Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news ?
1. Adam Gemilli
2. Alex Hales
3. Fernando Lugo
4. Shara Proctor
5. Count Robin Mirlees
6. Troy Deeney
7. Andrew Garfield
8. Elena Vesnina
9. The Elizabeth Tower
10. Viva Forever
11. Cait Reilly
12. Jamie Hampton
13. Pamira Paszek
14. Kathleen Simpson
15. Eric Holder
16. Lukas Rosol
17. Micah Richards
18. Raymond Mawby
19. Thriller
20. Simon Konecki
21. Penny Palfrey
22. Agnieshka Radwanska
23. Robbie Grabbarz
In Other News
1. Which two players missed penalties for England in the match v. Italy in the quarter final of the Euro ?
2. What was the score in the Spain v. France quarter final ?
3. Who won the European GP ?
4. Who ran Lewis Hamilton off the road during the European GP ?
5. What was the score in these third test rugby matches – Wales v. Australia ? – England v. South Africa – Ireland v. New Zealand
6. Rowan Williams particularly criticized David Cameron over his use of which phrase ?
7. Syrian forces shot down a fighter jet belonging to which country ?
8. Which British star was awarded her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame last week ?
9. Which country carried out their first ever docking in space last week ?
10. A stolen bust of whom was recovered last week ?
11. Which country announced that it would allow its women to compete in the Olympics ? In the event, none actually qualified .
12. Who signed a one year deal as player coach with Gloucester ?
13. In which city did Seb Coe carry the Olympic torch in the relay ?
14. Which is the latest EU country to ask for a bail out ?
15. In which English town was there violence reported after the England Italy penalty shootout ?
16. Which 3 teams announced their opposition to the reformed Glasgow Rangers starting in the Scottish Premier League ?
17. Which player did Andy Murray beat, who then complained about being given 11 foot faults ?
18. The 3p increase in fuel duty has been delayed until when ?
19. Who claims he’d rather kill himself if he was found to be suffering from dementia ?
20. In which London store have cleaners been protesting about low rates of pay ?
21. Which bank were the first to be discredited for rigging interest rates ?
22. Wild fires raged in which US state last week ?
23. Which writer and director died last week ?
24. Who signed a 4 year deal with his club, just days before being ruled out from the GB Olympic football squad through injury ?
25. Who retained his European 5000m title ?
26. Which city is hosting the European Athletics Championships ?
27. Where were huge Olympic rings unveiled last week ?
28. Which charges were dropped against Silvio Berlusconi last week ?
29. Which rare occurrence happened at the end of June ?
30. Where was the Memorial to Bomber Command opened ?
31. Who was acquitted of one charge of genocide last week ?
32. How long did it take Fifty Shades of Grey to sell 1 million paperbacks in the UK – it has broken the record set by the Da Vinci Code
33. Which Hollywood couple announced they are to divorce due to their irreconcilable differences ?
34. What British institution celebrated its 75th birthday this weekend ?
Saturday, 30 June 2012
The A to Z of British and Irish Popular Culture
I don't think it will come as a huge surprise to anyone if I say that high among the list of my favourite quiz reference books are Trevor Montague's A to Z of Almost Everything ( 5 editions so far ) , his A to Z of Sport, and his A to Z of Britain and Ireland. I was interested to hear that Trevor has just published a new book on Kindle, called The A to Z of British and Irish Popular Culture. I've just bought a copy myself, although I have only just started to work my way through it. I think you can probably deduce what it's about from the title, and let's be honest, if you play in pub quizzes you'll know just how often questions on thse subjects come up. I believe that it's only available in ebook form at the moment, although other formats will be along soon.
If you want to have a look at it, then follow this link -
Trevor Montague's A to Z of British and Irish Popular Culture
If you want to have a look at it, then follow this link -
Trevor Montague's A to Z of British and Irish Popular Culture
Friday, 29 June 2012
Mastermind Club Website
You might remember that I applied to rejoin the Mastermind Club a few weeks ago. Well, all is well, and I'm back in. I was delighted to see that in the interim the club has made its own website, which you can find here : -
Mastermind Club Website
You can find out lots of information about the club, its history, its annual functions and local meetings. The designer of the site, Mastermind finalist Mel Kinsey, has also posted online versions of many pass issues of Pass, the quarterly magazine of the club, and these are well woth a read.
The club is open to anyone who has been a contender in any Mastermind incarnation, and as such I think it's fair to say that it is a unique institution.
Mastermind Club Website
You can find out lots of information about the club, its history, its annual functions and local meetings. The designer of the site, Mastermind finalist Mel Kinsey, has also posted online versions of many pass issues of Pass, the quarterly magazine of the club, and these are well woth a read.
The club is open to anyone who has been a contender in any Mastermind incarnation, and as such I think it's fair to say that it is a unique institution.
Answers to News Questions
Who or What are the following and why have they been in the news ?
1. Marin Cilic
2. Andrew McDougall
3. Martha Payne
4. Tom Maynard
5. Tony Nicklinson
6. Mohammad Morsi
7. Webb Simpson
8. IBM Sequoia
9. David State
10. Los Cabos
11. K2
12. Peter Van de Veire
13. Shanghai Shenhua
14. Lianne Smith
15. Thomas Waldrom and Alex Goode
16. Giovanni Ribisi
17. Dr. Helen Wright
18. Yousuf Raza Gilani
In Other News
1. Which party won the Greek general election ?
2. What was tested over the River Thames last week ?
3. Who celebrated a 70th birthday on Monday 18th June ?
4. Who died in his LA swimming pool, aged 47 ?
5. Where did a stage to be used by the band Radiohead collapse ?
6. Which teams are playing in each of the 4 Euro quarter finals ?
7. What was the score in the second England v. Springboks test ?
8. What was the score in the second Australia v. Wales test ?
9. Who made her first visit to Oxford for over 2 decades ?
10. Which tour was cancelled last week due to poor sales ?
11. What was David Nalbandian’s fine for his behavior at Queens ?
12. Who ‘attacked’ David Cameron at the G20 Summit
13. Julian Assange has asked for asylum from which country ?
14. Who apologized to Ilfracombe for his comments about the town on have I Got News For You ?
15. Why were Sven Goran Ericksson and Nancy del’Olio in the news last week ?
16. Which horse won the Queen Anne Stakes at Ascot ?
17. Who was reported to be clinically dead last week ?
18. Which British actor passed away last week aged 74 ?
19. Who scored 112 against the West Indies in the second ODI ?
20. Who topped the list of the world’s best paid sportsmen, beating Tiger Woods ?
21. Which member of the government was found guilty of Contempt of Court last week ?
22. A gunman took hostages in an armed bank raid in which French city ?
23. Which world boxing governing body rescored the recent Manny Pacquaio- Timothy Bradley match in favour of Pacquaio ?
24. Caroline John, who passed away last week, played which assistant of Doctor Who ?
25. Which British sportsman was announced as having signed up for this year’s Strictly Come Dancing ?
26. It was announced that new works by which author have been discovered ?
27. Who has announced that he will shake the Queen’s hand last week ?
28. Which 2 banks have had huge computer problems over the last couple of days ?
29. Which London Borough had to drop claims of a connection to Lord Byron ?
30. Where will this weekend’s European Grand Prix be staged ?
Answers
Who or what are the following
1. Winner of Queen’s Club after David Nalbandian’s disqualification
2. Line judge hurt when David Nalbandian kicked an advertising board
3. 9 year old girl whose blog about her school dinners was banned, then reinstated by Argyll and Bute local authority – it has raised tens of thousands of pounds for charity in the last week
4. Professional cricketer tragically killed
5. Sufferer from locked in syndrome, lost high court battle
6. Muslim Brotherhood candidate claims to have won election to Egyptian Presidency
7. Winner of US Open Golf
8. The world’s latest fastest computer
9. Proposed to his girlfriend while carrying Olympic Torch
10. Mexican location for G20 summit
11. Jersey based company at the heart of Jimmy Carr’s much criticized tax arrangements
12. Belgian DJ who set a world record for the longest continuous radio show, broadcasting for 185 hours non stop
13. Chinese club for which Didier Drogba has signed
14. Found guilty of killing her own children in Spain
15. New caps for England v. Springboks in 3rd test
16. Former Friends guest star ( Phoebe’s Brother ) married model Agyness Deyn
17. Claimed a cover photo of Kim Kardashian summed up all that’s wrong with our society
18. Pakistan’s Prime Minister – sacked by its Supreme Court
In Other News
1. The New Democaracy Party
2. The Olympic Cable Car
3. Sir Paul McCartney
4. Rodney King
5. Toronto
6. Germany v. Greece – Spain v. France – Italy v. England – Czech Republic v. Portugal
7. S. Africa won 36 - 27
8. Australia won by 25 - 23
9. Aung San Suu Kyi
10. BBC The Voice tour
11. £8000
12. Christina Fernandez de Kirchner, President of Argentina
13. Ecuador
14. William Shatner
15. He is trying to evict her from his London flat
16. Frankel
17. Hosni Mubarak
18. Victor Spinetti
19. Alastair Cook
20. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
21. Theresa May
22. Toulouse
23. W.B.O.
24. Liz Shaw
25. Michael Vaughan
26. Charles Dickens
27. Martin McGuinness
28. RBS and Nat West
29. Croydon
30. Valencia
1. Marin Cilic
2. Andrew McDougall
3. Martha Payne
4. Tom Maynard
5. Tony Nicklinson
6. Mohammad Morsi
7. Webb Simpson
8. IBM Sequoia
9. David State
10. Los Cabos
11. K2
12. Peter Van de Veire
13. Shanghai Shenhua
14. Lianne Smith
15. Thomas Waldrom and Alex Goode
16. Giovanni Ribisi
17. Dr. Helen Wright
18. Yousuf Raza Gilani
In Other News
1. Which party won the Greek general election ?
2. What was tested over the River Thames last week ?
3. Who celebrated a 70th birthday on Monday 18th June ?
4. Who died in his LA swimming pool, aged 47 ?
5. Where did a stage to be used by the band Radiohead collapse ?
6. Which teams are playing in each of the 4 Euro quarter finals ?
7. What was the score in the second England v. Springboks test ?
8. What was the score in the second Australia v. Wales test ?
9. Who made her first visit to Oxford for over 2 decades ?
10. Which tour was cancelled last week due to poor sales ?
11. What was David Nalbandian’s fine for his behavior at Queens ?
12. Who ‘attacked’ David Cameron at the G20 Summit
13. Julian Assange has asked for asylum from which country ?
14. Who apologized to Ilfracombe for his comments about the town on have I Got News For You ?
15. Why were Sven Goran Ericksson and Nancy del’Olio in the news last week ?
16. Which horse won the Queen Anne Stakes at Ascot ?
17. Who was reported to be clinically dead last week ?
18. Which British actor passed away last week aged 74 ?
19. Who scored 112 against the West Indies in the second ODI ?
20. Who topped the list of the world’s best paid sportsmen, beating Tiger Woods ?
21. Which member of the government was found guilty of Contempt of Court last week ?
22. A gunman took hostages in an armed bank raid in which French city ?
23. Which world boxing governing body rescored the recent Manny Pacquaio- Timothy Bradley match in favour of Pacquaio ?
24. Caroline John, who passed away last week, played which assistant of Doctor Who ?
25. Which British sportsman was announced as having signed up for this year’s Strictly Come Dancing ?
26. It was announced that new works by which author have been discovered ?
27. Who has announced that he will shake the Queen’s hand last week ?
28. Which 2 banks have had huge computer problems over the last couple of days ?
29. Which London Borough had to drop claims of a connection to Lord Byron ?
30. Where will this weekend’s European Grand Prix be staged ?
Answers
Who or what are the following
1. Winner of Queen’s Club after David Nalbandian’s disqualification
2. Line judge hurt when David Nalbandian kicked an advertising board
3. 9 year old girl whose blog about her school dinners was banned, then reinstated by Argyll and Bute local authority – it has raised tens of thousands of pounds for charity in the last week
4. Professional cricketer tragically killed
5. Sufferer from locked in syndrome, lost high court battle
6. Muslim Brotherhood candidate claims to have won election to Egyptian Presidency
7. Winner of US Open Golf
8. The world’s latest fastest computer
9. Proposed to his girlfriend while carrying Olympic Torch
10. Mexican location for G20 summit
11. Jersey based company at the heart of Jimmy Carr’s much criticized tax arrangements
12. Belgian DJ who set a world record for the longest continuous radio show, broadcasting for 185 hours non stop
13. Chinese club for which Didier Drogba has signed
14. Found guilty of killing her own children in Spain
15. New caps for England v. Springboks in 3rd test
16. Former Friends guest star ( Phoebe’s Brother ) married model Agyness Deyn
17. Claimed a cover photo of Kim Kardashian summed up all that’s wrong with our society
18. Pakistan’s Prime Minister – sacked by its Supreme Court
In Other News
1. The New Democaracy Party
2. The Olympic Cable Car
3. Sir Paul McCartney
4. Rodney King
5. Toronto
6. Germany v. Greece – Spain v. France – Italy v. England – Czech Republic v. Portugal
7. S. Africa won 36 - 27
8. Australia won by 25 - 23
9. Aung San Suu Kyi
10. BBC The Voice tour
11. £8000
12. Christina Fernandez de Kirchner, President of Argentina
13. Ecuador
14. William Shatner
15. He is trying to evict her from his London flat
16. Frankel
17. Hosni Mubarak
18. Victor Spinetti
19. Alastair Cook
20. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
21. Theresa May
22. Toulouse
23. W.B.O.
24. Liz Shaw
25. Michael Vaughan
26. Charles Dickens
27. Martin McGuinness
28. RBS and Nat West
29. Croydon
30. Valencia
I'm As Mad As Hell -
- but something tells me I’ll probably have to keep taking it. Forgive me for paraphrasing Peter Finch in “Network”, and allow me to explain. It was my turn as question master at the club last night, as I mentioned a few days ago. Now, as I said, I put together a connections quiz. Question one in each round was an ‘in the news question ‘ – all of which were part of the last set of in the news questions which I posted last weekend. Then in each round questions two , three and four were all connected, and question five asked what the connection was between them. I fancy the whole quiz was a little bit harder than my usual.
Ok – so far so good, and that’s the scene set. Now the biggest team in the quiz, who comprised of about 8 or 9 members last night, scored 9 out of ten on the first round. The only one they missed was the question – what connects King Henry I, King John, King William IV, King George VI ? The answer I wanted was that each one succeeded his brother. The answer they put down was that each of them was a second son. Now, you can see where they were coming from, and I might well have accepted it from another team on the ‘good try’ principle. Bearing in mind that they were the biggest team, and that I’ve seen members of the team cheating on their phones there before, I ruled them incorrect, and pre-empted the potential protest by explaining that Henry I was actually William I’s 3rd son, John was actually Henry II’s 4th son ( honestly – Young Henry was oldest, then Richard Ist, then Geoffrey, then John ) and William IV was actually George III’s 3rd son.
Still, in the next round , a nasty tricky one, they scored a full house of 10. The next highest score was 7, and rightly so, it was a tricky round, with a couple of nasty news questions. Not only were all their answers correct, but they were spelled correctly to the very letter as well. They then dropped one point on the next round. I could see two of them were fumbling around under the table, but I couldn’t clearly see whether they were using phones or not. So after I’d asked the questions in the next round I asked the person from another team who was collecting the answers in to have a look and see if they were using their phones. That person reported back to me that there were definitely phones on the table, and also under it. For the record, when the round was marked, the other teams all scored 5 or 6. They scored 9.
It’s easy to make mistakes about people. Sometimes they can just have a brilliant night, when the questions fall for them. But sometimes you just know that things aren’t above board. So, unable to bite my tongue any longer, I made a little speech. It was something along the lines of , “Look, I know that some of you are probably not going to like me for saying this, but I’m going to say it anyway. I go to a lot of quizzes, and over the last few years cheating with internet phones has been absolutely killing them. I can see a lot going on from where I’m sitting, a lot of things which involve phones. I’m not accusing anyone ( although I was really ) but I can see phones being used, and if you do use your phone here, you are making yourself very suspicious ( here staring straight at the team I suspected ). Using your phones is cheating. If you don’t have your phones out, then nobody can accuse you of cheating, can they ? “ Well, it was something like that. I tried to be measured in what I said, because I hate phone cheating, and when I see it going on it makes me really angry, and I start ranting, which I really didn’t want to do. It’s supposed to be a fun evening, and however justified I might feel, me launching into a self righteous tirade would certainly be a downer.
What was the result ? Well, they never scored above 7 for any round for the rest of the evening, and didn’t top score in any of the 4 which were left. As it was they won the picture handout, legitimately as far as I could see. They had built up such a lead that they won the questions – although one of the other teams did make a spirited fightback, and so they won the quiz overall. I hope that it didn’t show in my voice, but it stuck in my throat a bit announcing them as the winners.
After my announcement, I did actually have members of 2 OTHER teams approach me to say that a member of each of their teams had his phone out but wasn’t using it to cheat etc. etc. To be honest one look at their answers would have told you this, but I didn’t say so. What I did say was that the comment wasn’t aimed at them, and I pointed out the team the comment was aimed at. In for a penny, in for a pound. To be honest, I would have thought that the fact I chose to make that announcement immediately after announcing that the team in question had outscored every other team by three points in a single round might have given the game away.
One sad thing about it is that it’s possible that they may just have had a brilliant night. Possible, but highly unlikely. They’ve been playing in my quizzes for years, and have never shown the kind of ability they showed in the first four rounds like that, and on a couple of other occasions when I’ve seen them fiddling with their phones – and I use the word fiddling in more than one sense of the word – their scores have been extremely suspicious. I know that I’m covering ground that is already very well trodden here. But honestly, what on earth do they get out of doing it ? Not a prize, that’s for certain, since we’ve never had them. Not the respect of the best teams within the quiz either. I personally think that cheating like this is disrespectful and pathetic, and I know that members of Lemurs, the usual winners in the quiz at the rugby club, feel the same way. Unless they’re delusional I can’t see them getting a great deal of personal satisfaction from it either.
I suppose that what frustrates me more than anything else is that the rest of the team seem to feel that it's OK to do it. All the members of the team are mature people, some of a certain age, and some of more than a certain age. Some of the team have been playing in this quiz for years, longer than I have. I don’t really understand why they wouldn’t turn round to the three or four who use their phones and tell them – look, what you’re doing, it really isn’t how we play the game here, please stop doing it.
The worst thing about it is that I went home feeling guilty. Brian made an observation that maybe the team involved won’t come back next week. Which isn’t actually what I want at all. I don’t want anyone to stop coming to the quiz. I want more people to come to the quiz, and I want people to enjoy their evening. The thought that I might have said something that might have made them feel they don’t want to bother with the quiz any more is not a pleasant one. Yet the fact is that they are the ones who have been disrespectful, as I see it. Disrespectful to me , bearing in mind the fact that I put time and effort into compiling the quiz for everyone’s entertainment with no remunueration involved except a free drink of diet coke, and disrespectful to all the other teams there who were playing fairly.
Mountain ? Molehill ? Yeah, probably. But I don’t know. Using your phones in a quiz is cheating. It’s cheating, and it’s wrong. All it takes is for people to say nothing about something that’s wrong, and it becomes tolerated. Next thing you know it’s accepted. Next thing you know after that it’s expected.
Case for the prosecution rests, M’Lud.
Ok – so far so good, and that’s the scene set. Now the biggest team in the quiz, who comprised of about 8 or 9 members last night, scored 9 out of ten on the first round. The only one they missed was the question – what connects King Henry I, King John, King William IV, King George VI ? The answer I wanted was that each one succeeded his brother. The answer they put down was that each of them was a second son. Now, you can see where they were coming from, and I might well have accepted it from another team on the ‘good try’ principle. Bearing in mind that they were the biggest team, and that I’ve seen members of the team cheating on their phones there before, I ruled them incorrect, and pre-empted the potential protest by explaining that Henry I was actually William I’s 3rd son, John was actually Henry II’s 4th son ( honestly – Young Henry was oldest, then Richard Ist, then Geoffrey, then John ) and William IV was actually George III’s 3rd son.
Still, in the next round , a nasty tricky one, they scored a full house of 10. The next highest score was 7, and rightly so, it was a tricky round, with a couple of nasty news questions. Not only were all their answers correct, but they were spelled correctly to the very letter as well. They then dropped one point on the next round. I could see two of them were fumbling around under the table, but I couldn’t clearly see whether they were using phones or not. So after I’d asked the questions in the next round I asked the person from another team who was collecting the answers in to have a look and see if they were using their phones. That person reported back to me that there were definitely phones on the table, and also under it. For the record, when the round was marked, the other teams all scored 5 or 6. They scored 9.
It’s easy to make mistakes about people. Sometimes they can just have a brilliant night, when the questions fall for them. But sometimes you just know that things aren’t above board. So, unable to bite my tongue any longer, I made a little speech. It was something along the lines of , “Look, I know that some of you are probably not going to like me for saying this, but I’m going to say it anyway. I go to a lot of quizzes, and over the last few years cheating with internet phones has been absolutely killing them. I can see a lot going on from where I’m sitting, a lot of things which involve phones. I’m not accusing anyone ( although I was really ) but I can see phones being used, and if you do use your phone here, you are making yourself very suspicious ( here staring straight at the team I suspected ). Using your phones is cheating. If you don’t have your phones out, then nobody can accuse you of cheating, can they ? “ Well, it was something like that. I tried to be measured in what I said, because I hate phone cheating, and when I see it going on it makes me really angry, and I start ranting, which I really didn’t want to do. It’s supposed to be a fun evening, and however justified I might feel, me launching into a self righteous tirade would certainly be a downer.
What was the result ? Well, they never scored above 7 for any round for the rest of the evening, and didn’t top score in any of the 4 which were left. As it was they won the picture handout, legitimately as far as I could see. They had built up such a lead that they won the questions – although one of the other teams did make a spirited fightback, and so they won the quiz overall. I hope that it didn’t show in my voice, but it stuck in my throat a bit announcing them as the winners.
After my announcement, I did actually have members of 2 OTHER teams approach me to say that a member of each of their teams had his phone out but wasn’t using it to cheat etc. etc. To be honest one look at their answers would have told you this, but I didn’t say so. What I did say was that the comment wasn’t aimed at them, and I pointed out the team the comment was aimed at. In for a penny, in for a pound. To be honest, I would have thought that the fact I chose to make that announcement immediately after announcing that the team in question had outscored every other team by three points in a single round might have given the game away.
One sad thing about it is that it’s possible that they may just have had a brilliant night. Possible, but highly unlikely. They’ve been playing in my quizzes for years, and have never shown the kind of ability they showed in the first four rounds like that, and on a couple of other occasions when I’ve seen them fiddling with their phones – and I use the word fiddling in more than one sense of the word – their scores have been extremely suspicious. I know that I’m covering ground that is already very well trodden here. But honestly, what on earth do they get out of doing it ? Not a prize, that’s for certain, since we’ve never had them. Not the respect of the best teams within the quiz either. I personally think that cheating like this is disrespectful and pathetic, and I know that members of Lemurs, the usual winners in the quiz at the rugby club, feel the same way. Unless they’re delusional I can’t see them getting a great deal of personal satisfaction from it either.
I suppose that what frustrates me more than anything else is that the rest of the team seem to feel that it's OK to do it. All the members of the team are mature people, some of a certain age, and some of more than a certain age. Some of the team have been playing in this quiz for years, longer than I have. I don’t really understand why they wouldn’t turn round to the three or four who use their phones and tell them – look, what you’re doing, it really isn’t how we play the game here, please stop doing it.
The worst thing about it is that I went home feeling guilty. Brian made an observation that maybe the team involved won’t come back next week. Which isn’t actually what I want at all. I don’t want anyone to stop coming to the quiz. I want more people to come to the quiz, and I want people to enjoy their evening. The thought that I might have said something that might have made them feel they don’t want to bother with the quiz any more is not a pleasant one. Yet the fact is that they are the ones who have been disrespectful, as I see it. Disrespectful to me , bearing in mind the fact that I put time and effort into compiling the quiz for everyone’s entertainment with no remunueration involved except a free drink of diet coke, and disrespectful to all the other teams there who were playing fairly.
Mountain ? Molehill ? Yeah, probably. But I don’t know. Using your phones in a quiz is cheating. It’s cheating, and it’s wrong. All it takes is for people to say nothing about something that’s wrong, and it becomes tolerated. Next thing you know it’s accepted. Next thing you know after that it’s expected.
Case for the prosecution rests, M’Lud.
Tuesday, 26 June 2012
Overcoming the Loneliness of the Long Distance Quizzer
Last night was the Wales and West heat if the CIU quiz competition. If you’ve been a LAM regular for a while then you’ll maybe remember me writing about this competition before. It’s a valid competition in its own right, but just as importantly a finish in the top three guarantees a place in the national finals in Derby in September. With one year’s exception, this has been a regular fixture in the Clark calendar for several years now and although we’ve never really come close to winning the big one in Derby I live in a state of perpetual hope.
Mind you, qualification last night was by no means a foregone conclusion. We were unable to put our strongest team out, though this means no disrespect to Michael who stepped into the breach for us and gave us some useful points in his own right. Under the circumstances we have to be relatively satisfied with what we managed to do. On the GK rounds I think that we matched everyone else, including the eventual winners, former national champions Maesglas A. The sport did for us to some extent, and in the end we were happy to scrape through in third place, a point ahead of Morriston, and a point or 2 behind Maesglas B. Very hard lines on Morriston, but there we are. We’ve won this quiz a couple of times, but we’ve also come 4th on one or two occasions, so we know what it feels like.
I enjoyed the evening a lot, coming third notwithstanding. It was with something of a start that I realized that it’s over 6 weeks since I last went out to a quiz on a Monday night. When the league season in Bridgend ended I decided that I’d start going to the quiz in the Pill Harriers rugby club in Newport. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s a terrific quiz, and a damn good evening. But . . . it’s about 40 miles away. That’s about an hour and a half’s driving all told. OK, so I always say that I love my driving, and it’s true, I do, but the basic problem is that even leaving before 11 pm it’s always after 11:30 that I get back. Then when I get in I find that even if I go straight to bed, then I can’t sleep straightaway. Petrol doesn’t come cheap either, for that matter. I can’t forget the fact that it’s my teaching which puts food on the table, and although I’ve no doubt that I could get by on experience and technique on a Tuesday, if you know that something you’re doing is going to have a marked effect on your effectiveness the next day, you don’t have to be a genius to work out that you probably shouldn’t be doing it.
Yet it’s not even that really, when you get right down to it. Going back 8 or 9 years ago, three of us used to set off together from Port Talbot every Monday – and we’d pick up our 4th player in Cardiff on the way as well. We’d chuck out some questions – mostly in the news, but not all of them – amongst each other, then chew over the fat and put the world to rights. John lost his interest in the Monday night quiz, dear old Allan passed away, and Barry stopped coming, leaving just me. I know you can’t go back, but I really miss those Monday nights.
Which is one of the reasons why last night was so enjoyable. For once there were two of us making the journey since I picked up Rob on the way, sort of. Maybe not quite like old times, but it doesn’t half make a difference . So, Rob, any time you’re up for it on a Monday night, so am I.
Mind you, qualification last night was by no means a foregone conclusion. We were unable to put our strongest team out, though this means no disrespect to Michael who stepped into the breach for us and gave us some useful points in his own right. Under the circumstances we have to be relatively satisfied with what we managed to do. On the GK rounds I think that we matched everyone else, including the eventual winners, former national champions Maesglas A. The sport did for us to some extent, and in the end we were happy to scrape through in third place, a point ahead of Morriston, and a point or 2 behind Maesglas B. Very hard lines on Morriston, but there we are. We’ve won this quiz a couple of times, but we’ve also come 4th on one or two occasions, so we know what it feels like.
I enjoyed the evening a lot, coming third notwithstanding. It was with something of a start that I realized that it’s over 6 weeks since I last went out to a quiz on a Monday night. When the league season in Bridgend ended I decided that I’d start going to the quiz in the Pill Harriers rugby club in Newport. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s a terrific quiz, and a damn good evening. But . . . it’s about 40 miles away. That’s about an hour and a half’s driving all told. OK, so I always say that I love my driving, and it’s true, I do, but the basic problem is that even leaving before 11 pm it’s always after 11:30 that I get back. Then when I get in I find that even if I go straight to bed, then I can’t sleep straightaway. Petrol doesn’t come cheap either, for that matter. I can’t forget the fact that it’s my teaching which puts food on the table, and although I’ve no doubt that I could get by on experience and technique on a Tuesday, if you know that something you’re doing is going to have a marked effect on your effectiveness the next day, you don’t have to be a genius to work out that you probably shouldn’t be doing it.
Yet it’s not even that really, when you get right down to it. Going back 8 or 9 years ago, three of us used to set off together from Port Talbot every Monday – and we’d pick up our 4th player in Cardiff on the way as well. We’d chuck out some questions – mostly in the news, but not all of them – amongst each other, then chew over the fat and put the world to rights. John lost his interest in the Monday night quiz, dear old Allan passed away, and Barry stopped coming, leaving just me. I know you can’t go back, but I really miss those Monday nights.
Which is one of the reasons why last night was so enjoyable. For once there were two of us making the journey since I picked up Rob on the way, sort of. Maybe not quite like old times, but it doesn’t half make a difference . So, Rob, any time you’re up for it on a Monday night, so am I.
Saturday, 23 June 2012
Compiler's Dilemma
It’s my turn to produce the quiz for the rugby club this coming Thursday, and that’s what I’ve been working on today. I know that I’ve written about this before. Time was , when I was an eager young(ish) quizzer about 17 years ago when I wanted to set the quiz there every week, but thankfully for all concerned wiser heads prevailed , and I took my place within the rotation. Every year there comes a time when nobody else is volunteering their services, and then Brian and I take turns until somebody else wants a go, and I’m perfectly happy to do this. But I can also go four or even five weeks without doing one now, and it really doesn’t bother me at all. I’m happy to fit in as and when.
When I do put a quiz together, though, I do often find myself on the horns of a dilemma. After all, I could easily fill a quiz with old chestnuts which I’ve asked twenty or more times before. But that’s not really satisfying to anyone. On the other hand, with time and effort I could put together a set the majority of which would never have been asked down the club before. Which sounds good, but then brings into question the level of difficulty. As a rough rule of thumb, nobody ever complains that a quiz is too easy down the club – well, actually, I do sometimes, but I don’t count for the purposes of this discussion. I compile a set of questions. Then I look at the phrasing to make them a bit easier. Then I combine them into rounds in a way that I think should guarantee almost every team a decent score. Then I feel sure as I go into the quiz that everyone is going to score a full house on every round. Then I start reading them out, and I realize that a lot of them are still too hard for the average teams.
Using connections I find at least gives me a chance to ask one harder question out of a three question connected set, at least, and I have put some connections into this quiz for Thursday. If I’m honest, I’m talking about how difficult it can be sometimes to get the balance of questions right for the club, but it’s really not the worst thing about putting a quiz together. No, that dubious distinction belongs to the picture handout. Cards on the table – I hate picture handouts. I’m a straightforward question and answer guy, when you get right down to it. But – and it’s a big but – the majority of teams in the quiz love them, and there are people who go every week who are far more interested in the picture quiz than in the proper stuff. It’s a free country. So you have to put a bit of effort into it. It comes down to basic principles – the one person who you’re not putting the quiz together for, is yourself. You’re doing it go give people an evening’s entertainment, not to show off what you yourself know, and what you yourself are interested in.
It’s not quite finished yet, but I’ve already used 8 separate questions sources, and that’s not a bad sign. Mind you, I do have it in the back of my mind that sometimes, you can spend all the time and trouble in the row on putting the quiz together, and it still goes down like a lead balloon. On the other hand sometimes you’re short of time, so you just throw it together as quickly as you can, and it goes down a storm.
Funny old world, isn’t it ?
Using connections I find at least gives me a chance to ask one harder question out of a three question connected set, at least, and I have put some connections into this quiz for Thursday. If I’m honest, I’m talking about how difficult it can be sometimes to get the balance of questions right for the club, but it’s really not the worst thing about putting a quiz together. No, that dubious distinction belongs to the picture handout. Cards on the table – I hate picture handouts. I’m a straightforward question and answer guy, when you get right down to it. But – and it’s a big but – the majority of teams in the quiz love them, and there are people who go every week who are far more interested in the picture quiz than in the proper stuff. It’s a free country. So you have to put a bit of effort into it. It comes down to basic principles – the one person who you’re not putting the quiz together for, is yourself. You’re doing it go give people an evening’s entertainment, not to show off what you yourself know, and what you yourself are interested in.
It’s not quite finished yet, but I’ve already used 8 separate questions sources, and that’s not a bad sign. Mind you, I do have it in the back of my mind that sometimes, you can spend all the time and trouble in the row on putting the quiz together, and it still goes down like a lead balloon. On the other hand sometimes you’re short of time, so you just throw it together as quickly as you can, and it goes down a storm.
Funny old world, isn’t it ?
News Questions
Who or What are the following and why have they been in the news ?
1. Marin Cilic
2. Andrew McDougall
3. Martha Payne
4. Tom Maynard
5. Tony Nicklinson
6. Mohammad Morsi
7. Webb Simpson
8. IBM Sequoia
9. David State
10. Los Cabos
11. K2
12. Peter Van de Veire
13. Shanghai Shenhua
14. Lianne Smith
15. Thomas Waldrom and Alex Goode
16. Giovanni Ribisi
17. Dr. Helen Wright
18. Yousuf Raza Gilani
In Other News
1. Which party won the Greek general election ?
2. What was tested over the River Thames last week ?
3. Who celebrated a 70th birthday on Monday 18th June ?
4. Who died in his LA swimming pool, aged 47 ?
5. Where did a stage to be used by the band Radiohead collapse ?
6. Which teams are playing in each of the 4 Euro quarter finals ?
7. What was the score in the second England v. Springboks test ?
8. What was the score in the second Australia v. Wales test ?
9. Who made her first visit to Oxford for over 2 decades ?
10. Which tour was cancelled last week due to poor sales ?
11. What was David Nalbandian’s fine for his behavior at Queens ?
12. Who ‘attacked’ David Cameron at the G20 Summit
13. Julian Assange has asked for asylum from which country ?
14. Who apologized to Ilfracombe for his comments about the town on have I Got News For You ?
15. Why were Sven Goran Ericksson and Nancy del’Olio in the news last week ?
16. Which horse won the Queen Anne Stakes at Ascot ?
17. Who was reported to be clinically dead last week ?
18. Which British actor passed away last week aged 74 ?
19. Who scored 112 against the West Indies in the second ODI ?
20. Who topped the list of the world’s best paid sportsmen, beating Tiger Woods ?
21. Which member of the government was found guilty of Contempt of Court last week ?
22. A gunman took hostages in an armed bank raid in which French city ?
23. Which world boxing governing body rescored the recent Manny Pacquaio- Timothy Bradley match in favour of Pacquaio ?
24. Caroline John, who passed away last week, played which assistant of Doctor Who ?
25. Which British sportsman was announced as having signed up for this year’s Strictly Come Dancing ?
26. It was announced that new works by which author have been discovered ?
27. Who has announced that he will shake the Queen’s hand last week ?
28. Which 2 banks have had huge computer problems over the last couple of days ?
29. Which London Borough had to drop claims of a connection to Lord Byron ?
30. Where will this weekend’s European Grand Prix be staged ?
1. Marin Cilic
2. Andrew McDougall
3. Martha Payne
4. Tom Maynard
5. Tony Nicklinson
6. Mohammad Morsi
7. Webb Simpson
8. IBM Sequoia
9. David State
10. Los Cabos
11. K2
12. Peter Van de Veire
13. Shanghai Shenhua
14. Lianne Smith
15. Thomas Waldrom and Alex Goode
16. Giovanni Ribisi
17. Dr. Helen Wright
18. Yousuf Raza Gilani
In Other News
1. Which party won the Greek general election ?
2. What was tested over the River Thames last week ?
3. Who celebrated a 70th birthday on Monday 18th June ?
4. Who died in his LA swimming pool, aged 47 ?
5. Where did a stage to be used by the band Radiohead collapse ?
6. Which teams are playing in each of the 4 Euro quarter finals ?
7. What was the score in the second England v. Springboks test ?
8. What was the score in the second Australia v. Wales test ?
9. Who made her first visit to Oxford for over 2 decades ?
10. Which tour was cancelled last week due to poor sales ?
11. What was David Nalbandian’s fine for his behavior at Queens ?
12. Who ‘attacked’ David Cameron at the G20 Summit
13. Julian Assange has asked for asylum from which country ?
14. Who apologized to Ilfracombe for his comments about the town on have I Got News For You ?
15. Why were Sven Goran Ericksson and Nancy del’Olio in the news last week ?
16. Which horse won the Queen Anne Stakes at Ascot ?
17. Who was reported to be clinically dead last week ?
18. Which British actor passed away last week aged 74 ?
19. Who scored 112 against the West Indies in the second ODI ?
20. Who topped the list of the world’s best paid sportsmen, beating Tiger Woods ?
21. Which member of the government was found guilty of Contempt of Court last week ?
22. A gunman took hostages in an armed bank raid in which French city ?
23. Which world boxing governing body rescored the recent Manny Pacquaio- Timothy Bradley match in favour of Pacquaio ?
24. Caroline John, who passed away last week, played which assistant of Doctor Who ?
25. Which British sportsman was announced as having signed up for this year’s Strictly Come Dancing ?
26. It was announced that new works by which author have been discovered ?
27. Who has announced that he will shake the Queen’s hand last week ?
28. Which 2 banks have had huge computer problems over the last couple of days ?
29. Which London Borough had to drop claims of a connection to Lord Byron ?
30. Where will this weekend’s European Grand Prix be staged ?
Friday, 22 June 2012
Email from Joe - Contestant Call
I'm indebted to LAM regular Joe, who sent me this email today : -
"You might be interested in seeing the attached Call for Contestants
(received today).
Don't blow the inheritance - contestants wanted
ITV's brand new quiz show, with a working title of 'Don’t Blow The Inheritance', is looking for fun and lively contestants.
Parents (grandparents, aunts and uncles) battle to build their Inheritance Prize Fund up with thousands of pounds ready to pass on to the next generation (children, grandchildren, nephews and nieces)*.
However…the younger generation team mate can only take the Inheritance Prize Pot home if they don't 'blow it all' at the end of the game. It's down to the younger generation to answer the final questions correctly so they can keep the cash rather than blowing all of mum, dad or granny's hard work.
ITV is looking for fun family duos to take part in this exciting new quiz show. Pair up and apply with your mum, dad, granddad, grandma, daughter, son, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew.
STARTS RECORDING JULY 2012.
Contact the show producers TODAY for an application form at contributors@12yard.
All applicants must be aged 18 years or over and be legally resident and currently living in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.The closing date for returning application forms is 8th July 2012. Applications received after this date may not be considered. The producers reserve the right to extend the closing date and time at our sole discretion. Applications are subject to the terms and conditions in the application form.
* Legal adoptees are eligible to apply.
Email contributors@12yard.com
Best wishes
Joe" Thanks Joe !
"You might be interested in seeing the attached Call for Contestants
(received today).
Don't blow the inheritance - contestants wanted
ITV's brand new quiz show, with a working title of 'Don’t Blow The Inheritance', is looking for fun and lively contestants.
Parents (grandparents, aunts and uncles) battle to build their Inheritance Prize Fund up with thousands of pounds ready to pass on to the next generation (children, grandchildren, nephews and nieces)*.
However…the younger generation team mate can only take the Inheritance Prize Pot home if they don't 'blow it all' at the end of the game. It's down to the younger generation to answer the final questions correctly so they can keep the cash rather than blowing all of mum, dad or granny's hard work.
ITV is looking for fun family duos to take part in this exciting new quiz show. Pair up and apply with your mum, dad, granddad, grandma, daughter, son, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew.
STARTS RECORDING JULY 2012.
Contact the show producers TODAY for an application form at contributors@12yard.
All applicants must be aged 18 years or over and be legally resident and currently living in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.The closing date for returning application forms is 8th July 2012. Applications received after this date may not be considered. The producers reserve the right to extend the closing date and time at our sole discretion. Applications are subject to the terms and conditions in the application form.
* Legal adoptees are eligible to apply.
Email contributors@12yard.com
Best wishes
Joe" Thanks Joe !
Answers to News Questions
Who or what are the following, and why have they been in the news ?
1. Sara Errani
2. Kate Rothschild
3. Pennal
4. Timothy Bradley
5. Benzo Fury
6. Denesh Ramdin
7. High Kingdom
8. John Maples
9. Jerry Sandusky
10. Park Lane
11. Habbo Hotel
12. Nicholas Mahut
13. Rita Isidori
14. Henry Hill
15. Major Lui Yang
16. Dan Penteado
17. Daniel Pytlarz
18. Nick Wallenda
19. John Edwards
20. Allen Stanford
21. Jonathan Joseph
22. Zaha Hadid
In Other News
1. Theresa May has announced that foreign nationals wishing to settle in the UK will need to have a minimum annual income of what to be allowed ?
2. How much was asked for by Spain for a bailout ?
3. Which were the first team to defeat Netherlands in this year’s Euro ?
4. How many women before Maria Sharapova have done the career Grand Slam in the Open era ?
5. What was the score in the first test between England and the Springboks ?
6. Which members of the Royal Family visited Gibraltar last week ?
7. The Saudi version of Britain’s Got Talent received criticism last week – for what reason ?
8. Which team drew 1 – 1 with Spain ?
9. How long is Roberto di Matteo’s new deal with Chelsea ?
10. Who won the Canadian Grand Prix ?
11. Which race was won for the second year running by Bradley Wiggins ?
12. Where did GB and Ireland win the Curtis Cup ?
13. A rare letter in English by whom fetched £262,000 at auction last week ?
14. Where did England play their 1 – 1 draw with France ?
15. Name the 4 players who scored goals for England in their first 2 games at the Euro ?
16. How many times has Rafael Nadal won the Men’s singles at the French Open ?
17. What announcement did the AA make about their road guides ?
18. What was denied listed building status last week ?
19. For his part in which play did James Corden win a Tony award last week ?
20. How old is the Duke of Edinburgh ?
21. Parts of which Rome landmark was reported as crumbling last week ?
22. Which former Everton and England goalkeeper passed away last week aged 69 ?
23. Who is the coach of the Russian football team ?
24. In a survey which city has become the world’s most expensive ?
25. Who apologized to Morrisey for accusing him of racism ?
26. After how many years has a coroner finally ruled that Lindy Chamberlain’s daughter Azaria was killed by a dingo ?
27. Which legendary Olympic boxer passed away last week ?
28. What was voted the most popular advertising jingle of all time in the UK ?
29. An Edexcel A Level exam paper in which subject had to be cancelled after papers were mistakenly sent to Egypt ?
30. Which English resort was criticized last week for promoting itself by highlighting the eyesores of other UK resorts ?
31. Which TV series has been criticized for showing a decapitated head of George W. Bush in a couple of scenes ?
32. Who has been accused of doping offences – which he continues to strenuously deny ?
33. Actress Ann Rutherford passed away. Her most famous role was in which famous Hollywood film ?
34. Who has left US X Factor to join the panel of the British show ?
35. Which lyricist, musician and humourist was knighted in the Birthday Honours ?
Answers
1. Italian tennis player lost Wimbledon final to Maria Sharapova
2. Banking heiress in a much publicized Twitter spat with her estranged husband
3. Welsh village evacuated after fears that nearby dam would burst
4. Defeated Manny Pacquaio in a very controversial decision which has been widely criticized since
5. ‘Legal’ drug which is linked to the deaths of festival goers
6. Scored 107 for West Indies in 3rd test
7. Zara Phillips’ horse – both selected for GB Olympic team after placing 3rd at Badminton
8. Former Conservative minister passed away
9. Former Penn State University Football coach on trial for child sex abuse
10. Title of new novel by Frances Osborne – wife of George
11. Online game site for children, allegedly being targeted by paedophiles
12. Former participant in longest match at Wimbledon, defeated Andy Murray in first round at Queens
13. Convicted of mugging Janice Long outside Broadcasting House for her backstage pass to Echo and the Bunnymen
14. American supergrass passed away, supposedly the inspiration for the film “Goodfellas”
15. First Chinese woman in space.
16. Watchdog presenter, wanted by police after failing to appear in Magistrate’s Court on charges of benefit and council tax fraud
17. ‘Masseur to the Stars’ cleared of sexual assault charges
18. Became the first person to tightrope walk over Niagara Falls in more than 100 years
19. US former Presidential candidate cleared in court
20. Formerly ‘Sir Allen’ , jailed for 110 years without parole for fraud in USA
21. Making debut for England in centre v. Springboks in the 2nd test
22. Architect made a Dame in New Years Honours
In Other News
1. £20000
2. £80 billion
3. Denmark
4. 5
5. 22 – 17 to the Springboks
6. The Earl and Countess of Wessex
7. All of the following are banned from the show – singing – dancing , and women.
8. Italy
9. One year
10. Lewis Hamilton – McLaren
11. Criterium du Dauphiné
12. Nairn
13. Napoleon Bonaparte
14. Donetsk
15. Lescott – Carroll – Walcott – Welbeck
16. 7
17. They will no longer be printed, only available online
18. The Coronation Street set
19. One Man , Two Guv’nors
20. His 91st birthday was last week
21. The Trevi Fountain
22. Gordon West
23. Dirk Advocaat
24. Tokyo
25. The NME
26. 32 years
27. Teofilo Stevenson ( Heavyweight gold – 1972, 1976, 1980 )
28. Just One Cornetto
29. Mathematics
30. Skegness
31. Game of Thrones
32. Lance Armstrong
33. Gone With The Wind
34. Nicole Scherzinger
35. Richard Stilgoe
1. Sara Errani
2. Kate Rothschild
3. Pennal
4. Timothy Bradley
5. Benzo Fury
6. Denesh Ramdin
7. High Kingdom
8. John Maples
9. Jerry Sandusky
10. Park Lane
11. Habbo Hotel
12. Nicholas Mahut
13. Rita Isidori
14. Henry Hill
15. Major Lui Yang
16. Dan Penteado
17. Daniel Pytlarz
18. Nick Wallenda
19. John Edwards
20. Allen Stanford
21. Jonathan Joseph
22. Zaha Hadid
In Other News
1. Theresa May has announced that foreign nationals wishing to settle in the UK will need to have a minimum annual income of what to be allowed ?
2. How much was asked for by Spain for a bailout ?
3. Which were the first team to defeat Netherlands in this year’s Euro ?
4. How many women before Maria Sharapova have done the career Grand Slam in the Open era ?
5. What was the score in the first test between England and the Springboks ?
6. Which members of the Royal Family visited Gibraltar last week ?
7. The Saudi version of Britain’s Got Talent received criticism last week – for what reason ?
8. Which team drew 1 – 1 with Spain ?
9. How long is Roberto di Matteo’s new deal with Chelsea ?
10. Who won the Canadian Grand Prix ?
11. Which race was won for the second year running by Bradley Wiggins ?
12. Where did GB and Ireland win the Curtis Cup ?
13. A rare letter in English by whom fetched £262,000 at auction last week ?
14. Where did England play their 1 – 1 draw with France ?
15. Name the 4 players who scored goals for England in their first 2 games at the Euro ?
16. How many times has Rafael Nadal won the Men’s singles at the French Open ?
17. What announcement did the AA make about their road guides ?
18. What was denied listed building status last week ?
19. For his part in which play did James Corden win a Tony award last week ?
20. How old is the Duke of Edinburgh ?
21. Parts of which Rome landmark was reported as crumbling last week ?
22. Which former Everton and England goalkeeper passed away last week aged 69 ?
23. Who is the coach of the Russian football team ?
24. In a survey which city has become the world’s most expensive ?
25. Who apologized to Morrisey for accusing him of racism ?
26. After how many years has a coroner finally ruled that Lindy Chamberlain’s daughter Azaria was killed by a dingo ?
27. Which legendary Olympic boxer passed away last week ?
28. What was voted the most popular advertising jingle of all time in the UK ?
29. An Edexcel A Level exam paper in which subject had to be cancelled after papers were mistakenly sent to Egypt ?
30. Which English resort was criticized last week for promoting itself by highlighting the eyesores of other UK resorts ?
31. Which TV series has been criticized for showing a decapitated head of George W. Bush in a couple of scenes ?
32. Who has been accused of doping offences – which he continues to strenuously deny ?
33. Actress Ann Rutherford passed away. Her most famous role was in which famous Hollywood film ?
34. Who has left US X Factor to join the panel of the British show ?
35. Which lyricist, musician and humourist was knighted in the Birthday Honours ?
Answers
1. Italian tennis player lost Wimbledon final to Maria Sharapova
2. Banking heiress in a much publicized Twitter spat with her estranged husband
3. Welsh village evacuated after fears that nearby dam would burst
4. Defeated Manny Pacquaio in a very controversial decision which has been widely criticized since
5. ‘Legal’ drug which is linked to the deaths of festival goers
6. Scored 107 for West Indies in 3rd test
7. Zara Phillips’ horse – both selected for GB Olympic team after placing 3rd at Badminton
8. Former Conservative minister passed away
9. Former Penn State University Football coach on trial for child sex abuse
10. Title of new novel by Frances Osborne – wife of George
11. Online game site for children, allegedly being targeted by paedophiles
12. Former participant in longest match at Wimbledon, defeated Andy Murray in first round at Queens
13. Convicted of mugging Janice Long outside Broadcasting House for her backstage pass to Echo and the Bunnymen
14. American supergrass passed away, supposedly the inspiration for the film “Goodfellas”
15. First Chinese woman in space.
16. Watchdog presenter, wanted by police after failing to appear in Magistrate’s Court on charges of benefit and council tax fraud
17. ‘Masseur to the Stars’ cleared of sexual assault charges
18. Became the first person to tightrope walk over Niagara Falls in more than 100 years
19. US former Presidential candidate cleared in court
20. Formerly ‘Sir Allen’ , jailed for 110 years without parole for fraud in USA
21. Making debut for England in centre v. Springboks in the 2nd test
22. Architect made a Dame in New Years Honours
In Other News
1. £20000
2. £80 billion
3. Denmark
4. 5
5. 22 – 17 to the Springboks
6. The Earl and Countess of Wessex
7. All of the following are banned from the show – singing – dancing , and women.
8. Italy
9. One year
10. Lewis Hamilton – McLaren
11. Criterium du Dauphiné
12. Nairn
13. Napoleon Bonaparte
14. Donetsk
15. Lescott – Carroll – Walcott – Welbeck
16. 7
17. They will no longer be printed, only available online
18. The Coronation Street set
19. One Man , Two Guv’nors
20. His 91st birthday was last week
21. The Trevi Fountain
22. Gordon West
23. Dirk Advocaat
24. Tokyo
25. The NME
26. 32 years
27. Teofilo Stevenson ( Heavyweight gold – 1972, 1976, 1980 )
28. Just One Cornetto
29. Mathematics
30. Skegness
31. Game of Thrones
32. Lance Armstrong
33. Gone With The Wind
34. Nicole Scherzinger
35. Richard Stilgoe
Sunday, 17 June 2012
Revivals
I caught Challenge TV’s revival of Blockbusters for the first time this week. It was OK. I think in one of the previous post Holness versions they did try it with adults rather than teens if I recall correctly, and that’s what they’ve gone for in this one. What did strike me about it was that whereas, in the original Bob Holness incarnation of the show the contestants wouldn’t know the answers to all the questions, in the show I saw most of the questions were well within the compass of the average quiz game show contestant. Fair enough – only it did mean that even more than ever the show has become a buzzer race. In fact I’d go so far as to say that you’d be better off buzzing in after half a question, hoping that Simon Mayo will finish off most of the question before he expects an answer. That’s what the successful contestants seemed to be doing anyway, and who shall blame them?
As I say, it was OK. Blockbusters was never an all-time favourite quiz of mine anyway, I prefer something with a little more meat in it, still, for what it is it’s an honest and pretty faithful reworking of an old favourite. Which did lead me to think a little about the whole issue of reviving old quiz shows. Of course, the quiz show which I would most like to see revived, Fifteen to One, never has been yet, but let’s leave that aside for one moment. Why would anyone want to revive an old show anyway? Well, I think that the answer isn’t that hard to see. A quiz show which manages a long run in its first incarnation must have been doing something right, and often that’s down to a good format. Why spend time, effort, and for all I know it money trying to come up with a format which may not be successful anyway, when you might be able to revive a tried and tested formula, which has been proven to succeed?
You can’t say that revivals are never successful, either. Take University Challenge. The original, Bamber Gascoigne version ran for 25 years until 1987. After a 7 year hiatus the BBC revived it, giving Jeremy Paxman the chair after first offering it to Bamber, who respectfully declined. Now, I know some who don’t like the BBC version as much as the original, and they are entitled to their opinion. However , look at the large and very loyal audience that UC attracts on BBC2 year in year out. Think about this, as well. JP has already been presenting UC for 18 years now, and there’s every good chance that his stint will eventually surpass Bamber’s. I certainly hope so. Mastermind comes to mind as well. Counting Sleb Mastermind, John Humphrys has been presenting the show for 10 years himself now. Now, I doubt that anyone could claim that he completely matches Magnus as the question master, but then I know that he would never make the same claim himself anyway. Like University Challenge, it has a very loyal, if somewhat smaller audience, year in, and year out.
This is only a theory, but I think that the more ‘prime time’ a quiz show is, and the larger the prizes are, then the less successful the revivals can be. With the real ‘spectacle’ shows, for want of a better phrase, there does seem to come a point where the public decides that it has seen it all before. Some shows end on a high, some start to tinker with the format. Once you’ve created a sensation with a particular format you’ll never really create the same sensation with it again. Maybe I’m wrong.
Finishing off, I did wonder while I was watching the show, what the worst quiz show revival of all time was. This is purely subjective, of course, but my nomination would be Dick and Dom’s Ask the Family. Which wasn’t really a revival of the show, apart from the fact that families were involved, and it used the title of a much loved show of days gone by.
As I say, it was OK. Blockbusters was never an all-time favourite quiz of mine anyway, I prefer something with a little more meat in it, still, for what it is it’s an honest and pretty faithful reworking of an old favourite. Which did lead me to think a little about the whole issue of reviving old quiz shows. Of course, the quiz show which I would most like to see revived, Fifteen to One, never has been yet, but let’s leave that aside for one moment. Why would anyone want to revive an old show anyway? Well, I think that the answer isn’t that hard to see. A quiz show which manages a long run in its first incarnation must have been doing something right, and often that’s down to a good format. Why spend time, effort, and for all I know it money trying to come up with a format which may not be successful anyway, when you might be able to revive a tried and tested formula, which has been proven to succeed?
You can’t say that revivals are never successful, either. Take University Challenge. The original, Bamber Gascoigne version ran for 25 years until 1987. After a 7 year hiatus the BBC revived it, giving Jeremy Paxman the chair after first offering it to Bamber, who respectfully declined. Now, I know some who don’t like the BBC version as much as the original, and they are entitled to their opinion. However , look at the large and very loyal audience that UC attracts on BBC2 year in year out. Think about this, as well. JP has already been presenting UC for 18 years now, and there’s every good chance that his stint will eventually surpass Bamber’s. I certainly hope so. Mastermind comes to mind as well. Counting Sleb Mastermind, John Humphrys has been presenting the show for 10 years himself now. Now, I doubt that anyone could claim that he completely matches Magnus as the question master, but then I know that he would never make the same claim himself anyway. Like University Challenge, it has a very loyal, if somewhat smaller audience, year in, and year out.
This is only a theory, but I think that the more ‘prime time’ a quiz show is, and the larger the prizes are, then the less successful the revivals can be. With the real ‘spectacle’ shows, for want of a better phrase, there does seem to come a point where the public decides that it has seen it all before. Some shows end on a high, some start to tinker with the format. Once you’ve created a sensation with a particular format you’ll never really create the same sensation with it again. Maybe I’m wrong.
Finishing off, I did wonder while I was watching the show, what the worst quiz show revival of all time was. This is purely subjective, of course, but my nomination would be Dick and Dom’s Ask the Family. Which wasn’t really a revival of the show, apart from the fact that families were involved, and it used the title of a much loved show of days gone by.
Saturday, 16 June 2012
News Questions
Who or what are the following, and why have they been in the news ?
1. Sara Errani
2. Kate Rothschild
3. Pennal
4. Timothy Bradley
5. Benzo Fury
6. Denesh Ramdin
7. High Kingdom
8. John Maples
9. Jerry Sandusky
10. Park Lane
11. Habbo Hotel
12. Nicholas Mahut
13. Rita Isidori
14. Henry Hill
15. Major Lui Yang
16. Dan Penteado
17. Daniel Pytlarz
18. Nick Wallenda
19. John Edwards
20. Allen Stanford
21. Jonathan Joseph
22. Zaha Hadid
In Other News
1. Theresa May has announced that foreign nationals wishing to settle in the UK will need to have a minimum annual income of what to be allowed ?
2. How much was asked for by Spain for a bailout ?
3. Which were the first team to defeat Netherlands in this year’s Euro ?
4. How many women before Maria Sharapova have done the career Grand Slam in the Open era ?
5. What was the score in the first test between England and the Springboks ?
6. Which members of the Royal Family visited Gibraltar last week ?
7. The Saudi version of Britain’s Got Talent received criticism last week – for what reason ?
8. Which team drew 1 – 1 with Spain ?
9. How long is Roberto di Matteo’s new deal with Chelsea ?
10. Who won the Canadian Grand Prix ?
11. Which race was won for the second year running by Bradley Wiggins ?
12. Where did GB and Ireland win the Curtis Cup ?
13. A rare letter in English by whom fetched £262,000 at auction last week ?
14. Where did England play their 1 – 1 draw with France ?
15. Name the 4 players who scored goals for England in their first 2 games at the Euro ?
16. How many times has Rafael Nadal won the Men’s singles at the French Open ?
17. What announcement did the AA make about their road guides ?
18. What was denied listed building status last week ?
19. For his part in which play did James Corden win a Tony award last week ?
20. How old is the Duke of Edinburgh ?
21. Parts of which Rome landmark was reported as crumbling last week ?
22. Which former Everton and England goalkeeper passed away last week aged 69 ?
23. Who is the coach of the Russian football team ?
24. In a survey which city has become the world’s most expensive ?
25. Who apologized to Morrisey for accusing him of racism ?
26. After how many years has a coroner finally ruled that Lindy Chamberlain’s daughter Azaria was killed by a dingo ?
27. Which legendary Olympic boxer passed away last week ?
28. What was voted the most popular advertising jingle of all time in the UK ?
29. An Edexcel A Level exam paper in which subject had to be cancelled after papers were mistakenly sent to Egypt ?
30. Which English resort was criticized last week for promoting itself by highlighting the eyesores of other UK resorts ?
31. Which TV series has been criticized for showing a decapitated head of George W. Bush in a couple of scenes ?
32. Who has been accused of doping offences – which he continues to strenuously deny ?
33. Actress Ann Rutherford passed away. Her most famous role was in which famous Hollywood film ?
34. Who has left US X Factor to join the panel of the British show ?
35. Which lyricist, musician and humourist was knighted in the Birthday Honours ?
1. Sara Errani
2. Kate Rothschild
3. Pennal
4. Timothy Bradley
5. Benzo Fury
6. Denesh Ramdin
7. High Kingdom
8. John Maples
9. Jerry Sandusky
10. Park Lane
11. Habbo Hotel
12. Nicholas Mahut
13. Rita Isidori
14. Henry Hill
15. Major Lui Yang
16. Dan Penteado
17. Daniel Pytlarz
18. Nick Wallenda
19. John Edwards
20. Allen Stanford
21. Jonathan Joseph
22. Zaha Hadid
In Other News
1. Theresa May has announced that foreign nationals wishing to settle in the UK will need to have a minimum annual income of what to be allowed ?
2. How much was asked for by Spain for a bailout ?
3. Which were the first team to defeat Netherlands in this year’s Euro ?
4. How many women before Maria Sharapova have done the career Grand Slam in the Open era ?
5. What was the score in the first test between England and the Springboks ?
6. Which members of the Royal Family visited Gibraltar last week ?
7. The Saudi version of Britain’s Got Talent received criticism last week – for what reason ?
8. Which team drew 1 – 1 with Spain ?
9. How long is Roberto di Matteo’s new deal with Chelsea ?
10. Who won the Canadian Grand Prix ?
11. Which race was won for the second year running by Bradley Wiggins ?
12. Where did GB and Ireland win the Curtis Cup ?
13. A rare letter in English by whom fetched £262,000 at auction last week ?
14. Where did England play their 1 – 1 draw with France ?
15. Name the 4 players who scored goals for England in their first 2 games at the Euro ?
16. How many times has Rafael Nadal won the Men’s singles at the French Open ?
17. What announcement did the AA make about their road guides ?
18. What was denied listed building status last week ?
19. For his part in which play did James Corden win a Tony award last week ?
20. How old is the Duke of Edinburgh ?
21. Parts of which Rome landmark was reported as crumbling last week ?
22. Which former Everton and England goalkeeper passed away last week aged 69 ?
23. Who is the coach of the Russian football team ?
24. In a survey which city has become the world’s most expensive ?
25. Who apologized to Morrisey for accusing him of racism ?
26. After how many years has a coroner finally ruled that Lindy Chamberlain’s daughter Azaria was killed by a dingo ?
27. Which legendary Olympic boxer passed away last week ?
28. What was voted the most popular advertising jingle of all time in the UK ?
29. An Edexcel A Level exam paper in which subject had to be cancelled after papers were mistakenly sent to Egypt ?
30. Which English resort was criticized last week for promoting itself by highlighting the eyesores of other UK resorts ?
31. Which TV series has been criticized for showing a decapitated head of George W. Bush in a couple of scenes ?
32. Who has been accused of doping offences – which he continues to strenuously deny ?
33. Actress Ann Rutherford passed away. Her most famous role was in which famous Hollywood film ?
34. Who has left US X Factor to join the panel of the British show ?
35. Which lyricist, musician and humourist was knighted in the Birthday Honours ?
Answers to News Questions
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news ?
1. Natalie Harrison
2. Eli Alfred
3. Seamus Heffernan
4. Was
5. Spirit of Chartwell
6. Ursula Katherine
7. Helen Johnstone
8. Danny Welbeck
9. Gary Cahill
10. Dirk Kuyt
11. Leanne Mitchell
12. Ricky Martin
13. Alex Cassie
14. Tintin in America
15. Mike Hall
16. Jean de Villiers
17. Martin Kelly
18. Abu Yahya al Libi
19. Wii u
20. Scott Walker
21. Close Protection UK
22. Dr. Riad Hajib
23. David Ferrer
24. Dorothy Richards and Marjorie Ruddle
25. Simon Berkowitz
26. Herb Reed
27. Aaron Cook
28. Rocco Magnotta
29. Solar Impulse
In Other News
1. Who was allowed leave to remain in Libya last week ?
2. Which fast food founder’s long lost autobiography is going to be published ?
3. What is troubled Spanish banking group Bankia offering to entice young savers to keep their accounts open ?
4. In which Midlands town was there a minor earthquake last week ?
5. Theresa May ordered a new inquiry into what ?
6. The Republic of Ireland voted yes in a referendum on what ?
7. Who sold his Money Saving Expert website last week for £87 million ?
8. The father of which Oscar winning actress is being investigated over alleged bigamy ?
9. Who quite Sale RFC to work with England ?
10. How many substitutes will clubs in the Football League be allowed next season ?
11. Who was given a life sentence for complicity in the murder of 850 protestors ?
12. What was the score in the England v Belgium friendly football match ?
13. Name the father and son trainer and jockey combination that won the Derby with Camelot
14. What was the score in the Wales v. Barbarians match ?
15. What did the Queen’s Englsih Society announce last week ?
16. Which two Hollywood stars began a court case over failed investments ?
17. Which Welsh town has welcomed back traffic wardens after a year’s absence ?
18. The Duke of Edinburgh was hopitalised for which reason ?
19. – and in which hospital ?
20. Tiger Woods equaled Jack Nicklaus record number of PGA tour wins. In which event – and how many wins ?
21. Which group performed on the roof of Buckingham Palace for the Jubilee ?
22. Which supermarket was accused of using beef from cows raised on illegally forested rain forest land ?
23. Near which African city did a plane crash occur ?
24. – and which airline was involved ?
25. What was the score in the Scotland v. Australia rugby match ?
26. Which police inspector is to be brought out of retirement ?
27. Which sci fi author passed away aged 91 ?
28. How many years will it be until the next transit of Venus ?
29. According to a survey what is the most reliable family car ?
30. A Japanese dock, washed away in last year’s tsunami, was washed ashore where ?
31. Who has said that he will not stand as Mitt Romney’s running mate ?
32. Who qualified as an operational search and rescue captain ?
33. Who announced his retirement from politics ?
34. Name the two players making their debut for England in the rugby union test against the Springboks
Answers
1. She has claimed that Sir Ranulph Fiennes staged accidents for a TV show
2. New baby son of Chris Evans
3. Jockey who won the Oaks
4. Horse that he won the race on
5. Royal Barge the Queen used for Jubilee River Pageant on the Thames
6. Floating belfry on same
7. British aid worker freed in Afghanistan by SAS
8. Scorer of England goal v. Belgium
9. Broke jaw in same match
10. Left Liverpool FC to join Fehnerbace
11. Winner of BBC’s The Voice
12. Winner of BBC’s The Apprentice
13. Passed away , master forger for the real Great Escape
14. Became the most expensive comic book ever
15. Won the Round the World Cycle race in 92 days
16. Captain of the Springboks rugby team
17. Drafted into England Euro squad to replace Gary Cahill
18. Al Queda 2nd in command killed in drone attack
19. New Nintendo games console unveiled last week
20. Governor of Wisconsin, first US Governor ever to win a recall election
21. Security firm criticized for the way it treated volunteers and jobseekers it used for jubilee stewards
22. New PM of Syria
23. Defeated Andy Murray in quarter finals of the French Open
24. The world’s oldest sisters
25. Criminal with over 250 convictions, has just been convicted again
26. Founder member of the Platters who passed away
27. World No. 1 controversially left out of GB Taekwondo team for the Olympics
28. Porn star accused of being ‘killer cannibal’
29. Solar powered airplane that flew from Spain to Morocco
Answers to the Other news
1. Saif al Asif Gaddafi
2. Colonel Saunders
3. A free Spiderman towel
4. Ludlow
5. The Murder of Stephen Lawrence
6. The European Fiscal Treaty
7. Martin Lewis
8. Rhys Witherspoon
9. Andy Farrell
10. 7
11. Hosni Mubarak
12. 1 – 0
13. Aidan and Joseph O’Brien
14. Wales win 30 – 21
15. It was winding up due to lack of interest
16. Steven Baldwin and Kevin Costner
17. Aberystwyth
18. A bladder infection
19. King Edward VII
20. In the Memorial – 73 wins
21. Madness
22. Tesco
23. Lagos
24. Dana Air
25. Scotland won 9 – 6
26. Rebus
27. Ray Bradbury
28. 105
29. Toyota Corolla
30. Oregon
31. Jeb Bush
32. The Duke of Cambridge
33. Nicholas Sarkozy
34. Joe Marler and Tom Johnson
1. Natalie Harrison
2. Eli Alfred
3. Seamus Heffernan
4. Was
5. Spirit of Chartwell
6. Ursula Katherine
7. Helen Johnstone
8. Danny Welbeck
9. Gary Cahill
10. Dirk Kuyt
11. Leanne Mitchell
12. Ricky Martin
13. Alex Cassie
14. Tintin in America
15. Mike Hall
16. Jean de Villiers
17. Martin Kelly
18. Abu Yahya al Libi
19. Wii u
20. Scott Walker
21. Close Protection UK
22. Dr. Riad Hajib
23. David Ferrer
24. Dorothy Richards and Marjorie Ruddle
25. Simon Berkowitz
26. Herb Reed
27. Aaron Cook
28. Rocco Magnotta
29. Solar Impulse
In Other News
1. Who was allowed leave to remain in Libya last week ?
2. Which fast food founder’s long lost autobiography is going to be published ?
3. What is troubled Spanish banking group Bankia offering to entice young savers to keep their accounts open ?
4. In which Midlands town was there a minor earthquake last week ?
5. Theresa May ordered a new inquiry into what ?
6. The Republic of Ireland voted yes in a referendum on what ?
7. Who sold his Money Saving Expert website last week for £87 million ?
8. The father of which Oscar winning actress is being investigated over alleged bigamy ?
9. Who quite Sale RFC to work with England ?
10. How many substitutes will clubs in the Football League be allowed next season ?
11. Who was given a life sentence for complicity in the murder of 850 protestors ?
12. What was the score in the England v Belgium friendly football match ?
13. Name the father and son trainer and jockey combination that won the Derby with Camelot
14. What was the score in the Wales v. Barbarians match ?
15. What did the Queen’s Englsih Society announce last week ?
16. Which two Hollywood stars began a court case over failed investments ?
17. Which Welsh town has welcomed back traffic wardens after a year’s absence ?
18. The Duke of Edinburgh was hopitalised for which reason ?
19. – and in which hospital ?
20. Tiger Woods equaled Jack Nicklaus record number of PGA tour wins. In which event – and how many wins ?
21. Which group performed on the roof of Buckingham Palace for the Jubilee ?
22. Which supermarket was accused of using beef from cows raised on illegally forested rain forest land ?
23. Near which African city did a plane crash occur ?
24. – and which airline was involved ?
25. What was the score in the Scotland v. Australia rugby match ?
26. Which police inspector is to be brought out of retirement ?
27. Which sci fi author passed away aged 91 ?
28. How many years will it be until the next transit of Venus ?
29. According to a survey what is the most reliable family car ?
30. A Japanese dock, washed away in last year’s tsunami, was washed ashore where ?
31. Who has said that he will not stand as Mitt Romney’s running mate ?
32. Who qualified as an operational search and rescue captain ?
33. Who announced his retirement from politics ?
34. Name the two players making their debut for England in the rugby union test against the Springboks
Answers
1. She has claimed that Sir Ranulph Fiennes staged accidents for a TV show
2. New baby son of Chris Evans
3. Jockey who won the Oaks
4. Horse that he won the race on
5. Royal Barge the Queen used for Jubilee River Pageant on the Thames
6. Floating belfry on same
7. British aid worker freed in Afghanistan by SAS
8. Scorer of England goal v. Belgium
9. Broke jaw in same match
10. Left Liverpool FC to join Fehnerbace
11. Winner of BBC’s The Voice
12. Winner of BBC’s The Apprentice
13. Passed away , master forger for the real Great Escape
14. Became the most expensive comic book ever
15. Won the Round the World Cycle race in 92 days
16. Captain of the Springboks rugby team
17. Drafted into England Euro squad to replace Gary Cahill
18. Al Queda 2nd in command killed in drone attack
19. New Nintendo games console unveiled last week
20. Governor of Wisconsin, first US Governor ever to win a recall election
21. Security firm criticized for the way it treated volunteers and jobseekers it used for jubilee stewards
22. New PM of Syria
23. Defeated Andy Murray in quarter finals of the French Open
24. The world’s oldest sisters
25. Criminal with over 250 convictions, has just been convicted again
26. Founder member of the Platters who passed away
27. World No. 1 controversially left out of GB Taekwondo team for the Olympics
28. Porn star accused of being ‘killer cannibal’
29. Solar powered airplane that flew from Spain to Morocco
Answers to the Other news
1. Saif al Asif Gaddafi
2. Colonel Saunders
3. A free Spiderman towel
4. Ludlow
5. The Murder of Stephen Lawrence
6. The European Fiscal Treaty
7. Martin Lewis
8. Rhys Witherspoon
9. Andy Farrell
10. 7
11. Hosni Mubarak
12. 1 – 0
13. Aidan and Joseph O’Brien
14. Wales win 30 – 21
15. It was winding up due to lack of interest
16. Steven Baldwin and Kevin Costner
17. Aberystwyth
18. A bladder infection
19. King Edward VII
20. In the Memorial – 73 wins
21. Madness
22. Tesco
23. Lagos
24. Dana Air
25. Scotland won 9 – 6
26. Rebus
27. Ray Bradbury
28. 105
29. Toyota Corolla
30. Oregon
31. Jeb Bush
32. The Duke of Cambridge
33. Nicholas Sarkozy
34. Joe Marler and Tom Johnson
Thanks !
Yes indeed - many thanks to everyone who took the time and trouble to send me birthday wishes on Facebook yesterday - I'm really grateful. I did have a very nice day thanks. I saw my year group off onto their week's work experience yesterday, and there's always a special atmosphere at school on the induction day. As it happened, yesterday was also the 5th anniversary of my Mastermind final - it was one of those serendipidous coincidences that happen in your life from time to time that it just so happened to happen on my birthday.
Speaking of coincidences, I was going to ask about Swansea City's new manager in the news quesations , but I'll mention it here. Yesterday it was announced that Swansea City ( nearest premier league football club to home ) have a new manager in the shape of Michael Laudrup. Who just so happened to be born on the same day as me.
Once again, thanks to everyone who sent good wishes.
Sunday, 10 June 2012
Do Specialist Questions belong in a pub quiz ? ?
I’m honest enough to admit that they’re fine by me as long as I know the answer. If I don’t though . . . I’ll tell you why I mention it. There were just a couple of questions that were asked in the rugby club by Dai Norwich last Thursday – well , more than a couple , if truth be known, which seemed to me to go a little way beyond the level of general knowledge and into the realm of the specialism. See what you think –
* What was the name of the dragon in the Herbs ?
For anyone under their late 40s, I’ll tell you the answer – it was Tarragon. He didn’t appear in all that many episodes of the Herbs, either, as I recall. The other question was : -
* What is the name of the inn in Bree where Aragorn meets the hobbits in The Fellowship of the Ring ?
Again, if you’ve never read it, or can’t remember, the answer is The Prancing Pony.
I won’t lie, I was glad enough to hear these two questions on Thursday night, having known the answer to both of them. Which certainly contributed to us scoring 2 points more on the questions than Lemurs did. Granted, Lemurs scored 4 points more than we did on the picture handout, but at the moment I’m more than happy enough to settle for a moral victory in the club.
It’s not that often, though, that I do find I’m asked questions in pub quizzes where I think to myself – hmm, that’s a bit specialist, isn’t it ? – and – hang on a minute, though , I do know the answer ! There was one occasion in a quiz where, in a round of 20 questions, there was one about Henry Ford, one about the Prince Regent and one about London Bridge – my three 2007 Mastermind subjects. When I asked him later the question master swore blind that he hadn’t done it deliberately, and that it was pure coincidence, or synchronicity , or maybe even serendipity. Perhaps. Well, I’m off to the Dyffryn Arms in about half an hour, and I’ll be Billy No Mates tonight since John can’t make it, so a round full of questions like this would suit me fine. No chance.
* What was the name of the dragon in the Herbs ?
For anyone under their late 40s, I’ll tell you the answer – it was Tarragon. He didn’t appear in all that many episodes of the Herbs, either, as I recall. The other question was : -
* What is the name of the inn in Bree where Aragorn meets the hobbits in The Fellowship of the Ring ?
Again, if you’ve never read it, or can’t remember, the answer is The Prancing Pony.
I won’t lie, I was glad enough to hear these two questions on Thursday night, having known the answer to both of them. Which certainly contributed to us scoring 2 points more on the questions than Lemurs did. Granted, Lemurs scored 4 points more than we did on the picture handout, but at the moment I’m more than happy enough to settle for a moral victory in the club.
It’s not that often, though, that I do find I’m asked questions in pub quizzes where I think to myself – hmm, that’s a bit specialist, isn’t it ? – and – hang on a minute, though , I do know the answer ! There was one occasion in a quiz where, in a round of 20 questions, there was one about Henry Ford, one about the Prince Regent and one about London Bridge – my three 2007 Mastermind subjects. When I asked him later the question master swore blind that he hadn’t done it deliberately, and that it was pure coincidence, or synchronicity , or maybe even serendipity. Perhaps. Well, I’m off to the Dyffryn Arms in about half an hour, and I’ll be Billy No Mates tonight since John can’t make it, so a round full of questions like this would suit me fine. No chance.
Friday, 8 June 2012
News Questions
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news ?
1. Natalie Harrison
2. Eli Alfred
3. Seamus Heffernan
4. Was
5. Spirit of Chartwell
6. Ursula Katherine
7. Helen Johnstone
8. Danny Welbeck
9. Gary Cahill
10. Dirk Kuyt
11. Leanne Mitchell
12. Ricky Martin
13. Alex Cassie
14. Tintin in America
15. Mike Hall
16. Jean de Villiers
17. Martin Kelly
18. Abu Yahya al Libi
19. Wii u
20. Scott Walker
21. Close Protection UK
22. Dr. Riad Hajib
23. David Ferrer
24. Dorothy Richards and Marjorie Ruddle
25. Simon Berkowitz
26. Herb Reed
27. Aaron Cook
28. Rocco Magnotta
29. Solar Impulse
In Other News
1. Who was allowed leave to remain in Libya last week ?
2. Which fast food founder’s long lost autobiography is going to be published ?
3. What is troubled Spanish banking group Bankia offering to entice young savers to keep their accounts open ?
4. In which Midlands town was there a minor earthquake last week ?
5. Theresa May ordered a new inquiry into what ?
6. The Republic of Ireland voted yes in a referendum on what ?
7. Who sold his Money Saving Expert website last week for £87 million ?
8. The father of which Oscar winning actress is being investigated over alleged bigamy ?
9. Who quite Sale RFC to work with England ?
10. How many substitutes will clubs in the Football League be allowed next season ?
11. Who was given a life sentence for complicity in the murder of 850 protestors ?
12. What was the score in the England v Belgium friendly football match ?
13. Name the father and son trainer and jockey combination that won the Derby with Camelot
14. What was the score in the Wales v. Barbarians match ?
15. What did the Queen’s Englsih Society announce last week ?
16. Which two Hollywood stars began a court case over failed investments ?
17. Which Welsh town has welcomed back traffic wardens after a year’s absence ?
18. The Duke of Edinburgh was hopitalised for which reason ?
19. – and in which hospital ?
20. Tiger Woods equaled Jack Nicklaus record number of PGA tour wins. In which event – and how many wins ?
21. Which group performed on the roof of Buckingham Palace for the Jubilee ?
22. Which supermarket was accused of using beef from cows raised on illegally forested rain forest land ?
23. Near which African city did a plane crash occur ?
24. – and which airline was involved ?
25. What was the score in the Scotland v. Australia rugby match ?
26. Which police inspector is to be brought out of retirement ?
27. Which sci fi author passed away aged 91 ?
28. How many years will it be until the next transit of Venus ?
29. According to a survey what is the most reliable family car ?
30. A Japanese dock, washed away in last year’s tsunami, was washed ashore where ?
31. Who has said that he will not stand as Mitt Romney’s running mate ?
32. Who qualified as an operational search and rescue captain ?
33. Who announced his retirement from politics ?
34. Name the two players making their debut for England in the rugby union test against the Springboks
1. Natalie Harrison
2. Eli Alfred
3. Seamus Heffernan
4. Was
5. Spirit of Chartwell
6. Ursula Katherine
7. Helen Johnstone
8. Danny Welbeck
9. Gary Cahill
10. Dirk Kuyt
11. Leanne Mitchell
12. Ricky Martin
13. Alex Cassie
14. Tintin in America
15. Mike Hall
16. Jean de Villiers
17. Martin Kelly
18. Abu Yahya al Libi
19. Wii u
20. Scott Walker
21. Close Protection UK
22. Dr. Riad Hajib
23. David Ferrer
24. Dorothy Richards and Marjorie Ruddle
25. Simon Berkowitz
26. Herb Reed
27. Aaron Cook
28. Rocco Magnotta
29. Solar Impulse
In Other News
1. Who was allowed leave to remain in Libya last week ?
2. Which fast food founder’s long lost autobiography is going to be published ?
3. What is troubled Spanish banking group Bankia offering to entice young savers to keep their accounts open ?
4. In which Midlands town was there a minor earthquake last week ?
5. Theresa May ordered a new inquiry into what ?
6. The Republic of Ireland voted yes in a referendum on what ?
7. Who sold his Money Saving Expert website last week for £87 million ?
8. The father of which Oscar winning actress is being investigated over alleged bigamy ?
9. Who quite Sale RFC to work with England ?
10. How many substitutes will clubs in the Football League be allowed next season ?
11. Who was given a life sentence for complicity in the murder of 850 protestors ?
12. What was the score in the England v Belgium friendly football match ?
13. Name the father and son trainer and jockey combination that won the Derby with Camelot
14. What was the score in the Wales v. Barbarians match ?
15. What did the Queen’s Englsih Society announce last week ?
16. Which two Hollywood stars began a court case over failed investments ?
17. Which Welsh town has welcomed back traffic wardens after a year’s absence ?
18. The Duke of Edinburgh was hopitalised for which reason ?
19. – and in which hospital ?
20. Tiger Woods equaled Jack Nicklaus record number of PGA tour wins. In which event – and how many wins ?
21. Which group performed on the roof of Buckingham Palace for the Jubilee ?
22. Which supermarket was accused of using beef from cows raised on illegally forested rain forest land ?
23. Near which African city did a plane crash occur ?
24. – and which airline was involved ?
25. What was the score in the Scotland v. Australia rugby match ?
26. Which police inspector is to be brought out of retirement ?
27. Which sci fi author passed away aged 91 ?
28. How many years will it be until the next transit of Venus ?
29. According to a survey what is the most reliable family car ?
30. A Japanese dock, washed away in last year’s tsunami, was washed ashore where ?
31. Who has said that he will not stand as Mitt Romney’s running mate ?
32. Who qualified as an operational search and rescue captain ?
33. Who announced his retirement from politics ?
34. Name the two players making their debut for England in the rugby union test against the Springboks
Answers to News Questions
Who or what are the following, and why have they been in the news ?
1) Loreen
2) Buzz Cody
3) Paolo Gabriele
4) Ashley Young
5) Baroness Warsi
6) Random
7) Houla
8) Amour
9) The Angels’ Share
10) Ryder Hesjedal
11) Jacqueline Woodhouse
12) American Grown
13) Cavezzo
14) Peter Trelawney
15) Lucian Bute
16) Scimitar
17) Anton Zigurevitch
18) Virginie Razzano
19) Flame
20) Johnny Tapia
21) Phil Jagielka
22) Andy Schleck
23) Eddie Shah
24) Wayne Comben and Graeme Pullen
25) Madeleine Miller
26) Julian Ponder and Rachael Dougall
27) Kemar Roach
28) Mick and Mariaid Philpott
29) Nick Compton
In Other News
1) Which country’s group of singing grannies came second in the Eurovision with “Party for Everybody” ?
2) - and how many points did poor old Engelbert actually score ?
3) Chris Coleman managed which national side for the first time last week ?
4) What was the score in the English Aviva Premiership final ?
5) Which team won the Women’s FA Cup Final ?
6) What is the new British Heptathlon record, and who set it ?
7) Which team won the League One play off ?
8) Which team won the League Two play off ?
9) Who won the Monaco Grand Prix ?
9) Who won the PGA to go top of the world rankings in golf ?
10) What was the score when England played the Barbarians ?
11) What was the score in the Rabo Direct Pro 12 final ?
12) Which 39 year old failed to qualify for the Olympics last week ?
13) Who won the BAFTAs for the Best Actor and Actress ?
14) - and for their roles in which show did they receive them ?
15) Scotland lost 5 – 1 at football to which country ?
16) Who lit the Olympic torch on top of Mount Snowdon ?
17) What was revealed to have been Britain’s most complained about advert ever ?
18) Which town was revealed to be Britain’s safest for cyclists ?
19) What was revealed as the British public’s favourite album of the last 60 years ?
20) What will be Aung San Suu Kyi’s first overseas destination ?
21) Which country did the Barbarians defeat 29 – 28 ?
22) Who was sentenced to 104 days community service for failing to pay child support ?
23) What did Bob Dylan receive this week ?
24) Richard Hammond was heavily criticised for his use of which word in an article ?
25) The National Trust this week said whose birthplace isn’t worth saving ?
26) Which US reality TV star this week accused Heathrow airport baggage handlers of theft ?
27) For how long was Charles Taylor jailed this week ?
28) Who is the new manager of Liverpool FC ?
29) Which team won the English rugby championship final ?
30) When has the doctors’ strike been scheduled ?
31) Whose campaign team spelled America – Americia ?
32) Which footballer was cleared of sexual assault charges ?
33) Who has resigned from the England limited overs cricket team ?
34) What will the League Cup be known as next season ?
35) Who denied that he ever called Jessica Ennis fat ?
Answers
1) Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest. She represented Sweden with the song Euphoria.
2) New son of Frank Skinner and Cath Mason
3) The Pope’s butler, arrested for illegally possessing secret documents
4) Scorer of England’s goal v. Norway
5) Tory peer who may face an expenses inquiry
6) Winner of BAFTA for Best Drama
7) Syrian town, scene of horrific massacre
8) Michaele Haneeke film that won Palme d’Or at Cannes
9) Film by Ken Loach which won the Prix Grand Jury at Cannes
10) Won the Giro d’Italia
11) Jailed for racist rant on tube train
12) New book by Michelle Obama
13) Italian town hit by earthquake
14) Radio 3 journalist arrested in Zimbabwe on a charge of working without a permit
15) Boxer who lost his world super middleweight title to Carl Froch
16) Horse that won the Irish 1000 Guineas
17) New owner of Reading FC
18) She knocked Serena Williams out in the first round of the French Open
19) Computer virus in Middle East
20) US boxer – triple world champion, passed away
21) Drafted into England Euro squad due to Frank Lampard’s injury
22) Belatedly awarded yellow jersey for 2010 Tour de France after Alberto Contador disqualification upheld
23) Former newspaper proprietor charged with sexual assault on girl
24) Caught the biggest shark ever caught off the coast of Britain – a porbeagle
25) Winner of the Orange Prize for The Song of Achilles
26) Facing possible death sentence for drug smuggling in Indonesia
27) West Indies fast bowler out of tour through injury
28) Charged with the murder of their 6 children after house fire
29) Grandson of Dennis Compton – narrowly missed scoring 1000 runs in May
In Other News
1) Russia
2) 12
3) Mexico
4) Harlequins 30 – Leicester 23
5) Birmingham City beat Chelsea on penalties
6) 6,906 – Jessica Ennis
7) Huddersfield
8) Crewe Alexandra
9) Luke Donald
10) 57 – 36 England
11) Ospreys 31 – Leinster 30
12) Halie Gebreselassie
13) Dominic West and Emily Watson
14) Appropriate Adult
15) USA
16) Sir Chris Bonnington
17) KFC – people talking with their mouths full
18) Plymouth
19) The Number of the Beast by Iron Maiden ( honestly !)
20) Thailand
21) Ireland
22) Dennis Rodman
23) The Presidential Medal of Freedom
24) Pikey
25) Ringo Starr
26) Kim Kardashian
27) 50 years
28) Brendan Rodgers
29) London Welsh
30) 21st June
31) Mitt Romney
32) Titus Bramble
33) Kevin Pietersen
34) The Capital One Cup
35) Charles Van Comenee
1) Loreen
2) Buzz Cody
3) Paolo Gabriele
4) Ashley Young
5) Baroness Warsi
6) Random
7) Houla
8) Amour
9) The Angels’ Share
10) Ryder Hesjedal
11) Jacqueline Woodhouse
12) American Grown
13) Cavezzo
14) Peter Trelawney
15) Lucian Bute
16) Scimitar
17) Anton Zigurevitch
18) Virginie Razzano
19) Flame
20) Johnny Tapia
21) Phil Jagielka
22) Andy Schleck
23) Eddie Shah
24) Wayne Comben and Graeme Pullen
25) Madeleine Miller
26) Julian Ponder and Rachael Dougall
27) Kemar Roach
28) Mick and Mariaid Philpott
29) Nick Compton
In Other News
1) Which country’s group of singing grannies came second in the Eurovision with “Party for Everybody” ?
2) - and how many points did poor old Engelbert actually score ?
3) Chris Coleman managed which national side for the first time last week ?
4) What was the score in the English Aviva Premiership final ?
5) Which team won the Women’s FA Cup Final ?
6) What is the new British Heptathlon record, and who set it ?
7) Which team won the League One play off ?
8) Which team won the League Two play off ?
9) Who won the Monaco Grand Prix ?
9) Who won the PGA to go top of the world rankings in golf ?
10) What was the score when England played the Barbarians ?
11) What was the score in the Rabo Direct Pro 12 final ?
12) Which 39 year old failed to qualify for the Olympics last week ?
13) Who won the BAFTAs for the Best Actor and Actress ?
14) - and for their roles in which show did they receive them ?
15) Scotland lost 5 – 1 at football to which country ?
16) Who lit the Olympic torch on top of Mount Snowdon ?
17) What was revealed to have been Britain’s most complained about advert ever ?
18) Which town was revealed to be Britain’s safest for cyclists ?
19) What was revealed as the British public’s favourite album of the last 60 years ?
20) What will be Aung San Suu Kyi’s first overseas destination ?
21) Which country did the Barbarians defeat 29 – 28 ?
22) Who was sentenced to 104 days community service for failing to pay child support ?
23) What did Bob Dylan receive this week ?
24) Richard Hammond was heavily criticised for his use of which word in an article ?
25) The National Trust this week said whose birthplace isn’t worth saving ?
26) Which US reality TV star this week accused Heathrow airport baggage handlers of theft ?
27) For how long was Charles Taylor jailed this week ?
28) Who is the new manager of Liverpool FC ?
29) Which team won the English rugby championship final ?
30) When has the doctors’ strike been scheduled ?
31) Whose campaign team spelled America – Americia ?
32) Which footballer was cleared of sexual assault charges ?
33) Who has resigned from the England limited overs cricket team ?
34) What will the League Cup be known as next season ?
35) Who denied that he ever called Jessica Ennis fat ?
Answers
1) Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest. She represented Sweden with the song Euphoria.
2) New son of Frank Skinner and Cath Mason
3) The Pope’s butler, arrested for illegally possessing secret documents
4) Scorer of England’s goal v. Norway
5) Tory peer who may face an expenses inquiry
6) Winner of BAFTA for Best Drama
7) Syrian town, scene of horrific massacre
8) Michaele Haneeke film that won Palme d’Or at Cannes
9) Film by Ken Loach which won the Prix Grand Jury at Cannes
10) Won the Giro d’Italia
11) Jailed for racist rant on tube train
12) New book by Michelle Obama
13) Italian town hit by earthquake
14) Radio 3 journalist arrested in Zimbabwe on a charge of working without a permit
15) Boxer who lost his world super middleweight title to Carl Froch
16) Horse that won the Irish 1000 Guineas
17) New owner of Reading FC
18) She knocked Serena Williams out in the first round of the French Open
19) Computer virus in Middle East
20) US boxer – triple world champion, passed away
21) Drafted into England Euro squad due to Frank Lampard’s injury
22) Belatedly awarded yellow jersey for 2010 Tour de France after Alberto Contador disqualification upheld
23) Former newspaper proprietor charged with sexual assault on girl
24) Caught the biggest shark ever caught off the coast of Britain – a porbeagle
25) Winner of the Orange Prize for The Song of Achilles
26) Facing possible death sentence for drug smuggling in Indonesia
27) West Indies fast bowler out of tour through injury
28) Charged with the murder of their 6 children after house fire
29) Grandson of Dennis Compton – narrowly missed scoring 1000 runs in May
In Other News
1) Russia
2) 12
3) Mexico
4) Harlequins 30 – Leicester 23
5) Birmingham City beat Chelsea on penalties
6) 6,906 – Jessica Ennis
7) Huddersfield
8) Crewe Alexandra
9) Luke Donald
10) 57 – 36 England
11) Ospreys 31 – Leinster 30
12) Halie Gebreselassie
13) Dominic West and Emily Watson
14) Appropriate Adult
15) USA
16) Sir Chris Bonnington
17) KFC – people talking with their mouths full
18) Plymouth
19) The Number of the Beast by Iron Maiden ( honestly !)
20) Thailand
21) Ireland
22) Dennis Rodman
23) The Presidential Medal of Freedom
24) Pikey
25) Ringo Starr
26) Kim Kardashian
27) 50 years
28) Brendan Rodgers
29) London Welsh
30) 21st June
31) Mitt Romney
32) Titus Bramble
33) Kevin Pietersen
34) The Capital One Cup
35) Charles Van Comenee
Thursday, 7 June 2012
Who wastes time ?
Not that I need an excuse to waste time pottering around the house, but the weather has been so awful it’s pretty much put paid to any ideas I had of using my half term week off for trips or visits to places of interest. As a teacher I do sometimes get people discussing the long summer break ( which never has been 6 weeks, by the way, thanks for asking ) with me, and wondering out loud whether I get bored during it.
No.
Let me qualify that. I’m not saying that I don’t have periods of total inertia, but that’s more to do with being unable to make up my mind which of two or more options I should do first. I’m put in mind of something I read that Sylvia Plath once wrote about seeing herself starving to death in a fig tree because she couldn’t make up her mind which of the figs to eat. So, anyway I thought I’d tell you what I’ve been doing to improve the shining hour over the last couple of days.
I’ve spent not a little time compiling questions. It’s not my turn at the club tonight, and for all I know maybe it won’t be next week. Still, it’s bound to come soon, and my way of thinking was I’m stupid if I don’t put a stock of quizzes together while I’ve got time, rather than putting myself under undue pressure during term time. I’ve tried to do it slightly differently from normal. Usually I’ll do one quiz at a time. I tend to think in terms of broad categories, and put the same category headings into each round. So basically I know that for each quiz I need 8 of this, 8 of that, 4 each of those , and so on. Then I slot them into rounds. This time though I’ve been gathering questions in their 40s and 80s, rather than 5s and 10s. It’s interesting doing it this way, although it does make you realize how samey a lot of your stuff is between quizzes. It made me realize this anyway, so hopefully they should see a change in the club in the next half dozen or so quizzes I do for them.
Then there’s Triviador. Although I was recommended this one by Daniel quite a while ago I never got round to playing it. If you haven’t found this for yourself yet, it’s on Facebook. Basically it’s a trivia duel between three people, who try to answer faster and more accurately than the others in order to slice them up with swords , or shoot the with cannonballs. Yes, a philosophical work, for certain. Be warned, though, it is rather addictive.
Unfortunately I haven’t had a trivia games Marathon as happened at Easter. The twins are preparing for their exams,. and so that’s been put on hold. Bit of a shame since I have collected a couple more trivia games since Easter which I wanted to try out, but they’ll keep, I suppose
I’ve only played in one quiz so far this week. That was the Dyffryn Arms on Sunday. I’m really going to have to try to find another midweek quiz by the end of July so that I can go during the summer holidays. I don’t know, two quizzes a week seems like famine rations to me at the moment. On Sunday I walked in and there was Rob, his wife Pam and some of the guys from the Thursday night team, plus a couple of others too. John wasn’t available, which left just me, with my daughter Jess along for support. So you can imagine how delighted I was that we managed a draw by the skin of our teeth.
I had a lovely email from Glenys Hopkins, asking if I’d like to join the Mastermind Club. I say join, but actually it’s more of a case of rejoin. I did join a few years back, but lost the standing order form and basically dropped out through sheer inertia. Well, your Dave is not the sort of chap to refuse a request from a lady, so I’ve set the wheels in motion there, and hopefully that will all go through OK now. If you’re not sure what I’m on about, basically membership of the Mastermind Club is open to anyone who has been a contender in any version of the show – Original BBCTV – Radio 4 – Discovery – revived BBCTV. I think I’m right in saying that as an organization specifically for people who have taken part in one particular quiz show it’s unique, and I certainly think that in itself is worthy of praise.
Oh, there was the little matter of the Jubilee going on as well, I suppose. Our street party, which was going to be held in the park down the road since we are on a main road, was rained off. All in all it’s been a little restrained. I was going on 13 when the Silver Jubilee happened, and even in suburban West London people made quite a fuss about it – lots of bunting, and decorations, and souvenir tea towels being displayed in front windows as I recall. Mind you, when you compare it to what happened when the Queen drove past my house for the Golden Jubilee, maybe a more restrained celebration is no bad thing. Ten years ago the Queen drove past us , on her way from the station to Margam Park, a couple of miles down the road. The royal roller glided past us, then just 20 yards down the road a local character did something rather unexpected. No names, no pack drill,but she is, well, how can I put it ? Well, let’s say that she is a card carrying member of the oldest profession, or as I think Ronnie Barker put it once , what her profession is I’m not telling you on this programme, but here’s a clue, they have jam on them and appear at teatime. She jumped right out in front of the car, and, erm, completely exposed herself to the royal personages. They never put that on the local news bulletins. Thankfully she wasn’t around when the torch went past.
I don’t know – and people think that teachers just waste their time during the holidays !
No.
Let me qualify that. I’m not saying that I don’t have periods of total inertia, but that’s more to do with being unable to make up my mind which of two or more options I should do first. I’m put in mind of something I read that Sylvia Plath once wrote about seeing herself starving to death in a fig tree because she couldn’t make up her mind which of the figs to eat. So, anyway I thought I’d tell you what I’ve been doing to improve the shining hour over the last couple of days.
I’ve spent not a little time compiling questions. It’s not my turn at the club tonight, and for all I know maybe it won’t be next week. Still, it’s bound to come soon, and my way of thinking was I’m stupid if I don’t put a stock of quizzes together while I’ve got time, rather than putting myself under undue pressure during term time. I’ve tried to do it slightly differently from normal. Usually I’ll do one quiz at a time. I tend to think in terms of broad categories, and put the same category headings into each round. So basically I know that for each quiz I need 8 of this, 8 of that, 4 each of those , and so on. Then I slot them into rounds. This time though I’ve been gathering questions in their 40s and 80s, rather than 5s and 10s. It’s interesting doing it this way, although it does make you realize how samey a lot of your stuff is between quizzes. It made me realize this anyway, so hopefully they should see a change in the club in the next half dozen or so quizzes I do for them.
Then there’s Triviador. Although I was recommended this one by Daniel quite a while ago I never got round to playing it. If you haven’t found this for yourself yet, it’s on Facebook. Basically it’s a trivia duel between three people, who try to answer faster and more accurately than the others in order to slice them up with swords , or shoot the with cannonballs. Yes, a philosophical work, for certain. Be warned, though, it is rather addictive.
Unfortunately I haven’t had a trivia games Marathon as happened at Easter. The twins are preparing for their exams,. and so that’s been put on hold. Bit of a shame since I have collected a couple more trivia games since Easter which I wanted to try out, but they’ll keep, I suppose
I’ve only played in one quiz so far this week. That was the Dyffryn Arms on Sunday. I’m really going to have to try to find another midweek quiz by the end of July so that I can go during the summer holidays. I don’t know, two quizzes a week seems like famine rations to me at the moment. On Sunday I walked in and there was Rob, his wife Pam and some of the guys from the Thursday night team, plus a couple of others too. John wasn’t available, which left just me, with my daughter Jess along for support. So you can imagine how delighted I was that we managed a draw by the skin of our teeth.
I had a lovely email from Glenys Hopkins, asking if I’d like to join the Mastermind Club. I say join, but actually it’s more of a case of rejoin. I did join a few years back, but lost the standing order form and basically dropped out through sheer inertia. Well, your Dave is not the sort of chap to refuse a request from a lady, so I’ve set the wheels in motion there, and hopefully that will all go through OK now. If you’re not sure what I’m on about, basically membership of the Mastermind Club is open to anyone who has been a contender in any version of the show – Original BBCTV – Radio 4 – Discovery – revived BBCTV. I think I’m right in saying that as an organization specifically for people who have taken part in one particular quiz show it’s unique, and I certainly think that in itself is worthy of praise.
Oh, there was the little matter of the Jubilee going on as well, I suppose. Our street party, which was going to be held in the park down the road since we are on a main road, was rained off. All in all it’s been a little restrained. I was going on 13 when the Silver Jubilee happened, and even in suburban West London people made quite a fuss about it – lots of bunting, and decorations, and souvenir tea towels being displayed in front windows as I recall. Mind you, when you compare it to what happened when the Queen drove past my house for the Golden Jubilee, maybe a more restrained celebration is no bad thing. Ten years ago the Queen drove past us , on her way from the station to Margam Park, a couple of miles down the road. The royal roller glided past us, then just 20 yards down the road a local character did something rather unexpected. No names, no pack drill,but she is, well, how can I put it ? Well, let’s say that she is a card carrying member of the oldest profession, or as I think Ronnie Barker put it once , what her profession is I’m not telling you on this programme, but here’s a clue, they have jam on them and appear at teatime. She jumped right out in front of the car, and, erm, completely exposed herself to the royal personages. They never put that on the local news bulletins. Thankfully she wasn’t around when the torch went past.
I don’t know – and people think that teachers just waste their time during the holidays !
Monday, 4 June 2012
Questions where you just don't care . . .
Question – what percentage of women kiss with their eyes closed ? The correct, indeed the only acceptable answer to such a question is, of course, who gives a stuff ? Now I wouldn’t want you thinking that any local question master has upset me recently by asking such a question. In fact I was at the Dyffryn Arms last night, and I thought that the quiz was actually very good. Graham, one of the regular question masters there, has a little bit of a habit of going gimmicky – last letter first letter rounds and the like – but last night I thought that he pitched the quiz very well indeed. IN fact there were a couple of genuinely interesting questions that caught me out – for example, the country that produces more cheese annually than any other. Now, I knew that I’ve been asked this before, and I knew that the answer I gave then, France, was wrong. In fact the only thing I didn’t know was which country actually was the correct answer. It was actually USA – good question.John wasn't there last night, and I have a feeling that he'd have had that right. It's one of the reasons why we work well as a team - he knows stuff that I don't, and vice versa, however, I digress. Any question where you immediately think you should know the answer, yet you still get it wrong is doing something right. Coming back to the question I began this post with, on a question like that, there’s no earthly reason why anyone should either know or care that 97% of women kiss with their eyes closed. I hate this sort of question. You might just as well say name a number between 1 and 100 as ask something like this. I’ll tell you what makes me raise this issue today. My oldest daughter runs a charity shop in Port Talbot. I popped in to have a chat a couple of days ago, and I noticed that someone had donated a box of continuation trivia questions. They were made for WH Smiths in the mid 80s during the Trivial Pursuit boom, and though they obviously couldn’t say it on the box it’s pretty clear that they were meant to be used with alongside TP or ’other trivia board games’ . You can see the box in the photograph. I paid for them – all above board, you see – and when I got home to have a good look, to say that I was disappointed when this question was one of the first to rear its ugly little head would be an understatement. In the interests of fairness I should probably add that they’re not all like that. Still, it does lead me to question what the point is of writing and including a question like that. Unless the thinking behind it is that it’s a game, and after playing , and being asked that question a few times you could amaze your adversaries by answering it correctly. I suppose.
What I don’t really understand is why anyone would want to include a question like this in a pub quiz – and unless you’re very lucky indeed I’m sure that you’ll have been to pub quizzes in the past where questions of this sort will have been asked. I certainly have. Of course this is just my opinion, and of course you must feel free to disagree, as always, but when I compile a set of quiz questions, what I don’t want is any of my questions to provoke people taking part to ask themselves :-
* How on earth can anyone here be expected to know that ?
* Who would ever want to know the answer to that ?
* How does the question setter KNOW the answer to that ? I mean - has he ASKED every woman in the world if they do or not ?
* Who cares about it anyway ?
I expect most question masters would feel the same way. Unless , that is, the purpose of your quiz is to try to show off what you know and prove how clever you are by producing a quiz where nobody in any of the teams can answer a large number of the questions. I’m afraid that there are still a a few QMs like that out there too. Still, not, thankfully in the rugby club, and not in the Dyffryn Arms.
Friday, 1 June 2012
In the News
Who or what are the following, and why have they been in the news ?
1) Loreen
2) Buzz Cody
3) Paolo Gabriele
4) Ashley Young
5) Baroness Warsi
6) Random
7) Houla
8) Amour
9) The Angels’ Share
10) Ryder Hesjedal
11) Jacqueline Woodhouse
12) American Grown
13) Cavezzo
14) Petroc Trelawney
15) Lucian Bute
16) Scimitar
17) Anton Zigurevitch
18) Virginie Razzano
19) Flame
20) Johnny Tapia
21) Phil Jagielka
22) Andy Schleck
23) Eddie Shah
24) Wayne Comben and Graeme Pullen
25) Madeleine Miller
26) Julian Ponder and Rachael Dougall
27) Kemar Roach
28) Mick and Mariaid Philpott
29) Nick Compton
In Other News
1) Which country’s group of singing grannies came second in the Eurovision with “Party for Everybody” ?
2) - and how many points did poor old Engelbert actually score ?
3) Chris Coleman managed which national side for the first time last week ?
4) What was the score in the English Aviva Premiership final ?
5) Which team won the Women’s FA Cup Final ?
6) What is the new British Heptathlon record, and who set it ?
7) Which team won the League One play off ?
8) Which team won the League Two play off ?
9) Who won the Monaco Grand Prix ?
9) Who won the PGA to go top of the world rankings in golf ?
10) What was the score when England played the Barbarians ?
11) What was the score in the Rabo Direct Pro 12 final ?
12) Which 39 year old failed to qualify for the Olympics last week ?
13) Who won the BAFTAs for the Best Actor and Actress ?
14) - and for their roles in which show did they receive them ?
15) Scotland lost 5 – 1 at football to which country ?
16) Who lit the Olympic torch on top of Mount Snowdon ?
17) What was revealed to have been Britain’s most complained about advert ever ?
18) Which town was revealed to be Britain’s safest for cyclists ?
19) What was revealed as the British public’s favourite album of the last 60 years ?
20) What will be Aung San Suu Kyi’s first overseas destination ?
21) Which country did the Barbarians defeat 29 – 28 ?
22) Who was sentenced to 104 days community service for failing to pay child support ?
23) What did Bob Dylan receive this week ?
24) Richard Hammond was heavily criticised for his use of which word in an article ?
25) The National Trust this week said whose birthplace isn’t worth saving ?
26) Which US reality TV star this week accused Heathrow airport baggage handlers of theft ?
27) For how long was Charles Taylor jailed this week ?
28) Who is the new manager of Liverpool FC ?
29) Which team won the English rugby championship final ?
30) When has the doctors’ strike been scheduled ?
31) Whose campaign team spelled America – Americia ?
32) Which footballer was cleared of sexual assault charges ?
33) Who has resigned from the England limited overs cricket team ?
34) What will the League Cup be known as next season ?
35) Who denied that he ever called Jessica Ennis fat ?
1) Loreen
2) Buzz Cody
3) Paolo Gabriele
4) Ashley Young
5) Baroness Warsi
6) Random
7) Houla
8) Amour
9) The Angels’ Share
10) Ryder Hesjedal
11) Jacqueline Woodhouse
12) American Grown
13) Cavezzo
14) Petroc Trelawney
15) Lucian Bute
16) Scimitar
17) Anton Zigurevitch
18) Virginie Razzano
19) Flame
20) Johnny Tapia
21) Phil Jagielka
22) Andy Schleck
23) Eddie Shah
24) Wayne Comben and Graeme Pullen
25) Madeleine Miller
26) Julian Ponder and Rachael Dougall
27) Kemar Roach
28) Mick and Mariaid Philpott
29) Nick Compton
In Other News
1) Which country’s group of singing grannies came second in the Eurovision with “Party for Everybody” ?
2) - and how many points did poor old Engelbert actually score ?
3) Chris Coleman managed which national side for the first time last week ?
4) What was the score in the English Aviva Premiership final ?
5) Which team won the Women’s FA Cup Final ?
6) What is the new British Heptathlon record, and who set it ?
7) Which team won the League One play off ?
8) Which team won the League Two play off ?
9) Who won the Monaco Grand Prix ?
9) Who won the PGA to go top of the world rankings in golf ?
10) What was the score when England played the Barbarians ?
11) What was the score in the Rabo Direct Pro 12 final ?
12) Which 39 year old failed to qualify for the Olympics last week ?
13) Who won the BAFTAs for the Best Actor and Actress ?
14) - and for their roles in which show did they receive them ?
15) Scotland lost 5 – 1 at football to which country ?
16) Who lit the Olympic torch on top of Mount Snowdon ?
17) What was revealed to have been Britain’s most complained about advert ever ?
18) Which town was revealed to be Britain’s safest for cyclists ?
19) What was revealed as the British public’s favourite album of the last 60 years ?
20) What will be Aung San Suu Kyi’s first overseas destination ?
21) Which country did the Barbarians defeat 29 – 28 ?
22) Who was sentenced to 104 days community service for failing to pay child support ?
23) What did Bob Dylan receive this week ?
24) Richard Hammond was heavily criticised for his use of which word in an article ?
25) The National Trust this week said whose birthplace isn’t worth saving ?
26) Which US reality TV star this week accused Heathrow airport baggage handlers of theft ?
27) For how long was Charles Taylor jailed this week ?
28) Who is the new manager of Liverpool FC ?
29) Which team won the English rugby championship final ?
30) When has the doctors’ strike been scheduled ?
31) Whose campaign team spelled America – Americia ?
32) Which footballer was cleared of sexual assault charges ?
33) Who has resigned from the England limited overs cricket team ?
34) What will the League Cup be known as next season ?
35) Who denied that he ever called Jessica Ennis fat ?
Answers to News Questions
Who or what are the following, and why have they been in the news ?
1) Sing
2) The Canterville Ghost
3) Bankia
4) Priscilla Chan
5) Chen Guancheng
6) David Price
7) Jenna Talackova
8) Carina Trimingham
9) Hugh Robertson
10) Eugene Polley
11) Phil Dowson
12) Uttershaw
13) Gryffindor
14) Jonathan Ive
15) Alesha Ahmed
16) Pastora Soler
17) Love Will Set You Free
18) Alan Oakley
19) Hibu
20) Tokyo Skytree
21) Falcon 5
22) Adrian Beecroft
23) Georgia Davis In Other News
1) Which welsh town became the world’s first wikipedia town ?
2) The G8 Meeting last week took place where ?
3) What breed is Britain’s Got Talent winner Pudsey ?
4) Who died in Libya ?
5) In pounds what was the flotation vallue of Facebook ?
5) The italian earthquake between Modena, Ferrara and Bologna was which force on the Richter scale ?
6) How many wickets were taken by Stuart Broad in the first test ?
7) Which team won the Championship play off final ?
8) Which team won promotion back into the Football League ?
9) What was the final score in the Heineken Cup Final ?
10) What punged the German town of Hamelin into darkness ?
11) Whose Brighton Beach house was saved last week ?
12) Which part of Britain’s road system celebrated its 40th birthday last week ?
13) A British company tried to auction off what last week, but were prevented ?
14) Kevin Pietersen was fined for his tweet about whom ?
15) Who told Jeremy Paxman how to hack into someone’s phone messages ?
16) Free elections were being held for the first time in which country ?
17) Which country has withdrawn its ambassador from Azerbaijan over the Eurovision Song Contest ?
18) What punishment did Joey Barton receive last week ?
19) Why has an AQA GCSE paper received heavy criticism ?
20) Who took pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix ?
21) Who is the only british woman tennis player to qualify for the French Open ?
22) Which is the world’s most valuable brand ?
23) Which is the UK’s most valuable brand ?
24) Who have abandoned their sponsorship of a well known literary prize ?
25) Whose ashes were taken to the International Space Station ? Answers
1) Gary Barlow’s song for the Diamond Jubilee
2) Film which will reunite Fry and Laurie
3) Spanish Bank in dire straits
4) Married Mark Zuckerberg last week
5) Blind chinese dissident finally arrived in USA
6) Won British Heavyweight Boxing championship
7) Transsexual who entered Miss Universe Canada
8) Lover of Chris Huhne lost privacy case in the High Court
9) Minister for the Olympic Games
10) Inventor of the TV remote control , passed away
11) Captain of England RFU team v. Barbarians
12) Home of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle under threat of being turned into town houses
13) Name of one of the Queen’s dogs
14) Apple designer received knighthood from the Queen
15) Claimed in high court that she watched her parents murder her sister Shafilea
16) Spanish singer claimed she hoped that she does not win Eurovision because Spain cannot afford to stage the contest next year if she does
17) Title of UK entry to Eurovision sung by Engelbert Humperdinck
18) Inventor of Raleigh Chopper, passed away
19) New name of Yell.com – online yellow pages
20) World’s tallest free standing tower
21) First ever private mission to the International Space Station
22) Businessman whose report recommends scrapping unfair dismissal laws
23) 63 stone teen whose house had to be partially demolished to allow emergency services to take her to hospital
In Other News
1) Monmouth
2) Camp David
3) Bichon Frise cross
4) Abdel Basset al-Megrahi
5) £66 billion
6) 9
7) West Ham
8) York City
9) Leinster42 – Ulster 14
10) Ironically a plague of rats destroyed power cables
11) Dave Gilmour
12) Spaghetti Junction – Gravelly Hill Interchange
13) A vial of Ronald Reagan’s blood
14) Nick Knight
15) Piers Morgan
16) Egypt
17) Iran
18) 12 match ban
19) Because it asked why some people are prejudiced against jews
20) Mark Webber – Michael schumacher was fastest, but was penalised 5 grid places for infringements in the previous race
21) Heather Watson
22) Apple
23) Vodafone ( 12th in the world)
24) Orange
25) 307 people including James Doohan – Scotty from Star Trek
1) Sing
2) The Canterville Ghost
3) Bankia
4) Priscilla Chan
5) Chen Guancheng
6) David Price
7) Jenna Talackova
8) Carina Trimingham
9) Hugh Robertson
10) Eugene Polley
11) Phil Dowson
12) Uttershaw
13) Gryffindor
14) Jonathan Ive
15) Alesha Ahmed
16) Pastora Soler
17) Love Will Set You Free
18) Alan Oakley
19) Hibu
20) Tokyo Skytree
21) Falcon 5
22) Adrian Beecroft
23) Georgia Davis In Other News
1) Which welsh town became the world’s first wikipedia town ?
2) The G8 Meeting last week took place where ?
3) What breed is Britain’s Got Talent winner Pudsey ?
4) Who died in Libya ?
5) In pounds what was the flotation vallue of Facebook ?
5) The italian earthquake between Modena, Ferrara and Bologna was which force on the Richter scale ?
6) How many wickets were taken by Stuart Broad in the first test ?
7) Which team won the Championship play off final ?
8) Which team won promotion back into the Football League ?
9) What was the final score in the Heineken Cup Final ?
10) What punged the German town of Hamelin into darkness ?
11) Whose Brighton Beach house was saved last week ?
12) Which part of Britain’s road system celebrated its 40th birthday last week ?
13) A British company tried to auction off what last week, but were prevented ?
14) Kevin Pietersen was fined for his tweet about whom ?
15) Who told Jeremy Paxman how to hack into someone’s phone messages ?
16) Free elections were being held for the first time in which country ?
17) Which country has withdrawn its ambassador from Azerbaijan over the Eurovision Song Contest ?
18) What punishment did Joey Barton receive last week ?
19) Why has an AQA GCSE paper received heavy criticism ?
20) Who took pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix ?
21) Who is the only british woman tennis player to qualify for the French Open ?
22) Which is the world’s most valuable brand ?
23) Which is the UK’s most valuable brand ?
24) Who have abandoned their sponsorship of a well known literary prize ?
25) Whose ashes were taken to the International Space Station ? Answers
1) Gary Barlow’s song for the Diamond Jubilee
2) Film which will reunite Fry and Laurie
3) Spanish Bank in dire straits
4) Married Mark Zuckerberg last week
5) Blind chinese dissident finally arrived in USA
6) Won British Heavyweight Boxing championship
7) Transsexual who entered Miss Universe Canada
8) Lover of Chris Huhne lost privacy case in the High Court
9) Minister for the Olympic Games
10) Inventor of the TV remote control , passed away
11) Captain of England RFU team v. Barbarians
12) Home of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle under threat of being turned into town houses
13) Name of one of the Queen’s dogs
14) Apple designer received knighthood from the Queen
15) Claimed in high court that she watched her parents murder her sister Shafilea
16) Spanish singer claimed she hoped that she does not win Eurovision because Spain cannot afford to stage the contest next year if she does
17) Title of UK entry to Eurovision sung by Engelbert Humperdinck
18) Inventor of Raleigh Chopper, passed away
19) New name of Yell.com – online yellow pages
20) World’s tallest free standing tower
21) First ever private mission to the International Space Station
22) Businessman whose report recommends scrapping unfair dismissal laws
23) 63 stone teen whose house had to be partially demolished to allow emergency services to take her to hospital
In Other News
1) Monmouth
2) Camp David
3) Bichon Frise cross
4) Abdel Basset al-Megrahi
5) £66 billion
6) 9
7) West Ham
8) York City
9) Leinster42 – Ulster 14
10) Ironically a plague of rats destroyed power cables
11) Dave Gilmour
12) Spaghetti Junction – Gravelly Hill Interchange
13) A vial of Ronald Reagan’s blood
14) Nick Knight
15) Piers Morgan
16) Egypt
17) Iran
18) 12 match ban
19) Because it asked why some people are prejudiced against jews
20) Mark Webber – Michael schumacher was fastest, but was penalised 5 grid places for infringements in the previous race
21) Heather Watson
22) Apple
23) Vodafone ( 12th in the world)
24) Orange
25) 307 people including James Doohan – Scotty from Star Trek
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