Flotsam and Jetsam’s Christmas Quiz
The noble grape
1. Claret wine is produced in the region surrounding which French city?
2. What would be the term to describe a dry champagne?
3. In which country is the wine-growing Barossa Valley?
4. Which white wine grape variety is most widely planted in California?
5. In which country is the Marlborough wine region?
6. Retsina is native to which country?
7. Which wine has the varieties Malmsey and Sercial?
8. What is the normal capacity for a bottle of wine?
9. In which country is Rioja produced?
10. Along which river is most of France’s Sauvignon Blanc cultivated?
Where are these public benches in Farnham?
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On the Rails
1. This railway station first opened on 16th August 1864 although a train has never visited. Where is it?
2. One end of English railway stations is frequently referred to as the ‘London end’, what is the other end called?
3. When did the direct railway line from Alton to Winchester close?
4. What is a Deltic?
5. What does a Hampshire Unit do?
6. Name an underground line built on the ‘cut and cover’ principle
7. Where would you find a memorial to Frank Pick?
8. 4472 is now numbered 60103; by what name is this better known?
9. How many bedrooms do 23 and 24 Leinster Gardens have?
10. What is the long-distance passenger train operator in the US called?
Literature with a Christmas angle
1. According to Charles Dickens, which portly gentleman celebrated Christmas at Dingley Dell?
2. Nahum Tate who wrote ‘While Shepherds Watched’ also ‘improved’ a Shakespeare tragedy by giving it a happy ending. Which one?
3. Which Alan Ayckbourn play takes place over three consecutive Christmases?
4. Which reindeer in Clement Moore’s poem should travel as fast as lightning?
5. According to the bible, how many kings visited the infant Jesus?
6. Which fantasy novelist wrote ‘Letters from Father Christmas’ for his children between 1920 and 1943?
7. Which Jane Austen character was trapped in a carriage with an inebriated and amorous clergyman on Christmas Eve?
8. In 1935 a poet laureate wrote a magical tale that began ‘As Kay was coming home for the Christmas holidays…’ What is its title?
9. According to a carol, who lived beside St Agnes’ fountain?
10. The poet who wrote ‘My heart is like a singing bird’ also wrote a chilly Christmas Carol. Which one?
How much would you have been charged for these?
Each of these items was listed in the 1907 catalogue of the Army and Navy Store.
Note: all prices as at 1907!
With one of these I could cool a carafe of water and make a block of ice. All I had to do was turn the handle. Good exercise before my iced G&T!
How much would I have paid?
A) £10/0/-
B) £15/10/6
C) £18/2/6
Is this a fashion statement? Would you be seen wearing it? If you’d wanted to buy (complete with the curtain) it would you have paid:
A) 11/3
B) 12/6
C) 15/9
Is this 113 years early? Would you have worn it to go out driving? Why Alton?
How much would you have paid for one of these in ‘Gloria’?
A) 11/9
B) 12/6
C) 13/3
So you thought a garden Gazebo was relatively new. The A&N were selling these in 1907. How much would a 6-foot square one with an awning at the front in striped material cost?
A) £3/9/-
B) £4/7/6
C) £5/14/9
A person of style would have had a Hunter. How much would you have paid for the option A listed here?
A) £25/4/8
B) £32/16/6
C) £34/4/-
No self-respecting yacht would set sail without one of these! After the cost of buying your luxury yacht how much would this have cost you?
A) 30/- B) 47/6 C) 63/9
This looks like everything that you’d ever need to go fishing. How much?
A) £5/10/-
B) £7/15/6
C) £10/2/9
Any traditional woodworkers? This looks very up to date.
A) 4/6
B) 6/3
C) 8/-
I’d have loved one of these. No sign of a USB socket so I don’t think it’ll play MP3s. How much for this audio experience?
A) £9/10/6
B) £11/-/-
C) £12 guineas
A true enthusiast toy. This one runs on steam.
A) 10/6
B) 12/-
C) 13/3
Where in the world
This ‘man’ is seen beside the track on this famous railway line. What does he commemorate and where is he (country)?
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You might be surprised at the location of this banana tree. Apparently, it fruits every year. Where is it?
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These old tramcars are used every December as ‘Christmas trams’. Sadly not running in 2020. In which city would you normally see them??
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Another famous tram. Where does it run?
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One of Europe’s largest rivers runs through this city. Where am I?
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Looking down a main street towards the Central Station. Which city am I in?
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Sunset on the ‘Reef’. Which city is this?
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They’ve just had mid-summer here. A beautiful country but there are lots of earthquakes. Which country am I in?
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A very famous building in a city with many wonderful buildings. Where am I?
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Early evening in February. Where was the photographer when this photograph was taken?
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Potpourri
1. What, literally, does potpourri mean?
2. What is the most westerly point of the British mainland? And the most northerly, easterly and southerly?
3. Nobby Stiles started his professional career at Manchester United but in 1973 became player manager for another club under the managership of a fellow United player. Which was the club and who was the manager?
4. A Christmas hit from a four piece combo that makes one think of arriving and departing. What was it called?
5. The Uco Valley is one of the top wine growing areas in which country?
6. HMS Belfast is moored in the Pool of London. The calibre of her main armament is 6”. Which Piccadilly Line tube station is the furthest West that she could hit?
7. Sergio Perez drove for which Formula 1 team? And having several changes of name, what was their previous name? And what was the original F1 team name when founded? Racing point, previously Racing Point Force India (Force India will do) Started by Eddy Jordan as Jordan Racing.
8. Name the inventor of the World Wide Web?
9. What ‘world first’ came into action outside the Houses of Parliament on 9 December 1868?
10. Who was the first woman in Britain to qualify as a physician and surgeon?
Let’s raise a glass
1. What colour are most English wines?
2. Which scientist discovered that yeast causes fermentation?
3. What is a crate of twelve bottles of wine called?
4. Which country does Sukhindol wine come from?
5. In which part of the United States is the Zinfandel grape chiefly cultivated?
6. What is the first name of wine writer Ms Robinson?
7. In which country is the wine-making area of Stellenbosch?
8. How many normal-size wine bottles would you have in a Methuselah?
9. How are fizzy wines, other than champagnes, described?
10. In which area of Italy is Chianti Classico produced?
European travel round
Note – this is a multiple choice round.
1a. Was The Parthenon in Athens completed in
a. 438 BC b. 198 BC or c. 258 AD?
1b. Why was it substantially damaged in 667?
a. earthquake b. Neglect
or c. Blown up by Venetian Ammunition.
2a. When was The Alhambra built?
a. 10th - 12th centuries b. 13th - 15th centuries or c. 16th century
2b. Where did the Attendants of The Sultan gather?
a. The 2 Sisters Room b. The Lion Courtyard or c. The Generaliffe
3a How many male only Monasteries were built on Mount Athos, in northern Greece?
a. 24 b. 8 or c. 16
3b. How many of the Sites survive now?
a. 20 (15 male & 5 female sites) b. 6 (4 male & 2 female sites)
or c. 11 (7 male & 4 female sites)
4a. Why was Delphi so Sited?
a. The view was excellent b. It was advantageous militarily
c. It was thought to be the Centre of the World
4b. When was Delphi declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO?
a. 1955 AD b. 1987 AD or c. 2010 AD
5a. How many million years ago was The Giant's Causeway formed - give or take 10 million years?
a. 83m years ago b. 60m years or c. 45m years ago.
5b. Which part of Northern Ireland is it in?
a. N.W. b. N.E. or c. S.E.
6a. Approximately how many buildings are there on the Grand canal in Venice? (+/- 20)?
a. 325 b. 200 or c. 134
6b. Who built the most recent Constitution Bridge over The Grand Canal?
a. Zaha Hadid in 2008 b. Santiago Calatrava in 1999
or c. Renzo Piano in 1989
7a. Which king built the Versailles Palace?
a. King Francoise III b. Louis XIV or c. Henri IV
7b. Which is the most ornate room in the palace?
a. The Counting House b. Hall of Mirrors or c. The King's Bedchamber
8a. In which country is Thingvellir National Park?
a. Slovenia b. Iceland or c. Finland?
8b. In the Thingvellir National Park which is true?
1. The mountain is rising about 5cm a year
b. The tidal flow is 1.2km every day
or c. Two geological plates are moving apart at 2cm a year
After those maybe you need a reviver with Wines of the world
1. Would a French wine described as “doux” be medium sweet or medium dry?
2. What are the three styles of port?
3. What colour are most of the wines from France’s Anjou region?
4. In which South American country is Casablanca Valley?
5. Which red wine is drunk when young and is called “nouveau”?
6. In which country was a vine variety called “vegetable dragon pearls”?
7. Which wine can be “fino” or “oloroso”?
8. What is Moet et Chandon?
9. Which acclaimed biodynamic wine writer was the star of Channel 4’s 2008 wine programme “Chateau Monty”?
10. Along which river and its tributaries do the German vineyards lie?
Film and Cinema
Complete the film titles:
1. Miracle on ...... Street
2. The ...... Christmas Carol (1992)
3. It’s a ...... Life (1946)
4. Which is the oldest?
a. White Christmas b. Meet me in St Louis or c. It’s a wonderful life
5. Which is the newest?
a. The Grinch b. Love Actually or c. Home Alone
6. Which classic silent film, set in mid-winter in the Sierra Nevada, features the ‘dance of the rolls’?
7. Made in 1951 this is the classic ‘Bah Humbug’ film. Who had the starring role?
8. In the film mentioned in 7 above who played the star as a young man?
9. Recorded by a German TV station in 1963 this 18 minute film is shown every New Year across Northern Europe, Scandinavia and South Africa and has, apparently, achieved cult status. Although the two actors are British the film is virtually unknown in the UK and had its first UK national broadcast in 2018. What is the film called?
10. What ‘award’ does the 2010 film ‘The Nutcracker in 3D’ have?
The final round!
1. Of which battle was Churchill speaking when he said ‘This is not the end. It is not the beginning of the end, but is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.’?
2. Whose dying words are supposed to have been ‘Bugger Bognor!’?
3. Who said, ‘I used to be Snow White – but I drifted’?
4. Who said, ‘Nothing but a battle lost can be half as melancholy as a battle won.’?
5. ‘So little done, so much to do.’ were whose dying words and where is he buried?
6. Who was the last king of England to lead his troops into battle? And which battle?
7. Before Prince Charles the previous longest serving Prince of Wales became which king? Edward VII
8. There is a myth that the 3 stripes around a sailors’ collar represent Nelsons 3 great victorious battles.
9. Name, in order of brevity on the throne, the 3 kings of England, post Norman Conquest, with the shortest reigns. One was murdered, one abdicated and one died naturally.
10. What was the last English possession in France and in whose reign was it lost?