Withington Pub Quiz League - quizbiz 03/11/10

As ever SPW are riding high - more interestingly Ethel and the Prodigals are in hot pursuit

Results & Match Reports

Ethel Rodin stonked away to a comprehensive victory over Compulsory Meat Raffle on their second visit to the notorious Stadium of Murk.

Electric Pigs slipped up badly at home to the Opsimaths who might just be returning to last season's form.

SPW only just kept their 100% record intact in a fiercely fought contest at the Griffin against the Charabancs - apparently all 3 results were possible until the penultimate question. According to Damian a fight nearly erupted when Martin accused Fr M and his team of losing their bottle whenever they played SPW. "Dropped my bottle - well yes. But I've never lost it retorted the quizzical cleric!".

Prodigals got the better of TMTCH in a relatively close encounter at the Albert Club.

Calluna Pussycats are looking forward to leaving the Albert Club after 5 consecutive defeats - the latest being at the hands of Albert. Mary writes in particularly to thank the Pussies' QM (Karen) for finding the International Brigade's flag on her iphone at the half time break.

Quiz Paper Verdict

This week's paper was set by The Bards of Didsbury. In my view full marks to the Bards for an entertaining and (at least in our case) a high scoring paper. At the Fletcher Moss there was a general thumbs up though Gerry was irked by there being 2 Shakespeare questions going to the Pigs in one of the paired rounds whilst in the same round the Opsimaths only got one Shakespeare question. On another note Gerry commented on the number of themed rounds these days where only part of the theme phrase appears in the answer. The Le Carré book title round this evening was a case in point. Maybe this can lead to the linkage getting a bit obscure but as long as the key word from (say) a book title is chosen then I think it's OK. The problem with being too prescriptive on how to execute a themed round is that it gets really difficult to find a theme that can be used that hasn't been done before.

Kieran comments:

"Loads of points on offer and some well worked themes although there were a couple of telegraphed pairs. We loved the sheer front of introducing a Eurovision Song Contest round via The Aryan Brotherhood (of Man - which we are thinking should be our team name next year)."

....and from the Swan James' verdict:

"Despite the slow start, we thought the quiz was a good 'un. It's easier to criticise tough questions than to praise the good ones. However, we enjoyed the Le Carré round and a good number of the pairs were well chosen. Often in the past there has been a great question followed by a dud - this quiz seemed fair across the board. As a medical type, I was a little perplexed by the onomatopoeic borborygmy. I was looking for a diagnosis rather than something dredged up from a medical student's handbook... (Sorry Tony, I'm sure we've set some rubbish law questions for you in the past!)."

....and from the Griffin Damian's tuppennyworth:

"We thought the Bards' efforts were generally quite good despite a rather obvious pairing here and there (Iranian and Libyan embassies anyone?) but we enjoyed the themes, especially the Westerns and John Le Carré varieties. Well done!"

....and Pussycat Graham's PS:

"What was Gardeners Question Time called in the North in 1947?"

....and finally Mary from the Albert:

"Thought the paper was OK but perhaps a bit reliant on some topics - Shakespeare and a year in the life of being the main culprits. Two contenders for question of the week. Pussycats liked the R7 question about tummy rumbling - we were all amazed to discover this was a medical condition."

The Question of the Week

This week the Prodigals get the choice and they have gone for Round 4 Question 3:

In 1939 whom did Adolf Hitler call "the most dangerous woman in Europe"?

For the answer to this and all the week's questions click here.

Chatterbox

Clive (the Prodigal) and myself (the Opsimath) have agreed to put our fixture next week back to Thursday so that poor Dave Rainford and Anne-Marie can watch some local association football match on the telly. Of course we disapprove of this tinkering with the time-honoured traditions of WithQuiz but we have been forced by our colleagues - some of whom are a good deal younger and - frankly - less respectful of traditions than we are. So could correspondents next week please refrain from sending me post-match comments on Wednesday evening/Thursday morning that might give away any of the questions/answers. Kieran, could you please not send me the question paper until Thursday late on or Friday morning? Thanks. Come on you Blues.