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Ethel Rodin lost to CKC
A
narrow victory keeps CKC's rise from the dead on
track
 Kieran
muses on a Testing half season of two halves
So the game which has recently taken to being
decided by a frankly vulgar five points reverted
halfway to the norm with a somewhat more acceptable
three point margin at the end. As ever the
scores were level with three questions remaining and
then David's encyclopaedic knowledge of punk, and
indeed all pop music, put us ahead for the first
time in the evening.
The Prodigals have crushed us right at the death,
exactly in that manner, several times in recent
seasons and they always rub our noses in it by
scoring a two on their final question. I
followed their admirable example. Greg and I
have regularly mused that to allow more time for
post-quiz wittering we should simply dispense with
the first 62 questions on the paper and just duke it
out on the last pair because all three results are
almost always still possible when Ethel and CKC meet
and it's down to the wire.
'King of Soul'
(R2/Q2)
(England are making a total balls of an Adelaide
'road' - I have been here before writing quiz match
reports. How long are they going to persist with the
nonsense that is Ollie Pope? FFS another
one!)
Back to happier things. Ethel hadn't twigged
the World Cup theme of the last round (we - OK, I -
had got the theme after the rubric and the first
question). Greg couldn't get anywhere near
Curaçao, conferred, and Ethel somehow scrambled the
one to leave us dormie with my question to come.
(Root is batting like a drain and has just,
just, survived a seemingly nailed
on caught behind. Four years on, same old
crap.)
Now, one point ahead with my question to come I
would confer 99 times out of 100. Tonight I
didn't for two reasons. First, I was
absolutely certain that Scotland was the correct
answer and I do love the notion that the Act of
Union came about because of the unwise speculation
of the supposedly careful (read 'tight') Scots.
Prodigal Michael, if that's not entirely
historically accurate don't feel obliged to correct
me. At any rate it was something of a
harbinger of what the Bank of Scotland and
especially the RBS were going to do to all of us 310
years later.
Cambridge Don - always on
(R6/Q1)
The second reason I went for the maximum when a one
point confer would have sealed the deal was that
Ethel had disputed the 'Qatar' question earlier in
the round. None of the space dogs know
anything about medicine but Ethel James certainly
does and he was adamant that the question was
misleading and the answer just plain wrong. We
agreed to wait to see how the final score turned out
before potentially revisiting the mucus muck and
going to a spare. The Darien disaster made the
margin three and the argument was rendered moot.
Fergie time in Italy
(R4/Q1)
(England have reached lunch without further loss
- it's been awful.)
Our man 259 miles to the south east was still with
us tonight. He loves a double landlocked
teaser and set the Uzbekistan question many years
ago. The mutts were desperately trying to
remember which was the
'-stan' at
issue. Once we had discerned the theme the
answer was obvious and it felt like the moment the
contest turned and victory became realistic.
Cheers Barry; even remotely you're still winning
points for us.
Mullet time in Sampdoria
(R4/Q2)
Also with us tonight, as a spectator, was Antony,
the only WithQuizzer with a 100% record; six seasons
played under our various names and six league titles
won. Antony may be guesting for us early in the new
year which would be great.
Thomas was on fire in the first four rounds with
three twos and numerous assists while David tied
Greg for MVP with a clean sweep of maximums after
the break. For the second year running
Martin's participation was in doubt right up until
he finally appeared. This time the doubt was
due to a malfunctioning boiler. It couldn't be
fixed on the spot so he's decided to extend his
Christmas stay back home in Grimsby and deal with it
in 2026. Domestic heating traumas put on the
back burner he arrived in good time to play a vital
part in our best and most satisfying victory so
far.
Just as last week we
really enjoyed the evening, played very well in a
great contest and we can at last hope that we've
turned a corner. It's been a half season of
two halves; five straight defeats to start with and
then two good wins plus a draw against the league
leaders and a comfortable progression to the WIST
semis.
(Root's out - Jesus wept, this is rubbish. I
blame Starmer - why not?)
Happy whatever you call this time of year to all of
you and see you in three weeks' time. We
might, might, be coming back as a
competitive quiz team. It's more than Ben
Stokes and his bunch of embarrassing amateurs can
claim.
Economist who shaped the 20th
century
(R1/Q1)
Bards beat Electric Pigs
The flying Pigs are brought down to earth by some
wise old Bards
Windrush brings life to the
English countryside
(R7/Q7)
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Opsimaths lost to History Men
The History Men move up the table with a comfortable
win
 Ivor
simply doesn't mind the bollocks
Christmas is definitely coming now as the noise
intensity of hospitality venues increases
everywhere. Given the state of the nation it
is perhaps not surprising that people feel the need
for good cheer. Maybe there was even a rush on
the bar when the Titanic was going down.
Tonight we were in the Albert Club in the back snug,
with other revellers specially cleared out for us
quizzers, where we faced the improving Opsimaths.
The curtains reduced noise levels by only a few
decibels though of course the Historymen are more
than capable of producing their own.
Anne-Marie in the QM seat managed to keep order
nonetheless. We gained an early seven point
lead and, although it was reduced to two points at
one stage, we did well in the last few rounds.
Tonight we had Steve for the first time this season
replacing Young Dave who had gone to see a band he
described as his "favourite band of all time".
Needless to say I had never heard of them despite
them being active for over 35 years and having a No
1 record with Vic Reeves. They're called The
Wonder Stuff (and not to be confused with The Wonder
Years). Anyway Steve was a more than adequate
replacement though he is more experienced as a
setter (he had even heard of both those rock bands).
Anne, however, was our star player with 6 twos. She
will cheerfully confess to blurting out a (correct)
answer and not knowing where it came from. She
does occasionally blurt out an incorrect answer
("the Grand Panjandrum" rather than "the Aga Khan"
springs to mind) but not tonight.
Bavarian flying dinosaur
(R1/Q7)
Mike and Paul were the Opsimaths' best players (4
twos each). This was the first time we had met
Paul. Hopefully he will have got over the
shock of playing the Historymen. He told me
afterwards he is still getting used to the various
formats and word plays in our quizzes (otherwise he
might have not blurted the wrong mathematician in
Round 6) but he already seems to be a very strong
recruit.
Can I remind quizzers that Mike Bath’s Sunday
quizzes are still running at the Albert Club every
third Sunday (next one this Sunday) and although
they are billed as 'a family quiz' it is really a
quiz for the quiz family and the sound and light
format makes it very appealing and certainly more
entertaining than Antiques Roadshow or a
Channel 5 crime drama.
(Ed: Thanks for the plug, Ivor, and while we're
plugging upcoming events do tune in to BBC2 on
December 29th to see Opsi Charlotte and the Worker
Bees in their latest Only Connect outing - very
entertaining I'm assured).
Scouse punkers
(R8/Q6)
 Mike
dwells on the Opsis' points of difference
Well,
we lost again - but not by a lot - and we were in
contention throughout most of the match.
Ultimately the History Men were just too strong -
and along the way we made some wrong turnings on
alternative answers when, with a bit of luck, we
could have plumped differently and gained the
points. We are at the foot of the table and
with a 'points scored for/against difference' of -41
we certainly deserve that ... but we are improving
and our newer players are getting into the swing.
Again our relatively new player, Paul, earned a
number of points which otherwise would have gone
begging. Next year?
Full
marks to our opponents who were both a delight 'on
and off the field'. Anne continues to be a
model of demureness and restraint; Vanessa gave us a
glimpse of her alter ego as the most famous Dusty
Springfield artist in all of mid-Levenshulme; Steve
was most welcome as a History Man in the absence of
globe-trotting David; and Ivor .... need I say more.
Onwards and upwards. Our next WithQuiz
appearance is as setters for the first match of
2026. Hope you all enjoy our paper and
meanwhile Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to
all our WithQuiz mates.
Dreamer?
(R3/Q1)
Charabancs beat Albert
The Charas edge a nail-biting finish
 Damian
tells of the Ghost of Father Megson Past returning
Well, this result was almost a mirror image of last
week's with us coming from behind - yet again in the
last round - to turn the tide of what was looking
like an inevitable defeat. We trailed our
opponents by two rounds to four with draws in the
other two and were four points adrift at the end of
Round 7. Up pops Round 8 and we storm it by
seven points to two in a similar fashion to last
week - and cross the finishing line one point ahead.
Let's hear it for last rounds shall we! Thus
we end the first half of the season the way we began
it with two successive victories (we won't mention
the ones that came in between) and can only hope we
maintain this winning momentum into the second half
of the season.
To paraphrase that old Christmas poem A Visit
from Saint Nicholas, this week we had 'A Visit
from Father Megson' as our former captain Gerry
graced us with one of his rare visits to sit in Seat
One in place of Chara Bill (who apparently preferred
sitting through a rainy football match at the Etihad).
It was pleasing to report that his presence helped
us to yet another win. We all disciplined
ourselves to confer efficiently with one or two
lapses mainly due to me having a bad habit of
forgetting a theme and misunderstanding the outcome
of a confer about, for instance, the Liverpool punk
group 'Big in Japan' and blurting "Japan" instead.
However I atoned by dredging up Scotland in the last
question of the night which sealed our last minute
triumph.
With QM Jane yet again struggling to make herself
heard against a group of ear-blasting lads
enthusiastically observing City's latest efforts at
the Etihad, this turned our to be another high
scoring affair with a combined score of 79.
Albert got the better of the steals (5 to 3) but,
again, our superior score of twos (11 to 8) helped
carry us through. Even the enigmatic presence
of Mike sitting quietly in the corner observing his
team's performance failed to deter us.
Wishing a happy Christmas and New Year to all and
onwards to the second half of the season!
Knights of St John capital
(R7/Q3)
 Ashton
reports on the presence of an old man in red socks
The
spirit Scrooge feared the most was "a solemn
phantom, draped and hooded, coming like a mist along
the ground towards him". Our own Ghost of
Christmas Yet to Come appeared when Mike glided in
after three rounds to offer his version of silent,
ominous spectral encouragement from the sidelines.
Alas, unlike Scrooge, no redemption ensued as we
threw away the lead we had carefully nurtured since
Round 2 in a horror show last round.
The
frequent earthy language from the darts match next
door made for a swearier evening than a match
against the History Men when Anne is playing.
This seemed to affect both teams. The Charas blurted
"Japan" without the preceding 'Big In ...' despite
it being written in large capitals on their
conferred notes; Jeremy disregarded the Brothers
Karamazov in favour of Crime and Punishment;
and Damian professed himself unable to work out the
theme on a given theme round. Best of all, at
least from the point of view of myself and Eveline,
was watching our two former medical professionals
tie themselves in knots over the inflamed mucous
membranes question. No amount of poring over
the dozen or so increasingly wordy possibilities on
their list would reveal the name of a country
lurking within so we had to pass it over. In
the end, it was 'catarrh' what won it for the Charas.
Our early season form seems a long time ago now.
Four wins on the bounce have been succeeded by three
losses in four. Quite how we have managed to
cling on to second place is a mystery. Expect
a dash of colour in games against us in the new year
- Mike came clutching an early Christmas present of
red socks purchased from the same company which
supplies them to the Pope.
Merry Christmas to you all and we look forward to
locking horns with you all again in the new year.
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Quiz paper set by...
... The Prodigals
Average Aggregate score 77.0
Scorewise this was on the nail hitting the season's
average almost precisely - and there was plenty to
relish along the way with the Blessed Melvyn, punk
music, bank notes, holidays and the upcoming World
Cup as themes.
Some
imbalances skewed matches as the match reports
indicate (Cotswolds rivers v Peak District rivers,
for example). Main gripes though, came in
Round 8 with the Qatar and
Curaçao
questions provoking much debate. With our
competition getting tighter and tighter, many
matches now don't get resolved until the last round,
or even the last pair of questions, so disputatious
material at the final hurdle can really hurt.
Windows 95 composer
(R4/Q3)
...
so what were Kieran's views ...
A terrific paper from the reigning (and likely
retaining) champions.
Storytelling Giant
(R4/Q8)
...
but James has some beef ...
I'm not a fan of trick questions, namely the 'Qatar'
one in Round 8 - and especially not when the
definition taken verbatim from Wikipedia is
incorrect (the origin of the word catarrh is from
the same Greek root as is used in cataract and
refers to the fluid rather than body cavities.
What's more it’s hardly a ‘condition’, it’s just a
thing! We ended up saying "Sinusitis", (which
has 'US' in it…) and is a directly correct answer to
the slightly awkward definition given. We were
tied with CKC up to that point.
To follow that up with another wrong question:
whether
Curaçao
is
a country or not wasn’t the issue, the issue was
that the correct answer to the contents of the
cocktail in the question was in fact Cointreau ...
we were mighty miffed.
All of this meant that the quiz ended very
disappointingly for us and killed off a potentially
tense finish in the worst possible way.
We also copped for the mismatch of Cotswolds
(obscure and miles away) vs Peak District (really
obvious and very close) in the 'rivers' question.
A shame because otherwise it had been a decent quiz.
A home for Kiwi cakes
(R6/Q7)
...
while Damian liked it ...
We found some of the questions quite
thought-provoking but generally very interesting and
varied. We managed to suss the themes fairly
well and I counted only three unanswereds which fell
to us two to one.
Russian bag-carrier meets
James
(R5/Q3)
...
and likewise Ashton was a fan ...
As always with Prods quizzes there was plenty of
innovation. The In Our Time round was
well received by Jeremy who considers anything after
the Baroque period to be dangerously modern.
When you lose by a point there are always going to
be plenty of 'if only' moments, which is usually the
mark of a well-crafted and well-balanced quiz.
Saturday night fish fryer
(R8/Q3)
...
finally Ivor's views ...
A tricky quiz but lots to enjoy. Eleven unanswereds
but 25 twos scored and very well balanced - so Young
Michael had done a good moderation job.
Eclecticism was the order of the day. Hard to
believe it is 50 years since the 'enfants terribles'
of the music world burst onto the scene - but now
all fondly remembered.
The banknotes were also well recalled but no doubt
in a few years time they will have gone the way of
cheque books and postal orders. Sadly the date
of the Battle of the Boyne Day did not fall to me;
in certain Ulster households like mine it was the
most exciting day of childhood after Christmas Day;
and 1690 was one of only two historical dates known
by everyone (the other being 1066).
Lord Bragg has had some amazing topics over the
years in his In Our Time programme. One
I recall was on 'The square root of -1 and its
importance in science'. I suspect most people
know the square root of ** about imaginary numbers.
Maybe they help Ms Reeves balance the books.
On the subject of outraging public decency with
swearwords it fell to Charlotte to say “B*****ks" as
an answer. She delivered it with some aplomb.
The Historymen have heard worse. Every week.
From our own team.
City built on bones
(R7/Q4)
Question of the Week
This week the Opsis and the History Men chose Round
2 Question 8 because of the opportunity it gave
Charlotte to exercise her Worker Bee lungs ...
Which word, often beloved of WithQuizzers in
receipt of impossible questions, landed the manager
of Virgin Records, Nottingham, in court in November
1977? John Mortimer QC defended him from
charges of obscenity.
For the answer to this and all the week's other
questions click
here.
Widest road in the world
(R3/Q4)
... and also ...
Via Kieran I've received this warm message to all of
you from Barry ...
"So it’s finally goodbye to Manchester after nearly
half a century. We will miss it, I’m sure, but
we are looking forward to the adventure of creating
a new life in a new city. We’ll miss all the
lovely friends and colleagues (and even more so,
family) we are leaving behind, but the miracle of
social media and (relatively) speedy transport means
you’ll still be seeing and hearing from us.
Thank you to everyone who has been part of our
Manchester lives and made our time there so special,
and Norwich is a lovely city to visit if the whim
(or the promise of great pubs - many great pubs!)
takes you."
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That's it for the first half of WithQuiz season 47.
Back again on Wednesday January 7th when the setters
will be the Opsimaths.
Merry
Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!
A very small king
(R6/Q6)
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