Something Wicker This Way Comes Quiz

Answer: Macbeth

'By the pricking of my thumbs
Something wicked this way comes.
Open locks
Whoever knocks'.

Enter Macbeth.

These lines were spoken by the Second Witch in Act Four, Scene One.

Answer: Alan

Much travelled and much parodied - who could forget the 'Monty Python' sketch in which there was a tropical island where every inhabitant was an Alan Whicker lookalike?

Alan Whicker had his own TV show for many years, in which he interviewed people like Papa Doc Duvalier, as well as famous actors etc. I can't remember there ever being a boring interview.

Answer: James Baskett

OK, a bit of a stretch, but baskets are made out of wicker, aren't they?
James Baskett (1904-1948) played 'Uncle Remus', and the film was an adaptation of Joel Chandler Harris' 'Uncle Remus' tales. One of the most-played clips from it must be where he sings 'Zip-a-dee-doo-dah' to a flock of cartoon bluebirds.
Baskett died in 1948 from a heart complaint, and that year became the first African American to win an Academy Award.

Answer: A weaving process

'Wickerwork' can be made of many materials, including cane, willow, rattan, grasses and synthetic materials. Rattan, on the other hand, is always made from the stems of the rattan palm, which is one of the strongest materials available. The grain in rattan grows vertically rather than in concentric rings like most plants.

Answer: Sheffield

The Wicker is in central Sheffield, England, and boasts many Grade II listed buildings. The origin of its name is uncertain.

Answer: Edward Woodward

Filmed in Scotland with a mostly British cast, this was originally released as a 'B' feature to accompany Nicholas Roeg's 'Don't Look Now'. It's debatable which of the two is the scariest. The film is, by turns, funny, bawdy, musical and frightening, and totally unlike anything else.

Answer: Britt Ekland

Many of the characters had names connected with trees. As well as 'Willow', there was 'Rose', 'Alder', 'Oak', 'May' and 'Broome'.

Willow and Alder are often used in wicker ware.

There was a remake of the film in 2006, starring Nicholas Cage. Not being content with moving the setting from Scotland to Canada, the makers also removed the sly humour and music. The film was universally derided.

Answer: Chicago

Wicker Park in Chicago, Illinois began as an area mostly settled by German and Scandinavian Americans. Thousands of Poles moved in after WW2, but their neighborhoods were severely disrupted with the building of the Kennedy Expressway in 1960. The area became crime-ridden, but a programme of urban renewal has seen it become a desirable place to live once more.

Wicker Park is one of Chicago's 77 Designated Community Areas.

Answer: Railway Viaduct

The Wicker Arches are a 660 yard long railway viaduct with 41 arches, crossing the Don Valley in Sheffield. It was built in 1848 to a design by Sir John Fowler. Many of the arches are filled in and used as workshops.

Answer: The assassination of John F. Kennedy

Wicker was the Washington Bureau Chief for the New York Times and spent 25 years as a political columnist. In 1963 he was the 'New York Times' sole reporter covering the Kennedy visit to Dallas, and won deserved fame for the way he reported the assassination. Long before the availability of the internet, he turned in a stream of constantly up-dated reports over the telephone.