Quizzes
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A simple theme this time – the answer to each question is one (or more) UK Cities. 10 questions, 18 cities
- Q. The cathedral of this city houses the largest Mappa Mundi known to exist and also a copy of the Magna Carta.
- Q. The Elizabethan series of Blackadder featured a terrifying “baby eating” bishop plated by Ronald Lacey. Of which 2 English cities was he the bishop?
- Q, 3 answers for this question. Which are the northernmost, westernmost and southernmost UK cities?
- Q. In which city did Two-tone music originate in the late 1970s, featuring bands such as The Specials?
- Q. The oldest city in Wales also achieved temporary (perhaps lasting) fame from the Fiddlers Dram song about having a lovely time on a day trip
- Q. Which Yorkshire city was the birthplace of Alan Bennett? For 2 bonus points, at which college at which university did he graduate with a first-class degree in history (2 more cities here)?
- Q, Which city’s (stunning) cathedral is known as the “Ship of the Fens”
- Q, Which city on the north bank of the Firth of Tay has 2 professional football clubs?
- Q, Which 2 cities sit within the boundaries of Greater London?
- Q. There are 3 “saintly” cities in the UK. Name all 3.
Click here to reveal the answers
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The theme this time is “AKA” – Also Known As. I have used this theme before, but it was in 2013 so it’s time for a revamp (with different questions)!
- Q. One of the greatest ever footballers is Edson Arantes do Nascimento but by which (shorter) name does the world know him?
- Q. The teacher Gordon Sumner adopted which (perhaps snappier) name prior to becoming a rock star?
- Q. Staying with rock stars and one of the most successful bands in the world, how are Paul Hewson and David Evans better known?
- Q. Ellis Bell was a pseudonym used by the author of Wuthering Heights when it was first published. Who was she?
- Q. The crime novelist Robert Galbraith is a pseudonym used by which author very famous for another series of books?
- Q. William H Bonney was the real name of which famous American outlaw?
- Q. What was the pirate Blackbeard’s less threatening real name?
- Q. What is Bruce Banner’s green alter ego?
- Q. What was the Leslie Charteris character Simon Templar’s “holy” nickname?
- Q. What is the fitness instructor Derrick Evans MBE better known as?
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The theme this time is “first and last”. 10 topics, each with a “first” and “last” question so 20 questions in all.
- Sport
- Q. Who was the first Wimbledon Men’s Singles Champion in the “Open Era”?
- Q. Who won the last of his 7 Formula One World Championship titles in 2005?
- Politics
- Q. Who was the first (and to date, only) Welsh UK Prime Minister?
- Q. Who was the last (and again, to date, only) woman to have been UK Foreign Secretary?
- Films
- Q. Which was the first Carry On Film (1958)? Coincidentally it featured William Hartnell who would later become the first Dr Who!
- “Q. Breaking Dawn – Part 2” was the fifth and final production (2012) in which series of films?
- Books
- “Q. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife” are the first words of which classic novel?
- Q .What is the title of the third and final book in The Lord of the Rings?
- TV
- Q. Ant and Dec are fixtures on our TV screens but in which TV drama did they first meet and what were their characters’ names in the series?
- “Q. The Remorseful Day” was the 33rd and final episode of which TV crime drama?
- Olympics
- Q. Flora Duffy won the 2020 (in 2021) women’s triathlon, earning the first ever gold for her country. Which country?
- Q. Joe Joyce won the last medal for Team GB at Rio 2016 but in which sport?
- Music
- Q. “+” was which English singer-songwriter’s debut album?
- Q. The UK came last in the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest. Can you name the singer or the song?
- Explorers
- Q. Who led the expedition that was the first to reach the South Pole (1911)?
- Q. What was Eugene Cernan the last man to do (to date)?
- Famous Buildings
- Q. Which was completed first – the Eiffel Tower or the rebuilt (after the fire) Houses of Parliament/Palace of Westminster?
- Q. Which was completed last – the Sydney Opera House or the Royal National Theatre building on the South Bank?
- TV history
- Q. ITV launched in 1955. Which product was the first to be advertised?
- Q. The BBC had a cunning (?) plan to distract from the launch of ITV by killing off a favourite Archers radio character on the same evening. What was the name of the character who “met her last”?
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At the time of writing (early May), hopes are rising for a return to normality (or at least the “new normal”!). So, perhaps there are reasons to be cheerful, which suggested a theme for this issue. In 1979, Ian Dury and the Blockheads made no 3 in the charts with “Reasons to be Cheerful, part 3”. Ian listed over 50 “reasons” in the stream of consciousness song and some of these are featured in this edition of the quiz. Knowledge of the song is not required but anyone who is old enough may remember some of the lyrics. This is probably the first (and last) quiz based on an Ian Dury song! Bear with me – back to less “off the wall” topics next time!
- Q. Two American singers are featured in the first verse. One died in a plane crash in 1959 and an eponymous musical about his life premiered in London in 1989. The second (Little Richard) had a hit with an alliterative song about a lady whose name rhymes with that of the first singer. I need the name of the first singer and the Little Richard song.
- Q. Which “big” Russian dance institution is mentioned in the second verse?
- Q. Verse 3 includes “Scammels”. What is/was a Scammel?
- Q. Verse 4 ends with a breakfast cereal, probably most associated with Scotland. What is it?
- Q. Verse 7 rhymes a vegetable and a bird: “The Juice of a [vegetable]” and “The smile of a [bird]”. Name the vegetable and bird.
- Q. Verse 8 opens with 2 cultural icons. “The King of Rock and Roll” and the nickname of the original engineer of the USS Enterprise, played by James Doohan in the original series and Simon Pegg more recently. Name them.
- Q. Verse 10 starts with “Take your mum to [where?]” Clue – home city of PSG.
- Q. Three Marx Brothers appear in verse 11. Name them.
- Q. Verse 12 has two favourite ingredients of a Ploughman’s Lunch. – which? Clue – it rhymes with “slap and tickle”.
- Q. And finally………what colour are the socks in verse 5? OK this hard to guess, so a clue – Donovan had a hit featuring the same colour in the song title.