“Someday, my boy, even this shall be in PASS . . .” said the President to the Secretary

2013:4 1. Editorial and Treasurer’s Business 2. Membership – and an Announcement

3. The Club’s Annual Reunion 2014 4. Our Thirty-Fifth Anniversary Lunch Meeting

8. Aardvarks to Zulus 11. My Mastermind Experience

12. Master Quiz 2014 – Round 1 Questions

15. Two New Poems 16. And finally . . . a Llandudno arrival

IBC Quiz:”Baker Street Irregularities” - Answers BC Quiz:”Baker Street Irregularities” - Questions

Officers and Committee President Alan D. Blackburn,

Hon. Vice-President and Editor of pass Tony Dart

Secretary Gavin Fuller Treasurer Susan Leng,

Webmaster Mel Kinsey Committee Members Ken Emond

Phillida Grantham

Glenys Hopkins

Mastermind Club website: www.mastermindclub.co.uk

Follow the Mastermind Club on Facebook!

Club Shopping

Please send a cheque with your order, payable to the Mastermind Club, and including the cost of postage and packing, to:

Phillida Grantham

* New and exciting items available this month! * * Excellent Quality Lined Windbreakers – all at £25 (+£3 p&p)* Sizes L and XL in Red, Black and Navy

* Sweatshirts – all at £15 (+ £3 p&p) * Sizes L and XL in Navy, Red and Burgundy

* Fleece Hats – all at £8 (+ £1 p&p)* Bottle Green, Black and Navy Polo Shirts – all at £15 (+ £3 p&p) Sizes M, L and XL in Navy, Red, Green and Purple all in stock

Jackets – all at £15 (+ £3 p+p) Waterproof Fleece in Blue only (Sizes M and L)

Polar Fleece in Red (Sizes S and M); Blue (Sizes M and L); and Maroon (Sizes S and M)

Jewellery – all at £6 (+ £2 p+p) Tie pins and clips, cufflinks and key rings

(Any purchases made in person will of course not incur p+p.)

PASS and its contents are ©2013 by the Mastermind Club except where noted. Contributions are welcome but may be edited or held over owing to space limitations. Check with the Editor for advice on the format of contributions. All material is published at the sole discretion of the Editor and Committee. Copy deadlines are the last days of January (Issue 1), April (2), July (3), and October (4). Publication is normally 4–6 weeks later. Please notify the Secretary of any problems in receiving PASS (allow an extra week or two for printing and postal delays).

PASS 2013:4

Editorial

Tony Dart, Editor

his year marked yet another milestone for the Mastermind Club, which reached its thirty-fifth anniversary. The

Committee and members, even including a few of our “founders”, celebrated the occasion with a new event – lunch at

the Phoenix Palace Chinese restaurant in central London. There are some amusing commemorative pictures of the event

in this edition – and remember that you will be able to find them in colour when PASS later appears on the Club website.

On the next page is a very important announcement to members concerning the re-issue, after quite a long absence, of our full

membership list – an appropriate way to mark the Club’s anniversary and its achievement of stable membership and finances.

Please read the announcement. It could be important to you!

Another very significant item is the description of next year’s Annual Function at Shrewsbury. For the first time, this is being

organised by Ken Emond, who contributed the article. Booking forms for the event are included with this magazine, and we

look forward to seeing you all. Ken needs you to give him a success on his first attempt!

Also in this edition, Stewart Cross gives a graphic and deeply considered account of his experiences in South Africa; Tim

Jarvis tells us of his alarming time in the Mastermind chair (something with which everyone of us can sympathise), and

Phillida Grantham contributes the Questions for Master Quiz 2014 Round 1 – the first stage towards appearing for a grilling

at Shrewsbury! Timothy Robey has written two more poems, this time with a mathematical angle, and finally we have an

account of a very strange – even unearthly – sequel to our 2013 visit to Llandudno.

I conclude with a plea – keep the contributions coming in for your Club magazine. In particular, I am desperate for more

quizzes for the back cover spot. It’s in your interests to provide them. If you don’t, you may find you start to know a lot more

than you could ever have wanted about your Editor’s nerdy obsessions.

So, finally, may I wish you all the compliments of the season – and may I ask Father Christmas to bring me many more

contributions for PASS!

From The Treasurer

– Subscriptions for 2014

Susan Leng

s another year draws to a close, I am sending this reminder to all those who pay their annual subscription by cheque,

requesting you to forward to me £12 made payable to “Mastermind Club”, and to do it by the end of December, please.

My address may be found on the inside front cover of this journal.

Most of the Club’s members now pay by Standing Order, which ensures that their membership subscription is paid

automatically by their bank on 1 January each year. If you pay by this method, I will look forward to receiving your

subscription on the due date, and there will be nothing further for you to do.

I would like to thank all members for their letters and e-mails received during the year – it is always good to hear from you.

May I wish you all the compliments of the Christmas season, and a happy new year in 2014.

T

A

2

A VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

- To all members of the Mastermind Club

ne of the most important functions of a couple such as ours is to promote continued friendship among its

members by assisting them to keep in touch.

For that reason, and to mark the occasion of the Club’s thirty-fifth anniversary, the Committee has resolved to

reissue the full Club Membership list.

The list will be produced in hard copy form only. It will not, for obvious security reasons, ever be placed on our

website, but will be distributed as an insert to PASS. It will include every member who is in good standing (ie paid

their subscription!) at 1 January 2014, and will be in the format:

Membership number

Member’s name

Member’s postal address

Member’s telephone number

Year(s) on Mastermind

Other details (such as Winner, Question Setter, etc.)

E-mail addresses will not be included.

Any members who wishes to have their address or telephone number (or both) excluded from the listing may

achieve that by informing the Secretary, Gavin Fuller, in writing (his contact details may be found inside the front

cover) before 31 December 2013. Their name and membership number will still appear.

Membership matters

Gavin Fuller, Secretary

am delighted to welcome the following contenders in the current series of Mastermind as members of the Club:

1092 Colin Foster of Glazebury

1093 Richard Chaney of Llanishen, Cardiff

1094 Andre Craig of London

1095 Jon Jacob of Chesham

1096 Philip Walters of Leeds (he was in the 2012-13 series)

1097 David Stainer of Hertford

- and I hope they enjoy their time in the Club.

Meanwhile Tony Kelly (member 499) has moved across Kendal, Linda Morris (593) has moved across Londonderry, Sandy

Sinclair (700) has moved to Mézières-sur-Issoire in France, and Ann Leaney (971) has moved to Sheffield.

O

I

PASS 2013:4

OUR ANNUAL REUNION, 11–13 APRIL 2014

Ken Emond

avin has been pleading with the Committee for a year of sabbatical relief from organising the Club’s Annual Function

since at least 2010, but one way or another it has not happened, until now! So I have, with much trepidation, stepped in

to help by offering to take the lead with the coming year’s event, to be held in the historic town of Shrewsbury.

Our base for the weekend will be the equally historic setting of the Prince Rupert Hotel, which is very centrally located at the

heart of the town.

The 3-star Prince Rupert Hotel is just ten minutes’ walk from

Shrewsbury Station (which is connected via Birmingham to the main

rail network), and it has valet car parking for those arriving by car –

Shrewsbury is readily accessible from the M6 and M54. There are

many attractions to see in Shrewsbury, and most are readily

accessible on foot from the hotel – including Shrewsbury Abbey,

Shrewsbury Cathedral, the Cadfael Trail, the Castle and Shropshire

Regimental Museum. Shrewsbury nestles in a loop of the River

Severn and there are also some beautiful riverside walks, the Dingle,

a calm and pleasant garden with a memorial to Percy Thrower, and

don’t forget the “gravestone” of Ebenezer Scrooge.

The drawback to such a wonderfully central, and historic, location

that I should mention up-front is the equally historic (not to say erratic) lift and some uneven floors, but I hope that the

remarkable setting will more than make up for those. The photo (below right) gives some idea of this, showing the Royalist

Restaurant, with its arms and armour, where we will be having the annual dinner on the Saturday night. Otherwise our base in

the hotel throughout the weekend will be the Darwin Room.

Booking this year is the same as has been customary in most recent

years. If you wish to book for the weekend, please complete the two

enclosed booking forms – there is one for meals, and one for room

booking. The meals – Friday buffet is £27; Saturday’s annual dinner will

be £35, both including wine, and the exceptionally good value 3-course

Sunday lunch (don’t eat too much breakfast!) is just £18 (no wine is

provided in this cost for this meal). Booking for the meals must be

accompanied by a cheque, payable to the Mastermind Club, for the

relevant amount, and please explain on the form if you have any special

dietary requirements. (Any post-dated cheque will be returned.) Booking

for the hotel must also be sent to me, but please don’t include payment

for that. I need to know details of when you will be staying so I can make the necessary arrangements, but payment for the

room will be made individually by guests on departure direct to the hotel. The deadline for returning both booking forms to me

is Friday 7th

February – I cannot guarantee any bookings after this date. Please note that there are a limited number of

rooms available in the hotel, and these will be allocated on a “first come, first served” basis.

Shrewsbury is well served for accommodation generally, and I don’t anticipate problems if we run out of available space. The

cost, at a special rate being offered to the Club for this weekend, is £68 per person per night for a single, and £95 per night for a

double/twin. A small number of upgrades are available to historic 15th

Century Tudor Suites (£145 per night) or 12th

century

Mansion House suites (£165 per night). If you do wish to attend then send me the form enclosed with this issue to book your

place. If you do not receive, or you mislay, your booking form I can send a replacement either electronically or in the post. I

look forward to receiving your bookings and seeing you in Shrewsbury in April. Don’t forget to include a Mugnum question

(and the answer), as I will also be taking care of this part of the weekend as well . . .

G

4

OUR THIRTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY MEETING

The Editor

n The Times Saturday Magazine of 16 November, Giles Coren wrote of the Phoenix Palace restaurant “The best dim sum

you can get in a traditional, big old lanterns-and dragons Chinese”. I don’t think we would disagree with that.

On 12 October, celebrating the thirty-fifth anniversary of the foundation of the Mastermind Club (and, by a happy coincidence,

the birthday of Magnus Magnusson) thirty members and guests visited the Phoenix Palace in Glentworth Street, near Baker

Street Station. In the group there were four members (Margery Elliott, Alan Blackburn – now our President – Angela Alves,

and Sue Jenkins) who were among the first 100 to join, back in 1978. There were many reminiscences and old photographs

(which may well be seen in later editions of PASS) to exchange. It was an informal and very successful event, and our thanks

are due to Phillida Grantham for setting it up.

On this and the following pages are some of the photographs taken on the day by Michael Davison and Susan Leng (who also

produced our cover picture).

Left to Right: Sue Jenkins, Angela Alves, Liz Maggs (guest of Angela), Edward Towne

I

PASS 2013:4

Clockwise from bottom left: Liz Maggs, Edward Towne, Kevin Ashman, Mel Kinsey, Robert Leng, Arfor Wyn Hughes, Gavin

Fuller, Sue Jenkins, Angela Alves

Left to right: Rachel Leonard, John Rand, Jane Rand, Tony Dart, Margaret Dart

6

Left to right: Mel Kinsey, Robert Leng, Susan Leng

Below: Kevin Ashman manfully prepares to face his latest challenge

PASS 2013:4

Honestly, they were enjoying themselves! Clockwise from bottom left: Simon Grantham, Ann Ling, Phillida Grantham, Patricia

Cowley, Ken Emond and Ray Ward

Left to right: Rachel Leonard, Margery Elliott, and Paul Emerson

8

AARDVARKS TO ZULUS – A SOUTH AFRICAN EXPERIENCE Stewart Cross

ALL WHO PASS BY REMEMBER WITH SHAME THE MANY THOUSANDS

OF PEOPLE WHO LIVED FOR GENERATIONS

IN DISTRICT SIX AND OTHER PARTS OF THIS

CITY, AND WHO WERE FORCED BY LAW TO

LEAVE THEIR HOMES BECAUSE OF THE

COLOUR OF THEIR SKINS

FATHER FORGIVE US….

o reads the plaque outside of the District Six museum in Cape Town, a memorial to the urban clearance brought about by

the classification of it as a white area. All its mainly coloured citizens were displaced and the suburb was flattened. It

remains largely undeveloped even now with just the occasional warehouse or small workshop. With almost breath-taking

hypocrisy the churches and mosques were left untouched as it was deemed ‘wrong’ to destroy places of worship (the Museum

itself is in a former Methodist church on the edge of the district). The places of worship stand like solitary teeth in the gums of

an old man. All these years later that still made me very angry as we were shown great courtesy by former residents there who

wanted us to hear and see their story. Thank God for Mandela, for surely the prevention of great bloodshed at the ending of

Apartheid is one of the miracles of our Modern Edge.

We followed with a visit to Langa, one of the African townships where conditions ranged from the just-about tolerable to

unspeakably bad. I felt intrusive; a voyeur on their poverty, and despite assurances that we were welcome I wasn’t convinced.

A visit to a shebeen brewing local beer was particularly harrowing, although the local school with its motto of ‘Build a Child,

Build a Nation’ was uplifting and the children sang and danced for us with an innocence that I fear would soon be lost. This led

in turn to a visit to Robben Island, a must do for any visitor. The beauty of the island with hundreds of different bird species,

contrasted with the starkness of the jail, where we were shown around by a former inmate who gave us insights no-one else

could have done. We had much earlier visited the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg (a sobering place) and the prison at

Drakenstein from where Nelson Mandela was eventually released and where a statue of him with the iconic uplifted arm

dominates the area. It remains a high security prison and naturally the gates were as far as we got!

You cannot escape the impact of history in this most beautiful of countries, and the one thing all South Africans agree on,

black and white, left and right, is the greatness of Mandela. He dominates now as he did then, possibly because, as I write this,

he continues to be in extremely poor health. The country struggles to maintain law and order in its big cities and I couldn’t be

truly comfortable in Cape Town as walking anywhere is regarded as foolish. We never actually went into the centre of

Johannesburg. However in the smaller towns (Stellenbosch, Franschoek, Simon’s Town) things are more relaxed and the air is

one of optimism. Similarly in rural areas the threat of any unpleasantness seems distant, or least well hidden.

We had started our South African Odyssey in the North at Hippo Hollow on the outskirts of the Kruger National Park and I had

enjoyed seeing Kruger in all its moods: a full day’s jeep safari, a 5 hour bush walk tracking rhinos and a sunset experience that

left us several hours in the park at night with just a couple of searchlights for company. Suffice it to say that to see it was

magnificent. To list the mammals, birds and reptiles we saw would be tedious, but it was infinitely greater than I had dreamt –

17 spottings of rhino in one day surprised everyone. Our hotel had warning signs concerning hippos and crocodiles in the

grounds. This was absolutely necessary and one close encounter with a crocodile certainly taught me to be alert. Elephants

from the neighbouring sanctuary bathed in the river below the hotel’s terrace and a visit there led to my propping myself

between the front legs of a huge bull elephant for a photo opportunity! He was called Tembo and is a bit of a hero in those

parts, as well as having the temperament of a kitten. It certainly exploded the myth of African elephants being untrainable.

S

PASS 2013:4

Stewart Cross with Tembo

We continued to the Zulu battlefields where an enthusiastic guide called Dalton, a direct descendant of the Chief Minister of the

Zulu Chief at Isandlwana, entertained us splendidly with his account of the Battle of Isandlwana and the defence of Rorke’s

Drift. I was surprised by the number of memorials and graves at Isandlwana, each cairn marking 25 bodies. It was the 50th

anniversary of the film ‘Zulu’ and the local press was making much of this whilst we were there. Rorke’s Drift looks nothing

like it did in the film as it was already impossible to film there in 1963 due to buildings. The memorial to the Zulu dead here is

very impressive with its wonderful bronze leopard.

The bronze leopard

Back at our base here we were entertained by an enthusiastic group of children in Zulu costume giving a quite splendid

performance whilst ostriches and guinea-fowl pecked their way round us. They were raising money to help buy necessities for

their school; an indication that whilst all are equal, some remain more equal than others! But it was a happy experience and one

the children genuinely seemed to enjoy doing.

10

The Zulu children dancing .

We flew down to George in the Western Cape and having spent a couple of nights at Knysna, where the bluest of blue Indian

Ocean meets the tidal estuary, we made our way along the Garden Route to Devon Valley neat Stellenbosch. This is a lovely

part of the country, with old Colonial architecture, wonderful wine tasting and friendly people. It seemed a completely

different world to Kwa-Zulu, which of course it is! This is an area more dominated by Coloureds and Whites than Blacks, and

has a more European feel. Franschoek has a picture postcard look about it, save for a quite hideous monument to the

Huguenots that originally settled it, whilst Stellenbosch has a really Dutch feel, especially in the splendid Village Museum,

where 4 houses dating from Mid 18th

century to Late 19th

century are preserved impeccably and manned by staff in appropriate

costume. The town is full of expensive shops selling art, antiques and curios and is one of the principal Universities of South

Africa, with the emphasis on Afrikaans speakers (Cape Town University is largely English speaking).

From there is not too far to Kirstenbosch, advertised as the finest garden in Africa. I couldn’t disagree with that. Despite

slightly iffy weather, it was utterly glorious. South African flora is unique and the gardens are exclusively South African.

From the fynbos to the proteas there was colour and exoticism galore (heaven knows how much better it would have been if

there had been full sunshine). Dominated by the mountains that form a backdrop, this is a setting that defies belief. It was our

last stop before we arrived in Cape Town, but we had another great experience awaiting us. The Cape of Good Hope and Cape

Point were dramatic and windy, part of another nature reserve that only tolerates native species. Birds and antelope abound in

the park and to see ostriches on the beach was a big surprise. Just to the north lies Boulders Beach, famous for its huge and

irresistible colony of jackass penguins. Despite a certain cynicism (how exciting can a few penguins be!) I was completely

bowled over. Boulders Beach is in Simon’s Town, famous for its naval base and home to ‘Just Nuisance’, a dog with a tale

worth telling. He was a Great Dane and lived near the base during the 2nd

World War. He would tag along with British sailors

as they took their off-duty trains to Cape Town for a night out. Reputedly he would happily lap up a pint or two and make sure

the ratings returned safely to base. He was known as ‘Nuisance’ at the time, but attracted the anger of South African Railway

officials who said that if he appeared on a train again they would

have him put down. Concerned sailors approached their C.O.,

who decided to enlist him in the Royal Navy and, as this required

a first name, he acquired the addition of ‘Just’. A naval pass was

attached to his collar and he continued his forays into Cape

Town. He didn’t live to be old, but he is remembered with huge

affection and a statue of him stands in the town square. Only the

British!

We come full circle. I started this on a sombre note, but South

Africa is complex, beautiful and compelling. With a fair wind

and (hopefully) good politicians, I think it is improving. But

injustice and poverty are not far away and there is a long road to

travel. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed.

Jean Cross with Just Nuisance

P.S. I didn’t actually see an aardvark, but since when has accuracy got in the way of a good headline!

PASS 2013:4

MY MASTERMIND EXPERIENCE Tim Jarvis

t was late at night in the early part of January last year and in a moment of enthusiasm I’d just submitted an application to

appear on Mastermind. It had seemed such a good idea at the time, but nine months later when I found myself sitting in a

studio in Salford as the familiar theme music began I began to wonder if I had been right.

The application form required details of my proposed specialist subjects for each round. I had always enjoyed Jasper Fforde’s

novels and had bought each one on publication so it was an easy decision to make. But until the BBC had called me in May to

tell me that I was going to be on the show I had forgotten that he had in fact written nine novels, with a tenth one due in the

summer of 2013, and each novel was at least 350 pages long. It was going to be a busy summer!

The majority of his novels are set in and around Swindon and Reading, an area that I know

well as we’ve lived midway between the two towns for the past 15 years, but in the books

the towns exist in a world quite different from ours: the Crimean War has been running for

131 years, Wales is an independent Socialist Republic, and the Goliath Corporation

(Motto: For All You’ll Ever Need), the ultimate predatory multinational, seeks world

domination and is the sworn enemy of Thursday Next, Fforde’s literary detective heroine.

Meanwhile in Reading Jack Spratt, a DCI in the Nursery Crime Division investigate PDR

(person of dubious reality) related crimes including the murder of Humpty Dumpty (who

hatched rather than committed suicide) and the death of Goldilocks, an investigative

journalist whose body was found in Somme World (the First World War Theme Park) after

a night time visit to the Three Bears’ Cottage linked to the Campaign to Arm Bears. And

finally there is Shades of Grey (note the singular!), a disturbing and dystopic fantasy set in

the world of the Chromatocracy, a world where your place in society is governed solely by

your ability to perceive colour.

Jasper Fforde (photo by Mari Fforde)

I spent an enjoyable summer reacquainting myself with the books (it was something to keep me occupied while the Olympics

were on) and set off north for my recording in early September. I didn’t quite know what to expect, but on arrival I

immediately abandoned any final shreds of illusion that I might have once possessed as to the glamour of television: the BBC

films five shows a day for a whole week and the only thing that changes between episodes is John Humphrey’s tie. In my

recording we all ended up with scores that in other weeks could have carried us through to the next round, so I left with my

honour intact although only the winner went through to the next round.

When the BBC finally screened the episode my wife pointed out that my questions seemed much longer than the others (whose

specialist subjects were Red Dwarf, Marie Curie and General Haig). It was difficult to be objective as for some reason I had

very little recollection of the questions that I had been asked, but when several friends and colleagues said the same I had to

think that there was something in it, although I was not sad enough to replay the recording and count the actual number of

questions.

And this is where I thought the story ended. However last weekend I went back to South Wales for a birthday celebration, and

for my present my sister gave me a signed copy of The Woman Who Died A Lot inscribed with a message from Jasper Fforde

who had visited a local bookshop for a signing session earlier that week. He told her that he had watched the programme and

had thought my questions were far longer than the others. This is the message:

“Enjoyed watching you on Mastermind – you were robbed!!!”

With this sudden and unexpected level of coincidence I’m now keeping a careful eye open for any Hispano-Suiza motor cars

that suddenly drop out of the sky.

I

12

MASTER QUIZ 2014 ROUND I – THE QUESTIONS

Phillida Grantham

elcome to the Master Quiz 2014 Round I. This year’s theme is “Inventions and Discoveries”.

As usual, I shall give prizes to the best “in absentia” entry and to the highest scorer on the

themed questions. The best nine entries from the two rounds will compete in the Final which

forms the after dinner entertainment at our Annual Reunion in Shrewsbury. Best of luck to all!

Round II, set by Gavin Fuller, will appear in the next issue of PASS.

Instructions

Please read these carefully before starting the quiz. Each preliminary round has two entries:

UNSEEN: Head your paper ‘U’ and answer the questions in your own time. When you have finished,

sign the entry as being your own unaided work. This need not be the final version; if you subsequently

come on any answers by chance, please include them or send them on to me later.

REFERENCE; On another sheet of paper headed ‘R’ and using any reference you care to consult

(internet, books, friends), please feel free to check, alter or expand your ‘U’ answers, quoting your source

or stating ‘Second Thoughts’. Don’t forget to include your name and address.

80% of the possible marks are awarded on the ‘U’ entry and 20% on the ‘R’ entry. As ever, the ‘R’ entry

is not compulsory - if you are confident or knowledgeable enough, do not bother with it.

NB. The question-setters may not be infallible but they have mutually agreed that their decision is final

and short of any flagrant inaccuracies, e.g. that the internet was invented by Richard Branson, they can

enter into no correspondence about the questions and answers.

Address for Round I entries

Phillida Grantham, 35 Barkston Gardens, London SW5 0ER

The closing date is 31 January 2014. I realise I omitted this last year causing some confusion. I apologise

for that.

The Questions

1. “O for a muse of fire that would ascend/ The brightest heaven of invention.” These are the opening

lines of which Shakespeare play?

2. Who said “Come here, Mr. Watson, I want you.”

3. Where in Northamptonshire is the British Formula I Grand Prix held?

4. Which US president has a statue in Parliament Square?

5. Who presented “Meet the Romans” on TV?

6. In which film did George Lazenby play James Bond?

7. Who is the “Agony Uncle” of the Daily Telegraph?

8. “Longitude” by Dava Sobel concerns the invention of what?

9. In WWII what invention of John Scott Haldane was issued to everybody in the UK?

10. In which London Park is the statue of Dr. Edward Jenner?

W

PASS 2013:4

11. Who recorded a single “Je suis un Rock Star”?

12. Henry Cavendish discovered which element?

13. What is the name of the RAF’s display team?

14. Who was the winning owner of the Ascot Gold Cup in 2013?

15. Which is the only planet with no natural satellites?

16. Who is the new head of the Bank of England?

17. What does the name “Volkswagen” mean?

18. Where is Sir Alexander Fleming buried?

19. Where in the UK is the Bains Field?

20. Who invented the original ‘little black dress’?

21. “We knocked the bastard off”. Whose first words were these to the people awaiting his return?

22. When did Cardiff become a capital city (i) 1955 or (ii) 1965 or (iii) 1975?

23. Digestive biscuits were invented as a cure for what?

24. Who conducted the Last Night of the Proms (September 2013)?

25. Where was David Livingstone born?

26. When were the cave paintings at Lascaux discovered?

27. What did William Herschel discover in 1781?

28. Name the Belfast vet who invented the pneumatic tyre.

29. From which country did the first garden gnomes come to the UK?

30. Ir is the chemical symbol for which element?

31. ‘Bumble’ is the nickname of which sports commentator?

32. Where did Captain Cook meet his end?

33. Who discovered insulin?

34. Which Himalayan garden shrub was first brought to the UK by Joseph Hooker?

35. Who invented the telescope?

36. Who is known as ‘The Father of Television’?

37. Which element was discovered by Joseph Black in Edinburgh?

38. In the 19th

century, which town was known as ‘Biscuit Town’?

39. Which famous man was born in Shrewsbury in 1725?

40. Which hotel was the first in London to be lit by electricity?

41. Near which Lincolnshire town did the apple fall on Newton’s head?

42. Who ‘invented’ the programme Mastermind?

43. Who founded the Royal Observatory?

44. Patrick Clifton is better known on TV as whom?

45. What significant role did Anmer play on June 4th

1913?

46. Name an actor who played Dr. Who on TV in the l970s.

47. In which capital is the Spanish Riding School?

48. William Oughred invented which mathematical instrument?

49. Which annual London event had its centenary in 2013?

50. “If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times.” Which 19th

century novelist was the first to

use this phrase?

51. What did Tim Berners Lee found?

52. Which popular dessert was invented at the Hungry Monk in Alfriston, Sussex?

53. What is the name of Peter Phillips’ wife?

54. Where and what is Sabina Park?

55. The German national anthem is set to whose music?

56. Who invented the aqualung diving apparatus?

57. What have the following in common: Agatha Christie, Winston Churchill, Joyce Grenfell and

Stella McCartney?

58. Who composed the opera ‘The Huguenots’?

14

59. What beverage was invented by Joseph Priestley?

60. Which British university first developed graphene?

61. In which city is Preservation Hall?

62. Which term in ballet designates the bending of the knees?

63. Where was HMS Royal Oak sunk in WWII?

64. Who invented faience: the Greeks, the Romans or the Egyptians?

65. Who said “We have discovered the secret of life”?

66. What is known in the theatre as the iron?

67. At which stately home was Downton Abbey filmed?

68. Who stole the fire from heaven?

69. What did Arthur Wynne invent?

70. Who invented jeans?

71. Asked “Can you see anything?” who replied: “Yes, wonderful things!”?

72. Glenfiddich means Glen of the deer, the sheep or the pine marten?

73. Which author created P.I. Kate Brannigan?

74. Why was May 15th

2013 memorable for Chelsea Football Club?

75. What is the English for arcus pluvius?

76. What did Mark Zuckerberg found?

77. Which two towns united in 1872 and are now an EC capital?

78. The discovery of which diamond in 1870 changed the history of South Africa?

79. Which Nobel Prize winner wrote the book “Many Inventions”?

80. Which school of poetry did John Donne found?

81. In the Bible, Bethany was the traditional site of what event?

82. Warsaw stands on which river?

83. On what animals did Robyn Davidson travel across 1700 miles of Australian scrubland?

84. Who was the first man to reach the North Pole?

85. Which battle took place on September 9th

1513?

86. What is the Scottish Blackface?

87. Where would you find the vineyard of Chateau Tahbilk?

88. In cricket, what does O.D.I. stand for?

89. The year 2013 marks the bicentenary of the birth of which two classical composers?

90. Who said in 1996 “Doctors can heal the body but it is music that uplifts the spirit”?

91. Who sings the introduction to “Dad’s Army”?

92. What are Prince George’s other two Christian names?

93. What has become the first man made craft to leave the solar system?

94. Who are the tallest race of people in Europe?

95. 24 billion of which vegetable are consumed annually in the UK?

96. What is the lower number of a fraction called?

97. Which song is associated with FDR’s presidential campaign of l932?

98. If your name is Wainwright, what was your ancestor’s trade?

99. What is a ‘library long arm’?

and finally

100. Which classic English novel ends: “Come children, let us shut up the box and the puppets

for our play is played out”?

PASS 2013:4

TWO NUMERICAL POEMS

Timothy Robey

TRIADS Sixteen plus nine make twenty-five

So does arithmetic contrive

To demonstrate to bright and crass

The Theorem of Pythagoras.

But sixty-four and two eight nine

Require subtraction to refine,

So fifteen is the proper mate

To go with seventeen and eight.

One forty-four and twenty-five

Still further keep this theme alive:

When added they give one six nine,

So thirteen, twelve and five align.

Add sixteen hundred, eighty-one,

And find the square root of their sum ---

So forty, forty-one and nine

Make yet another paradigm.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SQUARES

Yes, eight times eight is sixty-four,

And nine times seven’s sixty-three ---

Choose any number to begin:

One less is what you’ll always see.

For six times six is thirty-six,

And five times seven’s thirty-five

One less is clearly shown again

So does arithmetic contrive.

It works for three or ninety-nine;

It works for minus numbers too.

Try out examples for yourself

And see if what I say is true.

A gross, of course, is one four four;

So what’s eleven times thirteen?

If you can’t see it’s one four three

While reading this where have you been?

16

AND FINALLY . . . t the Club’s Annual Reunion in Llandudno this year, the Committee had arranged, as a reward to the Secretary for all

his organising efforts, that his hero the Doctor would be a surprise dinner guest. Unfortunately, although the Tardis has

excellent spatial precision (only another six car lengths to the North-East and it would have hit the St. George’s Hotel

portico, as you can see below) its temporal accuracy is only guaranteed to plus or minus 0.065% (or 7 months in 900 years) and

it did not arrive until 16 November, causing some local confusion. Still, we tried!

“I’m sure this wasn’t here yesterday!”

But we did provide a happily nostalgic experience for

this North Wales Police Officer.

(BBC photos)

A

Don’t read this page yet!

BAKER STREET IRREGULARITIES – THE ANSWERS

BAKER STREET IRREGULARITIES The Editor

s “Sherlock” and “Elementary” reappear on our screens, interpreting the Sherlock Holmes stories

in a modern way, perhaps it’s time (especially in view of the Club’s October visit to Baker Street)

to see how much Masterminders remember of the original, and also of what has been written

about him. Here are twenty questions on which to apply the Great Detective’s methods. Some deduction

may be necessary here and there, because many questions are quite tangential to the original stories.

1. According to the evidence of Dr Watson, in what year is Holmes most likely to have been born?

2. Which former very senior Police Officer delivered an address entitled “A View of Sherlock

Holmes from New Scotland Yard” in 1974?

3. Who, distinguished in a very different field of activity, wrote and delivered the paper “Studies in

the Literature of Sherlock Holmes” in 1911?

4. And which, possibly even more distinguished, person wrote the short but very contentious piece

“Sherlock Holmes was an American!” in 1942?

5. In 1956, Captain and Mrs Thomas O’Rourke won a significant prize for their knowledge of the

subject “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” – in what competition?

6. With what domestic implement did Holmes demonstrate the true identity of the disfigured prisoner

known as Hugh Boone, held on suspicion of murder?

7. When John and Lucy Ferrier, lost on the Great Alkali Plain, were rescued by the caravan of the

Mormons, from what city were those people fleeing, having abandoned their temple?

8. Which Scottish philosopher and explorer wrote “a substitute bible for secularists” which Holmes

recommended Watson to read, describing the book as “one of the most remarkable ever penned”?

9. In his early military career in Afghanistan, Dr Watson took part in the battle of Maiwand. In which

British town or city is this battle commemorated by the giant Maiwand Lion?

10. Which villainous character had his own personal specimen of Lepidoptera?

11. What did Ferguson recall doing to Watson at Richmond?

12. What false nationality did Holmes adopt when operating under cover at the outbreak of the Great

War?

13. And what false nationality did he adopt during his two-year sojourn in Tibet?

14. When Ward Lock and Co. reissued “A Study in Scarlet” in 1893, which person, already renowned

for his powers of observation and deduction, did they invite to contribute the Introduction?

15. In “The Blue Carbuncle”, Holmes and Watson rather improbably visit which London market to

enquire about the sale of a Christmas goose?

16. Which “spendthrift playboy” produced (with assistance) and published in 1952 “The Exploits of

Sherlock Holmes”, a collection of new short stories based on references in the original books?

17. In the Holmes parody entitled “The Seven Per Cent Solution” by Nicholas Meyer, with what

medical consultant is Holmes undergoing a course of treatment?

18. Which present-day author produced, with the sanction of the Conan Doyle Estate, a completely

new Holmes novel published in 2011?

19. A famous quotation from a story in the “Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes” has been used as a source

for the title of a best-selling novel and West End play – by which author?

20. Your editor has a bookend formed of a brick from a demolished building which once covered the

site of 221b Baker Street. What organisation, long the provider of secretarial services to Sherlock

Holmes, owned the building and eventually sold the commemorative bricks for charity?

A