A Touch of Summer Flu Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Police

The Police formed in early 1977 with Sting, real name Gordon Sumner, as singer and Henry Padovani on guitar. Andy Summers joined later in the year, and Padovani departed leaving the band with three members. Their first album was 'Outlandos D'Amour from which came the single releases 'Roxanne', 'Can't Stand Losing You' and 'So Lonely' in 1978. Among their other big hits were 'Don't Stand So Close to Me' in 1980 and 'Every Breath You Take' from 1983.

The most famous drummer for Genesis was Phil Collins, who later went on to become their lead singer. Ginger Baker was the drummer in Cream and Blind Faith and Fleetwood Mac's drummer was Mick Fleetwood.

Unfortunately, I misheard Kyle's request, so I'll have to try again.

Answer: Lloyd and Harry

The follow up film was called 'Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd' and tells the story of Harry, played by Derek Richardson, and Lloyd (Eric Christian Olsen) meeting at school. Peter and Bobby are the first names of the Farrelly brothers, the directors of 'Dumb and Dumber' and Felix and Oscar were 'The Odd Couple' in the Neil Simon play and subsequent film. Paul (Newman) and Robert (Redford) starred in 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' (1969) and 'The Sting' (1973). What Kyle really wanted was something like 'My Summer of Love' (2004) or even 'Summer Holiday' (1963). Well, maybe not that last one, unless he's a secret Cliff Richard fan.

Answer: Glasgow

Industrialisation and overcrowding caused problems in inner city areas in many places, but the Gorbals became particularly noted for crime, violence and poverty. The 1960s saw the replacement of tenement buildings by high rise flats, which did little to help the situation. Even into the 1980s the Gorbals remained a name which conjured up fear.

Much work has been carried out since to improve the area. Famous people from the Gorbals include Allan Pinkerton, who founded the detective agency bearing his name, and Sir Thomas Lipton, founder of Lipton Tea. Sadly, this question fails to meet Kyle's requirements, but maybe next time I'll get it right.

Answer: The Clash

Joe Strummer's real name was John Mellor, and he was born in Turkey where his father was a diplomat. He also lived in Bonn, Cairo and Mexico City before being sent to boarding school at the age of only nine. The Clash formed in 1976 and had singles success with 'London Calling' in 1979 and 'Rock the Casbah' in 1982. Strummer died from a heart condition in 2002 aged only fifty.

The Sex Pistols were led by Johnny Rotten and The Stranglers by Hugh Cornwell. The Ramones' lead singer was Joey Ramone, and they were American.

Although Kyle prefers punk to Cliff Richard, he's still underwhelmed by this question and is back on the phone to me.

Answer: Spaniel

The Clumber spaniel takes its name from the country seat of the Dukes of Newcastle, Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire. The dog is the largest of the spaniel breeds and works as a gundog, retrieving game in heavy cover where its size is an advantage. Of course, the name is usually pronounced including the 'b', Clumber not Clummer, but it was a bad line, and Kyle is Canadian, so I obviously didn't hear him clearly.

He's still not happy, though, so I'll move on to the next question.

Answer: Frisbees

Trust me, research will prove that there are competitions in throwing all these items, but the expression 'thumber' is associated with Frisbees and other flying discs, such as disc golf. The thumber involves holding the disc with the thumb held tightly against the rim, and is not to be confused with the thumber forehand, which is a different throw entirely. Sadly, I didn't realise Kyle had a slight lisp, so this question is wrong, too.

Answer: Waist

A cummerbund is a sash worn around the waist, often as part of formal or semi-formal dress for men. The name comes originally from the Persian kamar-band, meaning loin band, and came into English via Hindi. The first use of it as part of evening wear dates back to British military personnel in India. I was a bit worried that Kyle might have said 'newcomer' and wanted me to write about 'New Kid in Town' by The Eagles, but it seems neither 'cummerbund' nor 'newcomer' was actually what he said.

Answer: On land

Hummer was the brand name for a series of trucks and utility vehicles, which were developed for civilian use from the military Humvee, designed to be used in rough terrain. The Hummer company was originally set up in 1992 by AM General, and was sold to GM Motors in 1999. Following the bankruptcy of General Motors, and failed attempts to sell the Hummer brand, the last new vehicle was made in 2010 and the brand is now defunct. Oops - Kyle is starting to get annoyed with me now, and has told me to get my ears tested before our next conversation because I still haven't asked the right question.

Answer: Actor

Studies of the history of mummers have found examples from mediaeval times, particularly relating to visits made at Christmas, wearing disguise. Subsequently, the term has been applied to specific plays performed from the eighteenth century onwards. The practice died out in the early twentieth century, but has been revived in recent years, with performances in public houses and collections being made for charity. Kyle has resorted to shouting at me now, because this wasn't what he said, but I still have one last chance to get it right.

Answer: Mario

Kyle is very keen on video games, so this was an easy mistake to make. Super Mario and his brother, Luigi, are among the best known video game characters (interpret this as meaning even I have heard of them). Mario was created by Nintendo and has featured in numerous games since.

In his first appearance, in 'Donkey Kong', Mario was called Jumpman and was a carpenter, but he has been a plumber and known as Mario since 1983. Clyde was one of the enemies in Pac-Man, and Sonic was a hedgehog in Sega games. Pikachu is one of the Pokémon creatures. It seems that even this question has fallen short and Kyle appears to have given up on me, even though I really have tried.