The Grimsby and District Quiz League

Harry's Page

Volume 5

Latest reports are at the top of the panel below.
To read the answers, run your mouse cursor over the 'Answer' box.




Report on Presentation Night ~ 2012

The 37th Presentation Night of the League took place at the Birdseye Club on Monday, 30th April.
All of the usual Finals were played except that for the Individual Open Trophy.

This was to have been contested by team-mates Pete Daniel and Ian Townsend, but Ian sustained a broken leg in an accident involving a motor vehicle a few days ago and the Final has had to be deferred.

We all send Ian our very best wishes
for a very speedy recovery:

Damn' right we do!!!!!! Ed.

The terrible news about the popular skipper of perennial champions Surplus Rowdies certainly put a huge damper on the evening's enjoyment!
The first up was the Team K.O Handicap between new Division 1 League Champions Nemesis, against another top-flight outfit in Apostles but, despite a start of 10 points,
Brendan's crew had to finally concede the match to Pete Gardner's Nemesis aces even though they pushed them all the way in their very narrow defeat of 101
-104 - a tribute to a very fair set of questions from Surplus Rowdies.

Nemesis thus completed the double!


The match that followed was the Final of the Individual Shield, which is only open to players below the First division. Dick Burtle of Minders had disposed of some very talented opponents in reaching his second final and he had another colossus standing in his way.
Sue Fytche was a past champion on two occasions and went second after Dick correctly answered 14 out of his 20 questions but she could only manage unlucky 13 to present Dick with his first title, on Harry Buck's questions.

The Pairs is always popular and usually provides a close Final but this year the Swats combo of Mal White and Charlie Wood saw off the challenge of Pete Gardner and Denis Brown of Nemesis by 37-29, after making their start of 6 count. Once again, the standard of questions was high from League Chairman Malc Towle.

The trophies were presented by our guest Mr. Bill McCann of the Royal Air Force Association, who also presented the League with a plaque in recognition of our close association over many years.  

Role of Honour

Div 1    Winners Nemesis

Runners-up Surplus Rowdies

Div. 2    Winners Swats

Runners-up  Woodentops

Div 3   Winners Quizlings

Runners-up  Belligerent Fools

Table Quiz

Division 1

Nemesis

Division 2

Swats

Division 3

Somnambulists

Most Sporting Team

Rasen

Best Questions

Quizlings

The Bent Cup

Tree Singleton of Minders

Committee Special Award

Sue Mitchell* of Imps 

*rendering the Webmistress uncharacteristically speechless...! Ed.

                                                 




 

 





Post Season Reflections

The season of the Quiz League has ended and the winners and "not so successfuls" duly sorted, with not a few surprises!

Nemesis have, at long last, shaken off their perennial bridesmaids outfits to emerge into the sunlit uplands of the Division 1 champions berth. Since they secured the services of Alan Bentley a few years past, they have always looked the side most likely to challenge the mighty Rowdies.

But they only did it by having a superior "Goal average"- after finishing on equal points to their bitter rivals.

Relegation is again the lot of Apostles and Imps- predictably so in such a strong upper strata.  

Division 2 has seen the return of Swats, as champions, to the higher echelon-again fairly predictably- but they will be accompanied by Woodentops, who frustrated the immediate return of Pond Life by a mere two points and after your correspondent had predicted their relegation in his preview of the season!

Minders and Time Out shot through the trapdoor into the nether regions, both 6 clear points adrift of Magic Robots in a surprisingly low fourth place.  

The bottom Division 3 championship has gone to Quizlings in a triumph for that highly-popular veteran Bill Mercer. They will be accompanied into the upper level by a team which took the Wooden Spoon not too long ago- Belligerent Fools, who have enjoyed an excellent season.

Bux Quiz, who topped this division two years back, finished with a flourish but still ended in the penultimate spot and ensured that Somnambulists held on to the dreaded piece of timber!  



Individual Semi-Finals

The Semi-Finals of each of the Individual competitions have been played:-  

Individual Open  

The first Semi featured Surplus Rowdies team-mates Pete Daniel and "Mister Mastermind" himself~Andrew Hunter, and, as expected from such a clash, it could not have been any closer. The first fifteen questions yielded an eleven-all draw. The extra 5, a 4 all tie so a tie-break question was posed:"How high will the Shard in London be in metres?" Pete guessed closest to the answer of 310 metres  to claim the prized scalp!  

The following pairing saw R.A.F.A. Dipso's Pete Sinclair up against Surplus Rowdies skipper Ian Townsend and, after 15 yielded a 10-10 impasse and the extra five all answered by each man, Ian guessed closest to the question "In which year was the Order of the Garter founded?" Answer 1348.

So the Final will be contested between the two Rowdies men Pete Daniel and Ian Townsend.

Individual Shield  

These Semis had past winner Sue Fytche of Quizlings jousting with the evergreen Somnambulist Jim Webster and the lady was not for turning, Sue seeing him off 9-7. She will be joined in the Final by Dick Burtle of Minders who just shaded it 7-6 over another past champion, Graham Jackson of Time Out. Dick had staged a remarkable recovery, having only one correct answer from the first 8 but taking 6 points from the next 7!

by BUCK CLIFFORD


 

A Few Sample Questions

Answer

1

Which London Underground Line is coloured yellow on maps?

The Circle Line

2

Who was Boxing's "Dark Destroyer?"

Nigel Benn

3

Which river joins the Danube in Belgrade?

The Sava

4

Which herb is used in Sauce Bearnaise?

Tarragon

5

Which British museum has the most annual visitors?

Tate Modern

6

In which county was Princess Diana born in 1961?

Norfolk

7

Which Scots regiment earned the nickname "The Thin Red Line?"

The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders

8

8 Which planet is nearest in size to Earth?

Venus

9

What was the official name of the sportsground opened in 1923 and known as Wembley Stadium?

The Empire Stadium

10

Which Lakeland town was the Birthplace of William Wordsworth?

Cockermouth



Report on Swats v Minders
at the Bridge Club, on 27th February 2012

Team KO Round 2

This was a contest between Swats, twice winners in recent years, and Minders~a side still attempting to regain their top division status after slipping into the basement Division 3 and then getting back to Division 2 for this season.

Swats themselves lost their Division 1 spot last year but are looking firm favourites to return to top-flight action again. They had to concede a start on handicap of 16 points but gradually chipped away at this deficit and had reduced it to 6 by the interval.

After the break, Minders had crept ahead again and the end of Round 7 saw them 12 to the good but, although this resulted in a very exciting finale, Swats prevailed 100-96 and all agreed it had been an enthralling affair. Swats had Mal, Mike, Steve and cheeky Charlie against a mixed Minders side of Tree, Dick, Chris and Geoff (Tree and Chris from the fairer sex).


 

There were only three questions that evaded solving:-

Answer

1

Apart from Borg, who also beat Nastase in a Wimbledon Singles Final?

Stan Smith

2

Who beat Frank Bruno in Bruno’s first World Title fight?

Tim Witherspoon

3

For which Rugby League club did Martin Offiah make his debut in 1987?

Widnes


Report on Report on Imps v Nemesis
on Tuesday 10th January, 2012, at the R.A.F.A. Club

This top against bottom affair took place on an amazingly mild evening in Cleethorpes and confirmed Nemesis as the Champions elect, as they triumphed 109-67.

They are still unbeaten and, with only four more fixtures remaining, have a huge points difference over their only rival team, Surplus Rowdies.

Even if Rowdies win the return fixture, thus getting revenge for their earlier reverse, they will probably still need Nemesis to drop at least one other point to retain the Championship of Division 1.

Imps, with Sue and Rod Mitchell supported by Carol and Andrew, were really "lambs to the slaughter" and ran into the stars of Nemesis, Alan Bentley and Denis Brown, in peerless form, with Peter and Tony not far behind.

They had a 50-37 half-time advantage but clocked up another 59 after the interval, while Imps could manage only 30, thus swelling their points difference by 42! Another statistic to emerge was that Imps 30 post-interval points were 15 conferred answers-curiously no 3 pointers and Imps only picked up one answer from their opponents. Nemesis, on the other hand, scored 26 3-pointers and picked up eleven from their foes.


 

Only 3 questions had no takers:-

Answer

1

What was the first real Christian name of 'Duke' Ellington?

Edward

2

Apart from Oakham, which is the only other town in the historic county of Rutland?

Uppingham

3

Which poem begins "There’s an old Moulmein pagoda, looking eastward to the sea?"

Kipling’s Mandalay


Report on Magic Robots v Woodentops
on Tuesday 1st November, 2011, at the R.A.F.A. Club

This Division 2 encounter took place on the curious date of 1-11-11 and Robots’ side had a very unfamiliar look. Two of their greatest stalwarts were absent and Nigel Sheridan and, particularly, Dave Hill were bound to be sorely missed - and so it proved, although Steve and Pete gave pretty solid back-up to regulars Mike and Graham.

Their opponents were, themselves, not at full strength, lacking Janet and Tim, but Paul at No.1 was to prove particularly effective, while still enjoying superb support from Carole, Lawrie and Mike.

Woodentops set a stiff, early pace, reached the interval ahead at 39-27 and were never threatened, as they crossed the finish line at 72-55, following a testing question-set from Bux Kwiz.


 

Some that escaped capture (No pointers)

Answer

1

Who presented The X Factor before Dermot O’Leary?

Kate Thornton

2

Who had her only hit in 1979 with One Day at a Time?

Lena Martell

3

Who wrote the opera, Duke Bluebeard’s Castle?

Bela Bartok

4

Who was the Governor of Texas, travelling with John Kennedy when he was fatally wounded in Dallas in 1963?

John Connally

5

In which county was Captain Bligh of The Bounty born in 1754?

Cornwall

6

In the poem, Kubla Khan, what was the name of the sacred river?

Alph

7

How many knights sat at King Arthur’s Round Table?

150

8

In 1988, which soccer club was the first to move to a new purpose-built stadium since Southend United 33 years before?

Scunthorpe United


Report on Rafa Dipsos v Apostles RAFA Club
on Tuesday, 11th October, 2011

This early-season Division 1 clash happened on a dreary, rainy evening in a Cleethorpes far removed from the bustling place of the recent Indian Summer. The home team had a notable absentee in Roy Starling but their opponents had a rather familiar player at No.1.

Brendan Woodward had returned after a very serious illness and it was certainly great to see him, if not wholly, but mainly, restored to full health. Early indications were that Rafa would canter to a fairly easy win and half-time arrived with them ahead by 46-35.

"Apostles were not finished, however, and the final Round 10 saw the tally at 70-68 to Dipsos and then, with the score at 77-77, there was one question left, and that to Apostles.

"In which decade of the 20th Century did traffic lights come into widespread use in London?"

Mary thought it was the 1940s and the conferred attempt was the 1930s. It was referred to Dipsos who plumped, correctly, for the 1920s and a final result of 78-77. This was the most amazing coincidence. Apostles had opened the new campaign in the previous week and had lost to Surplus Rowdies by 78-77!

A highly relieved Dipsos quartet of Pete, Andy, Julie and Steve had got out of jail and one could only commiserate with the desperately unlucky Brendan, Keith, Peter and Mary. Roy Starling’s stand-in, Julie, was herself unlucky with most of her questions but came good with her only three-pointer in the tense finale!


 

Questions showing a nil yield:-

Answer

1

Who is the current US Secretary for Defense?

Leon Panetta

2

2 Leaving out Unitary Authorities, which is England’s smallest county?

Bedfordshire

3

Who wrote the opera Orpheus and Eurydice in 1762?

Christoph Gluck

4

Who briefly served as Shadow Deputy PM from 11th May to 7th October, 2010?

Jack Straw

5

Three of the top six largest islands in the World are in the Indian Ocean. Madagascar is one, which are the other 2?

Borneo and Sumatra

6

In which city is the oldest theatre outside of London?

York (Theatre Royal)

7

What is the tenth prime number?

29

8

In the Soviet coup of 1964, who took over as Premier from Khrushchev?

Alexei Kosygin

9

Which French cosmetician said "There are no ugly women only lazy ones?"

Helena Rubinstein

10

Which RAF rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Navy?

Squadron Leader


Preview of Season 2011-12

The year 2011 will not be recalled with a great deal of affection. The snowfall in December 2010 was probably the heaviest since 1947-within the memory of this writer, but, in that early post-war year, the Summer which followed was one of the best ever experienced, so we hoped for a repetition. This Spring was unusually warm and dry but this early promise failed to materialize and, despite some sunny days, we have, once again, been denied our "Barbecue Summer" but we still had Mick’s Summer League to enjoy and have to congratulate Nemesis for toppling last year’s inaugural winners Gang of Elks (a.k.a. Surplus Rowdies). Anyway, let me make my usual predictions for the season ahead.

Division One

This comprises Apostles, Imps, Nemesis, Rafa Dipsos, Rasen and Surplus Rowdies. It is difficult to look beyond the last named for the title and they are certain to be pushed all the way to the line by Nemesis and Dipsos with the other three sides likely to be involved in the relegation dog-fight.

Division Two

Magic Robots, Minders, Pond Life, Swats, Time Out and Woodentops are the combatants for the coming season. Robots and Pond Life look likely champions with Woodentops and Time Out potentially the most vulnerable candidates for the drop. Swats may still be feeling the loss of Geoff Swanney but should still be capable of influencing eventual outcomes.

Division Three

This mysterious basement area sees Belligerent Fools, Bux Kwiz, Quizlings, Serendipity, Somnambulists and Two Wits tilting for the crown. I fancy that Bob Potter’s men of Serendipity could rise to the top with possibly Bux Kwiz and Quizlings yapping at their heels and Somnambulists giving it their all in an attempt to avoid the dreaded bit of wood.



Report on Finals and Presentation Night

Held at the Bird’s Eye Club on Monday, 9th May, 2011

The Grimsby and District Quiz League was formed in 1975 and every season ends with this event, when four Competitions reach their final stages. The Finals of the Team Knock-out, the Individual Open, Individual Shield and Pairs Competition are all played out.

The Team Knock-out ~ The Malcolm Green Trophy

This is a handicap and the two sides emerging this year were both from the top Division, although Pond Lifewill compete next term in Division 2, having suffered relegation. Their opponents were the fearsome Surplus Rowdies squad, perennial League champions and often Knock-out winners, although they have ceased to really dominate since the introduction of handicaps.

Pond Life had a start of 11 points and reached the halfway stage after Round 5 still ahead 54-50. Rowdies stayed menacingly at their shoulders until, at the end of the penultimate Round 9, the scores were level at 83-83 but Rowdies then stormed away to secure the League and Cup double at 93-87.

The gallant crew of Pond Life, skipper Mick Cavanagh, Tim, Raoul and Colin had pushed their foes to the limit and were warmly congratulated by their conquerors- captain Ian Townsend, Pete, Andrew and Nick.

Two Wits had certainly provided a well-balanced set of questions.

Individual Open ~ The Graham Fielding Trophy

This is open to any player but, in the event, the two finalists to qualify were from the top ten players in the League. Pete Sinclair of Rafa Dipsos was up against Pete Daniel of Surplus Rowdies and Daniel added to his previous triumphs with a clear victory by 12-9 on Tree Singleton’s questions.

Individual Shield ~ The Gwyneth Welham Trophy

Only players from Divisions 2 and 3 are eligible for this Competition and this year’s matches had been unbelievably close with almost all being decided by a single point or tie-break. The Final was to prove no exception. After the first 20 questions, reigning champion Graham Jackson of Time Out stood toe-to-toe with Rod Mitchell of Imps at 13-13.

Five more questions yielded a further stalemate at 3-3 then, at last, Rod emerged triumphant in his first final by guessing closest to the poser "What is the equatorial diameter of the Moon in miles?"

Question Master Harry Buck gave the answer as 2,159 miles.

Pairs Competition ~ The Dennis Hook Trophy

This handicap is over Five Rounds and contestants select questions in turn. Players obtain 3 points start per Division, so, if both players in the team are from Division 1, they each receive 3 yielding 6 while Division 2 would get 6 (12) and Division 3 would receive 9 (18).

The pairs graduating this year turned out to be exactly as last time, namely Dennis Brown and Pete Gardner of Nemesis and holders Andy Alcock and Pete Sinclair of Rafa Dipsos. These being all Division 1 players, the handicaps did not enter into it as each pair received 6.

Another variation is that, in Round 2 and Round 5, one of the pair may opt to take both questions and, if answering both correctly, receives a bonus. Round 5 duly arrived with Alcock/Sinclair behind by 3 points so Andy Alcock took both his team’s questions, answered each correctly and picked up the 3 point bonus to secure a tie. Andy and Pete then lived the dream by holding on to their title by being closest to the answer to the question "What was the attendance at the World Cup Final in Brazil in 1950?" Question Master Malc Towle provided the answer as 199,854.

Other Winners

The League

Division 1

Division 2

Division 3

Surplus Rowdies

Imps

Minders

Division 1

Runners Up

Nemesis

The Wooden Spoon ~ Somnambulists



The Table Quiz

Division 1

Division 2

Division 3

Swats

Imps

Time Out



Category

Winner

The René Burnett Cup for Best Question Setters

Quizlings

The Norrie Lyons Cup for Most Sporting Team

Two Wits

The Really, Really Diabolical Quiz (website)

Geoff Turner of Minders

The Bent Cup ~ "More of a Lifetime Achievement Award!" [Malc.] for the question:
"Who, or what has a 26 ft. long penis?"

Sue Mitchell of Imps

The Answer lies in the soil... Ed.

 

The trophies were presented by Dave Shearsmith,
a very good friend of the League.

 

 


A Sample of Questions

Answer

1

What did A E Housman call loveliest of trees?

The cherry

2

What is England’s third highest mountain?

Helvellyn

3

Who was last in line on the zebra crossing on the famous cover for the Beatles’ Abbey Road album?

George Harrison

4

Which former English county’s county town was Appleby?

Westmorland

5

Which British club was the first to pay £1m for a footballer?

Nottingham Forest


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