Monday 5th January 2015
Set by Warrington

Round 1
1a Name either of the two famous authors who died on the day that John F Kennedy was assassinated?
CS Lewis, Aldous Huxley
1b Who is the Green Party's only MP?        
Caroline Lucas
2a What is the essential spice in the Hungarian dish goulash?    
Paprika
2b Which company bought the handset business of Nokia in April 2014?
Microsoft
3a Who resigned as Government Chief Whip as a result of the ‘plebgate' row?
Andrew Mitchell
3b Who directed the Oscar winning film 'Twelve Years a Slave'?    
Steve McQueen
4a Jethou, Brecqhou and Lihou are the smallest inhabited islands of which group?
Channel Islands
4b Name the publicist, the first to be convicted as a result of `Operation Yewtree'?
Max Clifford

Round 2
1a Who played the title role in the 2013 film 'Mandela; Long Walk to Freedom'?
Idris Elba
1b Who is the only person to have won an Oscar both as an actress and a screenwriter?
Emma Thompson
2a According to the title of a folk song, where was the gallant frigate Amphitrite bound?
Cape. Horn (accept Rio)
2b Adil Ray plays the title role in which BBC TV sitcom?    
Citizen Khan
3a Which mobile phone retailer went out of business in September 2014?
Phones 4U
3b Who is the first female General Secretary of the TUC?
Frances O'Grady
4a Which BBC TV sitcom is named after a town on the banks of the River Tyne?
Hebburn
4b What is the essential spice in the Greek dish moussaka?    
Cinnamon (accept allspice or black pepper)

Round 3
1a Who set sail from Portimao in Portugal in 1487 on the voyage during which he discovered the Cape of Good Hope?
Bartholomew Diaz
1b According to the title of a folk song, where was a whaling ship heading on 18th March 1846?
Greenland
2a For what does the S stand in the UK Government executive office ONS?    
(Office for National)
Statistics
2b In 'Pride and Prejudice' who lived at Longbourne?    
The Bennett family
3a Who succeeded Caroline Lucas as leader of the Green Party?    
Natalie Bennett
3b Piel Island, with its castle and pub, lies off the Coast near to which English town?
Barrow
4a Paul Flowers resigned as non-executive chairman of which bank in 2013?
Co-operative
4b A mixed relay event was introduced in which sport at the 2014 Commonwealth Games?
Triathlon

Round 4
1a What was the British name of the conflict between Great Britain and Spain that lasted from 1739 to 1748, the Spanish called it Guerra del Asiento?
The War of Jenkins Ear
1b In which English city is the University of St Mark and St John?    
Plymouth
2a In literature, who owned Thornfield Hall?    
Mr Rochester
2b What name did Bartholomew Diaz originally give to the Cape of Good Hope?
The Cape of Storms
3a Who, in September 2013, became the first female to conduct the ‘Last Night of the Proms'?
Marin Alsop
3b Which musical tells the story of Sally Bowles?    
Cabaret
4a A mixed relay event was introduced in which discipline at the    2014 Winter Olympic Games?
Luge
4b Which youth orientated clothing brand has a flying seagull as its logo?
Hollister

Round 5
1a The Co-operative Bank's takeover of which building society is    blamed for the problems at the bank?
Britannia
1b Which King of Scotland died at the Battle of Flodden in 1513?
James 4th
2a Which English engineer developed the steam turbine and patented its application for ship propulsion?
Sir Charles Parsons
2b Which musical tells the story of Julie Jordan and Billy Bigelow?    
Carousel
3a In which book of the Bible do the walls of Jericho fall?
Joshua
3b The flag of the patron saint of which county is a white cross on a black field?
Cornwall (St Piran)
4a In the acronym OFGEM, for what does the M stand?    
Markets (Office for Gas and Electricity)
4b Labour MP Ed Balls is married to which other MP?    
Yvette Cooper

Round 6
1a Between the Wimbledon men's singles victories of Fred Perry and Andy Murray who was only one other British man to reach the final?
Bunny Austin
1b In which English city is the Bishop Grossteste University?    
Lincoln
2a What is the name of the Lancashire Wildlife Trust Reserve at the junction of the A59 and M6 (Junction 31)?
Brockholes
2b Which group recorded the album ‘Ummagumma'?    
Pink Floyd
3a Labour MP Jack Dromey is married to which other MP?    
Harriet Harman
3b Which English composer wrote a 'Battle of Britain Suite' for the 1969 film which wasn't used in the picture?
William Walton
4a Asmara is the capital of which African country?    
Eritrea
4b In 2014 Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto won acting Oscars for their parts in which film?
Dallas Buyers Club

Round 7
1a In 2014, the Oscars for best song and best animation were won by which film?
Frozen
1b The Druk Gyalpo is the Dragon King of which country?    
Bhutan
2a Which surname connects the pop group the Alabama Three with the Great Train Robbery?    
Reynolds (Nick in Alabama 3 is son of Bruce)
2b Which woman has won a record 22 Grand Slam tennis singles titles?
Steffi Graf
3a Which motorway connects Coventry and Leicester?    
M69
3b Which English physicist discovered the first sub-atomic particle (for which he won the 1906 Nobel prize) and invented the mass spectrometer?
Joseph John Thompson
4a Name either of the countries who were protagonists in the `Marco Polo Bridge' incident of 1937?
China or Japan
4b Causeway Bay has overtaken New York's Fifth Avenue to become the world's most expensive retail shopping district, in which city is it?
Hong Kong

Round 8
1a The flag of the patron saint of which country is a yellow cross on a black field?
Wales (St David)
1b Belmopan is the capital of which country in the Americas?
Belize
2a The Plantagenet dynasty originated in which former province of France?
Anjou
2b In which book of the Bible does Belshazzar's feast occur?    
Daniel
3a The Arsenale Shipyard is in which city?    
Venice
3b Which motorway connects Southampton and Portsmouth?
M27
4a The song 'Stranger in Paradise', from Kismet, is based on a theme by which composer?
Borodin
4b In World War 1 Dunham Massey was converted to a military hospital, this has been recreated to commemorate the centenary of the war, what was the name of the hospital?
Stamford Hospital

Spare Questions
1 Which cruise line will launch 'Anthem of the Seas' in 2015?    
Royal Caribbean
2 Which Booker prize winning novelist has written detective novels under the name Benjamin Black?
John Banville
3 Which type of pasta is named after the Italian for 'little bundles'?    
Fagottini