It’s our turn in the hotseat again. The main problem we face is that the Prince of Wales’ always unreliable microphone gives out entirely after the first round, and no amount of pulling the wire around can get it to make noises again. We are forced to shout the questions. Unaccustomed to the exertion, we are not sure we’ll make it to the end and still be able to speak, but then we have the bright idea of asking if we can borrow a microphone from the Angel, down the road. They have their quiz on Wednesdays. Happily, they lend it to us, and we are back to a non-shouty quiz. The landlord assures us he’ll buy a new microphone before next Tuesday.

The questions I set are here:

Round one

1. Marcus Bentley’s Geordie tones have become horribly familiar every summer since 2000, if you watch what programme?
2. We aim for 5 a day, Danes 6, the French aim for 10 and the Japanese an enormous 17. An old proverb has it that just one will do. What?
3. Fernando de la Rúa, Ramón Puerta, Adolfo Rodríguez, Eduardo Camaño and Eduardo Duhalde all held what position between 21 December 2001 and 1 January 2002?
4. It happened to Lee Trevino in 1975, Jimmy Connors in 1986 and it almost happened to the Cambridge boat in the 1987 boat race. What?
5. This question was scrapped in favour of one of Oli’s spares. I’ve got no idea what he asked.
6. Arthur Martin-Leake in the Boer War and WWI, Noel Chavasse in WWI, and Charles Upham in WWII are the only people to have done what?
7. The Versailles Treaty listed 5 principal allies in WWI – who were they?
8. Hosts have appeared in the final of 7 of the 17 world cups so far – only one has lost. Who?
9. What number appeared on Damon Hill’s car in the 1994 season – it had only previously appeared once before in formula one?
10. Before 2006, a) what was the last year neither Brazil or Germany appeared in the World Cup final? And b) What was the last year that neither Brazil, Germany nor the hosts appeared in the world cup final?

Round two

1. What happened to Franz Urban on 28 June 1914, and Bill Greer on 22 November 1963?
2. What is unusual about the current president and prime minister of Poland?
3. Which Northern European capital city boasts a four metre high statue of Frank Zappa as one of its attractions?
4. It happened in the Russian parliament on 29 March 2005, Taiwanese parliament on 7 May 2004, and has also occurred in the Indian, Japanese and South Korean parliaments, but has thus far never happened in the British Parliament. What?
5. a) Seal, Patsy Cline, Mark Morrisson, Eternal and Aerosmith have all released songs with what title? b) Name the most recent artist to have chart success with a song of the same name.
6. Willie Gallagher, Shapurji Saklatvala and Phil Piratin are the only three people to have been MPs representing which party?
7. Which two catholic bishops act as heads of states?
8. According to a study carried out in 1970, what did not appear on any British landscape painting at all between 1400 and 1967?
9. In which city do Italian match-riggers Juventus play?
10. What did Gyula Horn and Alois Mock do on 28 June 1989, with massive repercussions for European politics?

Beer round

1. What word is used to describe a state, defeated in war, which then pledged allegiance to the victor although it wasn’t directly ruled or colonised? It is also used to des-cribe a person who held land from a feudal lord and received protection in return for homage and allegiance.
2. Which beer is brewed in Bremen, and also under license in Namibia? The brewery was founded on 27 June 1873, and its logo is a key. It is famous for its Pilsener, brewed with barley from England and hops from Hallertau.
3. Which Irish actor, born in 1953, first found success in the US in detective drama Remington Steele, and later appeared in films such as Mrs Doubtfire, Mars Attacks and Dante’s Peak?
4. Which constituency did Michael Portillo lose in 1997?
5. Which Buckinghamshire town, named after a landowning family who had manor there in 17th c., was the site of the collapse of a railway tunnel in 2005 caused by the building of controversial Tesco’s store?