ROUND 1

1.

In which city was the opera diva Maria Callas born?

New York

2.

In which city was Beethoven’s 9th Symphony commissioned?

London

3.

What is the literal meaning of agoraphobia?

Fear of the market place (agora being a market in Greek)

4.

What is the full name for the psychiatric disorder abbreviated to SAD?

Seasonal Affective Disorder (which is winter depression)

5.

What is special about Matthew Bourne’s version of the ballet Swan Lake?

It has an all male cast

6.

Which famous British ballerina died recently?

Dame Alicia Markova

7.

In which decade was the fax machine invented?

First decade of the 20th century (1907)

8.

In which decade was the photocopier invented?

1930s

ROUND 2

1.

Who was the first footballer to win 100 caps for England?

Billy Wright

2.

Who was the first cricketer to win 100 caps for England?

Colin Cowdrey

3.

Which ex-cabinet minister is the author of the political thriller Vote to Kill?

Douglas Hurd

4.

Which politician wrote the romance An Act of Treason?

Anne Widdecombe

5.

Where did Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin meet in 1943?

Tehran

6.

Where did Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin meet in 1945?

Yalta

7.

Who promised to stay until the wind changed?

Mary Poppins

8.

Which film star’s first name means 'cool breeze over the mountains' in Hawaiian?

Keanu Reeves

ROUND 3

1.

Name two of the top three best-selling books of all time?

The Bible,  Quotations from the Works of Mao Tse-Tung (the Little Red Book) and The Lord of the Rings

2.

Name two of the top three countries for winning the Nobel Prize for Literature ?

France, United States and Britain

3.

Which South American country has the motto which translates as “Order and Progress”?

Brazil

4.

The flag of which country is said to represent the cosmic forces of the yin and the yang?

South Korea

5.

Who sang the song Make ‘em Laugh in the film Singin’ in the Rain?

Donald O'Connor

6.

Who had a hit in 1984 with the song It’s Raining Men?

The Weather Girls

7.

Which playwright’s name is an anagram of “I’ll make a wise phrase”?

William Shakespeare

8.

Which playwright’s name is an anagram of “Who renders garbage”?

George Bernard Shaw

ROUND 4

1.

Whose last words were (allegedly) “17 whiskies - a record, I think”?

Dylan Thomas

2.

Which English author wrote “Claret is the liquor for boys; port for men - but he who aspires to be a hero must drink brandy”?

Dr Johnson

3.

In ornithology the Fish Hawk is also known as what?

The osprey

4.

What type of animal is a Père David?

A deer

5.

Which sign of the Zodiac covers the period 23 September - 23 October?

Libra

6.

Which sign of the Zodiac covers the period 21 May - 21 June?

Gemini

7.

Lulu Guinness designs what fashion accessory?

Handbags

8.

What is Philip Treacey famous for designing?

Hats

ROUND 5

1.

Why has Leoncia Casalme been in the news recently?

She is the nanny at the centre of the visa application enquiry involving David Blunkett

2.

Who recently bought the Pre-Raphaelite painting The Last of England?

Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber

3.

What is a Sally Lunn?

A flat round cake

4.

What is a Lazy Susan?

A revolving dish or tray for food or condiments

5.

In Greek mythology who was the father of Icarus?

Daedalus

6.

In Greek mythology who is said to have been the first woman created by Zeus?

Pandora

7.

Of which Asian country are the Nicobar Islands a part?

India

8.

Which two Asian countries fought a war for the possession of the Spratley Islands in the 1980s?

China and Vietnam

ROUND 6 

1.

The 19th century writer George Gordon was better known as whom?

Lord Byron

2.

The culinary innovator John Montague was better known as whom?

The Earl of Sandwich

3.

In mathematics what are Fibonacci numbers?

A sequence in which the next number is the product of the two preceding numbers - e.g. 1,1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21 etc.

4.

In mathematics the following statement is a description of what:

“A diagram showing the relationships between sets, by representing them as regions enclosed by simple closed curves”?

A Venn diagram

5.

The Hogben Test is associated with which medical condition?

Pregnancy

6.

In medicine what part of the body is affected by an Arnold-Chian malformation?

The brain

7.

The Mousetrap (53 years) is currently the longest running production on the London stage - but what is the second longest, currently running, production?

Les Miserables (20 years)

8.

What do the following London theatres have in common - Her Majesty’s, New London and the Palace?

All currently feature productions by Andrew Lloyd Webber (The Phantom of the Opera - Her Majesty’s; Joseph - New London; The Woman in White - Palace)

ROUND 7

1.

Which is the smallest state in the United States?

Rhode Island

2.

Which is the second smallest state in the United States?

Delaware

3.

Which current member of the England Cricket Team is known as the “King of Spain”?

Ashley Giles (apparently the name derives from a misprint in a feature in a country cricket report)

4.

Which cricketer is known as “The Turbinator”?

Harbhajan Singh

5.

What is the Christmas production at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre this year?

 London Assurance (by Dion Boucicault)

6.

What is the Christmas production at the Library Theatre this year?

Merlin the Magician

7.

Which newspaper has recently been successfully sued by the MP George Galloway over allegations that he was in the pay of Saddam Hussein?

The Daily Telegraph

8.

What has the Manchester Evening News demanded as a Christmas present from Tony Blair?

The completion of the Metrolink tram system

ROUND 8

1.

Who was the Nazi Foreign Minister during World War II?

Joachim von Ribbentrop

2.

Who was the Soviet Foreign Minister during World War II?

Vyacheslav Molotov

3.

Recently a piece of toast with the face of the Virgin Mary on it was sold at auction.  How much was it sold for to the nearest $1,000?

$15,000

4.

The face of which I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here contestant has also allegedly appeared on a piece of toast and is up for sale on e-Bay?

Joe Pasquali

5.

What do we call the capital city that has 167 letters in its full name but is usually referred to as Krung Thep by its residents?

Bangkok

6.

Which city became its country’s capital in 1927 and takes its name from a word meaning ‘meeting place’ in its indigenous language?

Canberra

7.

What is the modern diagnostic name for, what was previously called, Dementia Praecox?

Schizophrenia

8.

Who is generally regarded as the main proponent of the psychological doctrine of behaviourism?

B F Skinner

SPARES

1.

Who had the prison number 46664?

Nelson Mandela

2.

What was the code name for the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union?

Operation Barbarossa

3.

Musically, what is known as the big fiddle?

The viola

4.

The film Enduring Love is based on whose best selling novel?

Ian McEwan

5.

Name the composer of the Trout Quintet.

Schubert

6.

Tallahassee is the state capital of which American state?

Florida