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29th March 2017

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Due to diary clashes at the Albert Club the End of Season function has had to be put back by a week from May 17th to May 24th.  I'm really sorry about this.  I do hope this is sufficient advance notice not to cause too much disruption.

MIKE

Great to welcome The Men back to the field of play at The Turnpike

The league season ends with wins for The Albert, The Opsimaths and The Shrimps, but defeat for our League Champions, the Dunkers, emphasising just how close a contest it's become of late

The top 4 in the final table are:

  1. Dunkin' Dönitz (32pts - score difference 159)

  2. Opsimaths (28pts - score difference 89)

  3. Albert (26pts - score difference 124)

  4. Compulsory Mantis Shrimp (26pts - score difference 50)

The Results

Ethel Rodin lost to Compulsory Mantis Shrimp at the Red Lion.

It's been a season of great improvement for the Shrimps advancing from 7th place in the table at the end of last season to 4th in the table this season.  Indeed for much of the time it seemed that they could go all the way and win the crown if only the Dunkers were to slip up.  Rachael has seen her squad expand to include others keen to take on the WithQuiz challenge - in particular James and Tom - and they are welcome and very able additions to our quizzing scene.

Rachael sends this report....

"After an enjoyable evening at the Red Lion we ended a high-scoring evening with a solid victory.  There were plenty of two-pointers and very few questions went unanswered.  On the downside the Shrimps discovered that their Keith Chegwin knowledge is lamentable!"

Furthermore Rachael threw down an invite to the Bards, Albert or Ethel to meet the Shrimps in a friendly next Wednesday since all these teams have a bye in the first round of the Val Draper Cup.  So if you want to play a practice match with the fantastic Opsimaths paper (I know because I have already sent my questions into Brian) then just text or email Rachael!

 

The Charabancs of Fire beat The Men They Couldn't Hang at the Turnpike.  Everyone's glad to see the Men back at the quizzing table albeit without the famous pencil tin (which John Dennison tells me has been inherited by Chalkers, the Sett Valley team Dave used to play for).

First a few words from Graham....

"An absolute pleasure to share the last fixture of the season in the 'West Wing' of the Turnpike with the Charas enjoying much talk of Il Capitano Dave Barras and a lot of happy memories.  I'm sure Dave would have been happy with our 42-21 defeat, and I'm certain he would have enjoyed Roisin's apparently intimate knowledge of Dion Dublin's appendage.  I cannot believe that Lord Carrington is still alive.  Best regards, Katie Boyle."

....and some more from Chara Damian....

"However nice it was to finish the season proper with a win, it wasn't half as nice as being able to welcome Graham and the lads back to the quiz fold following the tragic loss of their leading light.  I'm sure dear Dave was looking down with approval from that big quiz venue in the sky.  Hopefully they will continue gracing us with their presence in seasons to come and helping to keep Dave's memory alive for all of us in WithQuiz for whom he was such a vivid and unforgettable presence!"

 

Dunkin' Dönitz lost to Albert in a high-scoring end of season thriller at the Griffin.  With this result Albert confirm their third place in the table (they finished third behind the Opsimaths last season as well).  They are clearly 'knocking on the door' of the League title.  Perhaps next season....  Mike O'B sends this account....

"This was a very good paper which produced an exciting quiz in which the lead changed hands several times but never by more than 2 or 3 points until the very end.  The Albert team greatly enjoyed the question involving the comparison with 2 cans of Stella.  Didn't one of Megson's numerous Molls describe a similar experience, but using a Watney's Party 7 as a point of reference.  Perhaps the worthy cleric could enlighten us.   All in all it was a fitting end to the League season in which the standard is rising."

 

The Prodigals just pipped The Bards of Didsbury at the post.  Bard Mike H sends this report....

"Tonight's quiz was very good.  Ivor, chief question-setter, was in attendance to relish the reaction.  A very close match in which the Bards scored more twos but the Prods more steals.  The Bards led at first, lost the lead in Round 3, got the lead back in Round 7, but eventually lost by one point.  Sarah was the pick of the Bards with the most two-pointers, but she says that if she had been braver and gone for a further two-pointer on one she was fairly sure she knew the Bards would have won.  All in all, an exciting and enjoyable quiz with no excessively complicated questions - and only 9 (I think) unanswered questions."

 

The Electric Pigs lost to The Opsimaths at the Fletcher Moss.  Andrew QMed and conducted affairs as if it were a fast-moving council meeting with the Labour group shooing business through on the nod.  Four Rounds done and dusted and still just about 9pm.  Then the 'Complete the List' Round 5 came along and it was just as if the one-man Liberal Democrat opposition had woken up to slow everything down with questions, repetitions and deviations.  Round 5 took as long as Rounds 1 to 4 to complete and after that it was slow-going.  Still since I was 'on the bench' for this one I was able to use the hiatuses to quiz Andrew about goings on at the Town Hall.  It seems the Pankhurst statue project is progressing very satisfactorily with the choice of statue design due to take place shortly under the watchful eye of Emmeline's great-granddaughter Helen.  The statue will be positioned on the far side of St Peter's Square (on the right as you come in by tram from Didsbury).

Anyway back to the quiz, and in the end it was a comfortable victory for the Opsimaths to consolidate their position as runners up in the league.  The Pigs haven't fared so well results-wise this year although they do have a good squad to call on - one of whom, Gerry Hennessy, the Grand Old Man of South Manchester quizzing, I'm pleased to report, was playing.  Young Tom will be away next season on his travels so maybe a new 'young' face can be recruited to keep their youth policy on track.

After the match Gerry and I chatted about the fact that next season is the 40th anniversary for WithQuiz (or the Withington and District Quiz League as I think it used to be known).  Some form of celebration seems to be in order (though we're not ones for excessively organised affairs).  My thoughts are that the Wednesday before Christmas should be put aside for just such a celebratory evening and we should do our damnedest to get former WithQuiz stars back for the do.  Perhaps a smallish quiz with the emphasis on fun and reminiscence rather than quizzing prowess and plenty of beer and chat.  What do you think?

The Paper

This week the paper was set by The History Men.

A great paper to finish the league season off.  Plenty of points on offer and an average aggregate just above the season's overall average aggregate of 72.4.  A hefty quotient of political questions for a change (I've come to expect a fair dose of politics from Ethel's papers - I can just hear Lucy and James concocting them late at night the week before Ethel are due to set - but not so many from other setters these days).  Also a good belly laugh at the expense of the aptly named Dion Dublin.  As a retired gent I have occasionally noticed Homes Under the Hammer trudging along on daytime TV in the corner of the kitchen.  I assume it enjoyed that name before Dion joined the list of presenters - perhaps they knew he was coming.  I think I'd better move on....

So many thanks to Ivor and his engineers for furnishing an enjoyable end of season evening out.

This was how the rest of you reacted....

From Damian....

"Relegated to the quieter confines of the Turnpike's vault where the only obvious hazard is trying to avoid being struck in the head by a dart whilst en route to the bar and back, we were treated to a welcome paper from our fellow veterans, the Historymen.  I say 'welcome' because they seem to be one of the few remaining teams in the league who continue to speak our language quiz-wise and so we usually tend to fare very well whenever its their turn to set.  Tonight proved to be no exception.  With  a varied assortment of questions on popes, herbs, Max Bygraves and oversized male genitalia, this was surely a paper that, to air that well-worn quiz cliché, 'had something for everyone'! Ribald Question of the Week (have we had one of those before?): The identity of the Manchester United player whose impressive 'manhood' apparently prompted the admiration of Sir Alex Ferguson.  Fellow Chara Roisin was particularly excited by that one (I think she meant the question) and immediately went for a two and then proceeded to explain, to our general amusement, 'that it had come up before'.  We all knew what she meant (we think).

....and from Rachael....

"We all enjoyed the paper which offered a wide range of subjects and a plethora of interesting facts.  A number of two-pointers were scored and very few questions went unanswered."

Question of the Week

This week (in direct contravention to everybody else's preference for Dion Dublin) I have chosen the one about the Spice Girls (though amazingly 97 year-old Lord Carrington ran them a very close second).  So it's Round 8 Question 4:

Why did the Spice Girls sing a rewritten version of Manfred Mann's hit 5-4-3-2-1 as 1-2-3-4-5 on Easter Sunday 1997?

For all this week's questions and answers click here.