麻豆社

Last week's teaser was set by listener聽Robert Means, who asked: If J.R.R. Tolkien, The Postman, P.T. Barnum and a German car maker form a sequence, what kind of gift would come next?

The key to this was ascending numbers of rings. Tolkien created the One Ring to rule them all in The Lord of the Rings. In the James M. Cain novel and the 1946 film noir it inspired, The Postman Always Rings Twice. Barnum created the three-ring circus. And a well-known brand of German car has as its聽emblem four interlocking聽rings.

So the gift that would come next is the 'five gold rings' given by the true love on the fifth day of Christmas.

With one crucial match left to play, the rankings in this year's tournament stand as follows:

1 North of England聽聽 Played 4聽 Won 3聽 Drawn 0聽 Lost 1聽 Total points 72

2 Wales聽 Played 4聽 Won 2聽 Drawn 0聽 Lost 2聽 Pts 76

3 South of England聽聽 Played 3聽 Won 2聽 Drawn 0聽 Lost 1聽 Pts 59

4 Midlands聽聽 Played 4聽 Won 2聽 Drawn 0聽 Lost 2聽 Pts 71

5 Northern Ireland聽 Played 3聽 Won 1聽 Drawn 0聽 Lost 2聽 Pts 54

6聽Scotland聽聽 Played 4聽 Won 1聽 Drawn 0聽 Lost 3聽 Pts 66

All of the questions in today's programme are listeners' suggestions.

Q1 (from Martin Berzins)聽 Why would the continued survival of Bookie Bill, speedy Graham and comedian Alfred Hawthorne remind you of Maria in Austria?

Q2 (from Matt Underwood)聽 Why might an energetic prankster drummer, a former UN diplomat and a Mighty comic character fear drowning in a dystopian author's favourite watering hole?

Q3 (from Joe Houlihan)聽 Music: What is the point?

Q4 (from Paul Slade)聽 Moscow's leading cultural export, some primrose ankle wear, a popular filling for a sandwich, the instrument of a be-bop hero, and an actor from a circus family who died in a car crash in Birkenhead. Why could these, among others, have improved your mood in the summer of 1979?

Q5 (from Roland Howell)聽 Why might Snoopy's nemesis feel comfortable in the company of a letter of shame, a cocktail named after the heroine of an epic film, and a biblical female associated with pagan Rome?

Q6 (from Peter Gibbins) 聽Music: How did these help pull off an unprecedented triple victory in 2018?

Q7聽(from Juha Sorva)聽 Whose enemies might have cause to fear the Nike logo, Duncan Jones, the son of a Salesman, a captured soldier and one of a pair of garments?

Q8 (from Mark Noad)聽 What's聽odd about: a park in Honor Oak, South London; a notorious nuclear power station; a world聽heritage coastline in Liguria; a part of London notorious for poverty聽in the 19th century; and a cool shopping area of Amsterdam?聽

Please keep your question ideas coming for the next series, via the Contact Us link on this聽site or by post to Round Britain Quiz, 麻豆社 Radio 4, Dock House, MediaCityUK, Salford M50 2LH