10th January–The Questions

 

Specialist Questions

Set by The Cock-A-2

349 Days to Go: Christmas

(Just when you thought it was safe…. )

1. In what year did the BBC first broadcast “A Service of 9 Lessons and Carols” from Kings College, Cambridge?

1928 (accept 1926 to 1930, although 1930 is the only year when it has not been broadcast, even during WW2.)

2. Who was on the British throne when the first Christmas tree presented by the Norwegians was erected in Trafalgar Square?

George VI (in 1947)

3. Who sings “Walking in the Air” on the Raymond Briggs animation of “The Snowman”?

Peter Auty (Not Aled Jones)

4 Who wrote the words to the carol “In the Bleak Mid-Winter”?

Christina Rossetti

5 In which year did Andre Previn feature in “The Morecambe & Wise Christmas Show”?

1971 (Accept 1970-2)

6 According to “The 12 Days of Christmas”, what were there SEVEN of, on 6 days?

Swans a-swimming (Accept Swans)

7 Spell Myrrh (as in “gold, frankincense and” etc)

Myrrh

8 What was such a popular toy at Christmas 1992 that “Blue Peter” issued instructions on how to make your own?

Tracy Island

Supplementaries

9 What is added to whisky to make a Whisky Mac?

Ginger Wine (Do NOT accept just “ginger”, ginger beer, ginger ale or dry ginger etc)

10 Who wrote the poem “ ’Twas The Night Before Christmas”?

Clement Moore

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

1 Who in 1919 wrote ‘the female of the species is more deadly than the male’?

Rudyard Kipling

2 Which two words complete this quotation from Erica Jong’s book Fear of Flying – bigamy is having one husband too many, monogamy is …………?

The same (QM – accept any similar wording)

3 What year did Michelangelo complete the painting of the Sistine Chapel –with leeway?

1512 (accept 1507 – 1517)

4 In a work by Christopher Marlowe, which line comes immediately before “and burnt the topless towers of Ilium”?

Was this the face that launched a thousand ships

5 What is the English language title of Erich Maria Remarque’s influential 1929 novel of the First World War?

All Quiet on the Western Front

6 Moe Howard, Curly Howard and Larry Fine were known by what collective name for their films which were made mainly in the 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s.

The Three Stooges

7 Which comic actor who committed suicide in 1988 wrote “oh what’s the bloody point!”as the final entry in his diary?

Kenneth Williams

8 Which actor who died in January 2016 aged 69 appeared in many films which included playing the part of Hans Gruber in Die Hard and the Sherriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves?

Alan Rickman

Supplementaries

Which artist painted The Ambassadors, which can be seen in the National Gallery.

Hans Holbein

James Bowen recently wrote a best-selling book about his time busking on the streets of London. The book has recently been made into a film. What is the name of his cat?

Bob (From the book and film – A Cat Named Bob)

HISTORY

1) After defeating Richard III at Bosworth in 1485, who became the first King of the house of Tudor?

HENRY VII

2) Which future English King was wounded in the face by an arrow at the battle of Shrewsbury in 1403?

HENRY V

3) Which famous military unit was formed in 1831 with its headquarters at Sidi-bel-Abbes in Algeria

THE FRENCH FOREIGN LEGION

4) In World War 2 the Long Range Desert Group was the forerunner of which famous military unit?

SAS

5) In 1612 the assizes that tried the majority of the Pendle witches were held in which north-west town?

LANCASTER

6) The Lancaster House Agreement in 1979 confirmed the independence of which African country from the UK?

RHODESIA/ZIMBABWE (accept either)

7) In 1823 which US President declared that the United States would not permit outside interference in the domestic affairs of the Americas?

MONROE (Monroe Doctrine)

8) Which American President was re-elected in 1916 under the slogan “he kept us out of war”?

WOODROW WILSON (he took America into the war in 1917)

SUPPLEMENTARIES

9) In 1826 which English King commissioned architect John Nash to remodel Buckingham House into a Royal Palace?

GEORGE IV

10) In 1483 Richard Duke of Gloucester (afterwards Richard III) acted as the regent of which English King?

EDWARD V

DOUBLE MEANINGS

In this round, the words quoted all have a double meaning. These will be described, you have to identify the word.

1 This is word can describe both a US state capital and a famous golf course

AUGUSTA (capital of Maine)

2 This word can describe both a North American wild cat and a male deodorant

LYNX

3 This word can describe both a medieval hand weapon and a spice

MACE

4 his word can describe both a DIY tool and a cocktail

SCREWDRIVER

5 his word can describe both a famous architect and a tiny brown bird

WREN

6 This word can describe both a proverbial saying and an early machine gun

MAXIM

7 This word can describe both an enclosure and someone who deals in stolen property

FENCE

8 This word can describe both to steal something and an act you do with a credit card

SWIPE

SUPPLEMENTARIES

9 This word describes both a US state capital and a make of British car

AUSTIN (capital of Texas)

10 This word can describe both a Scottish city and a type of fruit cake

DUNDEE

Geography

1. What is the number of the OS Landranger 1:50,000 map which includes Macclesfield?

118

2. To the nearest whole number, what is the latitude of Macclesfield?

53N: (53.2587N. Do not insist on the “N”!)

3. Which is the smallest city in Britain?

St. David’s (Pop 1,797)

4. Which North Wales town on the River Dee has the same name as a sedimentary crypto-cystalline rock?

Flint

5. Relief and convectional are two types or causes of rainfall. What is the third?

Frontal (or Cyclonic)

6. Which is the most southerly of the UK Shipping Forecast areas, as announced on the BBC?

Trafalgar

7. According to the Beaufort scale for wind speeds, if the sea is “like a mirror”, give either the Beaufort number, or the verbal description.

0 or “Calm” (No leeway on 0, but accept anything with “Calm” in it e.g. Flat Calm)

8. Which British island is famous for its “Paps”?

Jura

Supplementaries

9. The M62 is the highest motorway in the country. What height does it reach? 372m (Accept 370 to 375) or 1,221 feet. (Accept 1200 to 1240)

10. According to Wikipedia, what was the population of the City of Manchester (viz NOT including Wigan, Trafford, Bury etc) in 2013 to the nearest 10,000?

510,000 (Accept 500,000-520,000) (exactly 514,414)

Science and nature

1 In Germany X rays are known by the name of their discoverer. Who was he?

Roentgen

2 The medical term toxaemia refers to what?

Blood poisoning (poisoning is not sufficient on its own)

3 In the field of science and technology, what is an angstrom?

A unit for measuring length (one ten billionth of a metre)

4 Written in 1614, a book written by John Napier was the first to explore which area of Mathematics?

Logarithms

5 What infection is also known as Hansen’s Disease?

Leprosy

6 Which crop is attacked by the boll weevill

Cotton

7 At the end of the nineteenth century most of Europe’s then production of what was destroyed by the aphid Phylloxera

Wine/grapes

8 What is the largest known variety of beetle in the UK?

Stag beetle

Supplementary Qs

1 Which branch of biology concerns the relations of organisms to one another and their surroundings?

Ecology

2 What type of creature is a cottonmouth also known as a water moccasin?

Snake

Sport

1 In motor racing what colour flag requires a driver to pull over as a faster driver is approaching?

Blue flag

2 Brothers Andre and Jordan have played football in the Premier League in recent years. What is their surname?

Ayew

3 Which famous sporting knight drove in the 2016 Le Mans road race?

Sir Chris Hoy

4 What major North American sporting trophy is named after the 16^th Earl of Derby?

Stanley Cup (in ice hockey)

5 Which England cricketer has the limited overs squad number 66?

Joe Root (Root/Route 66)

6 At the Rio Olympics, which male member of the British team won an event last held in 1904?

Justin Rose for men’s golf

7 In which sport is the Swaythling Cup a major trophy?

Table tennis

8 What nickname was shared by boxers Thomas Hearns and Ricky Hatton?

Hitman

Supplementary Qs

9 Boris Rankov was a member of the winning team of this famous event 6 times, the largest number in recent times. What was it?

University Boat Race

10 Name a sport in which you would hear the term “wipe out”?

Surfing or skateboarding

MUSICAL MISCELLANY

1 Which hit song by Marvin Gaye begins “I bet you’re wondering how I knew……..?

I Heard it Through the Grapevine

2 Sunny Afternoon is a recent musical which tells the story of which group?

The Kinks

3 The biggest selling jazz single ever, was recorded in 1959 by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. What was the title of the song?

Take Five

4 Which singer/songwriter released the album Tapestry in 1971 which sold 25 million copies and swept the Grammys?

Carole King

5 Which traditional hymn contains the line “I once was lost but now I’m found”?

Amazing Grace

6 Which composer wrote the choral masterpiece “The Dream of Gerontius”?

Edward Elgar

7 In which musical are the songs “Damn It Janet” and “Sweet Transvestite”?

The Rocky Horror Show (accept The Rocky Horror Picture Show)

8 In 1997 which singer recorded the biggest selling single of all time in the U.K.?

Elton John (Candle in the Wind 1997) – for Princess Diana

Supplementaries

1 In which ballet is the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

The Nutcracker

2 In the film version of Steven Sondheim’s musical “Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street”, who played Sweeney Todd?

Johnny Depp

General Knowledge

Set by the Park Taverners and vetted by the Cock-A-2.

Q1. Churchill is on the back of the new £5 notes, but who was on the back of the last edition of £5 notes?

A1. Elizabeth Fry

Q2. Which country is holding the 2019 Rugby Union World Cup?

A2. Japan

Q3. Colonies of which animals are found in an apiary?

A3. Bees

Q4. Which is the longest uninterrupted land border between two EU nations?

A4. The Portugal-Spain border

Q5. What was the pen name of Thirsk vet Alf Wight?

A5. James Herriot

Q6. How is the People's Republic of China's Spring Festival better known in the UK?

A6. Chinese New Year

Q7. What is the literal meaning of 'Finisterre', as in the Portuguese cape and the UK shipping forecast area?

A7. End of the earth

Q8. The Reverend Timothy Farthing is a character is which classic sitcom?

A8. Dads Army

Q9. Who is the patron saint of tax collectors?

A9. St Matthew

Q10. Which humanitarian medical body was adopted as part of the first Geneva Convention on 22 August 1864?

A10. The International Red Cross

Q11. What is the Cheshire seat of the Duke of Westminster?

A11. Eaton Hall

Q12. What company was formed from the merger of BOAC and BEA on 31 March 1974?

A12. British Airways

Q13. Who closed his show with the words 'May your god go with you'?

A13. Dave Allen

Q14. In tennis, what name is given to the Women's World Cup?

A14. Fed Cup (accept Federation Cup)

Q15. Who was the first Prime Minister to occupy Chequers?

A15. David Lloyd George

Q16. Where was the main residence of British sovereigns from 1698 to 1837?

A16. St James's Palace

Q17. Which artist won the 2016 Turner prize?

A17. Helen Marten

Q18. Which drink is made by fermenting honey?

A18. Mead

Q19. Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, weeping woman and Guernica are paintings by which artist?

A19. Pablo Picasso

Q20. What does the German Reinheitsgebot law cover the production of?

A20. Beer

Q21. Which dynasty ruled Russia from 1613 to 1917?

A21. Romanov

Q22. What food stuff is a Berliner?

A22. Doughnut

Q23. The red dye carmine is made from cochineal. What is a cochineal?

A23. Insect

Q24. Which Dutch city is known for its blue and white pottery?

A24. Delft

Q25. Which football club has won the European Cup more times than it has won its domestic league championship?

A25. Nottingham Forest

Q26. In betting how much is a monkey?

A26. £500

Q27. Which 20th century ballerina gave her name to a culinary dish?

A27. Anna Pavlova

Q28. Which rock band took its name from the term allied pilots in World War 2 gave to UFOs?

A28. Foo Fighters

Q29. The plot of the James Bond film Thunderball is centered around the search for missing nuclear missiles aboard which type of plane?

A29. Vulcan

Q30. In which city is the Maze prison?

A30. Belfast

Q31. Jean-Claude Killy was a dominant figure in which sport?

A31. Skiing

Q32. In Ballet what is a Jeté?

A32. A jump (from one foot to the other)

Q33. The name of which famous building in Rome translated means temple of every god?

A33. Pantheon

Q34. Which Gilbert and Sullivan opera is set in the Tower of London?

A34. The Yeoman of the Guard

Q35. What is sulphur called in the King James Bible?

A35. Brimstone

Q36. Which player scored the winning goal in the 1999 Champions League Final to secure the Treble for Manchester United?

A36. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (pron. SOL-SHYER)

Q37. What now stands on the former site of Newgate prison?

A37. The Old Bailey (or Central Criminal Court)

Q38. Which famous pupil of Greyfriars School featured in stories by Frank Richards?

A38. Billy Bunter

Q39. In which London park would you find the statue of Peter Pan?

A39. Kensington Gardens

Q40. Wisden is the bible of which sport?

A40. Cricket

Q41. What do desert dwellers refer to as a haboob?

A41. A Sand Storm

Q42. Which fictional island is the setting for Jaws?

A42. Amity

Q43. What was the first American city to host the Summer Olympics?

A43. St Louis (in 1904)

Q44. What was the title song for the James Bond movie The Spy who Loved me?

A44. Nobody does it better (by Carly Simon)

Q45. In Indian cuisine, aloo is the name for what vegetable?

A45. Potato

Q46. Cinnamon comes from which part of a tree?

A46. Bark

Q47. Which member of the Star Trek cast directed the film Three Men and a Baby?

A47. Leonard Nimoy

Q48. What city was called Eboracum by the Romans?

A48. York

Q49. In which harbour did the Herald of Free Enterprise capsize?

A49. Zeebrugge

Q50. Whose Grapes of Wrath won a Pulitzer Prize?

A50. John Steinbeck

Q51. What does P.O. stand for on Ordnance Survey maps?

A51. Post Office

Q52. Whose birthday is celebrated on September 8th in the Christian Church?

A52. The Virgin Mary's

Q53. Which Sputnik carried the dog Laika?

A53. Sputnik 2

Q54. Whose hideout was at Leatherslade Farm?

A54. The Great Train Robbers

Q55. Which Bollingtonian won the 1935 Nobel Prize in Physics?

A55. James Chadwick

Q56. Which London Catholic Cathedral's foundation stone was laid in 1895?

A56. Westminster Cathedral

Q57. What is the current (as at 24 Dec 2016) NHS prescription charge? (No leeway)

A57. £8.40

Q58. What is the current price (as at 24 Dec 2016) of the Macclesfield Express? (No leeway)

A58. £1

Q59. Which bank recently announced it has abandoned its plans to create a separate entity under the brand of "Williams and Glyn"?

A59. RBS (Accept Royal Bank of Scotland or Natwest)

Q60. Who is the author of the Hunger Games series of novels?

A60. Suzanne Collins

Q61. After the Brexit result, we are expecting Article 50 to be triggered. But Article 50 of which 2007-signed treaty?

A61. Lisbon Treaty

Q62. Who wrote the play "A Streetcar Named Desire"?

A62. Tennessee Williams

Q63. Who is the current (as at 24 Dec 2016) leader of the Liberal Democrats?

A63. Tim Farron

Q64. Which sportsman's autobiography is entitled "The Good, the Bad and the Bubbly"?

A64. George Best

Q65. In which royal residence did George VI die?

A65. Sandringham

Q66. Which country was Princess Elizabeth visiting when she became Queen in 1952?

A66. Kenya

Q67. What name is given to an alcohol-free Bloody Mary cocktail made without adding vodka?

A67. Virgin Mary. Also accept Bloody Shame!

Q68. Which railway operator which provides services linking parts of Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire with London has experienced several strikes in 2016 over plans to introduce conductor-free trains?

A68. Southern Rail (Govia Thameslink)

Q69. What is the name of the overnight train service with onboard accommodation that runs from London to several Scottish cities?

A69. Caledonian Sleeper

Q70. What does a pluviometer measure?

A70. Rainfall

Q71. Which country was known as the Trucial States prior to 1971?

A71. United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Q72. Of which country is Valletta the capital?

A72. Malta

Q73. What is unique about the temperature -40?

A73. It is the same in both degrees Celsius and Fahrenheit

Q74. Having been taken into public ownership in 2008, which company bought Northern Rock in 2012? It now carries their brand name.

A74. Virgin Money

Q75. Which branch of the British Armed forces was disbanded in December 1945?

A75. Home Guard. Accept Dad's Army or Local Defence Volunteers

Q76. Which motorway links Chester with Birkenhead?

A76. M53

Q77. What was the name of the first submarine to navigate to the ice under the North Pole?

A77. (USS) Nautilus

Q78. What was the name of the BP oil rig that exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010?

A78. Deepwater Horizon

Q79. What name is given to the hammer used by an auctioneer?

A79. Gavel

Q80. What name did the Post Office briefly adopt in 2001 when it went into private ownership?

A80. Consignia

Q81. The Japanese phrase "Bushu-Suru" means "to do the Bush thing".What did George H W Bush do the Japanese prime minister at a banquet in 1992?

A81. He vomited over him.

Q82. How many cards are normally in a Top Trumps set? (Leeway)

A82. 30 (accept 28-32)

Q83. Why did a brief shower over southwest London make tennis history on 29 June 2009?

A83. The Wimbledon centre court roof was used for the first indoor match of the Wimbledon Championships (accept anything about using the Wimbledon roof)

Q84. Which seedless citrus fruit takes its name from a Japanese province?

A84. Satsuma

Q85. As a measurement, what is the 'beam' of a ship?

A85. The width of its widest point

Q86. Which Italian word for a little house, originally referred to a small part of a larger villa used for socialising and sometimes for a game of chance?

A86. Casino

Q87. "Ras Tafari" was the previous name of which Ethiopian emperor (i.e. what he was known as before he became emperor)?

A87. Haile Selassie

Q88. What is the Spanish number 'Dos'?

A88. 2

Q89. In Greek mythology what was the Sword of Damocles suspended by?

A89. A single horsehair (accept 'a single hair' or 'a hair')

Q90. In Greek Legend, which prophetess after refusing the romantic overtures of Apollo, was cursed never to be believed?

A90. Cassandra

Q91. Where in Britain would you find Roedean Girls School?

A91. Brighton (accept (East) Sussex)

Q92. Which former commoner and now member of the royal family attended Marlborough College?

A92. Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge

Q93. In which year did the Japanese attack Pearl Harbour?

A93. 1941

Q94. Who was crowned the first Holy Roman emperor in AD800?

A94. Charlemagne

Q95. Which member of the ginger family is used to colour curries?

A95. Turmeric

Q96. What is the name given to the technology of creating and reading of codes?

A96. Cryptography

Supplementaries

Q1. Paul is Paul McCartney's second name. What is his first?

A1. James

Q2. Hanukkah is a holiday in which religion?

A2. Judaism

Q3. Who played the part of Eccles in the Goon Show?

A3. Spike Milligan

Q4. Who first had a hit with 'Whole Lotta Love'?

A4. Led Zeppelin

Q5. In Gulliver's Travels, what is Gulliver's first name?

A5. Lemuel

Q6. The name of which Japanese martial art means "way of the sword"?

A6. Kendo