Latest questions: 27 August 2024

These questions were inspired by those set for use in Week 5 of the 2023–4 season in Macclesfield Quiz League, by the Harrington Academicals.

The 1956 film High Society (starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra) was a remake of which 1940 "screwball comedy", starring Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn and James Stewart?		The Philadelphia Story
Which Hollywood actor was buried (in 1957) with a small gold whistle, which had been part of a charm bracelet given to him by his fourth wife?		Humphrey Bogart
A building material known as RAAC was much in the news in 2023, following the partial or total closure of 174 UK schools that were deemed to be at risk of a roofing collapse. Give the word that either one of the As stand for.		Autoclaved
		Aerated
The longest–lived of all known vertebrates (estimated to be between 250 and 500 years) is the Greenland species of which specific type of creature?		Shark
Which prestigious London restaurant, opened in 1967 by two French chefs, brothers Albert and Michel Roux, closed in January 2024 (on the expiry of its lease)?		Le Gavroche
Beaujolais wines are generally made from grapes of which variety, named after the village in which it is believed to have originated in the 14th century?		Gamay
What five–lettter word, derived from the Greek word for an opinion, belief or judgement, is used in English to mean a belief that's held definitively and without the possibility of reform – hence, pejoratively, a strong belief whose adherents are not willing to discuss it rationally?		Dogma
Which country, in 2023, became the fourth to land a spacecraft on the Moon?		India
Which historical figure wrote about his affair with his wife's companion, Deb Willet?		Samuel Pepys
Who wrote the novel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes – published in 2020, a prequel to previously published works? A film version was released in 2023.		Suzanne Collins
Viscount Weymouth is the heir to the holder of which title?		Marquess of Bath
Which Japanese company introduced the world's first commercial quartz wristwatch in 1969 – the Astron – a brand still in production in 2024?		Seiko
In human physiology, which metallic element, with the atomic number 11, is essential in regulating blood volume and blood pressure?		Sodium
What term, often abbreviated to RP, is used to describe the accent traditionally regarded as the standard and most prestigious form of spoken British English?		Received Pronunciation
Basildon, Billericay, Braintree and Brentwood are towns in which English county?		Essex
Which children's author and illustrator married her solicitor William Heelis in 1913, aged 47, despite the disapproval of her upper–middle–class family?		Beatrix Potter
Which English statesman, only 5' 4" tall, was referred to by Elizabeth I as "my pygmy" and by James I as "my little beagle"? The chief discoverer of the Gunpowder Plot, he was created 1st Earl of Salisbury in 1605.		Robert Cecil
Which former Prime Minister was appointed as Foreign Secretary by David Lloyd George, when he became Prime Minister in 1916?		Arthur Balfour
Which was the first animated character to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?		Mickey Mouse (1978)
First played by Margaret Rutherford, Madame Arcati is a character in which play by Nöel Coward?		Blithe Spirit
Which ancient Greek polymath is supposed to have said to a Roman soldier, shortly before his death, "Do not disturb my circles!"?		Archimedes
Which CBeebies cartoon series, first broadcast in 2014 and narrated by Alexander Armstrong, features a big, friendly brown dog who is the leader of the Squirrel Club?		Hey Duggee
The title character of which novel by Walter Scott is a disinherited Saxon nobleman who has returned from the Third Crusade, in which he fought alongside King Richard I?		Ivanhoe
"Vanity of vanities; all is vanity" and "to everything there is a season" are quotations from which book of the Old Testament?		Ecclesiastes
Which former member of The Animals brought Jimi Hendrix to London, and was a key figure in his rise to critical and commercial success? He also managed Slade throughout their most successful period.		Chas Chandler
Which song by Stealers Wheel is used on the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino's 1992 film Reservoir Dogs, during a notorious torture scene?		Stuck in the Middle with You
Argyll's Rising was part of an attempt to overthrow which British king?		James II / VII
Which range of hills is known as the Backbone of England?		The Pennines
Which Goon Show character, voiced by Peter Sellers, was often "deaded" during the course of the programme?		Bluebottle
In which novel by Anne Brontë does the title character marry the curate Edward Weston?		Agnes Grey
Which English poet wrote a five–part epic poem based on the life of Paracelsus – the Swiss physician, alchemist, lay theologian, and philosopher of the German renaissance?		Robert Browning

© Haydn Thompson 2024