SUNDAY CHALLENGE

1 Which Irish dramatist and critic, wrote the plays Pygmalion and Major Barbara among others?

2 In the television series Dallas, Larry Hagmann was super as the bad boy JR – but what did the JR in JR Ewing stand for?

3 Which cave on the Island of Staffa in the Hebrides off Scotland inspired an overture by Mendelssohn of the same name?

4 Which Australian singer and actress, who found fame as Charlene in the soapie Neighbours, has a name that comes from the Aborigine for boomerang?

5 What is the name of the Druid in Asterix’s tribe?

6 What, according to US journalist and columnist Walter Winchel, was “the art of saying nothing in a way that leaves nothing unsaid”?

7 What nationality was cellist Jacqueline du Pre, renowned for her interpretation of the Elgar Cello Concerto, who gave up the instrument at the age of 28 when stricken with multiple sclerosis?

8 Why was the earth destroyed in Douglas Adams’ Hitch-hiker’s Guide to The Galaxy?

9 With which sport would you associate television commentator Richie Benaud?

10 Which British royal, known for his mammoth social gaffes, once described himself as: “An uncultured poloplaying clot”?

11 What does BMX stand for in the world of sport?

12 Which US actress and sex symbol once replied when asked what she wore in bed: “Chanel No5”?

13 Which Australian comedian created the character Dame Edna Everage?

14 Which river joins the Tigris in Iraq to form the Shatt al-arab waterway, one of the key dispute points in the Iran-iraq war of 198088?

15 Who played the manic scientist Dr Emmet Brown who turned a de Lorean car into a time machine in the hit movie Back To The Future, starring Michael J Fox?

16 Which US actor, whose father was a hairdresser, was born in Hells Kitchen, New York, in July 1946 and starred in his first film The Lords of Flatbush, being paid in T-shirts because the film’s budget was so poor, before he wrote the film Rocky while watching a fight between Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner?

17 What was the early alias of British author Charlotte Brontë who wrote the novel Jane Eyre?

18 Who struck a chord with her mostly female readers with her book Bridget Jones’ Diary?

19 Finish this quote from the great comedian WC Fields: “I exercise strong self-control. I never drink anything stronger than gin before …”?

20 Who is the Sharks coach who lead his team to victory in the Currie Cup in 2008?