Barrie warmly thanked St. Gavin for organising the London Christmas lunch

2015:1 1. Editorial, Membership and Treasurer’s 2. Club Events: Christmas Lunch North 3. AGM 2015: Notice and Agenda 4. Remember Hartlepool! 9. Club Events: Christmas Lunch Manchester 10. How I Spent Last October 12. Master Quiz 2015 Round 2 Questions

16. Amy 17. Club Events: Christmas Lunch London 19. Find The Wetherspoons 20. Update of Membership Changes IBC. Festive Season Quiz Answers and Results IBC Food for Thought BC An Excellent Absurdity

Officers and Committee President Alan D. Blackburn Hon. Vice-President and Editor of pass Tony Dart Secretary Gavin Fuller Treasurer Susan Leng Webmaster Mel Kinsey Committee Members Ken Emond Phillida Grantham Glenys Hopkins Mastermind Club website: www.mastermindclub.co.uk Follow the Mastermind Club group page on Facebook (mastermindclub 2014)

Club Shopping Please send a cheque with your order, payable to the Mastermind Club, and including the cost of postage and packing, to: Phillida Grantham

* New and exciting items now available * * Club tote bags – Navy and Natural - £7 (+£2 p&p) * * Club jute bags – Natural - £7.50 (+£3 p&p) * * Club ties – Navy and Maroon - £16 (+£2 p&p) * * Club scarf in suprafleece dolomite – Charcoal Grey - £8 (+£3 p&p) * We also have in stock all of the following: Excellent Quality Lined Windbreakers – all at £25 (+£3 p&p) Sizes L and XL in Red, Black and Navy Sweatshirts – all at £15 (+ £3 p&p) Sizes L and XL in Navy, Red, Green and Burgundy Fleece Hats – all at £8 (+ £1 p&p) Bottle Green, Black and Navy Polo Shirts – all at £15 (+ £3 p&p) Sizes M, L and XL in Navy, Red, Green, Purple and Lilac (L only) Jackets – all at £15 (+ £3 p+p) Waterproof Fleece in Blue only (Sizes M and L) Polar Fleece in Red (Size M); Blue (Size M); and Maroon (Size S) Jewellery – all at £6 (+ £2 p+p) Tie pins, tie clips, and cufflinks (Any purchases made in person will of course not incur p+p.)

PASS and its contents are ©2015 by the Mastermind Club except where noted. Contributions are welcome but may be edited or held over owing to space limitations. Check with the Editor for advice on the format of contributions. All material is published at the sole discretion of the Editor and Committee. Copy deadlines are the last days of January (Issue 1), April (2), July (3), and October (4). Publication is normally 4–6 weeks later. Please notify the Secretary of any problems in receiving PASS (allow an extra week or two for printing and postal delays).

2015:1 1

Editorial

Tony Dart, Editor elcome to the first 2015 edition of PASS. An Editor’s prayers have been answered! We always knew that Club

members outside the London area held regular meetings and events such as Christmas lunches, and we wanted to

feature them in PASS, but no-one ever sent in any contribution. This year the message got through, and so Marga

Scott-Johnson sent news of meetings of the Northern Group, with pictures of their Christmas event – and then Glenys

Hopkins told us of the Manchester crowd, and their “Christmas” event (actually in January 2015, but they found a restaurant

operating on the Russian Orthodox calendar, so they didn’t seem late). We have pictures of both these events, plus those of a

very successful London lunch at a new venue in Holborn. Your Editor went to that one, and you can see on our front cover the

sort of thanks Gavin Fuller got for organising it.

Also in this edition, Chris Payne writes of the bombardment of Hartlepool a century ago, and Barbara-Anne Eddy follows up

her recent piece with an account of her cruise through the Panama Canal, which did not go entirely to plan. Gavin Fuller

(again) has compiled 100 questions for the 2015 Master Quiz Round 2, and we have two other quizzes – Geoff Thomas on

Wetherspoons, and a quirky literary effort (with a prize) from Richard Sturch. Ken Emond lists the answers and the winner of

his quiz from a previous PASS and we have another Dickensian ode from Timothy Robey, plus a final word from Lance

Haward. Many thanks to all our contributors!

Please keep your items for PASS – articles, photographs and quizzes if you can – coming in, and I look forward to meeting as

many of you as can make it to our AGM (the Agenda is at Page 3) and Annual Reunion at Durham in April.

Membership matters

Gavin Fuller am delighted to welcome the following contender from the 2008 Sports Mastermind series to the Club:

1111 Chris Bell of Billericay

As well as the following contender from the current series:

1112 Chris Baker of Allington, Wiltshire

and I hope they enjoy their time in the Club

.

On a sadder note, I have been informed of the death of Ian G. Stevens (Member 261), who appeared in the 1980 series taking

English Theatre Since 1950. The Club’s condolences go to his family.

On the move recently has been David Penfold (Member 725), who has transferred to Hoylake. Full contact details of all Club

Members may be found in the Membership List which came with PASS 2014:1, and in the 2015 Update included with this

issue. Please remember that if you want any of your details excluded from future lists or updates, you can inform me in writing

and I’ll arrange it.

From the Treasurer

Susan Lenghank you to all those members who have paid their 2015 Club membership subscription by Standing Order or cheque –

all duly received and recorded. If you are among the few who haven’t got around to it yet, would you please send a £12

cheque payable to “Mastermind Club” to me at my home address, which is shown on the opposite page. I am afraid that,

if your payment has not been received by the end of March, your name will be deleted from the membership list.

Thank you also for all your letters. It is always good to hear from you.

W

I

T

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CLUB EVENTS: Christmas 2014 North Marga Scott-Johnson

Greetings from ‘Oop North’!

ur northern branch has been going strong for the best part of 20 years now. What started in 1997 as a Newcastle-based

meeting for Club members (and their spouses) living in the North East has evolved into a more general ‘northern’

group, with attendees living as far afield as Carlisle in Cumbria, Shotley Bridge in County Durham and Rothbury in

Northumberland. The venue for our get-togethers has shifted likewise, and we now meet at the Black Bull Inn in Corbridge,

which is fairly central for all of us. Meetings normally take the form of a meal and are held about every two to three months,

depending on holidays. Conversation covers a wide range of topics – not just quizzes! – and there is usually no shortage of puns

and jokes. New faces are always welcome, so if you live in the area and would like to join our merry band, please get in touch

with me, Marga Scott-Johnson at marga@uwclub.net or 01669 620217. We will be delighted to see you!

From the top: Jim Hollingsworth; Marjorie Hollingsworth and Christine Moorcroft; Stewart and Jean Cross

O

2015:1 3

Annual General Meeting 2015

Notice is hereby given that the thirty-seventh Annual General Meeting of the Mastermind Club will be held in the Cavil Suite, Radisson Blu Hotel, Durham, on Sunday 12th April 2015 at 10.45am.

1. Apologies for absence

2. Minutes of 36th AGM, Shrewsbury, 13 April 2014 (published in PASS, 2014:2)

3. Matters arising

4. Annual Accounts and Treasurer’s Report

5. PASS

6. Election of the Club Charity for 2015-2017*

7. President’s Report

8. Membership Report

9. Insignia

10. Club Website

11. Annual Functions 2015-17

12. Magnum Competition

13. Mugnum Competition

14. Any Other Business

*Note to Item 6: If you wish to propose a Club Charity please inform the Secretary of

your proposal, in writing, by Monday 23 March 2015.

Gavin Fuller, Secretary

27 January 2015

Your Club Committee: be reassured . . .

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REMEMBER HARTLEPOOL!

The only British Great War battlefield

Chris Payne

This is not war; it is the work of men whose lust for destruction seems only to be limited by fear of the consequences

of being caught red handed. (Northern Echo, 17th December 1914)

here is talk of history in the air at the moment. Armistice Day was especially poignant this year and the

media are making a lot of the Christmas truce of 1914. Even so, how many of you know about a battle fought

in England, on Wednesday December 16th 1914?

You may know that the German High Seas fleet bombarded Hartlepool, Whitby and Scarborough to try and force

out the British Dreadnoughts into open combat, you may know the slogan ’Remember Scarborough’ which was

used on a recruiting poster, but did you know that because Hartlepool had gun batteries which returned fire, this

became a battle, the only one fought on British soil in the Great War?

The Heugh,(pronounced yuff) battery on the headland in Hartlepool is now a museum. This is a naval gun from

World War II.

I’ve been fortunate to visit a few battlefields; I’ve walked the Somme and been to the great memorials, cried

buckets at the Menin Gate when the last post was played and visited the great American cemetery at Normandy.

This year will be 200 years since Waterloo, which is a staggering place to visit just because such a horrific conflict

took place in such a small area. I’ve been to lesser- known ones too: the General Post Office in Dublin, scene of the

1916 Easter rising, the main square in San Miguel Allende where the Mexican rebels rose up against the Spaniards

and the smelly river Ebro, fought over in the Spanish civil war.

T

2015:1 5

After all that history still the most poignant battlefield for me is the one on my doorstep. Why? Well, it’s

overlooked because of the carnage that followed on the Western front yet imagine at when it happened, just before

Christmas on an ordinary Wednesday morning starting at a little after eight o’clock, just as children were getting

ready to go to school and adults were going to work, so that many of the 130 dead and more than 500** wounded

were women and children. Remember also that, though Britain had been at war since July, the public were not

expecting to be in the firing line.

James Clark’s famous painting of the bombardment

So what happened, and why? Why was Hartlepool a target and why was it ‘Remember Scarborough’ and not

‘Remember Hartlepool’ on the posters?

Hartlepool was seen as a legitimate target because of its shipbuilding and port facilities. It was a base for coastal

defence craft and that is the reason that it was ‘innocent’ Scarborough which appeared on the posters. This doesn’t

make the facts any less horrific.

On that misty Wednesday morning Seydlitz, Blucher and Moltke, three Moltke class battle cruisers of the German

High Seas fleet, appeared two and a half miles off the coast and began to fire on the Heugh and lighthouse batteries

with their 11 and 8.2 inch guns. The attack on the town lasted for 45 minutes and 1150 shells were fired. The

batteries, which had been issued with live ammunition at 4.30 that morning, replied with 123 shells, although only

having 6 inch guns. The lighthouse battery engaged the Blucher, killing nine sailors. There were great cheers in

Hartlepool in January when she was sunk at the battle of Dogger Bank.

Two things saved Hartlepool from worse destruction: the Germans were using standard ship ammunition with time

delay fuses which bounced off the gun aprons, and they misjudged the distance to the shore because a buoy had

been moved since their original reconnaissance.

6 pass

Also, thankfully, most of the shells seem to have been duds. Many pictures were taken of people posing with these

huge shells the following day. The same thing happened in Scarborough, where just under 800 shells were fired by

two warships, killing 18 people and wounding around 200.

The first casualty was 29 year old Private Theophilus Jones of the Durham Light Infantry who was killed by the

first shell at the Heugh battery. He was the first British soldier killed on English soil in the Great War and is buried

in Middlesbrough’s Linthorpe cemetery. He had been a head teacher in Leicestershire, who had returned at the

beginning of the war to join the regiment and was the assistant head teacher at St Aidan’s school in West

Hartlepool*. He was a decent man and great loss to the town.

The next shell killed three more soldiers and brought down the telephone lines, causing severe communication

problems between the batteries. The three were Privates Charles Clark of West Hartlepool and Leslie Turner of

Newcastle and Lance Corporal Alix Liddle of Darlington. Liddle was a recently married 25 year old colliery

accountant who was a bell ringer at St Cuthbert’s church in Darlington. Those bells were rung in his honour a

century later.

Another DLI private to be killed was Walter Rogers, 25, of Bishop Auckland, who was hit in the chest by a shell

splinter while trying to protect Liddle. Rogers died three hours later of his wounds, one of four soldiers killed

attempting to aid their comrades killed by the first shells.

Hartlepool was home to two coastal patrol craft as well as a submarine, and though hopelessly outgunned and

lacking armoured protection, Captain Bruce took HMS Patrol out to meet the German ships in what amounted to a

suicide mission. Showing how labour-intensive the Great War was, this 385-foot long vessel carried a crew of 268.

Blucher spotted her and two heavy shells quickly hit Patrol, killing four sailors and injuring seven more. Badly

holed and taking on water, she ran aground and would surely have been finished off, except that the Germans

headed back out to sea leaving her able to limp to Middlesbrough.

HMS Patrol

The crew of submarine HMS C9 was no less gallant and also put to sea. However, a barrage of shells forced her

captain to order her to submerge, whereupon she grounded in about six feet of water. This embarrassment saved her

and her crew of sixteen.

2015:1 7

A C class submarine of the type that attempted to defend Hartlepool

The first shell to hit the town killed 17 year old Hilda Horsley, a tailoress on her way to work, the first civilian

fatality. Alfred Claude, 12 ½ years old, of Alma Street was killed as he ran a message for his mother (we don’t call

them ’errands’ up here). Another 12 year old to be killed, among 37 children, was Laura Wilkinson of Turnbull

Street. The Cook brothers, William, 8, and Harold, 11, were killed in their own front room in Turnbull Street. On

the same street William Peart , aged just 5, and his 14 year old sister were also killed. Shells fired by huge naval

guns respect neither age nor gender and deaths were random that day; another to die on Turnbull Street was 66-year

old Mrs Mary Ann Harrison, while ten people were killed by one shell which hit the “Corner House” on Dene

Street.

The damage to the town was obviously extensive: the gasholder blew up early on, 300 houses were wrecked plus

hotels and churches. That outcome was hardly surprising as houses are built right up to the lighthouse on the

headland and hundreds were made homeless in that bitter Christmas week. A number of merchant ships were

damaged in the harbour: none was sunk but a brand new freighter was badly damaged.

Naturally the shelling caused panic, not least because the townspeople expected an invasion. A century previously,

during a scare caused by rumours of a Napoleonic invasion, the townspeople gained their nickname of ‘monkey

hangers’ by reputedly hanging a pet monkey thinking it was a French spy. Now many were killed trying to flee to

the nearby towns of Elwick and Hart and yet more trying to get to the railway station.

The villain of the piece - the German armoured cruiser Blucher, damaged in battle and sunk at Dogger Bank. She

was named after the general who led the Prussians at Waterloo.

8 pass

A recruiting poster of 1915. It was felt that Hartlepool was a legitimate target, but the attack on defenceless,

genteel, middle class Scarborough, where 18 civilians were killed, was considered to be an atrocity worthy of

revenge.

The attacks on the North East coast were manna from heaven for the army recruiters who had been struggling for

manpower as the papers carried lists of those killed, and the wounded spread stories of the horrors of trench warfare.

The First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, condemned the ‘baby killers of Scarborough’ and the

government now had more moral ammunition to use for their campaigns.

So, if you are ever on Teesside, travel out to the headland at Hartlepool, visit the museum by the lighthouse and try

and picture those leviathans coming out of the mist that Wednesday morning. While you are there, remember that

the Great War casts a long shadow and that many families in the town are missing branches because of lives that

were cut short on that fateful day.

Author’s notes:

* there are actually two Hartlepools, Hartlepool itself and West Hartlepool. Until 1967 the football team

was called Hartlepools United and its nickname is still ‘pools’.

** nobody, it seems, can agree on an exact figure. I have taken the most often quoted numbers.

2015:1 9

CLUB EVENTS: Christmas 2014 (late) in Manchester Glenys Hopkins

anchester Mastermind Club held their (post-) Christmas dinner at the St Petersburg Restaurant in Manchester on

Wednesday 14 January. We always have our Christmas Dinner in January. It's less crowded then. However, the St

Petersburg is sufficiently authentic to use the Russian Calendar, so still had Christmas decorations up!

We had an excellent meal. One or two Christmas hats were worn, and presents were exchanged. Although we like to try

restaurants of different nationalities on the occasions when we can drag ourselves away from Wetherspoons, the St P is so

welcoming, with excellent food and opulent surroundings, that we are now unwilling to be adventurous.

Above: Philip Wharmby, Arfor Wyn Hughes, and Geoff Thomas

Below: Also Anne Hegerty, Hilary Forrest, Mike Chivers – and could that be Glenys herself?

M

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HOW I SPENT LAST OCTOBER: My Panama Canal cruise Barbara-Anne Eddy

fter waiting for almost a year, on 28 September I finally boarded the Norwegian Pearl. Though it's considered a

medium-sized ship, it seemed enormous to me on my first encounter, and it took more than a week before I stopped

ending up in the middle of a labyrinth when I was returning to my cabin. The cabin was about the size of my bedroom

at home, and the bathroom, as I'd requested, had a walk-in shower, which made bathing very comfortable. The room lacked

only two things I needed: a holder to prop up my suitcase so that I could live out of it, and a tea maker. In short order, my

remarkable cabin steward, Rodney, brought me a chair for the suitcase; the tea maker took a request to the hotel manager

himself, but eventually arrived, to my delight.

As required by law, one of the first events to occur was the lifeboat drill. On other cruises, that had meant grabbing a life vest

from the closet and heading to an assigned lifeboat. This time, however, we left the vests and gathered in the dining room,

where crew members gave a half-hearted demonstration of how to don the life vest. I didn't anticipate any problems, but when I

discovered that I couldn't reach the life vest in the closet, I called on Rodney again and he moved it to a lower shelf. You can't

be too careful!

When I had booked the cruise, I was delighted that one of our stops would be in San Francisco. I'd always wanted to “climb

halfway to the stars” on a cable car. So I was devastated to receive an e-mail that our visit would be cancelled due to “berthing

problems” and we would stop on Day 2 in Seattle instead. I disembarked there and wandered around a bit, but it just wasn't the

same.

On the second day of the cruise, I had the first of my shore

excursions, in Astoria, Oregon. This town, a fur-trading fort, was the

final stop of Lewis and Clark's expedition to the Pacific, and I wanted

to visit a reconstruction of their last home, Fort Clatsop. Two women,

Karen and Victoria, acted as driver and guide on the tour bus. (Karen

identified herself as a teacher, but I think she must have been a part-

time realtor; she knew the value of almost every historic house we

passed!) We visited the Marine Museum on the waterfront, toured the

hilly streets of the town, then we drove to what was literally the high

point of the town: the Astoria Column (see the picture, left). Modelled

after Trajan's column in Rome, the 125-foot tower (not a phallic

symbol!) has paintings climbing up depicting the highlights of the

area's history, and the nearby store sells balsa-wood airplanes that

visitors enjoy launching from the top; I declined the honour,

contenting myself with drinking hot chocolate and comparing notes

with an English tourist.

We then drove to Fort Clatsop, where knowledgeable park rangers

took us on a tour. The original fort burned down years ago, but the

new fort is an exact reproduction. We saw the rooms, about half the

size of my cabin on the ship, where four men slept in bunks for an

entire winter. In a space about the size of an average bungalow were

housed Lewis and Clark, the members of the Corps of Discovery,

their guide and interpreter Sacagawea, her husband, and their infant

son. And one other member of the company, not to be forgotten:

Meriwether Lewis's Newfoundland dog, Seaman, accompanied him

every inch of the way, and a Newfoundland now acts as honorary

ranger and mascot. As the daughter of Newfoundlanders, the big dogs

always warm my heart (see Barbara-Anne with friend, below).

A

2015:1 11

For the rest of the Pacific portion of the cruise, I mostly stayed on board. In Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, a favourite vacation spot

of my sister's, I did something daring—I took a public bus, which rattled incessantly over the potholed roads, to the malécon, or

seafront, dropped into a few souvenir shops, and rattled back

to the ship. And in Hualtulco, we were promised a fine

folkloric show after a short walk to a nearly hotel. The walk

was a great deal longer than we were led to believe, but the

folkloric show, put on by local secondary school students,

was indeed fine. Afterwards, we were served some local

snacks, including guacamole and fried grasshoppers (not

mixed together!)

Finally, the ship reached the highlight of the trip—the Panama

Canal (see Gatun Lake, below). I could quote all kinds of

statistics (available on request), but two points stood out for

me: all the water in the locks goes back and forth by gravity

(no pumps are used), and it costs the Norwegian Pearl nearly

$500,000 for each crossing (one of the highest fees paid by

any ship). Two people boarded the ship to make the passage

more interesting: a young woman in a beautiful traditional

Panamanian dress, and a man known only as Ed, who had

worked for the canal authority and knew everything there was

to know about the canal and its history. Unfortunately, the

expansion of the canal that was supposed to have been

finished for last August's centennial celebration wasn't, so the

party has been delayed until this spring.

The closer the ship came to the equator, the hotter and more

humid the weather became. By the time we reached the canal,

I couldn't stay on deck for more than half an hour at a time,

which meant that I had to see the canal in short bursts. But

with Ed's knowledgeable narration, I got to see and

understand the workings of this extraordinary feat of

engineering. I found the whole process fascinating. The day of the canal transit also happened to be Canadian Thanksgiving

Day, so we Canucks (and anyone else who wanted to feel like a Canadian) enjoyed a traditional turkey dinner with the

trimmings.

After the canal, the rest of the cruise was anticlimactic

for me. I took a bus tour of Cartagena which, instead

of going to the historic buildings, some of which date

from the fifteenth century, headed for places where

the main activity was shopping—disappointing, to say

the least. However, the weather continued fine, I took

part in several trivia contests, and I even had a chance

to sing with the piano player—I performed “On the

Street where you Live” from My Fair Lady, which the

audience seemed to like.

Finally, the ship docked in Miami. The

disembarkation, however, proved to be a disaster

because, I was told, there was a problem with the

gangway as well as with the customs inspection on

the dock. We had to wait over an hour and a half to

leave the ship, meaning that I almost missed what

proved to be a very enjoyable shore excursion, which

included a ride on a jetboat through the Everglades

and the chance to get up close and personal with an alligator.

A few days in Miami with scores of animals at Jungle Island and huge estates in Miami Beach, and I was ready to fly home.

12 pass

MASTER QUIZ 2015

Gavin Fuller introduces the Round 2 questions

s is usual in the first issue of the year here’s the second half of our annual quiz competition.

Although I’ve followed my usual practice of not having any overarching theme in my set, you

might find there is a greater preponderance of Saints-inspired questions this time round, inspired

by seeing the tombs of a couple when I did my recce in Durham last year; otherwise it is the customary

random collection of whatever came to my mind over the last year!

Instructions

Round 2, as usual, has two entries.

Head your first paper “U” for UNSEEN, and answer the questions in your own time. When you have

finished please sign the entry as being your own work, but of course should you by chance come across

any other answers feel free to add them.

Head another sheet “R” for REFERENCE and check, alter or expand your “U” entries should it be

necessary, quoting your sources if you wish.

Put your name and membership number at the start of the U entry, and the R if that should be sent

separately. 80% of the marks are awarded for the “U” entry and 20% on the “R”, with the latter as ever not

being obligatory. Please note again that all decisions made by Phillida and myself are final and no

correspondence shall be entered into by either of us about the questions and answers.

Closing date: 27 March 2015

I look forward to your entries, and putting the top 9 who are present in Durham to the test again. Now just

what can I think up for them . . .

A

2015:1 13

MASTERQUIZ ROUND 2 2015

1) Which hero created by John Buchan made his literary debut in a work first published in 1915?

2) Chittagong is the second-largest city of which Asian country?

3) What element is at number 3 on the Periodic Table?

4) The fourth-most senior position in the Church of England is the holder of which office?

5) Which British football club has won the European Cup/Champions League most times, with 5 wins?

6) What is the nickname of Beethoven’s Symphony Number 6 in F major?

7) If you list the seven wonders of the ancient world alphabetically by location, which one comes first?

8) Who was the Eighth President of the USA, and the first not to be of British or Irish descent?

9) How is the British version of the game Ninepins usually known?

10) In which two books of the Bible do the Ten Commandments appear?

11) George Clooney played Danny Ocean in the 2001 remake of Ocean’s Eleven, but who played him in

the 1960 original?

12) Who had a number 12 hit in 1969 with the song Durham Town (The Leavin’)?

13) At which amusement park in England can you find the roller coasters Th13teen, The Smiler, Air,

Oblivion and Nemesis?

14) Found in the Guggenheim Museum in New York, The Fourteenth of July is a 1901 work by which

Spanish artist?

15) Everyone knows Magna Carta was signed in 1215, but on the 15th

day of which month was it signed?

16) Which is the easternmost of the five Great Lakes of North America?

17) What colour do crystals of sulphur normally have?

18) Which yachtsman is leading a British entry for the next staging of the America’s Cup in 2017?

19) Bering and Red Erik are beers from which country?

20) Who is standing down as editor-in-chief of The Guardian after 20 years in the role in 2015?

21) From which flower does the drug digitalis come?

22) What surname connects characters in Vanity Fair, Framley Parsonage and Downton Abbey?

23) Of which Indian city is Dum Dum a suburb?

24) Which Rugby Union Premiership team is nicknamed the Saints?

25) What was the name of George and Robert Stevenson’s locomotive, which became the first to carry

passengers on a steam railway on the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825?

26) What French term is given to clothes that are ready-to-wear in a shop?

27) Which bird has a distinctive call from which its scientific name of Crex crex is derived?

28) A Theorbo is a large version of which other musical instrument?

29) Which is the only Départment in France to start with the letter F?

30) Who was the mother of the emperor Constantine who allegedly found the True Cross when on

pilgrimage in the Holy Land?

31) In architecture, what term refers to a rough finish given to a wall by coating it with rendering onto

which, while it is still soft, small stones are thrown?

32) Which company makes the Eos range of DSLR cameras?

33) Which is the oldest of the three periods of styles of Gothic architecture found in the UK?

14 pass

34) Which school choir had the Christmas number 1 in 1980 with There’s No One Quite Like Grandma?

35) What is the name of the red pigment in blood whose major function is to transport oxygen from the

lungs to the tissues?

36) Who played King Arthur in the 1967 film adaptation of Camelot?

37) In computing, for what does DTP stand?

38) What colour is the star on the flag of Somalia?

39) The song Send in the Clowns comes from which Stephen Sondheim musical?

40) In aviation, for what is STOL an abbreviation?

41) Corbières and Fitou are appellations in which French wine-growing region?

42) Formerly a training ship in Portsmouth named Foudroyant, which frigate is a preserved ship in

Jackson Dock, Hartlepool?

43) Which female playwright, who wrote a Doctor Who story in 1989, penned the acclaimed 2014 James

Plays about James I, II and III of Scotland?

44) James Alexander Gordon, who died in 2014, was best remembered for doing what on radio?

45) In the Thomas the Tank Engine books, which train had the number 5?

46) The book Daemonologie was written by which King?

47) Sit Down and Sound were 1991 hits for which Manchester band?

48) Which of Jesus’ twelve apostles was the brother of Simon Peter?

49) By what two-word title is the Rembrandt painting Sampling Officials of the Amsterdam Draper’s’

Guild more commonly known?

50) How many penalty runs are awarded in cricket if the ball hits a helmet placed on the ground by the

fielding team?

51) What was the name of the anti-hero of Graham Greene’s Brighton Rock?

52) Who played the character in John Boulting’s 1947 film adaptation?

53) And which band’s 1974 album Sheer Heart Attack opens with a song called Brighton Rock?

54) Lasting from approximately 54 million years to 38 million years BP and with a name derived from

the Greek for “new dawn”, what was the second epoch of the Tertiary period?

55) Premiered in 1813 when the composer was 21, whose first opera seria was Tancredi?

56) Who plays the comic strip character Wolverine on film?

57) What was the fourth and final Sherlock Holmes novel written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle?

58) Which pigment determines the skin and eye colour of human beings?

59) Which island is known as Kalaallit Nunaat in its native tongue?

60) There are two patron saints of musicians, one a third century Roman female martyr, the other a Pope

elected in the sixth century. Who are they?

61) Cheek to Cheek was a 2014 album in which Lady GaGa collaborated with which veteran crooner?

62) In which county is Flambards Theme Park located?

63) On what object would you find a vee thread?

64) Which 1990s BBC drama, starring Christopher Eccleston, Gina McKee, Marks Strong and Daniel

Craig, charted the lives of four friends from Newcastle from 1964 over the following three decades?

65) In which year were Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love, George Orwell’s Animal Farm and Evelyn

Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited all first published?

66) What title did Ian Paisley take when elevated to the House of Lords?

67) What two colours are found on the flags of Georgia, Gibraltar and Greenland?

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68) Who composed the ballets Love the Magician and The Three-Cornered Hat?

69) Which priory grew up around the burial place of noted twelfth-century English hermit St Godric?

70) If you travel due east from the Galapagos Islands, your landfall is in which South American country?

71) Which Scottish physician pioneered the use of lime juice in the Royal Navy to combat scurvy?

72) How had a number 1 hit single in 1972 with You Wear It Well?

73) What is the flavour of Sauce Bigarade?

74) Of Human Bondage, The Moon and Sixpence and Cakes and Ale are works of which writer?

75) Which rock keyboardist composed the Durham Concerto, commissioned to celebrate the 175th

anniversary of the University of Durham?

76) Who is the Patron Saint of Jersey?

77) Which clouds are so-called as the ice crystals they contain appear in “mother of pearl” formations?

78) Which Damien Hirst artwork is described on his website as comprising “Glass, painted steel, silicone,

acrylic, monofilament, stainless steel, cow, calf and formaldehyde solution”?

79) Gottfried of Disibodenberg and Theodoric of Echternach were the authors of the life of which

twelfth-century saint, completed shortly after her death?

80) Which Rugby Union team won their first ever major trophy when they won the LV= Cup in 2014?

81) Which writer, better known for a series of children’s books, wrote the crime series based around

French restaurant inspector Monsieur Pamplemousse and his bloodhound Pomme Frites?

82) The Greater, Pygmy and Squirrel Gliders and Bushy-Tailed and Common Ringtails belong to which

infraclass of mammals?

83) The Straits of Hormuz separate the Persian Gulf from which other Gulf?

84) In which field was Dame Peggy van Praagh a notable twentieth-century figure?

85) Which King of Northumbria lost his life in the Battle of Dunnichen, or Nechtansmere?

86) The Rev Libby Lane became the first woman to be become a Church of England Bishop in 2014

when she was appointed to which post?

87) Referencing a celebrated fifteenth-century woman, what title (excluding the definite article) is

common to an opera by Tchaikovsky and a single by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark?

88) What name is common to the demon who tried to tempt Buddha away from enlightenment and an

rodent also called the Patagonian Cavy?

89) The name of which constellation translates as the Fly in English?

90) With which metal is aluminium alloyed to make Duralumin?

91) Which baroque composer’s keyboard sonatas are catalogued by Kirkpatrick numbers?

92) In which State of the USA is that country’s point of land furthest from the coast to be found?

93) Appropriately nicknamed “Poetical”, who was Poet Laureate from 1790 to 1813?

94) And on this person’s death, who turned down the post, preferring to write historical fiction instead?

95) Crispian St Peters had a top 5 hit in 1966 with a single named after which legendary character?

96) St. Anthony’s Fire is an alternative name for which disease caused by digesting a fungus which brings

on gangrene and convulsions?

97) On which island did St Cuthbert die in 687AD?

98) Which Blue Peter presenter, who presented the show from 1978-86, once remarked “what a beautiful

pair of knockers” on air when presenting a piece about new door fittings at Durham Cathedral?

99) Which Saint, a Deacon in Rome, was said to have been martyred by being roasted alive on a gridiron?

100) With which person, executed in 1915, is the phrase “Patriotism is not enough” associated?

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AMY

Timothy Robey

William Dorrit, blameless debtor

Father of the Marshalsea,

Tended by his daughter, Amy,

Hopes one day he might be free.

After many years in China,

Arthur Clennam, somewhat grey,

Could not love his childhood sweetheart

As her charms had ebbed away.

Chivery, the Debtors’ turnkey,

Sired a worthy honest son,

Who, besotted by young Amy,

Learns how disappointments stun.

Mr Pancks, part-time detective,

Finds that William is the heir

To a mighty Dorset fortune

Which has been maturing there.

Tattycoram is offended

By the tasks she’s asked to do;

“What were they?” the reader wonders

Paired with what she waded through.

Merdle the fantastic banker

Has a final trick in store,

Borrowing a fancy penknife

So that he escapes the Law.

Many folk were Merdle-swindled

Bringing much despair and shame,

P’r’aps some benefits were mingled

With the scorn and mindless blame.

Arthur and his partner’s business

Looks as if it soon may sink,

But a host of Russian orders

Saves it at the very brink.

Married to the dancing sister

Though he rubbed against the grain,

Sparkler’s made a civil servant

Since he hasn’t any brain.

Leaving the Marshalsea . . .

Blandoir, the repulsive killer,

Whom most readers can’t abide,

Knows the secrets Mrs. Clennam

All her life has tried to hide.

In despair of recognition,

Seeking Mrs. General’s heart,

William hopes belated union

Might allow a genteel start.

Amy doesn’t care for riches

With an aimless idle life --

Only when she has no money

Can she be her Arthur’s wife.

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CLUB EVENTS: Christmas 2014 in London Lunch organised by Gavin Fuller at the Melton Mowbray, High Holborn (Pictures from Michael Davison and the Editor)

Ray Ward got into the spirit with the “Santa” look

Leo Stevenson called upon the Elf Service

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Jerry Asquith shared a laugh with Robert and Susan Leng

The whole group had a good time . . . and Gavin paid the bill!

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FIND THE WETHERSPOONS Geoff Thomas

he J D Wetherspoon pub chain frequently names its hostelries

after people or events with local connections. Try to match the

following actual Wetherspoon pubs with the appropriate

location – there is usually a clue in the pub name which obviates the

need to use reference sources.

This is No.12 – but where would you find it?

1. The Albert and the Lion Huddersfield

2. The Alexander Graham Bell Sunderland

3. The Bishop’s Mill Oxford

4. The Bright Helm Edinburgh

5. The Cordwainer Twickenham

6. The Earl of Mercia Windsor

7. The Eric Bartholomew Blackpool

8. The Hedley Verity Bedford

9. The Herbert Wells Brighton

10. Jewel of the Severn Norwich

11. The King and Castle Morecambe

12. The Lambton Worm Kingston-upon-Hull

13. The Leaping Salmon Durham

14. The Linen Hall Oswestry

15. The Lord Wilson Bristol

16. The Percy Shaw Coventry

17. The Pilgrim’s Progress Berwick-upon-Tweed

18. Queen if the Iceni Northampton

19. The Spinning Mule Leeds

20. The Trafalgar Enniskillen

21. The W G Grace Halifax

22. The Wilfred Owen Bolton

23. The William Morris Woking

24. The William Webb Ellis Bridgnorth

25. The William Wilberforce Portsmouth

And the answers are:

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FESTIVE SEASON QUIZ: ANSWERS AND RESULTSKen Emond

here were nine entries for the quiz. As an experienced quizzer, I really should have known better than to include a question with the word ‘traditional’ in it – all brickbats to me, not the editor, please! – as, of course, one person’s ‘tradition’ might (and, in this case, did) turn out to be different to others’… But since I got the answer I was actually

looking for from more than one person, all I can say is that the question master is always right!

So congratulations to Paul Emerson, who gave all 20 answers I expected correctly and who wins the book token prize. The other scores were Nick Spokes 19; Ray Ward 19; Dave Cowan 18; Margery Elliott 18; Raymond Kahn 18; Mike Formby 17; Mel Kinsey 16 and Brigid Craig 11. And we send all best wishes for a speedy recovery to Andrew Craig (mem. No. 1094) who is having a hip replacement – thanks to his sister, Brigid, for having a go at the quiz in his temporary absence.

And the answers were:

1. Apollo 82. 17th December3. Clement Clarke Moore4. King John5. Aida6. John Betjeman7. Dorothy Wordsworth8. W.C. Fields (d. 1946) and Charlie Chaplin (d. 1977) – it depends on individual definition, of course, but Dean Martin

was not to me in the same class to be called an ‘outstanding film comedian’…9. 1860s (1864)10. The Stone of Destiny (or Stone of Scone)11. 13th December12. Gorston Hall13. 28th December14. 172415. The 29th State16. The 1710s (1714)17. To your health (be healthy, etc)18. The answers I was looking for were: coal, shortbread, Black Bun (a type of fruit cake with thin pastry top and base), and

whisky. Until alerted by answers from some of you, I had honestly never heard of salt or bread as an answer, or indeed,a coin – though apparently some sources include them.

19. Ireland (from Cork specifically)20. Here I wasn’t trying to be tricksy – the farthing ceased to be legal tender at midnight on 31 December 1960, so the

answer was that the first day on which it was no longer legal tender was 1 January 1961

FOOD FOR THOUGHT A final word from Lance Haward One of those idle speculations that entertain without over-taxing: among the questions put to Anne Reid in an interview in the “Guardian” recently was : If you could bring something extinct back to life, what would you choose? She opted for her father, but there are too many risky “Monkey’s Paw” ramifications to tangle with in that one. The Woolly Mammoth is clearly ruled out. That’s the prerogative of the international team of scientists under Korean auspices who are even now on the brink of doing just that. I’m probably wasting my one wish by not choosing something more dramatic and significant in the “Jurassic Park” mode, but I think the dodo, and that for three reasons.

Firstly, because unlike the dinosaurs it was an extinction that we personally had a hand in. To reverse that lamentable error would be to have the object lesson strutting (or waddling?) around in front of us. There’s always something compulsive about a second chance: the rare opportunity to put right just one of one’s mistakes. Waking up to discover that that disaster was just a bad dream, and exercising Adam’s revived stewardship with great caution second time round: “A Christmas Carol” and all that. Secondly, because it would knock out a standard idiom and oblige writers and speakers to engage in the more creative business of coining a new one: a life-form perceptibly more dead than the dodo. Inventive writing is always an improvement on easy cliché.

Thirdly, because it was said to taste delicious.

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AN EXCELLENT ABSURDITY Richard Sturch

he questions which follow come from lighter literature (well, one is from television and one from opera), and all I think qualify for the heading (a quotation from Charles Williams, my first MM specialized subject). The quiz will not test entrants’ knowledge so much as the coincidence of their

tastes with my own; but a token will go to the best entry!

1. Whose servants recognized him by his rings?2. Who spoilt the labour of years, all done to the honour of Satan?3. How many mysteries are there?4. Who was degenerating into a slow left-handed bowler with a swerve?5. Who held the human race in scorn?6. Who knew there was a difference between right and wrong, but had forgotten what

it was?7. Who made their home in Victoria Grove?8. Who was present three times at the fall of Atlantis?9. What was stiff with (among other things) hobgoblins?10. Who sat in a cowslip and sucked bees?

Now one, the answer to which is well-known, but the question decidedly obscure; however, I wanted to include it for its sheer swagger: 11. Of what family was it true that the good feared God, while the bad did not, but

neither the good nor the bad feared anything in the world besides?12. Whose morals had been declared particularly correct?13. Whose wisdom consisted of fourteen hundred maledictions?14. What is not a proper field of study for princes?15. Who was the alias of the man in the dark room who made Syme a policeman?16. Which detective was christened Rudolphus?17. What is the third law of robotics?18. What sort of letters were used on the cover of The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the

Galaxy?19. Who consented to have his book of poems called Fungoids?20. Who was the mother of Geoffrey Grossdent (which means Bigtooth)?21. What did the old conger-eel teach, apart from Drawling?

And two Princesses, from favourites of mine which I fear few others will know, the splendid books from which they come being sadly out of print: extra marks for anyone who knows them! 22. Who was normally the third fastest runner in the castle?23. Who could barely be called homely even by accomplished flatterers?

Please send your entries to Richard to arrive by 31 March 2015.

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