Category Archives: memes

current affairs, memes

June Quiz Questions

Each month we’re posing six pub quiz style questions, with a different subject each month. As always, they’re designed to be difficult, but it is unlikely everyone will know all the answers – so have a bit of fun.

World Affairs

  1. Which political figure became Baroness of Kesteven?
  2. What year was the United Nations established?
  3. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus became the head of which United Nations agency in 2017?
  4. Who was US President in the year 2000?
  5. What was the name of the treaty signed between the Allies and Germany that officially ended WWI?
  6. The border between North Korea and South Korea is about 257km long and 4km wide. What is this buffer zone known as?

Answers will be posted in 2 weeks time.

memes

May Quiz Answers

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Here are the answers to this month’s six quiz questions. If in doubt, all should be able to be easily verified online.

General Knowledge (2)

  1. What is a grimoire? A textbook of magic, typically including instructions on creating magical objects, performing spells & divination, and summoning supernatural entities
  2. Which British coin was introduced in February 1971 and withdrawn from circulation in December 1984? Half New Penny
  3. The wood of a cricket bat is traditionally from which type of tree? Willow
  4. In the United States, who is second in presidential line of succession after the Vice President? The Speaker of the House of Representatives
  5. Which film concerns the declaration of war by Freedonia against neighbouring Sylvania? Duck Soup
  6. The Velocipede was a nineteenth-century prototype of what? The bicycle

Answers were correct when questions were compiled in late 2024.

books, memes, quotes

This Month’s Poem

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A Fairy Song
William Shakespeare

Over hill, over dale,
  Through bush, through briar,
Over park, over pale,
  Through blood, through fire,
I do wander everywhere,
Swifter than the moone’s sphere;
And I serve the fairy queen,
To dew her orbs upon the green.
The cowslips tall her pensioners be:
In their gold coats spots you see;
Those be rubies, fairy favours,
In those freckles live their savours:
I must go seek some dewdrops here,
And hang a pearl in every cowslip’s ear.
Farewell, thou lob of spirits; I’ll be gone:
Our queen and all her elves come here anon.

Find this poem online at Poetry Lover’s Page

amusements, memes

Ten Things

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This year our Ten Things column each month is alternating between composers and artists a century at a time from pre-1500 to 20th century. As always, there’s no guarantee you will have heard of them all!

Ten Composers Born in 17th Century

  1. George Frideric Handel
  2. Jean-Philippe Rameau
  3. JS Bach
  4. Jean-Baptiste Lully
  5. Dieterich Buxtehude
  6. Domenico Scarlatti
    Domingo Antonio Velasco
    Portrait of Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)
  7. Pavel Josef Vejvanovský
  8. Joan Cererols
  9. Jean-François Dandrieu
  10. François Couperin
memes

May Quiz Questions

Each month we’re posing six pub quiz style questions, with a different subject each month. As always, they’re designed to be difficult, but it is unlikely everyone will know all the answers – so have a bit of fun.

General Knowledge (2)

  1. What is a grimoire?
  2. Which British coin was introduced in February 1971 and withdrawn from circulation in December 1984?
  3. The wood of a cricket bat is traditionally from which type of tree?
  4. In the United States, who is second in presidential line of succession after the Vice President?
  5. Which film concerns the declaration of war by Freedonia against neighbouring Sylvania?
  6. The velocipede was a nineteenth-century prototype of what?

Answers will be posted in 2 weeks time.

memes, science

April Quiz Answers

Here are the answers to this month’s six quiz questions. If in doubt, all should be able to be easily verified online.

Geography

  1. In what country would you find Mount Kilimanjaro? Tanzania
  2. What is the largest desert in Asia? Gobi Desert
  3. Which river flows through the Grand Canyon? Colorado River
  4. Which country bordering India measures it’s success in terms of “gross national happiness”? Bhutan
  5. Which country makes up more than half the western coastline of South America? Chile
  6. There’s a town in the Peloponnese region of Greece with a namesake food item known for its purple colour and smooth meaty texture. What is this fruit? Kalamata Olive

Answers were correct when questions were compiled in late 2024.

books, memes, quotes

This Month’s Poem

1 Comment

The Hunting of the Snark (opening)
Lewis Carroll

“Just the place for a Snark!” the Bellman cried,
As he landed his crew with care;
Supporting each man on the top of the tide
By a finger entwined in his hair.
“Just the place for a Snark! I have said it twice:
That alone should encourage the crew.
Just the place for a Snark! I have said it thrice:
What I tell you three times is true.”

The crew was complete: it included a Boots –
A maker of Bonnets and Hoods –
A Barrister, brought to arrange their disputes –
And a Broker, to value their goods.

A Billiard-marker, whose skill was immense,
Might perhaps have won more than his share –
But a Banker, engaged at enormous expense,
Had the whole of their cash in his care.

There was also a Beaver, that paced on the deck,
Or would sit making lace in the bow:
And had often (the Bellman said) saved them from wreck
Though none of the sailors knew how.

Find this poem online at Poetry Foundation

amusements, memes

Ten Things

This year our Ten Things column each month is alternating between composers and artists a century at a time from pre-1500 to 20th century. As always, there’s no guarantee you will have heard of them all!

Ten Artists Born in 16th Century

  1. Pieter Bruegel the Elder
    Pieter Bruegel the Elder
    The Peasant Wedding
  2. Nicolas Poussin
  3. Gian Lorenzo Bernini
  4. Anthony van Dyck
  5. Giuseppe Arcimboldo
  6. El Greco
  7. Nicholas Hilliard
  8. Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio
  9. Frans Hals
  10. Hendrick Avercamp