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WITHQUIZ The Withington Pub Quiz League QUIZBIZ 29th March 2017 |
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| WQ Archive | Comments | Question papers | |||
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WITHQUIZ The Withington Pub Quiz League QUIZBIZ 29th March 2017 |
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| WQ Archive | Comments | Question papers | |||
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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 |
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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:
Dunkin' Dönitz
(32pts - score difference 159)
Opsimaths
(28pts - score difference 89)
Albert
(26pts - score difference 124)
Compulsory Mantis Shrimp
(26pts - score difference
50) |
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The Results |
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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
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
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? |
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The Paper |
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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 ....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." |
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Question of the Week |
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For all this week's questions and answers click here. |
Ethel Rodin lost to Compulsory Mantis
Shrimp at the Red Lion.
famous pencil tin (which John Dennison
tells me has been inherited by Chalkers, the Sett
Valley team Dave used to play for).
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."
This week the paper was set by The
History Men.
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). 
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: