Latest questions: 2 February 2021

This week's questions have mainly been gleaned from those set for use in Weeks 16 and 17 of the 2017–18 season in Stockport Quiz League, and in the Knockout semi–finals. My thanks go to the Alexandra (Questions 1 to 10), the Tiviot (Questions 11 to 15), and the Little Horse & Farrier (Questions 16 to 29).

Which singer–songwriter, real name Henry Samuel, collaborated with Adamski (as co–writer and vocalist) on the 1990 UK No. 1 hit Killer?		Seal
Which New Zealand rugby legend, who won 55 caps between 1957 and 1971 (mostly as Lock forward), was nicknamed 'Pinetree' on account of his physical presence?		Colin Meads
Which famous sportsman stood as the Conservative Party's candidate against Jim Callaghan in his Cardiff South East constituency, at the 1964 general election?		Ted Dexter
The town of Wincanton gives its name to one of three racecourses in which English county?		Somerset
Which of Germany's sixteen states, or Länder, is the largest in area?		Bavaria
Which multi–media franchise began as a video game launched in 2009 by the Finnish company, Rovio Entertainment, that's been praised for its successful combination of fun gameplay, comical style, and low price?		Angry Birds
Give a year in the life of the essayist Thomas de Quincey, whose most famous work is Confessions of an English Opium–Eater.		1785–1859
Which racecourse in Northamptonshire hosted the Greyhound Derby from 2014, but went into administration in 2018 and is not expected to re–open?		Towcester
What name is shared by the drummer who replaced Bill Bruford in Yes, in 1972 (having previously played with the Plastic Ono Band) and the drummer who replaced Tony McCarroll in Oasis (between their first two albums, Definitely Maybe and What's the Story, Morning Glory?)?		Alan White
"In the Spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love." Who wrote this line, and in what poem?		Alfred, Lord Tennyson
		Locksley Hall
Which musical includes the song Springtime for Hitler?		The Producers
In the nursery rhyme, what did the crooked man buy with the crooked sixpence that he found upon (or against) a crooked stile?		A (crooked) cat
Which English inventor was granted a patent in 1698 for his 'fire engine' – a revolutionary method of pumping water, which was the first steam–powered device to be used commercially, solving the problem of mine drainage and making widespread public water supply practicable?		Thomas Savery
When two heavenly bodies are on opposite sides of the celestial sphere, as observed from a given body (usually Earth), they are said to be in, or at ... what?		Opposition
In Shakespeare's Hamlet, who kills the title character by wounding him with a poisoned sword, to avenge the deaths of his father Polonius and his sister Ophelia (for which he holds Hamlet responsible)?		Laërtes laertes
Which Central American country replaced its own currency, the colón, with the US dollar in 2001?		El Salvador
The balboa, which has been tied to the US dollar since independence in 1903, is the currency of which Central American country?		Panama
Complete the following lines, with which the title character in a well–known folk tale taunts his pursuers: "Run, run, as fast as you can! You can't catch me, I'm ... "		The gingerbread man
Kolkata is the capital of which Indian state?		West Bengal
Which royal residence is situated near the village of Crathie, just off the A93 between Braemar and Ballater?		Balmoral
The closest point of the French mainland to Britain is a headland, 21 miles from Dover. What's its French name?		Cap Gris–Nez
Who was the autocratic Secretary of the Football League, from 1957 to 1979, and Director General from 1979 until his sudden death from a heart attack in 1980? The Man of the Match award in the League Cup Final (first presented in 1990) is named in his honour		Alan Hardaker
What's the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia's fifth largest city, and the largest on the Volga? Its football club takes its name from the Russian word for a ruby.		Kazan
Give a year in the life of the Dutch painter Jan van Eyck.		c. 1390 – 1441
Which play by Alan Bennett, premiered in 2004, is set in the fictional Cutlers' Grammar School, Sheffield?		The History Boys
Which song by Wings – released as a single in the UK and elsewhere, but on the Band on the Run album in the USA – was named after Paul McCartney's Land Rover?		Helen Wheels
Which Radio 4 panel game was devised, and has been hosted since 1976, by Nigel Rees? (Series 56 was broadcast in October and November 2020.)		Quote ... Unquote
What English word, derived partly from the the Greek word for 'bad' or 'worst', means government by the worst, least qualified, and/or least scrupulous elements of society?		Kakistocracy
Whose autobiography, published in September 2020, is entitled Tomorrow will be a Good Day?		Captain Sir Tom Moore

© Haydn Thompson 2021