Latest questions: 15 December 2020

This week's questions have been gleaned from those set for use in Weeks 18, 19 of the 2017–18 season in Stockport Quiz League, by the Smart Italics (Questions 1 to 16) and the Little Horse & Farrier (Questions 17 to 30).

Who read the classified football results in Sports Report, on BBC Radio 2 and Five Live, from 1974 to 2013, retiring after surgery to remove his larynx, due to throat cancer? He died in 2014, aged 78.		James Alexander Gordon
Who read the football results on BBC television's Grandstand and Final Score, from 1995 to 2011 (when he chose not to work in Salford)? He died in 2017, aged 87.		Tim Gudgin
Which Spanish word is used to mean 'rough' or 'rugged' (of a coastline) or 'spicy' (of food)?		Brava (brave)
Which American photographer, known for his celebrity portraits and often controversial male and female nudes, lived with the rock singer Patti Smith in the late 1960s and early 70s, and died in 1989, aged 42, from complications of HIV/AIDS?		Robert Mapplethorpe
Which Italian fashion house, founded in Milan in 1978, has as its logo a representation of the head of Medusa?		Versace
Which ancient city in Syria's Homs province – a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980 – was the scene of intense fighting during the Syrian Civil War from 2015 to 2017, when large parts of it were destroyed by ISIL?		Palmyra
In Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, which character speaks the line "The quality of mercy is not strained ... "?		Portia
Which European country has been ruled since at least 1243 by two captains regent (as both heads of state and heads of government), selected by the legislative body, normally from opposing parties, every six months – on the 1st of April and the 1st of October?		San Marino
Which actor, born Cyril Goldbert in Marseille, in 1927, was interned by the Japanese in Lunghua internment camp, in Shanghai, in 1943 (as was J. G. Ballard, although he denied having known Ballard)? He found fame between 1969 and 1971 when he played the role of a novelist turned sleuth – reputed to be based on Ian Fleming – in two television series. He died in 2018, aged 90.		Peter Wyngarde
What breed is Dennis the Menace's dog, Gnasher?		Tripe–hound
One of the most prominent chefs associated with the nouvelle cuisine died in 2018, aged 91. Controversially, his restaurant near Lyon subsequently lost its 3–star rating in the Michelin Guide, which it had held for a record 55 years. Who was he?		Paul Bocuse
Which familiar Latin phrase literally means "with position turned"?		Vice versa
The UK subsidiary of which retail chain, founded in 1961 by Sir James Goldsmith and Iraqi–born Selim Zilkha, went into administration in November 2019, leading to the closure of its 79 remaining UK stores?		Mothercare
Who, in his diary in 1942, described the BBC as "something halfway between a girls' school and a lunatic asylum"?		George Orwell
A former CEO of BBC Studios (the BBC's TV and radio production and distribution company), who replaced Tony Hall as Director General in September 2020?		Tim Davie
Which tragic single–handed yachtsman was played by Colin Firth in the 2018 bio–pic The Mercy?		Donald Crowhurst
What was used for the first time on the 8th of January 2018, in an FA Cup Third Round match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace?		VAR
In which novel by Charles Dickens does the title character marry a young widow named Edith Granger, after the death of his first wife?		Dombey and Son
PATH is a rapid transit system – operated, as its full name implies, by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. What does the H stand for?		Hudson
Sometimes used as part of a suit of armour, what part of a combatant's body would be protected by a bas(c)inet, sallet, armet or morion?		The head
Which football club played home games at Cathkin Park, in the Glasgow district of Crosshill, from 1875 to 1903, and New Cathkin Park (formerly known as Hampden Park) from 1903 until 1967, when the club went out of business?		Third Lanark
In Terry Pratchett's Discworld, who is supposed to ride a sleigh pulled by Gouger, Rooter, Tusker and Snouter?		The Hogfather
Second only to the Perseids as a spectacle, which meteor shower occurs in mid–November and is known for its profusion about every 33 years – when its parent body, comet Tempel–Tuttle, passes closest to the Sun and the Earth?		The Leonids
Who was married to former Radio 1 DJ (and Top of the Pops presenter) Peter Powell from 1990 to 1998, and to Grant Bovey from 2000 to 2015?		Anthea Turner
Bravo Two Zero, a highly fictionalised account of a mission he took part in during the Gulf War, was the first book published by former SAS officer Steven Billy Mitchell under what pen name?		Andy McNab
What name is used in the British Isles for a characteristic feature of karst landscapes, consisting of slabs of rock (known as clints) separated by roughly parallel cracks or fissures (known as grikes)?		Limestone pavement
Who wrote the poem Walking Away – first published in 1962 – in which a parent remembers a time, eighteen years ago during a game of football, when they realised that their child was growing independent?		Cecil Day–Lewis
Who won the singles title at the Australian Tennis Championships in six years out of seven, between 1961 and 1967? He also won the other three Grand Slam singles titles twice each in the same period.		Roy Emerson
Which English comedian, who died in 2005 aged 91, was known for his 'Odd Odes' and his catchphrase "Pin back your lugholes!" – especially after they were included in That's Life? He had previously been a regular panellist on What's My Line?.		Cyril Fletcher
An asteroid–like body, less than one kilometre across, was first observed in October 2017 when it was about 20 million miles from the Earth. It was named 'Oumuamua, from the Hawaiian for 'scout', and formally designated 1I/2017 U1. What does the I stand for?		Interstellar

© Haydn Thompson 2020