Monthly Quiz

February Quiz time..

This month we celebrate Valentine’s Day so the FEBRUARY FUN QUIZ, compiled and presented by Stotfold’s very own Brain of Britain, David Stedman, is on the theme of the BIRDS and the BEES, either as clues contained in the question or the answer. (As usual, answers can be found on page 36).

1 What is the name of the grotesquely self-important and tactless British radio DJ and television presenter portrayed by Steve Coogan? 2 What is the name, derived from the Maori name of the tree Leptospermum, of the expensive New Zealand honey which is reputed to have medicinal and curative properties? 3 You are standing in a very famous London building. Beneath your feet is an inscription which partly reads: Reader, if you seek his monument – look around you. Who was the architect of this building? 4 Hives is an allergic condition causing skin rash and takes its proper medical name from the Latin meaning ‘nettle’ . What is that name? 5 Which actor won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance as Randle McMurphy in the film One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest? 6 What is the common name of the distinctive bird which is included in the logo of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds? 7 Football star Mike Summerbee was nicknamed Buzzer, won eight England caps, and was a member of which highly successful English club side between 1965 to 1975? 8 What one same name is a variety of sea duck; an estate in Jamaica once owned by Sir Noel Coward; and the title of a James Bond film? 9 Founded during the 1940s, the childrens’ book publishing imprint of Penguin Books is named after which other bird? 10 Complete the stage name of this American instrumental group which, in 1962, had a UK number one single with Nutrocker: B Bumble and the. . .? 11 What is the title of the BBC television series in which Jay Blades leads a team of skilled craftspeople and which is filmed at the Weald and Downland Living Museum? 12 The four-letter common name of a dumpy wading bird is also the name applied to a speed of 1.15078 mph or 1.852 kmh. What name? 13 Among the nine symphonies written by this great composer, three are the Eroica, Pastoral and Choral. Which composer? 14 One for sorrow, Two for joy, Three for a girl, Four for a boy, Five for silver, Six for gold, Seven for a secret, Never to be told. According to the traditional English rhyme, what are they? 15 What is the name of the most famous Rolls-Royce aero engine which, during World War Two, powered the Spitfire, Hurricane, Lancaster, Mosquito and Mustang among many other aircraft? 16 Jodie Foster won a Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of the character Clarice Starling in which film? 17 What is the common name applied to the light filmy crust of tartar that forms in bottles of port after long keeping? 18 According to the song made famous by Vera Lynn, what London place completes these lyrics: That certain night, the night we met, There was magic abroad in the air, There were angels dining at the Ritz, And a nightingale sang in . .where? 19 The fastest aircraft in the world is the Lockheed SR-71 high altitude surveillance plane. What is the avian epithet applied to this aircraft? 20 The European variety, Merops apiaster, is a member of the widespread bird family Meropidae and takes its common name from its usual diet. What is that common name?

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