Book Titles You'll Never See in the Shops! T So Hard

BOOK TITLES YOU’LL NEVER SEE IN THE SHOPS!

T SO HARD’ GENERAL KNOWLEDGE NORSE AN

LIMERICKS ‘CAR’ WORDS

RE JUMBLED WORDS COCKNEY RHYMING SL

WORDSEARCH NAME THE . . .

CHRISTMAS QUIZ ENGLISH POSTCODES AN

SHAKESPEARE’S PLAYS - POSSIBLY ART AND ARTI

K THE CODE HOW TO REMEMBER STUFF

‘MODERATLY HARD’ GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

OUNS PROVERBS THE ‘SATOR’ SQUARE

SAYINGS, ADAGES AND IDIOMS PLAYGROUN

N FACTS – TRUE OR FALSE Christmas Edition

DO YOU KNOW? TONGUE TWISTERS

AN AMAZING MAZE ‘NOT SO HA 1

WELCOME TO ‘PUZZLES AND POEMS’ CHRISTMAS EDITION

Like the previous Puzzle books you will find an assortment of various types of puzzle.

On nearly every page underneath the puzzle itself you will find either a tongue twister, a palindrome, a usually childish poem, a limerick or a joke that at least I think is funny. Most of the poems are from my childhood – most from Junior School days - which means most are of 1950’s vintage. Many of the limericks are of that age as well, but some of them are more modern. The same goes for the jokes – a mixture of really old ones and some newer ones as well (all of them probably excruciatingly bad!).

Again, as in previous books, the puzzles are all mine - apart from the puzzles on the ‘SATOR’ square page (16), the info on page 11 and most of the Tricky/Stupid Questions on page 30. The poems, jokes and limericks I have collected over the years. Many thanks to the original writers. And again thanks to my daughter for many of the ‘books’ on page 29.

I hope you enjoy this next offering.

Tim.

TT refers to ‘Tongue Twister’ and PA is a ‘Palindrome’.

PUZZLES and POEMS CHRISTMAS EDITION – CONTENTS

3 Contents 4 Name The . . . ? (1) 5 True or False (1) 6 Sayings, Adages and Idioms (1) 7 Proverbs 8 How well do you know London Stations? 9 Sayings, Adages and Idioms (2) 10 Single Line Crossword (1) 11 How To Remember Stuff 12 Shakespeare’s Plays - Possibly? 13 Word Search – Christmas 14 How well do you know Sussex? 15 An Amazing Maze 16 The ‘SATOR’ Square and Silly Sentences 17 Do You Know . . . ? (1) 18 Crack The Code 19 Single Line Crossword (2) 20 Do You Know . . . ? (2) 21 Name The . . . ? (2) 22 How well do you know just North of London? 23 ‘Reasonably Easy’ General Knowledge 24 Norse and Greek Myths and Legends 25 ‘Really Hard’ General Knowledge 26 Word Search - Flowers 27 Christmas Quiz 28 True or False (2) 29 Book Titles you’ll never see in the Shops! 30 Tricky Questions – or Stupid Questions? 31 Art and Artists 32 Jumbled Words - Christmas 33 Collective Nouns 34 Cockney Rhyming Slang 35 ‘Maybe Not Too Hard’ General Knowledge 36 Playground Games 37 English Post Codes and their Places 38 ‘Car’ Words 39 – 48 Answers

NAME THE . . . (1)

Name the six sets of bells mentioned in the nursery rhyme about bells.

1 2 3 4 5 6

Name the six friends who accompanied Uncle Tom Cobley to Widdicombe Fair.

1 2 3 4 5 6

Name the eight states in the USA that begin with the letter ‘N’.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Name the five that went along the ‘Yellow Brick Road’.

1 2 3 4 5

Name the nicknames of the five Spice Girls.

1 2 3 4 5

The colour is sky-blue pink with dandy-grey russet, polka-dot stripes.

TRUE OR FALSE (1)

Just need to tick the right box if you think the sentence is true or false.

T F 1 Henry VIII’s third wife was Anne of Cleves. 2 During the afternoon of July 28 2005 a T4 strength tornado smashed through a part of Birmingham. 3 Canada is divided into ten Provinces and two territories. 4 An artist mixes her / his paints on a palate. 5 Timbuktu is in the African country of Niger. 6 A ‘Billabong’ is an Australian cooking pot used in the desert. 7 A ‘Lustrum’ is a period of five years. 8 The slowest swimming fish in the sea is the Seahorse. 9 Brazil, Colombia and Argentina are all crossed by the Equator. 10 ‘Parasympathetic Rebound’ is a condition caused through extreme fear which kills you even though it’s trying to help. 11 The Japanese Samurai code of honour is known as ‘Bushido’. 12 Too much NaCl is bad for you. 13 Iran’s capital is Teheran. 14 A famous Christmas song about a reindeer was made famous by Gene Autry, the ‘Singing Cowboy’, in 1949. 15 Balaclava was a battle fought against the French during the Seven Years War. 16 Kermit the Frog is left-handed. 17 The word ‘Checkmate’ in chess comes from the Persian phrase ‘Shah Mat’ which means 'The King is Dead’. 18 The composer Chopin came from Romania. 19 The abbreviation KGB stands for ‘Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti’ and means ‘The Committee for State Security’. 20 The Northern Line is shown as a dark brown line on the Underground Map.

It’s raining, it’s pouring. The old man is snoring. He went to bed And bumped his head And couldn’t get up in the morning.

SAYINGS, ADAGES AND IDIOMS (1)

1 I am sure that if he carries on chatting away at this rate then the rear appendages of a grey beast of burden would fall off.

2 It is amazing how alike in looks, personality and manner both the adult and his male offspring are.

3 It is a silly action to realise that problems are looming and then to go out to greet them rather than wait for them to reach you.

4 Unfortunately he lost because he was the person who managed to pick the shortest length of drinking aid.

5 Do us all a favour and take yourself off in a number of directions that will ensure that we will never again have the pleasure of viewing you when you can’t find your way back here.

6 If one can stop it happening in the first place then that is infinitely more acceptable than trying to put it right after it’s happened.

7 It is wiser to ignite a wax lighting implement than to call the blackness one finds oneself in a lot of expletives.

8 If it turns out that the viewing organ does not observe it then the blood pumping organ will not be upset about it.

9 The period in time when Santa Claus arrives only happens just once out of every three hundred and sixty five days or so.

10 The declared winner would be the one that was able to go by the finishing point at the end of the race ahead of all the others.

The four ages of men – 1. You believe in Father Christmas. 2. You don’t believe in Father Christmas. 3. You are Father Christmas.

4. You look like Father Christmas!

PROVERBS

They’ve been slightly re-written – see if you can work out the original sentence.

1 Desist from speculating on the abundance of your domestic fowl until the conclusion of their emergence from the brittle spheroid ova within which they have been ensconced.

2 Without a doubt all the louring elements that are visible in the firmament possess a lustrous fringe.

3 A negative and/or distressing item of correspondence is bound to spread with much alacrity to all and sundry both far and near.

4 Many well-intended schemes designed to benefit one’s fellow beings have over the past provided the flagstones of the route to the underworld.

5 The length of time between financial gain and loss for an imbecile is very short indeed.

6 It is infinitely more acceptable to present oneself at one’s destination in a tardy manner than to desist from materializing at all.

7 Gigantic members of the arboreal ‘Quercus’ are the result of the miniscule issue from said genus plummeting vertically and germinating.

8 There would not be an ejection of carbon particles unless there was an incendiary conflagration.

9 Possessing just fifty percent of a baker’s presentation is by far-and-away more estimable than trying to exist on a zero amount.

10 A person best described as a halfwit is more than likely to be galvanised into a rash advance into an area where wiser divine beings would not consider venturing at any cost.

I know two things about a horse, . . . . and one of them is rather coarse!

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW LONDON STATIONS?

1 The logo of a British bank with a Welsh name. 2 A green space in either Ex, Dart or Bodmin. 3 The place where Robin bought his weapon from. 4 A round area. 5 A river crossing the colour of a pillar box. 6 Where all the film premieres are held in London. 7 A lookout point built on a rise. 8 The way in through a posh garden wall. 9 A make of car. 10 An area of trees owned by a Saint. 11 Largest cemetery in London. 12 Must be the opposite of North Harrow. 13 A very upmarket shopping area. 14 Sounds like the name of a pub. 15 A monarch’s home constructed of glass. 16 Where they let the British WWII four engined bombers in. 17 Home of English football. 18 A large amount of earth holding back a river. 19 A non-Christian holy place. 20 The entrance to the carnival.

Below are the possibilities ~ but not all the names on this list have been used.

Lewisham Southfields Embankment Crystal Palace Tower Hill Lancaster Gate Temple Moor Park Oval Wembley Central Kensal Green St. John’s Wood Red Bridge Finsbury Park Leicester Square Notting Hill Gate Bow Road Bond Street South Harrow Archway Elephant & Castle Kentish Town Blackhorse Road Vauxhall

A very disobedient daughter, Never would do what she oughta. She was ever so rude When eating her food. Which wasn’t the way that they taughter.

SAYINGS, ADAGES AND IDIOMS (2)

1 It would appear that many people become the sustenance that they consume daily.

2 Sky colour for a male offspring and the colour of a blush for a child of the opposite gender.

3 If the Deity had wanted us to be airborne animals He would have provided us with the feathered means to accomplish this.

4 Because of the preponderance of chatter she was emitting with her mouth I was unable to make any vocal headway even trying to do it by pushing my words through at a ninety degree angle.

5 It would be a much wiser move to follow my advice rather than try to imitate my actions.

6 When you meet someone you’ve never met before the thought and feeling that strike you about them is the one that sticks with you for a long time.

7 It was so funny that my noggin became completely detached from the rest of my body.

8 Do you not possess one of those muscular organs within your orifice that enables you to converse with all and sundry about you?

9 It will be infinitely more acceptable if one has shown ardour for another person only to have it rejected than to have been unable to ever experience these feelings of desire in the first place.

10 There will be much merriment and jollity amongst the murine beings during the absence of their natural predator.

The incredible Wizard of Oz, Retired from his business because Due to up-to-date science, To most of his clients, He wasn’t the Wizard he woz!

SINGLE LINE CROSSWORD (1)

Each answer consists of two or more words.

1 Playing truant. 7, 3.

_ u _ _ i _ g _ _ f

2 A frozen confection usually welcome in the summer. 3, 5.

_ _ _ _ r _ _ m

3 What happens when something becomes extinct. 4, 3.

_ _ e s o _ _

4 A type of extra run that can be obtained in cricket. 3, 3.

_ e _ _ y _

th 5 Design style popular at the turn of the 19 century. 3. 7.

A _ _ _ o u _ _ _ u

6 A books first leaf. 5, 4.

_ i _ _ e _ _ g e

7 A type of dance from Cuba. 3, 3, 3.

_ _ a _ h _ c _ _

8 Become happier. 4, 2.

P _ r _ _ p

9 Go back in. 2 – 5.

_ e – e _ _ e _

10 One of the historic periods. 6, 3.

_ _ o _ _ e _ _ e

Why was Father Christmas’s helper feeling glum? He had low elf-esteem.

HOW TO REMEMBER STUFF

Here are some tips on how I remember bits of information – mostly useless information I admit, but I think some of the methods are quite clever. Some you may know already – hopefully some you won’t have seen before.

Stalagmites – Stalactites. Which is which – what grows up and what grows down? Stalagmites - Stalactites ‘G’ for ground and ‘C’ for ceiling says which comes from where.

Visible colours of the Rainbow from the top. Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.

How many humps does a Dromedary or a Batrachian Camel have? Dromedary - Batrachian Put the letters D and B on their side and you will see that – D = I hump & B = 2 humps.

The order of the planets coming away from the Sun. My Very Easy Method Just Speeds Up Naming Planets. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto

(OK – I know Pluto is not counted as a major planet any more, but it wouldn’t make sense without it being in the list which came into being long before Pluto was downgraded!)

They look very similar, so how do you tell a Moorhen from a Coot? Moorhen A moorhen has a red knob (r) above its bill whilst a coot’s is white.

A couple of ways to help teach children how to spell the word ‘Because’. Big Elephants Can Always Use Small Exits or Big Elephants Can Always Understand Small Elephants

My Mum made me put on a clean pair of socks every day . . . by Friday I couldn’t get my shoes on!

SHAKESPEARE’S PLAYS – POSSIBLY!

Here are the titles of 16 of William Shakespeare’s plays – they just need decoding. (To help if need be a full list of his plays is on page 48.)

1 This could be what you enjoy.

2 A dozen dark times after Christmas.

3 A couple of polite chaps from an Italian city.

4 The third month was a bit unlucky for him.

5 A laughable tale of things going wrong.

6 A rude monarch.

7 Lots of these percussion instruments in a row.

8 A fighter plane used by the RAF in the final part of WWII.

9 This king only had two parts to his name.

10 Finding the right size a couple of times.

11 When it was finally over everything was tickety-boo.

12 The English member of royalty without a digit to their name.

13 Caesar’s mate does the dirty on him.

14 What a fuss!

15 He nearly conquered all of France.

16 The lady in this story sounds like she likes salad!

Scientists have discovered a cure for which there is no known disease.

WORD SEARCH – CHRISTMAS

Rudolph, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Elf, Sleigh, Christmas Eve, Toys, Mince Pies, Sack, Sky, Reindeer, Night, Red Suit, Beard, Chimney, Cards, Gifts, Crackers, Mottos, Black Boots,

Stocking, Presents, Cake, Turkey, Santa Claus.

Be warned, just to make the puzzle a bit trickier two of the words above do not appear in the Word Search below.

S O E V L E Y D R R A E S X F E E S T O O B K C A L B A R I O U W E R T Y U I O P A S B E A R D Z N E Z T I L B X C V B K M Q W T H Y U I O P A E D F G C J K C X G C V R U D O L P H B A M Q O R I T Y U I A O F A S D R G H M E E Z R X C S V B N M Q C E R E N L I E O C H I M N E Y P A S T N S G C H J E K O Z X C V B N M O E R N T Y R U T O P A D S D F D J K A L G I F T S N C A R D S V C X R Z L K J O G F D N B A P O I U P S Y O T S Q D M C L B V N I G H T T R E K J I H E E F D S A C K S A P O I U P Y R X R E G Q M N B V C X Z L U K J H G F N S A P O S A N T A C L A U S Y I Y R E I N D E E R T R E W Q K K B N E X I V Q V C X J H G F S C K J F L C V E T I U S D E R H O D T U O A K D E S W B M C N S T H G P O K S D J P T U R K E Y S N S T N E S E R P C B F R T A

The words run up, down, right & left – there are no diagonal words.

Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW SUSSEX?

1 A bit of Lancashire gone astray. 2 Get a pretend taxi. 3 A quiet place to be. 4 Vicious animal fodder. 5 According to the book it’s where the ‘catcher’ lives. 6 Only in your footballing dreams. 7 Almost a Royal WC. 8 The entrance for some East Europeans. 9 What you have when trying to get young boys to wash. 10 This market smells fishy. 11 There ~ it’s just come into sight. 12 Area gone to the black coloured birds. 13 A place to start to cross the ocean perhaps. 14 Almost like Hampstead. 15 The Forestry Commission being orderly again. 16 What have I just sat in? 17 A valuable object held in high esteem. 18 The tapestry shows they were used at answer number nine.

Below are the possibilities ~ but not all the names on this list have been used. Haywards Heath Winchelsea Pevensey Bay Polegate Littlehampton Bognor Regis Hailsham Arundel Forest Row East Preston Peacehaven Hastings Uckfield Worthing Eastbourne Crowborough East Grinstead Battle Lancing Seaford Hove Rye Billinghurst Selsey

Joining a Church is a bit like getting too near to a helicopter. Before too long you get sucked into the rotors – there’s the tea rota, the door rota, the flower rota, the . . .

AN AMAZING MAZE

You have to get from the top left corner to the bottom right corner

Remember Children. The best way to get a puppy for Christmas is to keep on asking for a baby brother!

THE ‘SATOR’ SQUARE and SILLY SENTENCES

Found on a wall in Pompeii, one of the cities buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in AD79, this Latin palindrome not only reads the same forwards and backwards . . .

Rotas opera tenet arepo sator

. . . but when written in a square (as below) it may be read left-to- right, right-to-left, top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top.

R O T A S O P E R A T E N E T A R E P O S A T O R

No-one is sure exactly what it means, but very roughly translated one suggestion is it is words to the effect that ‘The sower Arepo holds with effort the wheels’.

------

Can you read these two sentences? 11 was a racehorse. 22 was 12. When 1111 race, 22112. and Si Senor, der dago. Forte lores inaro. Demarnt lores, demar trux. Fulla cowsan hensan dux.

------

Letter ‘F’s. Read the sentence below and as you do, without marking them or using your finger to count them, see how many letter ‘F’s there are in it.

Finished files are the result of years of scientific study combined with the experience of age.

The solutions are in the ‘Answers’ section under ‘Page 16 - Solutions’.

DO YOU KNOW . . . ? (1)

What are the capital cities of these countries? (And what do they all have in common?) 1 Brazil 2 Mexico 3 Algeria 4 Guatemala 5 Tunisia

What are the overall colours of these European nations’ flags?

1 Germany 3 colours 2 Italy 3 colours 3 Albania 2 colours 4 Norway 3 colours 5 Belgium 3 colours 6 Ukraine 2 colours 7 France 3 colours 8 The Nederland’s 3 colours 9 Sweden 2 colours 10 Latvia 2 colours 11 Eire 3 colours 12 Austria 2 colours 13 Finland 2 colours 14 Iceland 3 colours

What are the home grounds of these English football teams?

1 Queens Park Rangers 2 Derby County 3 Fulham 4 Gillingham 5 Leeds United 6 West Ham United 7 Cardiff City 8 Huddersfield Town 9 Charlton Athletic 10 Norwich City 11 Aston Villa 12 Crystal Palace

A pinch and a punch, it’s the first of the month. A punch and a kick, for being so quick. A poke in the eye for being so sly.

CRACK THE CODE

I have devised 4 different codes. You have 3 of them here. The clues to the 4 codes are - Code 1= Back to Front - Code 2= Straight Swap - Code 3= Move 3 - Code 4= Times 5 You just need to work out which code fits which puzzle and then the rest is easy!

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

T E X Q A L V L R D B Q F C V L R Z O L P P X Z F Q O R P C O R F Q T F Q E X Y B I I?

X K L O X K D B Q E X Q M B B I P F Q P B I C!

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

D S Z G’ H E V I B G Z O O Z M W T L V H V V U R U U L U U N F U?

Z Y Z X P D Z I W T R Z M G!

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

45’ 65 5 60 45 35 40 100 25 5 100 25 90 -

115 40 25 70 45 100’ 95 60 45 35 40 100 45 25 5 100!

Knock Knock. Who’s there? Dexter Dexter who? Dexter halls with boughs of holly!

SINGLE LINE CROSSWORD (2) Each answer consists of two or more words. 1 Definitely going to win. 3, 2, 3, 3.

I _ ‘ s _ n _ h _ _ _ g

2 Hide, disappear – keep out of sight. 3, 3.

_ a y l _ _

3 Completely mystified, not know what to do next. 2, 1, 4.

A _ _ l _ _ s

4 Make yourself heard. 5, 2.

_ p e _ _ _ p

5 Come out again. 2 – 6.

R _ - _ _ _ r _ _

6 Odds and ends at a jumble sale. 4, 1, 4.

B _ _ _ _ b _ _ _

7 Very bored. 3, 2.

_ e _ _ p

8 Three wins in a row. 1, 3, 5.

A _ a _ _ _ i _ k

9 Stopped working – inoperative. 3, 2, 5.

_ _ t o _ _ _ d _ _

10 Type of folder – a stationary item. 5, 4, 6.

_ _ _ se _ e a _ _ i _ d _ _

Pardon, Pardon, Mrs. Arden. My cat’s had kittens in your back garden.

DO YOU KNOW . . . ? (2)

What European countries are these tourist attractions in?

1 Acropolis. 2 Bridge of Sighs 3 City of Valletta 4 Le Mans racing circuit 5 Brandenburg Gate 6 Grand Union Canal 7 St Basil’s Cathedral 8 Alhambra Palace 9 Drottningholm Palace 10 Urquhart Castle

What do these initials stand for?

1 G M T 2 R S P C A 3 H G V 4 R S V P 5 C D 6 S A E 7 F A Q 8 R M S 9 T U C 10 R U F C

In America they call it . . . ?

English American 1 A lift 2 A junior school 3 A postcode 4 Football 5 A wardrobe 6 A kennel 7 A roundabout 8 A game of draughts 9 A nappy 10 To own up to something

TT - What noise annoys an oyster? Annoys an oyster most. What noisy, noisy, noisy, noise annoys an oyster most?

NAME THE . . . (2)

Name the six Northern Irish Counties.

1 2 3 4 5 6

Name all four of the three Musketeers from the similarly named book.

1 2 3 4

Name the five oceans of the World.

1 2 3 4 5

Name the four European countries whose names begin with the letter ‘B’.

1 2 3 4

Name the eight occupations mentioned in the ‘job listing’ rhyme.

1 T . . . 2 T . . . 3 S . . . 4 S . . . 5 R . . . 6 P . . . 7 B . . . 8 T . . .

If you notice this notice, you will notice that this notice is not worth noticing.

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW JUST NORTH OF LONDON?

1 The best way to get the wool. 2 The Goldfish’s home is completely covered in duckweed. 3 What you do with your clothes. 4 You can see a great game of Rugby here. 5 Father Christmas’s beard. 6 It’s all misty. 7 The drinking establishment for the clay workers. 8 Grown a lot in this area. 9 What the Death Watch Beetle does. 10 More than one way to cross the river – which one shall we use? 11 A national beverage of a different hue. 12 What Tomato Sauce does to your clothes. 13 You don’t get many of this type of film around now- a-days. 14 Where you want to be when caught out in the rain. 15 This place really exists – honestly! 16 The ‘Catcher’ trod on a banana skin. 17 Good for roasting over an open fire. 18 You grow them? I thought you bought them.

Below are the possibilities ~ but not all the names on this list have been used. Henham. Tea Green. Staines. Harrow. Bushey. Ruislip. Chesunt. Watford. Weston. Sheering. Hatfield. Elstree. Potters Bar. Wellpond Green. Knebworth. Twickenham. Barley. Chipperfield. Ware. Hemel Hempstead. Welwyn. Ugley. Hayes. Borehamwood.

Queen, Queen Caroline, Washed her hair in Turpentine. Turpentine to make it shine. Queen, Queen Caroline.

‘REASONABLY EASY’ GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

1 Who is England’s patron saint?

2 What is the horticultural emblem for the country of Wales?

3 Who was Winnie the Pooh’s best friend?

4 Name the English author of the book published in 1912 and entitled ‘The Lost World’.

5 What is the name of the Greek god who is half human and half goat?

6 What was the name of the lady who started the Girl Guides Association?

7 What was the name of the Chief Engineer on Star Trek’s USS Enterprise in the original first series?

8 In our Solar System what is the third planet from the Sun?

9 Name the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.

10 What historical event happened in England in 1666?

11 What are the Christian names and surnames of the two ‘best’ friends of Harry Potter in J K Rowling’s books?

12 Name the longest river completely in France.

13 What was the name of the space craft that Yuri Gagarin was in when he circled the Earth?

14 Which English king was involved with the Magna Carta?

15 Which two months of the year are definitely named after Roman gods?

16 What year was the ‘Battle of Britain’?

Why did the little old lady cover her mouth with her hands when she sneezed? To catch her false teeth.

NORSE and GREEK MYTHS and LEGENDS

1 What is the name of the place where the Norse gods live?

2 Who killed the Minotaur in the labyrinth of Knossos?

3 Who was Thor’s father?

4 What was the name of Zeus’s wife, the Queen of Olympus?

5 Who were the females known as the Valkyries?

6 What was the name of the lady who unleashed bad things such as toil, illness, war and death on the World?

7 What was Miolnir?

8 Who was the Greek god of the Sea?

9 What was the Norse name for the Earth?

10 What happened to Daedalus’s son Icarus when they tried to escape from Crete?

11 What is the Norse version of Armageddon called?

12 Who did Hercules leave holding up the sky?

13 Where do most Norse warriors who die in battle end up?

14 What was Demeter the goddess of?

15 What is the name of the Norse god who often seems to be causing trouble?

16 Which Greek legend was the subject of a top-ten pop song released by ‘The Herd’ in 1967?

Good King Wenceslas orders a pizza. “How would you like it, your majesty?” asks the waiter. “Oh, same as usual please,” the King replies. “Deep pan, crisp and even.”

‘REALLY HARD’ GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

1 Who was the commander of the Starship Enterprise in the Star Trek TV series entitled ‘Starship Enterprise’?

2 What does the acronym ‘LASER’ stand for?

3 Apart from Human Beings what is the only other creature in the World that can catch leprosy?

4 Who would often call out on the radio ‘Give him/her the money, Mabel’?

5 What two unlikely male singers dueted singing ‘Little Drummer Boy’ in 1982?

6 What does the initial ‘T’ after a steam engine’s wheel classification mean – as in ‘2-6-2T’ ?

7 Name the longest river completely in Spain.

8 The board game Monopoly originated in the US – what city provided the names for the original streets used in the American version?

9 What design was on the reverse (tails) side of a pre-1937 halfpenny?

10 Now days it’s all done by the size of the font, but what was the measurement used when printing was done by hand with movable type?

11 How many books altogether did Enid Blyton write?

12 What does the acronym ‘ACAS’ stand for?

13 In mythology it was a huge limbless and wingless serpent – its name does not have any of the 5 vowels in its spelling - so what is it?

14 Who composed the ‘Barber of Seville’ opera?

15 In Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ one of the characters has a part of his body changed by the fairies – who and into what?

16 The original play by J M Barrie was called ‘Peter Pan’ – 6 years later it appeared as a book with the title of . . . what?

WORD SEARCH – FLOWERS

Buttercup, Tulip, Daffodil, Daisy, Dandelion, Rose, Wallflower, Bindweed, Crocus, Primrose, Forget-me-not, Scarlet Pimpernel, Bluebell, Lilly, Carnation, Viola, Chrysanthemum, Jasmine, Violet,

Hollyhocks, Foxglove, Clover, Gorse, Snowdrop, Poppy.

Be warned, just to make the puzzle a bit trickier two of the flowers named above do not appear in the Word Search below.

B D U V D X O S E Z A R G O L E E K V B M M E A W C D A I S Y I H U Q S Q I E A C A P P L E M D R G N H F O R G E T M E N O T F J F A S P S G R H M G V B N O J N G N F Y T S A Q C E D N O I L E D N A D T L E I T W K L M N A N V C O L L T D E N I M S A J A V E U E R O W X H Y J E R E N M P O P P Y P R A R R R R R R P R R M O H P E P S E E U C D I U T C Z G U J P W O F S M S U C O R C R M O C C E R S T E C H R R I L D U F O X G L O V E R P F L E E S V B N M Y T W T L I L L E C P I L U T T E L N O I T A N R A C U R L A Y M B O I U 0 R T B E R W L B C V B N S V I O L A W L I N I K P E U P Q D C A I S H O L L Y H O C K S S L L E B E U L B I L O C

The words run up, down, right & left – there are no diagonal words.

TT - A proper cup of coffee from a proper copper coffee pot.

CHRISTMAS QUIZ

1 What did ‘My True Love’ send me on day seven?

2 According to the carol which plant in the wood ‘Bears the crown’?

3 Who tried to ‘steal’ Christmas in a children’s book?

4 Is the title of the famous Christmas song ‘Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer’ or ‘Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer’?

5 What do the actual ’12 Days of Christmas’ symbolise?

6 The 1942 hit-song ‘White Christmas’ appeared in the film ‘Holiday Inn’ – who sang it?

7 What ocean is Christmas Island in?

8 Boxing Day shares its date with what other named day in December?

9 Assuming I only got one ‘gift’ each day how many items all together did ‘My True Love’ send me by day 12?

10 In what decade did Band Aid’s ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ appear?

11 What is the name usually given to the 5th of January?

12 ‘Jingle Bells’ was not originally a Christmas song – what special holiday was it originally written for?

13 He’s a character in Dicken’s ‘A Christmas Carol’, so what is ‘Tiny Tim’s’ full name?

14 Harry Belafonte made famous which Christmas song?

15 What were the three gifts the ‘Magi’ took to the stable?

16 What are the first two lines of Clement Moore’s poem ‘A Visit From St. Nicholas’?

17 Where were the ‘ships all three’ sailing to?

18 According to Royal Mail what is Santa’s Address and Postcode?

What is Father Christmas’s telephone number? 0 0 0

TRUE OR FALSE (2) Just need to tick the right box if you think the sentence is true or false.

T F 1 The profit that ‘The Great Exhibition’ at the Crystal Palace made was invested in land in South Kensington and one result was the Victoria and Albert Museum. 2 A ‘Caltrop’ is a device used by a Blacksmith to help shoe horses ~ it holds the shoe while he bends the nails over. 3 Our tongue has four basic taste areas ~ sweet at the tip of the tongue, salt along the sides at the front, bitter at the base and sour along the sides at the back. 4 There really is an element called Kryptonite. 5 China’s capital city ~ Beijing ~ used to be called Shanghai. 6 The study of Rhinoceros’s is known as Rhinology. 7 The word ‘camera’ comes from the Greek ‘Kamara’ meaning an ‘Arched Room’. 8 Despite some of their names all Santa’s reindeer are female. 9 Because of the (supposed) fear that Royalty in the UK will fall if the Ravens leave the Tower of London they have had their wings clipped to prevent them from flying away. 10 ‘The Ride of the Valkyries’ was written by Wagner. 11 Roland Rat’s friend, Kevin, was a Jerboa ~ a desert rat. 12 Two of the stalwarts in the ‘Beano’ comic were ‘Korky the Cat’ and ‘Beryl the Peril’. 13 Out of 130 ships in the Spanish Armada that set out to invade England only 67 eventually got back to Spain when it was all over. 14 Currer Bell was the pen-name of Charlotte Brontë. 15 The pin that holds a hinge together is called a ‘Pantile’. 16 The Chelsea Flower Show is Britain’s largest flower show. 17 A group calling itself the ‘Cast Off knitting Club’ used to hold knit- ins whilst travelling around London’s Circle Line. 18 A ‘Leveret’ is a young Rabbit ~ usually below a year old. 19 15m 42cm 39mm + 3m 24cm 95mm = 18m 67cm 34mm. 20 Standard Gauge railway track is set at 4’ 8½” (the gap between the running rails).

What’s your dad getting for Christmas? Bald and fat!

BOOK TITLES YOU’LL NEVER SEE IN THE SHOPS!

Travelling Efficiently by Mr. Buss

How To Drive A Bulldozer by Dee Struction

The Merciful Judge by Lee Neeyent

A Beast Of Burden by Don Keeye

Hosting A Party by Kate Erring

Dog Training by Kay Niyne

The Life Of A Traffic Cop by Paul Ova

MP’s And Canvassing Tactics by Pam Flit

Sewing For Beginners by Fred A Neeidle

Convicting A Criminal by Pru Vit

Crafting With Toddlers by May Dermess

Archaeology by Doug Itup

The Art Of Shopping by Carrie A Bagge

The Comedian by Hilary Ous

The Anatomy Of The Face by Mandy Bull

The History Of Oriental Clothing by Kim Ono

A Mexican Holiday by Amy Rillis

How To Repair A Leaky Tap by Constant Dripping

Christmas Traditions by Ollie Andeivie

Romance At Yuletide by Miss L Towe

Scientists have finally isolated the common cold virus. They knew it was the right one – its little nose was running!

TRICKY QUESTIONS – OR STUPID QUESTIONS?

1 What always goes to sleep with its shoes on?

2 What question can you never honestly answer ‘yes’ to?

3 What can you lose, but usually hangs around so you can lose it again?

4 What does ‘H I J K L M N O’ spell?

5 What invention allows you to see through walls?

6 Why is a room full of married people empty?

7 How can you make the number ‘one’ disappear?

8 When will water stop flowing downhill?

9 How can you take half away from something and end up with more?

10 When is a brown dog not a brown dog?

11 What type of bow can’t be tied?

12 What tastes a lot better than it smells?

13 What has a spine, but has no bones?

14 If you have it you don’t share it. If you do share it you don’t have it. What is it?

15 In English what comes after the letter ‘E’?

16 Who is ‘Nambawan pikinini bilong misis kwin’?

17 When does a cart come before a horse?

18 If you were left-handed which hand would you use to stir your tea?

19 ‘Fast’ and ‘Cleave’ – two words, both with a weird fact in common. Which is?

A messy kitchen is a happy kitchen . . . my kitchen is delirious!

ART and ARTISTS

1 What famous painting is noted for the enigmatic smile on the face of its subject?

2 What is the usual name given to paintings that show a bowl of fruit, a vase of flowers or similar subjects?

3 What form of art is Sir Jacob Epstein famous for?

4 Who was the founder and central figure of the art form known as ‘Impressionism’?

5 The English artist Sir Alfred Munnings is best known for his pictures depicting what?

6 Who painted ‘The Last Supper’ on a wall in Milan?

7 By what name is the anonymous graffiti artist whose images are often politically motivated known as?

8 A famous portrait by Frans Hals, a Dutch artist, is called ‘The Laughing . . .’ – what?

9 What is the name of the form of painting in which paint is applied to wet plaster?

10 Name the artist famous for an association with the Sistine Chapel.

11 What form of art depicts objects by rectangular or geometrical forms?

12 What type of painting is usually associated with John Constable?

13 Who designed the contemporary modern sculpture ‘The Angel of the North’?

14 Nicknamed the ‘Personification of Beauty’ – this sculpture in the Louvre’s correct title is . . . what?

15 The Norwegian artist Edvard Munch produced four very similar pictures, but all with the same title – which was?

16 ‘The Night Watch’ was painted by which famous Dutch artist?

17 What type of painting scenes is Degas most famous for?

18 The sculpture known as ‘The Thinker’ was sculpted by who?

JUMBLED WORDS - CHRISTMAS

1 yots 19 hresda 2 nkostcig 20 gddpuni 3 ginth 21 narrepc 4 ysk 22 obkctaslbo 5 eieerrnd 23 itceodorans 6 dprhoul 24 nxeiv 7 eimpisecn 25 ruteyk 8 nelitzb 26 csak 9 srcecark 27 mtcoe 10 taclnaussa 28 tidsreu 11 teerpsns 29 pdiuc 12 ndoren 30 mtheecrsisva 13 geslih 31 drasc 14 mneihcy 32 tfsig 15 etsircemhtsar 33 fle 16 drabe 34 ttomso 17 acek 35 rsainpehacp 18 acndre 36 heltnpoor

Words needing to be unmixed above.

Stocking Toys Sky Pudding Night Christmas Eve Prancer Turkey Mottos Cupid Chimney Santa Claus Presents Sack Comet Donner North Pole Black Boots Vixen Cake Reindeer Red Suit Blitzen Christmas Tree Gifts Dancer Dasher Mince Pies Crackers Rudolph Beard Cards Sleigh Elf Decorations Paper chains

Knock, Knock. Who’s there? Mary. Mary who? Mary Christmas.

COLLECTIVE NOUNS

Collective nouns are used to describe a group of something – i.e. a herd of cows.

(In some cases a couple of nouns that are often used have been provided as answers.)

1 What is the usual collective noun for a group of wolves? 2 What is the usual collective noun for a group of kittens? 3 What is the usual collective noun for a group of 80 Roman soldiers? 4 What is the usual collective noun for a group of porpoises? 5 What is the usual collective noun for a group of steps or stairs? 6 What is the usual collective noun for a group of coaches? (As in ‘Buses’) 7 What is the usual collective noun for a group of deer? 8 What is the usual collective noun for a group of bee hives? 9 What is the usual collective noun for a group of locusts? 10 What is the usual collective noun for a group of people watching a stage presentation? 11 What is the usual collective noun for a group of oysters? 12 What is the usual collective noun for a group of female beauties? 13 What is the usual collective noun for a group of crows? 14 What is the usual collective noun for a group of cub scouts? 15 What is the usually cynical collective noun for a group of laughs?

Name ten animals from Africa – er . . . nine elephants and a giraffe.

COCKNEY RHYMING SLANG

Draw a line from the Cockney word to its meaning.

1 Weasel and Stoat Voice

2 Plates of Meat Later

3 Fisherman’s Daughter Dead

4 Hampstead Heath Face

5 Mince Pies Facts

6 Alligator Table

7 Cain and Abel Talk

8 Hobson’s Choice Water

9 Dickey Bird Money

10 Rosie Lee Coat

11 Boat Race Telephone

12 Brass Tacks Feet

13 Noah’s Ark Teeth

14 Hot Cross Bun Eyes

15 Brown Bread Dark

16 Dog and Bone Tea

17 Rabbit and Pork Word

18 Bread and Honey Run

What do you call someone who is frightened of Father Christmas? Santa Claustrophobic.

‘MAYBE NOT TOO HARD’ GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

1 What is the name of the person who was a friend and assistant to Sherlock Holmes?

2 Who supposedly sat on a throne by the sea to prove to his courtiers that he could not control the tide?

3 How do you classify an animal that only eats fruit and vegetables, etc.?

4 What is the capital city of Finland?

5 The children’s picture book by Raymond Briggs called ‘The Snowman’ was made into a cartoon which featured a famous song . . . what is the name of the song?

6 What is the flower emblem for the country of Scotland?

7 What sort of creature was the sheep keeper Polyphemus who Odysseus came across on an island during his journey home after the Trojan War?

8 Who wrote the novel ’1984’?

9 In ‘old pre-decimal’ weights how many pounds were there in 10½ stone?

10 What famous international set of games originally began in Greece?

11 What is the name of the WWII warship which is anchored in the River Thames and has become a tourist attraction?

12 What is the capital city of Cyprus?

13 Which would-be king was defeated at the Battle of Sedgemoor in 1685?

14 Before 1997 what flag used to fly over Buckingham Palace when the Queen was not at home?

15 Avebury Stone Circle is in which English County?

16 What was the building in London known as ‘Newgate’ infamous for?

A shin is something you use to find furniture in the dark.

PLAYGROUND GAMES

There were many games that I played and enjoyed in the playground in my Infant and Junior Schools in London. Here is a selection of some of the games that I remember. Some you will probably have played, but they possibly had different names and/or rules.

‘HE’ – Someone was ‘it’ and they had to touch another player so that they then became ‘it’ and released the original ‘it’ who then became one of the hunted.

‘KINGY’ – A child had a tennis ball and tried to hit one of the other players below the knees with it. If successful the ‘hit’ player now had to do the throwing.

‘FIVES’ – 5 small square ‘stones’ each about the size of a marble. You threw all 5 in the air to see how many you could catch on the back of your hand. You then ‘waggled’ your hand to leave just one ‘stone’ on the back and then threw it up to catch it in your palm. You then had a number of different things you had to do in the right order. First was ‘Onseys’, then ‘Twoseys’, then ‘Threeseys’, ‘Fourseys’, ‘Fiveseys’. Then it got harder – ‘Lobster’, ‘Lobster Pot’, ‘Crab’ and ‘Nelson’s Column’ are all I can remember. As soon as you messed one action up the next person had a go.

‘PEEP BEHIND THE CURTAIN 1 2 3’ – Someone stood with their back towards the rest of the players (usually facing a wall). The rest had to creep up without getting seen as the ‘spotter’ could turn round at any time and call out if they had seen anybody actually moving. If spotted they returned to the start line to begin again. The ‘spotter’ then turned back to the wall and the rest crept forward. The winner was the person who eventually reached the ‘spotter’ and tapped them on the shoulder.

‘NAME GAME’ – One child had their back to the others and called out a letter of the alphabet. If that letter was in your name you moved one step forward. This went on until somebody reached the caller and took their place.

‘BUZZUPS’ – Two young people stood side by side and crossed arms behind each other’s backs and then held hands. They were then free to run about and race with similar pairs of children. (Not good if you fell over!)

‘QUEENIE’* – Again usually played by a wall. One youngster faced the wall and then threw a ball over their shoulder to be caught by one of the children behind them. There was then a chant (below) and the thrower turned and had to guess who had the ball. If a correct guess was made the ball holder took their place against the wall.

*Queenie, Queenie. Who’s got the ball? Is she big or is she small? Is she fat or is she thin? Is she like a rolling pin?

ENGLISH POSTCODES AND THEIR PLACES

Draw a line from the Postcode to its area.

1 CO Gloucester

2 DH Harrow

3 PE Northampton

4 LN Huddersfield

5 MK North West (London)

6 W Worcester

7 HA Colchester

8 NN Plymouth

9 NW Hemel Hempstead

10 HD Lincoln

11 DT Durham

12 OL Leicester

13 LS Oldham

14 GL Milton Keynes

15 WR West (London)

16 PL Leeds

17 LE Dorchester

18 HP Peterborough

People who live in glasshouses should get dressed in the basement.

‘CAR’ WORDS

Words that have ‘car’ at the beginning of their spelling. 1 A big, heavy, strong equine animal.

2 Physically move something with your hands.

3 A type of ad-hoc market. 3 words

4 A sea and area on the North American continent.

5 The things you travel in on a train journey.

6 A variety of white, pink or red flower.

7 What you call the goods being transported inside a ship.

8 What you hope your new job will be - your . . .

9 A plastic or strong paper method of moving 2 words shopping.

10 What you are if you accidently drop something.

11 A happy parade.

12 What sculptors do.

13 You see them at the pictures or on TV.

14 Flexible tissue covering the ends of your joints.

15 It covers the floor.

16 What you get if you don’t like travelling in a car.

17 What you take so that you don’t injure yourself.

18 A vivid crimson colour.

What do you get if you cross an elephant with a mouse? Great big holes in the skirting board.

ANSWERS

NAME THE . . . (1) – Answers – Page 4

Name the six sets of bells mentioned in the nursery rhyme about bells. St Clements, St Martins, Old Bailey, Shoreditch, Stepney, Bow. Name the six friends who accompanied Uncle Tom Cobley to Widdicombe Fair. Bill Brewer, Jan Stewer, Peter Gurney, Peter Davy, Dan’l Whiddon, Harry Hawke. Name the eight states in the USA that begin with the letter ‘N’. Nevada, Nebraska, New York, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota. Name the five that went along the ‘Yellow Brick Road’. Dorothy, The Scarecrow, The Tin Woodman, The Cowardly Lion, Toto (Dorothy’s dog). Name the nicknames of the five Spice Girls. Scary Spice, Sporty Spice, Baby Spice, Ginger Spice, Posh Spice.

TRUE OR FALSE (1) - Answers – Page 5

1. Untrue- his 3rd wife was Jane Seymour. 2. True- there were no casualties, but £40 million worth of damage was achieved in just a couple of minutes. 3. True. 4. Untrue- an artist uses a palette ~ the palate is the roof of the mouth. 5. Untrue- it’s in Mali. 6. Untrue- it’s a dry stream bed that quickly fills with water when it eventually rains. 7. True- it was originally the interval between Roman censuses. 8. True. 9. Untrue- not Argentina, but Ecuador. 10. True- your metabolism works over time to try and calm you down, but sometimes it is too effective and calms you down so much that your heart just stops. 11. True. 12. True- NaCl is, of course, Sodium Chloride or common salt. 13. True. 14. True- the song was ‘Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer’. 15. Untrue- it was fought during the Crimean War against the Russians. 16. True- his creator, Jim Henson, was and this resulted in many of his creations being left-handed. 17. True. 18. Untrue- he was Polish. 19. True- it was, of course, the Soviet ‘Secret Police’ of the ‘Cold War’ era. 20. Untrue- the Northern Line has black as its colour.

SAYINGS, ADAGES AND IDIOMS (1) – Answers – Page 6

1 Talk the hind legs off of a donkey. 2 Like father, like son. 3 Don't meet troubles half-way. 4 Drew the short straw. 5 Get lost! 6 Prevention is better than cure. 7 Better to light a candle than curse the darkness. 8 What the eye doesn't see, the heart won't grieve over. 9 Christmas comes but once a year. 10 First past the post.

PROVERBS – Answers – Page 7

1. Don’t count your chickens until they’re hatched. 2. Every cloud has a silver lining. 3. Bad news travels fast. 4. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. 5. A fool and his money are soon parted. 6. Better late than never. 7. From tiny acorns mighty oak trees grow. 8. There’s no smoke without fire. 9. Half a loaf is better than none. 10. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW LONDON STATIONS? Answers – Page 8 1 The logo of a British bank with a Welsh name. Blackhorse Road (Lloyds) 2 A green space in either Ex, Dart or Bodmin. Moor Park 3 The road where Robin bought his weapon from. Bow Road 4 A round area. Oval 5 A river crossing the colour of a pillar box. Red Bridge 6 Where all the film premieres are held in London. Leicester Square 7 A lookout point built on a rise. Tower Hill 8 The way in. Archway 9 A make of car. Vauxhall 10 An area of trees owned by a Saint. St. John’s Wood 11 Largest cemetery in London. Kensal Green 12 Must be the opposite of North Harrow. South Harrow 13 A very upmarket shopping area. Bond Street 14 Sounds like the name of a pub. Elephant & Castle 15 A monarch’s home constructed of glass. Crystal Palace 16 Where they let the British WWII four engined bombers in. Lancaster Gate 17 Home of English football. Wembley Central 18 A large amount of earth holding back a river. Embankment 19 A non-Christian holy place. Temple 20 The entrance to the carnival. Notting Hill Gate

SAYINGS, ADAGES AND IDIOMS (2) – Answers – Page 9

1 You are what you eat. 2 Blue for a boy and pink for a girl. 3 If God had meant us to fly he'd have given us wings. 4 Couldn’t get a word in edgeways. 5 Do as I say, not do as I do. 6 First impressions are the most lasting. 7 Laughed my head off. 8 Haven’t you got a tongue in your head? 9 Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. 10 When the cat's away the mice will play.

SINGLE LINE CROSSWORD (1) – Answers – Page 10

1. Bunking off. 2. Ice cream. 3. Dies out. 4. Leg bye. 5. Art Nouveau. 6. Title page. 7. Cha cha cha. 8. Perk up. 9. Re-enter. 10. Bronze age.

HOW TO REMEMBER STUFF – Page 11

SHAKESPEARE’S PLAYS – POSSIBLY! – Answers – Page 12

1. As You Like It. 2. Twelfth Night. 3. Two Gentlemen Of Verona. 4. Julius Caesar. 5. A Comedy Of Errors. 6. King Lear. 7. Cymbeline. 8. Tempest. 9. Henry IV Part I & Part II. 10. Measure For Measure. 11. All’s Well That Ends Well. 12. King John. 13. Anthony And Cleopatra. 14. Much Ado About Nothing. 15. Henry V. 16. Troilus And Cressida.

WORD SEARCH – CHRISTMAS – Solution – Page 13

S O E V L E Y D R R A E S X F E E S T O O B K C A L B A R I O U W E R T Y U I O P A S B E A R D Z N E Z T I L B X C V B K M Q W T H Y U I O P A E D F G C J K C X G C V R U D O L P H B A M Q O R I T Y U I A O F A S D R G H M E E Z R X C S V B N M Q C E R E N L I E O C H I M N E Y P A S T N S G C H J E K O Z X C V B N M O E R N T Y R U T O P A D S D F D J K A L G I F T S N C A R D S V C X R Z L K J O G F D N E A P O I U P S Y O T S Q D M C L B V N I G H T T R E K J I H E B F D S A C K S A P O I U P Y R X R E G Q M N B V C X Z L U K J H G F N S A P O S A N T A C L A U S Y I Y R E I N D E E R T R E W Q K K B N E X I V Q V C X J H G F S C K J F L C V E T I U S D E R H O D T U O A K D E S W B M C N S T H G P O K S D J P T U R K E Y S N S T N E S E R P C B F R T A

The words missing from the puzzle are ‘Mince pies’ and ‘Christmas Eve’

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW SUSSEX? – Answers – Page 14

1 A bit of Lancashire gone astray. East Preston 2 Get a pretend taxi. Hailsham 3 A quiet place to be. Peacehaven 4 Vicious animal fodder. Hastings 5 According to the book it’s where the ‘catcher’ lives. Rye 6 Only in your footballing dreams. Winchelsea 7 Almost a Royal WC. Bognor Regis 8 The entrance for some East Europeans. Polegate 9 What you have when trying to get young boys to wash. Battle 10 This market smells fishy. Billinghurst 11 There ~ it’s just come into sight. Hove 12 Area gone to the black coloured birds. Crowborough 13 A place to start to cross the ocean perhaps. Seaford 14 Almost like Hampstead. Haywards Heath 15 The Forestry Commission being orderly again. Forest Row 16 What have I just sat in? Uckfield 17 A valuable object held in high esteem. Worthing 18 The tapestry shows they were used at answer number nine. Lancing

AN AMAZING MAZE – Solution – Page 15

THE SATOR SQUARE and SILLY SENTENCES – Solutions - Page 16

‘Can you read these sentences?’ Wunwun was a racehorse. Tutu was one too. When Wunwun won one race, Tutu won one too. See, Senor. There they go. Forty lorries in a row. Them aren’t lorries. Them are trucks. Full of cows and hens and ducks. (Please excuse the bad English with the second one) ‘How many letter ‘F’s’? In actual fact there are 6 letter ‘F’s in the sentence. Did you do what I did when I first tried it? Miss counting the ‘F’s in the 3 repeats of the word ‘of’ in the sentence.

DO YOU KNOW . . . ? (1) – Answers – Page 17

What are the capital cities of these countries?

1 Brazil Brasilia 2 Mexico Mexico City 3 Algeria Algiers 4 Guatemala Guatemala City 5 Tunisia Tunis Each city has almost the same name as the country it’s the capital of.

What are the overall colours of these European nations’ flags?

1 Germany Red, Yellow & Black 2 Italy Green, White & Red 3 Albania Red with a Black Emblem 4 Norway Blue, Red & White 5 Belgium Black, Yellow and Red 6 Ukraine Blue & Yellow 7 France Red, White & Blue. 8 The Nederland’s Red, White & Blue 9 Sweden Blue & Yellow 10 Latvia Red & White 11 Eire Green, White & Orange 12 Austria Red & White 13 Finland Blue & White 14 Iceland Red, White & Blue

What are the home grounds of these English football teams?

1 Queens Park Rangers Loftus Road 2 Derby County Pride Park 3 Fulham Craven Cottage 4 Gillingham The Medway Priestfield Stadium 5 Leeds United Elland Road 6 West Ham United London Stadium 7 Cardiff City Cardiff City Stadium 8 Huddersfield Town John Smith’s Stadium 9 Charlton Athletic The Valley 10 Norwich City Carrow Road 11 Aston Villa Villa Park 12 Crystal Palace Selhurst Park

CRACK THE CODE – Solution - Page 18

1 = What do you get if you cross a citrus fruit with a bell? – An orange that peels itself! (Code No. 3) 2 = What’s very tall and goes ‘Eef iff off muf’? – A backward giant! (Code No. 1) 3 = I’m a light eater – when it’s light I eat! (Code No. 4)

SINGLE LINE CROSSWORD (2) – Answers – Page 19

1. It’s in the bag. 2. Lay low. 3. At a loss. 4. Speak up. 5. Re-emerge. 6. Bric a brac. 7. Fed up. 8. A Hat trick. 9. Out of order. 10. Loose leaf binder.

DO YOU KNOW . . . ? (2) – Answers – Page 20

What European countries are these tourist attractions in?

1 Acropolis Greece 2 Bridge of Sighs Italy 3 City of Valletta Malta 4 Le Mans racing circuit France 5 Brandenburg Gate Germany 6 Grand Union Canal England 7 St Basil’s Cathedral Russia 8 Alhambra Palace Spain 9 Drottningholm Palace Sweden 10 Urquhart Castle Scotland

What do these initials stand for?

1 G M T Greenwich Mean Time 2 R S P C A Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals 3 H G V Heavy Goods Vehicle 4 R S V P Répondez S'il Vous Plaît (Please reply) 5 C D Compact Disc 6 S A E Stamped Addressed Envelope 7 F A Q Frequently Asked Questions 8 R M S Royal Mail Ship 9 T U C Trade Union Congress 10 R U F C Rugby Union Football Club

In America they call it . . . ?

English American 1 A lift An elevator 2 A junior school An elementary school 3 A postcode A zip code 4 Football Soccer 5 A wardrobe A closet 6 A kennel A doghouse 7 A roundabout A carousel 8 A game of draughts A game of checkers 9 A nappy A diaper 10 To own up to something To ‘Fess up’

NAME THE . . . (2) – Answers – Page 21

Name the six Northern Irish Counties. Co. Fermanagh, Co. Antrim, Co. Tyrone, Co. Londonderry, Co. Armagh, Co. Down. Name all four of the three Musketeers from the book of the same name. Athos, Porthos, Aramis, D’Artagnon. Name the five oceans of the World. Pacific, Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Southern (around Antarctica). Name the four European countries whose names begin with the letter ‘B’. Belgium, Bulgaria, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Name the eight occupations mentioned in the ‘job listing’ rhyme. Tinker, Tailor. Soldier. Sailor. Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief.

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW JUST NORTH OF LONDON? Answers – Page 22

1 The best way to get the wool. Sheering 2 The Goldfish’s home is completely covered in duckweed. Wellpond Green 3 What you do with your clothes. Ware 4 You can see a great game of Rugby here. Twickenham 5 Father Christmas’s beard. Bushey 6 It’s all misty. Hayes 7 The drinking establishment for the clay workers. Potters Bar 8 Grown a lot in this area. Barley 9 What the Death Watch Beetle does. Borehamwood 10 More than one way to cross the river – which one shall we use? Watford 11 A national beverage of a different hue. Tea Green 12 What Tomato Sauce does to your clothes. Staines 13 You don’t get many of this type of film around now-a-days. Weston 14 Where you want to be when caught out in the rain. Welwyn 15 This place really exists – honestly! Ugley 16 The ‘Catcher’ trod on a banana skin. Ruislip 17 Good for roasting over an open fire. Chesunt 18 You grow them? I thought you bought them. Hatfield

‘REASONABLY EASY’ GENERAL KNOWLEDGE – Answers – Page 23

1. St. George. 2. The Daffodil. 3. Piglet. 4. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. 5. Pan. 6. Agnes Baden-Powell – BP’s sister. 7. Montgomery ‘Scottie’ Scott. 8. The Earth. 9. Sicily. 10. The ‘Great Fire of London’. 11. Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. 12. The Loire. 13. Vostok. 14. King John. 15. January – Janus and March – Mars. 16. 1940.

NORSE AND GREEK MYTHS AND LEGENDS – Answers – Page 24

1. Asgard. 2. Theseus. 3. Odin. 4. Hera. 5. The battle maidens Odin sends to allot death or victory to soldiers. 6. Pandora. 7. The name of Thor’s hammer. 8. Poseidon. 9. Midgard. 10. He flew too near the sun causing the wax on his wings to melt and fall to his death. 11. The day of Ragnarök. 12. The Titan named Atlas. 13. A large banqueting hall in Asgard called Valhalla. 14. Agriculture, Fertility, Sacred Law and the Harvest. 15. Loki. 16. Orpheus. (‘From The Underworld’)

‘REALLY HARD’ GENERAL KNOWLEDGE – Answers – Page 25

1. Captain Jonathan Archer. 2. Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. 3. An Armadillo. 4. Wilfred Pickles (‘Have A Go’ radio programme - 1946 to 1967). 5. Bing Crosby and David Bowie. 6. It means it’s a ‘Tank’ engine. 7. The Ebro. 8. Atlantic City - New Jersey. 9. Britannia – same as on the old penny. 10. Emm’s – the width of the letter ‘M’ in whatever size type they were required to use. 11. 762. 12. Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service. 13. The Wyrm. 14. Rossini. 15. Nick Bottom, the weaver, is given a donkey’s head. 16. ‘Peter and Wendy’.

WORD SEARCH FLOWERS – Solution – Page 26

The two flowers missing from the puzzle are ‘Bindweed’ and ‘Violet’

CHRISTMAS QUIZ – Answers – Page 27

1. Seven swans a ’swimming. 2. The Holly. 3. The ‘Grinch’ – ‘How The Grinch Stole Christmas’ by Dr. Seuss. 4. ‘Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer’. 5. The time from the birth of Jesus to the arrival of the Magi. 6. Bing Crosby. 7. The Indian Ocean. 8. St. Stephen’s Day. 9. 78 gifts. 10. 1980’s (1984). 11. ‘Twelfth Night’. 12. American ‘Thanksgiving Day’. 13. Timothy Cratchit. 14. ‘Mary’s Boy Child’. 15. Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. 16. ‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse’. 17. To Bethlehem. 18. Santa Clause/Father Christmas, Santa’s Grotto, Reindeerland. XM4 5HQ.

TRUE OR FALSE (2) - Answers – Page 28

1. True- along with other museums in the area. 2. Untrue- it’s a medieval device with 4 sharp points laid in front of an army to stop cavalry horses getting near the foot soldiers. 3. Untrue- all tastes can be experienced by all taste-buds anywhere on the tongue almost equally ~ and there’s a fifth taste as well called ‘Umami’ and is the taste of protein in savoury foods. 4. Untrue- Kryptonite does not exist, however there is an inert gas called Krypton, its Atomic Number is 36 and its symbol is Kr (but it’s not green in colour!). 5. Untrue- it used to be called Peking. 6. Untrue- Rhinology is the study of noses and their problems. 7. True. 8. True – technically ~ female reindeer keep their horns until they lose them in the Spring whilst male reindeer shed them in late Autumn and pictures usually show the sleigh in December pulled by horned reindeer. 9. True. 10. True. 11. Untrue- Kevin was a gerbil. 12. Untrue- they were both in the ‘Dandy’. 13. True. 14. True. 15. Untrue- it’s called a ‘pintile’ ~ a pantile is a type of roof tile. 16. Untrue- the largest is the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. 17. True. 18. Untrue- a leveret is a young hare, not a young rabbit. 19. True. 20. True.

BOOK TITLES YOU’LL NEVER SEE IN THE SHOPS! – Page 29

TRICKY QUESTIONS – OR STUPID QUESTIONS? – Answers – Page 30

1. A horse. 2. ‘Are you asleep?’ 3. Your temper. 4. Water (H to O = H2O) 5. A window. 6. Because there isn’t a single person in it. 7. Add a ‘G’ to it and it’s ‘gone’. 8. When it reaches the bottom. 9. Write down the word ‘HALFPENNY’ and rub/cross out ‘HALF’. 10. When it’s a Greyhound. 11. A Rainbow. 12. A tongue. 13. A book. 14. A secret. 15. The letter ‘N’. 16. Prince Charles (it’s Pidgin English from Papua New Guinea). 17. In the dictionary. 18. Neither – hopefully you’d use a spoon. 19. They can both have completely opposite meanings depending on the context you use the words (Go fast / stuck fast – Cleave together / cleave apart).

ART and ARTISTS – Answers – Page 31

1. ‘The Mona Lisa’. 2. Still Life. 3. Sculpture. 4. Claude Monet. 5. Horses. 6. Leonardo da Vinci. 7. Banksy. 8. ‘The Laughing Cavalier’. 9. Fresco. 10. Michelangelo. 11. Cubism. 12. Landscapes. 13. Antony Gormley. 14. The ‘Venus de Milo’. 15. ‘The Scream’. 16. Rembrandt. 17. Ballet scenes. 18. Auguste Rodin.

JUMBLED WORDS - CHRISTMAS – Answers – Page 32

1 yots Toys 19 hresda Dasher 2 nkostcig Stocking 20 gddpuni Pudding 3 ginth Night 21 narrepc Prancer 4 ysk Sky 22 obkctaslbo Black Boots 5 eieerrnd Reindeer 23 itceodorans Decorations 6 dprhoul Rudolph 24 nxeiv Vixen 7 eimpisecn Mince Pies 25 ruteyk Turkey 8 nelitzb Blitzen 26 csak Sack 9 srcecark Crackers 27 mtcoe Comet 10 taclnaussa Santa Claus 28 tidsreu Red Suit 11 teerpsns Presents 29 pdiuc Cupid 12 ndoren Donner 30 mtheecrsisva Christmas Eve 13 geslih Sleigh 31 drasc Cards 14 mneihcy Chimney 32 tfsig Gifts 15 etsircemhtsar Christmas Tree 33 fle Elf 16 drabe Beard 34 ttomso Mottos 17 acek Cake 35 rsainpehacp Paper chains 18 acndre Dancer 36 heltnpoor North Pole

COLLECTIVE NOUNS – Answers – Page 33

1. A ‘Pack’. 2. A ‘Kindle’. 3. A ‘Century’. 4. A ‘School’ or a ‘Pod’. 5. A ‘Flight’. 6. A ‘Fleet’. 7. A ‘Herd’. 8. An ‘Apiary’. 9. A ‘Plague’. 10. An ‘Audience’. 11. A ‘Bed’. 12. A ‘Bevy’. 13. A ‘Murder’. 14. A ‘Cub Pack’ or just a ‘Pack’. 15. A ‘Barrel’.

COCKNEY RHYMING SLANG – Answers – Page 34

1. Weasel and Stoat – Coat. 2. Plates of Meat – Feet. 3. Fisherman’s Daughter – Water. 4. Hampstead Heath – Teeth. 5. Mince Pies – Eyes. 6. Alligator – Later. 7. Cain and Abel – Table. 8. Hobson’s Choice – Voice. 9. Dickey Bird – Word. 10. Rosie Lee - Tea. 11. Boat Race – Face. 12. Brass Tacks – Facts. 13. Noah’s Ark – Dark. 14. Hot Cross Bun – Run. 15. Brown Bread – Dead. 16. Dog and Bone – Telephone. 17. Rabbit and Pork – Talk. 18. Bread and Honey – Money.

‘MAYBE NOT TOO HARD’ GENERAL KNOWLEDGE – Answers – Page 35

1. Dr. John Watson. 2. King Canute. 3. Herbivore. 4. Helsinki. 5. ‘Walking In The Air’ sung by Peter Auty. 6. A Thistle. 7. A one-eyed giant called a Cyclops. 8. George Orwell. 9. 147 pounds. 10. The Olympic Games. 11. HMS Belfast. 12. Nicosia. 13. James Scott – First Duke of Monmouth. 14. No flag flew over the Palace when the Queen was not at home before 1997. 15. Wiltshire. 16. A prison.

PLAYGROUND GAMES – Page 36

ENGLISH POSTCODES AND THEIR PLACES – Answers – Page 37

1. CO – Colchester. 2. DH – Durham. 3. PE – Peterborough. 4. LN – Lincoln. 5. MK – Milton Keynes. 6. W – West (London). 7. HA – Harrow. 8. NN – Northampton. 9. NW – North West (London). 10. HD – Huddersfield. 11. DT – Dorchester. 12. OL – Oldham. 13. LS – Leeds. 14. GL – Gloucester. 15. WR – Worcester. 16. PL – Plymouth. 17. LE – Leicester. 18. HP – Hemel Hempstead.

‘CAR’ WORDS – Answers – Page 38

1. Carthorse. 2. Carry. 3. Car Boot Sale. 4. Caribbean. 5. Carriage. 6. Carnation. 7. Cargo. 8. Career. 9. Carrier bag. 10. Careless. 11. Carnival. 12. Carve. 13. Cartoons. 14. Cartilage. 15. Carpet. 16. Carsick. 17. Care. 18. Carmine.

Here is a complete list of Shakespeare’s plays to help with the puzzle on page 12.

COMEDIES HISTORIES TRAGEDIES

All's Well That Ends Well Henry IV, Part I Antony and Cleopatra As You Like It Henry IV, Part II Coriolanus Comedy of Errors Henry V Cymbeline Love's Labour's Lost Henry VI, Part I Hamlet Measure for Measure Henry VI, Part II Julius Caesar Merchant of Venice Henry VI, Part III King Lear Merry Wives of Windsor Henry VIII Macbeth Midsummer Night's Dream King John Othello Much Ado about Nothing Pericles Romeo and Juliet Taming of the Shrew Richard II Timon of Athens Tempest Richard III Titus Andronicus Twelfth Night Troilus and Cressida Two Gentlemen of Verona Winter's Tale The Two Noble Kinsmen