Rounds 1 and 4 are paired;

Round 2 is a pot pourri;

In rounds 3, 5, 6 and 7, the questions are paired within each round;

Round 8 is themed - some of the answers are 'sound-alike'

ROUND 1

1.

On what date does the pheasant-shooting season begin in Great Britain?

1^st October

2.

Which actor in The Archers is, in real life, the 12th Earl of Portland?

Tim Bentinck (accept David Archer – the character)

3.

According to Whitaker’s Almanac, and discounting the Open, Oxford, Cambridge and London Universities, which had the most numerous full-time students in 2004/2005?

University of Central Lancashire (approx. 35,000)

4.

Le Douanier is the nickname for which 19th Century French painter?

Henri Rouseau

5.

The acronym of which national newspaper group means zeal?

Hamas

6.

Past glories: When did Newcastle United last win the (old) first division title?

1926-27 (allow two years either side)

7.

Which English poet – who, because he was a Roman Catholic, was banned from living in Central London – suffered from Pott’s disease in his childhood and consequently grew to only 4’6”?

Alexander Pope

8.

According to Wikipedia which group recorded an album in 1973 that is the best-selling by an English group of all time?

Pink Floyd (The Dark Side of the Moon)

ROUND 2

1.

In terms of population, what is Africa’s smallest sovereign state?

Seychelles

2.

What is the journalistic nickname for the Higgs boson which is the subject of intense international research at the moment?

The god particle

3.

What article of furniture is known as a credence?

A sideboard (Also accept a table used for holding the sacrament in church.)

4.

Which British actor, known amongst other things for his appearance in Monarch of the Glen and Our Friends in the North, wrote the screen-play for the film Gosford Park for which he was given the Academy award for an original screen-play?

Julian Fellowes

5.

The Cat’s Eye, the North America, the Eskimo  and the Horsehead are all examples of which astronomical phenomenon?

Nebulae (the clouds of hydrogen gas and dust make up shapes resembling the above)

6.

Which EU country’s parliamentary lower house, called the Tweede Kamer, was re-elected last week?

The Netherlands

7.

Which is the largest city in Moravia?

Brno

8.

The seventh edition of the Chambers Dictionary has the following three words in consecutive order. Their definitions are:

a) A Muslim sect, or a member of it

b) A Japanese healing and health promoting therapy using massage with fingers, palms etc;

c) The Gileadite test-word for an Ephraimite (Judges 12, 5-6); any such test; a cant phrase.

Shia; shiatsu; shiboleth

ROUND 3

1.

Who in 1866 wrote the poem The Dream of Gerontius, which was set to music by Edward Elgar?

Cardinal John Henry Newman

2.

Which car manufacturer produces a model named the Ignis ?

Suzuki

3.

Which band’s 2005 album is titled Never Forget – The Ultimate Collection?

Take That

4.

What is the common name of the tree Tilia Cordata?

Lime

5.

What is the occupation of Francis Flute in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream?

Bellows mender

6.

In which year did both Elvis Presley and Bing Crosby die?

1977

7.

Which footballer’s autobiography is entitled Stand Up Pinnochio?

Phil Thompson

8.

What name is shared by a scientist born in 1564 and the 2001 Epsom Derby winner?

Galileo

ROUND 4

1.

A single, made by a British artist, is second best-selling of all time (after White Christmas) with more than 37 million sales. Which is it?

Candle in the Wind (by Elton John)

2.

Who was buried on the Greek island of Skyros after he ingloriously died of sceptic pneumonia following a mosquito bite and whom WB Yeats described as “the handsomest young man in England who gave me a rainbow drink”?

Rupert Brooke

3.

Past glories: when did Sunderland football club last win the (old) first division title?

1935-36 (allow two years either side)

4.

Which Arabic word means lawful?

Halal

5.

Which famous opera singer, whose nickname is La Stupenda, has recently celebrated her 80th birthday?

Dame Joan Sutherland

6.

According to Whitaker’s Almanac, and discounting the Open, Oxford, Cambridge and London Universities, which university had the second most numerous full-time students in 2004/2005?

Birmingham (approx. 32,000)

7.

In The Archers, which character/actress is, in real life, married to Charles Collingwood who plays Brian Aldridge?

Shula Hebden-Lloyd (character)/ Judy Bennett (actress)

8.

On what date does the pheasant-shooting season end in Great Britain?

1^st February

ROUND 5

1.

What is the common name for the tree Taxus Baccata?

Yew

2.

Who in 1816 wrote the poem The Dream in which he described his love for his cousin, Mary Chaworth?

Lord Byron

3.

Which car manufacturer produces a model called the Outlander?

Mitsubishi

4.

Whose 2005 album was titled Intensive Care?

Robbie Williams

5.

In which year were the unsuccessful assassination attempts on the lives of Pope John Paul II and President Ronald Reagan?

1981

6.

Lancelot Gobbo is Bassanio’s servant in which Shakespeare play?

The Merchant of Venice

7.

Which TV presenter’s autobiography is entitled I Should Have Been at Work?

Desmond Lynam

8.

What name is shared by the 1947 Wimbledon Men’s Singles Champion and a 1979 film starring Justin Hoffman and Meryl Streep?

Kramer

ROUND 6 

1.

Who played Legolas in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy?

Orlando Bloom

2.

If x² +x – 2 = 0 (if x squared plus x minus 2 equals 0) what are the two possible values of x?

x = + 1, or x = -2 (both answers required and both signs must be right)

3.

Who is the most recent recipient of the Victoria Cross?

Johnson Beharry

4.

Who had a top ten hit in 1966 with When A Man Loves A Woman?

Percy Sledge

5.

Who had a number one hit with This Is My Song in 1967?

Petula Clarke

6.

How many Victoria Crosses were won at the Battle of Rorke’s Drift in 1879?

11 (allow one either way)

7.

If x² - 2x – 3 = 0 (if x squared minus two x minus 3 equals 0) what are the two possible values of x?

x = + 3 or x = -1 (both required both signs must be right)

8.

Who played Gandalf in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy?

Ian McKellern

ROUND 7

1.

Which 19th Century English historian, poet, and politician said "Nothing is so useless as a general maxim"?

Thomas Macaulay

2.

What is the largest lake in Europe?

Lake Ladoga

3.

Name two (2) of the actresses playing the four central characters in Sex & the City?

Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrell, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon

4.

Who is the MP for Salford?

Hazel Blears

5.

Who is the MP for Stretford and Urmston?

Beverley Hughes

6.

Name two of the actresses who play the three leading female parts in Friends?

Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox and Lisa Kudrow

7.

Name the second largest (non-continental) island?

New Guinea

8.

Which French-born author of Irish decent said "To do each day two things one dislikes is a precept I have followed scrupulously: every day I have got up and I have gone to bed"?

W. Somerset Maugham

ROUND 8 - Themed Round

All the answers contain the surnames of 20th Century British Chancellors of the Exchequer

1.

Who is being described?
"One of the UK’s most influential food writers, she read Mediaeval and Modern Languages at Oxford, before taking up journalism and becoming Deputy Literary Editor of the Sunday Times, followed by a successful freelance career.  Her books include: How to Eat and Forever Summer."

Nigella Lawson

2.

Which Welsh-born actor’s films include: The Rocketeer, Naked in New York, Sextette and The Living Daylights?

Timothy Dalton (Hugh Dalton - Atlee’s Chancellor 1945 – 1947)

3.

What is the only musical scale which has no sharps or flats?

C Major

4.

The Spanish accused the British of violating the Asciento Treaty.  This sparked which trade war in 1739?

Jenkin’s Ear

5.

Which British actress married the actor Bill Travers?

Virginia McKenna (Reginald McKenna - Asquith’s Chancellor 1915 – 1916)

6.

Which Australian ex-test cricketer and commentator’s autobiography is entitled Anything but an Autobiography. (Forename and surname required)

Richie Benaud (Charles Thomson Ritchie - Balfour’s Chancellor 1902 – 1903)

7.

In the eponymous film, what was the occupation of the Admirable Crichton?

Butler

8.

What name links an ex-England Rugby Union player and a British spots car?

Austin Healey

SPARES

1.

Nick Clarke, the radio presenter who died last week, wrote a biography of which iconic broadcasting figure?

Alistair Cooke

2.

Who is Harry Potter’s Godfather?

Sirius Black

3.

Who is the heroine of Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy?

Lyra Belacqua (accept Lyra)

4.

Who was known in Germany by the nickname Der Bingle?

Bing Crosby

5.

Power of Art is which historian’s latest TV series and book?

Simon Sharma

6.

Which famous comedienne was the niece of Nancy Astor?

Joyce Grenfell

7.

What is the Triple Unite?

17th Century English coin

8.

Which Edward Albee play features the characters A, B and C?

Three Tall Women