Latest questions: 28 July 2020

This week's questions have been gleaned from those set for use in Weeks 1, 2 and 3 of the 2018–19 season in Stockport Quiz League, by the Railway (Questions 1 to 13), the Tiviot (Questions 14 to 22) and the Little Horse & Farrier (Questions 23 to 34).

Which Soviet composer died approximately 50 minutes before Joseph Stalin, on the 6th of March 1953?		Sergei Prokofiev
Abigail, Ahinoam, Eglah, Michal, Abital and Hagith were among the wives and consorts of which Biblical figure?		King David
Who has been commemorated since 2001 by a statue sitting on a bench in Sackville Gardens, near Manchester's gay village?		Alan Turing
Which fizzy soft drink was first produced in Manchester in 1924 (or Bristol in 1907) by Fred and Tom Pickup (who were related to the Barr family, producers of Irn–Bru)?		Tizer
Which school of philosophy, founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century BC, teaches that the path to happiness lies in accepting the moment as it presents itself?		Stoicism
Tasseography is the art of telling fortunes by what means?		Reading tea leaves (etc.)
In 1989, the NASA spacecraft Voyager 2 discovered a Great Dark Spot on which planet?		Neptune
Situated opposite the mouth of San Francisco Bay and named after an 18th–century Irish philosopher, which city is home to the oldest campus in the University of California system?		Berkeley
Which UK charity, founded in 1948, adopted the daffodil as its emblem in 1986 and runs the Great Daffodil Appeal in March each year?		Marie Curie
What's the name of Monty Don's Herefordshire garden, from which he has presented Gardeners' World since his return to the programme in 2011?		Longmeadow
Which 1965 novel by Margaret Forster was made into a film in the following year, with Lynn Redgrave in the title role?		Georgy Girl
By what title was the French programme Le Maison de Toutou known when it was shown, revoiced in English, on BBC1 at the end of 'Children's Hour' and before the Six O'Clock News, from 1968 to 1970?		Hector's House
Which American poet published a collection entitled Phenomenal Woman: Four Poems Celebrating Women (including the title poem), in 1995?		Maya Angelou
Reflecting its origins as a defence against the possible invasion of England during the Napoleonic Wars, what name is given to the canal that runs for 28 miles between Seabrook near Folkestone and Cliff End near Hastings, following the old cliff line bordering Romney Marsh?		The Royal Military Canal
Port Askaig and Port Ellen are the principal ferry ports on which Scottish island?		Islay
Duke Ellington's signature tune, Take the 'A' Train, was written by which pianist and composer, to whom Ellington may be considered a father figure?		Billy Strayhorn
Which 1979 film was based loosely on the life of Janis Joplin, with Bette Midler in the central role?		The Rose
Which market town at the foot of the Howgill Fells in Cumbria – also famous for its public school – is England's 'official book town' (equivalent to Hay–on–Wye in Wales and Wigtown in Scotland)?		Sedbergh
Which poem, first published in 1798, includes the words, "Water, water every where, Nor any drop to drink"?		The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (S. T. Coleridge)
Craignure is the principal ferry port on which Scottish island?		Mull
Which American surgeon, who died in 2016 aged 96, invented a portable oxygen system for ambulatory patients, a valve for draining blood and air from the chest cavity, and a procedure for preventing choking?		Henry Heimlich
Also known as a composer of sacred music, which 12th–century German abbess wrote the Liber Simplicis Medicinae – the earliest surviving scientific book by a woman?		Hildegard of Bingen
What term is used in mathematics for a set with only one member, and also in Bridge (and other card games) for a card that's the only one in a suit?		Singleton
The WIPO is one of the fifteen "specialized agencies" of the United Nations. What does 'WIPO' stand for, in this context?		World Intellectual Property Organization
In the Marvel universe, which "sentient alien symbiote" survives by bonding with a host, usually human, and has merged at different times with the journalist Eddie Brock, the villain Mac Gargan (formerly known as Scorpion), and Peter Parker's school nemesis, Flash Thompson, as well as Spider–Man himself?		Venom
Which 1964 film was loosely based on the 1958 novel Red Alert, by the Welsh author Peter George – although the novel lacks the black comedy element of the film?		Dr. Strangelove
What kind of fruit grows on a tree with the scientific name Ficus carica?		Figs
Which phrase, originating in a cartoon that was first published in 1895, refers to something that's neither exclusively good nor exclusively bad?		Curate's egg
What's the first line, and also the title, of the poem by Dylan Thomas whose third line is "Rage, rage against the dying of the light"?		Do not go gentle into that good night
The creator of Postman Pat and Rosie & Jim died in 2018, aged 85. What was his name?		John Cunliffe
Her name reminiscent of a former Queen of England, who created the fictional detectives Vera Stanhope (played on TV by Brenda Blethyn) and Jimmy Perez (played in the TV series Shetland by Dougie Henshall)?		Ann Cleeves
In Coronation Street, what was the birth surname of Sally Metcalf (also previously known as Sally Webster)?		Seddon
Michael Joseph ('Mike') Pasternak was born in 1942, the son of Hollywood producer Joe Pasternak. By what name did he become famous in the music and entertainment industry?		Emperor Rosko
Which British actress has been married (since 2012) to the singer, songwriter and group leader Marcus Mumford?		Carey Mulligan

© Haydn Thompson 2020