Scotland the Brave Trivia Quiz

Answer: Perth

Perth is situated in central Scotland on the banks of the country's longest river, the Tay, and is the setting for Scott's book "The Fair Maid of Perth", subtitled "St. Valentine's Day". The Fair Maid is Catharine Glover, who has caught the eye of the Duke of Rothesay, who attempts to kidnap her. The plot is foiled by Henry Gow, an armorer, who finds himself drawn into a war between clans. Various adaptations have been made, including an opera by Georges Bizet, "La jolie fille de Perth", and a 1923 silent film.

Perth is my hometown, and one can still visit the Fair Maid's House, which is now a visitors' and education centre.

Answer: Frankie

"Dear Frankie" is the story of a woman, Lizzie (Emily Mortimer), who flees frequently from an abusive ex-husband with her young deaf son, Frankie (Jack McElhone). Instead of explaining the truth to Frankie, Lizzie writes him letters, pretending that they are from his father. When the father's ship is supposed to dock at Greenock, Lizzie panics and has a stranger (Gerard Butler) impersonate the child's father in person.

The film was filmed in Greenock and Glasgow, and received positive feedback, winning various awards including a Crystal Heart Award for director Shona Auerbach and a High Hills Audience Award for best film. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2004.

Answer: Bay City Rollers

Although Scottish, the Bay City Rollers were actually named after a city in Michigan after the founders threw a pin at a US map. These founders were Alan Longmuir (bass), his brother Derek Longmuir (drummer) and Gordon Clark (vocals); Clark left very quickly, and was replaced by the well-known singer Les McKeown.

Their success in the early '70s was dubbed "Rollermania" (after "Beatlemania"), and their outfits of tartan were taken up extensively by fans. They were dubbed "tartan teen sensations" in "British Hit Singles and Albums", a reference book of successful British music. As well as success in various Anglophone countries including the UK, Canada, USA, and Australia, they also enjoyed various top ten hits in Germany, including "I Only Want To Be With You" (1976; number nine) and "It's a Game" (1977; number four).

Answer: Taggart

For the first decade of the show, Mark McManus starred as the title character DCI Jim Taggart, an old-school police officer who has worked his way up through the ranks. His catchphrase of "There's been a murder!" with rolling Rs has become very popular in Scottish comedy and among Scots in general. After McManus's death, the character of Taggart was killed off in the show, and his funeral was shown on-screen at the beginning of 1995. After this, the show continued, in spite of starring no character with the name Taggart.

Throughout the late '90s and the 2000s, other acclaimed cast members include the already mentioned Alex Norton as DCI Burke, Blythe Duff as DI Jackie Reid, and John Michie as DI Robbie Ross.

Answer: Alexander McCall Smith

The "44 Scotland Street" books tell the story of the tenants of the address, perhaps surprisingly, 44 Scotland Street in Edinburgh. Major characters include Pat McGregor, a young student in her second gap year, Matthew Duncan, Pat's boss, and an extremely intelligent five-year-old Bertie, who just wants to be a normal child.

McCall Smith has another book series set in Edinburgh, "The Sunday Philosophy Club", featuring a philosopher in her forties, Isabel Dalhousie. Perhaps more well-known is his series "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency", set in Gaborone, Botswana, featuring Botswana's first female private detective, Mma Precious Ramotswe.

As well as an author, McCall Smith is a lawyer; he co-founded and taught in the law department of the University of Botswana in the '80s and later taught at the University of Edinburgh. He has published many academic texts in the legal field.

Answer: Kelly Macdonald

"Brave" tells the story of princess Merida, who is adamant that she does not want to marry, defying tradition. This leads to a rift with her mother, Elinor, and after Merida consults a witch in order to change her fate, Elinor is transformed into a bear! Merida must discover how to undo the spell before it is too late.

"Brave" attained a number of firsts: it was the first film to use Dolby Atmos sound, the first Pixar film with a new animation system, and had the first female director of a feature-length Pixar film, Brenda Chapman.

Kelly Macdonald was born in 1976 in Glasgow. Her debut was also her breakthrough, a role in "Trainspotting" in 1996. Kelly has since starred in many critically-acclaimed films, such as "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2" (2011), "No Country for Old Men" (2007), and "Anna Karenina" (2012).

Answer: Nancy Drew

"Nancy Drew: The Silent Spy" has a first-person point of view, where the player controls Nancy in her quest to find out the details about her mother's death and the assignment surrounding it. Nancy is an eighteen-year-old American girl, whose mother Kate was apparently killed in a car accident in Scotland after disarming a biological weapon. Along with the locals, Nancy seeks to uncover the truth behind it all.

Nancy Drew is also the protagonist of a long-standing book series written under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. The game is loosely based upon the 1964 book, "The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes", which is a story set in Scotland about a missing heirloom.

Answer: River City

"River City" began in 2002, and focuses on the lives of the people of Shieldinch. The characters speak in a mixture of English and Scots, which can make many of them difficult to understand for those unaccustomed to the Glasgow accent! The show has been nominated for many awards, including wins of the Great Scot Award and the Scotland Variety Award.

It is broadcast by BBC One Scotland and was created by Stephen Greenhorn.

Answer: Texas

The band got their name from the 1984 movie, "Paris, Texas". Their first performance was at the University of Dundee in 1988, and their debut album, "Southside", was released the year after. Their breakthrough came in 1997 with the album "White on Blonde", which featured five singles including "Black Eyed Boy" and "Halo". Vocalist Sharleen Spiteri has also released solo albums. Texas went on hiatus following their 2005 album "Red Book".

Answer: Edinburgh

Irvine Welsh was born in Leith, and has written various novels, including "Glue" (2001) and "Crime" (2008), in addition to "Trainspotting". "Trainspotting" comprises various short stories concerning a group of residents of Leith, including several heroin addicts, and is characterized, like many of Welsh's novels, by the use of Scots and Scottish English dialects throughout the narratives and dialogue. The film adaptation stars Ewan McGregor as main character Mark Renton, a heroin addict who is depressed and hates most of his life and the group of friends he hangs out with.

The book was long-listed for the 2003 Booker Prize, but failed to make the short-list, rumored to be due to the judges' sensitivity to such vulgarity.