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History Men tied with Albert
All square at the Red
 Mike
O'B was there...
What a strange quiz. The first half contained
some extremely challenging questions and an
imbalance that made it a good toss to lose.
The half time score of 17 to 13 told it as it was.
The second half was better except for the
unlikelihood of being able to match birth dates and
death dates of the people concerned in the answers
in the 'Regeneration' round. Even so we were 8
points behind at one point but did well enough in
the last couple of rounds to produce an exciting
result with Eveline getting a two on the very last
question to produce a tie. Stripe me, I would
rather have walked 8¼ miles from the Red Lion to
Wilmslow.
My having 218 new girlfriends continues to arouse
intense jealousy among the rest of the team.
How can I explain to them that Tania and Chardonnay
and the others find my repartee and stories of my
life in the Withington Quiz League so fascinating.
The History Men on the other hand were more
interested in meeting the Paddle who appears to have
the status of a minor legend these days.
Glamorous and dangerous French Jeanne
(R8/Q1)
 and
Ivor has his say
After our
walkover last week because our Stockport opponents
could not field a team there was no reprieve tonight
against the Albert. In fact last week we would have
been a bit short of players too and it continued
this week with Tim and Mike away on holiday (in quiz
season!!!), and Anne away organising her house
move. Fortunately David is back fully restored to
fitness and Anne’s niece Vanessa was our star player
tonight. Also on the team was my neighbour John in
his debut game with a blurt-free evening and a
magnificent two with the Magnificent Suleiman and
Lorenzo. Mrs C came to the rescue with QM
duties, but off to Abu Dhabi in five hours so
luckily all packed before her last minute
recruitment.
It’s a funny old game is
quizzing. Here we were 8 points ahead with 2 rounds
to go. We were even 3 points ahead with only two
questions left. But somehow it slipped away when the
specific Boris/Donald connection question (not a
very good question that really) was lost to a steal
and then it was Evelyn’s turn to be the heroine with
a two to level the match.
The Albert did not have to use
the Paddle of Rebuke tonight but as we had to
introduce John to the quirky nature of our quizzing
world it was displayed along with the black rat
stuffed with the Reykjavik sheep sounder souvenir
that travel with the Albert’s esteemed captain Mike.
John might be back next week to face the Prodigals
(I hope)…
Dangerous and glamorous Irish Lola
(R8/Q2)
Opsimaths lost to Bards
The Opsimath plunge continues as the Bards profit
at the Club
 Mike
Bath reports...
It
was nip and tuck throughout until falling a little
behind late on the Opsimaths needed one of their
trademark surges. They duly obliged and surged
to a deficit of 10 points. The Bards were good
value for their win and shouldn't be discounted as
outside contenders for the title as the season hots
up.
Hilary did a sterling job in the QM chair with quite
a lot of ambient noise to contend with. And
Howell bagged the 'answer of the week' award with
his surmise that 'Bald Eagle' was the male
equivalent to 'Cougar'. Amazingly I proved to
be the 'poptastic Opsimath with the mostest' as I
guessed both Hawkwind and Velvet Underground to
notch the points.
In the White House
when Perceval fell
(R1/Q1)
Electric
Pigs lost to Ethel Rodin
The Pigs lead throughout only to fall at the
final fence
 James
texts in...
The Pigs led all the way through but fell victim to
the medical questions near the end - unable to
answer the bariatric question correctly despite
having a (slim) player called Barry.
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KFD
lost to
Prodigals
The Prods take their imperious form to the
Griffin
 Not
for the first time Kieran uses football as a
metaphor...
Poch
shook his head for the tenth time as he gathered his
meagre mementos into the shoe box that had
generously been provided to smooth his departure.
Why? Just why had he taken any notice of that
eternally chirrupy Norwegian idiot? Oh, he was all
for listening to, and learning from, the experiences
of his fellow managers, those with an international
perspective even more so. But hell Norway weren't
even in the club and as for Wales! He crumpled
the photograph of the celebrity golf tournament and
tossed it into the wicker bin. If the new guy
wanted Gareth, well he could find him for himself.
"Just
keep doin' what you been doin' son" Ole had
prattled, "it's always worked before why change
anythin' now"? And he was gone, singing some
80's throwback about wheels and some random named
Fred, in his irritating faux Mancunian whine.
Well
it was too late now, he'd listened and not changed
one single thing. And his side had continued
to lose, game after game until it all became too
much for his masters. He took one last,
lingering look at the picture of Alan Gilzean. It
had inspired him in the bad times and this was the
darkest of dark hours. How he longed to take
Alan with him on whatever his new adventure was,
that he was absolutely sure was just around the
corner. Or the one after that. Or... his mind
drifted off. But it had been made as clear as it
possibly could that Alan would stay, forever, while
he needed to be off the premises within the hour or
he'd forfeit the manager's jacket that he'd insisted
be part of his severance deal.
Surely the answer to
Kieran’s KFD woes?
He
worried about his boys that he'd be leaving behind.
Would they get on with the new guy, would they be
appreciated? Would everything that he had built be
treasured and used as the foundation for a glorious
future? Well for a week or two yes, he was
sure of that, but then? Nah, there was no chance.
He'd pick up those he could once he got wherever he
was going. Maybe back to Barcelona? He'd been happy
there. He certainly wasn't going to Southampton,
except maybe to catch a ferry somewhere, anywhere.
Or maybe he'd go all the way back to Argentina and
introduce quizzing to the gauchos. But he
hadn't been that popular there since that little sh*t
Owen had conned a penalty out of him in Sapporo.
As he
scooped the artisan cheese menu and the photograph
of the fantastically spacious new trophy room into
his shoe box (his complimentary Tunnel Club
membership card had been deactivated earlier in the
day) he sensed a malign presence behind him. A
chill ran down his spine and he had just about
summoned the courage to turn round when his Nokia
3210 (very generously he'd been allowed to keep it)
spluttered to life. He could just make out the
legend 'Jose calling' on the screen. "Jose?
Jose is that you?"
"Lolz,
lolz, lolz, lolz, loser!" The phone went dead.
It
was definitely his old nemesis, He'd recognise that
cackle anywhere. But if that was Jose on the phone
then who was filling him with dread just behind his
back? Michael? No he had a good life in
Madrid, he'd never give that up to come back to some
clapped out team years past its sell by.
There
was only one possibility. Someone who'd been part of
the great days, who could bring that feel good
factor with him and who wouldn't baulk at leaving
Essex behind for a week or two at least. Poch
turned round and sure enough he was right.
Antony?????????????????
“…nobody ever tells me where I’ve been” - t he
divine Eleanora Fagan
(R7/Q7)
Mantis
Shrimp beat Turing Testers
The Shrimp power home in the 'University
Challenge' showdown
 James
Counts us Down...
After last week's sojourn to Stockport, we headed
back to the comforts of the Parrs Wood Hotel. We've
quizzed with some of the Turing Testers for a while
now, so we were well aware, going into the game, of
how good the league's newest team are. And
indeed, they took an early lead. However,
Round 2 played much more to our strengths. We won it
9-1 and it proved to be decisive, as we managed to
retain the gap and slightly extend it towards the
end. The Turing Testers are a lovely bunch, and all
in all it was a very convivial night's quizzing,
superbly QMed by John from the Charas. After the
quiz had finished, I found out about John's Anthony
Trollope expertise, and he gave me some advice on
which of Trollope's works to start with. So it
was a productive night in more ways than one!
In 10 Downing Street when Lincoln fell
(R1/Q2)
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Cradle of Humanity
(R2/Q7)
Quiz
paper set by...
...The Charabancs of Fire
Average
Aggregate score 70.8
A
tough paper with an average aggregate 6 points below
the season's par. Plenty to relish though in
the range of subjects. It did take some time
to navigate and at the Club it was nearer 11pm than
10.30pm by the time we'd got through to the final
pair (the second half proved much quicker than the
first; at half time we feared a post-11 finish).
To me
the use of the internet's Urban Dictionary to source
questions seems flawed and personally I would avoid
it. Whenever I've come across this
e-dictionary I've never heard of the word in
question or the definition, and suspect most is
either made up or American city slang that even most
Americans wouldn't recognise.
And
(on Nick's behalf) it would have been better to
leave the 'Snow leopard' question until later in the
'weathery' round. Nick agonised for a while
and dragged up the answer 'leopard' but was marked
down (harsh but fair). Later in the round the
theme would have been established and he would
probably have said 'Snow leopard'.
so
what did Ivor think?...
Usual
good range of questions with perhaps occasional
uneven pairing and, although a tad difficult in the
first half, a combined score of 72 and fairly even
split of twos, unanswereds and steals. The fish
connection theme was spotted early enough by Vanessa
for John to retrieve Tony Roche but the
'Regeneration' round should probably have been an
announced theme (and even then the theme would have
been of little help).
and
Ethel's James...
Nine unanswered overall, mainly in the first half -
especially Round 3 which had 2 to each team.
Some unbalanced pairs such as Mme Pompadour and Lola
Montez, Madison and Palmerston, and Natalie Evans
and Kier Starmer. The fish round was probably
the best of the set. The 'Regeneration' round
wasn't a bad idea - but would perhaps have been
better as an announced theme.
Lord Asriel's Daemon
(R2/Q1)
and Shrimp James...
I thought it was a quiz packed with very interesting
questions and ideas! The two teams found it tough
going in the first half; scores were 18-10 at the
half-way stage, with lots of passes and long
conferences. (though that is probably as much, if
not more, the fault of the teams). The pace
definitely quickened in the second half. And, as
ever with a quiz from the Charas, the paper was
filled with humour and panache throughout.
There were very few poor questions, far outnumbered
by the very good ones! The variety of
questions was great too.
In terms of question of the week, I'm torn between
the one on the 'Valle Aelium' and that concerning
the only person to appear on the front and back of a
US banknote.
Question of the Week
This week the vote goes to Round 7 Question 5...
Who is the only person to feature on both the
front and on the back of a USA currency note?
For the answer to this and all the week's other
questions click
here.
The 'front and back' President
(R7/Q5)
...and
also
Weekly Match reporting
I usually wobble home from the quiz nearer to
midnight than 11pm and it is helpful if I have at
least the match scores so that I can update the
website Fixtures and League Table pages before I go
to bed; so please text me a score (if nothing else)
as soon as your match is over. Most
frustrating for me are the odd occasions when I get
a match report fairly soon after the match has
concluded but the correspondent has forgotten to
include the actual score.
Text reports on games are great but don't worry if
you haven't the time. The usual convention is
for the winning team to send in something about the
evening. I try and wrap up the match reports
on the Home page by about 10am on Thursday if I can.
If you have comments on the evening's question paper
(and maybe a nomination for 'Question of the Week')
do remember that some of your colleagues have
sweated extra time the previous week to try and
create something of beauty for you to enjoy.
Constructive feedback should always be welcome but
silence can be pretty eloquent too.
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