As it’s the season of goodwill, and it’s been an incredibly testing year to say the least, we’re bringing back the annual Northern Soul End Of Year Quiz. Is your Northern knowledge up to scratch? No prizes, just a lovely feeling of smugness when you get them all right (answers are at the bottom…).

  1. In which Northern classic novel is a milk-pilfering snake whipped to death?
  2. What were the surnames of the families at war in Brass?
  3. Which famous Mancunian wrote A Clockwork Orange? 
  4. What is the name of the river which flows through Leeds?
  5. What iconic Northern product has Sean Bean been advertising?
  6. The Society for the Protection of Birds, which later became the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), was founded in Didsbury, Manchester in 1889. Who was the founder?
  7. Who won the The Portico Prize in 2020? 
  8. What is the ‘big light’?
  9. What is a ginnel?
  10. What is a Cumberland Rum Nicky?
  11. Which classic TV detective series was created by Liverpudlian Lynda La Plante?
  12. How many stations are there on the Manchester Metrolink?
  13. Which tourist attraction is located in the Cumbrian town of Keswick?
  14. In which Northumberland town can you visit the Bagpipe Museum?
  15. In which Northern town is the British Lawnmower Museum?
  16. What is a Singin’ Hinny?
  17. Which Manchester-based musician, radio presenter and DJ was a voice on animated classic Engie Benjy, made by former Chorlton-based Cosgrove Hall Films?
  18. Which English comedian and TV personality held a solo art exhibition at Manchester’s Contemporary Six gallery in November 2021?
  19. How many bridges are there over the River Tyne between Newcastle and Gateshead?
  20. Who were the four stars of the classic TV show, Our Friends in the North?

 

The North

 

Answers

  1. Mrs. G. Linnaeus Banks, The Manchester Man
  2. The Hardacres and The Fairchilds
  3. Anthony Burgess
  4. River Aire
  5. Yorkshire Tea (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cipMoGKXGE)
  6. Emily Williamson. While Williamson was the inspirational founder of the UK’s largest conservation charity, her name has largely disappeared from history. In 2021, a competition was launched to create a statue to honour her legacy, which is to be erected near her former home in Manchester. 
  7. Jessica Andrews, Saltwater
  8. The main, overhead light in the room
  9. A narrow alleyway, often between buildings
  10. Rum nickies are date, rum and ginger tarts or pies popular from the time when Cumbrian ports regularly sent ships to the Caribbean
  11. Prime Suspect
  12. The network has 99 stops
  13. Derwent Pencil Museum 
  14. Morpeth
  15. Southport
  16. A type of scone/griddlecake made in the North East. The singing refers to the sounds of the sizzling of the lard or butter in the rich dough as it is cooked on a hot plate or griddle.
  17. Clint Boon 
  18. Jim Moir (Vic Reeves) 
  19. Seven
  20. Christopher Eccleston, Mark Strong, Gina McKee, Daniel Craig