Circle of Friends Trivia Quiz

Answer: Carole King

James Taylor was also a songwriter, and had self-written hits such as 'Fire and Rain'. His biggest hit was with 'You've Got a Friend', which reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number four on the UK Singles chart. He was managed by Peter Asher, who also produced many of Taylor's albums. Asher himself had chart success with 'Peter and Gordon', and had close associations with The Beatles.

His sister, Jane, was Paul McCartney's girlfriend in the 1960s.

Answer: A menthol lozenge

The lozenges date back to 1865, when they were devised by a pharmacist. The original market was the fishermen working in the cold Icelandic seas, where they suffered from bronchial infections. James Lofthouse created a liquid containing menthol and eucalyptus to treat their problems, which he then made into lozenges to make it easier for the fishermen to transport.

The name came from his customers, who called them their 'friends'. They are now exported to more than 100 countries, according to the company's website www.fishermansfriend.com.

Answer: Kenneth Branagh

The film is about the reunion of a group of friends who had acted together ten years previously while at Cambridge University. It starred a group of friends who had attended Cambridge together, so was art imitating life. At the time, Branagh and Thompson were married to each other, and Phyllida Law is Emma's mother.

In case you are wondering why Imelda Staunton's name sounds familiar, she played the part of Dolores Umbridge in the 'Harry Potter' films.

Answer: Maeve Binchy

Maeve Binchy was born in Dalkey in 1940 and worked as a teacher and journalist (on 'The Irish Times') before becoming a full time writer. 'Circle of Friends' is probably her best known novel, as it was adapted into a film by Hollywood in 1995. The other choices are all Irish novelists, although Pauline McLynn is also an actress.

She will always be remembered for her portrayal of the character 'Mrs Doyle' in the television series 'Father Ted' between 1995 and 1998.

Answer: Friends Reunited

The idea was based on the American website Classmates.com, which had been running since 1995. Nothing similar was available in the UK, and a husband and wife team from Hertfordshire set up the first site in 1999. The business has since been sold - to a television company in 2005, who then sold it on to a publishing firm in 2009.

The business has a sister company, Genes Reunited, to assist in tracing family members.

Answer: Pat Boone

The film was about a family of Quakers, who held firm to their pacifist ideals during the American Civil War. Eventually, under threat from the oncoming army, the father of the family abandoned his beliefs to defend his home and family. It starred Gary Cooper and Dorothy McGuire.

The name is a play on the alternative name for the Quakers - 'The Religious Society of Friends'. Pat Boone took his version of the song to number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and to number three on the UK Singles Chart.

This is possibly the only time a song featuring the old fashioned 'thee' instead of 'you' has been in the pop music charts.

Answer: USA

The organisation was set up by David Brower, who had previously been involved with the 'Sierra Club', a much older conservation group. Following differences of opinion, notably over the wisdom of setting up nuclear power stations, Brower resigned from his position with the 'Sierra Club' to set up 'Friends of the Earth'.

This was shortly before the holding of the first 'Earth Day' in 1970. Brower died in 2000, but his organisation continues, with branches in more than seventy countries.

Answer: Oscar Wilde

One of the masters of the witty comment, Oscar Wilde died at the early age of 46 in Paris, although he had lived a full and varied life. His later years were blighted by his homosexuality, which was illegal at the time, and legal cases arising from this, which eventually led to imprisonment.

Other sayings of his include 'always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much' and 'I am not young enough to know everything'.

Answer: Mark Antony

These are the opening lines from Mark Antony's oration at Caesar's burial. He had agreed to Brutus's request not to blame those who carried out the assassination. By the clever use of rhetoric, he is able to convey his feelings in the matter and rouse the crowd against them.

His descriptions of Brutus as 'an honourable man' is said in such a way as to imply the exact opposite. Cassius was the instigator of the plot, which also included Brutus ('et tu Brute') and Cicero was a senator, believed to be sympathetic to, thought not part of, the assassination.

Answer: Christopher Eccleston

Based around four characters from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the series followed their progress from 1964 to 1995, set against a backdrop of real events and people. It also starred Daniel Craig, who went on to greater fame as 'James Bond' and Mark Strong, who played the villain opposite Robert Downey jnr. in the 2009 film 'Sherlock Holmes'. All the other actors named have also played Doctor Who at various times. Eccleston played the ninth incarnation, for only one season, in 2005.