2023–4 Season: Week 8 – 23 January 2024

Specialist Rounds

1	History	2	Today's the Day
3	Geography – Four Points of the Compass	4	A Round Called Alex
5	Sport	6	Slow, Slow, Quick, Quick, Slow
7	Arts & Entertainment	8	Science & Nature

Round 1: History

1	Dating from around 2500 BCE, on which island group is the neolithic structure known as the Ring of Brodgar?
	Orkney
2	What name was given to the group of industrialists, intellectuals and natural philosophers, including Matthew Boulton, James Watt and Josiah Wedgwood, who met in Birmingham during the late 18th and early 19th centuries?
	The Lunar Society
3	In which century did the artists Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo all die?
	The sixteenth
4	The sinking of which passenger liner contributed to the involvement of America in World War I?
	RMS Lusitania
5	Which architect designed St Alban's church in Macclesfield?
	Augustus Pugin
6	Which industrialist founded Macclesfield's first silk mill in the 1740s?
	Charles Roe
7	What was the code name for the Dunkirk evacuations in 1940?
	Operation Dynamo
8	The 17th Century Rye House Plot was a plan to assassinate King Charles II and which other person?
	His brother, the future James II

Supplementaries:

9	In which century did the Thirty Years' War take place?
	The Seventeenth (1618–48)
2	In which decade of the 20th century did the Festival of Britain take place?
	1950s

Round 2: Today's The Day

These questions relate to events occurring on the 23 January, in years gone by.

1	Author of The Water Babies who died on this day in 1875?
	Charles Kingsley
2	Born this day in 1916, which politician was assassinated by an IRA bomb in 1979?
	Airey Neave
3	Which former Liverpool FC player and manager, was born in County Durham on this day in 1919?
	Bob Paisley
4	Born in 1929, what was the name of the author and presenter of BBC Radio 4's Today programme who died in Macclesfield on this day in 1994?
	Brian Redhead
5	Elvis Presley, Little Richard and Buddy Holly were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on this day, but in which decade of the 20th Century?
	1980s
6	Which European country became the first to ban aerosol sprays on this day in 1978, because of the damage they cause to the ozone layer?
	Sweden
7	On this day in 1973, President Nixon announced that an agreement had been reached to end what?
	The Vietnam War
8	On this day in 1967, what was founded in Buckinghamshire with a planning brief to become a city of 250,000 people?
	Milton Keynes

Supplementaries:

1	Born this day in 1969, which Ukrainian footballer played for Manchester United between 1991 and 1995 before moving to Everton?
	Andrei Kanchelskis
2	Banned by the BBC in 1984, which song topped the official singles chart this day?
	Relax (Frankie Goes to Hollywood)

Round 3: Geography – Four Points of the Compass

Each answer contains at least one of the words North, South, East or West.

1	English town that was, at one time, a major centre of shoemaking and other leather industries.
	Northampton
2	Country renamed Bangladesh in 1971.
	East Pakistan
3	An island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania.
	Easter Island
4	The sea lane between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America.
	Northwest Passage
5	How Zambia was known between 1911 and 1964.
	Northern Rhodesia
6	Popular seaside resort in Somerset.
	Weston–super–Mare
7	Town in Scotland, designated the country's first new town in 1947, and now the largest town in South Lanarkshire.
	East Kilbride
8	Name of the Atlantic Coast of the USA, stretching from Maine to Florida.
	Eastern Seaboard

Supplementaries:

9	English city standing at the confluence of the rivers Test and Itchen.
	Southampton
2	A country in Southeast Asia, comprising the eastern half of an island shared with Indonesia.
	East Timor

Round 4: A Round Called Alex

These questions relate to people called Alexander.

1	American general, formerly Supreme Allied Commander Europe, before serving in the Nixon and Ford administrations and finally as Secretary of State under Ronald Reagan.
	Alexander Haig
2	Who wrote the novel The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency?
	Alexander McCall Smith (need the McCall not just Smith)
3	British fashion designer and couturier who died in 2010, formerly chief designer at Givenchy and winner of four British Designer of the Year Awards.
	Alexander McQueen
4	Slovak statesperson who oversaw significant reforms to the communist system during a period that became known as the Prague Spring.
	Alexander Dubcek
5	Author of the 1976 bestseller Roots, about a man sold into slavery.
	Alex Haley
6	American far–right radio show host and prominent conspiracy theorist. In 2022 a court ordered him to pay over a billion dollars to the families of victims of the Sandy Hook shooting.
	Alex Jones
7	An English poet and satirist who lived from 1688 to 1744. He is well known for quotations such as "damning with faint praise" and "a little learning is a dangerous thing".
	Alexander Pope
8	Which Soviet writer and dissident wrote The Gulag Archipelago?
	Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Supplementaries:

9	Which Irish Alexander became a two–time world champion snooker player?
	Alex Higgins
2	By what name was King Alexander III of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon commonly known?
	Alexander the Great

Round 5. Sport

All answers in this round relate to USA cities or large towns.

1	Welsh–born rugby league legend: record try scorer for Wigan, and capped 31 times for Great Britain.
	Billy Boston (Massachusetts)
2	Katie Archibald and Laura Kenny are the reigning Olympic champions at which relay cycling race?
	Madison (Wisconsin)
3	Club where former England manager Graham Taylor started his managerial career.
	Lincoln City (Nebraska)
4	County cricket club whose home ground is New Road.
	Worcester (Massachusetts)
5	Forename of the woman who made history in 1977, when she was the first woman to ride in the Grand National, on her horse Barony Fort.
	Charlotte Brew (North Carolina)
6	Legendary Scotland and British Lions rugby player of the 1970s and 80s; arguably Scotland's greatest ever fullback.
	Andy Irvine (California)
7	Nick name of boxer Muhammad Ali, before he became known as The Greatest.
	The Louisville Lip (Kentucky)
8	Sunderland–born footballer, with over 80 caps for England (heaven knows how), who recently transferred to the Saudi league.
	Jordan Henderson (Nevada)

Supplementaries:

1	London borough that is home to London Welsh Rugby Club.
	Richmond (Virginia)
2	Scottish–born footballer who played over 200 games for Manchester United in the 1970s, mainly at left back.
	Stuart Houston (Texas)

Round 6: Slow, Slow, Quick, Quick, Slow

For all those already missing Strictly Come Dancing ... a round of questions related to dance styles.

1	Which dance style means 'double step' in Spanish?
	Paso doble (originally a speed allowing troops to march at 120 steps per minute)
2	Which dance, popularised in the 1930s by Fred & Ginger, is characterised by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor?
	Foxtrot
3	Which dance originating in Para, Brazil, became internationally popular in the 1980s? The name of the dance means 'strong slap' or 'hit' in Portuguese.
	Lambada
4	What dance means 'half–step' in Czech?
	Polka
5	Which dance do you associate with La Goulue, a French dancer who was a star of the Moulin Rouge?
	Can–can
6	Which form of folk dance has six predominant styles including Cotswold and Border?
	Morris dancing
7	A ballroom style imported from Cuba in the 1920s that became a popular cabaret dance during prohibition.
	Rumba
8	Beginning as a folk dance in the 17th century; by the time it was introduced in England in the 19th century it was the first dance where a man held a woman close to his body.
	Waltz

Supplementaries:

1	A South American dance, developed in the 19th century, characterized by very close bodily contact whilst keeping the feet grounded, rather than rising and falling on the toes like other ballroom styles.
	Tango
2	A dance style emerging from Spain in the 19th century, now rarely seen in ballroom competitions and more famously associated with ice dancing.
	Bolero

Round 7: Arts & Entertainment

1	Which Prime Minister did Anthony Andrews play in the 2010 film The King's Speech?
	Stanley Baldwin
2	Who composed the opera Fidelio?
	Beethoven
3	Paul Lynch won the Booker Prize in 2023 with which book?
	Prophet Song
4	What was the name of the ranch home of the Cartwright family in Bonanza?
	Ponderosa
5	Which famous author and editor was born in Lichfield in 1709?
	Dr Samuel Johnson
6	Who plays the Prime Minister in the film Love Actually?
	Hugh Grant
7	According to A. A. Milne, who was Christopher Robin's nurse?
	Alice
8	Of which town was Michael Henchard mayor?
	Casterbridge (in the Thomas Hardy novel)

Supplementaries:

1	Who wrote the poem The Lark Ascending, which inspired the musical work composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams?
	George Meredith
2	Whose vision of a Utopian society was set out in the book News from Nowhere?
	William Morris

Round 8: Science & Nature

1	What name is given to the fused collarbone of a bird?
	The furcular or wishbone
2	What SI unit is used to measure frequency?
	Hertz
3	Which German scientist devised the laws of planetary motion, and linked the movement of tides to phases of the moon?
	Johannes Kepler
4	What is the lowest region of the Earth's atmosphere, extending up to approximately ten kilometres?
	The Troposphere
5	What is the meteorological name for a thundercloud?
	Cumulonimbus
6	Which American Nobel prize winner wrote a book entitled The Double Helix?
	James D. Watson
7	What name do geologists give to the epoch, beginning in approximately 9,700 BCE up to the present day?
	The Holocene
8	In which part of the body is the brachial artery?
	The upper arm

Supplementaries:

1	Which commonly–used fabric was launched by the Du Point chemical company in 1959?
	Lycra
2	The lachrymal glands are more commonly referred to as what?
	The tear ducts

General Knowledge

1	Name any of the acknowledged occupations of William Shakespeare's father.
	Glove maker, tanner, or wool dealer
2	In Alice in Wonderland, which character sings of "Soup of the evening, beautiful soup"?
	The Mock Turtle
3	Where is the habitat of littoral creatures?
	Beach or shoreline (precisely, between the High and Low Tide lines)
4	How long in feet is a badminton court?
	44 feet (accept 42 to 46)
5	The annual close season for coarse fishing in the UK begins on the 15th of March and finishes in which month?
	June (15th to be precise)
6	Who was the last king to be crowned in Scotland?
	Charles II (1st of January 1651)
7	In which Mediterranean country is the Bekaa Valley wine region?
	Lebanon
8	In which year did actor James Dean die in a car crash?
	1955 (accept 1954 to 1956)

9	Author Nick Harkaway, the son of a more famous author, has written a new novel based on which of his father's famous spies?
	George Smiley
10	By what common name is acetyl–salicylic acid known?
	Aspirin
11	How long in feet is a full–sized billiard table?
	12 feet
12	Who was king Henry VII's eldest son?
	Arthur
13	How many paces (of five feet each) made up the Roman mile?
	1000
14	At a height of almost 5,000 metres, the Vinson Massif is the highest point on which continent?
	Antarctica
15	What was the name of Junior Walker's backing band?
	The Allstars
16	How many lines to a picture were there in the first TV sets in widespread use in Britain?
	405 (accept 400 to 410)

17	How old was Yuri Gagarin on his first space flight?
	27 (Accept 26 to 28)
18	Which was the first English football club to achieve the League and FA Cup double?
	Preston North End
19	Which city was bandleader Glenn Miller's intended destination when his flight disappeared in 1944?
	Paris
20	Which sea lies between Korea and Shanghai?
	The Yellow Sea
21	Which strait separates South East Ireland and South West Wales?
	St George's Channel
22	Where, according to The Animals, was the House of the Rising Sun?
	New Orleans
23	Which British duke's stately home is at Stratford Saye?
	Wellington
24	Who wrote, "Man's inhumanity to man / Makes countless thousands mourn"?
	Robert Burns

25	If you entered a Canadian Pairs race, what would you be doing?
	Canoeing
26	In which ocean was the Mary Celeste found abandoned and adrift?
	The Atlantic Ocean
27	What is the highest mountain on the Isle of Man?
	Snaefell
28	What was the name of the eponymous ranch, owned by Big John Cannon, in a TV programme shown on BBC2 in the 1960s and 70s?
	The High Chaparral
29	How many ways did Paul Simon have of leaving his lover?
	50
30	In Greek mythology, which flower sprang from the blood of a young man killed by Apollo?
	Hyacinth
31	Who buried the treasure on Treasure Island?
	Captain Flint
32	Which oath of ethics taken by doctors is named after an Ancient Greek physician?
	The Hippocratic oath

33	What was the name of the only Israeli soldier killed during the Entebbe Raid in 1976?
	Yonatan Netanyahu (brother of the current Israeli prime minister)
34	Which Canadian city used to be called Bytown?
	Ottawa
35	In June 2023, the actor Al Pacino became a father for the fourth time – at what age?
	83 (accept 82 to 84)
36	Of the nine muses, Clio is the muse of what subject?
	History
37	Who created the famous Willow Pattern ware?
	Thomas Minton
38	Where in Pilgrim's Progress are all forms of worldly pleasure sold?
	Vanity Fair
39	What do lepidopterists study?
	Butterflies and moths (accept either)
40	Where were the 2022 Commonwealth Games held?
	Birmingham

41	Which is the northernmost island of the Channel Islands?
	Alderney
42	Which actor is playing the opera singer Maria Callas in the new biopic Maria?
	Angelina Jolie
43	From what material are millefiori ornaments made?
	Glass
44	How many operas are there in Wagner's Ring cycle?
	Four
45	In which river did the Pied Piper drown the rats of Hamelin?
	The Weser
46	In the Information Technology term VPN, what does the letter P stand for?
	Private (Virtual Private Network)
47	Who is the reigning World Snooker Champion?
	Luca Brecel
48	In what year of the 19th century was the UK's first 10–year census?
	1801

49	Who plays Princess Diana in the Netflix series The Crown?
	Elizabeth Debicki
50	Who is the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police?
	Mark Rowley
51	Who wrote Finnegan's Wake?
	James Joyce
52	In electronics, what name is given to a component that allows current to flow primarily in one direction but not in the reverse direction?
	A diode
53	What name is given to the years 1811 to 1820 in English history?
	The Regency
54	Which river flows through Buxton?
	The Wye
55	In what year was Radio 4's "antidote to panel games", I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, first broadcast?
	1972 (accept '71 to '73)
56	On a Rubik's cube, how many squares never alter their position?
	Six (the centre squares on each face)

57	Name either of the famous Apollo astronauts who died towards the end of last year.
	Frank Borman (Apollo 8) and Ken Mattingly (Apollo 13)
58	Who created the detective August C. Dupin?
	Edgar Allan Poe
59	Whose mathematical theorem was successfully proved by Andrew Wiles in 1994, 358 years after it was originally proposed?
	Fermat's (Last Theorem)
60	Which football team was the first in the 20th century to win the FA Cup in successive years?
	Newcastle United (1951 and 1952)
61	The flag of the USA has 50 stars, the most of any country. Which country's flag has the second most number of stars, with 27?
	Brazil
62	For how many years did Nicholas Parson host the radio 4 show Just a Minute?
	52 (from 1967 to 2019 – accept 50 to 54)
63	What bird is the symbol of Penguin Books' children's section?
	The puffin
64	What is the name of the ship in which Captain Ahab seeks Moby Dick?
	The Pequod

65	Whose first opera was Oberto, Conte di San Bonifacio?
	Verdi
66	Small white spots known as Koplik's spots, forming in the mouth, are an early symptom of which highly contagious viral disease?
	Measles
67	Which event has the motto "Citius, Altius, Fortius"?
	The Olympic Games (accept Olympics)
68	Which ancient city was the capital of the Assyrian Empire?
	Nineveh
69	Whose music was prominently featured in the film The Exorcist?
	Mike Oldfield
70	Which RAF rank is equivalent to an army Major?
	Squadron Leader
71	In which book did Humpty Dumpty first appear?
	Through the Looking Glass (Lewis Carroll)
72	What is the rarest blood type in humans?
	AB negative

73	Which metal impurity gives ruby its red colour and emerald its green colour?
	Chromium
74	Which former performance director of British cycling is now a director of football operations at Manchester United, following the Ineos investment?
	Sir Dave Brailsford
75	In what year were Britain's first commemorative postage stamps issued?
	1924 (British Empire Exhibition – accept 1923 to 1925)
76	Which UK city's airport is located at Lulsgate Bottom?
	Bristol
77	Tarom is the national airline of which European country?
	Romania
78	In American literature, who was Becky Thatcher's boyfriend?
	Tom Sawyer
79	Which medical inquiry is Sir Brian Langstaff currently chairing?
	Infected blood
80	Who are the current Baseball World Series champions?
	Texas Rangers

81	Who became the first officially professional cricketer to captain England, in 1952?
	Sir Len Hutton
82	At what battle did Miltiades lead the heavily–outnumbered Athenians to victory?
	Marathon
83	Name either of the Irish counties that border both Cork and Limerick.
	Kerry or Tipperary
84	19–19–19 are the vital statistics of which sailor's girlfriend?
	Popeye (the girlfriend is Olive Oyl)
85	Who was Sherlock Holmes's housekeeper and landlady?
	Mrs Hudson
86	What do astronomers call a powerful and luminous exploding star?
	A supernova
87	How many times was Bobby Charlton capped for England?
	106 (accept 105 to 107)
88	Which Roman emperor had St. Peter crucified?
	Nero (68 AD)

89	In what century was The Anarchy, involving Empress Matilda and Stephen of Blois?
	The 12th Century
90	Blyth is the largest town in which English county?
	Northumberland (accept Northumbria)
91	Who directed the films Bugsy Malone and Midnight Express?
	Alan Parker
92	How many fluid ounces make up an American pint?
	16
93	The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that act to stabilise what part of your body?
	The shoulder
94	Which Australian created World Series Cricket in the 1970s?
	Kerry Packer
95	Name either of the people who formed the First Triumvirate with Julius Caesar, in ancient Rome in 59 BCE.
	Crassus or Pompey
96	On which island is the Talisker whisky distillery?
	Skye

Supplementaries:

1	Who in the Bible was taken up to heaven in a fiery chariot?
	Elijah (accept Elias)
2	What is John Dawkins's nickname, in a novel by Charles Dickens?
	The Artful Dodger
3	At what temperature are Celsius and Fahrenheit equal?
	Minus 40
4	How many players comprise an ice hockey team?
	Six
5	Which future saint came to Iona in AD 563?
	St. Columba
6	Of which country is Goa a former colony?
	Portugal
7	In which city was Adrian Mole living when his first diary was published? He was 13¾.
	Leicester
8	What French name is given to clear meat soup or broth?
	Consommé
9	For which instrument did the composer Charles–Marie Widor (vee–dor) write his best–known works?
	Organ
10	How many days on Earth does it take for Venus to rotate once on its axis?
	243 (accept 230 to 255)

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