ROUND 1

1.

On the Beaufort scale, what number corresponds to a Gale?

8

2.

What kind of animal is an alant?

A dog (an ancient term for a wolfhound - still used in heraldry)

3.

On which river does Bratislava stand?

Danube

4.

Who brews Bishop’s Finger beer?

Shepherd Neame

5.

Mickey Dolenz and Peter Tork are two of the original members of which band?

The Monkees

6.

What did Dr Johnson describe as: “A triumph of hope over experience”?

A second marriage

7.

Relating to Sony’s games console, what do the initials PSP stand for?

P1ayStation Portable

8.

What did Walter Hunt invent in 1849 to hold things together?

The safety pin

ROUND 2

1.

What multi-purpose tool did Karl Elsener invent in 1884?

Swiss army knife

2.

Relating to mobile phones, what do the initials WAP stand for?

Wireless Application Protocol

3.

According to Dr Johnson, what: “should be well sliced, dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown away”?

Cucumber

4.

Steve Marriot and Ronnie Lane are two of the original members of which band?

The Small Faces

5.

Who brews Snecklifter beer?

Jennings

6.

On which river does Dresden stand?

Elbe

7.

What kind of animal is a percheron?

A horse

8.

On the Beaufort Scale, what number corresponds to a Moderate Breeze?

4

ROUND 3

1.

What is the capital of Montenegro?

Podgorica

2.

The French region which produces the wine Entre Deux Mers lies between which two rivers?

Garonne and Dordogne

3.

Which US writer first described the 1920s as the Jazz age?

F. Scott Fitzgerald

4.

What does Primrose Day commemorate?

The anniversary of the death of Benjamin Disraeli

5.

Bridget Riley is a leading British exponent of which style of art of the 1960s?

Op Art

6.

To which sainted Norse Earl of the Orkneys is the cathedral in Kirkwall dedicated?

St Magnus (Earl Magnus Erlendsson)

7.

What is the stage name of Geoffrey Durham, the magician and ex-husband of comedienne Victoria Wood?

The Great Soprendo

8.

Which British writer described advertising as: “the rattling of a stick in a swill-bucket”?

George Orwell

ROUND 4 - Up the Garden Path I

All the answers have a botanical connection

1.

Which English authoress (1881-1958) wrote They Were Defeated and The Towers of Trebizond?

Rose Macauly

2.

In the TV series Keeping up Appearances what role was played by Patricia Routledge?

Hyacinth Bucket

3.

In 1696 Isaac Newton was appointed to a post in which government department?

Royal Mint

4.

According to Chambers Dictionary, what word can have the following meanings (amongst many others):

(a) the undealt part of a pack of cards;

(b) in geology, an intrusive dome-shaped protuberance of igneous rock;

(c) to keep a cow unmilked prior to sale;

(d) the horizontal cross-piece of an anchor?

Stock

5.

By what pseudonym is the celebrated Guardian crossword-compiler John Graham known?

Araucaria

6.

In Fawlty Towers what was the name of Manuel’s rat?

Basil

7.

In the rag trade, what name is given to pieces of a customer’s cloth appropriated as a perk by the tailor?

Cabbage

8.

What character did Orson Welles play in the film The Third Man?

Harry Lime

ROUND 5 - Up the Garden Path II

All the answers have a botanical connection

1.

What was the name of the principal character in Watership Down?

Hazel

2.

In northern Australia, which inlet of the sea is bounded on the west by Arnhem Land and on the east by the Cape York peninsula?

Gulf of Carpentaria (Carpentaria is an evergreen shrub of the hydrangea family)

3.

In A Midsummer Night’s Dream which of Bottom’s companions was a carpenter?

Peter Quince

4.

Which novel by John Steinbeck won the Pulitzer Prize in 1940?

Grapes of Wrath

5.

In 1944 what name was given to the prefabricated harbours used for the Normandy landings?

Mulberry harbours

6.

Which American right-wing anti-communist organisation was named after a US missionary who was killed by Chinese communists in 1945?

John Birch Society

7.

Which Liverpool hospital was at the centre of the scandal involving children’s organs retained for research?

Alder Hey

8.

Who won the Wimbledon men’s singles title in 1975?

Arthur Ashe

ROUND 6 

1.

In which country are the Shan and Karen peoples to be found?

Myanmar (or Burma)

2.

Which composer’s symphonies include: No. 7 Leningrad and No. 13 Babi Yar?

Shostakovich

3.

In Greek mythology, who was king of Ithaca and father of Odysseus?

Laertes

4.

Who wrote the novels that feature Inspector Rebus?

Ian Rankin

5.

Which county cricket club plays some of its home matches at Clarence Park?

Somerset (Weston-super-Mare)

6.

Which Rodgers and Hart musical was based on Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors?

The Boys from Syracuse

7.

Who was the only king of England, since 1066, not to die in England or France?

George I

8.

The American writer, William Sidney Porter, used what pseudonym?

O Henry

ROUND 7

1.

Hablot Knight Browne used what pseudonym as the illustrator of Charles Dickens’ books?

Phiz

2.

Name one of the three kings of England to be born in Wales.

(One of) Edward II, Henry V or Henry VII

3.

Which Oscar Strauss musical was based on George Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the Man?

The Chocolate Soldier

4.

Which county cricket club plays some of its home matches at The Saffrons?

Sussex (Eastbourne)

5.

Who wrote the novels which feature Inspector Lynley?

Elizabeth George

6.

In Greek mythology, who was the wife of King Laius and mother of Oedipus?

Jocasta

7.

Which composer’s symphonies include: No.2, London and No. 3, Pastoral?

Ralph Vaughan Williams

8.

In which country are the Amhara and Oromo peoples to be found?

Ethiopia

ROUND 8 – Hidden Theme “The Quiz Isn’t Over ‘Til the Fat Lady Sings”

(answers share a common theme which is revealed after the answer to Question 8)

1.

Before adopting the Euro, what was the currency of the Netherlands?

Guilder

2.

What type of insect are: Peacock, Great Orme Blue and Swallowtail?

Butterfly

3.

What is the forename of John Major’s wife?

Norma

4.

Which pop singer’s albums include the songs: Here with Me and Hunter?

Dido

5.

In the TV series, what is the name of Judge John Deed’s dog?

Mimi

6.

Who was the daughter of Agamemnon after whom Freud named a complex?

Elektra

7.

Which actress’s films include: The Greengage Summer, Tom Jones and The Killing of Sister George?

Susannah York

8.

What was the name of Pat Smythe’s champion show jumping grey horse?

Tosca

All the answers included the name of an operatic heroine:

Gilda from Verdi’s Rigoletto; Puccini’s Madam Butterfly; Bellini’s Norma; Dido from Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas; Mimi from Puccini’s La Boheme; Richard Strauss’s Elektra; Susanna from Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro; and finally, Puccini’s Tosca

SPARES

1.

Who played the lead role in the TV serialisations of John Cornwell’s Sharpe novels?

Sean Bean

2.

From where did the Spanish Armada set sail in 1588?

La Coruna

3.

From what are the foodstuffs Sloke and Dulse made?

Seaweed

4.

Who directed the film Rain Man?

Barry Levinson

5.

In which French administrative region is Bordeaux?

Aquitaine

6.

What is the correct way to address a Cardinal?

Your Eminence

7.

Who wrote the novel Cold Comfort Farm?

Stella Gibbons

8.

Which grape is used to make red Burgundy wine?

Pinot Noir

TIEBREAKER - In the Event of a Draw

Below is an impossible numerical question!  Teams are asked to write their answer on a piece of paper and hand it to the QM. The team whose answer is nearest to the actual one will be declared the winners.

According to the Census for the UN Year Book, what was the Eskimo population of Greenland in 1952?

30,621