Well, tonight seemed to work …

Well, that seemed to work … !

I’ll be honest, here, and say that we had four teams in tonight. Which was quiet, but I was kind of expecting that.

We are in the middle of a recession, and, on top of that, it’s the first month after Christmas. People aren’t exactly loaded.

But I’ve kind of found that putting up the questions from the table rounds is having one of the effect I wanted.*

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Paul, from the Pancake Mixers, quietly and happily admitted to doing a little light blog reading, this morning, and some light and frothy researching, this lunchtime. And a little light change saving, for this evening.

To quote a line from Jack Nicholson’s take of the Joker, all those years , ago; – “It’s Your Uncle BINGO!”

But that has definitely pleased me, along with the quietly intimate feeling of tonight’s quiz. Something I’ve kept reading, in various interviews, is that many stadium bands —the U2’s and Police of this world— like doing the occasional pub gig, as it has a very different feeling. Closer with the audience.

And, after tonight’s gig, I can see what they mean. Yes, I want more numbers, and yes, it’s not the same scale, but I can see what they mean. It’s nice to get close to the audience, sometimes, and that’s how it felt, tonight.

But I’m digressing, aren’t I? You can probably tell …

Either way, just so you know, next weeks King Harold Bonus is at least £30•75p, after this Designated Evil Git of a Bonus Question: – “Joseph Sadler is the real name of which musician?”. Which Charlie & Marie, along with The Pancake Mixers, thought was Bruce Springsteen, Dean and his partner, Donna, thought was Jarvis Cocker, and John and Roger —the Tom and Jerry’s— thought was Joe Strummer. Interesting answers.

Wrong.

But interesting, and we can see where they were going with them, can’t we?

You wouldn’t think the answer was 80’s icon Grandmaster Mellé Mel, of the Furious Five, would you?

But that’s the name on Mellé Mel’s birth certificate …

I do put ‘Evil Quiz Master’ on the flyers for a reason …

But so we know, the ‘Tom & Jerry’s’ came in first with an amazing sixty-seven points, the ‘Pancake Mixers’, and the ‘Losers’ in joint second, with forty-one points, and the ‘Staff’ –Charlie and Marie in last, bless ’em!

Anyway, folks, here’s tonights question set. Number 59, in a series of 66 …

ROUND ONE: – GENERAL KNOWLEDGE.

Q1) Which group of islands includes Porto Santo; – the Canaries, the Madeiras, or the Azores?

A1) The Madeiras.

Q2) Who had a hit with the original version of “Mad World”?

Q2) Tears for Fears.

Q3) Shaft, Meteor, and Onward are all examples of which vegetable?

A3) Peas

Q4) Which High Street store uses the St. Michael trademark?

A4) Marks & Spenser.

Q5) Back in 1996, who did Bill Clinton beat to win his 2nd term in office?

A5) Bob Dole.

Q6) In geography, the UAE are the United Arab what?

A6) Emirates.

Q7) True or False; – The Isle of Mann produces whisky.

A7) True

Q8) “Albion Market” was ITV’s rival to which London based BBC soap?

A8) “EastEnders.”

Q9) Which word means either a pair of trousers, OR rapid breathing?

A9) Pants.

Q10) A kilogram is just over how many pounds, in imperial weight?

A10) 2 pounds.

ROUND TWO: – OPENING LINES.

Q11) “I was 21 years when I wrote this song, I’m 22, now, but I won’t be for long”

A11) “A New England,” Kirsty McColl, Billy Bragg

Q12) “Finished with my woman cause she couldn't help me with my mind. People think I’m insane because I am frowning all the time”

A12) “Paranoid”, by Black Sabbath

Q13) “You’ve done it all, you’ve broken every code”

A13) “Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)” by Steve Harley

Q14) “Da-na-na Ah! Da-na-na Ah!”

A14) “Get Up and Move”, by MC Harvey

Q15) “All that scratchin’ is making me itch”

A15) “Buffalo Gals”, Malcolm Mclaren

Q16) “What’s wrong with me, why do I feel like this? I’m going crazy, now”

A16) “Disturbia” by Rihanna

Q17) “When I die & they lay me to rest, gonna go to the place that’s the best”

A17) “Spirit in the Sky”, by Norman Greenbaum, Dr & the Medics, Gareth Gates & the Kumars, oh and We’ve Got A Fuzzbox & We’re Gonna Use it

Q18) “Thursday Night, everythings fine, except you’ve got that look in your eye”

A18) “Foundations” by Kate Nash

Q19) “What were the skies like, when you were young?”

A19) “Little Fluffy Clouds” by The Orb

Q20) “I study nuclear science, I love my classes, gotta crazy teacher who wear’s dark glasses”

A20) “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades”, by Timbuk 3

ROUND THREE: – ON THE BOOZE.

Q21) What drink did Native Americans call ‘Firewater’?

A21)

Q22) How many standard wine bottles make up a Nebuchadnezzar?

A22)

Q23) Coffee contains which stimulant?

A23)

Q24) Which brand of beer is informally known as “... A bottle of dog.”; – Newcastle Brown Ale, Green King IPA, or Tiger lager?

A24) brown ale.

Q25) At the beginning of the film “Casablanca,” what type of wine is Rick drowning his sorrows with?

A25)

Q26) In the original novelof “Silence of the Lambs”, exactly what red wine does Hannibal Lector enjoy with liver? (It’s only Chianti, in the film version!)

A26) .

Q27) Which tv character’s wine cellar includes a fine Chateau Picard 2267?

A27) . J. Luc Picard

Q28) What were the two handled ceramic vases called that ancient Greeks and Romans used to store wine in?

A28) (s)

Q29) The name of which wine professional literally means ‘pack animal driver’?

A29)

Q30) Which French town lies at the heart of the claret-growing region; – Bordeaux, Libourne, or Graves?

A30) Bordeaux

ROUND FOUR: – ROUND THE WORLD.

Q31) Which US state starts with ‘I’, and is known as ‘…the Spud State’?

A31) Idaho

Q32) Which famous Russian city was called Tsaritsyn between 1598 and 1925, and Stalingrad, between 1925 and 1961?

A32) Volgograd

Q33) The US state of California borders the Pacific Ocean, the Mexican state of Baja California and three other US States; – name one of them.

A33) Oregon, Nevada, or Arizona

Q34) What is the Largest, and oldest city in Australia?

A34) Sydney.

Q35) True or false: Gustave Eiffel was the Architect of the Eiffel Tower.

A35) False, he was the Engineer who built it. The Architects were Emile Nouguier, Maurice Koechlin and Stephen Sauvestre.

Q36) What is the official name of the Columbus Archipelago?

A36) Galapagos Islands.

Q37) True or False: - The Cyrillic alphabet is used by the Greeks.

A37) False, by Russians.

Q38) The world’s southernmost active volcano stands on Ross Island in the Antarctic; – what is its name?

A38) Mount Erebus.

Q39) Which far eastern city was founded in 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles?

A39) Singapore

Q40) The Amazon and it’s tributaries contain what proportion of the worlds river water; – 1/3, 1/2, 2/3 or 3/4?

A40) 2/3rd.

ROUND FIVE: – ALL THROUGH HISTORY.

Q41) To what rank did Adolf Hitler rise in World War I?

A41) Corporal

Q42) In which castle was Edward II murdered; – Berkeley, Windsor, or Leeds?

A42) Berkeley Castle.

Q43) Who set up the first printing press in England in 1476?

A43) William Caxton

Q44) Who was the mother of Edward VI’s?

A44) Jane Seymour

Q45) Which European nation was the first country to legalize trade unions?

A45) Britain.

Q46) The first commercially successful talking cartoon was called “Steamboat Willie”: – who was its hero?

A46) Steamboat Willie.

Q47) Which beauty pageant was organized by Mecca Ltd to coincide with the 1951 Festival of Britain?

A47) Miss World.

Q48) Who was the last British monarch to die in battle; – Richard the 3rd, Richard the 4th, or Henry the 5th?

A48) Richard III.

Q49) Which was the last battle to be fought on British soil?

A49) Culloden

Q50) How many crossings of the Atlantic had the Titanic completed before she struck an iceberg and sank?

A50) None (Maiden Voyage).

ROUND SIX: – GENERAL KNOWLE IGNORANCE.

Q51) What did Constantinople become known as in March 1930?

A51) Istanbul

Q52) Who left Take That in July 1995?

A52) Robbie Williams

Q53) What is the outer layer of skin called?

A53) Epidermis

Q54) In 1930, which country did Amy Johnson fly to from England?

A54) Australia

Q55) What pork product appears in a Punch and Judy show?

A55) Sausage

Q56) Until 1956, Fred Quimby was the producer of which incredibly violent series of cartoons?

A56) Tom & Jerry

Q57) Which Chelsea fan lost his Putney parliamentary seat, in 1997?

A57) David Mellor.

Q58) The (MV) Braer. deposited 1000’s of tonnes of oil where in Britain, in 1993?

A58) The Shetlands

Q59) Peggy Hookham was the real name of which ballerina?

A59) Margot Fonteyn.

Q60) The ampersand symbol represents which English word?

A60) And. (It’s the &.)

* Although it started, after a friend of mine, Graham, rather plaintively asked if I could put the questions and answers up separately. “It’d be more like doing a quiz at home.”.

I can see where he’s coming from.

And it’s not a bad idea, but usually, I’m so dog-tired that I just copy and paste them from NeoOffice, directly into Safari. This seemed a good compromise, as well as having a potential advertising aspect to it.