Tuesday 3rd September 2013
Set by Thingwall (Wirral)

Round 1
1a In which country is El Alamein?
Egypt
1b Which country declared war on Japan - the day before the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki?
Soviet Union
2a Who has written books under the pseudonym Barbara Vine?
Ruth Rendell
2b What was the activist Malcolm X's real surname?
Little
3a Which Venezuelan-born revolutionary led Colombia to independence in 1825?
Simon de Bolivar
3b In August 2006 the International Astronomy Union re-classified Pluto as a 'dwarf planet' - name another dwarf planet in our solar system.
Ceres, Eris, Makemake or Haumea
4a The radio telescope at Jodrell Bank is named after which physicist and astronomer?
(Sir Bernard) Lovell
4b Who wrote the plays The Caretaker' in 1959 and 'The Birthday Party' in 1957?
Harold Pinter

Round 2
1a What was the Christian name of the character played by Felicity Kendal in The Good Life' TV series?
Barbara (Good)
1b What was the Christian name of the character played by Penelope Keith in The Good Life' TV series?
Margot (Leadbetter)
2a Who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi in New Delhi in 1948?
(Nathuran) Godse
2b What is the county town of the Irish County Mayo?
Castlebar
3a The Irish town of Drogheda in Ireland is situated on which river?
River Boyne
3b Who assassinated Robert Kennedy in June 1988?
Sirhan Sirhan
4a Who designed the Menai Suspension Road Bridge in 1826?
(Thomas) Telford
4b Who built the first cast iron bridge at Coalbrookdale, opened in 1780?
(Abraham) Darby (III)

Round 3
1a In which city was Muhammed Ali born in 1942?
Louisville (Kentucky)
1b Who did the then Cassius Clay defeat to win the heavyweight boxing championship of the world in 1964?
Sonny Liston
2a Which former Nazi war criminal was the subject of Ira Levin's 1976 novel The Boys from Brazil'?
(Josef) Mengele
2b In which country was the former Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichman captured in 1960?
Argentina
3a Which organ produces Insulin?
Pancreas
3b Which organ produces Bile?
Liver
4a What is the name of the alternative medicine involving applying pressure to the feet and hands?
Reflexology
4b What is the name of the alternative medicine that uses essential oils?
Aromatherapy

Round 4
1a Name the world's first commercially operational jet passenger plane. It first operated from London to Johannesburg in 1952.
(De Havilland) Comet
1b What was the RAF's first operational jet, first flying in 1943?
(Gloster) Meteor
2a To within a year either way, in which year did the Mallard reach 126mph - a record for a steam loco?
1938 (accept 1937 or 1939)
2b How is the Japanese Shinkansen train, better known in the UK?
Bullet Train
3a Upminster and Wimbledon are termini of which London Underground line?
District
3b Edgware and Morden are termini of which London Underground line?
Northern
4a Which was the British Army's main battle tank of the post VVWII period? It was replaced by the Chieftain tank in 1967.
Centurion
4b Which was the US Army's main battle tank between 1942 and 1995?
Sherman (accept M4)

Round 5
la Who was US president at the time of the 1929 stock market crash?
Herbert Hoover
1b Of which country was Edith Cresson prime minister from 1995 to 1999?
France
2a Who directed the 1975 film 'Jaws'?
Steven Spielberg
2b Which 1956 film starred Gregory Peck as a captain obsessed with a great white whale?
Moby Dick
3a Through which European capital city does the River Tagus flow?
Lisbon
3b In the cartoon TV series, what was the name of Captain Pugwash's enemy, the captain of the "Flying Dustman"?
Cut-throat Jake
4a What was the first single released by the Beatles on the Apple label, in 1968?
Hey Jude
4b Which soul singer /songwriter wrote the theme music for the 1971 film Shaft?
Isaac Hayes

Round 6
1a Whose mistress was Clara Petacci?
(Benito) Mussolini
1b Which England cricketer is the most capped English player in test matches?
(Alec) Stewart
2a Which is the home ground of FC Barcelona?
Nou Camp
2b Agrippina the Younger was the mother of which Roman Emperor?
Nero
3a In the Monty Python TV sketch, what type of dead parrot did John Cleese return to the pet shop?
Norwegian Blue
3b In the TV series Friends, what is the name of Phoebe's twin sister, also played by Lisa Kudrow?
Ursula
4a By what collective name were the comedy act Moe Howard, Shemp Howard and Larry Fine known?
Three Stooges
4b Which ballerina is best known for the creation of the role 'The Dying Swan' in 1905?
(Anna) Pavlova

Round 7
1a Which Oscar-winning actress was born Susan Abigail Tomalin?
Susan Sarandon
1b Why were British policemen known as "Peelers" in the nineteenth century?
After Sir Robert Peel (who founded the Metropolitan Police Force in 1829)
2a Which character was voiced by Isaac Hayes in the TV cartoon series South Park?
Chef
2b Which 1967 'James Bond' film starred David Niven, Peter Sellers and Woody Allen?
Casino Royale
3a Which Portuguese navigator (1467-1520) is regarded as the discoverer of Brazil?
(Pedro Alvares) Cabral
3b What form of bridge is Tower Bridge, London?
Bascule (accept Suspension)
4a In which city did the original jazz club Birdland open in 1949?
New York
4b Which singer's backing group were called the Comets?
Bill Haley

Round 8
1a Which prison is situated in San Francisco Bay?
Alcatraz
1b In jazz, which clarinettist/bandleader was known as the King of Swing?
Benny Goodman
2a Which tree has the botanical name Acer Pseudoplatanus?
Sycamore (accept Sycamore Maple)
2b What is the country of origin of the supermarket chain Aldi?
Germany
3a In the cartoon series, whose girlfriend is named Olive Oyl?
Popeye
3b What was the surname of the Haitian dictator Papa Doc?
(Francois) Duvalier
4a In connection with angling what is a creel?
A Basket(to load the caught fish)
4b Which opera house in New York is located in the Lincoln Centre for Performing Arts?
Metropolitan Opera House

Spare Questions
1 Wiki, as in Wikipedia, is a word that means fast or quick - in what language?
Hawaiian
2 What is the penultimate letter of the Greek alphabet?
Psi
3 Which site, a location for one of the seven ancient wonders of the world, is near the modern city of Bodrum in Turkey?
Halicarnassus