The Alexandra in their second WIST Champions final (they were runners up to our own SPW in the 2009/10 season) lost to WIST Final 'virgins', The Opsimaths, who thereby completed a memorable season's double of the WIST Champions Cup and the WithQuiz League Shield.  Since they became regular challengers for the WithQuiz league title a few years back The Opsimaths have always slipped up in the earlier stages of the WIST competition.  Well not this season!  Their victory by 22 points was sealed in the first two Stockport-style rounds as they forged ahead to an 18-point lead.  As so often in this competition the Stockport-style rounds seem to prove the undoing of the Stockport teams.  Odd that!

The atmosphere in the back lounge of the Albert Club was highly convivial, as ever, with the Alex foursome accepting their lot gracefully.  Well pretty much the same team did walk off with the wine in the Albert Club monthly Monday night quiz just two days previously so the week's quizzing hasn't all been bad news for our friends from across the river.

The History Men lifted their first inter-league trophy by beating last season's A-Trophy victors, The Prodigals, in the all-WithQuiz final staged in the main lounge of the Albert Club.  Ivor sums up....

"It might only be the equivalent of the Europa Cup but it is so long since we have been on the honours board that we are grateful for any silverware.

In the comfort of the main lounge we had a most enjoyable evening with Stella giving a stellar performance in the QM seat.  The game was very close in the first half - 23-23 after Round 1 then 31-29 to us after Round 2.  We only motored ahead with the Withquiz-style rounds.  The Prodigals fielded an all-male team (which does not often happen), but, as it included half the Glennon tribe and Ed and Dave, they were not going to go down without a good friendly fight.  Sadly for them our lone lady Anne was in sparkling form."

This week the paper was set on behalf of the Stockport League by Ashton Davies.

Another excellent paper from Ashton who is proving to be one of our best setters.  The average aggregate was exactly 100 points, a good 11 points better than Ashton's earlier WIST paper back in November.  I arrived late at the Club so was unable to gauge the standard for myself, but after the matches all four teams had nothing but praise for the breadth and inventiveness of the paper.  Egghead Dave's summing up was "Great paper - we were beaten by a better team."

The Alex team did bemoan the lack of science questions but this was a small point against their overall praise for the standard of entertainment the questions offered.

Similarly Ivor's feedback is pretty positive....

"Excellent set of questions and despite being a single setter (Ashton) the full range of human knowledge from extreme ironing to strange flags was featured.  The answer to the Mount Everest question proved most interesting, and, despite its implausibility, there was no argument from Dave on the grounds that the setter would have checked everything and must know something we do not (perhaps there is another Mount Everest very close to the capital that has replaced Rangoon).  Apart from that quibble there was plenty to interest us.  Who would have thought Honduras do so well in football World Cups, or that Shrek has a name derived from Yiddish?  Even the 'Pick Your Own Subject' round, which often catches us out, did not fail to please tonight.  To have the Rock question asking a Rock question about a Rock was rather droll.... and the Kings and Queens question had William Rufus as an answer!  William was not only  'unmarrried' but, were it writing his obituary today, the Daily Telegraph would  have discreetly summed him up by saying 'he never married'."

This week I have selected Round 2 Question 8: 

Which Grand National winner was named after owner Tommy Barron's grandchildren - Timothy, Nicola, David and Alastair?