Latest questions: 11 June 2024

These questions were inspired by those set for use in Weeks 2 and 3 of the 2023–4 season in Macclesfield Quiz League, by the Sutton Club (Week 2, Questions 1 to 17) and the Queens of the Castle (Week 3, Questions 18 to 40).

What was the title of the song released in November 2023, dubbed "the last Beatles song"? Written by John Lennon and recorded as a home demo, in 1977, it reached No. 1 in the UK, Austria, Germany and Japan.		Now and Then
Piscine Patel is the central character, and Richard Parker another bizarrely–named character but in a different way, in which novel, first published in 2001?		Life of Pi
What's the world's second–largest country, by area?		Canada
Which branch of science is named directly from the Greek for 'Earth measurement'?		Geometry
Complete this slogan, used by the UK Government during World War II to discourage careless talk: "Be like Dad ... "		Keep Mum
Of the five beaches involved in the D–Day landings (of June 1944), which was the best defended – resulting in more Allied casualties than on all of the other four combined?		Omaha
To what post was Winston Churchill reappointed by Neville Chamberlain in September 1939?		First Lord of the Admiralty
Who scored all of England's points in a 27–10 victory over Argentina in the 2023 World Cup (6 penalties from 6 attempts, and 3 drop goals before half–time)?		George Ford
Name the Australian wicket–keeper who controversially ran out Jonny Bairstow in the 2023 Ashes series.		Alex Carey
Which club won the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League (in 2022) – beating Feyenoord in the final?		AS Roma
Which actress, born in Birkenhead in 1936, was posthumously awarded the freedom of the Borough of Wirral in October 2023, following her death in June of that year?		Glenda Jackson
Founded in 2013 by quizzer and Only Connect question–setter Jack Waley–Cohen, and three others, which proprietary geocode system is designed to identify any location on the surface of the Earth with a resolution of about 3 metres (9.8 ft)?		what3words
Which printing process, invented in 1796 by the German author and actor Alois Senefelder, involves drawing the image on a surface (traditionally stone) using a water–resistant substance such as wax?		Lithography
Located on the Yukon/Alaska border, what's the traditional name in English for the second highest mountain in both Canada and the United States?		Mount Saint Elias
Which retail chain, founded in Plymouth in 1989, bought the rights to Wilko (brand and digital assets) after the latter's parent company went into administration in 2023?		The Range
The small town of Amer – home of the renowned Amer Fort (or Amber Fort) – is 11 kilometres (6.8 miles) from which major Indian city?		Jaipur
Who composed the music for Peter Jackson's two Tolkien film trilogies?		Howard Shore
The central parts of which European calital city are built on fourteen islands?		Stockholm
Born into slavery in the 1820s and named Araminta Ross, which African American woman escaped in 1849, worked for the Union Army in the Civil War, and later campaigned for women's suffrage? According to Wikipedia, she is now "commonly viewed as an icon of courage and freedom."		Harriet Tubman
"Whether I turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages will show." These are the opening words of which novel by Charles Dickens?		David Copperfield
"That was the summer of 1963, when everybody called me Baby and it didn't occur to me to mind" was the opening line to which 1987 film (spoken on voiceover by the lead actress)?		Dirty Dancing
"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the Arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport" are the opening words, spoken on voiceover, of which 2003 film?		Love Actually
How many points must a team score in order to win a game of croquet?		14
Who is the only golfer ever to have won four consecutive Major tournaments, and thus hold all four titles simultaneously?		Tiger Woods
The world's third largest sports stadium, and the largest in the western hemisphere, is in which American state? It's home to the football team of the state university; the university, the football team and the stadium, are all named after the state.		Michigan (Ann Arbor)
Who wrote the book and lyrics for the musical Assassins (a flop off–Broadway in 1990, but a hit on–Broadway in 2004)?		Stephen Sondheim
In the 2007 film The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, who played Jesse James?		Brad Pitt
... and who played Robert Ford?		Casey Affleck
In Doctor Who, who played Graham O'Brien, an assistant to the thirteenth Doctor (played by Jodie Whittaker)?		Bradley Walsh
Which archaeological period lasted from approximately 2300 BCE to 700 BCE?		The Bronze Age
The 1978 play Betrayal, by Harold Pinter, was inspired by his seven–year affair with which television presenter (later a Labour peer)?		Joan Bakewell
In which animated cartoon series do the central characters travel around in a brightly–coloured van called the Mystery Machine?		Scooby–Doo
"Four men ride a wild river. A weekend turns into a nightmare" was a tagline for which 1972 film?		Deliverance
Who published a book entitled The Plot: The Political Assassination of Boris Johnson in November 2023, three months after resigning as an MP?		Nadine Dorries
Who was the front man of the punk band Generation X?		Billy Idol
In which 1957 film, written and directed by Ingmar Bergman, does a medieval knight (played by Max von Sydow) play chess with Death, who has come to take his life?		The Seventh Seal
A full census has been taken every 10 years (except 1941) in the UK, since when?		1801

Dick Dewy and Fancy Day are central characters in which novel by Thomas Hardy?		Under the Greenwood Tree
Which activity will become an Olympic sport for the first time at Paris 2024?		Breaking (breakdancing)
Which UK political party has been jointly led, since 2021, by Adrian Ramsey and Carla Denyer?		The Green Party (of England and Wales)

© Haydn Thompson 2024