ROUND 1

1.

If yellow stands for cancer, and white represents anti-poverty, what does blue represent?

Anti-bullying (these are the colours of the wrist bands sold to raise money for these causes)

2.

Apart from Vermont (green mountain), which other American State takes its name from a colour?

Colorado (derived from the Spanish for the colour red)

3.

Why has Henry Stonecipher been in the news recently?

He was the boss of Boeing who was sacked for having an affair with a female executive

4.

Why has Margaret Dixon been in the news recently?

Her shoulder operation in a Warrington hospital was postponed 7 times (allegedly)

5.

Who, according to the song, travels from “The halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli”?

The US Marine Corps (the line is from the Marine Hymn)

6.

Which fictional institution’s song includes the line: “The girl who draws her sword last is sure to come off worse”?

St Trinian’s School

7.

Who won an Oscar (for Best Actor) for his portrayal of an alcoholic in The Lost Weekend (1946)?

Ray Milland

8.

Who won an Oscar for his portrayal of an evangelist in Elmer Gantry?

Burt Lancaster

ROUND 2

1.

What do the initials P G stand for in P G Wodehouse?

Pelham Grenville

2.

What do the initials T S stand for in T S Eliot?

Thomas Stearns

3.

Name 2 of the first 3 batsmen to score over 8,000 runs in Test cricket.

(2 from) Geoffrey Boycott, Garfield Sobers, Sunil Gavaskar

4.

Name 3 out of 4 British boxers who fought Muhammed Ali in a World Heavyweight title fight.

(3 from) Henry Cooper, Joe Bugner, Richard Dunn, Brian London

5.

Which of Christ’s Apostles features in Hinduism as well as Christianity?

Thomas

6.

Which of the Apostles was martyred by being flayed alive and is frequently depicted holding his skin?

Bartholomew

7.

Who was the Greek goddess of the rainbow?

Iris

8.

Who solved the riddle of the Sphinx causing her to jump to her death?

Oedipus

ROUND 3

1.

How many letters are there in the Classical Greek alphabet?

24

2.

How many letters are there in the Hebrew alphabet?

23

3.

In the 2004 US election, where did George W Bush receive less than 10% of the vote?

District of Columbia (Washington)

4.

During the 2004 US election, who dismissed his opponents as “economic girlymen”?

Arnold Schwarzenegger

5.

Which British military leader was known to his troops as ‘Corporal John’?

Marlborough (John Churchill)

6.

The British World War I commander, Field Marshall Roberts, holds a unique military record.  What is it?

Up to now he is the only soldier to have risen through the ranks of the British Army from private to Field Marshal

7.

What is the technical name for the alternative to the digital system of television?

Analogue

8.

In which year has the Government decided that phasing out of analogue in favour of digital television will begin?

2005

ROUND 4

Name the Town or City

ROUND 5

1.

For the purposes of meteorological records which date is regarded as the official first day of Spring?

1^st March

2.

Why is an average daily temperature of 6 degrees Centigrade regarded as significant in ecological studies?

It is regarded as the minimum temperature necessary for sustained plant growth

3.

Jealous Guy by Roxy Music was a tribute to which well known person?

John Lennon

4.

Happy Birthday by Stevie Wonder was a tribute to which well known person?

Martin Luther King

5.

What connects the following monarchs: Henry I, James II, William IV, George VI?

All succeeded their elder brothers

6.

Which monarchs ruled England in the following years: 1205, 1305, 1405, 1505?

John, Edward I, Henry IV, Henry VII

7.

Which Latin American country is named after a European city?

Venezuela (Venice)

8.

Which African Republic is named after a part of the Roman Empire?

Mauretania

ROUND 6 

1.

Which venerable rocker is to be the star of a new comic strip by the creator of Spider Man?

Ringo Starr

2.

Who is playing the role of Captain Jack Sparrow’s father in the sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean?

Keith Richard

3.

Where in the world could you find an area of land known as ‘The Dead Heart’?

Australia

4.

In which country is the Perfume River located?

Vietnam

5.

Who is the Chancellor of Huddersfield University?

Patrick Stewart

6.

Who is the Chancellor of Lancaster University?

Chris Bonnington

7.

Which product on television is currently being promoted by fictional DIY guru Barry Scott?

Cillit Bang

8.

Which product on television is currently being promoted to the music of Rossini’s The Thieving Magpie?

Pampers nappies

ROUND 7

1.

Which year appears on the logo for the new University of Manchester?

1824

2.

Where in America in the 19th century might you have come across a flag with the  year 1824 on it?

The Alamo

3.

Outside the Premiership there are 7 Lancashire football teams playing in the three Coco-Cola divisions.  Name them.

Wigan, Preston, Burnley, Blackpool, Oldham, Rochdale, Bury

4.

Of London’s 11 professional football teams, 8 are located north of the River Thames.  Name 7 of these.

(7 from) Brentford, QPR, Fulham, Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs, West Ham, Leyton Orient

5.

In medicine, on which part of the body could a Weber’s Test be used?

The ear (it is a tuning fork test to diagnose deafness)

6.

Which part of the body would be affected by a Pott’s fracture?

The ankle

7.

Which European country’s parliament is known as the Folketing?

Denmark

8.

Which European country’s parliament is known as the Eduskunta?

Finland

ROUND 8

1.

Whose assassination in 1934 triggered the Soviet terror – he later had a ballet company named after him?

Sergei Kirov

2.

Why was the Czech town of Lidice destroyed in June 1942?

As revenge for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, then Reich Protector of Bohemia

3.

Which l950s American musical tells the story of a baseball coach who sells his soul to the Devil in order to win a championship?

Damned Yankees

4.

Which 1950s American musical is concerned with industrial relations in a clothing factory?

 The Pyjama Game

5.

What was noteworthy about the death of William Kemmler in 1896?

He was the first person to be executed in the electric chair (it took two goes to send him off!)

6.

What was remarkable about Babbacombe Lee’s execution in Exeter in 1886?

He was sentenced to death by hanging at Exeter Prison - the trap door failed to open 3 times so his sentence was commuted to life

7.

Who was the target of the St Valentine’s Day Massacre?

George ‘Bugs’ Moran

8.

In which East End pub did Ronnie Kray shoot dead George Cornell during London’s Sixties Gang Wars?

The Blind Beggar

SPARES

1.

How did the dancer Isadora Duncan die?

Her scarf caught in the rear wheel of a sports car in which she was sitting and when it drove off her neck was broken

2.

In which country does the Danube reach the sea?

Romania

3.

Why has Andrew Murray been in the news recently?

The youngest ever British Davies Cup player

4.

Peter Benenson died in February 2005.  Which organisation did he establish?

Amnesty International

5.

Which 2 teams contested the last football match in England to draw a crowd of 100,000?

Manchester United v Everton (1985 Cup Final)

6.

Which public position is held by David Bell?

Chief Inspector of Schools