ROUND 1 – Themed

“A Cowardly Opening”

1.

Which heroic Coward has been in the news recently?

John Coward – who was the co-pilot who successfully crash-landed the BA jet at Heathrow on 17 January

2.

Which heroic Coward shot Jesse James in a recent film?

Robert Ford in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

3.

In which Shakespeare play does the line “Conscience doth make cowards of us all”, appear?

Hamlet

4.

In which Shakespeare play do the lines “Cowards die many times.  The valiant never taste of death but once”, appear?

Julius Caesar

5.

Who wrote the series of novels featuring the exploits of the cowardly hero Harry Flashman?

George McDonald Fraser

6.

In which film starring and written by himself did Noel Coward play a character modelled on Lord Louis Mountbatten?

In Which We Serve

7.

The inhabitants of which county are traditionally known as ‘yellowbellies’?

Lincolnshire

8.

One of the last shows devised by Noel Coward was a revue of songs drawn from his earlier works.  What was its title?

Cowardy Custard

ROUND 2 - Unthemed

1.

Of which country was Lester Pearson Prime Minister during the 1960s?

Canada

2.

Of which country was Keith Holyoake Prime Minister during the 1960s?

New Zealand

3.

To whom was Jealous Guy by Roxy Music recorded as a tribute?

John Lennon

4.

To whom was Happy Birthday by Stevie Wonder recorded as a tribute?

Martin Luther King

5.

In Morse Code which letter is represented by a single dot?

E

6.

In Morse Code which letter is represented by a single dash?

T

7.

On television who played the female half of Dempsey and Makepeace?

Glynis Barber

8.

On television who played the female half of Sapphire and Steel?

Joanna Lumley

ROUND 3 – Themed

“North Americana”

1.

Which American President said: “Denial is not just another river in Africa”?

Bill Clinton

2.

Which American President is fittingly buried in the rose garden of his house?

Franklin Roosevelt (fittingly because his name translates from Dutch as ‘rose garden’)

3.

The writer Thomas Lanier Williams became better known as whom?

Tennessee Williams

4.

The writer Dorothy Rothschild became better known as whom?

Dorothy Parker

5.

Which of the Great Lakes does not have a border with Canada?

Lake Michigan

6.

Which European country is closest geographically to Canada?

France - the French islands of St Pierre and Miquelon are less than 15 miles from the coast of Newfoundland and are legally part of France - they send a representative to the French Parliament

7.

What is the name of the 1950s Western which includes the following lines in its theme song:

“He made a vow while in state prison.

Said it would my life or his’n.”?

High Noon

8.

What is the name of the 1950s Western which includes the following lines:

“Boot Hill, Boot Hill, so cold, so still.

There they lie side by side.  The killers who died.”?

Gunfight at the OK Corral

ROUND 4 – Picture Round

All these pictures have appeared in 2008 - but beware they are not what they seem

1.

Name this person dressed up as a king.

Michael Portillo

2.

Name this person.

Peter Crouch

3.

Name this personality.

Boy George

4.

Name the actor or her latest film.

Saoirse Ronan - Atonement

5.

Name the actor.

Cate Blanchett - playing Bob Dylan in I’m Not There

6.

Name the actor.

Heath Ledger as the Joker in the new Batman film The Dark Knight

7.

Name either the ‘personality’ or the location.

Some claim this is the legendary creature Bigfoot on the surface of the planet Mars.  Other people think it is a pile of rocks on the planet Mars.  Does anyone think it’s Lord Lucan?

8.

Name one of the two groups which a government quango thinks might be offended by a new film version of The Three Little Pigs?

Muslims or Builders

ROUND 5 – Hidden Theme

The theme can be revealed after the answer to Question 8

1.

What is the medical name for the collarbone?

Clavicle

2.

What is the medical name for the kneecap?

Patella

3.

Basutoland is the former name of which southern African kingdom?

Lesotho

4.

What is the former name of Malawi?

Nyasaland

5.

Who composed the opera Prince Igor?

Borodin

6.

Which Richard Strauss opera was first performed in 1911?

Der Rosenkavalier

7.

Which local football team is languishing near the bottom of the Blue Square Premier league?

Droylsden

8.

Travelling from Stockport to Manchester on a local train, which stop is situated between Heaton Chapel and Piccadilly?

Levenshulme

Each answer contains a first name:

Vic – Pat or Ella – Les – Alan – Rod – Rose or Ava – Roy - Eve

ROUND 6 – Themed

“Oo Aa” - but not Cantona 

1.

Oo, Ah and Ug are the Tomliboos.  In which current childrens’ TV programme do they appear?

In the Night Garden

2.

Who composed Appalachian Spring and the ballet, Billy The Kid?

Aaron Copeland

3.

With which branch of ornithology is oology concerned?

The study of birds’ eggs

4.

For which sport is the American Hank Aaron best known?

Hammerin’ Hank, or Bad Henry Aaron, was a baseball player

5.

What is the colour of the flowers of the plant Aaron’s Rod?

Yellow

6.

What type of bird is an ookpik?

A (snowy) owl

7.

Who wrote the novel Aaron’s Rod in 1922?

D H Lawrence

8.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary there is only one word beginning with ‘oo’ which can serve as both a noun and a verb - what is it?

Ooze

ROUND 7 - Unthemed

1.

In which sport did the pair Nash and Dixon compete?

Bobsleigh

2.

In which sport did the pair Rodnina and Zaitsov compete?

Ice skating

3.

Which is the world’s largest species of monkey?

Mandrill

4.

Which is the world’s largest species of rodent?

Capybara

5.

What would your occupation be if you worked with mortices and tenons?

A joiner or carpenter

6.

What would your occupation be if you worked with stretchers and tenons?

A bricklayer

7.

What was the name of the dog in Peter Pan?

Nana

8.

What was the name of the dog in Oliver Twist?

Bullseye

ROUND 8 - Unthemed

1.

Which former chess champion died in January 2008?

Bobbv Fischer

2.

Which Soviet chess player did Bobby Fischer beat to become world champion?

Boris Spassky

3.

Where would you find Karl Marx ‘rubbing shoulders’ with Oliver Hardy and H G Wells?

He’s standing between them on the cover of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

4.

Which political leader was removed from the original cover of Sgt Pepper for fear of offending his followers?

Gandhi

5.

Which church feast day takes place on 2nd February?

Candlemas

6.

February 3rd is the Feast of St Blaize. Which part of the body is his blessing supposed to protect?

The throat

7.

In Holst’s suite The Planets, which planet is described as ‘The Magician’?

Uranus

8.

In Holst’s suite The Planets, which planet is described as ‘The Mystic’?

Neptune

SPARES

1.

In which year was the Queen’s youngest son, Prince Edward, born?

1964

2.

Who was the author of the Dune series of science fiction novels?

Frank Herbert

3.

What title did Harold Macmillan take when he became a peer?

Earl of Stockton

4.

From which Shakespeare play are the following words taken: “Age cannot wither her”?

Antony and Cleopatra

5.

Who was the male star of the film The Illustrated Man?

Rod Steiger

6.

Which sign of the zodiac covers part of both April and May?

Taurus