Withington Pub Quiz League - quizbiz 20/02/13

An all WithQuiz WIST Cup Final as the Smoke Fairies and the Bards sail through

Results & Match Reports

Chunky suffered badly on the Stockport style Rounds 1 and 2 - to such an extent that their recovery on the WithQuiz style second half was not enough to get them back on terms with the treble-seeking Smoke Fairies. The match took place in the legendary Pineapple which is (almost) underneath the arches on the way into central Stockport from Didsbury. Although decorum in the quiz room was perfect it all kicked off in the Gents where broken glass, blood and a locked cubicle meant that the Ladies or crossed legs were the best options. As ever Chunky were perfect hosts despite not being quite their usual all-conquering selves. I think the Only Connect Wall threw them more than it did the Fairies.

The Bards scored an emphatic victory over The History Men at the Cricket Club meaning that May's WIST Cup Final will be an all-WithQuiz affair. Ivor - ever the graceful loser (well not always, sometimes he's a graceful winner) reports....

"The Bards were on top form tonight and won every format of the game. We wish them well in the final. As always a friendly match with Eric and Dominic in the QM/timekeeper chairs not being at all officious.

The 'Connect' round proved a bit tricky for us (though not the Bards) and we did get off to a losing start when a certain Historyman (well, woman actually) spotted 'blow job' rather than 'blow torch' as the missing member of the quartet. The final round was quite evil in that only 8 subjects were available which rather diminished the choice for the seat 4 players. Left with 'prisons' and 'twitter' I at least had the satisfaction (in a game well lost) of not only depriving Tony of a 2 pointer but also condemning him to a question involving pop singers and new social communication technology!"

Quiz Paper Verdict

This week the paper was compiled by The Stockport League. It was an enjoyable canter through all sorts of avenues of knowledge but is most likely to be remembered for the first sighting in either league of the famous Only Connect wall. Mike Wagstaffe of The Alexandria who'd set the paper took the bold step of devoting the Stockport style written round (Round 2) to asking both teams to unscramble a 4 by 5 Wall.

At The Pineapple (where I went for the evening) there was a slight debate about how to apply Stockport's written round comparative scoring process - what to do when one team had an answer half right (i.e. right words in the row but wrong reason, or vice versa) and the other team had the answer totally right - or totally wrong. However the process of solving the wall was enjoyed by everyone (I think). General opinion was that 8 minutes would have been better than 6 minutes as a time limit - but there certainly had to be some sort of time limit. Martin suggested that we try out an Only Connect wall round in WithQuiz Cup matches later in the season. Good idea. What do the rest of you think? I can hear Mike Heale turning in his grave right now!

Rounds 5 and 6 were respectively a Blockbuster and a 'Pick Your Own Subject' round but there were no handout sheets which made it a bit harder for the QM and the teams to administer. Just a small point for the future.

Oh, and one final thought...the groundswell for Fr Megson to be white-smoked into the Vatican is spreading. When Stockport hear about things AND set a quiz round dedicated to the subject, well there's almost nothing to stop him!!

The Question of the Week

This week Chunky and the Fairies both plumped for the delightful piece of trivia locked up in Round 4 Question 5:

Approximately 30% of the liqueur Bénédictine consumed in Britain is drunk in which Lancashire town and surrounding area? The town’s miners’ social club is thought to be the largest outlet in the world and the drink’s popularity probably originates from World War I, when soldiers from local regiments acquired the taste whilst serving in France?

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