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Quiz about A Life in a Quiz My Father
Quiz about A Life in a Quiz My Father

A Life in a Quiz - My Father

Significant dates, people and places in my father's life have inspired an assortment of questions with a UK bias - if you don't know the right answer, you may know the wrong ones!

A multiple-choice quiz by bucknallbabe. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
bucknallbabe
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
301,466
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
5 / 10
Plays
1445
Last 3 plays: Guest 222 (3/10), Hayes1953 (8/10), Guest 171 (6/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. My father was born on 2nd May, the same date as David Suchet the actor best known for his portrayal of Agatha Christie's fictional detective, Hercule Poirot. Which of these deathly novels did NOT feature Poirot? Hint


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Question 2 of 10
2. Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire was my father's birthplace. Which of these is not a tributary of the Trent? Hint


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Question 3 of 10
3. My father was a keen sportsman and was a lifelong supporter of his local football team. Which of these teams is based in The Potteries? Hint


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Question 4 of 10
4. At weekends, we would go to watch my father play cricket. Which of these positions is he unlikely to have played during a match? Hint


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Question 5 of 10
5. As a child, my father learned how to play the piano. One of his favourite pieces was "Trudie". Who had a chart success with this in the UK in 1958? Hint


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Question 6 of 10
6. One of the achievements of which my father was most proud was his contribution to the design of the automatic gearbox of the "Silver Cloud". Who was he working for at the time? Hint


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Question 7 of 10
7. In 1960, my father joined English Electric (later British Aircraft Corporation) in Warton, Lancashire. To the end of his life, he remained bitter about the controversial cancellation in 1964 of one of the aircraft projects he had worked on. What was the name of the plane? Hint


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Question 8 of 10
8. My grandmother named my father after her favourite actor at the time of his birth, the Mexican Ramon Novarro. One of his famous films was the 1922 version of "The Prisoner of Zenda" in which he played the role of Rupert of Hentzau. The film was remade several times with British stars playing the title role. Which one of these actors did NOT play the dual role of Rudolf Rassendyll/King Rudolf V of Ruritania? Hint


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Question 9 of 10
9. Gardening was another way my father spent his spare time. He never knew that he shared a birthday with a popular UK gardener. Which of these was born on 2 May 1949? Hint


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Question 10 of 10
10. For a period in the 1970s, my father worked in Scotland and subsequently spent several golfing holidays there. He would relax with a drop of whisky. Which of the following is NOT a Scotch whisky? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Apr 19 2024 : Guest 222: 3/10
Apr 17 2024 : Hayes1953: 8/10
Apr 07 2024 : Guest 171: 6/10
Mar 25 2024 : misstified: 9/10
Mar 25 2024 : Guest 86: 4/10
Mar 20 2024 : Guest 157: 6/10
Mar 15 2024 : Twongle: 8/10
Mar 08 2024 : Guest 176: 5/10
Mar 05 2024 : Guest 94: 6/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. My father was born on 2nd May, the same date as David Suchet the actor best known for his portrayal of Agatha Christie's fictional detective, Hercule Poirot. Which of these deathly novels did NOT feature Poirot?

Answer: Death Comes as the End

 "Death Comes as the End" was set in Thebes in 2000 BC, the only one of Christie's novels not to be set in the twentieth century. It was inspired by some real letters from the Middle Kingdom and is notable for the number of deaths which occur.
2. Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire was my father's birthplace. Which of these is not a tributary of the Trent?

Answer: The Humber

 The source of the Trent is in Biddulph, Staffordshire and on its way to the North Sea, it flows through Stoke, Burton-on-Trent, Nottingham and Newark. The Humber estuary is where the waters of the Trent meet those of the Ouse and flow to the sea.
3. My father was a keen sportsman and was a lifelong supporter of his local football team. Which of these teams is based in The Potteries?

Answer: Port Vale

 Port Vale Football Club is based in Burslem and is one of the few league clubs not to be named after a geographical location. The singer Robbie Williams is a keen Port Vale fan and is a major shareholder in the club. Matches against Crewe Alexandra are considered local derbies even though Crewe is in neighbouring Cheshire. Tranmere Rovers are based near Birkenhead. West Bromwich is in the West Midlands.
4. At weekends, we would go to watch my father play cricket. Which of these positions is he unlikely to have played during a match?

Answer: Tight head prop

 Tight head prop is a Rugby Union position - together with the loose head prop he supports the hooker in the scrum. Silly point and gully are fielding positions close in to the batsman on his "off" side; deep square leg would be on the boundary, level with the batsman on his "on" side.
5. As a child, my father learned how to play the piano. One of his favourite pieces was "Trudie". Who had a chart success with this in the UK in 1958?

Answer: Joe "Mr Piano" Henderson

 Joe "Mr Piano" Henderson also shared a 2 May birthday with my father. "Trudie" reached no 14 in the record charts and no 1 in the sheet music charts. Gladys Mills was a popular pianist in the 1960s and early '70s. Russ Conway had two number one hits in 1959 with "Side Saddle" and "Roulette".

He had a distinctive playing style which he attributed to a missing finger tip. All three were influenced by Winfred Atwell. She was born in Trinidad and was known for her boogie-woogie and ragtime style, reaching the height of her popularity in the late '50s.
6. One of the achievements of which my father was most proud was his contribution to the design of the automatic gearbox of the "Silver Cloud". Who was he working for at the time?

Answer: Rolls Royce

 The Rolls Royce Silver Cloud was in production from 1955 to 1966 and a total of 7372 were produced over all models. My father's first car was an Austin A30 bought in 1958; Morgan are based in Worcester and celebrate their centenary in 2009; Bentley were taken over by Rolls Royce as a result of the Great Depression and in the 1950s were sharing technology. Rolls Royce produced cars in Crewe, where my father worked, until 2002 and Bentleys continued to be manufactured there after this date.
7. In 1960, my father joined English Electric (later British Aircraft Corporation) in Warton, Lancashire. To the end of his life, he remained bitter about the controversial cancellation in 1964 of one of the aircraft projects he had worked on. What was the name of the plane?

Answer: TSR-2

 TSR stood for Tactical Strike/Reconnaissance and the plane was designed to penetrate battle areas at low altitude and high speed and then to attack with close-in bomb runs and precision drops. The project was canceled by the Labour Government in 1964 in favour of the F-111 which was also canceled due to cost increases. GOR 339 was the 1957 specification for the plane's capabilities. XR219 was the number of the only TSR-2 which actually flew, piloted by Roland Beamont who was English Electric's chief test pilot.
8. My grandmother named my father after her favourite actor at the time of his birth, the Mexican Ramon Novarro. One of his famous films was the 1922 version of "The Prisoner of Zenda" in which he played the role of Rupert of Hentzau. The film was remade several times with British stars playing the title role. Which one of these actors did NOT play the dual role of Rudolf Rassendyll/King Rudolf V of Ruritania?

Answer: David Niven

 David Niven was in the 1937 version but played the part of Fritz von Tarlenheim. Ronald Colman played the title role in that production. Stewart Granger took the lead in the 1952 version and Peter Sellers played it for laughs in the 1979 version. My father did not have to go through life named Ramon - the registrar of his birth recorded him as Raymond.
9. Gardening was another way my father spent his spare time. He never knew that he shared a birthday with a popular UK gardener. Which of these was born on 2 May 1949?

Answer: Alan Titchmarsh

 Alan Titchmarsh started his broadcasting career on "Nationwide" and in 1997 started to present the hugely popular "Ground Force". He has hosted "Songs of Praise" and is a successful writer of novels as well as gardening books. Monty Don presented "Gardeners' World" for BBC2 from 2003-2008. Percy Thrower was the inspiration for Alan Titchmarsh.

He worked at Windsor Castle and Sandringham, and became a stalwart of "Gardeners' World" which he presented from 1969 to 1976. Geoffrey Smith presented "Gardeners' World" from 1980-1982.
10. For a period in the 1970s, my father worked in Scotland and subsequently spent several golfing holidays there. He would relax with a drop of whisky. Which of the following is NOT a Scotch whisky?

Answer: Bushmills

 Bushmills is an Irish Whiskey - the extra "e" was added around 1870 to distinguish Irish and American whiskeys from the poorer quality whisky produced in Scotland. Despite its name, Chivas Regal is produced in Aberdeen, Scotland. Aberlour was my father's favourite single malt. It is made in the Speyside area which is also home to Glenfiddich.
Source: Author bucknallbabe

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Nannanut before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
Related Quizzes
This quiz is part of series A Life in a Quiz:

Five quizzes largely about the UK inspired by significant dates and places in the lives of members of my family.

  1. A Life in a Quiz - My Mother Tough
  2. A Life in a Quiz - My Father Tough
  3. A Life in a Quiz - My Grandmother Average
  4. A Life in a Quiz - My Daughter Tough
  5. A Life in a Quiz - My Sister Average

Referenced Topics
Music   General   World   People   English   Government   Mixed UK   Names   Scotland   Aircraft   Scottish People   Achievements   Irish: Famous & Historical   Agatha Christie  

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