31st January–The Questions

All Questions

Set by the Dolphin

Vetted by British Flag and Sutton Club, with thanks

Measuring Up

History

Geography

Science & Nature

What’s New?

Three of a Kind

Sport

Arts Entertainment

Arts & Entertainment

1. Two activities feature frequently as the subject of paintings by Edgar Degas. One is ballet, what is the other?

A. Horse racing.

2. Two cities feature frequently in the paintings of Giovanni Antonio Canaletto. One is Venice, which is the other?

A. London.

3. Peter Schaeffer’s play “The Royal Hunt of the Sun”, is set mainly in which country?

A. Peru.

4. Graham Greene’s novel “The Quiet American“ is set in which country?

A. Viet Nam.

5. Whose 2016 chart-topping album is entitled “Blue and Lonesome”?

A. The Rolling Stones.

6. In the Cole Porter song “Miss Otis regrets”, why was Miss Otis “unable to lunch today”?

A. She was being hanged (for the murder of her seducer).

7. The Disney animated film “Tangled” is based on which of Grimm’s fairy tales?

A. Rapunzel.

8. Which actress played Roberta Waterbury, the eldest of the railway children in the 1970 film of that name?

A. Jenny Agutter.

Supplementaries:

9. In which musical would you hear the songs “Happy Talk” and “I’m gonna wash that man right outa my hair”?

A. South Pacific.

10. Actor, singer and dancer Virginia Kate McMath is better known by which stage name?

A. Ginger Rogers.

Sport

1. England’s record goal scorer in Women’s Football has just announced her retirement from professional football. Who is she?

A. Kelly Smith.

2. In 2010, who became the youngest ever winner of the Formula 1 world motor racing championship?

A. Sebastian Vettel.

3. Which major world sporting event is contested annually in July, over 21 stages?

A. The Tour de France.

4. In rowing, what name is given to the rower closest to the stern, who sets the rate and rhythm for the rest of the crew?

A. Stroke.

5. Which England batsman scored a century on his debut in December at Mumbai?

A. Keaton Jennings.

6. Who won the Dafabet Snooker Masters Championship this month?

A. Ronnie O’Sullivan..

7. Who won the 2017 BDO Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship?

A. Glen Durrant.

8. Which sporting venue is the oldest in Britain, continually in use for sporting events since 1539?

A. Chester Racecourse. (The Roodee). It was earlier used for a very violent football match suppressed by the authorities in 1533.

Supplementaries:

9. Three England football managers have been knighted; Walter Winterbottom and Alf Ramsay are two; who is the third?

A. Bobby Robson.

10. What was the ski jumper Eddie the Eagle’s surname?

A. Edwards.

Three of a Kind

Many things come in threes. You will be given two of a set and you have to name the third.

1. Lord Reith laid down three principles for the output of the BBC; to inform, to entertain and to....what?

A. Educate.

2. The Three Choirs Festival features the choirs of Hereford, Worcester and which other cathedral?

A. Gloucester.

3. South Africa has three capitals; Cape Town and Pretoria are two, which is the other?

A. Bloemfontein. (The judicial capital).

4. The three historic divisions of Lincolnshire are Holland, Kesteven and what?

A. Lindsey.

5. The three ossicles, or tiny bones, of the inner ear are the hammer, the anvil, and what other? (The Latin name is acceptable).

A. Stirrup, or stapes.

6. There are three snakes native to Britain. Two are the adder and the grass snake; what is the third?

A. The smooth snake. (nb the slow worm, or blind worm, is not a snake – nor even a worm! – but a legless lizard; and we’ve all known a few of them after a long night on the ale!).

7. London had three traditional food markets. For fruit and vegetables, Covent Garden; for fish Billingsgate; what was the market for meat?

A. Smithfield.

8. The Three Peaks of Yorkshire are Whernside, Pen-y-Ghent and what?

A. Ingleborough.

Supplementaries:

9. The three daughters of King Lear were Goneril, Cordelia and...?

A. Regan.

10. The three ingredients of gunpowder are charcoal, sulphur and...?

A. Saltpetre.

What’s New?

The word “new” appears in all the Qs or As.

1. Which police TV drama series of the 1960s and ‘70s was set in the fictional town of Newtown?

A. Z Cars.

2. Which TV talent show of the 1970s and ‘80s was originally hosted by Derek Hobson?

A. New Faces.

3. In which county does most of the New Forest lie?

A. Hampshire.

4. A highly regarded BBC documentary of 1980 presented by art critic Robert Hughes, and addressing the development of modern art since the Impressionists, had what title?

A. The Shock of the New.

5. Which American boy band had a Billboard Hot 100 number 1 hit in 1989 with “I’ll be loving you (forever)?

A. New Kids on the Block.

6. Which pop group, formed in 1969, had hits such as “I’d like to teach the world to sing” and “Beg, steal or borrow”?

A. The New Seekers.

7. Which 1990 horror/comedy film sequel was subtitled “The New Batch”?

A. Gremlins 2.

8. Which university is located in New Haven, Connecticut.

A. Yale.

Supplementaries:

9. New Britain is a Pacific island, part of which other island state?

A. Papua New Guinea.

10. Which Football League club play their home games at Rodney Parade?

A. Newport County.

Science & Nature

1. Deuterium and tritium are isotopes of which element?

A. Hydrogen.

2. Which gaseous element, atomic number 17, takes its name from its greenish-yellow appearance?

A. Chlorine.

3. A lepidopterist specializes in the study of what?

A. Butterflies and moths (accept either).

4. A coleopterist specializes in the study of what?

A. Beetles.

5. Which is the only British mammal to have a prehensile tail?

A. The harvest mouse. (nb no other mouse is acceptable; if offered, say incorrect without giving any hint to the opposition).

6. Which bird of the genus Motacilla has, among other, yellow, grey and pied species?

A. Wagtail.

7. Name any one of Jupiter’s four Galilean moons.

A. Europa, Callisto, Io or Ganymede.

8. What is the mythologically appropriate name of the spacecraft currently orbiting Jupiter?

A. Juno.

Supplementaries:

9. Which acid is produced when milk goes sour?

A. Lactic.

10. Betelgeuse is a star in which constellation?

A. Orion.

Geography

1. What strait separates Australia from New Guinea?

A. The Torres Strait.

2 What strait separates Iceland from Greenland?

A. The Denmark Strait.

3. In which country is the province of Katanga?

A. Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Accept Congo).

4. In which country is the province of Mato Grosso (pron. Matoo grosoo)?

A. Brazil.

5. Which is the only London borough whose name begins with the letter G?

A. Greenwich.

6. Which is the only London borough whose name begins with the letter I?

A. Islington.

7. The city of Perth in Scotland stands on which river?

A. The Tay.

8. The city of Lincoln in England stands on which river?

A. The Witham.

Supplementaries:

9. What is the largest city on the White Sea?

A. Archangelsk (accept Archangel).

10. The Farne Islands lie off the coast of which English county?

A. Northumberland.

History

1. Where did King James IV of Scotland die in 1513?

A. At Flodden Field.

2. Where did General James Wolfe die in 1759?

A. Quebec.

3. Ogham is important in the history of ancient Ireland; what is it?

A. A form of writing found as inscriptions on stone.

4. The cities of Tyre and Sidon, in modern day Lebanon, were important centres of which ancient civilization?

A. The Phoenicians.

5. What was the name of the special operations unit created to fight the Japanese during the 2^nd World War by Major-General Orde Wingate?

A. The Chindits.

6. Where, in 1813, did Napoleon suffer his first defeat in a battle known as “the Battle of the Nations”?

A. Leipzig.

7. What reforms were introduced by both Julius Caesar in 46 BC and Pope Gregory XIII in 1582?

A. Reform of the calendar.

8. Which was the last city in Spain to be ruled by the Moors? (They were driven out in 1492).

A. Granada.

Supplementaries:

9. Where is Henry VIII buried?

A. Windsor (St. George’s chapel).

10. Which British prime minister had the shortest period in office?

A. George Canning. (119 days, in 1827).

Measuring Up

A round about measures, some of them rather old.

1. What commodity was formerly measured in crans?

A. Herring (but accept fish).

2. What commodity was formerly measured in ells?

A. Cloth.

3. Troy weight is a system used for weighing precious metals and gemstones. How many ounces are there in a troy pound?

A. 12.

4. The chain is an old measurement of length, still used in which sport?

A. Cricket (it is 22 yds., the length of a cricket pitch).

5. What naval measurement is equal to a tenth of a nautical mile?

A. A cable.

6. What name is given to a 1½ litre bottle of champagne, equivalent to two standard 750 ml bottles?

A. A magnum.

7. What ancient unit of length, mentioned in the Bible, is based on the distance from the elbow to the middle finger tip?

A. Cubit.

8. What term is used by astronomers for a measurement equal to the distance between the centre of the earth and the centre of the sun?

A. Astronomical unit.

Supplementaries:

9. Surveyors used to use a measure of a quarter of a chain, 5½ yds. Give one of the three alternative names for this length.

A. Rod, pole or perch.

10. In Imperial measurements, what term is used for a quarter of a pint?

A. A gill.

 

General Knowledge

1. Which government minister resigned in September, 1992, following lurid (and largely mendacious) revelations of his affair with actress Antonia de Sancha?

A. David Mellor. (He actually resigned over an expensive holiday paid for by a relation of a leading Palestine Liberation Organisation member).

2. In which Carry On Film is the action focussed on a firm named W. C. Boggs?

A. Carry on at your Convenience.

3. According to the saying, what is “a dish best served cold”?

A. Revenge.

4. What is the more common name for the bird sometimes called the windhover?

A. The kestrel.

5. In Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Pt. 2, to whom does the new king, Henry V, say “I know thee not, old man”?

A. Falstaff.

6. In which sport do teams compete for the Calcutta Cup?

A. Rugby Union. (Awarded to the winners of the annual Six Nations match between Scotland and England).

7. The Russian currency, the Rouble, is divided into 100 what?

A. Kopecks.

8. Used in both sculpture and ceramics, what type of earthenware has a name which is Italian for cooked or baked earth?

A. Terracotta.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

9. The recent film “Sully”, starring Tom Hanks, tells the true story of airline pilot Chesley Sullenberger’s landing of his Airbus A320 on which body of water, after a bird strike wrecked his engines in 2009?

A. The Hudson River.

10. Who was the father of King Edward the Confessor?

A. Ǽthelred II, the Unready. (Regnal number not essential if Unready mentioned).

11. Who, in a poem by Edward Lear, “went to sea in a sieve”?

A. The Jumblies.

12. Which US Rock band scored their first Top 40 hit – “Carry on wayward son” – in 1976? (The song has also scored over 2 million downloads in the digital era).

A. Kansas.

13. Which current British IBF super-middleweight world champion fought a controversial draw in an intended unification match with WBC champion Badou Jack on 14^th January this year?

A. James Degale.

14. A centaur with a bow and arrow is the symbol of which sign of the Zodiac?

A. Sagittarius.

15. Which footpath is England’s longest national trail?

A. The Southwest coast Path. (630 miles, from Minehead to Poole).

16. The Cavendish Laboratory, a world-renowned centre for experimental physics, is located in which city?

A. Cambridge.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

17. Which geological period gets its name from a range of mountains on the French/Swiss border?

A. Jurassic. (From the Jura mountains).

18. Where has £285 million of British taxpayers’ money recently been spent building an airport that cannot function because local conditions are too windy for large aircraft to land safely?

A. St. Helena.

19. In Greek mythology, who was the husband of Clytemnestra?

A. Agamemnon.

20. Whose diary entry, 1n 1912, included the line “Great God this is an awful place”?

A. Robert Falcon Scott (Scott of the Antarctic).

21. Which long-billed wading bird was sacred to the Egyptian god Thoth?

A. The ibis.

22. Which government minister was forced to resign in October, 1983, after it became known that his secretary, Sara Keays, was pregnant with his child?

A. Cecil Parkinson.

23. Which oratorio by Haydn is set to texts taken from the book of Genesis, the Psalms and Milton’s Paradise Lost?

A. The Creation.

24. Which volcanic island, off the north coast of Sicily, has been called “the Lighthouse of the Mediterranean” because of its frequent eruptions, highly visible at sea?

A. Stromboli.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

25. Which 7^th century BC Persian emperor was considered by the Israelites to be a God-given Messiah because he allowed them to return to Judah and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem?

A. Cyrus (II, or the Great – but Cyrus is enough).

26. The most famous work by the ancient Greek sculptor Myron is a statue of a sportsman in action. What is his sport?

A. Discus throwing.

27. In the Northumbrian folksong “Bobby Shaftoe”, what distinctively decorative feature of Bobby’s clothing is mentioned?

A. Silver buckles (at his knee).

28. In Shakespeare’s play, of whom does Julius Caesar say, he “hath a lean and hungry look; he thinks too much, such men are dangerous”?

A. Cassius.

29. For what offence might someone have been imprisoned in the Marshalsea Prison?

A. Debt.

30. Dr. Samuel Mudd was imprisoned for life in 1865 for his alleged part in which assassination?

A Abraham Lincoln.

31. In the nursery rhyme “The House that Jack Built”, what did the rat eat?

A. The malt.

32. Which veteran politician, former holder of numerous ministerial offices, and known for his interest in jazz music, has recently brought out a volume of memoirs entitled “Kind of Blue”?

A. Kenneth Clarke.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

33. In snooker what term is used for a shot in which one red ball is played onto another, sending it into a pocket?

A. A plant.

34. Which singer has recorded duets with his younger self on the albums entitled “One Voice” and “One Voice at Christmas”?

A. Aled Jones.

35. Which cyclist was named Sunday Times sportswoman of the year for 2016?

A. Laura Kenny (accept Laura Trott).

36. In the folk traditions of the British Isles, and elsewhere in Europe, which bird is “the King of all Birds”?

A. The wren.

37. Apart from butter, what ingredient would a cook require to make a beurre manié?

A. Flour. (It’s used for thickening stews).

38. What disastrous mistake was made by both Orpheus in Greek mythology and Lot’s wife in the Bible?

A. They both looked back (after they’d been strictly warned not to do so).

39. In the novel “Treasure Island” who gives the Black Spot to Billy Bones, who thereupon falls down dead?

A. Blind Pew.

40. The Indian currency, the Anna, is divided into 100 what?

A. Paise, or Pice.

41. The rivers Thames and Cherwell meet in which English city?

A. Oxford.

42. Which river is spanned by the Vasco da Gama bridge, the longest bridge in Europe?

A. The Tagus (accept Tejo). It’s 12.3 k long.

43. The 1965 debut feature film of director John Boorman, “Catch us if you can” was designed as a vehicle for which Pop band, whose popularity at the time rivalled that of the Beatles?

A. The Dave Clark 5.

44. Who is the political editor of ITV?

A. Robert Peston.

45. Mary Anne McLeod, born in 1912 to a Gaelic-speaking family in Tong on the Isle of Lewis, was the mother of which famous politician?

A. Donald Trump.

46. Which application, which provides video chat and voice call services, was created in 2003 by the Swede, Niklas Zennström and the Dane, Janus Friis?

A. Skype.

47. Why, in December 2016, was former education secretary Nicky Morgan banned from meetings about Brexit at No 10, Downing Street?

A. Because she criticised Teresa May’s £995 leather trousers. (accept any reference to “Trousergate”).

48. Which RAF base in Berkshire was the site of a 19 year long women’s peace camp, protesting against the presence of nuclear weapons, from 1981 to 2000?

A. Greenham Common.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

49. The abbreviations BCE and CE are increasingly being used instead of BC and AD in dating years. What does the C in BCE stand for?

A. Common. (Before Common Era).

50. Of considerable value to palaeontologists, what are coprolites?

A. Fossilized dinosaur dung. (They provide information about dinosaur diet).

51. If the company’s advertising is to be believed, what product is “made in Scotland from girders”?

A. Irnbru.

52. In the late 12^th century, who was the Kurdish general, Sultan of Egypt and Syria, who defeated the crusaders at the battle of Hattin (1187), and drove them out of Jerusalem? He later fought Richard the Lionheart at the battle of Arsuf.

A. Saladin.

53. Of whom did Queen Victoria write “I wish we had her in the War Office”?

A. Florence Nightingale.

54. Which dramatic cantata by German composer Karl Orff is a setting of medieval secular songs found in the monastery of Bendiktbeurn, (or simply Beuern) in Bavaria, in 1803?

A. Carmina Burana.

55. The Sheffield Shield is a trophy which teams compete for in which sport?

A. Cricket. (It’s the domestic competition between Australian states).

56. In billiards, what name is given to a shot in which the player’s cue ball strikes both the red and the opponent’s ball?

A. A cannon.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

57. Which bass guitarist and singer, who died in December, 2016, was a founder member of progressive rock band King Crimson in 1968?

A. Greg Lake.

58. In the nursery rhyme about the crooked man who walked a crooked mile, what did he find upon a crooked stile?

A. A crooked sixpence. (Accept sixpence).

59. Which Indian state has a name which means “five rivers”?

A. Punjab.

60. In September, 2016, Jamie Oliver was attacked by Spanish food writers for adding what ingredient to his Paella recipe?

A. Chorizo.

61. Which freshwater fish of the salmon family is known to anglers as “the Lady of the Stream”?

A. Grayling.

62. Which geological period gets its name from a Russian city in the region of the Ural Mountains?

A. Permian. (The city is Perm).

63. According to tradition, what do you get if you kiss the Blarney Stone?

A. Eloquence – “The Gift of the Gab”.

64. An award-winning children’s book by Margery Williams, first published in 1922 with the subtitle “How Toys become real”, concerns a rabbit made of what material?

A. Velveteen.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

65. A pair of scales is the symbol of which sign of the Zodiac?

A. Libra.

66. The headquarters of the Volkswagen Company is in which German city?

A. Wolfsburg.

67. The UK Space Agency, established in 2010, is based in which Wiltshire town?

A. Swindon.

68. The 1939 William Wyler film of “Wuthering Heights” starred Merle Oberon as Cathy. But who played the part of Heathcliffe?

A. Laurence Olivier.

69. Which singer, better known for other fields of entertainment on TV, has over the last two years recorded two successful albums, entitled respectively “A Year of Songs” and “Upon a Different Shore”?

A. Alexander Armstrong.

70. Durdle Door, Lulworth Cove and Studland Point are coastal features in which English county?

A. Dorset.

71. What name is given to the youngest section of the Girl Guide movement, for little girls aged 5 to 7?

A. Rainbows.

72. What name was given to the form of punishment in which the miscreant (usually a woman) was fastened to a chair attached to a pivoted arm which could then be repeatedly lowered into a lake or river?

A. Ducking stool.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

73. In his poem “To the virgins, to make much of time”, the poet Robert Herrick recommended that they gather what?

A. Rosebuds.

74. “Brave New World”, Aldous Huxley’s novel of a dystopian future, is set in the year 632AF. What does the F stand for in this dating system?

A. Ford (ie After Ford, or Anno Fordi – dating from the production of the first Model T Ford in 1908).

75. What name was given to the form of punishment which consisted of a wooden framework on a post, with holes for the hands and head, to facilitate public humiliation?

A. Pillory (do not accept stocks, which had holes for the legs).

76. Which town is served by the airport formerly known as Squire’s Gate?

A. Blackpool.

77. Which Hollywood screen legend celebrated his hundredth birthday in December, 2016?

A. Kirk Douglas.

78. Which scientist famously said “God does not play dice”?

A. Albert Einstein.

79. Cinnabar is the ore of which metallic element?

A. Mercury.

80. What is the name of the tune of the song “Danny Boy”, used by boxer Barry McGuigan as his pre-match anthem?

A. The Derry Air (accept Londonderry Air).

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

81. Which supermarket chain forms the food retail division of the John Lewis Partnership?

A. Waitrose.

82. What word is used in France to describe the creeping and much resented intrusion of English words into the French language?

A. Franglais.

83. With which field of the arts would you associate Sir Anthony Caro?

A. Sculpture.

84. The Jockey Club have recently controversially declared their intention to sell to developers which famous racecourse, venue for the prestigious King George VI Chase?

A. Kempton Park.

85. Which is the highest mountain outside Asia?

A. Aconcagua. (6,961 metres, 22,838 ft., in Argentina).

86. Which 2015 film, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon, tells the story of astronaut Mark Watney, left stranded on another planet?

A. Martian.

87. Which distinguished political journalist has recently brought out a book of memoirs entitled “A Lifetime in Questions”?

A. Jeremy Paxman.

88. What name is given to the youngest section of the Boy Scout movement, for little boys aged 6 to 8?

A. Beavers.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

89. What type of structure can be overshot, undershot or breast?

A. A waterwheel.

90. In May 2006, which footballer became England’s youngest ever international?

A. Theo Walcott (17 years and 75 days).

91. Which Berkshire village, home to the Atomic Weapons Establishment, was the destination of a series of protest marches by CND in the 1950s and 60s?

A. Aldermaston.

92. In Greek mythology, who was the husband of Penelope?

A. Odysseus.

93. Which pantomime character ends up marrying his master’s daughter, Alice Fitzwarren?

A. Dick Whittington.

94. Complete these lines from a poem by Kipling:

“Though I’ve belted you and flayed you, by the livin’ Gawd that made you,

You’re a better man than I am......”

A. Gunga Din.

95. Which scientist famously said “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”?

A. Isaac Newton.

96. According to the proverb, what will happen when the cat’s away?

A. The mice will play.

Supplementaries:

97. What is Theresa May’s maiden name?

A. Brasier.

98. The chorus of the Hebrew slaves (va pensiero) comes from which Verdi opera?

A. Nabucco.

99. In which city would you find the Eagles, the Owls and the Blades?

A. Sheffield.

100. In the days before containerization, what name was given to the highly skilled dock workers who were specialists in loading and unloading cargo ships?

A. Stevedores. (Accept, reluctantly, the American term Longshoremen).

101. In the American cable network HBO, what does the H stand for?

A. Home (Box Office).

102. What was Coco Chanel’s real given name?

A. Gabrielle.