A fun quiz with two sets of reverse paired questions (Rounds 1-2, 3-4), a picture round (5), a round on medical misfortunes of the famous (6) and two rounds of head to head pairs (7 and 8)

ROUND 1 -  General knowledge 1

1.

Whose recent autobiography is entitled A Young Man’s Passage?

Julian Clary

2.

In which state of the USA is the annual Sundance Film Festival held?

Utah

3.

Who is the most recent England bowler to have taken a test match hat-trick?

Matthew Hoggard

4.

Which character from a series of twentieth century fiction was the younger brother of the 16th Duke of Denver?

Lord Peter Wimsey

5.

Name either of the two players who had a hole-in-one at this year’s Ryder Cup

Paul Casey or Scott Verplank

6.

Which city will host the 2010 Commonwealth Games?

Delhi, India

7.

Which artist had a wife eleven years his senior called Gala?

Salvador Dali

8.

Who duetted with Michael Jackson on the song Say Say Say in 1983?

Paul McCartney

ROUND 2 -  General Knowledge 2

1.

 Who duetted with Michael Jackson on the song State of Shock in 1984?

Mick Jagger

2.

Dante Gabriel Rosetti’s mistress, Jane Burden, was the wife of which artist and poet?

William Morris

3.

Which country will host the 2011 Rugby World Cup?

New Zealand

4.

Only three US golfers won their singles matches at this year’s Ryder Cup. Tiger Woods was one. Name either of the other two.

Scott Verplank or Stewart Cink

5.

How is the literary character Earl Marmaduke of Bunkerton, who first appeared in print on 30th July 1938, better known?

Lord Snooty (from the Beano)

6.

Who is the most recent England batsman to score a test triple century?

Graham Gooch

7.

In which state of the USA did the Wright brothers make their first flight in 1903?

North Carolina

8.

Whose recent autobiography is entitled Humble Pie?

Gordon Ramsay

ROUND 3 - Pot Luck 1

1.

Which Australian test cricketer holds the record for the most cans of lager consumed on a flight from Australia to England prior to an Ashes series?

David Boon (a remarkable 52 cans)

2.

Who is the Greek goddess of retribution?

Nemesis

3.

Which chocolate company has manufactured Maltesers since 1936?

Mars

4.

Which piece of sporting equipment, as specified by its governing body, must be between 100mm and 125mm in circumference and have a minimum length of 33.5 meters?

A rope in tug-of-war

5.

How are Vincent and Michael Hickey, Pat Malloy and James Robinson collectively known?

Bridgewater Four

6.

Who was Dame Edna Everidge’s bridesmaid?

Madge Alsop

7.

Who directed the films Blue Velvet (1986) and Wild at Heart (1990)?

David Lynch

8.

Which book of the Bible records the death of Moses?

Deuteronomy

ROUND 4 - Pot Luck 2

1.

In the Bible how many Psalms are there in the Book of Psalms?

150

2.

Who directed the films International Velvet (1978) and The Stepford Wives (1974)?

Bryan Forbes

3.

Who wrote the crime novel The Bridesmaid?

Ruth Rendall

4.

By what name are the environmental activists David Morris and Helen Steel, losers of a seven year legal action, better known?

McLibel Two

5.

Which gymnast recently won Britain’s first world championship gold medal in the asymmetric bars?

Beth Tweddle

6.

Which chocolate company was the original manufacturer of Kit Kat bars in 1935?

Rowntree’s

7.

Who is the Greek goddess of the rainbow?

Iris

8.

Whose dying words were reputed to be “That’s eighteen straight whiskies, that’s a record I think”?

Dylan Thomas

ROUND 5

1.

Who is this 20^th century US President?

2.

Who is this 20^th century Pope?

Herbert Hoover

Benedict XV (fifteenth)

3.

Born 1864, died 1949, who is this composer?

4.

Born in 1860, died 1911, who is this composer?

Richard Strauss

Gustav Mahler

5.

Reputedly England’s tallest king he was Mary Queen of Scots great-great grandfather. What is his name and number?

6.

Who is this King of England- he was George VI’s great-great-great uncle?

Edward IV (fourth)

William IV (fourth)

7.

The Birth of Venus (1485).  Who is the artist?

8.

Westminster Bridge (1746).  Who is the artist?

Botticelli

Canaletto

ROUND 6    

Accidents, Operations, Illnesses and Deaths of Famous People

1.

What happened to Winston Churchill on December 11^th 1931?

He was knocked down by a taxi in New York

2.

What operation did Samuel Pepys undergo on 26^th March 1658 at the age of 25?

He was “cut for the stone” (removal of bladder stone)

3.

For what condition did Edward VII (seventh) undergo surgery on 24^th June 1902 which led to the postponement of his coronation?

Appendicectomy

4.

Which metabolic condition is thought to have afflicted George III (third)?

Porphyria

5.

What disease led to the death of Prince Albert on 14th December 1861 at the age of 42?

Typhoid

6.

What abdominal operation did Anthony Eden undergo in 1953, the complications of which led to long term ill health?

Cholecystectomy (gall bladder removal)

7.

Which genetic disorder led to the death of musician Woody Guthrie in 1967?

Huntingtons’s disease (or Huntington’s chorea)

8.

What caused the death of Percy Bysshe Shelley on July 8th 1822?

He drowned off the coast of Italy

ROUND 7 -  Lucky Dip

1.

In which city is the crime series Homicide: Life on the Street set?

Baltimore

2.

In which city is the original crime series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation set?

Las Vegas

3.

Which James Bond film derives its title from the song D’ye ken John Peel?

A View To A Kill

4.

The Hitchcock film North by North West derives its name from a quotation in which Shakespeare play?

Hamlet

5.

Which of the asteroids was briefly elevated to planet status this summer before being downgraded to dwarf  planet?

Ceres

6.

Which astronomical event occurred on 8th June 2004 and will happen again on June 6th 2012?

A transit of Venus

7.

Who is the father of the model Jordan’s son, Harvey?

Dwight York

8.

Who is the father of Gwyneth Paltrow’s children Apple and Moses?

Chris Martin

ROUND 8 -  Last Lap

1.

What is the common name for the gas ethine (C2H2)? (QM please spell out ethine)

Acetylene

2.

What is the common name for methanoic acid HCOOH? 

Formic acid

3.

Robert Kilroy-Silk, who once dismissed Ireland as “a country peopled by priests, peasants and pixies”, was Labour MP for which North West town from 1974-1983?

Ormskirk

4.

Giles Brandreth, now more famous for Monopoly, Scrabble and teddy bear museums, was Conservative MP for which North West constituency from 1992-7?

Chester

5.

Who was the owner and rider of the horse Doublet?

Princess Anne

6.

Who was the most famous rider of the horse Aethenoth?

Lady Godiva

7.

In which comic, first published in 1953, did the iconic characters Beryl the Peril and Mickey the Monkey make their first appearance?

The Topper

8.

In which comic, first published in 1956, did the iconic characters the Numskulls and Colonel Blink make their first appearance?

The Beezer

SPARES

1.

Who was the only Prime Minister to play first class cricket including three games for MCC v Argentina?

Alec Douglas Home

2.

Longleat is the stately home of which peer?

Marquess of Bath

3.

Which Christian sect is headed by the Patriarch of Alexandria?

The Coptic Church

4.

The administrative headquarters of Northumberland are in which town?

Morpeth

5.

Mn is the chemical symbol for which element?

Manganese

6.

Which actor has recently published an autobiography called Hello?

Leslie Phillips

7.

Which two countries comprise the island Hispaniola?

Dominican Republic and Haiti

8.

“Doe, a deer, a female deer”. Yes, if it is a fallow or a roe deer, but not if it is a red deer. What is a female red deer called?

A hind