We were always behind in this game and never looked as if we would catch a Charabancs team who appear to be hitting form again. It looks as if our season highlight will be defeating the Bards. Since then we have won nothing. Perhaps our luck will change next week - when we play the Bards!
This week, however, we had a fun outing to the Turnpike. How could it be otherwise with the Charas, cheap alcohol (even cheaper for me as I didn’t buy a round) and the usual high quality, inventive test from TMTCH?  The evening was only spoilt by news of Everton’s dismal performance.

whilst Damian's view......

The Charas first appearance of 2012 saw us continue our upturn with a third win on the trot. Who knows, at this rate we might even finish mid-table? Those strange visitations to Father M's presbytery on Christmas Eve to savour the Spirits of Quizzes Past, Present and Future have obviously had some effect - or maybe someone has been spiking our eggnog a little too liberally. Either way it seems to be working.......for now!

Electric Pigs were well behind from the start and never recovered, going down by 20 points to the Opsimaths who notched an impressive 49 points equalling their previous best score of the season.

Compulsory Meat Raffle were defeated by Ethel Rodin despite enjoying a 17-13 lead at half time.

The Prodigals lost at home to the Smoke Fairies in a jolly affair at the Albert Club. What's more - courtesy of the Club's big screen - Kieran and David were able to savour the delights of seeing Barry's team slipping up at Newcastle. Well we all support United don't we? Anne-Marie reports in for the Prodigals with yet more news of a Hammond playing away:

A good quiz to start the new year. Despite a very promising Prodigals debut by the third generation of the Hammond family (Tony’s grandson Tom) we were soundly beaten by I Blame Smoke Fairies, or, as Stella, our excellent  QM, kept calling them, The Smoking Fairies.

This week's paper was set by The Men They Couldn't Hang. First reactions are, as ever with The Men's papers, full of admiration.  The phrase 'work of art' has crossed a few lips when summing up

Dave's efforts and tonight's chef d'oeuvre was no exception.   Lengthy - yes.  Boring - certainly not.  This was a paper that kept you enthralled right up to the final theme penny-dropping half way through Round 8.  Only negative vibe to date is from the Smoke Fairies who apparently have had their fill of Dickens over the Christmas break.  Well - bah humbug to them!

...and the praise continued when the Charabancs and Historymen reported in:

From Ivor....

The questions were beautifully crafted and embossed with throwaway facts like diamonds on a Faberge egg - for instance Rembrandt painted himself in a boat as an extra apostle.  The themes were cunning and mischievously hidden (certainly the Dickens one passed the Historymen by - though, sadly, not the Charas).

and from an only slightly less enthusiastic Damian...

We enjoyed the Hangmen's questions.  A well-crafted, if somewhat wordy, mixture of the the fascinating and the obscure.  The themes were all well worked out and - with some effort - we got them all eventually.  Indeed without having worked out the theme I wouldn't have got the original name for the Pantheon sussed.  I am not much of a fan of themed rounds - as you may have guessed by now - but tonight they came up trumps. (Ed: What a card you are Damian!!).

This week I'm going for one that came my way, and earned me two points from a guess made possible by a cleverly worded question.  It appeared as Round 7 Question 6: