Programme 2, 2016
The North of England take on the South of England in the game of cryptic cultural connections, with Tom Sutcliffe in the chair.
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Tom Sutcliffe welcomes the teams from the North of England and the South of England to the book-lined room for their first clash of the 2016 season. Both teams include members taking part in Round Britain Quiz for the first time. Bestselling writer and Â鶹Éç 6Music broadcaster Stuart Maconie joins novelist Adele Geras on the North of England team, while for the South the author and columnist Marcus Berkmann is joined for the first time by comedian Paul Sinha.
As always, the questions test their powers of lateral thinking as well as their general knowledge. Knowing the names of legendary Kings of Britain, cities in the Rocky Mountains and characters from Russian ballet is one thing, but connecting them is quite another - as the teams discover.
As always, the programme includes ingenious question ideas from Round Britain Quiz listeners, and Tom will be setting another teaser puzzle to think about before the next edition.
Producer: Paul Bajoria.
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Last week's teaser question
At the end of last week's editionÌýTom asked: Why might the Velvet Fog, Foghorn Leghorn and the 2000-Year-Old Man all identify with a late satirist and film director from our side of the Pond - and who are they all?
The key is the name 'Mel'. The Velvet Fog is a nickname for the jazz singer Mel Torme; Foghorn Leghorn was one of the many cartoon characters voiced by the great Mel Blanc, and the 2000-Year-Old Man was a comedy routine devised and performed by Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner. The British satirist and film director referred to is therefore the late Mel Smith, of the Not The Nine O'clock News satire team, and director of hit movies such as The Tall Guy and Bean.
Questions in today's programme
Q1Ìý If you raised a glass to The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, Under A Mackerel Sky, and Goosebumps - how big would it be?
Q2Ìý(from Ivan Whetton)Ìý Why would a novelist who turned down the Nobel Prize, a jazz musician whose fretless solos wereÌýoften forecast, and an early proponent of the germ theory of disease, all have started off where they do things differently?
Q3Ìý(Music)Ìý Which London thoroughfare is this?
Q4Ìý During the International Geophysical Year in the late 1950s, if citizens of America's Rhode Island state or New Zealand's Ninety Mile Beach sat down to eat Jerusalem artichokes wrapped in tin foil, why would you be right to suspect that all wasÌýnot what it seemed?
Q5Ìý Until recently, under canvas somewhere in the English countryside you might have encountered Norman Bates and Prince BartlomiejÌýof Lithuania, alongside Harvey Willcox's community and a banana. Why?
Q6Ìý(Music)Ìý What makes this an entirely logical sequence?
Q7Ìý Why might your progress into London once upon a time have been facilitated by Petrushka's killer, a city in Montana, a pre-Roman king of Britain, and a copse of trees whose wood is especially useful for making electric guitars?
Q8Ìý What single, inaudible distinction sets apart a 1950s female tennis playerÌýfrom a fiery male Yorkshire cricketer; a castle-dwelling politician from another with a penchant for jazz; and an unfairly-neglected 20th century English writer from one of the most successful?
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This week's teaser question
How could the state of Louisiana, a shark that's surprisingly spotted, and Beecham's encores, all help the chicken?
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Don't write to us - there are no prizes - but Tom will supply the answer next week. Don't forget you can send us your own question suggestions at any time, using the Contact Us link on this page.
Broadcasts
- Mon 7 Nov 2016 15:00Â鶹Éç Radio 4
- Sat 12 Nov 2016 23:00Â鶹Éç Radio 4
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