Red Cards and Checkered Flags Trivia Quiz

Answer: Beaches

The Blue Flag scheme was set up in Denmark in 1987 and is operated by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). To qualify for a Blue Flag, various criteria have to be met, including safety, environmental protection and ease of access to the public.

While primarily aimed at identifying the cleanest beaches, the scheme also covers marinas and even individual boat owners can apply to obtain evidence of their environmental credentials.

Answer: Cezanne

The paintings are of varying sizes, but all show groups of men playing card games. They are believed to date from the 1890s, with four of the paintings being in art galleries in London, Paris, New York and Philadelphia in 2017 - the fifth is privately owned.

As well as the main paintings, Cezanne created smaller studies of the individual men he later incorporated into the larger canvases and these are on display around the world in various museums.

Answer: Yellow

The use of yellow (and red) cards is common in sports. The referee can send a player from the field temporarily for various offences, including obstruction, under the general heading of 'foul play' in rugby union. The player is not allowed to rejoin the game until a full ten minutes of playing time has passed. 'Sin bin' is not an official name, but is in common use. Two yellow cards for one player in a single game leads to a sending off, and very serious offences mean the player receives a red card and immediate removal from the match.

Answer: Woodwind

The flageolet looks something like a recorder, although the finger holes are laid out differently. There are two main versions - the French flageolet and the English flageolet - with the French type dating from at least the fifteenth century and the English version being created in the nineteenth century.

The name of flageolet is also used for the type of bean known by other names such as French bean, common bean, string bean and haricot bean.

Answer: Manic Street Preachers

This album was the tenth studio album recorded by the Manics, and reached number three on the UK Albums Chart. The band released three singles from it, including the title track, but none of them was particularly successful in chart terms. Of the other bands, although they are all Welsh, Badfinger dates from the 1960s and Catatonia broke up in 2001.

The front man for Stereophonics is Kelly Jones.

Answer: Three legs in the design

Sicily's flag dates back to 1282 and has three legs in the middle, with the head of the gorgon Medusa joining them. The Isle of Man's flag is much more recent, being adopted only in 1932, but the design itself has been associated with the island since the thirteenth century. The name for this type of symbol is a triskelion, from the Greek words meaning 'three' and 'leg'.

Answer: Textiles

Carding is a system of treating fibres to disentangle, clean and mix them before they are woven into cloth. The 'card' in this process was originally a teasel for which the Latin name is carduus. Among the textiles where carding is used are cotton, wool, silk and animal fur or hair.

Although the earliest carding was carried out by hand, by the time of the Industrial Revolution the process had been mechanised.

Answer: Iris

The flag species of Iris refers particularly to the water loving varieties, which can be found in a blue/lilac colour (Iris versicolor) or yellow (Iris pseudacorus). Flags grow best in damp conditions around ponds or streams and can be seen growing in the wild in these locations.

Many people cultivate them in their gardens, although conditions need to be suitable for the flowers to thrive.

Answer: Battle of Balaclava

Lord Cardigan was the officer in charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War. Even if you take little interest in history, you have probably come across the poem written by Tennyson to commemorate the event, when a group of cavalrymen was sent into the 'valley of death' to face artillery fire from the opposing Russians.

Although Cardigan was not considered a particularly competent commander, in this instance he was following the orders of his superior officer. The Battle of Balaclava itself, in 1854, was inconclusive with neither side gaining any significant advantage.

Answer: I was getting tired

'Flag' is one of those English words with several meanings. Apart from the meaning I've given - to lose energy or interest - 'flagging' can also refer to laying flagstones to make a path or patio. To flag a vehicle can be a signal for it to stop, as in 'flag down a taxi' or, in the context of the quiz title, a racing car can have flags of varying colours waved at it.

A red flag means 'stop', a yellow flag is a warning, but the flag that the driver wants to see is the black and white checkered flag, meaning the race has finished.