Latest questions: 22 January 2019

This week's questions are from those written for Week 10 of the 2018–19 season in Macclesfield Quiz League, by the Nags Head and the Robin Hood.

The McMurdo Dry Valleys are said to be the driest place on Earth, having seen no rainfall for almost two million years. On which continent are they?		Antarctica
Which children's novel by Roald Dahl, first published in 1975, tells the story of a boy who lives with his father, fixing cars and poaching pheasants for a living?		Danny, the Champion of the World
What's the stage name of the English singer–songwriter Rory Charles Graham?		Rag'n'Bone Man
What was the first name of the composer of the group of four violin concerti, published in 1725 and known as The Four Seasons?		Antonio (Vivaldi)
Jefferson and Warwickshire Drooper are popular UK varieties of which fruit?		Plum
Which American illusionist famously made a Learjet disappear in 1981, made the Statue of Liberty vanish and reappear in 1983, and levitated over the Grand Canyon in 1984?		David Copperfield
Who won writing Oscars for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) and All the President's Men (1976)? He also wrote the screenplays for Marathon Man (1974), Magic (1978) and The Princess Bride (1987) – all based on his own novels. He died in 2018, aged 87		William Goldman
Lech, Okocim and Zywiec are beers from which country?		Poland
Which voting area produced the highest percentage vote in favour of Remain, in the UK's 2016 referendum on European Union membership?		Gibraltar
Wayne Rooney made his last appearance for England against the USA in November 2018. How many caps has he now been awarded, in total?		120
Serena Williams currently holds the record for most grand slam singles titles in the Open era. Whose record did she beat?		Steffi Graf
Boston Red Sox won the 2018 baseball World Series. Who were the runners–up, for the second year in succession?		LA Dodgers
In which Hitchcock thriller, released in 1938, does Margaret Lockwood search for a Miss Froy? It was remade in 1979 starring Cybill Shepherd, and also in 2013 for television by the BBC.		The Lady Vanishes
Which Agatha Christie murder mystery was filmed in 1974, starring Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot, and in 2017 starring Kenneth Branagh (who also directed)?		Murder on the Orient Express
Which acclaimed 1974 thriller starred Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw, and featured the capture of a New York Subway train and its passengers? It was remade in 2009 starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta.		The Taking of Pelham 123
In the 1926 Buster Keaton classic film The General, who or what is The General?		A train
In which 1953 Ealing comedy, the first to be shot in colour, do a group of villagers manage to keep their branch line operating, after British Railways decide to close it? Stanley Holloway stars as Walter Valentine, the wealthy financial backer of the scheme.		The Titfield Thunderbolt
Who is the current leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), having been elected in April 2018 following the removal from office of Henry Bolton?		Gerard Batten
Which operatic soprano is known as 'La Divina'?		Maria Callas
What was the surname of the Merseyside couple who, in 1983, became parents to the world's fourth known surviving sextuplets, and the first all–female set?		Walton (Janet and Graham)
Whose autobiography, published in 2018, was entitled Becoming?		Michelle Obama
Which overseas territory of France voted against independence, in a referendum held in November 2018?		New Caledonia
Signal de Botrange (694 meters, 2,277 feet) is the highest point in which country?		Belgium
In a dating website or application, or in a personal advertisement, what does 'ANI' stand for?		Age Not Important
Which French fashion house, established in 1912 and one of whose early successes was designing tennis wear for Suzanne Lenglen, has made the perfume 'Joy' since 1930?		Jean Patou
Which Mediterranean island, having been ruled by Genoa since 1284, was ceded to France in 1768, after a 58–year struggle for independence, and incorporated into the French state in 1789?		Corsica
Which boxer, often described as the greatest ever at any weight, was born Walker Smith Jr. in 1921?		Sugar Ray Robinson

© Haydn Thompson 2019