State of play, with clues for the unknowns.
History
1. Which of Henry VIII’s wives did he consider ugly? – Ann of Cleeves
2. Who was the US President during the Cuban Missile Crisis? - JFK
3. In early life I was known as Soso (one of many pseudonyms I used) and trained to be a priest. After leaving the seminary I started a criminal organisation and for many years conducted raids on banks; ships etc. In later life I became the leader of my country. Who am I? - Stalin
4. I claimed to be one of the princes in the tower and rightful heir to the English throne – but I was defeated by Henry VII at Deal, in Kent. Who am I? – CLUE: Just one of those odd things I remember from school. There were two pretenders to the throne at the time – the other was Lambert Simnel.
5. Whilst Prime Minister I closed 253 coal mining pits, more than any other PM. Who am I? - Harold Wilson
Geography
6. This U-shaped body of water is formed when a river meander is cut off. What is it called? – Oxbow lake
7. Which capital city was formed from three distinct towns separated by the Danube? - Budapest
8. What is the name of the deepest part of the ocean, which is estimated as being 10,994 metres below sea-level? – Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench
9. Which is the only sea that has no land boundaries? - Sargasso Sea
10. Which city in Myanmar was the subject of a poem by Rudyard Kipling? CLUE: The poem is called ‘The Road to....’
Science and Nature
11. What is the first element in the Periodic Table? - Hydrogen
12. What is the common name for the plant Digitalis Purpurea? - Foxglove
13. The acronym COBOL is a computer programming language. What do the letters stand for? – Common Business Oriented Language
14. Which star is closest to Earth? – The Sun
15. Speed is to scalar as Velocity is to ....... ? - vector
Art and Literature
16. Who wrote The Magus and The French Lieutenant’s Woman? CLUE: Cannot think of a clue.
17. Which poet wrote the line: ‘If I were called in to construct a religion I should make use of water’? CLUE: The poet was born and raised in Coventry
18. The musical film Cabaret starred Liza Minnelli. The musical was based upon the novels of which British novelist? CLUE: The books were collectively known as the Berlin novels, as he lived in Germany in the 30s. He was gay and also wrote ‘A Single Man’, which was made into a film a few years ago starring Colin Firth
19. As a young adult I served in the Navy and worked as a stockbroker. I later became an artist and lived in poverty for years; my art was never appreciated until I died. Somerset Maugham’s novel ‘The Moon and Sixpence’ was loosely based on my life. Who am I? CLUE: I emigrated to Tahiti and my most famous paintings are of native women.
20. Which artist is famous for making statues of long thin elongated human characters? CLUE: He was Swiss but his name sounds Italian.
Music
21. Which 70s pop band was headed by Andy Pelos? CLUE: They dressed like Teddy boys.
22. Who composed ‘The Ring Cycle’, a collection of four operas? - Wagner
23. Which band’s debut single, Killing An Arab, was released on Small Wonder records in 1978? – The Cure
24. It has been noted that many rock stars die at the same age – amongst the list are Janis Joplin; Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain. What is that age? - 27
25. Which Polish jazz trumpeter’s work is used as the theme to the US TV series ‘Homeland’ CLUE: Cannot think of a clue. TBF this is quite hard and you’ll only get it if you like jazz.