ROUND 1 - Hidden theme

1.

Founded in 2015, which holding company has Google among its subsidiaries?

2.

Which 1968 Beatles’ song, the first track on their double album The Beatles (aka The White Album), subverts the patriotic USA sentiments of a Chuck Berry song and, in one of its sections, has lyrics and harmonies that pastiche the Beach Boys’ California Girls?

3.

Which 2 words connect:

• The first top-20 hit by the band the Strawbs in 1973,

• A 1977 song by Eric Clapton which though reaching only no. 39 in the UK, made no.3 in the USA,

• A 2015 song by Sam Smith which reached no.15 in the UK and which later that year, Smith and John Legend sang as a duet as Red Nose Day’s official charity single, which went to no.1?

4.

Which European car, produced between 1993 and 2018, was the successor to the Uno and replaced by the Grande Panda models?  (manufacturer and model names required)

5.

What identical title is shared by:

• A 2018 film set in 18th-century Great Britain, examining the relationship between Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, and the Baroness Marsham, Abigail Hill

• A 2011 historical novel by Matthew Lyons, about the relationship between Elizabeth I and Sir Walter Raleig?h

6.

Which European football team's fans were banned from their team's Europa League match at Aston Villa this November, following violent disorder at the club's game in Amsterdam a year before?  (full team name required)

7.

What is the alphabetical postcode shared by parts of Wiltshire, Dorset and Hampshire, covering towns such as Salisbury, Shaftesbury and Andover?  The postcode refers to a geographical feature within the postcode area.

8.

Which 1949 film is set in 1912, and is about a mechanic who bumps his head and finds himself in a Britain of 528?  It is based on a1889 Mark Twain novel of the same name.

Sp.

Based on a 1956 novel of the same name, what was the name of the American TV soap opera, considered to be the first to talk about sex and infidelity?  Its 514 episodes ran in the USA from 1964 to 1969 and was also broadcast in the UK from 1965.  It was a springboard for such future Hollywood stars as Ryan O’Neal and Mia Farrow.

Go to Round 1 questions with answers

ROUND 2 - Addresses and Locations

1.

At which location does the nurse sell poppies in the Beatles song Penny Lane?

2.

Off which road, according to Peter Sarstedt, is Marie Claire’s fancy apartment where she keeps her Rolling Stones records and a friend of Sacha Distel?

3.

Which character of children’s fiction and cinema star lives at 32 Windsor Gardens, London?

4.

Which character of children’s fiction, and cinema star lived at 4 Privet Drive?

5.

Which current sports person attended Old Moat School and lived on Saltney Avenue in Withington with his mum and four siblings?

6.

Which current sports person grew up on Mayfair Road, Wythenshawe, and used to play football in a park across the road?

7.

If you went to 99 Rue de Rivoli 75001, what would you be visiting?

8.

If you went to 263 Prinsengracht 1000 AS, what would you be visiting?

Sp1

Which song writer grew up in 251 Menlove Avenue, Liverpool?

Sp2

Which song writer grew up in Cranwell Drive, Manchester?

Sp3

On TV who lived at 1313 Mockingbird Lane, Mocking Bird Heights?

Sp4

Which TV character lived at 110 Acre Field, Scatterbrook Farm

Go to Round 2 questions with answers

ROUND 3 - Hidden theme - 'A Golden Anniversary'

1.

Which 1971 film, the 21st in the franchise, was advertised with the tagline:

“He’s great with his chopper!”?

2.

Which 1975 no. 1 hit song opens with the lines:

“I’ve been cheated by you since I don't know when.  So I made up my mind, it must come to an end.”?

3.

By what name is the character Colin Ball generally referred to in the sitcom Only Fools and Horses?

4.

In the bible, who is referred to as the 'Prince of Demons' or 'The Lord of the Flies'?

5.

What was the name of American space probe launched in 1995 to study the planet Jupiter and its moons?

6.

Which word, meaning 'In the name of Allah', is used by Muslims to invoke a blessing at the beginning of a task or at the start of a meal?

7.

What is the title of the 1986 graphic novel by Raymond Briggs about Jim and Hilda Bloggs, an 'everyman' couple facing up to the prospect of nuclear war?

8.

Which dystopian Kazuo Ishiguro novel about the cloning of humans for organ donation was filmed in 2010 with an ensemble British cast of Keira Knightley, Andrew Garfield and Carey Mulligan?

Sp.

Which stock character from the Commedia D’el Arte is portrayed as an unscrupulous and unreliable servant?

Go to Round 3 questions with answers

ROUND 4 - Pairs

1.

Atomic Kitten, a girl band formed in Liverpool in 1998 comprised Liz McLarnon, Natasha Hamilton and which other singer?

2.

Which body of water runs between Little Venice and Limehouse in central London?

3.

Which New Zealand-born scientist shared the 1962 Nobel Prize with Crick and Watson for his work on diffraction x-rays that contributed to the discovery of the helix shape of the DNA molecule?

4.

In horse-racing, which 2 of the 6 English flat-racing Classics are restricted to fillies only?

5.

In horse-racing, what is the name given to a horse who has never won a race and to the type of race that is restricted to such horses?

6.

Which scientist and explorer is credited alongside Charles Darwin as the discoverer of natural selection and encouraged him to write and publish On the Origin of Species?

7.

Which London thoroughfare runs from Bethnal Green in the north, through Spitalfields to Whitechapel High Street?

8.

This girl band formed in London 1993, originally comprised members Melanie Blatt, Shaznay Lewis and Simone Rainford.  What was the band name?

Go to Round 4 questions with answers

ROUND 5 - Hidden theme

1.

What is the title given to heirs apparent of the Dukedom of Marlborough?

2.

What is the name of the village at the northern tip of Ullswater in the Lake District that is the northern terminus of Ullswater Steamer ferries?

3.

Which Oxbridge college’s alumni include 13 British Prime Ministers, the highest number of any further education establishment?

4.

Which London Street has the most theatres including the Apollo, the Lyric, the Gielgud and the Palace amongst others?

5.

Who was the bass player in the US new wave rock band Talking Heads?

6.

Opened in April 1931 on Park Lane, this hotel is one of the world’s most prestigious.  A haunt for writers such as Cecil Day-Lewis and Somerset Maugham in the 1930s, it has long been popular with film actors and rock stars.  Today it is owned by the Sultan of Brunei and has five restaurants, one of which, Alain Ducasse, is one of the UK’s five 3-Michelin starred eateries.  What is its name?

7.

This swimmer won a silver medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics in the 200-metre breaststroke followed by a bronze in the same event four years later in Barcelona.  He won seven Commonwealth Games medals for England between 1986 and 1994 and for a time in 1992 was ranked 1st in the world in the 100-metre breaststroke.  Who is he?

8.

What is the common name for the bacterial infection Borrelia burgdorferi, early signs of which are flu-like symptoms and a characteristic bullseye rash?

Sp.

What is the largest city in the US state of Oregon?

Go to Round 5 questions with answers

ROUND 6 - Pairs

1.

At what battle did Nelson supposedly turn a blind eye to see no ships?

2.

An eye was often painted on Egyptian sarcophagi, whose was it and why is it there?

3.

"I mean if you have ever found a politician who says, 'No, no, I would do everything exactly as I did,' then you can tell when he is lying because his lips are moving".

These are the words of which twentieth century Prime Minister?

4.

"Read my lips: no new taxes."

This was the promise of which republican President?

5.

There follows 3 definitions of words which all begin with the same 3 letters, what are they:

• the face, countenance, or appearance of a person or sometimes an animal,

• the organs (such as the heart, liver, and lungs) inside the main part of the body,

• having a thick or sticky consistency?

6.

These words also all begin with the same three letters, but a different 3 to the preceding question, what are they:

• someone who is employed to persuade legislators to vote for legislation that favours their employer,

• a curved or rounded projection or division specifically: a usually somewhat rounded projection or division of a bodily organ or part,

• a sailor's dish of stewed or baked meat with vegetables and hardtack?

7.

This is the preface to an ear worm from 1984:

"You had your time; you had the power; you’ve yet to have your finest hour."

Name the song and the group.

8.

A 1964 ear worm:

"That's all that I have left, so let me hide The tears and the sadness you gave me."

Identify the song and singer.

Go to Round 6 questions with answers

ROUND 7 - 'Top to Tail'

The last letter of each answer is the first letter of the next answer and the last letter of the eighth answer is the first letter of the first answer

1.

Which actor, who died this year, is popularly supposed to be Terry in the 1967 Kinks hit Waterloo Sunset?

2.

Which word is missing twice from this quotation from Australian cricketer and World War Two airman Keith Miller?

3.

Which word means ‘the state of even balance’, ‘a calm and composed state of mind’ and ’a state in which opposing forces or tendencies neutralize each other’?

4.

At which London tube station did the worst ever accident on the network happen?  On 28th February 1975, 43 people died when a train ran through the station without stopping and hit a brick wall in a tunnel.

5.

Which word is missing twice from this Gilbert & Sullivan song from HMS Pinafore?

“He is an ____________! For he himself has said it, and it’s greatly to his credit, that he is an __________!"

6.

Which word can be a card game in which the objective is to play out the cards whose duplicates lie on the table, a close-fitting riding coat for men or women or a town in East Anglia?

7.

In 1879, 59 people died when a railway bridge collapsed.  The disaster was immortalised in a William McGonagall poem.  Which river was being crossed?

8.

What is the name for a light, conical tent made of skins that is used by nomads in Siberia and Mongolia?

Sp1

Which actor won an Oscar for his portrayal of Ben Bradlee, the editor of The Washington Post, in the 1976 film All The President’s Men?

Sp2

Which League One football team plays at The New York Stadium?

Sp3

Which shortened first name, by which they were usually known, links these three people who died earlier this year;

• a 65 year old comedian noted for his improvisations,

• a 90 year old footballer who played most of his professional career games in the North West

• a controversial 80 year old murderer from Cambridgeshire?

Go to Round 7 questions with answers

ROUND 8 - Announced theme - 'Seconds Out'

1.

Sirimavo Bandaranaike became the world's first female prime minister when she was elected Prime Minister of Sri Lanka in 1960.  Who, in 1966, became the second?

2.

Augustus was the first Roman emperor.  Who was the second?

3.

Which Australian was the second athlete after Roger Bannister to run a sub-4-minute mile?

4.

After the disqualification of Ben Johnson in the 1988 Olympic 100m final, Carl Lewis was officially declared the winner.  Who was awarded 2nd place?

5.

Henry II was the first English Plantagenet monarch.  Who was the second?

6.

Lord Melbourne was the first PM to serve Queen Victoria, who was the second?

7.

St Peter was deemed to be the first Pope (AD 30–68).  The second shares his name with a character in Peanuts comic strip.  Who was he?

8.

Who was the second female MI5 Director General after Stella Rimington?

Sp1

Which northern town boasts the UK’s second longest pier after that at Southend-on-Sea?

Sp2

In 1940, Hattie McDaniel was the first black actor to win an Oscar, who, in 1963 became the second?

Sp3

Pickwick Papers was Charles Dickens’ first published novel.  What was his second which featured the minor characters Mr Sowerberry, Noah Claypole and Mr Monks?

Go to Round 8 questions with answers

ROUND 1 - Hidden theme

1.

Founded in 2015, which holding company has Google among its subsidiaries?

Alphabet

2.

Which 1968 Beatles’ song, the first track on their double album The Beatles (aka The White Album), subverts the patriotic USA sentiments of a Chuck Berry song and, in one of its sections, has lyrics and harmonies that pastiche the Beach Boys’ California Girls?

Back In The USSR

3.

Which 2 words connect:

• The first top-20 hit by the band the Strawbs in 1973,

• A 1977 song by Eric Clapton which though reaching only no. 39 in the UK, made no.3 in the USA,

• A 2015 song by Sam Smith which reached no.15 in the UK and which later that year, Smith and John Legend sang as a duet as Red Nose Day’s official charity single, which went to no.1?

Lay Down

(Lay Down / Lay Down, Sally / Lay Me Down)

4.

Which European car, produced between 1993 and 2018, was the successor to the Uno and replaced by the Grande Panda models?  (manufacturer and model names required)

Fiat Punto

5.

What identical title is shared by:

• A 2018 film set in 18th-century Great Britain, examining the relationship between Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, and the Baroness Marsham, Abigail Hill

• A 2011 historical novel by Matthew Lyons, about the relationship between Elizabeth I and Sir Walter Raleig?h

The Favourite

6.

Which European football team's fans were banned from their team's Europa League match at Aston Villa this November, following violent disorder at the club's game in Amsterdam a year before?  (full team name required)

Maccabi Tel Aviv

7.

What is the alphabetical postcode shared by parts of Wiltshire, Dorset and Hampshire, covering towns such as Salisbury, Shaftesbury and Andover?  The postcode refers to a geographical feature within the postcode area.

SP

(Salisbury Plain)

8.

Which 1949 film is set in 1912, and is about a mechanic who bumps his head and finds himself in a Britain of 528?  It is based on a1889 Mark Twain novel of the same name.

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court

Sp.

Based on a 1956 novel of the same name, what was the name of the American TV soap opera, considered to be the first to talk about sex and infidelity?  Its 514 episodes ran in the USA from 1964 to 1969 and was also broadcast in the UK from 1965.  It was a springboard for such future Hollywood stars as Ryan O’Neal and Mia Farrow.

Peyton Place

Theme: Each answer contains contain a word or expression relating to the horse-racing betting industry:

Bet / Back / Lay / Punt / Favourite / Acca (trade abbreviation for Accumulator) / SP (trade abbreviation for Starting-Price) / Yankee / Place

ROUND 2 - Addresses and Locations

1.

At which location does the nurse sell poppies in the Beatles song Penny Lane?

Behind the shelter in the middle of the roundabout

2.

Off which road, according to Peter Sarstedt, is Marie Claire’s fancy apartment where she keeps her Rolling Stones records and a friend of Sacha Distel?

Boulevard St Michel

(Where do you go to my lovely?)

3.

Which character of children’s fiction and cinema star lives at 32 Windsor Gardens, London?

Paddington Bear

4.

Which character of children’s fiction, and cinema star lived at 4 Privet Drive?

Harry Potter at the Dursleys

5.

Which current sports person attended Old Moat School and lived on Saltney Avenue in Withington with his mum and four siblings?

Marcus Rashford

6.

Which current sports person grew up on Mayfair Road, Wythenshawe, and used to play football in a park across the road?

Cole Palmer

(formerly Manchester City)

7.

If you went to 99 Rue de Rivoli 75001, what would you be visiting?

The Louvre

8.

If you went to 263 Prinsengracht 1000 AS, what would you be visiting?

Ann Frank’s House

Sp1

Which song writer grew up in 251 Menlove Avenue, Liverpool?

John Lennon

Sp2

Which song writer grew up in Cranwell Drive, Manchester?

Neil or Liam Gallagher

Sp3

On TV who lived at 1313 Mockingbird Lane, Mocking Bird Heights?

The Munsters

Sp4

Which TV character lived at 110 Acre Field, Scatterbrook Farm

Worzel Gummidge

Go back to Round 2 questions without answers

ROUND 3 - Hidden theme - 'A Golden Anniversary'

1.

Which 1971 film, the 21st in the franchise, was advertised with the tagline:

“He’s great with his chopper!”?

Carry On Henry

2.

Which 1975 no. 1 hit song opens with the lines:

“I’ve been cheated by you since I don't know when.  So I made up my mind, it must come to an end.”?

Mamma Mia

3.

By what name is the character Colin Ball generally referred to in the sitcom Only Fools and Horses?

Trigger

4.

In the bible, who is referred to as the 'Prince of Demons' or 'The Lord of the Flies'?

Beelzebub

5.

What was the name of American space probe launched in 1995 to study the planet Jupiter and its moons?

Galileo

6.

Which word, meaning 'In the name of Allah', is used by Muslims to invoke a blessing at the beginning of a task or at the start of a meal?

Bismillah

7.

What is the title of the 1986 graphic novel by Raymond Briggs about Jim and Hilda Bloggs, an 'everyman' couple facing up to the prospect of nuclear war?

When the Wind Blows

8.

Which dystopian Kazuo Ishiguro novel about the cloning of humans for organ donation was filmed in 2010 with an ensemble British cast of Keira Knightley, Andrew Garfield and Carey Mulligan?

Never Let Me Go

Sp.

Which stock character from the Commedia D’el Arte is portrayed as an unscrupulous and unreliable servant?

Scaramouche

Theme: Each answer references a line from Bohemian Rhapsody which first charted 50 years ago

Go back to Round 3 questions without answers

ROUND 4 - Pairs

1.

Atomic Kitten, a girl band formed in Liverpool in 1998 comprised Liz McLarnon, Natasha Hamilton and which other singer?

Kerry Katona

2.

Which body of water runs between Little Venice and Limehouse in central London?

Regent’s Canal

3.

Which New Zealand-born scientist shared the 1962 Nobel Prize with Crick and Watson for his work on diffraction x-rays that contributed to the discovery of the helix shape of the DNA molecule?

Maurice Wilkins

4.

In horse-racing, which 2 of the 6 English flat-racing Classics are restricted to fillies only?

1000 Guineas and The Oaks

5.

In horse-racing, what is the name given to a horse who has never won a race and to the type of race that is restricted to such horses?

Maiden

6.

Which scientist and explorer is credited alongside Charles Darwin as the discoverer of natural selection and encouraged him to write and publish On the Origin of Species?

Alfred Russell Wallace

7.

Which London thoroughfare runs from Bethnal Green in the north, through Spitalfields to Whitechapel High Street?

Brick Lane

8.

This girl band formed in London 1993, originally comprised members Melanie Blatt, Shaznay Lewis and Simone Rainford.  What was the band name?

All Saints

Go back to Round 4 questions without answers

ROUND 5 - Hidden theme

1.

What is the title given to heirs apparent of the Dukedom of Marlborough?

Marquess of Blandford

2.

What is the name of the village at the northern tip of Ullswater in the Lake District that is the northern terminus of Ullswater Steamer ferries?

Pooley Bridge

3.

Which Oxbridge college’s alumni include 13 British Prime Ministers, the highest number of any further education establishment?

Christ Church College, Oxford

4.

Which London Street has the most theatres including the Apollo, the Lyric, the Gielgud and the Palace amongst others?

Shaftesbury Avenue

5.

Who was the bass player in the US new wave rock band Talking Heads?

Tina Weymouth

6.

Opened in April 1931 on Park Lane, this hotel is one of the world’s most prestigious.  A haunt for writers such as Cecil Day-Lewis and Somerset Maugham in the 1930s, it has long been popular with film actors and rock stars.  Today it is owned by the Sultan of Brunei and has five restaurants, one of which, Alain Ducasse, is one of the UK’s five 3-Michelin starred eateries.  What is its name?

The Dorchester

7.

This swimmer won a silver medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics in the 200-metre breaststroke followed by a bronze in the same event four years later in Barcelona.  He won seven Commonwealth Games medals for England between 1986 and 1994 and for a time in 1992 was ranked 1st in the world in the 100-metre breaststroke.  Who is he?

Nick Gillingham

8.

What is the common name for the bacterial infection Borrelia burgdorferi, early signs of which are flu-like symptoms and a characteristic bullseye rash?

Lyme Disease

Sp.

What is the largest city in the US state of Oregon?

Portland

Theme: Each answer contains the name of a town in Dorset:

Blandford Forum, Poole, Christchurch, Shaftesbury, Weymouth, Dorchester, Gillingham, Lyme Regis, Portland

Go back to Round 5 questions without answers

ROUND 6 - Pairs

1.

At what battle did Nelson supposedly turn a blind eye to see no ships?

Copenhagen

(April 2 1801)

2.

An eye was often painted on Egyptian sarcophagi, whose was it and why is it there?

The Eye of Horus was a symbol of health, rejuvenation, and prosperity to the Ancient Egyptians

3.

"I mean if you have ever found a politician who says, 'No, no, I would do everything exactly as I did,' then you can tell when he is lying because his lips are moving".

These are the words of which twentieth century Prime Minister?

John Major

4.

"Read my lips: no new taxes."

This was the promise of which republican President?

George H W Bush

(George Bush senior)

5.

There follows 3 definitions of words which all begin with the same 3 letters, what are they:

• the face, countenance, or appearance of a person or sometimes an animal,

• the organs (such as the heart, liver, and lungs) inside the main part of the body,

• having a thick or sticky consistency?

visage;

 viscera;

 viscous

6.

These words also all begin with the same three letters, but a different 3 to the preceding question, what are they:

• someone who is employed to persuade legislators to vote for legislation that favours their employer,

• a curved or rounded projection or division specifically: a usually somewhat rounded projection or division of a bodily organ or part,

• a sailor's dish of stewed or baked meat with vegetables and hardtack?

 lobbyist;

 lobe;

 lobscouse

7.

This is the preface to an ear worm from 1984:

"You had your time; you had the power; you’ve yet to have your finest hour."

Name the song and the group.

Radio Gaga - Queen

8.

A 1964 ear worm:

"That's all that I have left, so let me hide The tears and the sadness you gave me."

Identify the song and singer.

Walk on By - Dionne Warwick

Go back to Round 6 questions without answers

ROUND 7 - 'Top to Tail'

The last letter of each answer is the first letter of the next answer and the last letter of the eighth answer is the first letter of the first answer

1.

Which actor, who died this year, is popularly supposed to be Terry in the 1967 Kinks hit Waterloo Sunset?

Terence Stamp

2.

Which word is missing twice from this quotation from Australian cricketer and World War Two airman Keith Miller?

“I’ll tell you what _________ is. ________is a Messerschmitt up your arse. Cricket is not.”

Pressure

3.

Which word means ‘the state of even balance’, ‘a calm and composed state of mind’ and ’a state in which opposing forces or tendencies neutralize each other’?

Equilibrium

4.

At which London tube station did the worst ever accident on the network happen?  On 28th February 1975, 43 people died when a train ran through the station without stopping and hit a brick wall in a tunnel.

Moorgate

5.

Which word is missing twice from this Gilbert & Sullivan song from HMS Pinafore?

“He is an ____________! For he himself has said it, and it’s greatly to his credit, that he is an __________!"

Englishman

6.

Which word can be a card game in which the objective is to play out the cards whose duplicates lie on the table, a close-fitting riding coat for men or women or a town in East Anglia?

Newmarket

7.

In 1879, 59 people died when a railway bridge collapsed.  The disaster was immortalised in a William McGonagall poem.  Which river was being crossed?

The Tay

8.

What is the name for a light, conical tent made of skins that is used by nomads in Siberia and Mongolia?

Yurt

Sp1

Which actor won an Oscar for his portrayal of Ben Bradlee, the editor of The Washington Post, in the 1976 film All The President’s Men?

Jason Robards

Sp2

Which League One football team plays at The New York Stadium?

Rotherham United

Sp3

Which shortened first name, by which they were usually known, links these three people who died earlier this year:

• a 65 year old comedian noted for his improvisations,

• a 90 year old footballer who played most of his professional career games in the North West,

• a controversial 80 year old murderer from Cambridgeshire?

Tony

(Slattery, Book and Martin)

Go back to Round 7 questions without answers

ROUND 8 - Announced theme - 'Seconds Out'

1.

Sirimavo Bandaranaike became the world's first female prime minister when she was elected Prime Minister of Sri Lanka in 1960.  Who, in 1966, became the second?

Indira Gandhi

2.

Augustus was the first Roman emperor.  Who was the second?

Tiberius I

3.

Which Australian was the second athlete after Roger Bannister to run a sub-4-minute mile?

John Landy

4.

After the disqualification of Ben Johnson in the 1988 Olympic 100m final, Carl Lewis was officially declared the winner.  Who was awarded 2nd place?

Linford Christie

5.

Henry II was the first English Plantagenet monarch.  Who was the second?

Richard I

6.

Lord Melbourne was the first PM to serve Queen Victoria, who was the second?

Robert Peel

7.

St Peter was deemed to be the first Pope (AD 30–68).  The second shares his name with a character in Peanuts comic strip.  Who was he?

Linus

8.

Who was the second female MI5 Director General after Stella Rimington?

Eliza Manningham-Buller

Sp1

Which northern town boasts the UK’s second longest pier after that at Southend-on-Sea?

Southport

Sp2

In 1940, Hattie McDaniel was the first black actor to win an Oscar, who, in 1963 became the second?

Sidney Poitier

(best actor for Lilies of the Field)

Sp3

Pickwick Papers was Charles Dickens’ first published novel.  What was his second which featured the minor characters Mr Sowerberry, Noah Claypole and Mr Monks?

Oliver Twist

Go back to Round 8 questions without answers