Latest questions: 6 October 2020

This week's questions have been gleaned from those set for use in Weeks 26 and 27 of the 2018–19 season in Stockport Quiz League, and in the Cup Final. The questions for weeks 26 and 27 were set by the Railway Flyers (Questions 1 to 12 here) and the Fiveways (13 to 26) respectively. The Cup Final questions (27 to 48) were set by the Tame Valley and the Fiveways.

Which American journalist, working as a foreign affairs correspondent for the Sunday Times, was killed in 2012 by an improvised nail bomb, while covering the siege of Homs in Syria?		Marie Colvin
What was the name of the nursery nurse who was awarded the George Medal after suffering severe injuries while protecting children from a machete attack in Wolverhampton, in 1996 (when she was 21 years old)?		Lisa Potts
In Walter Scott's Ivanhoe, what's the name of the 'healer ' who tends to the title character after he is wounded in a joust, and for whom he successfully fights a duel after she is accused of witchcraft?		Rebecca
What was the name of the Anglo–French spy that was captured and executed by Germans while serving in occupied France during World War Two, and was played by Virginia McMenna in the 1958 biopic Carve Her Name with Pride?		Violette Szabo
Who married fellow television presenter Tess Daly in 2003 – the year before she joined Bruce Forsyth as one of the original presenters of Strictly Come Dancing?		Vernon Kay
Which London thoroughfare runs westwards from Hyde Park Corner, close to the southern boundary of Hyde Park, and shares its name with the affluent residential and shopping district on its south side? It also has six consecutive consonants in its name!		Knightsbridge
The name of which area of central London, on the fringe of the West End, is used as a metonym for the Royal Opera House, which is located there?		Covent Garden
In The Archers, who married a Welsh fruit juice entrepreneur called Natasha?		Tom (Archer)
Elinor Ostrom (in 2009) and Esther Duflo (in 2019) are the only two women, to date, to do what?		Win the Nobel Prize in Economics
Who, in 2007, became the first woman to provide a match commentary on BBC Television's Match of the Day?		Jacqui Oatley
Which author, who was married to Peter Scott from 1942 to 1951 and Kingsley Amis from 1965 to 1983, is best known for the Cazalet Chronicles – a series of five novels, published between 1990 and 2013?		Elizabeth Jane Howard
What was the name of the 29–year–old journalist that was shot dead during rioting, in the Creggan area of Londonderry, in 2019?		Lyra McKee
Who was the most important saint in northern England, in the Middle Ages, after his death in 687 – with a cult centred on his tomb in Durham Cathedral?		St. Cuthbert
Which French photographer studied at Cambridge in the 1920s, and was described, following his death in 2004 at the age of 96, as "the father of photojournalism"?		Henri Cartier–Bresson
The word 'bae', used in modern parlance (and in text speak) to refer to one's 'significant other', probably emerged as a cool new way to say 'babe'. But it's sometimes referred to as an acronym ... standing for what?		Before Anyone Else
In which novel by Thomas Hardy is the title character arrested at Stonehenge, and hanged for murdering the father of her illegitimate son?		Tess of the d'Urbervilles
Which famous poem opens with the line "Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary"?		The Raven (by Edgar Allan Poe)
Which painter was knighted by both Philip IV of Spain and Charles I of England?		Peter Paul Rubens
An image of which iconic mountain is used as the logo of the confectionery brand Toblerone?		The Matterhorn
The name of which political club of 18th century London inspired those of a confectionery brand and the fictional club featured in the musical Cabaret?		The Kit–Cat Club
Which ensemble was formed in 1996 to revive the music of pre–revolutionary Cuba, and named after a popular Havana music venue from the 1940s? An eponymous album was released in 1997, and a 1998 film by Wim Wenders, based around a live performance, won an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.		Buena Vista Social Club
What was the name of the female character who appeared in a Daily Mirror comic strip from 1932 to 1959 – originally subtitled The Diary of a Bright Young Thing?		Jane
What was the title of the film, released in the year 2000, about the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 – starring Kevin Costner as Kenneth O'Donnell, a Special Advisor to President John F. Kennedy?		Thirteen Days
Who provided the voice of Dory in the Pixar animated films Finding Nemo (2003) and Finding Dory (2016)?		Ellen DeGeneres
Which fictional character is most likely to speak the words "I say, you fellows" or exclaim "Yaroooh!"?		Billy Bunter
The American singer Al Jarreau died in 2017, aged 76. His biggest UK hit was the theme from which US comedy–drama television series, first broadcast in the late 1980s?		Moonlighting
In Shakespeare's Henry V, Act 2 Scene 3 is largely about the death of which character?		Sir John Falstaff
The new appointee to which public office is sworn in annually, on the Friday before the second Sunday in November, in what is known as the Silent Ceremony?		Lord Mayor of London
Who, in 1997, became the first German winner of the Tour de France – and is still the only one to date? He was retroactively banned from 2011, after being found guilty of a doping offence in 2012, and admitted to blood doping in 2013.		Jan Ullrich
Whose fifth world tour, in 2013 and 2014, was named The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour?		Beyoncé
Whose autobiography, first published in 1986, is entitled Permission to Speak?		Clive Dunn
Which controversial health and clinical research company, based in Crumlin, Co. Antrim, has sponsored the Grand National since 2017 (and is the first company to do so that doesn't have an alcoholic beverage brand)?		Randox Health
Name either the term used in cricket for a left–handed shot played by a right–handed batter, or the similar term used in baseball for a player who bats both right–handed and left–handed.		Switch hit or switch hitter
What name, meaning a road cut into the side of a cliff or steep slope, was used by Rolls–Royce for a model produced between 1971 and 1995?		Corniche
In athletics, the javelin used by women (in international competition) weighs 25% less than that used by men. Give either of those weights, or any weight in between – in either grams or ounces (to the nearest ounce)		Anything between 600g (21 oz) and 800g (28 oz)
With only 62 people per square kilometre (currently, according to Wikipedia), what is England's least densely populated county?		Northumberland
Non–Stop, Satisfied and Say No to This are songs from which musical?		Hamilton
In the BBC police drama series Line of Duty, what's the name of the senior investigating officer of AC–12 – played by Adrian Dunbar?		(Superintendent) Ted Hastings
Who captained Sidney Sussex (Cambridge) to victory in the 1979 series of University Challenge, going on to represent Aylesbury in Parliament from 1992 to 2019, and held various Cabinet posts under Theresa May including Justice Secretary and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster – being referred to in some media outlets as her de facto deputy and a possible successor?		David Lidington
Which motor racing circuit hosted the first race in the inaugural Formula One championship season (1950)?		Silverstone
In Shakespeare's Hamlet, which character suggests that "brevity is the soul of wit"?		Polonius
Which painter, a leading British Post–Impressionist, is noted for his portraits of Dylan Thomas, T. E. Lawrence, Thomas Hardy, W. B. Yeats, Aleister Crowley, Tallulah Bankhead and George Bernard Shaw (among others)?		Augustus John
Which British swimmer won the women's 200m breaststroke competition at the 1960 Summer Olympics, in Rome?		Anita Lonsbrough
Who played Mac McGuire in the BBC soap opera Doctors from 2000 to 2006) and Ted Murray in EastEnders from 2017 to 2019)?		Christopher Timothy
FIFA's annual award for the most aesthetically significant, or "most beautiful" goal of the year, inaugurated in 2009, was named in honour of which Hungarian player, whose record of 84 goals in 89 games for Hungary was broken in 2003 by Ali Daei of Iran?		Ferenc Puskás
Which musical includes the songs Too Darn Hot, So in Love, and Wunderbar?		Kiss Me, Kate
Which 1957 novel by Alistair MacLean, which was filmed in 1961 starring Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn, was inspired by the Battle of Leros – part of the unsuccessful attempt by the Allies in 1943 to take the Dodecanese Islands from Italian forces?		The Guns of Navarone
Which pop act had seven consecutive UK No. 1 singles, all in 1999 or 2000?		Westlife

© Haydn Thompson 2020