Albert lost to Opsimaths

Prodigals lost to Dunkin' Dönitz

James was on hand to report on events at the sepulchral Red....

"We really enjoy playing the History people; it always seems to conjure up one of the more entertaining evenings of the season.  Everybody made it to the Red Lion in good time, despite the Arctic conditions.  The snow ensured an unusually quiet venue tonight - and apart from the rounds that weren’t ‘pick your own’ it was a close run affair.

Mike O'B kept his paddle well hidden (until the end when it was photographed and sent to the absent Ashton as some sort of warning).  Mark went haring for the Never Mind the Buzzcocks category in Rounds 4 and 5, and (like the rest of us) was stumped by the 'time of birth question' though later he did get the 'Chattanooga Choo-Choo' question bob on including the number of the platform for good measure.

"Well that was different.  After three weeks of nail-biters decided on the last question we come up with our biggest win, and highest points score, of the season.  We led from beginning to end and extended the points gap over our hosts inexorably.  No sudden surge of points in a round particularly to our liking, in fact the whole quiz was right up our street.  Martin said he couldn't remember when he'd last played a paper where he knew so many of the answers and, when one of the league's top polymaths is having that sort of evening, there's only ever going to be one result.  He crowned a masterful performance by knowing that Oldham Athletic was once Pine Villa, the turning point of the match.  I mean really who knows that sort of stuff?  We even managed the 'pick your own' subject rounds well with Barry cleaning up on science, David on pop and Martin on classical music.  Just one of those nights. 

And so to the top scoring match of the evening at the Turnpike where the two local teams were pitted against each other.  The form sheet eventually got it right as second-placed Compulsory Mantis Shrimp defeated eighth-placed Charabancs of Fire - but it was one helluva' a points-fest along the way.

Rachael tells us one side of the tale....

"After a thrilling evening at the Turnpike we finished an extremely close fought match three points in front.  The Charabancs pulled ahead to a one point lead after the first round and we remained within a point or two of each other all night, ending Round 4 on a tied scoreline.  We took a slim lead at the start of the second half that we were just able to cling on to.  Our opponents were on top form and provided some inspired answers."

The phrase 'one of the best papers this season' kept coming up in the reports.  When there is such unanimity it probably means it was the best.  Varied in format and content, well-balanced and concise without ever being boring.  And great scores too with a massive aggregate of 87 points in the Turnpike derby.

Only one real controversy in our match and that was the question about Cinque Ports.  If you look at the Wikipedia page it starts by naming the same 5 places as were given in the paper, but then goes on to mention other places in Kent and East Sussex that 'joined the Confederation' - especially when New Romney got silted up and unable to act as a port.  Best keep off Cinque Ports I would have thought.

Kieran has this to add....

"The quiz took little more than an hour which was just as well since the snow delayed our arrival until around 8.45.  But we were done well before 10.00 so compliments to the Pigs for brevity and accessibility.  And also for an 80+ aggregate points paper with only six unanswereds, perfectly evenly split three each."

....and Rachael this....

"We all thought this was an excellent quiz with plenty of variety, just challenging enough to make it interesting without any really unfair or frustrating questions.

Probably our favourite paper of the season so far.  I think the high scoring and closeness of the scoreline between the two teams are testament to the fairness of the paper.  A lot of us liked the 'Up the Junction' question even though we all failed to listen to it properly, thus preventing us from giving the actual time of birth rather than the time they set off to hospital!"

....and Damian this....

"As the scores indicate, we thought tonight's paper from the Electric Pigs was one of the best papers of the season with plenty of finely judged themed, paired and (what can only bring joy to a Chara's heart) Bingo 'choose your subject' rounds.  I counted only 3 unanswered questions which broke 2-1 to the Shrimpers.  Chara John was our star turn of the night notching up 4 twos but all of us scored at least one which meant we all qualified for next week's quiz (which is just as well as Father M is still busy desperately trying to avoid the perils of defenestration at the hands of the sceptical inhabitants of Prague).

There were a number of possibilities from us for QotW but consensus seemed to opt for the question from 'The Greats' round concerning which light heavyweight gold medallist of the 1960 Rome Olympics participated in a 1975 meeting with the Ku Klux Klan to advocate the benefits of racial segregation.

RotW we allocated to the 'Gold, Silver and Bronze' themed round but, in our opinion, nuggets of gold could be found everywhere in this quiz!"

....and Ivor this....

"The Electric Pigs served up a well received quiz with plenty of point scoring opportunities, very few unanswereds (5) and not too many arguments.  Cinque ports questions are a bit dodgy as names changed over the years and we had to google to see if Aurelian was the same emperor as Marcus Aurelius (he wasn’t).  We managed to work out the themes pretty quickly which is always a help - even the Olympic Medal conundrum.  The Electric Pigs might well be this season’s whipping boys in the league table but once again they have not disappointed in the setting contest."

....and finally James this....

"The Pigs rose to the occasion with what we found to be one of the top few quizzes of the season so far. 

A very good quiz paper.  We often fear rounds on Coventry-based pop bands when the Pigs set, but tonight, a solid and interesting set of questions with only 5 unanswered and, of those, only one dodgy question (always check that the Cinque Ports aren’t actually cinq plus un; both teams offering Rye and each of the other correct answers).

....and the Dave Barras Question of the Week award this week has been nominated by The Charabancs of Fire and goes to Round 3 (the 'Greats' round) Question 1:

Who spoke to a Ku Klux Klan rally in 1975 calling for racial segregation?  He is better known for his sporting achievements which include the Light Heavyweight gold at the 1960 Olympics.

"Dear Mike

Good to hear from you after all these years!  Yes I am the Rod Riesco who was married to Val and, of course, I remember you well from the Albert, Crown etc.

Thanks for the kind invite to the 40th birthday event and if I can get there I will.  I now live in Horwich with my present wife Sue (we married in 1994, I moved to Horwich the year before).  I'm still working as a freelance translator and think about retiring from time to time, but haven't quite managed it yet.

I haven't done much quizzing for a while apart from joining in an occasional local quiz evening, and entering Brain of Britain in 2012-13 where I got as far as the semi-final before being knocked out by two vastly superior players (including an Egghead).  These days I mostly confine myself to watching University Challenge and barking out answers at Paxman (which are often wrong).

Anyway if I can get along on the 28th March it will be good to see you and any other survivors of the 1980s & 90s Withington quiz scene.

My son Chris is now living in Didsbury and he might be interested in attending the event especially if his mother is being remembered there (he also participates in occasional local quizzes and has won a few free drinks etc. over the years).  Would it be all right if he came along as well?

Meanwhile I hope all is well with you and your family and I look forward to meeting up again.

Best wishes, Rod

P.S. The website is great! Very entertaining."