Â鶹Éç

1. Why do the following build on one another: tungsten, the Evergreen State, a Buddhist temple, the SI unit of power, and a Victorian painter celebrated near Guildford?<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Ìý

2. The composer of the Bond theme; a Sussex spinner; and the Beard who came to dinner. ÌýWhy might they all insist on the entire unadulterated experience?

Ìý

3. Music question: In what circumstances is it proper to remove these pieces, and why?

Ìý

4. Music question: Which oriental location was originally intended to come next?

5. (From Victor Lane) One frequently left back in England, an Unforgettable singer, and one who posted very early for Christmas, might find themselves surplus to requirements in the North East. ÌýWhy?

Ìý

6. (Jeff Flatters) Where might you find a young wife whose death propped up the ratings, a lighthouse keeper’s daughter, and a cricketer, on the waterfront?

Ìý

7. Neither Charles II of France nor Sam the Olympic mascot would have had any use for Billy Lowther-Pinkerton (in April 2011 only), a red or grey fish, or the city formerly known as Molotov. Why not?

Ìý

8. Why could the teenaged singer of ‘I Will Follow Him’, a dancer who was a Muse to Toulouse-Lautrec, and Mike Nicholls’ comic partner, take their place among the Calendar Girls?

We asked:

Why would it be appropriate for an unscrupulous saloon-bar owner 'out west' to slip a knockout beverage to half a Tyrannosaurus rex?

The key is the name Mickey Finn. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Mickey Finn is the corrupt landlord at the saloon bar in Brushwood Gulch, played by the magnificent James Finlayson in Laurel & Hardy’s best known feature, Way Out West (1937). When Stan & Ollie arrive in town with news that the guileless scullery maid, Mary Roberts, has inherited her late father’s goldmine, Finlayson’s character spots a golden opportunity – and gets his wife Lola (she was a showgirl) to pose as Mary.

His name is doubtless a nod to the fact that a Mickey Finn is a slang name for a ‘knockout’ drug slipped into a drink, possibly after a dodgy Chicago bartender in the early 1900s.

During a crucial period in its career, the band which started out with the full name Tyrannosaurus rex, and then shortened it to T.Rex, was a duo consisting of Marc Bolan – vocals, guitar (1947-1977), and Mickey Finn – percussion (1947-2003). It was this line-up that made the all-time classic T.Rex album Electric Warrior (1971). Mickey Finn was his real name. He joined the group at the end of 1969 in place of the original percussionist, Steve Peregrine Took.

Ìý

Why might you be happy to receive salt in Tibet, cowrie shells in south Asia, and cattle in ancient Rome?

Don't write or e-mail: there are no prizes, but the answer will appear in next week's programme.