Results & Match Reports

• Electric Pigs notched a most impressive 50 point score in trouncing Snoopy's Friends and thus revived their flagging season

• X-Pats, also on the up, had a convincing home victory over Albert Park

• History Men climbed back to second spot beating Albert in a close run match

• Ethel Rodin kept their quiet rise up the table going, pipping Stumped by a couple of points

• and last but not least, Brains of Oak came closest to doing what nobody else has yet done this season - they led all the way up to the last round and then got edged out by the all-conquering Fifth Finger by just 2 points

Quiz Paper Verdict

St Caths set this week and general feedback was very favourable.  The scores were pretty high and where I was QMing (Brains v Finger at the Oak) everybody enjoyed the paper.  Only slight niggles were a sense that the pairing was a bit lopsided (e.g. both Dad's Army questions seemed to end up with the same team) and a feeling that the Diner's Club card was a Charge Card rather a Credit Card (Round 8 Q3).  History Man Ivor also commented on this last point.  But no real gripes - a cracking evening's entertainment. 

For more debate and comment on question paper styles go to the 'perfect quiz paper' page.  Do email me if you have some thoughts of your own on this subject that you would like to add to the page.

And while on this subject a note and a request from John Tolan (Ethel R):

"Recent chat about the format of a 'perfect paper' reminds me that many years ago the Gerbils (Liz Barber and I, to be precise) set a paper which consisted entirely of a huge general knowledge crossword.  While not claiming perfection for that paper, I would be curious to know if anyone remembers it and what their reaction was at the time....and would also be very pleased if anyone kept a copy, since my original workings have been mislaid."

The average aggregate score this week was 75.0.  Actual aggregates varied from 80 (Brains/Finger) to 68 (X-Pats/Albert Park).

The Question of the Week

Fifth Finger collectively voted Round 4 Q5 as 'Question of the Week':

Who said "All the art in the world isn't worth a good potato pie"?

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

Chatterbox

Thursdays?

You may recall that we had a vote at the end of last season on changing from Wednesday to Thursday evenings as our regular match day.  It was a close run thing but Wednesdays just won the vote.  Chatting to the teams at the Oak this week there was a feeling that the groundswell for Thursdays has increased and that we need to have another vote.  I don't see us changing in mid league season but how about changing to Thursdays as an experiment for the cup matches (especially if there is local interest in the later stages of the European Champions Cup)?  Can we use the website as a sounding board for this issue?  I'll publish any feedback I get.

Blast from the past

Some of you may recall John Holden of blessed Amboss memory.  Well he's spotted the website and has written in:

"Dear WPQL,

I played for Amboss until about 1995/6, and loved every minute.  After that, evening work meant that I could only play on Thursdays, so I've been playing for the Chunky in the Stockport league since then.

I am hopeless with faces and names, but looking at your picture gallery, I am amazed to see so many familiar people, particularly our main rivals the Braggarts, each of whom I recognise, eight years on.

I can add two comments about the near-brawl with them :-

One was that an RNLI film show was blasting out in the same room as the quiz, so we were shouting our heads off even before Tom gave us all an even better reason for doing so.

The other was that Tom heroically declared war on BOTH teams, Braggarts for reasons best left alone, and Amboss for perceived disloyalty.

Playing with Tom was a rollercoaster ride, but fabulously entertaining at the time, and even more so in hindsight.

I thought that lurid night would be lost in the mists of time, so it was nice to discover your (long-overdue) website, and then find that you had hit on the very thing that made our 'reputation'.

Best wishes

John Holden"

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.

Approaches from the Beeb

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"

....and did you, like me, get an email from a certain Jayme Saffer at the Beeb?