Withington Pub Quiz League - quizbiz 28/04/05

Results & Match Reports

FCEK won a thrilling match at the Albert Club just pipping the Opsimaths on the last pair. It's so nice to see the underdogs win now and again isn't it - so well done FCEK!!

Meanwhile the indomitable History Men (just beat 'em and they pop up again the next round) finally lost AND got knocked out by the titan Fingers. Kieran writes:

"Absolutely cracking quiz down to the last pair between the top two teams in the league - so tense all evening that we couldn't possibly nominate a question of the week but we enjoyed the whole thing"

Ivor writes:

"The magic of the Cup! How else can one account for the fact that despite losing all our cup games we find ourselves in the semi-final (and lose again but not by too much) - and the fact that this year's league whipping boys qualify for the semis by winning all of theirs by handsome margins. Our semi against FF was an excellent match. Although we were 4 points behind after round 1 we got back to 32 each going into the last round and FF edged home by 2 points. A moderately tough quiz (11 zero questions) but that's what we expected at this stage of the tournament and there were lots of interesting questions along the way.
Roz did the honours as QM (many thanks) so we know who set which rounds - though we have been playing long enough to spot the different styles and interests of Ethel members - as, indeed, we can with many of the other league setters. Harold Wilson's first cabinet post is a classic Roddy question and the battle of Killiekrankie could only be a Roz question. Anyway we are now definitely out and in fact that is our second longest sequence of losses in our three years in the league/cup. Roll on the start of the new season. We shall be keeping in training at Frankie's quiz in the Crown on Tuesday nights during the close season.
Hope your right jaw settled as quickly as my left jaw."

If you're a bit baffled by Ivor's last remark let me explain...

I met Ivor at the dentist yesterday morning. As Gerry quipped later in the day, in reference to the History Men's achievements in previous campaigns, he was probably having his Plate removed.

Following on from this reference to the long-lost Plate competition, I have received a plea from X-Pat Brennand to return to a simpler Cup and Plate format next year where knocking out means just that - except in the first round when it means relegation to the Plate competition. Gary please note.

And so to the final next week between the Fingers and FCEK. It is scheduled for the Griffin but may take place on neutral territory at the Albert Club - watch this space. In case you thought you'd finally got rid of the History Men, well they have one last hurrah - they will be setting the final paper.

The week after, as I'm sure you know, we will celebrate with an end-of-season gala evening at the Albert Club. A friendly social quiz is being prepared by the Great Gerry Hennessy. Cups and shields are being polished. Be there or be square.

Quiz Paper Verdict

This week the setters were the Ethel Rodin. As you can see above it was a first rate paper. Relatively high-scoring, evenly matched and plenty of interest. The only question that left us a bit nonplussed (and I gather from chatting to Kieran that it wasn't overly popular at the Griffin) was the one about John Peel and his doggies (Round 2 Q4). A bit too many cryptic layers for our liking. No points were scored by either team on this one. Otherwise excellent. Many thanks!!

The Question of the Week

QotW has been nominated by yours truly this week. My vote goes to Round 5 Question 4:

A city which became its country's seat of government in 1868 has a name that translates as 'eastern capital'. The former capital's name translates as 'western capital'. Name both cities.?

Click here to see the answers to this and the rest of the week's questions and answers.

Chatterbox

TEAM NAMES

Oh, and one final thing, Ethel.........

Have you thought of a new name next season? I have run your letters through an internet anagram engine stipulating no more than 2 words with at least 3 letters in each and got the following 123 pairs back

INHERED LOT - THERED OLIN - THERED LOIN -THERED LION - ELIDE NORTH
ELIDE THORN - REINED HOLT - NEREID HOLT - DENIER HOLT - DONEE THIRL
REDONE HILT - DOREEN HILT - ENDER THIOL - ENDER LITHO - REED HILTON
REDE HILTON - DEER HILTON - HED RETINOL - DELHI NOTRE - DELHI TRONE
DELHI TENOR - DELHI TONER - DELHI NOTER - HINDER TOLE - HINTED LORE
HINTED ROLE - HIRED ELTON - HIRED LENTO - HIDER ELTON - HIDER LENTO
DITHER ENOL - DITHER LONE - DITHER LEON - DITHER NOEL - EDITH LOREN
EDITH LONER - HELD TONIER - HELD ORIENT - HOLDEN TIRE - HOLDEN RITE
HOLDEN TIER - HOLED NITRE - HOLED NITER - HOLED TRINE - HOLED INTER
HOLED INERT - HOLDER TINE - HOLDER NITE - THOLED RIEN - THOLED REIN
HONED TILER - HONED LITRE - HONED LITER - HORNED TILE - RHODE INLET
RHODE INTEL - HORDE INLET - HORDE INTEL - HERD ENTOIL - IDLE THRONE
IDLE HORNET - DIEL THRONE - DIEL HORNET - LIED THRONE - LIED HORNET
DELI THRONE - DELI HORNET - LINED THROE - LINED OTHER - LEONID RHET
INDOLE RHET - TENDRIL HOE - TRINDLE HOE - DENTIL HERO - DENTIL HOER
TOILED HERN - TILDE HERON - TILDE HONER - TILED HERON - TILED HONER
DINE THOLER - ENID THOLER - DINER HOTEL - DINER THOLE - DINER HELOT
DINER THEOL - TINDER HOLE - DIRE ETHNOL - REID ETHNOL - RIDE ETHNOL
OLDEN THEIR - ELDON THEIR - LODEN THEIR - DOLE HINTER - DOLE THINER
LODE HINTER - LODE THINER - OLDER THINE - NODE HITLER - DONE HITLER
DRONE LITHE - DENT HOLIER - TEND HOLIER - RED NEOLITH - THIRD LEONE
HOLD ENTIER - HOLD TRIENE - HOLD ENTIRE - THOD LIERNE - THOD RELINE
LID THEREON - LIND HERETO - LIND HETERO - IDOL NETHER - LIDO NETHER
OLD THEREIN - OLD NEITHER - TOLD HEREIN - TOLD INHERE - DOLT HEREIN
DOLT INHERE - LTD HEROINE - ROD THEELIN

Some good 'uns there.

Fr Megson

Wrestling with my conscience - and the cat

The other evening after work I was wrestling with the cat for squatting rights on the sofa when Danny, my stepson, burst in and demanded to know who I would be voting for in the General Election.

"What General Election?" I started to ask before realising that, as the founding member of an esteemed quiz team, I shouldn't really have to confer on a question like this.

"Labour," I muttered enthusiastically.

"But you don't even like Tony Blair", protested Danny.

"Yes, there is that", I conceded, "but I don't like anybody else either and anyway I'm a natural born Socialist so it would be class treason not to vote for Labour like wot I've always done....

Yes, Danny, I know that Labour is no longer a Socialist party but you are missing the point. No Danny, I'm not losing my temper, but Jesus wept, you're doing bloody politics for bloody 'A' levels so the least I expect is that you might be intelligent enough to follow the cogency of my superior argument? Now go away and practice your iPod 'cos I'm busy trying to listen to THE ARCHERS. And it wouldn't do YOU any harm to listen to intelligent worthwhile programmes once in a while".

Danny's a good lad really but, like most young people today, he refuses to grasp the complexities of being a tired old git.

Many hours later when I woke up (with the cat snoozing contentedly on my chest), I got to thinking. Maybe I should vote for somebody else. But who? The Greens sound like a nice bunch but they might feel inclined to put a tax on unreconstructed neanderthals like me whose idea of a nice dinner is steak and chips with lots of salt and hold the salad.

The BNP are running, as well I know, 'cos I saw their Party Political Broadcast the other evening. I hadn't meant to watch it but I was sleeping with the cat on the sofa and it was on when I woke up. They seem very sweet and caring. They were singing a lovely English folksong à la Ralph Mc Tell all about a misunderstood young lad who was forced to become a nutter on the streets of London 'cos when he was off fighting those racist Argies loads of gay black Albanians with turbans and Irish accents took over his bedroom and brutalised his teddy bear. I felt very sorry for the nutter and for his teddy but all the same......I'd be worried that they were only pretending to be sweet and caring and when they finally got into power they might start shooting everybody that wasn't born in Basingstoke.

I was getting desperate now. What about Charlie Kennedy? Seems like a nice bloke. He looks reassuringly like a human wreck and he's got an accent that baffles Sassenachs so we would have a lot in common. And yet..... Lib Dem.... doesn't sound very macho does it? Not the type of party that could take care of itself if it got into a fracas outside the Pack Horse in Levenshulme on a Saturday night. Nah, sorry Chas.

Then I leapt up with a brainwave (much to the annoyance of the cat). Why shouldn't WITHQUIZ put foward its own candidate? I would be prepared to nominate Mike Bath for P.M. if any of you lot would second him. I really think he would appeal to the Great British public. He's clever but not too clever. He's good at communicating - he's got his own website for Chrissakes! He's about the right age - not baby-faced like that Hague tosser a few years ago but not as old as the Pope either. And he looks nice and avuncular. I think he would look ever so wholesome kissing babies and pets. Though we would probably have to airbrush out the pint of beer and the packet of pork scratchings if we want the pictures to appear on the front page of the Guardian.

We'll need a name of course. The Bath'ist Party sounds good but I think it has been used before by a friend of George Galloway's. The Liberal Opsimaths has got a nice ring to it but we don't want to alienate the large percentage of the electorate who don't own a dictionary. The Friends of the Electric Pigs Party? You're being fcekin stupid now.

I'm not very good at manifestos. Perhaps Ivor could run us one up when he gets back from the pub. Keep it simple Ivor. Something along the lines of:

"If elected we promise to get rid of the rat race. We will achieve this by forcing all the successful people in British society to take all society's losers out every Wednesday evening and buy them a pint."

Yes, I know it sounds a bit too much like ragged-trousered Socialism but it might just work. And at least we would finally be spared the excruciating embarrassment of having to don a bloody red nose every time we feel like helping those worse off than ourselves.

Sheamus McGuevara

(Fr. Megson is unwell - he fell into a coma when I mentioned the word "Socialist" - let's hope he stays there)