Results & Match Reports

• Snoopy's retained second slot in the league with a win over X-Pats

• St Caths got back to form with a win over the Opsimaths at the Albert Club

• Electric Pigs continued their improving form by beating Albert Park

• Albert are also on the mend - they ran out comfortable victors over Stumped down in Chorlton

• History Men managed a second win in a row - this time over the Brains

Quiz Paper Verdict

Fifth Finger took a week off from their devastating run of form to set this week.  There were themes and pairs all around - some explicit and others more irritatingly hidden.  Round 1 started with questions about 19n4 years (we didn't spot this - did you?).  There was an interesting seaside picture round (Round 5) that some found a bit hard and some really relished (at the Albert Club Mike Heale seemed to have a photographic memory of every British coastal resort and galloped through the pictures!).  Then there was round 7!  It was clear that most teams 'didn't get it' - comments such as Tony of Snoopy's complaining that there was no pair for 'Sloth' (Q1) proved this.  We didn't get it at the Albert Club although Kieran tells me that a 'light went on' for the History Men half way through the round (Kieran QMed in the History Men v Brains encounter).  Well the theme of Round 7 was the 7 deadly sins - with question 8 having 'Se7en' as its answer.  A nice idea but, it seems, wasted on most of us.  Overall the quiz was best summed up by Gerry H who called it '

Across the matches the average aggregate score this week was 68.0 - a bit 'middle for diddlish' I'd say.  Actual aggregates varied from 58 (Pigs/Park) to 74 (St Caths/Opsimaths). a bit of a curate's egg'.

The Question of the Week

For Question of the Week Kieran suggested Round 7 Q2 where the answer was N.V. (thus ticking off the deadly sin envy).  However setters are debarred from selecting QOTW - so my vote goes to (Round 2 Q7):

“It looks as if St Paul’s went down to the sea and pupped!”  What building was the Reverend Sydney Smith describing?

(to see the answer to this and all the other questions click here.)

This particular question was memorable not just because it's rather a good quote, but also because it took us some time to determine from our own QM (no prizes for guessing) that it was not about the toilet habits ('pooped') of the early Christians.  For the final word on this week's paper see Fr M's comments below and/or go to our debate on what makes for a perfect quiz paper - Kieran has added an apologia (that's 'ia' at the end not 'y') for this week's Finger paper, and Gerry has weighed in with some lusty support.  Do email me if you wish to contribute and I will add your comments to the special page.

Chatterbox

Refurbishment at the Red

A warning for the coming weeks:  we believe the Red Lion will be closed for refurbishment during the last week in March and the first week in April.  The Historymen and Ethel Rodin will need to make some alternative arrangements and we will have to fix an alternative pick-up point for the questions.  The Fletcher Moss has been suggested as a pick-up point.  Anyhow, Gary D is on the case and will advise all concerned shortly.

Mastermind

Such is the popularity of our site that researchers from the BBC are calling.  I received a message recently inviting anyone interested to apply to appear on the next series of Mastermind (go on Martin have a bash).  This was the message:

"I am looking for contestants for Mastermind 2004 - if anyone is interested could they please contact me on 0161 244 3528 or mutale.nkonde@bbc.co.uk"

Fr Megson

Seven Sins That Shook The World

According to a leaked document which has just fallen into the back pocket of a sleaze expert in the offices of the BALLYBOAK DAILY SHOWER, a soon to be published enquiry will heavily criticise a middle-aged and experienced priest for allowing his quiz team to be entirely oblivious to a consignment of seven or eight deadly sins probably bound for Iraq or the Isle of Man, and  blatantly concealed inside an innocuous looking quiz paper by the hard line paralytic faction Finger V.

We confronted an ashen-faced Fr. Megson as he sneaked out of the side door of VESPERS exclusive club for incorrigible gentlemen priests.

"Fair cop", he mumbled, "I should have been more diligent, though to be fair, priests cannot be expected to go round spotting sins all the time.  If we did we would never get a moment for Rest and Relaxation especially in this quiz league.

"With hindsight I think the little fluffy animal in the first question of that round put us off the scent a bit.  Using my considerable expertise I signalled the team to hit the spiny-anteater button and I'm pretty certain there isn't a sin called spinyanteaterism.  Even if we had gone for sloth I probably wouldn't have been thinking of sin anyway because I've got the 'Ice Age' video at home and the cheeky sloth in that is a dead friendly little fella and great craic altogether.  Those setters must have filthy minds if you ask me.  Alarm bells rung for a moment when Dutch plcs were mentioned but I soon relaxed when I remembered that the mail order company I deal with in Amsterdam is usually very discreet and use lots of plain brown paper.  I didn't hear any proper sins mentioned after that either with the obvious exception of 'Lust' but there was lots of that in the other rounds as well what with aristocratic women being thrice pleasured in big boots and smoking a Marlboro afterwards and of course the less than aristocratic Jordan being mentioned running around buck naked in the jungle being chased by the Sex Pistols singing 'Looked over Jordan and what did I see?  Coming for to carry me home'.  And then there was Fr. Allardyce (hasn't he got awful fat!) in a wet T-shirt competition surrounded by eleven half-naked footballers popping their corks at him - or was that on Channel 5 the night before?  Can't remember now.  But you see what I mean.  Sin is everywhere and there's no need to string me up just because I happened to miss the odd seven or eight."

Did Fr. Megson and his oblivious team enjoy the quiz?  "We certainly did ", they crooned in unison.  "A little bit of masochism never hurt anyone, as they say in VESPERS.  And the trip to eight seasides was a nice surprise.  We don't get many charabanc outings at our age.  Though my bones are aching a bit today after that part of the journey from St. Ives to Whitby.  I think the Histrionic Men enjoyed it too especially the bits about the racehorses and why wouldn't they with Sir Ivor himself sat in the middle of them."

As to what more intelligent teams thought of it - well, you would have to ask them.  But whatever everyone else thought - whether they loved it or loathed it - I think we should all club together and applaud the setters for the obvious thought, effort and ingenuity they put into it.

Fr. S.M.