okay here's your starter for 10 points...

Clive works for the Oxford English Dictionary based at the Oxford University Press on Walton Street. He tells me that the 2nd edition of the full dictionary will be ready in another 30 years. Talk about job security. The University Challenge tv programme has challenged professionals (sadly no Scumbag College like in the Young Ones) to enter the competion. Tonight on BBC2 its the Home office versus the Foreign office current scores are HO 45-FO 25, still 16 mins to go and all to play for as Paxman reassures.
Anyway the department had a trail run versus a team of top boffins from St Johns, Oxford. Clive took the role of Rosemarie 'whats on the boards' Ford or Humphrey Lyttletons glamorous assistant Samantha-oh both women there can't think of any male score keepers!! So he manged to sneak the questions out of the building so feeling brainy??

1) In George Orwell's 1984, what was the name given to Great Britain?
2) In 1999, Simon Rattle left the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra to take up the conductorship of which orchestra?
3)) Ox-bow lakes, formed when a river's meandering loops enlarge through erosion and eventually become cut off, are known in Australia by what 'aboriginal' name meaning 'dead water'?
5) What was the name of the astronaut who remained in the command-module during the Apollo 11 moon landing?
6) What was described by the British conservative politician Lord Mancroft as 'a game which the English, not being a spiritual people, have invented in order to give them selves some conception of eternity'?
7) Edo was the former name of which Asian capital city, which was renamed in 1868 and which in 1923 was severly damaged by an earthquake?
8) Brain Eno, who has been credited with creating the genre of 'ambient music', ws an original member of which British art rock band of the 1970s, being their keyboardsit and technical adviser?

Urm yeah think I'll stick to the Pub music quiz...love Gem

PS Genome has made it safely to Oxford so expect more pictures from his travels round the 'shire!