Dear Santa - about those resolutions . . .

Dear Santa,

As you know its become traditional at this time of year for me to let you know how well I’ve done at keeping this year’s resolutions. Well, I say traditional. I’ve done it once before in the blog, which pretty much counts as a tradition in these parts. I digress. Lets have a look whether I’ve been naughty or nice.

You’ll remember I began with two which I had carried over because I had failed to keep them in 2009 : -

I resolve to stop moaning about handicaps in Newport. If they get on my nerves I shall bear it with a cheery grin, and if it gets up my nose that much I shall just not go.

Actually I have done better with this one. I haven’t been since the League season started in Bridgend this Autumn, but I rather think I’ve pretty much got this monkey off my back now. I don't think I moaned at all throughout Spring and part of summer when I was going as much as I could.
Verdict - nice

· I resolve to stop saying that any team who beat us in a straight pub quiz must have cheated, even when they have actually been using their phones in front of us.

Oh dear. A failure again. The occasion which really sticks out is when we were playing in a pub in Cardiff, when the top prize was £100. The team in front of us had their phones out for the whole of he first half. When I pointed it out to the question master, he pointed to a member of our team who was playing games on the phone. It didn’t matter that no answers had come from the phone – the ground was cut from under my feet, and a huge helping of scrambled was all over my face. Must do better next year.
Verdict - naughty

So at least, Santa, I’ve got one of them cleared now. As for the new ones

· I resolve to apply to other quiz shows in the coming year. A similar resolution made for 2009 has brought me a lot of fun in the past 12 months.

Series 4 of Only Connect is currently showing, and I had a tremendous amount of fun playing in that. So definitely resolution kept. However at the moment I am at a real loss as to whether I should apply to any more shows now, and if so, which ?
Verdict - Nice

· I resolve to try to become a better quizzer, and to work a bit more on my weak areas, rather than just always trusting to luck.

Well, I have actually been doing this, but not to fulfil the resolution, as it happens. I’m so enjoying playing in the Bridgend League at the moment, and the league is that competitive in terms of the ability of the teams, that I am working a bit every week to try to plug some of my multitudinous gaps. Has it worked for the League ? Not that much, actually. Out of the hundreds of things I have tried to learn, they have so far supplied the answers to a grand total of 2 questions. On the other hand though, in every quiz I go to apart from the league, something I’ve recently learned DOES come up – it happens all the time !
Verdict - Nice

I resolve to try to be a little more positive when I’m quizzing, and look for the positives in a quiz BEFORE I start going on about the negatives.

Oh, I try to do this, I really do. There are hardly any quizzes I ever go to that are totally lacking in redeeming features, but even so, I’m still pretty quick to pinpoint the flaws – to my way of thinking – in quizzes I play in. In all honesty at the very best this one is a score draw.
Verdict – not very nice at all

· I resolve to try to get involved in a quiz league – it’s a good few years since I played regularly in one, and I loved it when I did.

There are five stand-out quiz experiences for me this year. Firstly, playing in the Brain of Britain Grand Final in January. Yes, its true that Ian thrashed me, but Grand finals are great events that don’t come along all that often. You have to enjoy them, and I did. Secondly, getting to play in the Mastermind Champion of Champions series in May. Thirdly, playing in the current series of Only Connect, which is the most fun TV team quiz I could possibly imagine. Fourthly, playing in the GetConnected Charity quiz in Floridita in London, which was just the most wonderful evening. Last but not least, joining the Llangewydd Arms team in the Bridgend and District Quiz League. I knew that I missed playing in a league, but I didn’t know just how much I missed it.
Verdict – Very nice indeed

· I resolve above all else to enjoy my quizzing throughout the next year.
No year is perfect ( although the 2007 SOBM came close ! ) This has been a year that marked the passing of a dear quiz friend of mine, and has seen another pretty much withdraw from quizzing. However the quizzing year has been another good one to me, and so I think I can safely say that the verdict to this one is a resounding Nice.

I make that 4 nices to 2 naughties, which isn’t bad going, and I was going to ask for some nice presents as a reward now, Santa, but reading that last resolution, to be honest, more of the same will do just fine for me.

Dave