Castle in the Air Trivia Quiz

Answer: Wet Wet Wet

The original members of the band met while at school in Clydebank, a town not far from Glasgow. Marti Pellow was known as Mark McLachlan at the time. Their first album, 'Popped In Souled Out', was released in 1987 and was an immediate success for them in the UK, reaching number one on the UK Albums Chart. Singles released from it included 'Wishing I Was Lucky' and 'Sweet Little Mystery'. Their biggest success came with a cover of 'Love is all Around', originally by The Troggs, which stayed at number one in the UK for fifteen weeks in 1994. The song was featured in that year's hit film 'Four Weddings and a Funeral'.

The photo clue shows a couple walking in the rain, which is slightly more subtle than my original choice of several umbrellas.

Answer: Andy Murray

Andy is regularly linked to Dunblane since both he and his older brother Jamie were at the school during a shooting massacre in 1997, but both brothers were actually born in Glasgow before moving to Dunblane. Mother Judy was a qualified tennis coach and both sons took up the sport with Andy concentrating on singles and Jamie on doubles. At the time of writing this quiz, Andy has won three major titles: Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016 and the US Open in 2012. He also won gold medals at both the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. Jackie Stewart's sport was Formula One, Allan Wells was a sprinter and Colin Montgomerie made his name playing golf.

The dog might look cute, but it's the ball in his mouth that was the hint for this question.

Answer: The Coral Island

Robert Michael Ballantyne spent some years in Canada where he worked for the Hudson's Bay Company. On returning home he decided to put the skills learned in writing long letters home to producing fiction. 'The Coral Island' is the best known of his works and tells the story of three boys who are the only survivors of a shipwreck. Ballantyne's idealistic view of how the boys would cope inspired William Golding to write 'Lord of the Flies' in 1954, where the boys turn against each other rather than working together. Golding even used the names Ralph and Jack, two of Ballantyne's boys' names, for his own novel.

'Treasure Island' (1883) was written by another Scot, Robert Louis Stevenson, while the American James Michener created 'Tales of the South Pacific' in 1947.

The photo shows a clownfish, Nemo perhaps, in its natural habitat.

Answer: Thomas Telford

Telford was born in 1757 and is renowned for his work on bridges, canals and roads, although it's primarily his bridges that most people would mention first. Although born in Scotland, much of Telford's early work was in England, especially in Shropshire where he began as a stone mason before turning his talents to what is now called civil engineering. Among his many works are bridges in Bewdley (Worcestershire) Gloucester and Bridgnorth and aqueducts at Chirk and Pontcysyllte, both of which carry the Llangollen Canal.

The photo shows another of Telford's designs - the suspension bridge crossing the Menai Strait between mainland Wales and the island of Anglesey.

Answer: Ian Richardson

The television show was 'House of Cards', with Richardson playing the wily Urquart, and adapted from the novel by the prolific television writer Andrew Davies. Urquart plots and schemes his way to becoming Prime Minister of the UK and gave the world a new catch phrase of 'you might think that; I couldn't possibly comment'. Kevin Spacey played the role, renamed as Frank Underwood, in the American version. Richardson brought his considerable experience of performing Shakespeare, notably Richard III, to the role. His other work included many film roles, among them Sherlock Holmes in two 1983 films.

The picture clue hinted at the name of the television show, which I didn't mention in the actual question.

Answer: Nicola Sturgeon

The 1707 Acts of Union merged the kingdoms of England and Scotland as the Kingdom of Great Britain, with London (Westminster) being the seat of government. Devolution of some parts of government to Scotland (and other parts of the UK) was agreed in the 1990s with Scotland's parliament being established in May 1999. The leader is called the First Minister of Scotland, with the first leader being Donald Dewar, who died in office in 2000. Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the Scottish Nationalist Party, succeeded Alex Salmond in November 2014.

The visual clue is, of course, a sturgeon.

Answer: Dewar

Most of us will think of the vacuum flask in connection with its use in keeping liquids hot or cold, but Dewar invented it for use in his scientific work. He was working on the liquefaction of gases and devised the flask as a storage system for liquid gases. The double skin, with a vacuum between them, was so efficient that the gas in its liquid form could be stored for long periods of time. Unfortunately for Dewar, he failed to patent his invention which was adopted by the Thermos company and put to profitable commercial use, despite Dewar taking legal action against them. The name of Thermos flask is widespread in non-scientific areas but Dewar is remembered by his scientific successors.

The photo shows a vacuum flask - you can decide which name to use for it.

Answer: Doctor

Cronin was born in Scotland in 1896 and qualified as a doctor after serving in a medical capacity in World War I. He spent time in south Wales, in Tredegar, which was a mining area and was instrumental in identifying that the lung diseases prevalent among miners were linked to the coal dust they spent so much time breathing. 'The Citadel', published in 1937, is based on these experiences and is an attack on the medical profession's unwillingness to adapt. Cronin is widely credited as being one of the inspirations of the UK's National Health Service.

He also wrote 'Country Doctor' which provided the basis of 'Dr. Finlay's Casebook', a long-running television series which began in 1962. Cronin himself worked on the programme in its early years, although he later felt that the series had descended into a kind of soap opera.

The white coat in the photo is most associated with doctors, although it's possible any of the occupations listed could don one in the course of their work.

Answer: Baker Street

Rafferty was born in Paisley in 1947, and sang with The Humblebums and Stealers Wheel before beginning a solo career. Success came with his 1978 album 'City to City' which included 'Right Down the Line' and the song referenced in the question, 'Baker Street'. The solo saxophone was a late inclusion, with Ravenscroft providing it as a session musician. He also provided a solo on the single 'Night Owl' (1979) but this wasn't on the saxophone - he played a Lyricon, a type of synthesizer designed to sound like a wind instrument.

The photo of loaves of bread should have pointed the way to 'Baker' if you didn't already know the answer.

Answer: Deborah Kerr

Deborah Kerr was born with the surname of Trimmer, and began as a stage actress in 1937. Her early films were made in Britain but her appearances in them caught the eye of Hollywood. Early American films cast her as the 'English rose' type, despite her Scottish heritage, but she soon established her versatility. The films alluded to in the question are 'From Here to Eternity' (1953) with Burt Lancaster, 'Heaven Knows, Mr Allison' (1957) with Robert Mitchum, 'An Affair to Remember' (1957) with Cary Grant and 'The King and I' (1956) with Yul Brynner. Mary Ure and Hannah are Scottish born but Maggie Smith was born in England, despite playing a Scottish teacher in 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' (1969).

The photo of waves on a beach might have evoked memories of Deborah Kerr and Burt Lancaster rolling in the Hawaiian surf in 'From Here to Eternity'.