Our usual mixture of general knowledge questions, some quiz classics, some teasers, and some ‘gee whizzes’.  Rounds 6 and 7 are themed rounds.

ROUND 1 - Pot Luck 1

1.

Which town is the administrative centre for Kent?

Maidstone

2.

In Tudor times what was the family name of the dukes of Norfolk?

Howard

3.

What is the nationality of the pop band Roxette?

Swedish

4.

Which religious order was established in 1534 by the Spaniard Ignatius Loyola?

Society of Jesus (accept the Jesuits)

5.

The 1978 Grand Slam winning Welsh Rugby Union team had two players called Williams, JJ and JPR.  The 2005 Grand Slam team also had two Williams playing last Saturday.  Give the Christian name of one of them.

Either Shane or Martyn

6.

Spartacus by Khatchaturian was the theme tune for which 1970s television series?

The Onedin Line

7.

Loma Fitzsimmons is MP for which North West constituency?

Rochdale

8.

Whose symphony No 2 is nicknamed The Resurrection?

Gustav Mahler

ROUND 2 - Pot Luck 2

1.

Whose symphony No 5 is nicknamed The Reformation?

Felix Mendelssohn

2.

Patsy Calton is MP for which North West constituency?

Cheadle

3.

At the Castle Gate by Sibelius is the theme tune for which long-running television programme?

The Sky At Night

4.

The 1978 Grand Slam winning Welsh Rugby Union side did not have any players named Jones but the 2005 side had three playing last Saturday.  Give the Christian names of one of them.

Either Adam or Stephen or Ryan

5.

Which religious organisation was established in 1924 by Spaniard Jose Maria Escriva?

Opus Dei

6.

What is the nationality of the rock band Europe?

Swedish

7.

In Tudor times what was the family name of the dukes of Somerset?

Seymour

8.

Which town is the administrative centre for Derbyshire?

Matlock

ROUND 3 – Mixed Bag 1

1.

Who was the actress mother of the actress Melanie Griffiths?

Tippi Hedren

2.

‘H’ is the SI unit for inductance.  What does ‘H’ stand for?

Henry

3.

Which sport was invented in 1891 by James Naismith in Springfield, Massachussetts?

Basketball

4.

Who gave away Lisa Minelli at her marriage to David Common?

Michael Jackson

5.

Celine Dion won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1988.  Which country did she represent?

Switzerland

6.

Who ended Stephen Hendry’s run of five consecutive Embassy World snooker championships in 1998?

Ken Docherty

7.

Who wrote the book Spycatcher that was published in 1987 despite legal attempts at suppression?

Peter Wright

8.

In which country was actor Mel Gibson born?

United States

ROUND 4 – Mixed Bag 2

1.

In which country was actor Russell Crowe born?

New Zealand

2.

Which politician’s memoirs were posthumously published in 1975 as Diaries of a Cabinet Minister 1964-1970 despite legal attempts at suppression?

Richard Crossman

3.

Who was the first non-European to win the Tour de France?

Greg Lemond

4.

The Bobbysocks won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1985.  Which country did they represent?

Norway (a rare example of Norway not scoring ‘nul pointes’)

5.

Who was David Beckham’s best man at his marriage to Posh Spice?

Gary Neville

6.

Which sport was invented in 1895 by William Morgan, in Holyoke, Massachussetts?

Volleyball

7.

‘T’ is the SI unit for magnetic flux density.  What does ‘T’ stand for?

Tesla

8.

Who was the actress mother of the actress Carrie Fisher?

Debbie Reynolds

ROUND 5 – Lucky Dip

1.

Four US States have capital cities beginning with the same letter as the state. Name three of these states (you don’t need to name the capitals).

(Three from) Oklahoma (Oklahoma City), Delaware (Dover), Hawaii (Honolulu), Indiana (Indianapolis)

2.

Four US Presidents had names beginning with vowels.  Name three of them (you don’t need to give Christian names).

(Three from) (John) Adams, (John Quincy) Adams, (Chester) Arthur, (Dwight D ‘Ike’) Eisenhower

3.

What was Charlotte Brew the first to start, Geraldine Rees the first to finish, and Rosemary Henderson (so far) the best at?

The Grand National (as lady jockeys)

4.

Who was the first winner of BBC’s Sport's Personality of the Year in 1954?

Chris Chataway

5.

Who was the first king to be buried in Westminster Abbey?

Edward the Confessor (only 9 days after it was consecrated)

6.

Who was the most recent Prime Minister to be buried in Westminster Abbey?

Clement Attlee

7.

Who is the current Astronomer Royal?

Sir Martin Rees

8.

Who is the current Master of the Queen’s Music?

Sir Peter Maxwell Davies

ROUND 6 – Themed Round: “A Fruit Cocktail” 

1.

Who is the author of the children’s novels A Series of Unfortunate Events?

Lemony Snicket

2.

Who is the author of novels including An Instance of the Fingerpost and The Dream of Scipio as well as six detective novels set in the world of Fine Art?

Iain Pears

3.

Who was the first president of Zimbabwe?

Canaan Banana

4.

Who are the sponsors of the Australian Test cricket team?

Orange

5.

Name all three male murder suspects in Cluedo.

Professor Plum, Reverend Green and Colonel Mustard

6.

Name any two of Bob Geldoff’s three natural daughters by Paula Yates.

(Two from) Fifi Trixiebelle, Peaches, Pixie

7.

In which film of 1993 did Leonardo di Caprio gain critical acclaim for his portrayal of a mentally handicapped teenager?

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?

8.

What was the nickname of Manuel Noriega, the Panamanian leader deposed by an American invasion in 1991?

The Pineapple

ROUND 7 – Themed Round:

A round to mark the passing of the Act to ban hunting with dogs

 (the connection occurs in the answers for the first 4 questions and in the text of the questions themselves for the last 4 questions)

1.

Who is the MP for Woodspring constituency?

Liam Fox

2.

Which left wing playwright’s works include The Absence of War, Knuckle, Slag, Murmuring Judges and Racing Demon?

David Hare

3.

Who was cleared of the murder of Rachel Nickell on Wimbledon Common by the judge’s direction at his trial in 1994?

Colin Stagg

4.

For which film did Michael Cimino win his only directing Oscar?

The Deerhunter

5.

Which actor played Jack Ryan in the 1990 film The Hunt for Red October?

Alec Baldwin

6.

Which actor played the title role in the film Good Will Hunting?

Matt Damon

7.

Which band had a No 2 hit in 1975 with Fox on the Run?

Sweet

8.

Which band had a No 5 hit in 1968 with a different song called Fox on the Run?

Manfred Mann

ROUND 8 – Pot Pourri

1.

In the Bible who was the wife of Zachariah and the mother of John the Baptist?

Elisabeth

2.

In the Bible who was the wife of Jacob and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin?

Rachael

3.

Name the three Darling children in J M Barrie’s Peter Pan.

Michael, John, Wendy

4.

Name the four children in Enid Blyton’s Famous Five.

Julian, Dick, Anne, Georgina (or George)

5.

Which gland in the body produces the hormone melatonin?

Pineal gland (or pineal body)

6.

Which gland in the body produces the hormone glucagon?

Pancreas

7.

Name a year in the life of the explorer Vitus Bering.

1680 to 1741

8.

Name a year in the life of the explorer Mungo Park.

1771 to 1806

SPARES

1.

Who is the Chief Rabbi?

Jonathan Sachs

2.

Which chemical element is named after the Greek goddess of the rainbow?

Iridium

3.

Which boxer was nicknamed ‘the Clones Cyclone’?

Barry McGuigan

4.

What is the state capital of Mississippi?

Jackson

5.

What are the Christian names of the brothers who are testifying against Michael Jackson?

Gavin and Star

6.

On which date is Burns’ Night?

January 25th

7.

Which US city is served by Hartsfield airport?

Atlanta

8.

Which singer was born in Kentwood, Louisiana in 1982?

Britney Spears

9.

What was the occupation of Mungo Park before he became an explorer?

We don’t know either - but watch Who Wants to be a Millionaire on April 9th and find out!