ROUND 1 - 'X marks the spot'

Each answer contains at least one letter 'X'

1.

With a population of over 285 000 which town now occupies the site of the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes?

2.

Which venue was the site of a disaster leading to the loss of 66 lives on 2nd January 1971?  A previous disaster there had killed 25 people on 5th April 1902.

3.

Which animal has species including the West Asian, the Siberian, the Alpine, the Iberian, the Nubian, and the Walia?

4.

Which gas, which can be injected into the vitreous of the eye to help reattach detached retinas, has the chemical formula SF6?

5.

A commemorative statue of 10-year-old Hermione Makepeace was unveiled in Dundee in 2001.  By what name is she better known?

6.

Krazy George Henderson claims to have invented which sporting phenomenon at an ice hockey match in 1979 but which only gained world-wide attention after 1986?

7.

What is the English title of the historical opera by Handel (HWV 40) sung in Italian that was first performed in 1738?

8.

What was the name of the oil tanker that ran aground on 24th March 1989 polluting 1,300 miles of the Alaskan coast with 37,000 tonnes of crude oil?

Sp1

In botany what is the collective name for the sepals of flowering plants?

Sp2

Which Premiership Rugby Union side play at Sandy Park?

Go to Round 1 questions with answers

ROUND 2 - Announced theme - 'Not Quite'

Each of the answers contains the surname of someone who has been Deputy Leader of the Labour Party

1.

What was the title of Thomas Hardy’s first Wessex novel?  One of his happiest plots (no one dies) it ends (spoiler alert) with the marriage of Dick Dewy and Fancy Day.

2.

Which 1989 film, a biographical comedy-drama based on a 1954 memoir, was a directorial debut for Jim Sheridan and winner of two Academy Awards in 1990?

3.

Which housing estate in Tameside was the home of serial killers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley and site of their last two murders and their eventual arrest?

4.

Which nun, who lived in a caravan in a Carmelite monastery in Norfolk, gained fame as an art historian and author with many BBC series in the 1990s and 2000s?

5.

Which singer and songwriter, whose career started in the 1960s with his band Them, was featured on an Irish stamp in 2002, and knighted in 2015?

6.

On 30th October 1912 23-year-old Olave Soames married which 55-year-old war hero?  Her birthday is still celebrated annually by the organisation she helped found.

7.

What is the name given to the conflict between Great Britain and Spain fought between 1739-48 but named after a specific inciting incident of 1731?

8.

Which US Ivy League University was founded in 1764 as 'The College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations'?

Sp1

What is the name of the leading character played by actress Neve Campbell in six of the seven (so far) iterations of the Scream slasher film franchise?

Sp2

Who has been the Secretary of State for Defence since July 2024?

Go to Round 2 questions with answers

ROUND 3 - Reverse pairs on popular music since 1960

1.

Which American musician and bandleader co-founded A & M records with Jerry Moss in 1962?

2.

Which English rock musician and songwriter, who had band and solo chart success, composed the soundtrack for the Martin Scorsese film The Last Temptation of Christ in 1988?

3.

Woke Up This Morning by the Alabama 3 is the theme song for which award-winning TV drama series that ran from 1999-2007?

4.

Which American rock band are named after a steam-powered dildo in the William S Burroughs novel The Naked Lunch?

5.

Which English folk-rock band fronted by Maddy Prior are named after a character from the traditional Lincolnshire folk song Horkstow Grange?

6.

The TV sitcom Jam and Jerusalem features Kate Rusby’s version of the The Village Green Preservation Society.  Which group made the original recording?

7.

Bob Dylan composed the soundtrack for which Sam Peckinpah 1973 Western film?

8.

What record label was founded by Frank Sinatra in 1960 to give him more control and artistic freedom?

Sp1

Alan Civil, a musician with the BBC Symphony orchestra, plays what instrument on the Beatles’ song For No One on the Revolver album?

Sp2

Composer/Conductor Sir Karl Jenkins was a member of which jazz-rock fusion band from 1972-1984?

Go to Round 3 questions with answers

ROUND 4 - Announced theme

Each answer contains the letters 'R' - 'S' - 'T' appearing consecutively

1.

Name the region in Italy, Slovenia and Croatia known for its limestone caves and sinkholes.  Its name has come to represent this type of landscape generally.

2.

Which village in Norfolk that features in the Domesday book is the original home of a woollen cloth woven by Flemish weavers who settled there in the Middle Ages?

3.

Which word is common to songs by The Carpenters, Jamelia, and Taylor Swift; and also to a musical that debuted on Broadway in 1971 that features the songs Everything's Alright and What's the Buzz??

4.

Name the AC-DC song inspired by a scary plane journey experienced by Angus Young.  It features the lyrics:

“Rode down the highway, broke the limit, we hit the ton.  Went through to Texas, yeah Texas, and we had some fun.”.

It was released in 1990 on The Razor's Edge album.

5.

Who was the author whose characters include Adela Quested, Charlotte Bartlett, as well as the Schlegel, Wilcox, and Honeychurch families?

6.

What was the tenth plague visited on the Egyptians in the biblical book of Exodus?

7.

What is the extracellular substance in the body whose roles include nutrient delivery, waste removal, immune defence, and communication by allowing movement of hormones and neurotransmitters?

8.

Launched in 1956 by President Dwight D Eisenhower, the highest point of which is 11,158 feet in Colorado. North-South are odd, East-West are even.  What does this all refer to?

Sp1

Which American character actor, who died in 2019 aged 78, appeared in over 190 films and TV shows?  His breakthrough came in 1967 in John Ford's Reflections in a Golden Eye opposite Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando.  He appeared in many lower budget movies in the 70s and 80s such as Alligator, Avalanche, The Black Hole, and Delta Force.  His career revived with an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in Tarantino's Jackie Brown.

Sp2

Which actress, a former child vampire, is now best known as Spiderman’s love interest?

Go to Round 4 questions with answers

ROUND 5 - Announced theme

Each answer ends with a double letter - and each double letter is different

1.

What is the name of the African American festival honouring African heritage that is observed from 26th December to 1st January?

2.

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth which Thane of Fife kills MacBeth?

3.

Which Welsh town is the birthplace of Thomas Woodward better known as singer Tom Jones?

4.

What name is given to the fifth (of five) pillars of Islam?

5.

In Persian mythology what name is given to an evil, ugly spirit of wild desolate spaces?  It could be a shape-shifter and could also be invisible.

6.

Which controversial (but outrageously funny) comedian, who died in 2019, was the owner of the 1994 Grand National winner Minniehoma?

7.

Which comic actor portrayed a teacher unexpectedly elected president in the satire Servant of the People in 2015? Later, real life was to imitate art.

8.

Which American introduced jogging as a means of light exercise to help fix the health of the nation? Ironically, he died of a heart attack in 1984 aged 57 whilst out jogging.

Sp.

Who has been head of global soccer for Red Bull GmbH since January 2025?

Go to Round 5 questions with answers

ROUND 6 - Run-ons

1.

Stage name of a singer, songwriter and record producer born in 1972.  He had 11 number one albums in both the UK and US between 2000 and 2024.  He has had collaborations with Pink, Rihanna, Sia and Beyonce amongst others;

&

Greek goddess also known as Rhamnousia who is not especially fond of Hubris. 

2.

Singer and songwriter known for their dislike of performing live.  Their first concert tour was in 1979 and the next was in 2014.  Similarly they had a 44-year gap between UK number one singles;

&

a city in Argentina, the world's most southerly.  It was used as a naval base in the Falklands War and as a result locals did not take kindly to the Top Gear team who had a car number plate which seemed to reference this.  They were then violently chased out of the country.

3.

Professional footballer who had 653 Premier League appearances for clubs Aston Villa, Manchester City, Everton, and West Bromwich Albion;

&

British holiday destination where a local amusement arcade manager may ask you “What's occurring?”, and if you’re causing trouble may ask you to “Sling your hook or I'll break your face”. There was a Butlin's camp here until 1996.

4.

The country of birth of Manchester City's 22-year-old defender Abdukodi Khusanov;

&

battle in 457 BC between Athens and Sparta and their allies.  The Thessalian cavalry defected mid battle helping Sparta to victory.  A second battle took place here in 426 BC.

5.

With subspecies Somali, Masai and Arabian the fastest land animal on two legs.  Its
eyes are larger than its brain;

&

Japanese brewery Kirin's most popular beer.  Its name means 'Number One' in Japanese.

6.

Shakespearean character who said: “I am not only witty in myself, but the cause that wit is in other men”, and on drinking “a good sherris-sack hath a twofold operation in it.  It ascends me into the brain”;

&

Italian dessert usually consisting of vanilla ice-cream drizzled in a shot of hot espresso coffee often with an accompanying liqueur.

7.

A philosophical term that describes knowledge or concepts that are innate to the human mind or exist independently of human experience.  It often refers to things that go beyond the limits of ordinary experience or physical existence;

&

distillery on the Isle of Skye founded in 1830 known for its bold, peppery, smoky whiskies.  Current bottlings include 'Dark Storm' and 'Port Ruighe'.

8.

A plant with large pink to red flowers which is the eponymous title of a 1950 Frank Sinatra song.  It is a recurring motif in a 1999 Oscar winning film with a truncated title of the flower's name.  It was the plant that wounded Major De Coverley in the eye in the novel Catch 22;

&

a previous resident of 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester.

Sp.

Car model originally launched in 1906.  Autocar magazine awarded it 'Car of the Year' in 1907. Production ran until 1926.  It was often converted and used for military purposes.  Thomas Lawrence had one for example;

&

on this day, April 1st, 1940, a law was passed in Berlin completing the annexation of Austria.  How is this law is commonly known?The name has other uses.

Go to Round 6 questions with answers

ROUND 7 - Reverse Pairs

1.

Denise Coates has been the UK’s highest payer of income tax for some years and had earnings of £281 million in 2024/25.  She is the CEO, founder and majority owner of which company founded in Stoke-on-Trent in 2000?

2.

What is the missing name from the following list of five? 

Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, blank, Lydia

3.

Which Brian De Palmer film of 1976, that received Academy Award nominations for both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, is partly set in Bates High School?

4.

This runner, who trains at the M11 Track Club located next to the Etihad Stadium, ran the fourth leg of the 4 x 400m relay at the 2026 World Indoor Athletics in the fastest split time of the event, despite being a middle-distance runner.  Name her.

5.

Also training with M11 Track Club, this athlete took a 5-year hiatus from athletics in her 20’s, returning to win the 1500m at the 2026 World Indoors at the age of 32, thus building on her success in the 1500m in recent seasons.

6.

Which Oscar-nominated coming-of-age film of 2007, starring the then Ellen Page (now Elliot Page) in the title role, is partly set in Dancing Elk School?

7.

What is the missing blank from the following list of four?

blank, Shirley, Villette, The Professor

8.

Leo Radvinsky, who died last week aged 43, was the majority shareholder of which controversial website from which he earned dividends of $472 million in 2023 alone?

Go to Round 7 questions with answers

ROUND 8 - Reverse Pairs

1.

In which year of the 1970s did MP Ian MacLeod die?  He was the most recent Chancellor of the Exchequer to die in office.

2.

Which Arsenal player has now become the youngest player to score a goal in the Premier League at the age of 16 years and 73 days?

3.

According to Shakespeare which real life medieval king of England noted that:

“Uneasy rests the head that wears a crown”?

He was however, one of the few kings who died a natural death.

4.

Who has been the only Briton to have already been a hereditary peer when he received a Nobel Prize in Literature?

5.

Two Nobel Literature Prize winners have also won an Academy Award (Oscar) at some time in their career.  Name either.

6.

King Charles III in his first address to the nation paid tribute to his mother ending with the line:

"May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest’”.

 From which Shakespeare play is this a quote?

7.

Which Brighton and Hove player, who was once the youngest player to have scored in the Premier League, has now become the player with the most Premier League appearances with 657 so far?

8.

In which year of the 1970s did MP Anthony Crosland die?  He was the most recent Foreign Secretary to die in office.

Sp1

Molly Caudery was also a gold medallist for GB & NI at the recent World Indoor Athletics Championships.  In which event was she successful?

Sp2

Which character from the Ulster cycle of Irish mythology has the epithet 'The Hound of Ulster'?

Sp3

What was the name of the Queen of Connaught in the Ulster cycle of Irish mythology who often was in dispute with Cuchulainn?  It is still a popular girl’s name in Ireland, most famously borne by a best-selling writer who died in 2012.  You can give your answer in English, or Old Irish, or Middle Irish, or Modern Irish.  Or not at all.

Go to Round 8 questions with answers

Tiebreakers

1.

How many people have been awarded the Order of Merit since it was created in 1902?  Only 24 people can hold the award, which is for life, at any one time.

2.

Vermont’s state capital Montpelier is the least populous state capital of all 50 states.  What was the population in the 2020 census?

3.

In which year did Pope Victor III (third) die?  There have been no Pope Victors since.

Go to Tiebreaker questions with answers

ROUND 1 - 'X marks the spot'

Each answer contains at least one letter 'X'

1.

With a population of over 285 000 which town now occupies the site of the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes?

Luxor

2.

Which venue was the site of a disaster leading to the loss of 66 lives on 2nd January 1971?  A previous disaster there had killed 25 people on 5th April 1902.

Ibrox

3.

Which animal has species including the West Asian, the Siberian, the Alpine, the Iberian, the Nubian, and the Walia?

Ibex

4.

Which gas, which can be injected into the vitreous of the eye to help reattach detached retinas, has the chemical formula SF6?

Sulphur hexafluoride

5.

A commemorative statue of 10-year-old Hermione Makepeace was unveiled in Dundee in 2001.  By what name is she better known?

Minnie the Minx

6.

Krazy George Henderson claims to have invented which sporting phenomenon at an ice hockey match in 1979 but which only gained world-wide attention after 1986?

The Mexican wave

7.

What is the English title of the historical opera by Handel (HWV 40) sung in Italian that was first performed in 1738?

Xerxes

8.

What was the name of the oil tanker that ran aground on 24th March 1989 polluting 1,300 miles of the Alaskan coast with 37,000 tonnes of crude oil?

Exxon Valdez

Sp1

In botany what is the collective name for the sepals of flowering plants?

Calyx

Sp2

Which Premiership Rugby Union side play at Sandy Park?

Exeter Chiefs

Theme: Each answer contains aaa

ROUND 2 - Announced theme - 'Not Quite'

Each of the answers contains the surname of someone who has been Deputy Leader of the Labour Party

1.

What was the title of Thomas Hardy’s first Wessex novel?  One of his happiest plots (no one dies) it ends (spoiler alert) with the marriage of Dick Dewy and Fancy Day.

Under the Greenwood Tree

(Arthur Greenwood 1935-45)

2.

Which 1989 film, a biographical comedy-drama based on a 1954 memoir, was a directorial debut for Jim Sheridan and winner of two Academy Awards in 1990?

My Left Foot

(Michael Foot 1976-80)

3.

Which housing estate in Tameside was the home of serial killers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley and site of their last two murders and their eventual arrest?

Hattersley

(Roy Hattersley 1983-92)

4.

Which nun, who lived in a caravan in a Carmelite monastery in Norfolk, gained fame as an art historian and author with many BBC series in the 1990s and 2000s?

Sister Wendy Beckett

(Margaret Beckett 1992-94)

5.

Which singer and songwriter, whose career started in the 1960s with his band Them, was featured on an Irish stamp in 2002, and knighted in 2015?

Van Morrison

(Herbert Morrison 1945-55)

6.

On 30th October 1912 23-year-old Olave Soames married which 55-year-old war hero?  Her birthday is still celebrated annually by the organisation she helped found.

Robert Baden-Powell

(Lucy Powell 2025-present)

7.

What is the name given to the conflict between Great Britain and Spain fought between 1739-48 but named after a specific inciting incident of 1731?

War Of Jenkin's Ear

(Roy Jenkins 1970-72)

8.

Which US Ivy League University was founded in 1764 as 'The College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations'?

Brown University

(George Brown 1960-70)

Sp1

What is the name of the leading character played by actress Neve Campbell in six of the seven (so far) iterations of the Scream slasher film franchise?

Sidney Prescott

(John Prescott 1994-2007)

Sp2

Who has been the Secretary of State for Defence since July 2024?

John Healey

(Denis Healey 1980-83)

Go back to Round 2 questions without answers

ROUND 3 - Reverse pairs on popular music since 1960

1.

Which American musician and bandleader co-founded A & M records with Jerry Moss in 1962?

Herb Alpert

2.

Which English rock musician and songwriter, who had band and solo chart success, composed the soundtrack for the Martin Scorsese film The Last Temptation of Christ in 1988?

Peter Gabriel

3.

Woke Up This Morning by the Alabama 3 is the theme song for which award-winning TV drama series that ran from 1999-2007?

The Sopranos

4.

Which American rock band are named after a steam-powered dildo in the William S Burroughs novel The Naked Lunch?

Steely Dan

5.

Which English folk-rock band fronted by Maddy Prior are named after a character from the traditional Lincolnshire folk song Horkstow Grange?

Steeleye Span

6.

The TV sitcom Jam and Jerusalem features Kate Rusby’s version of the The Village Green Preservation Society.  Which group made the original recording?

The Kinks

7.

Bob Dylan composed the soundtrack for which Sam Peckinpah 1973 Western film?

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid

8.

What record label was founded by Frank Sinatra in 1960 to give him more control and artistic freedom?

Reprise Records

Sp1

Alan Civil, a musician with the BBC Symphony orchestra, plays what instrument on the Beatles’ song For No One on the Revolver album?

French Horn

Sp2

Composer/Conductor Sir Karl Jenkins was a member of which jazz-rock fusion band from 1972-1984?

Soft Machine

Go back to Round 3 questions without answers

ROUND 4 - Announced theme

Each answer contains the letters 'R' - 'S' - 'T' appearing consecutively

1.

Name the region in Italy, Slovenia and Croatia known for its limestone caves and sinkholes.  Its name has come to represent this type of landscape generally.

Karst

2.

Which village in Norfolk that features in the Domesday book is the original home of a woollen cloth woven by Flemish weavers who settled there in the Middle Ages?

Worstead

3.

Which word is common to songs by The Carpenters, Jamelia, and Taylor Swift; and also to a musical that debuted on Broadway in 1971 that features the songs Everything's Alright and What's the Buzz??

'Superstar'

(songs are all called Superstar - musical is Jesus Christ Superstar)

4.

Name the AC-DC song inspired by a scary plane journey experienced by Angus Young.  It features the lyrics:

“Rode down the highway, broke the limit, we hit the ton.  Went through to Texas, yeah Texas, and we had some fun.”.

It was released in 1990 on The Razor's Edge album.

Thunderstruck

5.

Who was the author whose characters include Adela Quested, Charlotte Bartlett, as well as the Schlegel, Wilcox, and Honeychurch families?

E M Forste

6.

What was the tenth plague visited on the Egyptians in the biblical book of Exodus?

Death of the firstborn

7.

What is the extracellular substance in the body whose roles include nutrient delivery, waste removal, immune defence, and communication by allowing movement of hormones and neurotransmitters?

(accept interstitial tissue)

8.

Launched in 1956 by President Dwight D Eisenhower, the highest point of which is 11,158 feet in Colorado. North-South are odd, East-West are even.  What does this all refer to?

Interstate Highways (System)

Sp1

Which American character actor, who died in 2019 aged 78, appeared in over 190 films and TV shows?  His breakthrough came in 1967 in John Ford's Reflections in a Golden Eye opposite Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando.  He appeared in many lower budget movies in the 70s and 80s such as Alligator, Avalanche, The Black Hole, and Delta Force.  His career revived with an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in Tarantino's Jackie Brown.

Robert Forster

Sp2

Which actress, a former child vampire, is now best known as Spiderman’s love interest?

Kirsten Dunst

Go back to Round 4 questions without answers

ROUND 5 - Announced theme

Each answer ends with a double letter - and each double letter is different

1.

What is the name of the African American festival honouring African heritage that is observed from 26th December to 1st January?

Kwanzaa

2.

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth which Thane of Fife kills MacBeth?

Macduff

3.

Which Welsh town is the birthplace of Thomas Woodward better known as singer Tom Jones?

Pontypridd

4.

What name is given to the fifth (of five) pillars of Islam?

Hajj

5.

In Persian mythology what name is given to an evil, ugly spirit of wild desolate spaces?  It could be a shape-shifter and could also be invisible.

Djinn

6.

Which controversial (but outrageously funny) comedian, who died in 2019, was the owner of the 1994 Grand National winner Minniehoma?

Freddie Starr

7.

Which comic actor portrayed a teacher unexpectedly elected president in the satire Servant of the People in 2015? Later, real life was to imitate art.

Volodomyr Zelenskyy

8.

Which American introduced jogging as a means of light exercise to help fix the health of the nation? Ironically, he died of a heart attack in 1984 aged 57 whilst out jogging.

Jim Fixx

Sp.

Who has been head of global soccer for Red Bull GmbH since January 2025?

Jurgen Klopp

Go back to Round 5 questions without answers

ROUND 6 - Run-ons

1.

Stage name of a singer, songwriter and record producer born in 1972.  He had 11 number one albums in both the UK and US between 2000 and 2024.  He has had collaborations with Pink, Rihanna, Sia and Beyonce amongst others;

&

Greek goddess also known as Rhamnousia who is not especially fond of Hubris. 

Eminemesis

(Eminem and Nemesis)

2.

Singer and songwriter known for their dislike of performing live.  Their first concert tour was in 1979 and the next was in 2014.  Similarly they had a 44-year gap between UK number one singles;

&

a city in Argentina, the world's most southerly.  It was used as a naval base in the Falklands War and as a result locals did not take kindly to the Top Gear team who had a car number plate which seemed to reference this.  They were then violently chased out of the country.

Kate Bushuaia

(Kate Bush & Ushuaia)

3.

Professional footballer who had 653 Premier League appearances for clubs Aston Villa, Manchester City, Everton, and West Bromwich Albion;

&

British holiday destination where a local amusement arcade manager may ask you “What's occurring?”, and if you’re causing trouble may ask you to “Sling your hook or I'll break your face”. There was a Butlin's camp here until 1996.

Gareth Barry Island

(Gareth Barry & Barry Island)

4.

The country of birth of Manchester City's 22-year-old defender Abdukodi Khusanov;

&

battle in 457 BC between Athens and Sparta and their allies.  The Thessalian cavalry defected mid battle helping Sparta to victory.  A second battle took place here in 426 BC.

Uzbekistanagra

(Uzbekistan & Tanagra)

5.

With subspecies Somali, Masai and Arabian the fastest land animal on two legs.  Its
eyes are larger than its brain;

&

Japanese brewery Kirin's most popular beer.  Its name means 'Number One' in Japanese.

Ostrichiban

(Ostrich & Ichiban)

6.

Shakespearean character who said: “I am not only witty in myself, but the cause that wit is in other men”, and on drinking “a good sherris-sack hath a twofold operation in it.  It ascends me into the brain”;

&

Italian dessert usually consisting of vanilla ice-cream drizzled in a shot of hot espresso coffee often with an accompanying liqueur.

Sir John Falstaffogato

(Sir John Falstaff and Affogato)

7.

A philosophical term that describes knowledge or concepts that are innate to the human mind or exist independently of human experience.  It often refers to things that go beyond the limits of ordinary experience or physical existence;

&

distillery on the Isle of Skye founded in 1830 known for its bold, peppery, smoky whiskies.  Current bottlings include 'Dark Storm' and 'Port Ruighe'.

Transcendentalisker

(Transcendental & Talisker)

8.

A plant with large pink to red flowers which is the eponymous title of a 1950 Frank Sinatra song.  It is a recurring motif in a 1999 Oscar winning film with a truncated title of the flower's name.  It was the plant that wounded Major De Coverley in the eye in the novel Catch 22;

&

a previous resident of 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester.

American Beauty Rose West

(American Beauty Rose & Rose West)

Sp.

Car model originally launched in 1906.  Autocar magazine awarded it 'Car of the Year' in 1907. Production ran until 1926.  It was often converted and used for military purposes.  Thomas Lawrence had one for example;

&

on this day, April 1st, 1940, a law was passed in Berlin completing the annexation of Austria.  How is this law is commonly known?  The name had other uses.

Rolls Royce Ghostmark

(Silver Ghost & Ostmark)

Go back to Round 6 questions without answers

ROUND 7 - Reverse Pairs

1.

Denise Coates has been the UK’s highest payer of income tax for some years and had earnings of £281 million in 2024/25.  She is the CEO, founder and majority owner of which company founded in Stoke-on-Trent in 2000?

Bet365

2.

What is the missing name from the following list of five? 

Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, blank, Lydia

Kitty

(the Bennet sisters)

3.

Which Brian De Palmer film of 1976, that received Academy Award nominations for both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, is partly set in Bates High School?

Carrie

4.

This runner, who trains at the M11 Track Club located next to the Etihad Stadium, ran the fourth leg of the 4 x 400m relay at the 2026 World Indoor Athletics in the fastest split time of the event, despite being a middle-distance runner.  Name her.

Keely Hodgkinson

5.

Also training with M11 Track Club, this athlete took a 5-year hiatus from athletics in her 20’s, returning to win the 1500m at the 2026 World Indoors at the age of 32, thus building on her success in the 1500m in recent seasons.

Georgia Hunter Bell

6.

Which Oscar-nominated coming-of-age film of 2007, starring the then Ellen Page (now Elliot Page) in the title role, is partly set in Dancing Elk School?

Juno

7.

What is the missing blank from the following list of four?

blank, Shirley, Villette, The Professor

8.

Leo Radvinsky, who died last week aged 43, was the majority shareholder of which controversial website from which he earned dividends of $472 million in 2023 alone?

OnlyFans

Go back to Round 7 questions without answers

ROUND 8 - Reverse Pairs

1.

In which year of the 1970s did MP Ian MacLeod die?  He was the most recent Chancellor of the Exchequer to die in office.

1970

2.

Which Arsenal player has now become the youngest player to score a goal in the Premier League at the age of 16 years and 73 days?

Max Dowman

3.

According to Shakespeare which real life medieval king of England noted that:

“Uneasy rests the head that wears a crown”?

He was however, one of the few kings who died a natural death.

Henry IV (fourth)

4.

Who has been the only Briton to have already been a hereditary peer when he received a Nobel Prize in Literature?

Bertrand Russell

(he was 3rd Earl Russell)

5.

Two Nobel Literature Prize winners have also won an Academy Award (Oscar) at some time in their career.  Name either.

George Bernard Shaw

or Bob Dylan

6.

King Charles III in his first address to the nation paid tribute to his mother ending with the line:

"May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest’”.

 From which Shakespeare play is this a quote?

Hamlet

7.

Which Brighton and Hove player, who was once the youngest player to have scored in the Premier League, has now become the player with the most Premier League appearances with 657 so far?

James Milner

8.

In which year of the 1970s did MP Anthony Crosland die?  He was the most recent Foreign Secretary to die in office.

1977

Sp1

Molly Caudery was also a gold medallist for GB & NI at the recent World Indoor Athletics Championships.  In which event was she successful?

Pole Vault

Sp2

Which character from the Ulster cycle of Irish mythology has the epithet 'The Hound of Ulster'?

Cuchulainn

Sp3

What was the name of the Queen of Connaught in the Ulster cycle of Irish mythology who often was in dispute with Cuchulainn?  It is still a popular girl’s name in Ireland, most famously borne by a best-selling writer who died in 2012.  You can give your answer in English, or Old Irish, or Middle Irish, or Modern Irish.  Or not at all.

Maeve

(or Medb or Meadhbh or Meibh)

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Tiebreakers

1.

How many people have been awarded the Order of Merit since it was created in 1902?  Only 24 people can hold the award, which is for life, at any one time.

201

2.

Vermont’s state capital Montpelier is the least populous state capital of all 50 states.  What was the population in the 2020 census?

8,074

3.

In which year did Pope Victor III (third) die?  There have been no Pope Victors since.

1087

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