Hardest A Life in a Quiz - My Sister | General

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. My sister was born on 5th March. In which part of the United Kingdom do the people celebrate St Piran's Day on this date?

Answer: Cornwall

Legend has it that St Piran was a sixth century Irishman whose miraculous exploits got him into so much trouble with the powers that be, that he ended up with a millstone round his neck being thrown into the Irish Sea. Several days later he came ashore on the beach at Perranporth on the north coast of Cornwall where he built a chapel and taught the local people how to extract tin from ore.

He was adopted by Cornish tin miners and nowadays his day is celebrated by people of Cornish extraction all over the world.

2. She was born in Alsager, Cheshire. Alsager House was the fictional setting for an episode of "Jonathan Creek". Which actor played Jonathan?

Answer: Alan Davies

Alan Davies began as a stand-up comedian and later performed on radio for the BBC and television for Channel 4 before landing the role of Jonathan Creek in 1997. He became a stalwart of the panel game QI, renowned for almost always coming last. In 2008, he played the role of Bob Nicholson in the film adaptation of Louise Rennison's books about "Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging". Alan Ayckbourn is a playwright; Alan Rickman plays Severus Snape in the "Harry Potter" films and Alan Bates had a successful acting career until his death in 2003, including roles in "Women in Love" with Oliver Reed and Glenda Jackson, and opposite Julie Christie in "Far from the Madding Crowd". If anyone can let me know which "Jonathan Creek" episode was played in Alsager House I'd be very grateful - I think it was "House of Monkeys" but have been unable to verify this.

3. My sister was always accident prone and, when she was four, nearly drowned in the sea at Rhyl. Which of these statements about Rhyl is NOT true?

Answer: Rhyl is the home of the Great Orme Tramway

The Great Orme Tramway is not in Rhyl but Llandudno some miles to the west. Opened in 1902, it is a funicular railway which uses a system of counterbalanced weights to move two tram cars up and down the 679 feet high Great Orme. From the summit there are, weather permitting, spectacular views of Anglesey and Snowdonia.

4. Several years of her life were spent in Derby where she studied. Which river flows through Derby?

Answer: Derwent

The Derbyshire River Derwent flows for about 50 miles from Howden Moor in the Peak District to where it joins the Trent just south of Derby. It has three reservoirs which supply Derby, Nottingham, Sheffield and Leicester. Richard Arkwright built his pioneering water-powered cotton mill at Cromford on the Derwent.

The Ouse flows through York and the Ribble is a Lancashire river which flows through Preston.

5. On 13th July 1985, my sister was helping me to run a Guide Camp in Gloucestershire. She never forgave me for making her miss a major musical event of the year. Which one?

Answer: Live Aid Concert

The Live Aid concert was organised by Bob Geldof (Boomtown Rats) and Midge Ure (Ultravox) in response to harrowing film footage of the effects of famine in Ethiopia. An estimated 400 million people watched the simultaneous London and Philadelphia concerts live on television via satellite link-ups.

The Boomtown Rats performed at the 1985 Glastonbury Festival on the opening day, 21st June. The Eurovision Song contest was on 4th May in Sweden, won by a Norwegian duo. The Edinburgh International Festival and its associated Fringe Festival are August events.

6. My sister was a personnel professional with a large catering firm and was responsible for training temporary staff employed for events such as the Wimbledon Tennis Championships. What would these workers be selling and serving?

Answer: Strawberries and cream

Strawberries and cream have been served at Wimbledon from the early days of the Championships, probably because they are in season in June when the Championships are played. At estimated 27,000 tons of strawberries and 7,000 litres of cream are consumed during the fortnight.

7. In 1980, she took a year off work to travel the world. Which of the places she visited was not once part of the British Empire?

Answer: Bali

The British Empire reached its greatest extent after the Treaty of Versailles, 1919 which dealt with the aftermath of World War I. However, the end of World War II in 1945 gave rise to calls for independence from colonies and by 1965 the process of decolonisation was essentially complete.

The 1997 handing over of Hong Kong to China is sometimes referred to the "end of Empire" but Britain retained sovereignty over several "British Overseas Territories" which include Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands. Bali, Indonesia was part of the Dutch sphere of influence in colonial times.

8. For a time she worked at Gatwick Airport in an office a few doors away from Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Atlantic Airways. Which of these "no frills" airlines operated the "Skytrain"?

Answer: Laker Airways

After years of struggle and disappointment, Freddie Laker's Skytrain took to the skies in September 1977, flying from Gatwick to New York, and operated until February 1982 when the company went bankrupt. Laker's anti-trust case against large American and European airlines who had engaged in price-matching at the expense of huge losses was settled out of court. Richard Branson named one of Virgin Atlantic's Boeing 747s "The Spirit of Sir Freddie". Laker was knighted in 1978 for services to the aviation industry and died in 2006.

9. She was married in Great Malvern, Worcestershire. The Malvern Hills are a distinctive feature of the landscape and are visible from two motorways. Which ones?

Answer: M50 and M5

The best motorway views of the eight mile length of the Malvern Hills are from the M5 between Tewkesbury (J9) and Worcester south (J7). They are also visible from the M50 which links the M5 to Ross-on-Wye and thence South Wales.

10. In the last few months of her life she was able to live at home with the help of Macmillan Cancer Support. Which of these events is a major fundraiser for this charity?

Answer: The World's Biggest Coffee Morning

Macmilllan Cancer Support typically raises �7 million from its World's Biggest Coffee Morning event the first of which took place in 1991. The money raised from over 40,000 separate coffee mornings goes to improve the lives of those living with cancer in many ways, including specialist Macmillan nurses, information and advice, financial assistance and other practical and emotional support.

The Playtex MoonWalk is a night time walk in support of breast cancer awareness; Red Nose Day raises money to support long-term projects in the UK and Africa; Jeans for Genes funds research into genetic disorders and provides help for children with genetic conditions.

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.

A Life in a Quiz - My Sister

Significant dates, people and places in my sister'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!

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