Report on the Pairs Quiz

Bridge Club, Monday, 2nd February, 2009

On the evening of the day when the country was shivering under the worst snowfall for almost two decades, the hardy quizzers of Grimsby made their way through the persistent rain to the two venues of Bridge Club, Bargate, Grimsby and R.A.F.A. Club, Cleethorpes for the annual joust of the twosomes.

This was the first round with 16 entries having to be whittled down to 8 to contest the semi-final in early Spring and I was in attendance at Bargate, with partner Geoff North, to see if we could repeat our feat of last year, when we progressed in the favoured few to a less than glorious exit in the semis.

I must point out that we enjoyed a start of 18 points - 3 points per player per division - and this should have been a real benefit against two first division players but we were slaughtered, nevertheless, by the brilliant combination of Andrew Hunter of Surplus Rowdies and Alan Bentley of Nemesis.

These stars inevitably qualified at the end of the night but, following victories in our other two encounters, so did we! The pairs to step up from the other league were Denis Brown and Pete Gardner from Nemesis and the holders - the Rasen duo of Ian Welham and his brother-in-law, Dave Shaw.

The very last game of the night was an exciting affair featuring Denis and Pete against those canny team-mates, Peter Sinclair and Andy Alcock of R.A.F.A. Dipsos. The score stood at 27-22 in favour of the Dipsos couple at the close of the penultimate Round 4. The Nemesis men went for broke and invoked the rule that, in Rounds 2 and 5, a team may nominate one player to answer both questions and, should he answer both correctly, then a bonus of 3 points is awarded. Denis Brown was nominated and delivered the goods- and a tie at 31-31!

A very enjoyable event again and I am certain that the non-qualifiers - Mal White and John Wood of Swats, Sue and Rod Mitchell of Imps, Alan Pilcher and Graham Jackson of Time Out and the aforementioned R.A.F.A. Dipsos pairing all had a good time.

Yep! - Ed. 8-)

A Few of the Questions.

ANSWERS

[ Run the mouse cursor over the space beside each number to reveal the answer. ]

Harry Buck

Report on Apostles v Surplus Rowdies

Bridge Club, Monday, 12th January, 2009

This was the first League fixture following the annual Christmas holiday and Brendan’s men, in a creditable third spot, were looking to start the second half of the season with a bang by inflicting a first reverse upon the league leaders and reigning Division 1 champions.

They started well and kept pace in the early rounds but Rowdies gradually pulled away and ended comfortable winners at the close of an enjoyable contest by the slightly flattering margin of 105-83.

They had their top squad on duty with skipper Ian and able lieutenants Andrew, Pete and Nick. Apostles were short of the perennial Mary but paraded Terry Brown, for a rare appearance, together with Keith and Peter Hardisty who was their undoubted star on the night.

He answered 9 out of 10 of his own questions and most of the conferred ones too in a performance which scarcely deserved to be part of a losing effort!

A sample of the teasers.

* The follow-up, All the Lost Souls, is good too. (Okay, I'm a Fan Girl, so sue me! Ed.)

ANSWERS

[ Run the mouse cursor over the space beside each number to reveal the answer. ]

Harry Buck

Full Results from The Table Quiz

Bird’s Eye Club, Ladysmith Road, Tuesday, 2nd December, 2008

Report on Nemesis v. Swats,

Bridge Club Monday, 8th December, 2008

With Christmas fast approaching, this Division 1 contest was expected to be a real battle between two outstanding teams, but the non-appearance of the redoubtable Geoff Swanney gave his fellow Swats too much to do, although they went down fighting and were only 5 points in arrears as half-time arrived at 41-46.

The talented Nemesis pulled away to a final success of 99-86 to keep Surplus Rowdies within their sights. Every member of the team of the Goddess of Retribution had an important input but Denis Brown shone out with a maximum 10 out of 10.

Their other star, Alan Bentley, was almost as successful, while skipper Peter Gardner and John fully contributed to the high tally. The three musketeers of Swats, captain Malc White, Mike Mahoney and the ever-chatty Steve Denton strove valiantly to make up for the loss of Geoff (how I love yer, how I love yer, my dear old) Swanney but had to accept defeat gracefully.

Steve did say that he would tell Geoff that, even though absent in the flesh, he had still picked some terrible numbers!

The only Questions to stump everyone.

ANSWERS

[ Run the mouse cursor over the space beside each number to reveal the answer. ]

Harry Buck

Report on The Table Quiz

Bird’s Eye Club, Ladysmith Road, Tuesday, 2nd December, 2008

This is the annual junket to which all teams are invited. There are awards for the winners of each Division of the League and the quiz features 8 rounds on various “themes”. There is the opportunity to play a “joker” in just one of the rounds and there is a certain skill in deciding which round is likely to be the best one to choose in order to double the team’s score for that round.

There is a pronounced difference between league quizzes and table quizzes in that all of one’s squad can play and every player is able to fully participate. This year there were also two “potboilers”, including a picture quiz, for players to work on for part of the proceedings. The picture which fooled most was an early snap of Robert Mugabe.

The turnout this year was very pleasing in that 13 teams took part and, allowing for the question setters, Surplus Rowdies, this meant that only 6 teams failed to show- possibly the best attendance ever. Division 1 had 4 out of 7, Division 2 paraded 3 out of 7 but all 6 attended from the basement, Division 3.

The winners were:-

The setting of the questions poses enormous problems in a table quiz, where the players are of unequal standard, but the men of Rowdies, Andrew Hunter, Peter Daniel and Question Master Ian Townsend did a great job and there were very few complaints. All- in- all a very enjoyable prelude to the festive season!

Guest report.
Yes, your webmistress has hijacked Harry's Page again...

Your Starter for Ten?

Andrew Hunter and Rodney Mitchell have been working their socks off again to enhance your quizzing fun. Last night, we gave it a trial run which worked out very successfully - at least it did once the wiring had been de-kinked. ;-)

We now have a working buzzer system - or rather, a Hallelujah Chorus system {BG} - and Andrew had put together a tantalizing collection of questions to put it to the test. The guinea pigs were Andy and Pete from R.A.F.A. Dypsos plus the R.A.F.A. club's own hero, Dave, on the one side, and Ian of Rasen with Rod and myself on the other. Ian gave us the team name, WImps, based on his initial and Imps... (I'm saying nothing.)

We played two matches. The first one used only buzzer questions and the second used the 'University Challenge' format of a starter question followed by three conferred questions.

The WIimps won the first match handsomely, largely thanks to Andy. Being a hotshot on the buzzer, he kept buzzing in before the end of the question. However... Some of the questions had a twist in the tail that could initially mislead you into thinking that the answer was a book title, when the required answer was in fact the author's name. This resulted in points being deducted. So thanks, Andy! 8-)

The R.A.F.A. crew got their revenge in the second match, soundly trouncing the WImps. Sometimes buzzing in early works, especially when it's followed by a crack at another three questions.

This entertaining evening got the thumbs-up all round and, as a result, there are plans afoot to run a similar quiz in the February half-term break next year. The proposed competition will be looking for eight teams to take part in a knock-out tournament on the 'University Challenge' format. Matches will last about twenty minutes, with a longer final.

Grateful thanks to Andrew and Rod for their hard work. Much appreciated! 8-)

Sue Mitchell

PREVIEW OF THE NEW SEASON 2008/2009

The new season is due to begin on Monday, 29th September and the League will still be comprised of three divisions. Recent trends have seen a gradual erosion of participants from about 85 to just 19 last season but, at long last, we have an increase- to 20!

Pond Life have rejoined under the captaincy of the stalwart Mick Cavanagh, who has "moved across the floor of the House" to take up a new challenge away from the top tier with R.A.F.A. Dipsos.

It has become customary for me to stick out the ancient old neck and make some wild shots in the dark as to who may be up for honours:-

Division 1

This is usually the easiest to call, with Surplus Rowdies the undoubted stars, but they only narrowly sneaked home last season, by just 2 points over Swats, who will be itching to go one better this time.

R.A.F.A. Dipsos may struggle to come to terms with the loss of Mick Cavanagh to mount a serious challenge, but Serendipity, with the very able Alan Bentley, must surely give it a much better go than last years effort, which they must hope was just a temporary blip. Nemesis, if Denis Brown and Pete Gardner find their form, could also be in the final frame.

Division 2

The question here is "Will the talented Rasen team, strongly skippered by Ian Welham, finally clinch a place in the top division?" Their only serious rivals would appear to be Imps, who see-saw between the top two divisions with amazing regularity. Magic Robots could also pose a threat.

Division 3

This is difficult to predict but I expect Pond Life and Blocks to be the front runners with Quizlings and Somnambulists possibly making a run on the rails and Simple Minds wrestling with Bux Kwiz for ownership of the Wooden Spoon!

Harry Buck

STOP PRESS

Alan Bentley is to appear for Nemesis in the coming season. I was, of course, not aware of this but it certainly means that Nemesis could put in a really strong challenge to Rowdies' supremacy now!

Harry

« Le Crunch »

SURPLUS ROWDIES v. SWATS

Bridge Club 14th April, 2008

On the 96th anniversary of the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic, Swats went down to a big defeat at the hands of Rowdies - league leaders for the whole of the season in Division 1 and worthy winners, once again, with Ian Townsend at the helm and Pete Daniel, Andrew Hunter and Nick Stanton as his faithful lieutenants. A team of all-stars indeed but, on this night, the man who stood out, even in this high firmament of knowledge, was Nick, who answered correctly to each of his ten questions- a rare feat!

This match was the cruncher to decide the title and it was level-pegging till Round 4 . Rowdies ended this at 43-30 and their gallant foes then found the mountain too difficult to scale, finally succumbing 105-84, after a fine set of questions from Paul Garnett of Simple Minds, assisted by the lovely Liz Snell.

Another good-humoured encounter, given the tenseness of the situation, and Swats stars were captained to good effect by the genial Malc White and his crew of the affable Mike Mahoney, the laughable Steve Denton and that impossible eccentric, Geoff Swanney! All good men and true who admitted that they were delighted to finish as runners-up to such a great side.

Pieces of Pauls Pertinent Posers

ANSWERS

[ Run the mouse cursor over the space beside each number to reveal the answer. ]

Harry Buck

League: End of Season Report

All three divisions of the League have been decided and all in the same week! The most sensational finish came in Division 3. It appeared that Belligerent Fools needed merely to avoid defeat to pip Time Out to the title.

Time Out, having a lead on points difference on "Fools" of 8 points, had lost their final game to Two Wits by 10, so "Fools" then led by a mere 2 going into their finale against Simple Minds - already certain of the Wooden Spoon.

Then the barely credible occurred - Simple Minds triumphed for only the second time this season but by the margin of 1 point. This meant that Belligerent Fools became champions by the most slender margin possible - 1 point on points difference (+53 to +52 for Time Out)!

Has any side ever been denied so unluckily? Graham Jacksons men have all our sympathy. At least they will gain promotion as Runners-up.

Division 2 was decided by Minders' victory over Woodentops, which meant that Apostles could not catch them, but, again, Brendans aces will return to the top flight as Runners-up.

Surplus Rowdies duly clinched the top division crown by defeating Swats in a winner-take-all final shoot-out. (See following report above).

Teams definitely relegated:-

From Division 1: Imps and Magic Robots

From Division 2: Blocks and Somnambulists

Harry Buck

SURPLUS ROWDIES v. R.A.F.A. DIPSOS

RAFA Club, Monday, 7th April

When the fixtures were first drawn up, it was expected that this match near the season's end would provide the usual close result with the winners probably ending as champions. Dipsos have, however, suffered an unusually poor season and came into this encounter having lost half of their ten fixtures.

Their opponents had just the one loss on the record and victory would have provided them with the Division 1 title. But Dipsos, aided by Lady Luck as to the way the questions fell, dispatched their old foes 108 - 88. How often have Rowdies been defeated by 20 points? They trailed by 53 - 47 at the half-time break but lost the second half 55 - 41.

Andy, Pete, Mick and Steve rose to the occasion for Dipsos, while Rowdies went down with all their big guns slightly misfiring for once. Ian, Pete, Andrew and Nick had to take it on the chin and must now avoid defeat by their only other challengers, Swats, in their last match at the Bridge Club next Monday, 14th April. The fixture list could not have worked it out any better!

Questions that stumped everyone

ANSWERS

[ Run the mouse cursor over the space beside each number to reveal the answer. ]

Harry Buck

Report on the Individual Semi-Finals

The semi-finals of the Leagues two Individual Competitions took place at the RAFA Club on Thursday, 3rd April. The line-ups:-

Individual Trophy (Open to all)

Ian Townsend (Surplus Rowdies) v. Andrew Hunter (Surplus Rowdies)

...Geoff Swanney (Swats) v. Alan Bentley (Serendipity)

Ian chose to take the hot seat and scored a creditable 8 from a toughish 15 posers set by Malcolm Towle, but he faced the severest test against Mastermind contestant, Andrew, his team mate, and Andrew prevailed with an excellent score of 11.

Geoff stepped up first in the other game but found Sheila Mercers questions not much to his taste and stumbled to just 5 points. This was never going to be enough against the all-round knowledge of Alan, who qualified for the Final with 9.

Individual Shield (Division 2 and 3 players only)

.......... Ian Welham (Rasen) v. Sue Fytche (Quizlings)

Bill Mercer Quizlings) v. Dave Shaw (Rasen)

The first match promised to be a clash of the Titans - Ian with his vast cache of knowledge against Sue, the only person to have won the trophy twice. Ian kicked off and produced the first-ever full house - all 15 correct!

Sue was still capable of matching this but, amazingly, could not remember the answer to the very first question and the match was over with 14 questions still to go! She only failed once more and bowed out valiantly with 13 points.

The other game was closer still with Bill Mercer, often a bridesmaid, never the bride (i.e. never in the Final) setting the standard with 11. Dave then emulated Sue by failing on the first question but came back strongly to pip the gallant Bill by just 1, with 12 points.

So the Final for the Gwyneth Welham Trophy will be contested by her son and her son-in-law. It is also contested between two players from the same team! That has only happened once before when Graham Jackson and Alan Pilcher of Time Out appeared against each other a few years ago.

A Few Questions

* These are the only questions not answered correctly by Sue Fytche.

ANSWERS

[ Run the mouse cursor over the space beside each number to reveal the answer. ]

Harry Buck

TEAM K.O. ROUND 2
Belligerent Fools v Quizlings

This tie, to decide who progressed to the Quarter Finals, was played on the same evening as Grimsby Towns vital Morecambe game, so the thoughts of some were elsewhere.

Quizlings were hardly sanguine as to their chances, having already been defeated by the Fools in both League fixtures. They were also conceding a start of 9 points on handicap and short of the services of Sue Fytche, current holder of the Individual Shield and they played mainly second fiddle until, in Round 5, they outscored their foes by 12 to 2 and half-time arrived with Quizlings just one point adrift at 55-54.

Then they proceeded to rip their opponents apart in the second- half to end with a stunning victory at 107-85, having totted up a superb 53 points in the second phase. They were brilliantly served by Alan, Bill, Dave and Joe while brave in in defeat were Trevor, John, Rob and Dave for the Belligerents.

Questions scoring No points for either side

ANSWERS

[ Run the mouse cursor over the space beside each number to reveal the answer. ]

Harry Buck

* For the artistically minded among you, fresh from the Louvre in Paris, we present:

La Grande Odalisque
by
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres

Just trying to raise the tone a little - Ed. ;-)

APOSTLES v. MINDERS

The outcome of this match on Monday, 25th February seemed to be crucial as to the destination of the Division 2 Championship, with only 3 fixtures remaining and just a solitary point separating these stalwarts.

I went along to the Bridge Club anticipating a nail-biter and was not disappointed. The League Leaders, Minders, started as favourites. They were missing the services of Geoff Turner and Dick Birtles but had recruited none other than Bill Meek, a man even more ancient than your correspondent and who has played a few Quizzes in his time!

He was engulfed by the charms of Tree, Olive and Chris, and Apostles certainly had an uphill struggle. Half-time saw an advantage of 46-41 to "Billy- new- mates" but the Apostles, led stoically by legal eagle Brendan, leveled the scores at 59-all at the close of Round 7, in which they managed 14 points to Minders' 2.

The 8th Round ended 68-67 to Minders, who then edged away to a final triumph at 90-86.

Apostles had handed out a scare to the leaders and Brendans crew of Keith, Pete and Mary are to be congratulated on their performance, considering the presence of the Titan Meek! Bob Potter of Serendipity set the questions and fully contributed to a good-humoured affair.

A few of Bobs Posers

ANSWERS

[ Run the mouse cursor over the space beside each number to reveal the answer. ]

Harry Buck

The Pairs Competition 2007-8

The first Round of this popular event took place on Monday, 11th February at two venues - the Bridge Club, where Andrew Hunter was officiating and also taking part, and the R.A.F.A. Club, where Malcolm Towle was in charge and he too was also participating, with Yvonne Lickerish.

I was partnered by my Bux Kwiz team-mate Geoff North at the Bridge Club and there was very stiff opposition at Bargate, including reigning champs Sue and Rod Mitchell, the aforesaid Andrew Hunter, this year playing with the equally formidable Alan Bentley of Serendipity and the tried and tested duo of Andy Alcock and his R.A.F.A. Dipsos colleague, Steve Pycroft.

The other worthy pairings were Alan Pilcher and Graham Jackson of Time Out, Prue Whincup and Jim Webster from Somnambulists and the Belligerent Fools combination of Trevor Church and John, standing in for Dave Ricketts.

At the end of an interesting session, the reigning champs had been dethroned. After the Mitchells had given Geoff and I the "mother and father" of a trouncing, we slaughtered them in the re-match without the need of the handicap and qualified for the Semi-Finals on points.

I should point out here that each player receives 3 points start per Division, so we had 18 to kick-off with (being near-imbeciles from Division 3). Our opening foray, against Andy and Steve, resulted in a win for us by 22-21, having scored a measly 4 points against their 15! The decider was the last question - to Andy - "Which is the only town on the Scilly Isles?" They failed to answer and I got it - Hughtown-only because I had once stayed there!

They "murdered" us in the rematch to join us in the Semis with Andrew and Alan and Alan and Graham. This is an enjoyable format and it may be worth exploring the possibility of introducing a Pairs League - after all, the gradual erosion of teams of four does cause several long breaks between games.

Just a Taste of the Questions

ANSWERS

[ Run the mouse cursor over the space beside each number to reveal the answer. ]

Harry Buck

SIMPLE MINDS v BUX KWIZ

RAFA Club 4th February 2008

For much of this Division 3 clash, it appeared that Simple Minds might gain their first points of the season and Bux only pulled away in the last two rounds of a highly enjoyable contest which Ian Welham of Rasen conducted with efficiency and good humour.

If Simple Minds were concerned about their strong prospects of securing the wooden spoon then it hardly showed and Paul, their one thorn among the roses, displayed his own notorious blend of sarcasm punctuated by flashes of knowledge.

He was ably assisted by Liz, Denise and long-serving League Treasurer Sheila Mercer, making a rare but very welcome appearance. Sheilas in her 33rd year as the Leagues first and only custodian of the lolly and all players should be grateful to her for the immense contribution she has made to their enjoyment over such a span.

The eventual winners were served by Mike, Tim, Geoff and Harry but the real victor of the night was the good fellowship that comes from two teams intent on passing the time away happily in pleasant company- and to hell with the result!

The biggest laugh came when Question Master Ian posed Which is the only non pee-faying University As someone remarked-Good job he didnt ask about Friar Tuck!

A few of Ians Questions

ANSWERS

[ Run the mouse cursor over the space beside each number to reveal the answer. ]

Harry Buck

Report on the First and Quarter Final Rounds
Individual Shield 2007-8

The original draw for this competition, open to all Quiz League players in teams competing in Divisions 2 and 3, had four games in the First Round and, with Jim Webster, Prue Whincup, Graham Jackson and Dave Shaw having the benefit of byes, four in the Quarter Final.

In the event, 3 players had to forfeit, leaving just one tie to be decided in the opening round, Ian Welham of Rasen taking on a previous champion, Alan Pilcher of Time Out and it could not have been closer- Ian edging out his foe 12-11.

Quarter Finals Results

No player has ever scored maximum 15 in this competition but evergreen Bill Mercer looked to have that particular record in his pocket until he stumbled over the name of the artist who had a hit with "Little Arrows". He even knew it involved "leaping" but the name Leapy Lee eluded him! His opponent, Graham Jackson, was mightily unfortunate to score 13 out of 15 and still lose!

So the four semi-finalists to emerge involve two players from Quizlings and two from Rasen and it is to be hoped that the draw for the penultimate round, to be played at 9pm on Thursday, 3rd April, 2008, does not pair them together.

Questions that neither player answered correctly:-

ANSWERS

[ Run the mouse cursor over the space beside each number to reveal the answer. ]

Harry Buck

RASEN v MINDERS

R.A.F.A. Club 12th November, 2007

This Division 2 clash had the potential to be a real "cracker" and I went along to Cleethorpes on a rather cold evening to witness the first-ever confrontation of two excellent teams- the long-established Minders, with many years of experience in the top Division and Rasen, a side only in their third season in the League but already bidding to taste life at the top.

You have to be keen to be prepared to travel over 20 miles for Winter quizzes and Rasen are an inspiration to the rest of the League in this respect.

Minders were without the stalwart Tree Singleton but, nevertheless, made a storming start to lead by 12 after Round 2 and this became 14 when the mid-term break saw the scoreboard reading 41-27 in favour of the League leaders, although skipper Geoff Turner commented that they had lost greater leads than that!

His words almost came back to haunt him as early as Round 6, Rasen scoring 12 to Minders' 4 and, midway through the penultimate Round 9, the scores were level at 60-all and the final Round began with Minders holding a slender lead of 3.

Round 10 proved an anti-climax, however, and Turner's Terrors saw off Welham's Warriors by 72-64, after what had turned out to be the expected close tussle. The winners were well served by Olive, Dick, Chris and Geoff and Rasen's captain Ian Welham was ably assisted by John, Dave and Graham.

Bill Mercer of Quizlings presented a stiff, though fair, set of questions with his customary competence and bonhomie.

A Sample of Bill's teasers

ANSWERS

[ Run the mouse cursor over the space beside each number to reveal the answer. ]

Harry Buck

[Guest report]

Brain of Grimsby
( and other places roundabout )
~A New Quiz Venture~

Andrew Hunter has come up with an idea for a new quiz
based on the B.B.C. Radio 4 quiz, Brain of Britain.

This is a quiz Rod and I both enjoy so we were happy to go along and participate in trial run of the new quiz format. Also responding to the call were Ian Welham and Dave Shaw of Rasen, Pete Gardner of Nemesis, Ian Townsend of Surplus Rowdies and ex-Ram Pete Daniel. The format is as follows:

Round 1 of 6

Player 1 is asked a question. He has twenty seconds to come up with the correct answer. This was later changed to ten seconds as most of the questions were answered in that time, and it was felt that ten seconds would improve the pace of the match.

If Player 1 answers correctly, he is asked another question up to a total of five questions. His turn then ends and he scores 5 points plus 1 bonus point for a total of 6 points.

In the radio version, the other three players have a chance to buzz in and answer for 1 bonus point if the first answer is incorrect. We don't have a buzzer system, nor can we afford one, so Andrew came up with a neat alternative:

If Player 1 doesn't provide a correct answer, Player 2 gives his answer without any additional time for thought. If he fails, it goes to Player 3 to try, then Player 4.

Player 1 has then lost one life, but gets further questions until he fails to answer a second question, at which point his turn ends and the questioning goes on to Player 2.

If Player 2 gives a wrong answer, the chance to gain a bonus point goes to Player 3, then Player 4 and finally to Player 1. When all four players have had their chance of answering five questions, the round is concluded and scores read out.

There was an interval between round 3 and 4. After the interval, the questions are asked in reverse direction, Player 4 being asked the first questions followed by Players 3, 2 and 1.

Game 1

Pete of Nemesis, Ian of Rasen, Rod and I took part in the first game. Pete got off to a flying start with 5 correct answers with a bonus for 6 points. He later picked up another 2 bonus points for a total of 8.

Ian of Rasen scored 3 points on his questions allowing Rod and me to gain a bonus point apiece. He later added a bonus to his tally of 4 points. Rod gave one wrong answer, adding 4 to his earlier bonus for 5 points. I cocked up, ending with only one more point to add to the bonus - just 2 points. 8-( That ended Round 1.

Pete galloped further ahead in Round 2 while I slipped further behind. Round 3 saw me joint second with Rod, leaving Ian trailing and lamenting the jinx of the Mitchells. This brought us to half-time, and a change in direction with me getting the first questions of Round 4 and Pete the last ones.

I began well with all five correct plus the bonus, but Pete was still well ahead with 24 points to my 16. Round 5 was not so good for Pete, gaining only one point while I pulled up to 22. Ian had joined Rod on 13 points.

Round 6 and everything to play for! It was not a good round for the Mitchells despite Rod's taking a bonus from Pete. Ian suddenly woke up, answering all five questions, giving him the bonus, and also picked up three bonus points on top for a total of nine points that round. The final scores were:

Game 2

There being only three contestants in this game - Dave Shaw, Pete Daniel and Ian Townsend - Ian Welham offered to make up the four. He hoped to do better away from his jinx, the Mitchells... {G}
It seemed to work in Round 1 at least as he shot into an early lead with 5 points, followed by Rowdie Ian on 4, Dave on 3 and Pete on 2.

Round 2 saw Rasen Ian increase his lead over Rowdie Ian to 4 points, while Pete overtook Dave. By half-time, this lead had increased again with Rasen Ian on 17 popints. Pete, on 12, had overtaken Rowdie Ian on 10, while Dave languished on 5.

Round 4 and Dave had the first questions, but lucked out. Rowdie Ian pulled up to tie with Pete on 15 points but Rasen Ian had surged ahead to 25, getting all five questions right as well as a couple of questions for bonuses.

The Surge stuttered a little in Round 5, netting only 1 point, while Rowdie Ian answered all his questions - 5 points plus the bonus, but in the final round, Rasen Ian showed them all a clean pair of heels. Jinx? I think it's all in the mind, Ian! ;-) The final scores were:

I think everyone thoroughly enjoyed the event, regardless of the scores, and it was generally felt that the format worked very well. Pete Daniel contended that 100 questions asked exam-style would be fairer in that it would cut out the element of chance. I disagreed that it was fairer on the grounds that sports questions, which tend to be more specialized, skew the results against female players.

Far too many years experience ::rolls eyes:: have taught me that when a question designated as 'Sport' is asked to a woman, the usual response is a groan before the question is even asked. I feel that this has a lot to do with why the number of female players is so low - maybe 1 in 10? Or maybe they just have better things to do? ;-)

And now, what you've all been waiting for - some questions to get your teeth into. Here is one question from each round:

ANSWERS

[ Run the mouse cursor over the space beside each number to reveal the answer. ]

Sue Mitchell

SERENDIPITY v NEMESIS

R.A.F.A. Club, 16th October 2007.

This Division 1 clash featured the strong Serendipity side, under the ebullient Bob Potter, against a Nemesis crew, now sadly without the late Roy Collins, their ex-skipper and friend.

New captain Pete Gardner has recruited another Peter plus a former Swats man, John, but their first game, unfortunately against champions Surplus Rowdies, had resulted in a dispiriting 90-60 reverse, so they must have been less than sanguine at the prospect of facing the side which finished last season in third place.

Their chances looked slim indeed after the first round, at the end of which they were 3-11 down but they gradually hauled themselves back into the fray and, with Pete Gardner and Denis Brown outstanding for Nemesis and going head-to-head with Serendipitys star, Alan Bentley, the scores remained extremely close to an exciting climax which saw Nemesis creep home by the narrow margin of 85-81.

Serendipity paraded Bob, Martin, Alan and Phil while the winners were served by Pete, Peter, Denis and John. Roy would have been so proud!

Questions unanswered by anyone

1. Which famous explorer sailed in the Erebus?

2. What was the first name of the Jazz Great known as Hawk?

3. In which city was Gordon Brown born in 1951?

4. Which monarch founded the Order of the Bath?

5. What is another name for a Papaya fruit?

6. What is the opening line of Psalm 121?

7. Saying I shant be sorry instead of I shall be glad is an example of which figure of speech?

8. What type of bird is a yellowhammer?

9. Which property, on a London monopoly board, lies between Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square?

ANSWERS

[ Run the mouse cursor over the space beside each number to reveal the answer. ]

Potentially the most difficult question of the match:-

What is the Worlds largest carnivorous marsupial - was answered correctly by Martin of Serendipity

Answer > The Tasmanian Devil.

Harry Buck

SEASON 2007/2008 PREVIEW

After a largely forgettable Summer, it is time, once again, to get out the stopwatches and the scoreboards and harness the massive cache of knowledge lurking in the brains of the myriad characters who regularly sidle into the Bridge and R.A.F.A. Clubs hoping to remember who the new Education Secretary is or what the Capital City of Burkina Faso happens to be or if anyone particularly cares!

Only 19 teams, comprising 3 Divisions, will be on duty this season - one less than last time, since the demise of Tea Seas. We seem to be almost down to a hardcore of anoraks a few moons ago, over 80 teams preceded the, now widespread, Pub Quizzes! I know that question-setting can be a thankless task sometimes but theres still much to enjoy if played in the right spirit of a pleasant pastime rather than an over-obsessive will to win. My past predictions have had their many goofs but here goes again!

Division 1

I should love to see a real outsider come through to take the top crown but the shakedown is likely to figure champs Surplus Rowdies and the newly-named R.A.F.A. Dipsos with Serendipity and Swats waiting to exploit any slip-ups by the two giants.

Nemesis have been dealt a blow with the sad news of the passing of veteran leaguer Roy Collins and we all send our condolences to his grieving family.

Division 2

The relegated Apostles and Minders could both bounce back up as champions here but they will face the stiffest possible challenge from the excellent Rasen team, last seasons beaten finalists in the
Team Knock-Out.

Division 3

Time Out and Quizlings, both down from Division 2, look to have the strongest chances but Belligerent Fools can never be ignored, with both Two Wits and Bux Kwiz always being capable of springing a surprise on their day, despite fielding some of the more decrepit campaigners!

Harry Buck