ROUND 1

1.

Who was born Roberta Joan Anderson in November 1943?

Joni Mitchell

2.

Who was born Louis Firbank in March 1942?

Lou Reed

3.

The Festival of the Purification of the Virgin Mary is better known as what?

Candlemas

4.

On which fixed Sunday of the year is Fathers’ Day held in the UK?

The third Sunday in June

5.

Who wrote the book Line of Beauty?

Alan Hollinghurst

6.

Who wrote the play The History Boys?

Alan Bennett

7.

What type of animal is a guanaco?

Llama

8.

What type of animal is a quagga?

Zebra

ROUND 2 – ‘From Agincourt to the Armada’

1.

How old was Henry V when he died?

34

2.

How old was Richard III when he died?

32

3.

Which queen was executed in 1587?

Mary Queen of Scots

4.

Which pretender to the throne was executed in 1554?

Lady Jane Grey

5.

Within 5 years either side, when was Eton founded?

1440 (accept 1435 – 1445)

6.

Within 5 years either side, when was Manchester Grammar School founded?

1575 (accept 1570 – 1580)

7.

Who drowned in a butt of malmsey in 1478?

Duke of Clarence

8.

Which of Henry VIII’s favourite warships capsized off Plymouth in 1545?

Mary Rose

ROUND 3

1.

Which garden plant has the Latin name Lathyrus Odoratus?

Sweet Pea

2.

Who was the first Astronomer Royal?

John Flamsteed

3.

Mysophobia is a fear of what?

Dirt

4.

Clio, Thalia, and Melpomene are three members of which sisters?

The Muses

5.

Which herb derives its name from the Greek word for King?

Basil

6.

We use ‘nom de plume’ to mean penname or pseudonym.  But what similar phrase do the French use to mean penname or pseudonym?

Nom de guerre

7.

In which English town would you be if you crossed the Clopton Bridge?

Stratford-upon-Avon

8.

Which US State is known as the Equality State, as it was the first state to give women the vote?  The state joined the union in 1890, and was the 44th state so to do.  It is the least populated despite being ranked the 10th largest in area.

Wyoming - incidentally, Wyoming was the first state to elect a woman as governor

ROUND 4

1.

Which US State is America’s Dairyland State?

Wisconsin

2.

Where in Scotland would you be if you crossed the Kingston Bridge?

Glasgow

3.

The Welsh word llyn translates into what English word?

Lake

4.

Which herb is sometimes known as Chinese Parsley?

Coriander

5.

In Greek mythology, who were Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos?

The Fates or Moirai

6.

Ailurophobia is a fear of what?

Cats

7.

Who is the current Astronomer Royal?

Professor Martin Rees

8.

Which garden plant has the Latin name, Galanthus Nivalis?

Snowdrop

ROUND 5 – ‘A Tasty Round?’

Each answer is linked by a theme (which is revealed below the answer to Question 8)

1.

Who won the Best Actress Oscar in 2001?

Hallé Berry (in the film Monster Ball)

2.

Born 1874 in Pennsylvania into a progressive and intellectual family.  In 1902, she went to Paris, where she settled.  Her home became a literary salon and art gallery, and a home for the avant-garde.  Her friend, secretary and companion from 1907, was the ostensible author of her own memoir, The Autobiography of Alice B Toklas in 1933.  Who is she?

Gertrude Stein

3.

Which Irish, Shakespearian actress married the composer, Hector Berlioz?

Harriet Smithson (forename and surname required)

4.

What is the second most populous town on the Isle of Man?

Ramsey

5.

Who normally presents Radio 4’s Front Row at 7:15 each weekday evening?

Mark Lawson

6.

What is the culinary term for a mixture of flour and butter used for thickening sauces?

Roux

7.

Which Trust is an educational charity whose principal activity is to support scholars selected from 14 specified constituencies in order to study at Oxford University?

Rhodes' Trust

8.

Prior to Chicago, which was the last musical to win a Best Film Oscar?

Oliver

All are well-known chefs/cooks:

 Mary Berry; Rick Stein; Ainsley Harriott; Gordon Ramsey; Nigella Lawson; The Roux Brothers; Gary Rhodes; Jamie Oliver

ROUND 6 

1.

Who won the Booker Prize in 1996 with Last Orders?

Graham Swift

2.

Which deadly organism was once called Bradford Disease?

Anthrax

3.

Who created the ‘Big Tongue’ logo for the Rolling Stones?

Andy Warhol

4.

On Children’s TV, who has friends called Wendymuck and Scoop?

Bob the Builder

5.

With what phenomenon are Bailey's Beads associated?

Total eclipse of the sun

6.

Who was considered to be the inspiration for Machiavelli’s work, The Prince?

Cesare Borgia (forename and surname required)

7.

Which football team plays its home games at Plainmoor?

Torquay United

8.

In which sport do Great Britain and the USA compete for the Westchester Cup?

Polo

ROUND 7

1.

Of what kind of rock type are sandstone, shale and millstone grit examples?

Sedimentary

2.

For which offence were Kenneth Halliwell and Joe Orton imprisoned for a short period?

Theft of, and defacing, library books (accept either)

3.

Which music hall star is associated with the song Burlington Bertie?

Vesta Tilley

4.

The English Stage Company is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.  With which London theatre is it associated?

The Royal Court

5.

The Lincoln Handicap is normally run at Doncaster, which is currently undergoing renovation.  On which northern racecourse was the Lincoln run this year?

Redcar

6.

Which carnivorous mammal about 2 feet long and with brown and black fur and white head markings, is rare in England but quite common in parts of Wales and Scotland?

Polecat

7.

What was the name of the first album by Oasis?

Definitely Maybe

8.

To whom was Aristotle tutor between 343 and 340 BC?

Alexander the Great

ROUND 8 – “The Final Curtain”

(Our longstanding team member, John Tolan, has taken early retirement and is hoping to move to the Yorkshire Dales.  As this may be his last contribution to Withquiz, all the answers are appropriate for the occasion.)

1.

Which TV series, first shown in 1983 and starring Tim Healy, Kevin Whately & Jimmy Nail, told of a group of builders?

Auf Wiedersehen Pet

2.

Which one word can separately mean: food, a mixed fruit preserve, and a Chinese breed of dog?

Chow

3.

What is the name of the Japanese floor-mat made from rice stalks?

Tatami

4.

In February 2006, Robbie Williams bought up all the available shares in which football club?

Port Vale

5.

Which song by John Denver was a UK number 2 hit in 1970 for Peter, Paul and Mary?

Leaving on a Jet Plane

6.

Which Nestle cereal consists of circles of corn, oats, wheat and rice?

Cheerios

7.

What name is given to the southern tip of Greenland?

Cape Farewell

8.

What is the title of the 4th book in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams?

So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish

SPARES

1.

In the TV series, what was the name of Blackadder’s servant?

Baldrick

2.

Which dinosaur’s name means ‘thunder lizard’?

Brontosaur

3.

Who wrote and sang All Along the Watch Tower?

Bob Dylan

4.

Which British admiral devised a method for measuring wind speed?

Beaufort

5.

What is the Japanese name for the art of growing miniature trees?

Bonsai

6.

What one word can separately be: a wireless way of connecting mobile phones, computers, etc., and a nickname given to King Harald I of Denmark (c910 - c985)

Bluetooth

7.

In which English city is the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television?

Bradford

8.

Which British conductor (1879 – 1961) said “Brass bands are all very well in their place - outdoors, and several miles away”?

Beecham