An English Potpourri Trivia Quiz

Answer: Aneurin (Nye) Bevan

The NHS was the child of Nye Bevan, MP for Ebbw Vale and Health Minister in the post-WWII Labour government led by Clem Attlee. He set it up to operate within three key principles: that it met the needs of everyone, that it was to be free at the point of delivery, and that it was to be based on the patient's clinical need, not their ability to pay. Thank God it's still with us, although in many ways the basic principles have been compromised. Looking at the incorrect answer options, Ernest Bevin was Foreign Secretary in the Attlee government, William Beveridge wrote a report in 1942 devising the welfare state system and Henry Willink devised early plans for a national health service while serving as Health Minister in Churchill's wartime government in 1944.

Answer: Your Grace

There are about 30 non-royal Dukes and Duchesses and they are addressed as "Your Grace", as in fact are Roman Catholic Archbishops. Royal Dukes are addressed as "Your Highness". In fact monarchs of England before the reign of Henry VIII were also addressed as "Your Grace". All other sub-royal ranks of nobility are addressed as "My Lord" or "My Lady". I'm happy to be addressed as "Oi! You!".

Answer: Mr Kipling

The Mr Kipling brand of cakes was introduced in May 1967 and by 1976 it was the largest cake manufacturing brand in the UK. The phrase "exceedingly good cakes", spoken by the actor James Haytor, was used in TV advertisements and became commonplace; sadly, however, it has recently been dropped for the international market. Looking at the incorrect answer options, Peeta Mellark is a baker in "The Hunger Games", my Mum couldn't bake to safe her life, and Mr Pastry is actually quite interesting.

He was an actor named Richard Hearne, who played an old, bumbling character called Mr Pastry in the early days of TV.

It's said that he was the first TV "star" and he was certainly the first performer to have their own TV show.

Answer: Margaret Thatcher

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was supported from 1979 to 1988 by her Deputy, William Whitelaw. She relied upon him for guidance, support and advice, and subsequent to his resignation on health grounds she started to lose her grip. She made the comment at a retirement dinner for Whitelaw on 7 August 1991 - she was renowned for her sense of humour by-pass so it's almost certain that she didn't realise what she'd said! Looking at the incorrect answer options, May was too good-living to make such a comment, Johnson would probably have ranted on about Peppa Pig and Gladstone was a Victorian.

Answer: Hadrian's Wall

Built from AD122, Hadrian's Wall runs for 73 miles westwards from Wallsend (Segedunum) on the River Tyne to Bowness-on-Solway (Mais) overlooking the Solway Firth. The fort at Wallsend is the most thoroughly excavated on the Wall and is well worth visiting.

The fort at Bowness-on-Solway is thought to have been the second-largest on the Wall, housing about 1,000 soldiers, but sadly the north wall has vanished into the sea. Looking at the incorrect answer options, the Antonine Wall was started in AD142 and runs for 39 miles across the narrow section of Scotland from Old Kilpatrick on the Firth of Clyde to Carriden on the Firth of Forth, Offa's Dyke was built in around AD760 and runs for 82 miles along the Anglo-Welsh border from the Severn Estuary to Liverpool Bay, and the Wansdyke is a mysterious structure dating probably to the 6th Century AD running in a number of segments from Savernake Forest in Wiltshire to Maes Knoll in Somerset.

Answer: Danny Boyle

The film director Danny Boyle was responsible for the masterpiece that was "Isles of Wonder". We watched it open-mouthed on wonder, totally absorbed in its eccentricity, brilliance, humour and meaningful content. Boyle was offered a knighthood in recognition of his work, but his republican views led him to him rejecting it.

Besides, he'd already been heaped with honours for his film work such as "Slumdog Millionaire", "Trainspotting" and "Yesterday". The incorrect answer options are all high-profile British film directors.

Answer: Tracey Emin

Tracey Emin's work has repeatedly pushed the boundaries. "Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963-1995", aka "The Tent", was a tent embroidered and appliqued with the names of the 102 she had ever slept with. Sadly it was destroyed in a warehouse fire in 2004.

The more controversial "My Bed" commemorated a four-day period she spent in bed with nothing to eat or drink apart from alcohol. The art work was the bed itself, strewn with stained bed linen, used condoms, dirty underwear and other random objects. Bought by Charles Saatchi for £150,000, it sold at auction in 2014 for just over £2.5 million. Emin was appointed Professor of Drawing at the Royal Academy in 2011.

The incorrect answer options are all high-profile British artists and winners of the Turner Prize.

Answer: "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple

Altogether now: "Durh Durh Durh, Durh Durh Du-Durh" - the riff of "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple is one of the most famous in rock'n'roll. The Casino burned down during a Frank Zappa gig, and the mobile recording studio that Deep Purple were meant to be using was also destroyed. Nevertheless, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore came up with the riff, bassist Roger Glover thought of the title and Ian Gillan wrote the lyrics to the new song which appeared on the band's sixth album, "Machine Head". The song has now achieved classic status, witnessed by the fact that it's repeatedly used in attempts to break the world record for the number of guitarists playing together.

There's also a statue to it on the waterfront at Montreux.

Answer: Compiling cryptic crosswords for broadsheet newspapers

The four names in the question were the noms-de-plume of three men who devised cryptic crosswords for broadsheet newspapers. Torquemada (Edward Powys Mathers, 1892-1939) was the first person to devise cryptic crosswords; he compiled the fiendishly difficult "Everyman" crossword in the "Observer" from 1926 to 1932.

His successor at the "Observer" was Ximenes (Derrick Somerset Macnutt, 1902-1971) who not only compiled the "Everyman" crossword from 1932 to 1971 but also as Tesremos compiled the crossword in "The Listener". Finally, Araucaria (John Galbraith Graham, 1921-2013) devised the "Guardian" crossword from the late 1970s until his death; he is particularly remembered for informing the crossword community of his terminal illness through the medium of a crossword and also announcing the imminence of his death in his very last crossword. Looking briefly at the incorrect answer options, when the Enigma code-breakers of Bletchley Park were recruiting during the early part of WWII they often looked for those people who were skilled in solving crosswords.

Answer: Fish and chip shop

Malin's fish and chip shop opened in Bow in 1860. It's thought that the concept of fried fish arrived in London with Jewish refugees from Portugal, and the abundance of fresh fish in the mid-19th Century due to improved fishing techniques led to it being very cheap. Meanwhile chips had arrived in the early 1800s, but there's no record of who had the idea of putting the two together. Looking at the incorrect answer options, the first donner kebab shop in London was Hodja Nasrettin, which opened in 1966 on Newington Green. Looking at pie and mash, travelling piemen used to roam London's streets selling pea soup and hot eel pies, but the first pie and mash shop is thought to have opened in Union Street Southwark in 1844.

As far as pizza is concerned, despite the claims made by Pizza Express that their outlet in Wardour Street Soho which opened in 1965 was the first of its type, there's evidence that this honour should actually go to Olivelli's in Store Street Bloomsbury, which opened in 1934.