General Knowledge Quiz

[Strat-tastic]

Ant

 

[OhNoAPacer]

Stick insect

Incorrect I am afraid

Beetle

Not a beetle

From the hint that it is an insect, I remember reading of a species in the area of Indonesia that was that of a very large bee, but that was said to be extinct, so it cannot be that as the question asked for a living species.

Wallaces Giant Bee, with a 63.5 mm wingspan.

It was believed to be extinct but several specimens were found in 1981.

Despite you declaring your answer incorrect I am declaring it correct.

You may now buzz us with another question.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

What is the deepest harbour on the coastline of Britain.

 

[OhNoAPacer]

Because of trident subs being based there I will try Faslane.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Because of trident subs being based there I will try Faslane.

Not that one.

 

[OhNoAPacer]

Sticking military I will try Devonport

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Sticking military I will try Devonport

Not that one.

HINT....I was told of the raised question many years ago by a seafarer who had taken a role in a marine museum in the county in which the said harbour lies.

 

[MotCO]

Poole - it is the biggest natural harbour

 

[Mcr Warrior]

What is the deepest harbour on the coastline of Britain.

Milford Haven, perhaps? (Which is why the oil terminals were built there).

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Not that one.

 

[D6130]

Loch Long?

 

[Gloster]

Falmouth?

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Falmouth?

Is the correct answer. I was told a depth of 34 metres.

Over to you.

 

[Gloster]

Where was Jane Austen born?

 

[Cowley]

Where was Jane Austen born?

Was Chawton (not quite sure how you spell it?) in Hampshire?

 

[Gloster]

Was Chawton (not quite sure how you spell it?) in Hampshire?

No, not Chawton, even though you spelled it correctly. She did live there for the last eight years of her life, during which period all of her most famous books were finished or written.

 

[Cowley]

No, not Chawton, even though you spelled it correctly. She did live there for the last eight years of her life, during which period all of her most famous books were finished or written.

Ah ok. I still think it was probably somewhere in Hampshire. I’ll try Winchester?

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Taking Hampshire as a hint, I will say Steventon.

 

[Gloster]

Taking Hampshire as a hint, I will say Steventon.

And you would be absolutely correct to do so; I would have accepted near Basingstoke. In Steventon there is a Jane Austen Telephone Box. On Streetview there is a Jane Austen Postbox and two Jane Austen Wheelie bins next to it.

To you to write the next question.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

The Bronte sisters had a brother, Branwell, who obtained a position on the Sowerby Bridge station of the Manchester and Leeds Railway. What was the station that he was subsequently promotionally posted to on that railway and why did he leave that post?

 

[Calthrop]

I've read about this, but forgotten the details. Re the station -- as a total guess, I'll say Hebden Bridge. One gathers that he lost his railway job because of an excessive fondness for alcoholic refreshment; and consequences thereof.

 

[SuspectUsual]

Luddenden Foot. He drank in the Lord Nelson in Luddenden village, which used to be my local. I think drink was the underlying cause for him leaving, but the official reasons were negligence and suspected theft

There’s a thing on the wall in the pub with the following quote attributed to Branwell Brontë - I would rather give my right hand than undergo again the malignant yet cold debauchery which too often marked my conduct there

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Luddenden Foot. He drank in the Lord Nelson in Luddenden village, which used to be my local. I think drink was the underlying cause for him leaving, but the official reasons were negligence and suspected theft

There’s a thing on the wall in the pub with the following quote attributed to Branwell Brontë - I would rather give my right hand than undergo again the malignant yet cold debauchery which too often marked my conduct there

You have the correct name for the railway station and the correct official reason when he left that position that he held there.

Over to you.

 

[SuspectUsual]

A question in three parts.....

What did the Duke of Devonshire instruct his gardener to construct on his estate in 1843; who was the gardener; and why did he want the work done?

 

[MotCO]

The Emperor Fountain at Chatsworth, but the Emperor never came. Joseph Paxton the gardener?

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I think that the Duke had instructed Joseph Paxton to construct two lakes to feed the gravity-fed Emperor fountain at Chatsworth House, if I can recall what we were once told on a guided tour of Chatsworth House and the grounds.

 

[SuspectUsual]

The Emperor Fountain at Chatsworth, but the Emperor never came. Joseph Paxton the gardener?

…..is the right answer. He wanted the biggest fountain in the world, and got it built in double quick time but the guest he wanted to impress never turned up

Your turn to lay out the next question

 

[MotCO]

Thank you. Staying with Chatsworth and the Devonshires, what is Peregrine Cavendish's, the current and 12th Duke of Devonshire, nickname?

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I have heard tell that his deep involvement in the £32.7 million upgrade to Chatsworth House included a much improved house heating system which led to his nickname of "Stoker", a title normally given to those involved with the boilers of sailing vessels.

 

[Loppylugs]

Thank you. Staying with Chatsworth and the Devonshires, what is Peregrine Cavendish's, the current and 12th Duke of Devonshire, nickname?

The Grinch