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WIST Champions Cup Semi Finals
Prodigals beat Ethel Rodin
A close encounter sees the Prods retain their 100% record - just
 James
enjoys himself despite not quite holing on the final green
We really
enjoyed this match. Despite continuing our losing streak, Team
Rodin did feel a lot better about this quiz - we were competitive
pretty much all the way through, and went into the final round only
one point behind. We generally didn’t have to worry about
wrong seat syndrome - and most of our educated guesses were on
target. We kept up with the excellent Prodigals team and it
felt as though we did give them a game, when our recent form
suggests we could have been completely battered. Michael was
at a wedding "…. in the capital city named after a fictional
character with the catchphrase 'just one more thing'" so tonight we
were Roddy, Rob, Greg and me.
Roddy delivered a few great answers
to prove he still has his mojo. His immediate two points for
the obscure (and apparently undeserved) poet laureate, Alfred
Austin, particularly springs to mind.
As for the paper the first 15 pairs were well
balanced and covered a wide range of topics. Once we had
worked out the theme in Round 2, it allowed more freedom for
educated guessing. Alas, none of us in ER are in the target
audience for Elizabeth Arden perfume, so that one passed us by.
I can’t remember many unanswered questions - even though a lot of
the quiz did seem quite tough. Only one slight shocker - the
dog question in the Chinese new year round was a bit of a mongrel in
the pack, but luckily neither team had chosen that one.
Ms Bookbinder
(R1/Sp1)
Oh, and Slammin’ Sammy Snead. I have no great interest in golf, but have always
enjoyed the US Masters. As well as the stunning beauty of the
course, it’s usually the weekend spring seems to arrive here in the
UK - even if our own azaleas and rhododendrons need a few more weeks
to reach their prime. And so for many years, I remember watching the
‘legendary 3-time winner’ of the tournament, Sam Snead, being rolled
out in his green jacket, year after year, (and in the latter years,
literally rolled out) to hit the honorary opening shot…. and then
retire gracefully.
Over the years, and as he reached his late 80s,
his literal and metaphorical drive gradually diminished: 200m, 170,
120, 70, 30 - until by the end it really wasn’t worth the effort… but
still he would be there, like Groundhog Day, a fine American
tradition. None of the efforts I ever watched could be described as slammin’ anything, but I always thought, well, once upon a time he
must have been very good. And it turns out he really, really was. ‘In the hole,
Tiger!!’
We are setting next week, and then,
the week after, we seem destined to further extend our barren streak
by playing tonight’s opponents in the league.
Three Time's Champion
(R1/Q25)
 John
is Tooting about Beck
As
it was the night's only match, we welcomed distinguished visitors.
Opsis Mike and Brian and History Man Ivor watched on from the Albert
Club's luxurious royal box.
I'm
more of an impressionist than a pointillist when it comes to keeping
track of a quiz while it's in progress, so my account of how things
went is based on vibes rather than detailed knowledge of the
scoring. My strong impression this time is that one flash of
genius won it for us in the written round. We had Beck as a
plausible answer for the first question but couldn't make it fit the
obvious London Underground theme - until Jimmy realised that Harry
Beck designed the iconic map. Get in!
The
advantage we gained there was preserved for the rest of the night
thanks to Anne-Marie's omniscience on athletics, and Richard and
Jimmy's film and music knowledge. My main contribution was
remembering which place with too many 'L's in its name lies close to
Horseshoe Falls. The Ethel team looked like overtaking us on a
couple of rounds, but never quite nudged ahead. The Final
Beck-ons.
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James' Slam Dunk
(R6/Tiger)
 Mike
sees Ethel fall and rise, only for The Prods to sneak home
No problem, mate! Just look at the league table. The
Prods will mop them up in no time flat. Er, I beg your pardon.
No way! Ethel (James, Rob, Greg and a welcome return for Roddy)
oh so nearly upset the 100% Prods (Richard, John, Anne-Marie and
Jimmy). But for a couple of steals on the final round Ethel
may well have been contesting the final on May 7th. As it was
the cookie crumbled the other way and The Prods eased home.
Great match, officiated by the ever delightful Stella and spectated
by Brian, Ivor and myself from corner seats in the window.
So what! There's been a Bath bypass for years
(R2/Q4)
The paper was taxing from the start but never short of interest.
In particular I thought the first 'Stockport-style' round, which can
often be a bit mechanical in its rhythm, was absorbing with lots of
material and hints that frequently pushed the 30-second limit to the
full. The Prods did well on that - and on the written round
but then flagged as Ethel came haring back in the WithQuiz-style
rounds.
All told a most enjoyable evening between two interesting teams who
filled the post match chat with anecdotes and laughs. James
spilled the beans from the 'Corridors of Power' whilst I was able to
delight Jimmy by telling him that I had bought my 2024 Christmas tree from Steve Hanley, legendary bass guitarist
of The
Fall.
Where everyday is Christmas Day
(R4/FF)
The Alexandra beat KFD
Alex win handsomely to put the first Stockport team into
the final since 2022
 Mike's
on a mission to banish the hurt
We
went into our semi-final against four-time winners and 'European
royalty' KFD as underdogs, so the margin of our victory left us not
a little surprised. If an example of a game of two halves were
ever needed, then this was it. The first round was drawn after
we got our noses in front, only to be pegged back on the last couple
of questions. KFD's late twigging of the theme also saw the written
round shared ten apiece, so 30-30 at half-time. The WithQuiz
format saw everything fall into place for us and we produced our
best performance in the 18 year history of the competition. We
scored on every question but one, which fittingly was our last of
the night. We got our 'batting order' spot on and scored
plenty of twos; in the last round I even had the luxury of turning
down a full house to ensure that we got the one point needed to
guarantee victory.
We're already looking forward to May's final against the Prodigals,
when we'll be looking to end the Stockport League's '8 years of
hurt'.
Victorian poet known to quizzers and pretty well nobody else
(R4/AA)
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Quiz paper set by...
...
Stockport (Alice Walker)
Average Aggregate score
104.5
A cracking paper from
Alice on behalf of the Stockport League. As I've already said
above, the Stockport-style Round 1 was unusually crunchy with plenty
to ponder - and the deployment of 'Beck' in Round 2 a nicely
curved ball.
What's more when
Alice moved onto foreign turf with the WithQuiz-style rounds she got
the hardness and the balance just right. Many thanks, Alice,
for a most enjoyable evening (x 2).
Nessie's stronghold
(R1/Q29)
...
and what was John's verdict ...
The
quiz itself was thoughtfully set with just the right level of
difficulty. Best of all, it was completed at a rapid pace
thanks to the Stockport format and QM Stella's strict but fair
officiating.
Wearing these can be Hazzardous!
(R3/Q7)
...
in the same vein James remarked ...
We really enjoyed this match, and it was a
very strong paper. Quite tough in parts, but well balanced - and
interesting and challenging for both teams. It was
particularly impressive given that it was set by just one person -
although I suppose that does reduce randomness, and allows more
careful crafting.
Welsh Falls
(R6/Horse)
...
and finally Mike W with Alex's view ...
As
mentioned by others this was a great paper by Alice; a perfect level
of difficulty and pleasantly devoid of 'never heard of
him/her/it/them' moments. The Stockport format questions were well
balanced, with both teams getting 4 unanswerables; the WithQuiz
rounds were also done well, with accessible themes and plenty of
opportunity for scoring. Only 4 out of 32 questions went
unanswered. Greg Spiller, who has very kindly offered to set
the questions for the final, has a hard act to follow. Thanks
Alice.
1936: Time there was a Woman of the Year
(R1/Q6)
Question of the Week This week
victorious semi-finalists, The Alex, have opted for Round 1 Question
9 ...
At the age of ten, the poet Lord Byron became the 6th Baron Byron of
where?
For the answer to this and all the week's other
questions click
here.
Monty's Mighty Mouse
(R6/Rat)
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