Latest questions: 22 December 2020

This week's questions have been gleaned from those set for use in Weeks 20 and 21 of the 2017–18 season in Stockport Quiz League, by the Railway (Questions 1 to 10) and the Sun & Castle (Questions 11 to 24), and for the semi–finals of the knockout competitions, by an anonymous "collaboration" (Questions 25 to 39).

Which South African all–rounder, who retired in 2014, is currently the third highest run scorer in Test cricket (after Tendulkar and Ponting) and the only player to have scored 10,000 runs and taken 200 wickets in both Tests and ODIs?		Jacques Kallis
Currently still 19 ahead of Jimmy Anderson, which Indian right–arm leg spin bowler is the third highest wicket taker in Test cricket (after Muralitharan and Warne)?		Anil Kumble
In which country was the tennis player Caroline Wozniacki (winner of the Australian Open in 2018) born?		Denmark
Who partnered Jamie Murray to the second of his two Wimbledon mixed doubles titles, in 2017?		Martina Hingis
Which 1954 film, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, stars Ray Milland as retired tennis champion Tony Wendice, who discovers that his socialite wife Margot (played by Grace Kelly) has been having an affair?		Dial M for Murder
In 2016, Jamie Oliver caused a furore by including chorizo, Gordon Ramsey for suggesting a few chilli peppers, and Marco Pierre White for recommending "more than generous helping of white wine ... and enough paprika to stop a moving train" in which traditional dish?		Paella
In The Jungle Book, by Rudyard Kipling, what's the name of the panther that serves as friend, protector and mentor to the "man–cub" Mowgli?		Bagheera
By what name is the cartoon character Hermione Makepeace better known?		Minnie the Minx
What name, derived from the names of its two main constituents, is given by geologists to the uppermost layer of the Earth's crust?		Sial
Giving its name to the northernmost part of the Ligurian Sea, what is Italy's busiest port?		Genoa
Which ABBA song (their 9th and last UK No. 1) namechecks a make of spotlight in its title, and the city of Glasgow in its first line?		Super Trouper
Which river flows into the Thames Estuary between the Isle of Grain (which is not really an island!) and the Isle of Sheppey?		The Medway
Which future US president was given the nickname 'Dutch' by his father, in childhood?		Ronald Reagan
What is measured by a pycnometer?		Density of a liquid
What is measured by a stalagmometer?		Surface tension
Which middle–eastern city's Royal Clock Tower, completed in 2010, is the world's fifth tallest free–standing structure, and the third largest, and includes the world's largest clockfaces – each with a diameter of 141 feet, and illuminated by about two million LED lights?		Mecca
Readies was the working title of which BBC television sitcom, first broadcast in 1981?		Only Fools and Horses
Which singer is this? Born Charles E. Hatcher in Nashville, Tennessee, he had his biggest hit in 1970 with a song that was originally recorded by the Temptations. He settled in England after gaining popularity on the Northern Soul scene; he suffered a fatal heart attack in 2003, aged 61, and was buried in Nottinghamshire		Edwin Starr
Which Shipping Forecast area is separated from the coast of Norway by North and South Utsire?		Viking
In which long–running BBC Radio 4 programme, first broadcast in 1977 and currently presented by Harriett Gilbert, do the presenter and two guests discuss three books, each chosen by one of them?		A Good Read
Which historical character has been played in films by Christopher Lee (in 1966, when he was the title character) and Tom Baker (in Nicholas and Alexandra, 1971 – this being his first major film role)?		Grigori Rasputin
The Sedlec Ossuary – the crypt of a chapel in the town of Kutná Hora – is one of the most–visited tourist attractions in which European country?		Czech Republic
In which television sitcom, first broadcast on Channel 4 from 2006 to 2013, did Richard Ayoade star as Maurice Moss?		The IT Crowd
In which European country is the small town of Bran – famous for its mediaeval castle, which has alleged literary associations?		Romania
Which title character, in a Shakespeare play, speaks the line "How my achievements mock me!"?		Troilus
What family of birds includes species described as common, green, marsh, wood and solitary?		Sandpipers
All but one of The Move's first six singles made the Top Five in the UK; but only the sixth one reached No. 1 – entering the charts on Christmas Day 1968. What was its title?		Blackberry Way
Which 1968 film, a British sex comedy based on a novel by Hunter Davies, starred Barry Evans as a sixth–form school student desperate to lose his virginity, and Judy Geeson as his dream girl? The title song had been a Top Ten hit for Traffic in 1967, and the soundtrack also featured music by the Spencer Davis Group		Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
Who appeared in eight episodes of Coronation Street in 1973, as Elaine Perkins – a schoolteacher who turned down Ken Barlow's offer of marriage?		Joanna Lumley
Who was the fifth, the oldest, and the earliest–born person to walk on the Moon, and the only one of the seven Mercury astronauts to do so?		Alan Shepard
Which television programme was first broadcast from Mr Smiths in Warrington, on the 3rd of September 1988, and last from the Discothèque Royale in Manchester, on the 5th of December 1992?		The Hitman and Her
Who coined the advertising slogans "Opal Fruits – made to make your mouth water" and "Trill makes budgies bounce with health"? He also named the Vauxhall Ventora – a 'sporty' version of the Victor.		Murray Walker
Which trophy was commissioned in 1997 to be presented to the winners of rugby union matches between England and Australia?		The Cook Cup
Which character in Shakespeare's Hamlet shares his name with the father of Odysseus in Homer's The Odyssey?		Laërtes
Who made his only appearance in the Carry On films in Carry On Up the Khyber, as Captain Keene, commander of the Kalabar detachment of the Third Foot and Mouth Regiment?		Roy Castle
Who wrote the poem Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field (a historical romance in verse of 16th–century Britain, concluding with the Battle of Flodden in 1513)?		Walter Scott
Which British retail business was sold in 2010 to the "sovereign wealth fund" of Qatar?		Harrods
Which country has held a National Sorry Day (a.k.a. National Day of Healing) since 1998, as part of an ongoing process of reconciliation between its indigenous and settler populations?		Australia
The deformed court jester to the licentious Duke of Mantua is the title character of which opera by Verdi?		Rigoletto

© Haydn Thompson 2020