A River Runs Through It Trivia Quiz

Answer: Machynlleth

According 2001 census figures, about 2,147 people are fortunate enough to live in Machynlleth, in the mid-Wales region now called Powys. From 1945 to 1949 I was one of them, and to this day I suffer from hiraeth, that peculiar-to-the-Welsh longing for Wales.

There has been a settlement there since Celtic times. The Romans had a camp on Wylfa, one of the hills that surround the town, and Owain Glyndwr, the last Welsh Prince of Wales, had his parliament building on what is now Maengwyn Street. Since the 13th century, a market has been held every Wednesday, originally selling farm animals, cloth, foodstuffs, and, more recently, arts and crafts created by the many artists, jewellery makers, weavers, and craftsmen who have made Machynlleth their home. Machynlleth is also one of Britain's leading centres for alternate energy technologies.

While approximately 70% of the townspeople speak Welsh, they also speak English, which is a good thing for the tourists who throng its streets.

Machynlleth lies south-east of Bangor and south-west of Rhyl, and the Afon Dyfi (that's the River Dyfi - pronounced Dovey - to non-Welsh speakers) empties into the Dyfi Estuary on Cardigan Bay. Aberdyfi (which means mouth of the Dyfi) is on the Estuary.

Answer: Birmingham

Surprisingly, the Warwickshire County Cricket grounds are in Cannon Hill Park, in Edgbaston, which is in Birmingham. Birmingham (known to its citizens as Brum) is the second largest city in the UK and it is an industrial town. It is located where Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire meet.

The River Rea rises in the Waseley Hills in Worcestershire and isn't much wider than a canal! Hardly majestic, considering the size of the city through which it flows on its way to join the River Tame. Moreover it's only 14 miles long and most of it is either covered or culverted for much of its course through Birmingham.

The medieval hamlet of Birmingham was built on a crossing on the Rea in what is now Digbeth.

Near Gravelly Hill Interchange, about 14 miles from its source, the Rea becomes a tributary of the River Tame, with its waters eventually reaching the North Sea via the Trent and the Humber Estuary.

Answer: Calgary

Calgary lies on the Bow River, which bisects it from west to east. (The Bow was originally named the Beau, and a nearby river was named the Belle, which is now the Belly River. I guess the early settlers in the area weren't too fluent in French!)

Calgary is best-known for its annual Stampede and Rodeo, which draws hundreds and thousands of visitors from all over the world. In its early days, Calgary was the ranching centre of Alberta, but the cowboys now have to share the city with the oilmen, because the city is now the centre for the oil business in southern Alberta. Oil was first discovered in Turner Valley, southwest of Calgary, back in 1914.

Answer: Winnipeg

Winnipeg had its beginnings in the late 18th century as a Hudson's Bay Company fur trading centre known as Fort Garry. With the coming of the Selkirk Settlers in 1812, the settlement began to grow and in 1874, four years after the Province of Manitoba joined Confederation, it became the city of Winnipeg.
People from all over the world have made Winnipeg their home.

The city, which is very close to the geographical centre of North America, is a cargo hub for the continent, with air, rail and road routes all converging here. It is also a centre for the grain trade in Canada.

Along with its prominence in business, Winnipeg is a culturally rich city, home to the world-renowned Royal Winnipeg Ballet, a superb symphony orchestra and opera company, more art galleries than you can shake a charcoal stick at, and two of Canada's leading professional theatres. Winnipeg abounds in museums of every kind, and festivals of one kind or another are held throughout the year.

The River Seine rises in the Sandilands Provincial Forest southeast of Winnipeg and flows through St. Boniface, the French part of the city, where it debouches into the Red River. The La Salle is also a tributary of the Red, rising near Portage la Prairie and flowing south to join the Red at St. Norbert in southern Winnipeg. The Assiniboine, which has the longest outdoor skating rink in the world, rises in eastern Saskatchewan and debouches into the Red at The Forks in Winnipeg. The Red, which rises in Minnesota, flows north into Lake Winnipeg. Brandon and Portage which are west of Winnipeg are both on the Assiniboine, and Saskatoon is the second largest city in our neighbouring province to the west, Saskatchewan.

Answer: Toronto

Much of the Don River was been covered up as the city, which started out in the 18th century as a settlement called York, grew to become the largest city in Canada. As Toronto grew - and grew and grew - the Don succumbed to industrialization and urban sprawl. Parts of it were filled in, or became a dumping ground for refuse, its marsh drained and built over.

Since the late 1980s a citizen's action committee has been working to reclaim the Don and has cleared the open reaches of the river of refuse, planted trees, and established River Walks.

Answer: Hereford

Hereford is one of the most beautiful cities in England, studded with black-and-white timbered houses dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. The Cathedral is a superb example of Norman ecclesiastical architecture, and building was begun in 1110.

Hereford Cathedral houses many priceless treasures, chief of which is the 13th century map of the world known as the Mappa Mundi. During the English Civil War and the period of Cromwell's Commonwealth, the map was hidden under the floor of Bishop Audley's Chantry. The Mappa Mundi is the second largest of all old maps, drawn on a single sheet of heavy vellum. The world is represented as round, surrounded by the ocean, and includes depictions of biblical figures and fantastical creatures.

In the 1980s, when the Diocese of Hereford was experiencing financial problems, the Dean and Chapter considered selling the Mappa Mundi. This caused a huge public outcry in the UK and with the aid of large donations from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and Paul Getty, and smaller financial gifts from private citizens, the sale of the map was cancelled. The money that poured in to make sure this treasure remained in Hereford Cathedral was sufficient to allow the construction of a new library to house the map and the chained libraries from the Cathedral and All Saints' Church.

The chained library of Hereford Cathedral is one of the oldest in the UK. The oldest book in the library is the Hereford Gospels, dating from 800.

Hereford Cathedral is also fortunate to possess one of only four 1217 copies of the Magna Carta to survive. It is sometimes put on display alongside the Mappa Mundi in the cathedral's chained library.

By the way, if you're a salmon fishing aficionado, the Wye is the river for you. The anglers in my family maintain that the Wye offers the finest salmon-fishing in the UK outside Scotland. Of course, they may be biased because they're Herefordians, but between March 3 and October 17, you'll usually find them thigh deep in the Wye.

Answer: Caen

Caen lies on the River Orne in Normandy, and during the battles following the Normandy Landings in 1944 much of the city was destroyed, although the massive fortress, built by William the Conqueror in 1060, survived, as did the abbey church which he built and where he was buried in 1087.

The city of Caen has since been rebuilt and is home to one of the oldest universities in France.

Answer: Halle

Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who was born in Salzburg, Austria, and Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, in Westphalia, Germany.

George Frideric Handel (23 February 1685 - 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. The best known of his works is 'Messiah'. He was born in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

He studied music in Halle, Hamburg and Italy, and in 1710 he was appointed Kapellmeister at the court of Elector George of Hanover. In 1712 Handel received permission from the Elector to go to England. Once there, Handel found he could make more money than he could in Hanover, so he decided to stay. He received an annual salary of two hundred pounds from Queen Anne and also had many wealthy patrons.

On Anne's death in 1714, she was succeeded by George, Elector of Hanover*. When he became king, a reconciliation came about between George and Handel, and the new king doubled Handel's salary! One of Handel's most celebrated works 'The Water Music' (1717) was written for George I.

Handel became a naturalised British subject in 1727, and when he died he was buried in Westminster Abbey, with over 3,000 people attending his state funeral.

*It's interesting to note that there were others more closely related to Anne than George (who was the great-grandson of James I, Anne's grandfather), but the other putative heirs were all Roman Catholic, and Roman Catholics were - and still are - barred from ascending the British throne (although changing Act barring Roman Catholics is under discussion at the time of writing). Since George was the only Protestant, he became Anne's heir. George was a Lutheran, and never became an Anglican, so he remains the only Lutheran ever to occupy the British throne.

Answer: Christchurch

The Avon flows through the centre of Christchurch, New Zealand, to the Pacific Ocean. The river is relatively young in geological terms, probably dating from New Zealand's last ice age which was 20,000 years ago.

The indigenous Maori called the river Putare Kamutu or Otakato (and since I do not speak Maori, I have no idea what either name means).The Brits who settled in the area planned to call it to call it the Shakespeare but they were beaten to the punch in 1848 by John Deans who built his homestead on the river's banks. He maintained that he named it for the River Avon, a tributary of the Clyde in Scotland.

Just as a trivia note, naming any river Avon is a redundancy, since Avon is the old Celtic word for river!

Answer: Xi'an

Ever since I read 'The Travels of Marco Polo' when I was 13, I've wanted to travel the Silk Road, which ends at Xi'an. The Silk Road was the historic trade route taken from China, across Asia and the Arabian Peninsula to the Mediterranean.

My desire to visit Xi'an was heightened by the discovery of the terracotta armies guarding the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. Created in 210-209 BC, the sculptures were buried with the emperor to protect him in the afterlife. They were discovered in 1974 by some local farmers who were digging a well.

It is estimated that there are over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which are still buried in the pits. Other pits contain non-military figures of court officials, acrobats, strongmen and musicians.