Tuesday 9th December 2008
Set by Bootle YMCA (Northern)

ROUND ONE
1a. Which star sign are you born under if your birthday is 30th September?
LIBRA
1b. In 2007 Jamaican Asafa Powell and American Tyson Gay were world leaders in which athletics event?
100 METRES SPRINT
2a. In the Christmas song "The 12 Days of Christmas" what was given on the 10th day?
10 LORDS A-LEAPING
2b. Which chemical. With the symbol At, is the heaviest of the halogens?
ASTATINE
3a. In the Bible, the Book of 'Judges' contains stories of 12 leaders of Israel; which of these was the only woman?
DEBORAH
3b. In Arthurian legend which of his knights threw Excalibur into the lake as Arthur lay dying?
BEDIVERE
4a. Which former Dr Who companion returned to children's television in a pilot in 2006 and in her own series 2007?
SARAH JANE SMITH
4b. Two Roman emperors featured in the film 'Gladiator'. Name either.
MARUS AURELIUS/COMMODUS

ROUND TWO
1a. What official position is held in Britain by Debbie Reynolds?
CHIEF VETERINARY OFFICER
1b. Which long running radio quiz programme was hosted by Peter Snow in 2007?
BRAIN OF BRITAIN
2a. What fruit is used to make the liqueur Kirsch?
CHERRY
2b. "Stands the church clock at ten to throe. And is there honey still for tea?" To which Cambridgeshire village is Rupert Brooke referring?
GRANTCHESTER
3a. In which country was footballer Djibril Cisse born?
FRANCE
3b. What are known in cookery as 'marrons'?
CHESTNUTS
4a. By what name is author Mary Ann Evans better known?
GEORGE ELIOT
4b. What gas did Joseph Priestly discover in 1774?
OXYGEN

ROUND THREE
1a. Which Indian-born author wrote the book "The Inheritance of Loss", winner of the Mann-Booker prize in 2006?
KIRAN DESAI
1b. In the Edgar Marriott monologue "The Runcorn Ferry" how much "per person per trip" did it cost to cross the Mersey?
(PER) TUPPENCE
2a. Who is the current 'Minister for the Olympics and London'?
TESSA JOWELL
2b. In which decade was 'Gardener's Question Time' first broadcast?
1940'S (1941)
3a. "Hang on Snoopy" by the McCoys and "Eve of Destruction" by Barry McGuire were number 1 hits in which year of the 1960s?
1965
3b. Which is the only prime number between 90 and 100?
97
4a. How many hurdles are there in a man's 110 metre hurdle race?
10
4b. Which World War II fighter plane had a fuselage made entirely from wood?
THE MOSQUITO

ROUND FOUR
1a. Which country produces the sweet white wine know as Tokay?
HUNGARY
1b. Which actor, writer and film producer said "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work...I want to achieve it through not dying?
WOODY ALLEN
2a. Which Roman emperor converted to Christianity in 313 AD?
CONSTATINE THE GREAT
2b. 2007 Brit Award winner Justin Timberlake was formerly a member of which 1990's boy band?
N SYNC
3a. What does the stand for in the name of US President, Ulysses S Grant?
SIMPSON
3a. At which battle in 1485 was King Richard III killed?
BOSWORTH FIELD
4a. If an Indian meal included a dish described as 'Sag' what would be the distinctive ingredient of that dish?
SPINACH (accept also CHARD)
4b. The 'Waltz of the Flowers" and "The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" are from which 19th century Ballet?
THE NUTCRACKER (accept Nutcracker Suite)

ROUND FIVE
1a. Which star sign would you be if you were born on April 1st?
ARIES
1b. Nick Nieland and Goldie Sayers represent Britain in which athletic event?
JAVELIN
2a. In the nursery rhyme "Monday's Child", what will happen to `Saturday's child'?
THEY WILL WORK FOR A LIVING
2b. What name is given to the group of elements with atomic numbers 2, 10, 18, 26, 54 and 86?
NOBLE (or Inert) gases (Helium, Neon, Argon, Krypton, Xenon, Radon)
3a. In the Bible which was the first of the Plagues of Egypt?
WATER TURNING INTO BLOOD (Exodus 7:19)
3b. In legend who was King Arthur's treacherous nephew?
MORDRED
4a. In 2007 who played a call girl in ITV.s Diary of a Call Girl" and children's heroine Sally Lockhart in BBC's "Shadow in the North"?
BILLY PIPER
4b. AD69 is known as "The Year of the Four Emperors". Name one of these.
GALBA, OTHO, VITELLIUM AND VESPASIAN

ROUND SIX
1a. Who is the governor of the Bank of England as at July 2008?
MERVYN KING
1b. A part of which orchestral piece of music is the theme time for Brain of Britain?
EINE KLEIN NACHT MUSIK
2a. What is the principal flavouring in gin?
JUNIPER
2b. Of which river in Cambridgeshire is the River Cam a tributary?
THE GREAT OUSE (Not just Ouse!)
3a. What is the real first name of footballer Bolo Zenden?
BOUDEWIJN
3b. The sweet dish halva is based on semolina in Turkey and further east but on what seed is it based in other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean?
SESAME
4a. Who wrote "The Murders in the Rue Morgue"?
EDGAR ALLAN POE
4b. Who discovered how blood circulated around the body and wrote a treatise about it in 1628?
WILLIAM HARVEY

ROUND SEVEN
1a. Which book, by Ian McEwan, was short-listed for the Mann-Booker prize in 2007?
ON CHESIL BEACH
1b. In the 'Albert' monologues by Marriott Edgar, what is Albert's surname?
RAMSBOTTOM
2a. The British Prime Minister has three official titles, 'Prime Minister' and `Minister for the Civil Service' are two; what is the third?
FIRST LORD OF THE TREASURY
2b. The theme tune for which long running radio programme is "By the Sleepy Lagoon"?
DESERT ISLAND DISCS
3a. Which band had a hit in 1968 with "Hello, I Love You"?
THE DOORS
3b. In mathematics and number theory what name is given to the numbers 6, 28, 496 and 8128?
PERFECT NUMBERS
4a. What length is a woman's sprint hurdle event?
100 METRES
4b. During World War II the German's produced the first operational jet fighter. What was it called?
MESSERSCHMITT ME262

ROUND EIGHT
1a. A Jeroboam of champagne is the equivalent of how many normal bottles?
FOUR
1b. Who said "I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception"?
GROUCHO MARX
2a. With which city state did the Romans fight the Punic Wars in the 3rd century BC?
CARTHAGE
2b. Who won 'Best British Group' at the 2007 Brit Awards?
THE ARCTIC MONKEYS
3a. Who was both 22nd and 24th President of the United States of America?
GROVER CLEVELAND
3b. When the White Ship sank in 1120 Prince William died. He was the only known legitimate son of which English King?
HENRY I
4a. What is the distinguishing component of the Japanese dish 'Tempura'?
(A LIGHT) BATTER
4b. Which French writer is responsible for the most common version of the story "The Nutcracker"?
ALEXANDER DUMAS (Pere)

SPARE QUESTIONS
1. What is the second brightest star in the constellation Orion?
BETELGEUSE
2. Who is the Muse of love poetry?
ERATO
3. How many acres are there in a hectare (to the nearest half acre)?
2.5
4. Who had a Christmas No. 1 in 2006 with "A Moment Like This"?
LEONA LEWIS
5.. In the computing acronym WYSIWYG (wiziwig) what does the G stand for?
GET (What you see is what you get)