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, a major public holiday in the United States.  Which country has its most important public holiday on July 23rd celebrating its 1952 revolution?

2.

Which country celebrates its most important public holiday, Unity Day, on October 3rd and has done so since 1990?

3.

What was the name for the rite of public penance which was the final process in a tribunal under the Spanish Inquisition?  The most extreme form of 'penance' was death by burning.

4.

What is the term for an entertainment, held at night at a historic building or monument, which tells the history of that historic building?

5.

Which country’s national anthem is titled in its native language Himno Istmeño which translates to English as Hymn of the Isthmus?  It became the anthem in 1925.

6.

Which country’s national anthem has the title March of the Volunteers when translated into English?  It was provisionally adopted in 1949 but didn’t officially become the anthem until 1982.

7.

Which battle of 1805, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, is regarded as Napoleon’s greatest victory?  It effectively ended the War of the Third Coalition.

8.

Octavian defeated the combined fleets of Mark Antony and Cleopatra at which naval battle of 31 BC?  His victory led to Octavian becoming the first Roman Emperor (as Caesar Augustus) four years later.

Go to Round 8 questions with answers

ROUND 1 - 'The Sum is greater than the parts'

By what name are the following collectively known?                       

1.

Duchess, Berlioz, Marie and Toulouse

The Aristocrats

(1970 Disney film)

2.

Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron

The Thursday Murder Club

(novel by Richard Osman)

3.

James Brine, James Hammett, George Loveless, James Loveless, Thomas Standfield and John Standfield

The Tolpuddle Martyrs

4.

Chris Adams, Vin Tanner, Harry Luck, Bernardo O’Reilly, Lee, Chico and Britt

The Magnificent Seven

5.

Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka

Orion's Belt

6.

Spring, September, When Falling Asleep and At Sunset
 

The Four Last Songs

(by Richard Strauss)

7.

Justine, Balthazar, Mountolive and Clea

The Alexandria Quartet

(by Laurence Durrell)

8.

John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett

The United States Supreme Court

Sp1

Lisa Scott-Lee, Claire Richards, Faye Tozer, Ian “H” Watkins, and Lee Latchford-Evans

Steps

Sp2

Gerry Conlon, Paul Hill, Paddy Armstrong and Carole Richardson

The Guildford Four

ROUND 2 - Pairs

1.

What is the value of 4! (factorial of 4)?

24

(4 x 3 x 2 x 1)

2.

What name links a Glasgow cathedral and a group whose lead singer was Ray Dorset?

Mungo

(St Mungo and Mungo Jerry)

3.

What name links an Edinburgh cathedral and a footballer who managed the Republic of Ireland, West Bromwich Albion, Shamrock Rovers and Vancouver Whitecaps?

Giles

(St Giles and Johnny Giles)

4.

(substitute x = 2 into 2x -1 then square it)

5.

Which composer, born in St Petersburg in 1833, is best known for the symphonic poem In the Steppes of Central Asia and The Polovtsian Dances from his opera Prince Igor?

Borodin

6.

Real Sociedad is a football club based in which city in Spain?

San Sebastian

(or Donostia in Basque)

7.

Real Betis is a football club based in which Spanish city?

Seville

8.

Which composer, born in Tbilisi in 1903, is best known for the Sabre Dance from the ballet Gayane and the Adagio from Spartacus which was used as the theme music for The Onedin Line?

Khachaturian

Sp1

Osasuna is a football club based in which city in the North of Spain?

Pamplona

(or Iruña in Basque)

Sp2

What name links a cathedral in the Orkneys and a famous quizmaster?

Magnus

(St Magnus and Magnusson)

Go back to Round 2 questions without answers

ROUND 3 - Announced theme - 'Chess'

1.

Today marks the start of the 2021 World Chess Championship match.  Who are the two players involved?

Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi

('Nepo' will do for the second name)

2.

Which ‘World of Adventure’ has the postcode KT9 2NE?

Chessington

3.

'1. e4 c5'.  What name is given to this chess opening?

Sicilian Defence

(or simply Sicilian)

4.

Whom did Magnus Carlsen defeat to become world chess champion in 2013?

Vishwanathan (or Vishy) Anand

5.

Which fictional city is the setting for the TV comedy Parks and Recreation?

Pawnee

6.

What name is given to a position in chess where any move a player makes would significantly worsen their position?

(‘compulsion to move’ in German)

7.

What name is given to a dish of potatoes, mashed and combined with egg, butter and cheese, then piped into swirls and baked in the oven?

Duchess potatoes

8.

The title of which American TV crime drama is also the name of a British professional football club?

Queen of the South

Sp1

What food product can be made in a chessel?

Cheese

(it is a mould in which curds are pressed)

Sp2

Magnus Carlsen is the highest rated chess player of all time (according to the official FIDE ratings). Which Russian, who, in 1997, was the first world champion to be defeated by a computer (Deep Blue) is the second highest?

Gary Kasparov

Go back to Round 3 questions without answers

ROUND 4 - Hidden theme

1.

What is the name for a small yeast cake, saturated in alcohol and sometimes filled with whipped cream?

Rum Baba

(accept 'Baba' though 'Rum' is required for the theme)

2.

Which British TV comedy drama series, first shown in 2012, stars Derek Jacobi, Anne Reid and Sarah Lancashire as Alan, Celia and Caroline?

Last Tango in Halifax

3.

For which road cycling team does Mark Cavendish ride?

Deceuninck Quick-Step

4.

What is the name for the group of Mexican table sauces, normally served at room temperature and usually made from tomatoes, chillies, onion and cilantro?

Salsa

5.

Which South Indian dish, sometimes to be found on curry house menus, is a lentil and mixed vegetable stew flavoured with turmeric, chillies, ginger and tamarind?

Sambar

6.

Regarded as a 'comeback' single, this 1975 No.1 hit was their first top ten single since How Can You Mend A Broken Heart? four years previously.  What’s the title of the song?

Jive Talkin’

(by The Bee Gees)

7.

Martin Scorsese made a film of a famous concert which took place in San Francisco on Thanksgiving Day 1976.  What was the title of the film?

The Last Waltz

(it was the farewell concert appearance by The Band)

8.

This city was a major slave trading port in the USA in the pre civil war era, and saw the first full battle of the civil war in its harbour at Fort Sumter.  What city?

Charleston

Sp.

All NATO pilots use the same code word to confirm that they have fired an air to air missile.  What’s the codeword?

Foxtrot

(accept 'Fox' which is what is actually used - 'Foxtrot' is the NATO phonetic designation for the letter 'F' used by pilots to represent 'Fire', but it’s not any quicker to say 'Fox' rather than 'Fire')

Theme: Each answer contains the name of a dance which features in Strictly Come Dancing

Go back to Round 4 questions without answers

ROUND 5 - Pairs

1.

Which opera written by Benjamin Britten to commemorate the coronation of Elizabeth II was based on the life of Elizabeth I?

Gloriana

2.

In Physics which letter is used to represent Planck’s constant?

h

3.

In Physics which letter is usually used to represent electric charge?

Q

(either upper or lower case)

4.

The title of which opera by Mozart is the name of a King of Crete at the time of the Trojan Wars?

Idomeneo

5.

Lord Summerisle and Willow MacGregor are characters from which 1973 British film directed by Robin Hardy?

The Wicker Man

6.

Which novel by Douglas Stuart, telling the story of a childhood in 1980s Glasgow, won the 2020 booker Prize?

Shuggie Bain

7.

Which novel by Maggie O’Farrell, telling the story of a childhood in 16th Century England, won the 2020 Women’s prize for Fiction?

Hamnet

8.

Charlie Croker and Mr Bridger are characters from which 1969 British film directed by Peter Collinson?

The Italian Job

Sp1

King Mark of Cornwall is a leading character in which Wagner opera?

Tristan and Isolde

Sp2

In Physics which Greek letter is usually used to represent wavelength?

Lambda

Go back to Round 5 questions without answers

ROUND 6 - Hidden theme - 'Below the belt'

1.

This Manchester cleric lived from 1754 to 1821.  He is a character in the novel The Manchester Man.  He is perhaps best known for having a pub on the corner of Charles Street and Princess Street named after him.  Who is he?  (full name required)

Joshua Brookes

2.

On 1 December 1976 the Sex Pistols made an infamous TV appearance on Bill Grundy’s Today show.  What was the Daily Mirror’s headline the following day?

The Filth and the Fury

3.

Who wrote the following lines:

"I don’t want to be nice, I think it’s clever to swear; Better seek some sound advice, better look elsewhere"?  (full name required)

John Cooper Clarke

4.

Which is the largest of the Western Isles?

Lewis

5.

It was painted in 1821 and hangs in the National Gallery.  In a 2005 BBC poll it was voted the second most popular painting to be found in a British gallery (after Turner’s Fighting Temeraire). What is it called?

The Hay Wain

(by John Constable)

6.

What name links a diminutive American singer born in Honolulu in 1985; a conductor best known for first performances of works by Gustav Mahler; and a brand of tobacco?

Bruno

(Bruno Mars, Bruno Walter and St Bruno)

7.

In which British city can be found St Mary’s Tower, Claypotts Castle and the Mills Observatory?

Dundee

8.

It opened to the public in 2000.  It has featured in films including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Thunderbirds and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.  What is it?

The London Eye

Sp.

Which Thomas Hardy novel takes its title from a line in Thomas Gray’s poem Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard?

Far from the Madding Crowd

Theme: Each answer contains the surname of a British heavyweight boxer....

      Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Henry Cooper, Lennox Lewis, David Haye, Richard Dunn, Frank Bruno, Brian London and Tommy Farr 

Go back to Round 6 questions without answers

ROUND 7 - Picture Round - 'Bird’s-eye views of World Heritage Sites'

In each case you will be told the continent it is found in

1.

Name this site in Asia.

Angkor Wat

(Siem Reap, Cambodia)

2.

Name this site in South America.

Christo Redentor

(Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

3.

Name this African site.

Ngorongoro Crater

(Tanzania)

4.

Name this European city.

Florence

(Italy)

5.

Name this Site in North America.

6.

Name this site in Africa.

7.

Name this site in Europe.

Mont St Michel

(France)

8.

Name this European site.

Alhambra Palace

(Granada, Spain)

Sp1

Name this European city.

St Petersburg

Sp2

Name this South American site.

Galapagos Islands

Go back to Round 7 questions without answers

ROUND 8 - Pot pourri pairs

1.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, a major public holiday in the United States.  Which country has its most important public holiday on July 23rd celebrating its 1952 revolution?

Egypt

2.

Which country celebrates its most important public holiday, Unity Day, on October 3rd and has done so since 1990?

Germany

3.

What was the name for the rite of public penance which was the final process in a tribunal under the Spanish Inquisition?  The most extreme form of 'penance' was death by burning.

Auto-da-fé

(literally 'Act of faith' - gimme that old time religion!)

4.

What is the term for an entertainment, held at night at a historic building or monument, which tells the history of that historic building?

Son et lumière

5.

Which country’s national anthem is titled in its native language Himno Istmeño which translates to English as Hymn of the Isthmus?  It became the anthem in 1925.

Panama

6.

Which country’s national anthem has the title March of the Volunteers when translated into English?  It was provisionally adopted in 1949 but didn’t officially become the anthem until 1982.

China

7.

Which battle of 1805, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, is regarded as Napoleon’s greatest victory?  It effectively ended the War of the Third Coalition.

Austerlitz

8.

Octavian defeated the combined fleets of Mark Antony and Cleopatra at which naval battle of 31 BC?  His victory led to Octavian becoming the first Roman Emperor (as Caesar Augustus) four years later.

Actium

Go back to Round 8 questions without answers