In the News
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news?
1. Elliot Rodger
2. Petro Poroshenko
3. Wojciech Jaruzelski
4. Bill Heffernan
5. Catherine Bearder
6. Guillermo Garcia Lopez
7. Dave Smith
8. Malavath Purna
9. Mario Pocchetino
10. Lord Oakeshott
11. Meriam Ibrahim
12. Matthew Saad Muhammad
13. Chris Jordan
14. Solva
15. Quirke
16. Garbine Muguruza
17. Shoko Maru
18. Lord Rennard
19. Abdel Fattah al Sisi
20. George Hamilton
In Other News
1. Who won the Monaco GP?
2. In which position did the Lib Dems finish in the European elections
3. Who won the PGA?
4. What was the result of the Division 1 play off final?
5. – and the Heineken cup Final?
6. Which team won the Championship play off?
7. – and the Champions League?
8. Pfizer dropped their takeover bid for which company?
9. What was voted the nation’s favourite fairy tale?
10. What was the result of the League 2 play off final?
11. Who announced that he is saying his goodbye through his poetry?
12. Who announced that he is to sell Tracey Emin’s My Bed?
13. Which song did Rolf Harris sing a part of in court?
14. There were claims that attempts were being made to fix Scotland’s friendly match against which country?
15. Who was dumped out of the French Open just days after her engagement was broken?
16. Whose new British long jump record was finally ratified?
17. Name the two members of One Direction allegedly filmed smoking cannabis
18. Which finding of the British Social Attitudes Survey caused most headlines last week?
19. Name the owner of Man Utd. who passed away aged 85
20. Which celebrity announced that he is to appear on a celebrity version of the Jeremy Kyle show?
21. Maya Angelou passed away last week. What was the title of her first volume of autobiography?
22. Which company announced plans to build a self driving car?
23. Who had to apologise for sexist comments he made on Question Time?
24. In the Forbes List who retained her place as the world’s most powerful woman?
25. Panorama criticized which charity for investing in companies that manufacture arms, tobacco and alcohol?
26. The Mayor of New York repealed a ban on which creatures?
27. What was the score in the England v. Peru match?
28. Name all the goalscorers
29. Who announced he will be playing for Lancashire in the T20 blast?
30. Who resigned from The Oldie last week?
Saturday, 31 May 2014
Friday, 30 May 2014
Put up with it, Son
It was back in the spring of 1985 that I first met Mary, in Queensway Ice Rink in London, as it happens. Yes, gentle reader, this bulky torso could once glide across the ice like a yeti on rails, however that isn’t really the point of this story. Within a few weeks of meeting we were boyfriend and girlfriend, and we used to meet on a Wednesday afternoon, when she had her half day off. I would sit waiting for her in Leicester Square, watching the road to Leicester Square tube station, whence she would come. One afternoon I was doing just that, looking down the road towards the station when I realized something was wrong with my vision. Everything was perfectly clear, except for the small area right in the centre of whatever I was trying to look at. Now, this is an extremely difficult experience to describe to anyone. It wasn’t as if there was a dark spot or a void, and anything that you could actually see. The whole point was that you knew that you were looking at something, and you knew what you were looking at, but you just couldn’t see it. I suppose the closest thing that I can compare it to is what can happen to your vision momentarily after you’ve been dazzled by a bright light.
I didn’t mention it to Mary at the time, partly because I didn’t mind thinking I was going mad myself so much, but I didn’t want her thinking it. Well, we’d only been going out for a very short time, then. However I happened to ring my mum when I got back to the student hall later that day, and I mentioned it to her. The conversation went something like this: -
ME : D’you think there’s something wrong with me?
MUM : D’you want me to give you a list?
ME : But seriously ?
MUM: But seriously, don’t get excited. You’ve got migraine. It sounds exactly the same as what I get when I have a migraine.
ME: Oh. . . well that’s a relief, I suppose. What can I do about it then?
MUM: Same as me, son. Shut up and put up with it.
Well, maybe it wasn’t those exact same words, but this was the best part of 30 years ago.
This was a strange time for me. The migraines developed so that the blind spot would last for between quarter and half an hour, and then I’d get strobing lights, which would become a swirl of fluctuating colours, not unlike the aurora borealis. Very pretty actually, although you’ll probably appreciate I was never quite in the best frame of mind to appreciate it. The headaches which would accompany this were very unpleasant, but I was never nauseous with it, nor incapacitated for hours at a stretch like my mum would be with hers.Now at the same time as all of this was going on my left arm started going a bit funny. It would start to ache as if I had been strenuously lifting weights, and let me assure you that I certainly hadn’t been strenuously lifting weights, or strenuously doing anything else with it for that matter. As time went on, and Spring wound into Summer, and Summer declined into Autumn, as the weather got colder my whole arm would start going white. Much against my natural inclination I went back home to Ealing and saw one of the GPs at my local practice. The conversation went something like this: -
DOC: What seems to be the trouble old chap?
ME: My arm keeps going white in the cold weather
(DOC Examines arm)
DOC: Hmm, you have Raynaud’s Syndrome.
ME: Really? What does that mean?
DOC: It means your arm goes white in the cold weather.
ME: Oh, OK, fine. What can I do about it, then?
DOC: Shut up and put up with it, son.
Well, OK, again, they might not have been his exact words, but they were certainly the gist. I protested a little , saying that it was actually hurting me when it happened. He replied that no, it didn’t. After a full and frank exchange of views he promised to make an appointment for me with a specialist at Hammersmith Hospital, which shouldn’t take more than 6 months to come about.
Two days later my arm went white, and no amount of rubbing it, or immersing it in warm water would get the circulation going.
I went back to the surgery and threw myself upon the mercy of the receptionist, and pleaded for an appointment with any of the other doctors than the one I had seen before. After about half an hour’s wait another doctor examine me. His first thoughts were that it certainly looked like Raynaud’s Syndrome, but then he started to closely examine my left shoulder and my neck. Then he very gently lifted my left hand onto my right shoulder, asked me not to move it, and within half an hour I was lying on a table in Hammersmith Hospital.
I will try to explain. I like to think that I’m a genetic mutation from a family of mutants. But then I’m not medically trained and I’ve no doubt that many readers could put me right on the truth of this. Please take it in the spirit that it is meant when I say, just this once, please don’t. Allow me some illusions. My condition was caused by a congenital cervical rib. That’s an extra rib growing from the base of the neck, and there’s only about 1 in 500 of us who have it. Unless you’re in my family, that is. My father probably had it his whole life and never knew, my brothers may well have it, and my son definitely has it. I would never have known, but the problem was that somehow it had started to restrict the main blood vessel into my arm, and blood clots had formed in the arm. I’m not asking for sympathy because I got fantastic treatment from the good people at Hammersmith Hospital , with no adverse affects that I know of, and two satisfyingly large scars to boast of. I’ve had fun making up stories to explain to the kids at school how I got the one on my arm. But one of the unexpected results was that although I still got headaches, some of them quite nasty, I never had the visual disturbances again for a good 20 years after my operations.
If we come forward to about three years ago, it would have been a Monday evening, when the whole staff of the school were participating in a Twilight Session. Essentially a twilight session means – DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT LEAVING THE PREMISES BEFORE 6:30. There’s more to it than that, of course, but that will suffice for our purposes. We were working as individual departments, and being The Computer Literate (just about) One, I was typing up some document, when I realized that I couldn’t see the word I was actually typing. Hello, said I, that’s familiar. Welcome back visual disturbances. Now, I’m not plagued by the things, not unless two or three a year counts as a plague. Still, I do know when they are about to come on. I can’t really explain, but there’s a change in the quality of your vision which alerts you that in ten minutes or so you’re going to have trouble.
This happened again last night. Which wouldn’t have mattered that much, but it was my turn to be questionmaster. I started asking the questions at about ten past nine, and by quarter past I could feel it coming on. By the time I was halfway through reading out the questions to round 2, I could barely make out the words to the question I was trying to read. The funny thing was, I could read the question above and the question below the one I was looking at perfectly well. Which meant that I was able to get through the next couple of rounds using a strange technique which involved looking below the question I actually wanted to read. Whether the fact that I was struggling was noticed by the teams I couldn’t tell you. I strobe my way through round 4, and rounds 5 and 6 were aurora fringed. Thankfully the visuals receded during round 7, and I was able to see clearly throughout round 8. Still, I mention all of this since it’s the first time I can remember being taken ill during a stint as Question master. I’ve played in quizzes when I’ve been suffering with colds and flu, but on each occasion I was suffering before I left the house – and for that matter I was still suffering by the time I returned home. Curiously I can remember one occasion during the old Neath League when I played looking and feeling like death warmed up – and played an absolute stormer, far better than I normally did. Still I digress. Last night was the first time I’ve been afflicted while acting as question master, and I suppose that it confirmed me in my view that when you’re the QM , if the show possibly CAN go on, then it must. Of course, that’s just my opinion, and as always, feel free to disagree . . .
I didn’t mention it to Mary at the time, partly because I didn’t mind thinking I was going mad myself so much, but I didn’t want her thinking it. Well, we’d only been going out for a very short time, then. However I happened to ring my mum when I got back to the student hall later that day, and I mentioned it to her. The conversation went something like this: -
ME : D’you think there’s something wrong with me?
MUM : D’you want me to give you a list?
ME : But seriously ?
MUM: But seriously, don’t get excited. You’ve got migraine. It sounds exactly the same as what I get when I have a migraine.
ME: Oh. . . well that’s a relief, I suppose. What can I do about it then?
MUM: Same as me, son. Shut up and put up with it.
Well, maybe it wasn’t those exact same words, but this was the best part of 30 years ago.
This was a strange time for me. The migraines developed so that the blind spot would last for between quarter and half an hour, and then I’d get strobing lights, which would become a swirl of fluctuating colours, not unlike the aurora borealis. Very pretty actually, although you’ll probably appreciate I was never quite in the best frame of mind to appreciate it. The headaches which would accompany this were very unpleasant, but I was never nauseous with it, nor incapacitated for hours at a stretch like my mum would be with hers.Now at the same time as all of this was going on my left arm started going a bit funny. It would start to ache as if I had been strenuously lifting weights, and let me assure you that I certainly hadn’t been strenuously lifting weights, or strenuously doing anything else with it for that matter. As time went on, and Spring wound into Summer, and Summer declined into Autumn, as the weather got colder my whole arm would start going white. Much against my natural inclination I went back home to Ealing and saw one of the GPs at my local practice. The conversation went something like this: -
DOC: What seems to be the trouble old chap?
ME: My arm keeps going white in the cold weather
(DOC Examines arm)
DOC: Hmm, you have Raynaud’s Syndrome.
ME: Really? What does that mean?
DOC: It means your arm goes white in the cold weather.
ME: Oh, OK, fine. What can I do about it, then?
DOC: Shut up and put up with it, son.
Well, OK, again, they might not have been his exact words, but they were certainly the gist. I protested a little , saying that it was actually hurting me when it happened. He replied that no, it didn’t. After a full and frank exchange of views he promised to make an appointment for me with a specialist at Hammersmith Hospital, which shouldn’t take more than 6 months to come about.
Two days later my arm went white, and no amount of rubbing it, or immersing it in warm water would get the circulation going.
I went back to the surgery and threw myself upon the mercy of the receptionist, and pleaded for an appointment with any of the other doctors than the one I had seen before. After about half an hour’s wait another doctor examine me. His first thoughts were that it certainly looked like Raynaud’s Syndrome, but then he started to closely examine my left shoulder and my neck. Then he very gently lifted my left hand onto my right shoulder, asked me not to move it, and within half an hour I was lying on a table in Hammersmith Hospital.
I will try to explain. I like to think that I’m a genetic mutation from a family of mutants. But then I’m not medically trained and I’ve no doubt that many readers could put me right on the truth of this. Please take it in the spirit that it is meant when I say, just this once, please don’t. Allow me some illusions. My condition was caused by a congenital cervical rib. That’s an extra rib growing from the base of the neck, and there’s only about 1 in 500 of us who have it. Unless you’re in my family, that is. My father probably had it his whole life and never knew, my brothers may well have it, and my son definitely has it. I would never have known, but the problem was that somehow it had started to restrict the main blood vessel into my arm, and blood clots had formed in the arm. I’m not asking for sympathy because I got fantastic treatment from the good people at Hammersmith Hospital , with no adverse affects that I know of, and two satisfyingly large scars to boast of. I’ve had fun making up stories to explain to the kids at school how I got the one on my arm. But one of the unexpected results was that although I still got headaches, some of them quite nasty, I never had the visual disturbances again for a good 20 years after my operations.
If we come forward to about three years ago, it would have been a Monday evening, when the whole staff of the school were participating in a Twilight Session. Essentially a twilight session means – DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT LEAVING THE PREMISES BEFORE 6:30. There’s more to it than that, of course, but that will suffice for our purposes. We were working as individual departments, and being The Computer Literate (just about) One, I was typing up some document, when I realized that I couldn’t see the word I was actually typing. Hello, said I, that’s familiar. Welcome back visual disturbances. Now, I’m not plagued by the things, not unless two or three a year counts as a plague. Still, I do know when they are about to come on. I can’t really explain, but there’s a change in the quality of your vision which alerts you that in ten minutes or so you’re going to have trouble.
This happened again last night. Which wouldn’t have mattered that much, but it was my turn to be questionmaster. I started asking the questions at about ten past nine, and by quarter past I could feel it coming on. By the time I was halfway through reading out the questions to round 2, I could barely make out the words to the question I was trying to read. The funny thing was, I could read the question above and the question below the one I was looking at perfectly well. Which meant that I was able to get through the next couple of rounds using a strange technique which involved looking below the question I actually wanted to read. Whether the fact that I was struggling was noticed by the teams I couldn’t tell you. I strobe my way through round 4, and rounds 5 and 6 were aurora fringed. Thankfully the visuals receded during round 7, and I was able to see clearly throughout round 8. Still, I mention all of this since it’s the first time I can remember being taken ill during a stint as Question master. I’ve played in quizzes when I’ve been suffering with colds and flu, but on each occasion I was suffering before I left the house – and for that matter I was still suffering by the time I returned home. Curiously I can remember one occasion during the old Neath League when I played looking and feeling like death warmed up – and played an absolute stormer, far better than I normally did. Still I digress. Last night was the first time I’ve been afflicted while acting as question master, and I suppose that it confirmed me in my view that when you’re the QM , if the show possibly CAN go on, then it must. Of course, that’s just my opinion, and as always, feel free to disagree . . .
Answers to News Questions
In the News
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news?
1. Martin Bartlett
2. Shaun Walker and Trevor Duckworth
3. Xscape
4. Sean HArris
5. Olivia Colman
6. Arnold Pickering
7. Jerome Kerviel
8. Becky DOwnie
9. Evo Morales
10. Welcome to New York
11. Luis Enrique
12. Cheeky Rafiki
13. Danny Nightingale
14. Lucy Li
15. Merville
16. Spirit
17. Ghost Stories
18. Robbie Grabarz
19. Justice Russell
20. Prince Rupert Zu Loewenstein
21. Matthew Warchus
22. Nick Herbert MP
23. Lou Vincent and Naveed Arif
24. Charlie Fitch
25. Independence of the Seas
26. Steve White
In Other News
1. Which of the Dragons from Dragon’s Den was fined for using a mobile while driving?
2. Which anniversary are the Brownies celebrating?
3. Who scored Arsenal’s winning goal in the FA Cup final?
4. What was the result of the Conference final?
5. Which cycling tour was won by Bradley Wiggins last week?
6. Which tennis player won the Prague Open?
7. Which famous US novelist announced his retirement?
8. What was the aggregate score between Burton and Southend in their Div 2 play off semi?
9. Who won the Spanish Open, being the first 50 year old to win a tour event?
10. Who won his 5th Moto GP in a row?
11. Who will perform stand up in 3 languages for the D-Day anniversary?
12. Who was convicted in New York of assisting terrorist groups?
13. Which all time great from the world of motor racing passed away aged 88?
14. What action was taken over Richard Scudamore’s allegedly sexist emails?
15. Who is retiring from rugby union after the Heineken cup final to become coach with his current club?
16. Who confirmed he is retiring as a player to concentrate on football coaching?
17. What did John Inverdale blame his last year’s comments about Marion Bartoli on?
18. Which of the Rolling Stones became a great grandfather last week?
19. Which town was named the happiest place to live in Britain?
20. Which sports presenter admitted being part of the same tax scheme as three members of Take That, and pledged to repay the money?
21. Who expressed a wish to visit the tomb of Theodor Herzl, the founder of Zionism
22. Who asked Silvio Berlusconi about his comments about Angela Merkel?
23. Who was finally confirmed as manager of Man Utd.?
24. What reason did Yaya Touré give for his transfer request to Man City?
25. George Groves predicted he will stop Carl Froch in which round?
26. Which sporting couple announced an end to their engagement?
27. A polish refugee claimed that Prince Charles had made which comment to him?
28. Which announcement did Theresa May make to the Police Federation?
29. Which store announced that they will remove sweets and chocolate from the checkouts of all their stores?
30. Why was Australian PM Tony Abbott criticized for his performance in a phone in last week?
31. Which team did England’s under 17 footballers defeat in order to become European Champions?
32. Name the England fly half ruled out of the tour by injury last week?
33. What fatal flaw was discovered in new French trains last week?
34. Who was alleged to have been involved in an assault outside a wine bar in Clitheroe?
35. In which Asian country did a military coup take place?
36. Which original Radio 1 DJ appeared in court on a charge of sex attacks on boys?
37. Name the manager who left Celtic?
38. Which London building was struck by lightning last week?
39. Which Wales international footballer announced his retirement in the same week as Ryan Giggs?
40. Which iconic Glasgow building was damaged by fire?
Answers
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news?
1. He won BBC Young Musician of the Year
2. They drove a toilet at 70mph
3. Michael Jackson posthumous album currently topping the charts
4. Won BAFTA for best actor
5. Won BAFTA for best actress
6. Convicted murderer who escaped from Chadderton and was then recaptured
7. French ‘rogue trader’
8. New European Uneven Bars gymnastics champion
9. 54 year old Bolivian President, signed by pro football club
10. Controversial film starring Depardieu as Dominique Strauss Khan
11. New coach of Barcelona
12. Capsized yacht – sailors presumed lost
13. Ex SAS lost appeal against conviction for illegal possession of firearm
14. Youngest ever qualifier for US Women’s golf open (11)
15. French village up in arms because they mistakenly thought Prince Charles would be paying them a royal visit during the D Day 70th Anniversary
16. US Group who have claimed that Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin plagiarized their earlier song Taurus
17. New Coldplay album
18. Olympic high jump medalist ruled out of Commonwealth Games by injury
19. The first to be referred to as Ms. Justice – Ms. Justice Russell
20. Rolling Stones former business manager passed away
21. New artistic director of the Old Vic who will succeed Kevin Spacey
22. He was criticized for swearing on the Daily Politics
23. Both were charged by the ECB for match fixing with Sussex
24. Chosen as the referee for the Groves v. Froch fight
25. Royal Caribbean cruise ship seized by bailiffs in Alesund
26. New Chairman of the Police Federation
In Other News
1. Duncan Bannatyne
2. 100 years
3. Aaron Ramsay
4. Cambridge 2 – Gateshead 1
5. Tour of California
6. Heather Watson
7. Philip Roth
8. Burton 3 – Southend 2
9. Miguel Angel Jimenez
10. Marc Marquez
11. Eddie Izzard
12. Abu Hamza
13. Sir Jack Brabham
14. None
15. Jonny Wilkinson
16. Ryan Giggs
17. Hay Fever
18. Mick Jagger
19. Harrogate
20. Gaby Logan
21. Pope Francis
22. Jeremy Paxman
23. Louis Van Gaal
24. Because they didn’t wish him a proper Happy Birthday
25. 3rd
26. Rory McIlroy and Caroline Wozniacki
27. He allegedly compared Putin to Hitler
28. It will be stripped of private funding
29. Tesco
30. He winked and smirked when a woman caller announced she had been forced to find work as a sex worker
31. Netherlands (4 – 1 on penalties)
32. George Ford
33. They are too wide for the platforms of over 1000 stations
34. David Moyes
35. Thailand
36. Chris Denning
37. Neil Lennon
38. The Shard
39. Craig Bellamy
40. Glasgow School of Art
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news?
1. Martin Bartlett
2. Shaun Walker and Trevor Duckworth
3. Xscape
4. Sean HArris
5. Olivia Colman
6. Arnold Pickering
7. Jerome Kerviel
8. Becky DOwnie
9. Evo Morales
10. Welcome to New York
11. Luis Enrique
12. Cheeky Rafiki
13. Danny Nightingale
14. Lucy Li
15. Merville
16. Spirit
17. Ghost Stories
18. Robbie Grabarz
19. Justice Russell
20. Prince Rupert Zu Loewenstein
21. Matthew Warchus
22. Nick Herbert MP
23. Lou Vincent and Naveed Arif
24. Charlie Fitch
25. Independence of the Seas
26. Steve White
In Other News
1. Which of the Dragons from Dragon’s Den was fined for using a mobile while driving?
2. Which anniversary are the Brownies celebrating?
3. Who scored Arsenal’s winning goal in the FA Cup final?
4. What was the result of the Conference final?
5. Which cycling tour was won by Bradley Wiggins last week?
6. Which tennis player won the Prague Open?
7. Which famous US novelist announced his retirement?
8. What was the aggregate score between Burton and Southend in their Div 2 play off semi?
9. Who won the Spanish Open, being the first 50 year old to win a tour event?
10. Who won his 5th Moto GP in a row?
11. Who will perform stand up in 3 languages for the D-Day anniversary?
12. Who was convicted in New York of assisting terrorist groups?
13. Which all time great from the world of motor racing passed away aged 88?
14. What action was taken over Richard Scudamore’s allegedly sexist emails?
15. Who is retiring from rugby union after the Heineken cup final to become coach with his current club?
16. Who confirmed he is retiring as a player to concentrate on football coaching?
17. What did John Inverdale blame his last year’s comments about Marion Bartoli on?
18. Which of the Rolling Stones became a great grandfather last week?
19. Which town was named the happiest place to live in Britain?
20. Which sports presenter admitted being part of the same tax scheme as three members of Take That, and pledged to repay the money?
21. Who expressed a wish to visit the tomb of Theodor Herzl, the founder of Zionism
22. Who asked Silvio Berlusconi about his comments about Angela Merkel?
23. Who was finally confirmed as manager of Man Utd.?
24. What reason did Yaya Touré give for his transfer request to Man City?
25. George Groves predicted he will stop Carl Froch in which round?
26. Which sporting couple announced an end to their engagement?
27. A polish refugee claimed that Prince Charles had made which comment to him?
28. Which announcement did Theresa May make to the Police Federation?
29. Which store announced that they will remove sweets and chocolate from the checkouts of all their stores?
30. Why was Australian PM Tony Abbott criticized for his performance in a phone in last week?
31. Which team did England’s under 17 footballers defeat in order to become European Champions?
32. Name the England fly half ruled out of the tour by injury last week?
33. What fatal flaw was discovered in new French trains last week?
34. Who was alleged to have been involved in an assault outside a wine bar in Clitheroe?
35. In which Asian country did a military coup take place?
36. Which original Radio 1 DJ appeared in court on a charge of sex attacks on boys?
37. Name the manager who left Celtic?
38. Which London building was struck by lightning last week?
39. Which Wales international footballer announced his retirement in the same week as Ryan Giggs?
40. Which iconic Glasgow building was damaged by fire?
Answers
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news?
1. He won BBC Young Musician of the Year
2. They drove a toilet at 70mph
3. Michael Jackson posthumous album currently topping the charts
4. Won BAFTA for best actor
5. Won BAFTA for best actress
6. Convicted murderer who escaped from Chadderton and was then recaptured
7. French ‘rogue trader’
8. New European Uneven Bars gymnastics champion
9. 54 year old Bolivian President, signed by pro football club
10. Controversial film starring Depardieu as Dominique Strauss Khan
11. New coach of Barcelona
12. Capsized yacht – sailors presumed lost
13. Ex SAS lost appeal against conviction for illegal possession of firearm
14. Youngest ever qualifier for US Women’s golf open (11)
15. French village up in arms because they mistakenly thought Prince Charles would be paying them a royal visit during the D Day 70th Anniversary
16. US Group who have claimed that Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin plagiarized their earlier song Taurus
17. New Coldplay album
18. Olympic high jump medalist ruled out of Commonwealth Games by injury
19. The first to be referred to as Ms. Justice – Ms. Justice Russell
20. Rolling Stones former business manager passed away
21. New artistic director of the Old Vic who will succeed Kevin Spacey
22. He was criticized for swearing on the Daily Politics
23. Both were charged by the ECB for match fixing with Sussex
24. Chosen as the referee for the Groves v. Froch fight
25. Royal Caribbean cruise ship seized by bailiffs in Alesund
26. New Chairman of the Police Federation
In Other News
1. Duncan Bannatyne
2. 100 years
3. Aaron Ramsay
4. Cambridge 2 – Gateshead 1
5. Tour of California
6. Heather Watson
7. Philip Roth
8. Burton 3 – Southend 2
9. Miguel Angel Jimenez
10. Marc Marquez
11. Eddie Izzard
12. Abu Hamza
13. Sir Jack Brabham
14. None
15. Jonny Wilkinson
16. Ryan Giggs
17. Hay Fever
18. Mick Jagger
19. Harrogate
20. Gaby Logan
21. Pope Francis
22. Jeremy Paxman
23. Louis Van Gaal
24. Because they didn’t wish him a proper Happy Birthday
25. 3rd
26. Rory McIlroy and Caroline Wozniacki
27. He allegedly compared Putin to Hitler
28. It will be stripped of private funding
29. Tesco
30. He winked and smirked when a woman caller announced she had been forced to find work as a sex worker
31. Netherlands (4 – 1 on penalties)
32. George Ford
33. They are too wide for the platforms of over 1000 stations
34. David Moyes
35. Thailand
36. Chris Denning
37. Neil Lennon
38. The Shard
39. Craig Bellamy
40. Glasgow School of Art
Thursday, 29 May 2014
Calling All Quiz Leagues
I’ve just received an email today from 2013 Mastermind finalist Andrew Frazer. Andrew asked me if I could help publicize the Association of British Quiz Leagues. I will be placing a permanent link in my links section, but you can also find the website by clicking on this link: -
Association of British Quiz Leagues
I take the liberty of reprinting some of Andrew’s email here: -
Dear Dave,
I wonder whether you could assist me. I’m trying to make contact with as many quiz leagues as possible to invite them to join the Association of British Quiz Leagues, which is a contact network that I set up a couple of years ago.
I have approached Bridgend QL; and I’ve seen a reference to a Pembroke and Pembroke Dock QL, but don’t have any contact details. However I understand that there are quite a few leagues in South Wales and that you may be able to help me find them.
Well, actually the only league I have contact details for in South Wales is the Bridgend league itself, so hopefully if any readers can help with that, could you go to the website, and you’ll be able to contact Andrew directly from that. Likewise, if there are any other quiz leagues anywhere else, and you think that this is the sort of thing you’d like to be involved in – and why wouldn’t you? – then could you check out the website as well, and maybe contact Andrew. The more the merrier.
Association of British Quiz Leagues
I take the liberty of reprinting some of Andrew’s email here: -
Dear Dave,
I wonder whether you could assist me. I’m trying to make contact with as many quiz leagues as possible to invite them to join the Association of British Quiz Leagues, which is a contact network that I set up a couple of years ago.
I have approached Bridgend QL; and I’ve seen a reference to a Pembroke and Pembroke Dock QL, but don’t have any contact details. However I understand that there are quite a few leagues in South Wales and that you may be able to help me find them.
Well, actually the only league I have contact details for in South Wales is the Bridgend league itself, so hopefully if any readers can help with that, could you go to the website, and you’ll be able to contact Andrew directly from that. Likewise, if there are any other quiz leagues anywhere else, and you think that this is the sort of thing you’d like to be involved in – and why wouldn’t you? – then could you check out the website as well, and maybe contact Andrew. The more the merrier.
Tuesday, 27 May 2014
Only Connect - Qualification Match
The Heath Family v. The Europhiles
The Heath Family – daughter Kip, mother Heather and father and skipper Alan – defeated the Exhibitionists in their first match. Well, the Exhibitionists have already left the building, and so last night they took on Douglas Thomson, Khuram Rashid and captain Mark Seager of the Europhiles. Now, the Euros defeated the Relatives in their first match, who also beat the Exhibitionists. Ah, it’s a small world in Only Connect. Ah well, let’s see how things went.
Round One – What’s the Connection?
The Euros kicked off the match and they opted for the eye of Horus. Spain: Pillars of Hercules didn’t immediately give me any ideas however the second clue – Mauritius – Sambur Deer and Dodo did make me speculate about Coats of Arms. This was confirmed by the third clue – Australia – Emu and Kangaroo. After this third clue they offered crests on flags, and given another go they had it correctly. These are all supporters on these countries’ coats of arms. The Heaths chose Lion, and were rewarded with Normal – no, far too many possibilities for me – Boring – and that didn’t help any more than the first one – Intercourse – interesting, but no help – and Hell. The Heaths had no more clue than I did, although Alan did very amusingly offer the answer of four stages of marriage, a gift of a comment for Victoria who suggest that they were in the wrong order if it was right. The Euros had no more idea either. They all have American towns named after them. Right then, I do have an observation about this as a set. Often with any set the fourth clue, for example, tends to be a lot easier/more obvious than the first, for the sake of argument. Maybe it’s just me, but there isn’t one of those names that shouts American Town at me, and for this reason it was a less satisfying set than usual. Just my opinion, and as always . . . Twisted Flax gave the Euros a picture set. We saw what I was very pleased to identify as an Aeolian harp, then a red dot in the middle of a country which wasn’t named in a map, but judging from the surrounding countries was Burkina Faso. Could the dot, then be Ouagadougou? (all together now - too shy shy, hush hush, eye to eye)In which case, words that started with three vowels was a distinct possibility. Eau de Cologne pretty much confirmed that one, and a Ouija board completed the set. My Auntie Jessie (she wasn’t really my auntie) had one – she called it her Luigi board if I remember right. The Euros went for endings rather than beginnings of the words, and the Heaths didn’t quite have it. Water gave the Heaths a set I was really pleased with myself for getting. Oct 31 and Dec 25 looked like dates. However Hex 19 gave it to me. I reckoned these were all ways of writing 25 in a particular base. The Heaths had it at this point too, but took the last clue Bin 11001 to be sure. Two Reeds unleashed the music set for the Euros.I didn’t recognized the first. Voodoo Chile by Jimi Hendrix came next. Janis Joplin came third, and an idea was starting to form, which was confirmed when Amy Winehouse came fourth. I plumped for the 27 club of performers who died at the age of 27. Neither side could quite see it, and so we moved on to the last set for the Heaths behind a conventionally voiced horned viper. Kissing a Girl didn’t spark any ideas, neither did Massage Cream. Drinking shampoo only served to muddy the waters further, and the last, eating contaminated meat didn’t make them any clearer. Neither team had it, and I’ll be honest, I was nowhere near the right answer that they have all been used by competitors as excuses for producing positive drug tests. Fair enough, and not at all easy. This frankly rather tricky round ended with the Euros leading 2 – 1.
Round Two - What Comes Fourth?
Twisted Flax began the round and it gave the Euros – Like – which surely had quite a number of possibilities – then Movember. Now, the Euros were very impressive with the way that they dealt with this one. Let’s take Like – if you replace the first letter – L – with the next letter of the alphabet – M – you get Mike, which is the NATO phonetic alphabet word for M. Do the same with Movember and you get November – N. Working on that you get Oapa for the 4th. Good shout and three points well earned. The Heaths began with Dynamo – and I’ll admit that the possibility of world war II operational codenames occurred to me. Sea Duty scotched that idea, not to replace it with anything plausible, I’m afraid. Ended Ways came third. Now, I just wasn’t thinking anagrams, and neither were either of the teams. We none of us saw anagrams of days of the week. So Hut Yards would have done, for example. Now, at last I had my five pointer for the show. 2011: Passage du Gois France saw me offer 2014 : Leeds, UK. Given 2012: Liege, Belgium the Euros knew we were talking about venues for the Tour de France Prologue, bu heartbreakingly went for Bradford rather than Leeds. So close. Given 2013:Porto Vecchio, Corsica the Heaths tried Glasgow. Given their own set they opted for a very clever set behind horned viper – conventionally voiced once again. We saw Jimmy Carr and Jonathan Ross playing tennis – a logo for the Radio 4 series Making History – and a Hippopotamus. Now, I am not familiar with Stephen Fry’s Making History, or I might well have had it. I knew his first novel was The Liar, and others included the Hippopotamus, and The Star’s Tennis Balls. But I didn’t see it, and neither did either team. For their last set the Euros picked Lion. We saw Campbell – Chrétien – and at the same time we both opted for Harper – Canadian Prime Ministers you see. Good shout on a straightforward set for once for 3 points. A second unexpected 5 pointer arrived next. Given E = Funafuti – I knew that this is the capital of Tuvalu, and guessed that E means it is the world’s most easterly capital. Working clockwise around the compass this would give us N= Reykjavik. The Heaths took S=Wellington, discussed it a bit, then took three points for the right answer. It was needed too, since the Euros already had 8, and this at least took the Heaths to 4.
Round Three – The Connecting Walls
The Heaths took the Lion wall, and early doors they could see a group of paralympians. They couldn’t isolate them, though. I’m sorry to say that this was that relatively rarity, a wall in which none of the lines are resolved. When the lines were untangled they were left with Peacock – Storey – Stone and Simmonds, the Paralympians. The second line – weir – lock – dam and staunch they knew were all ways of halting the flow of a liquid. Cant – Marks – Rustle and Air was one of those which is much easier once its been separated from the others – they are misspellings of names of philosophers. This left – Tilt – List – Heel and Careen, which are all verbs for leaning over. They missed the last two connections, which meant they took 2 points from their wall.
Well, we knew that the Euros were still going to be in the lead after their wall, even if they didn’t. They saw a set of photographers early doors, but couldn’t separate them. They also saw a set of Afrikaans loan words, which took a long time to separate – eventually revealed as apartheid – springbok – trek and meerkat. That was all they managed in the time, but then that and the definition brought them the 2 points they needed to break even on the round. Aardvark – Minderbinder – Snowden and Yossarian they correctly identified as characters from Catch 22. Jaguar – Three Feathers – Silver Fern and Wallaby they could see were all emblems of international rugby teams. This left the photographers – Lichfield – Bailey – Rankin and Spender. All in all 5 points. This gave the Euros and increased lead of 13 to 6.
Round Four – Missing Vowels
Well, a comeback wasn’t totally impossible, but it looked unlikely, especially after the first set – things that rhyme with missing vowel – fell 3 – 0 to the Euros. One Man and His Dog went 2 – 1 to the Euros – and so far all of the Euros answers had come from captain Mark. He helped himself to three more of things which are gold, while the Heaths managed the other. Victoria had time to announce National Parks in Africa, but not to play any of the clues. She singled out Mark to be mentioned in despatches, and quite right too. IN the end the final score was an emphatic 21 – 8. Well played. The Euros are now in the semis, while the Heaths have to fight another day.
The Heath Family – daughter Kip, mother Heather and father and skipper Alan – defeated the Exhibitionists in their first match. Well, the Exhibitionists have already left the building, and so last night they took on Douglas Thomson, Khuram Rashid and captain Mark Seager of the Europhiles. Now, the Euros defeated the Relatives in their first match, who also beat the Exhibitionists. Ah, it’s a small world in Only Connect. Ah well, let’s see how things went.
Round One – What’s the Connection?
The Euros kicked off the match and they opted for the eye of Horus. Spain: Pillars of Hercules didn’t immediately give me any ideas however the second clue – Mauritius – Sambur Deer and Dodo did make me speculate about Coats of Arms. This was confirmed by the third clue – Australia – Emu and Kangaroo. After this third clue they offered crests on flags, and given another go they had it correctly. These are all supporters on these countries’ coats of arms. The Heaths chose Lion, and were rewarded with Normal – no, far too many possibilities for me – Boring – and that didn’t help any more than the first one – Intercourse – interesting, but no help – and Hell. The Heaths had no more clue than I did, although Alan did very amusingly offer the answer of four stages of marriage, a gift of a comment for Victoria who suggest that they were in the wrong order if it was right. The Euros had no more idea either. They all have American towns named after them. Right then, I do have an observation about this as a set. Often with any set the fourth clue, for example, tends to be a lot easier/more obvious than the first, for the sake of argument. Maybe it’s just me, but there isn’t one of those names that shouts American Town at me, and for this reason it was a less satisfying set than usual. Just my opinion, and as always . . . Twisted Flax gave the Euros a picture set. We saw what I was very pleased to identify as an Aeolian harp, then a red dot in the middle of a country which wasn’t named in a map, but judging from the surrounding countries was Burkina Faso. Could the dot, then be Ouagadougou? (all together now - too shy shy, hush hush, eye to eye)In which case, words that started with three vowels was a distinct possibility. Eau de Cologne pretty much confirmed that one, and a Ouija board completed the set. My Auntie Jessie (she wasn’t really my auntie) had one – she called it her Luigi board if I remember right. The Euros went for endings rather than beginnings of the words, and the Heaths didn’t quite have it. Water gave the Heaths a set I was really pleased with myself for getting. Oct 31 and Dec 25 looked like dates. However Hex 19 gave it to me. I reckoned these were all ways of writing 25 in a particular base. The Heaths had it at this point too, but took the last clue Bin 11001 to be sure. Two Reeds unleashed the music set for the Euros.I didn’t recognized the first. Voodoo Chile by Jimi Hendrix came next. Janis Joplin came third, and an idea was starting to form, which was confirmed when Amy Winehouse came fourth. I plumped for the 27 club of performers who died at the age of 27. Neither side could quite see it, and so we moved on to the last set for the Heaths behind a conventionally voiced horned viper. Kissing a Girl didn’t spark any ideas, neither did Massage Cream. Drinking shampoo only served to muddy the waters further, and the last, eating contaminated meat didn’t make them any clearer. Neither team had it, and I’ll be honest, I was nowhere near the right answer that they have all been used by competitors as excuses for producing positive drug tests. Fair enough, and not at all easy. This frankly rather tricky round ended with the Euros leading 2 – 1.
Round Two - What Comes Fourth?
Twisted Flax began the round and it gave the Euros – Like – which surely had quite a number of possibilities – then Movember. Now, the Euros were very impressive with the way that they dealt with this one. Let’s take Like – if you replace the first letter – L – with the next letter of the alphabet – M – you get Mike, which is the NATO phonetic alphabet word for M. Do the same with Movember and you get November – N. Working on that you get Oapa for the 4th. Good shout and three points well earned. The Heaths began with Dynamo – and I’ll admit that the possibility of world war II operational codenames occurred to me. Sea Duty scotched that idea, not to replace it with anything plausible, I’m afraid. Ended Ways came third. Now, I just wasn’t thinking anagrams, and neither were either of the teams. We none of us saw anagrams of days of the week. So Hut Yards would have done, for example. Now, at last I had my five pointer for the show. 2011: Passage du Gois France saw me offer 2014 : Leeds, UK. Given 2012: Liege, Belgium the Euros knew we were talking about venues for the Tour de France Prologue, bu heartbreakingly went for Bradford rather than Leeds. So close. Given 2013:Porto Vecchio, Corsica the Heaths tried Glasgow. Given their own set they opted for a very clever set behind horned viper – conventionally voiced once again. We saw Jimmy Carr and Jonathan Ross playing tennis – a logo for the Radio 4 series Making History – and a Hippopotamus. Now, I am not familiar with Stephen Fry’s Making History, or I might well have had it. I knew his first novel was The Liar, and others included the Hippopotamus, and The Star’s Tennis Balls. But I didn’t see it, and neither did either team. For their last set the Euros picked Lion. We saw Campbell – Chrétien – and at the same time we both opted for Harper – Canadian Prime Ministers you see. Good shout on a straightforward set for once for 3 points. A second unexpected 5 pointer arrived next. Given E = Funafuti – I knew that this is the capital of Tuvalu, and guessed that E means it is the world’s most easterly capital. Working clockwise around the compass this would give us N= Reykjavik. The Heaths took S=Wellington, discussed it a bit, then took three points for the right answer. It was needed too, since the Euros already had 8, and this at least took the Heaths to 4.
Round Three – The Connecting Walls
The Heaths took the Lion wall, and early doors they could see a group of paralympians. They couldn’t isolate them, though. I’m sorry to say that this was that relatively rarity, a wall in which none of the lines are resolved. When the lines were untangled they were left with Peacock – Storey – Stone and Simmonds, the Paralympians. The second line – weir – lock – dam and staunch they knew were all ways of halting the flow of a liquid. Cant – Marks – Rustle and Air was one of those which is much easier once its been separated from the others – they are misspellings of names of philosophers. This left – Tilt – List – Heel and Careen, which are all verbs for leaning over. They missed the last two connections, which meant they took 2 points from their wall.
Well, we knew that the Euros were still going to be in the lead after their wall, even if they didn’t. They saw a set of photographers early doors, but couldn’t separate them. They also saw a set of Afrikaans loan words, which took a long time to separate – eventually revealed as apartheid – springbok – trek and meerkat. That was all they managed in the time, but then that and the definition brought them the 2 points they needed to break even on the round. Aardvark – Minderbinder – Snowden and Yossarian they correctly identified as characters from Catch 22. Jaguar – Three Feathers – Silver Fern and Wallaby they could see were all emblems of international rugby teams. This left the photographers – Lichfield – Bailey – Rankin and Spender. All in all 5 points. This gave the Euros and increased lead of 13 to 6.
Round Four – Missing Vowels
Well, a comeback wasn’t totally impossible, but it looked unlikely, especially after the first set – things that rhyme with missing vowel – fell 3 – 0 to the Euros. One Man and His Dog went 2 – 1 to the Euros – and so far all of the Euros answers had come from captain Mark. He helped himself to three more of things which are gold, while the Heaths managed the other. Victoria had time to announce National Parks in Africa, but not to play any of the clues. She singled out Mark to be mentioned in despatches, and quite right too. IN the end the final score was an emphatic 21 – 8. Well played. The Euros are now in the semis, while the Heaths have to fight another day.
Monday, 26 May 2014
RBQ - Midlands v. North of England
Last week Northern Ireland defeated England. In today’s show the Midlands, in the shape of Roslaind Miles and Stephen Maddock, took on the North of England’s Adele Geras and Diana Collecot. If I was being really harsh I’d say that both teams missed some of what I thought were gettable clues last week, so I was interested to see how this week’s teams would perform.
Question one went to the Midlands
How could Bill and Kevin’s characters combine to find a satisfactory solution to a wet or murky afternoon’s sport?
Hmm – I’ll be honest there was no instantaneous lightbulb moment for me in the way that there was with last week’s first question. Tom Sutcliffe confirmed that the Kevin was an actor, and after a long diversion into soap opera they arrived at Kevin Whately. OK – so far so good, but I was still none the wiser. Stephen was, though. BILL Tarmey played Jack DUCKWORTH, and KEVIN Whately played LEWIS – the Duckworth Lewis method being used to adjust totals and what have you for rain affected one day cricket matches. Now that was an impressive shout – wish that I could claim some points for it, but I was miles away from it myself. The Midlands received 4 points, since they had been very clearly pointed towards soap operas for one of the actors.
The North of England had to follow that with this first question
In which conflict might the creator of a substantial female be on the opposing side to an early Radio One DJ, one half of Bartholomew and Wiseman, and a perpetually youthful schoolboy?
Now, I knew from the start that Eric Bartholomew and Ernest Wiseman were the great Morecambe and Wise. Bearing in mind the radio 1 DJ suggested old ‘Smashy’ himself, Tony Blackburn, and maybe, just maybe the conflict was the Wars of the Roses, since we already had two Lancashire towns. Throw in the idea that a substantial female might be A Woman of Substance by Barbara Taylor BRADFORD, and it was looking better and better. The team had old Tone straightaway, but then moved onto the schoolboy with whom I was also struggling. Tom dropped some very heavy handed hints about the writer, and they had Bradford, although they erroneously placed it within Lancashire at first. They denied any knowledge of Bartholemew and Wiseman until Tom practically drew them a diagram. I make no apology for not being able to get Jimmy Clitheroe for the perpetually youthful schoolboy , since the Clitheroe Kid was quite a bit before my time. Still, I think I was worth at least a couple of more points than the North’s 3.
The Midlands’ second question was a music set.
I didn’t recognize the piece of music we heard, which really isn’t much of a surprise, and so I struggled with this question: -
To the composer of this, you could add an ‘e’ to get a Bonfire; an ‘o’ for a Lighthouse; or an ‘f’ for a Boy’s Life. And you could translate it into Latin for a disease. Can you explain?
Stephen very helpfully explained that the composer was called Hugo Wolf. E gives us then Tom Wolfe of Bonfire of the Vanities fame, Virginia Woolf of To the Lighthouse (had to read it for my degree – not my cuppa at all) . I knew that the latin for wolf – lupus – is also a disease. I didn’t know Tobias Wolff – the author of This Boy’s Life – and the Midlands couldn’t remember it. Even so, knowing the piece of music made that one gettable, and they scored a well deserved 5. I reckon I was worth perhaps 2. Can’t have done the Midlands any harm having the Chief Executive of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra on the team.
The North of England’s music question contained more than one piece, and we were asked to suggest what linked all three of them to Mr. Jones’ breakfast.
We had two speaking voices, and then a piece of popular music. The first quotation was from Alexander Pope – I didn’t know it, John Bishop I did recognize, and this enabled me to take a leap of faith and suggest that the breakfast may in fact be the proverbial curate’s egg. Judas Priest and Breaking the Law seemed to confirm it. As for the team, they argued for a second or two before settling on Pope, then tried out quite a few Liverpudlians for size before arriving at John Bishop. This gave them the impetus to suggest the curate’s egg and Judas Priest. In the end this salvaged 4 points for them – I’d have given myself maybe 5.
Moving back to the Midlands, their next question asked
What was famously lacking in Tycho, Major Kovalyov and the music hall dog, but was a source of inspiration to Dmitri and is personified by Monsieur Polge?
Now, I knew from the start that Tycho Brahe lost his nose in a duel. (Well, if you will play with swords, boys . . . ) Didn’t know about the Major, but the music hall dog is the dog that has no nose – No nose? How does he smell? etc. Stephen informed us that Kovalyov is the hero of Gogol’s short story ‘The Nose’, and his nose went walkabout in Moscow. In the words of the immortal Boney M – Oh, those Russians! As for Dmitri, no idea. Stephen did – he knew the story was an inspiration to Dmitri Shostakovitch. I didn’t have a guess about Monsieur Polge, but Rosalind guessed that he was the chief ‘nose’ of Chanel. Good shout. 6 points for them – maybe 3 to me.
The North of England followed with this one
Would Hitchcock's debatable thief, Stevenson's tale of contained chicanery, and the machinations of Feathers McGraw, lead you in the right direction or its opposite?
OK, well, I’m sure that most listeners, as I did, picked up on Feathers McGraw as the chicken-impersonating penguin villain in Nick Park’s The Wrong Trousers, which made superstars of Wallace and Gromit. So it looked like the wrong direction. The Hitchcock then would be The Wrong Man, and the Stevenson story, The Wrong Box. I think I earned a six here, but poor old North didn’t know the Wallace and Gromit connection here. 5 for the North.
By this time the Midlands must have had a clear lead, and they had the chance to capitalize on it with this, their last one
Why might you expect to find the following together in Swindon?
A Lady with a Lamp, The father of the Sons of Thunder, The alter ego of Robert Allen Zimmerman, Father Ted’s sidekick, and A Very Naughty Boy?
Could it have been easier to a child of the 70s? Lady of the Lamp – FLORENCE Nightingale. The father of the Sons of Thunder - ZEBEDEE , The Alter ego of Robert Zimmerman – Bob DYLAN, Father Ted’s sidekick – Father DOUGAL, A very naughty boy – BRIAN of Nazareth. All characters from the Magic Roundabout, and the famous Magic Traffic Roundabout is in Swindon. I’ll have my 6 points now please Tom. I knew that the team were on to it when they gave Zebedee. They polished those off easily for their own 6 points. By my calculations they had already won, so it was just a matter of how close the North could get to them with their last question.
Tom confirmed that North of England couldn’t win, but could narrow the gap with this
A Camel, an Otter, A Mole, an Ant, and a Lark all have mouths but cannot speak, they run but never walk, and never sleep in their own beds. Where are they?
I’ll be honest, everything about it was shouting Rivers to me. Camel is in Cornwall, knew that, and the Otter is in Northumberland I said for the same reason that the team did, knowing of Otterburn. Now for the Mole I think either West Sussex or Surrey would have been acceptable. Neither of us knew the Lark in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, nor did we know the Ant in Norfolk. So we both had 3 each.
SO the Midlands won with a terrific 21 points, to the North of England’s 15, and gotta be honest, they looked good value for it too.
Question one went to the Midlands
How could Bill and Kevin’s characters combine to find a satisfactory solution to a wet or murky afternoon’s sport?
Hmm – I’ll be honest there was no instantaneous lightbulb moment for me in the way that there was with last week’s first question. Tom Sutcliffe confirmed that the Kevin was an actor, and after a long diversion into soap opera they arrived at Kevin Whately. OK – so far so good, but I was still none the wiser. Stephen was, though. BILL Tarmey played Jack DUCKWORTH, and KEVIN Whately played LEWIS – the Duckworth Lewis method being used to adjust totals and what have you for rain affected one day cricket matches. Now that was an impressive shout – wish that I could claim some points for it, but I was miles away from it myself. The Midlands received 4 points, since they had been very clearly pointed towards soap operas for one of the actors.
The North of England had to follow that with this first question
In which conflict might the creator of a substantial female be on the opposing side to an early Radio One DJ, one half of Bartholomew and Wiseman, and a perpetually youthful schoolboy?
Now, I knew from the start that Eric Bartholomew and Ernest Wiseman were the great Morecambe and Wise. Bearing in mind the radio 1 DJ suggested old ‘Smashy’ himself, Tony Blackburn, and maybe, just maybe the conflict was the Wars of the Roses, since we already had two Lancashire towns. Throw in the idea that a substantial female might be A Woman of Substance by Barbara Taylor BRADFORD, and it was looking better and better. The team had old Tone straightaway, but then moved onto the schoolboy with whom I was also struggling. Tom dropped some very heavy handed hints about the writer, and they had Bradford, although they erroneously placed it within Lancashire at first. They denied any knowledge of Bartholemew and Wiseman until Tom practically drew them a diagram. I make no apology for not being able to get Jimmy Clitheroe for the perpetually youthful schoolboy , since the Clitheroe Kid was quite a bit before my time. Still, I think I was worth at least a couple of more points than the North’s 3.
The Midlands’ second question was a music set.
I didn’t recognize the piece of music we heard, which really isn’t much of a surprise, and so I struggled with this question: -
To the composer of this, you could add an ‘e’ to get a Bonfire; an ‘o’ for a Lighthouse; or an ‘f’ for a Boy’s Life. And you could translate it into Latin for a disease. Can you explain?
Stephen very helpfully explained that the composer was called Hugo Wolf. E gives us then Tom Wolfe of Bonfire of the Vanities fame, Virginia Woolf of To the Lighthouse (had to read it for my degree – not my cuppa at all) . I knew that the latin for wolf – lupus – is also a disease. I didn’t know Tobias Wolff – the author of This Boy’s Life – and the Midlands couldn’t remember it. Even so, knowing the piece of music made that one gettable, and they scored a well deserved 5. I reckon I was worth perhaps 2. Can’t have done the Midlands any harm having the Chief Executive of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra on the team.
The North of England’s music question contained more than one piece, and we were asked to suggest what linked all three of them to Mr. Jones’ breakfast.
We had two speaking voices, and then a piece of popular music. The first quotation was from Alexander Pope – I didn’t know it, John Bishop I did recognize, and this enabled me to take a leap of faith and suggest that the breakfast may in fact be the proverbial curate’s egg. Judas Priest and Breaking the Law seemed to confirm it. As for the team, they argued for a second or two before settling on Pope, then tried out quite a few Liverpudlians for size before arriving at John Bishop. This gave them the impetus to suggest the curate’s egg and Judas Priest. In the end this salvaged 4 points for them – I’d have given myself maybe 5.
Moving back to the Midlands, their next question asked
What was famously lacking in Tycho, Major Kovalyov and the music hall dog, but was a source of inspiration to Dmitri and is personified by Monsieur Polge?
Now, I knew from the start that Tycho Brahe lost his nose in a duel. (Well, if you will play with swords, boys . . . ) Didn’t know about the Major, but the music hall dog is the dog that has no nose – No nose? How does he smell? etc. Stephen informed us that Kovalyov is the hero of Gogol’s short story ‘The Nose’, and his nose went walkabout in Moscow. In the words of the immortal Boney M – Oh, those Russians! As for Dmitri, no idea. Stephen did – he knew the story was an inspiration to Dmitri Shostakovitch. I didn’t have a guess about Monsieur Polge, but Rosalind guessed that he was the chief ‘nose’ of Chanel. Good shout. 6 points for them – maybe 3 to me.
The North of England followed with this one
Would Hitchcock's debatable thief, Stevenson's tale of contained chicanery, and the machinations of Feathers McGraw, lead you in the right direction or its opposite?
OK, well, I’m sure that most listeners, as I did, picked up on Feathers McGraw as the chicken-impersonating penguin villain in Nick Park’s The Wrong Trousers, which made superstars of Wallace and Gromit. So it looked like the wrong direction. The Hitchcock then would be The Wrong Man, and the Stevenson story, The Wrong Box. I think I earned a six here, but poor old North didn’t know the Wallace and Gromit connection here. 5 for the North.
By this time the Midlands must have had a clear lead, and they had the chance to capitalize on it with this, their last one
Why might you expect to find the following together in Swindon?
A Lady with a Lamp, The father of the Sons of Thunder, The alter ego of Robert Allen Zimmerman, Father Ted’s sidekick, and A Very Naughty Boy?
Could it have been easier to a child of the 70s? Lady of the Lamp – FLORENCE Nightingale. The father of the Sons of Thunder - ZEBEDEE , The Alter ego of Robert Zimmerman – Bob DYLAN, Father Ted’s sidekick – Father DOUGAL, A very naughty boy – BRIAN of Nazareth. All characters from the Magic Roundabout, and the famous Magic Traffic Roundabout is in Swindon. I’ll have my 6 points now please Tom. I knew that the team were on to it when they gave Zebedee. They polished those off easily for their own 6 points. By my calculations they had already won, so it was just a matter of how close the North could get to them with their last question.
Tom confirmed that North of England couldn’t win, but could narrow the gap with this
A Camel, an Otter, A Mole, an Ant, and a Lark all have mouths but cannot speak, they run but never walk, and never sleep in their own beds. Where are they?
I’ll be honest, everything about it was shouting Rivers to me. Camel is in Cornwall, knew that, and the Otter is in Northumberland I said for the same reason that the team did, knowing of Otterburn. Now for the Mole I think either West Sussex or Surrey would have been acceptable. Neither of us knew the Lark in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, nor did we know the Ant in Norfolk. So we both had 3 each.
SO the Midlands won with a terrific 21 points, to the North of England’s 15, and gotta be honest, they looked good value for it too.
Sunday, 25 May 2014
Poetic Justice?
Back in early 1988 my dear old friend, the late Neville Evans, took me to my first quiz in the Railway Club in Port Talbot, which is just one of the things I thank his memory for. Now, as part of the Thursday evening there was always a raffle, the prize for which would be a chicken dinner, or, to be more precise, a whole frozen chicken, along with a hamper of fruit, veg and tins of various bits and pieces. Not a bad prize, not that I ever won it. Well, Neville had a very distinctive sense of humour, and I distinctly remember one evening while we were sitting waiting for the quiz to begin, the steward started making his way around selling tickets for the raffle. Sitting at the table next to ours were two ladies who were very good examples of the genre which used to be called ‘old dears’. As the steward was on his way round, we overheard them discussing how much they wanted to win the dinner. Neville couldn’t resist leaning over and saying,
”I really wouldn’t buy any tickets if I were you, dear. You see, the raffle is fixed. One of the regulars wins it every week. “ Cue tuts from the ladies, and thus emboldened Neville continued, “In fact, it’s actually my turn to win this week. So I’d save your money if I were you. Just a friendly warning.”
The ladies made various shocked noises between themselves, but in the end after a hushed discussion they decided that he was obviously trying to wind them up – which he was – and bought their tickets anyway.
All of which would have been just good clean fun, only . . . well, the fact is that you can believe it or not, but Neville did actually win the raffle that night. As soon as he got up to receive the prize there were loud, vociferous, and surprisingly graphic protests from the old dears. In the end, Neville ended up presenting them with the prize, this whole situation being of his own making.
None of this has much to do with the price of tea, but I did remember the incident with a wry smile this evening, while I was waiting for John to arrive at the quiz. There was quite a large team whom I’d never seen before, sitting right by the table I’d chosen, and they were quite chatty. They seemed surprised when they thought I was playing on my own, and only slightly less when I said that there were actually going to be two of us. Now, bearing in mind that this is just an ordinary pub quiz, and John and I have won most times that we’ve played in it, I did give serious consideration to telling them that it didn’t matter how many we had because the quiz is fixed every week for a different team to win, and it’s our turn to win. Well, as I said, I considered doing it, but as you can see from the Neville anecdote, such things can often backfire on you, so I didn’t say anything. Which proved to be a good decision, since we lost. Karmic payback, I suppose.
”I really wouldn’t buy any tickets if I were you, dear. You see, the raffle is fixed. One of the regulars wins it every week. “ Cue tuts from the ladies, and thus emboldened Neville continued, “In fact, it’s actually my turn to win this week. So I’d save your money if I were you. Just a friendly warning.”
The ladies made various shocked noises between themselves, but in the end after a hushed discussion they decided that he was obviously trying to wind them up – which he was – and bought their tickets anyway.
All of which would have been just good clean fun, only . . . well, the fact is that you can believe it or not, but Neville did actually win the raffle that night. As soon as he got up to receive the prize there were loud, vociferous, and surprisingly graphic protests from the old dears. In the end, Neville ended up presenting them with the prize, this whole situation being of his own making.
None of this has much to do with the price of tea, but I did remember the incident with a wry smile this evening, while I was waiting for John to arrive at the quiz. There was quite a large team whom I’d never seen before, sitting right by the table I’d chosen, and they were quite chatty. They seemed surprised when they thought I was playing on my own, and only slightly less when I said that there were actually going to be two of us. Now, bearing in mind that this is just an ordinary pub quiz, and John and I have won most times that we’ve played in it, I did give serious consideration to telling them that it didn’t matter how many we had because the quiz is fixed every week for a different team to win, and it’s our turn to win. Well, as I said, I considered doing it, but as you can see from the Neville anecdote, such things can often backfire on you, so I didn’t say anything. Which proved to be a good decision, since we lost. Karmic payback, I suppose.
Saturday, 24 May 2014
In the News
In the News
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news?
1. Martin Bartlett
2. Shaun Walker and Trevor Duckworth
3. Xscape
4. Sean HArris
5. Olivia Colman
6. Arnold Pickering
7. Jerome Kerviel
8. Becky DOwnie
9. Evo Morales
10. Welcome to New York
11. Luis Enrique
12. Cheeky Rafiki
13. Danny Nightingale
14. Lucy Li
15. Merville
16. Spirit
17. Ghost Stories
18. Robbie Grabarz
19. Justice Russell
20. Prince Rupert Zu Loewenstein
21. Matthew Warchus
22. Nick Herbert MP
23. Lou Vincent and Naveed Arif
24. Charlie Fitch
25. Independence of the Seas
26. Steve White
In Other News
1. Which of the Dragons from Dragon’s Den was fined for using a mobile while driving?
2. Which anniversary are the Brownies celebrating?
3. Who scored Arsenal’s winning goal in the FA Cup final?
4. What was the result of the Conference final?
5. Which cycling tour was won by Bradley Wiggins last week?
6. Which tennis player won the Prague Open?
7. Which famous US novelist announced his retirement?
8. What was the aggregate score between Burton and Southend in their Div 2 play off semi?
9. Who won the Spanish Open, being the first 50 year old to win a tour event?
10. Who won his 5th Moto GP in a row?
11. Who will perform stand up in 3 languages for the D-Day anniversary?
12. Who was convicted in New York of assisting terrorist groups?
13. Which all time great from the world of motor racing passed away aged 88?
14. What action was taken over Richard Scudamore’s allegedly sexist emails?
15. Who is retiring from rugby union after the Heineken cup final to become coach with his current club?
16. Who confirmed he is retiring as a player to concentrate on football coaching?
17. What did John Inverdale blame his last year’s comments about Marion Bartoli on?
18. Which of the Rolling Stones became a great grandfather last week?
19. Which town was named the happiest place to live in Britain?
20. Which sports presenter admitted being part of the same tax scheme as three members of Take That, and pledged to repay the money?
21. Who expressed a wish to visit the tomb of Theodor Herzl, the founder of Zionism
22. Who asked Silvio Berlusconi about his comments about Angela Merkel?
23. Who was finally confirmed as manager of Man Utd.?
24. What reason did Yaya Touré give for his transfer request to Man City?
25. George Groves predicted he will stop Carl Froch in which round?
26. Which sporting couple announced an end to their engagement?
27. A polish refugee claimed that Prince Charles had made which comment to him?
28. Which announcement did Theresa May make to the Police Federation?
29. Which store announced that they will remove sweets and chocolate from the checkouts of all their stores?
30. Why was Australian PM Tony Abbott criticized for his performance in a phone in last week?
31. Which team did England’s under 17 footballers defeat in order to become European Champions?
32. Name the England fly half ruled out of the tour by injury last week?
33. What fatal flaw was discovered in new French trains last week?
34. Who was alleged to have been involved in an assault outside a wine bar in Clitheroe?
35. In which Asian country did a military coup take place?
36. Which original Radio 1 DJ appeared in court on a charge of sex attacks on boys?
37. Name the manager who left Celtic?
38. Which London building was struck by lightning last week?
39. Which Wales international footballer announced his retirement in the same week as Ryan Giggs?
40. Which iconic Glasgow building was damaged by fire?
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news?
1. Martin Bartlett
2. Shaun Walker and Trevor Duckworth
3. Xscape
4. Sean HArris
5. Olivia Colman
6. Arnold Pickering
7. Jerome Kerviel
8. Becky DOwnie
9. Evo Morales
10. Welcome to New York
11. Luis Enrique
12. Cheeky Rafiki
13. Danny Nightingale
14. Lucy Li
15. Merville
16. Spirit
17. Ghost Stories
18. Robbie Grabarz
19. Justice Russell
20. Prince Rupert Zu Loewenstein
21. Matthew Warchus
22. Nick Herbert MP
23. Lou Vincent and Naveed Arif
24. Charlie Fitch
25. Independence of the Seas
26. Steve White
In Other News
1. Which of the Dragons from Dragon’s Den was fined for using a mobile while driving?
2. Which anniversary are the Brownies celebrating?
3. Who scored Arsenal’s winning goal in the FA Cup final?
4. What was the result of the Conference final?
5. Which cycling tour was won by Bradley Wiggins last week?
6. Which tennis player won the Prague Open?
7. Which famous US novelist announced his retirement?
8. What was the aggregate score between Burton and Southend in their Div 2 play off semi?
9. Who won the Spanish Open, being the first 50 year old to win a tour event?
10. Who won his 5th Moto GP in a row?
11. Who will perform stand up in 3 languages for the D-Day anniversary?
12. Who was convicted in New York of assisting terrorist groups?
13. Which all time great from the world of motor racing passed away aged 88?
14. What action was taken over Richard Scudamore’s allegedly sexist emails?
15. Who is retiring from rugby union after the Heineken cup final to become coach with his current club?
16. Who confirmed he is retiring as a player to concentrate on football coaching?
17. What did John Inverdale blame his last year’s comments about Marion Bartoli on?
18. Which of the Rolling Stones became a great grandfather last week?
19. Which town was named the happiest place to live in Britain?
20. Which sports presenter admitted being part of the same tax scheme as three members of Take That, and pledged to repay the money?
21. Who expressed a wish to visit the tomb of Theodor Herzl, the founder of Zionism
22. Who asked Silvio Berlusconi about his comments about Angela Merkel?
23. Who was finally confirmed as manager of Man Utd.?
24. What reason did Yaya Touré give for his transfer request to Man City?
25. George Groves predicted he will stop Carl Froch in which round?
26. Which sporting couple announced an end to their engagement?
27. A polish refugee claimed that Prince Charles had made which comment to him?
28. Which announcement did Theresa May make to the Police Federation?
29. Which store announced that they will remove sweets and chocolate from the checkouts of all their stores?
30. Why was Australian PM Tony Abbott criticized for his performance in a phone in last week?
31. Which team did England’s under 17 footballers defeat in order to become European Champions?
32. Name the England fly half ruled out of the tour by injury last week?
33. What fatal flaw was discovered in new French trains last week?
34. Who was alleged to have been involved in an assault outside a wine bar in Clitheroe?
35. In which Asian country did a military coup take place?
36. Which original Radio 1 DJ appeared in court on a charge of sex attacks on boys?
37. Name the manager who left Celtic?
38. Which London building was struck by lightning last week?
39. Which Wales international footballer announced his retirement in the same week as Ryan Giggs?
40. Which iconic Glasgow building was damaged by fire?
Friday, 23 May 2014
As Requested - Round Britain Quiz
Round Britain Quiz began again on Radio 4 last Monday. Now this is something of a show for the connoisseur. I’m not saying that the teams don’t take it seriously – I’m sure that they do – but it’s not the same sort of competition as any of the other shows I review regularly. It’s one of those shows where on the same show you can be amazed at what the teams do manage to answer, and then surprised at what the teams don’t manage to answer. It’s probably the only quiz where the teams are given the questions printed on paper at the start of the show as well. -
On with the show then. On Monday’s show we had the South of England, represented by Marcel Berlins and Fred Housego (that pint is still on the table if you’re interested, Fred. Just drop me a line.) against Northern Ireland represented by Brian Feeney and Polly Devlin. Question one asked the South of England : -
Can you explain how Switzerland, Italy, Luxembourg and Spain together might transport you to RCH?
Now, the thing was, I actually could. My first thought when I heard RCH was – Chile’s international car registration. CH is that of Switzerland, I of Italy, L of Luxembourg, and E of Spain. I thought that was relatively straightforward. I’m afraid that Fred and Marcel didn’t get it at all, despite question master Tom Sutcliffe’s pointed allusions to Fred’s famous profession. No points.
Northern Ireland’s first seemed rather more obscure to me.
If I swim back to a Nevada city, where I play a board game and I learn where to go dancing, what language do I speak?
Like the team, I guessed the city might be Reno, and the game, Ludo, so the language might be Latin. I couldn’t get the dancing thing, which apparently was Disco. Which is actually latin for I learn – and that’s something I learned from listening to the show. I’d maybe have had a couple of points for this, but no more.
The South of England received their music question, and were played a piece of classical music – Baggy Trousers by Madness – When the Saints Come Marching In, then they were asked -
Where would you go to see these in action?
Fred and Marcel didn’t recognize the first either. Now – Baggies and Saints suggested Premier League football teams, which I had slightly before Marcel and Fred. Baggies are at the Hawthorns, and Saints at St. Mary’s. Now, when Fred speculated with the Toon Army for the first, Tom confirmed that he had the right team for the wrong reason. I speculated with The Thieving Magpie, which indeed it was. St. James’ Park. Kudos to the setter for that one – I really liked it. 3 points to the South – I would have had at least that many.
Northern Ireland then had their own music set. We began with hit the Road Jack, and were then asked -
Add to this piece what happens when you top a trifle, when you stop smoking, and when things might have gone well at Jonathan’s; and you have a catalogue of surprising violence. Can you explain?
My answer was a succinct – no, I can’t. Like Northern Ireland, I knew that you put cream on top of a trifle. But not to what purpose with the question. Whipped cream? Yes, apparently. When you stop smoking you kick the habit. So hit – whip – kick. I really don’t think I’d have had any point for the Jonathan allusion. His was a coffee house which was also used as a stock exchange, where you’d make a killing. Ho boy. I think I had the same that Northern Ireland did with 2.
Back to the South of England. Now, their next question began with : -
Who might be accompanied by a Captain who lost his ear, a puzzle with a long literary tradition, and a month associated with fertility?
Well, obviously the captain was the famous Jenkins. Fred had that. As for the month, well, that was May. Tom asked a riddle, to give a clue that the puzzle was riddle, and surprisingly Fred and Marcel still didn’t get it. I’ll be honest, the only person I could think of with the name Riddle – excluding the mythical Jimmy – was Nelson Riddle, which saw me punt with Frank Sinatra. This turned out to be correct, and messrs May and Jenkins were also band leaders who had worked with the great man. Quite pleased with myself for that.
For their own third question, Northern Ireland were asked
You could get 8 out of 10 for connecting Hockney’s Percy, Jane Fonda’s outlaw, and poet Carl Sandburg's weather report. How?
Well, when I saw this one I knew that Percy was a cat – was he Ozzie Clark’s cat? – and Jane Fonda’s outlaw could therefore be Cat Ballou. 8 out of 10 owners said their cats preferred it etc. But where Carl Sandburg came in, well, that I couldn’t explain immediately. Rather strangely Polly had a mental image of Lee Marvin singing Wanderin’ Star. I say strangely because he sang that in Paint Your Wagon. He was in Cat Ballou, though, and that’s what she was driving at. She mistakenly thought Percy was a dog, and then she explained the Carl Sandburg reference. Apparently his weather report depended on how his cat’s tail is standing up. Is that how the Met Office do it? Actually, though, no, she was barking, or miaowing – up the wrong tree. It was all to do with a poem he wrote called Fog, apparently. 3 points for Northern Ireland – I think I’d have had more.
For their last South of England were asked
In plural form, why do these people show a uniform purpose? A 1970s England Manager and also his nickname as a player; an 18th century novelist, poet and playwright; and a Black Country comedian known to his friends as Chris Collins?
Now, I think Chris Collins is a bit of an old quiz chestnut. He is of course Frank Skinner. The Skinners are one of the honourable livery companies of the City of London. Put that together with The Mercers (England caretaker manager Joe), and the Goldsmith’s (Oliver) and bob’s your uncle. Fred took a punt with Jasper Carrot, and had to be given the clue that he was a supporter of the Baggies in order to get it. Once he had that one he was away although like me he had no idea of Joe Mercer’s nickname as a player. When Tom said he shared his nickname with a Prime Minister, then Grocer, as in Heath, occurred, but I wouldn’t have had it otherwise. 4 points for that.
The last question for Northern Ireland was
The owner of a goat well known to Val Doonican, and the custodians of Top of the Form and Broadcasting House, should put you in mind of a famous traveller who walked the Broken Road. Who is he, and what did he do in the war?The first three immediately said Paddy to me – McGinty, Feeney and O’Connell – but the traveler proved more problematical to me. Brian Feeney was in with the answer right away with Paddy Leigh Fermor. In the war he worked for the SOE with the Cretan Resistance, and captured a German general. I didn’t know that, but Brian and Polly did. The Broken Road was the title of one of his books. Well, I might have had one or two points there, but that would have been my lot. Northern Ireland, though, earned 4.
I don’t know how much it really matters, or whether it really matters at all, but for the record Northern Ireland took the win with 12 points to 10. Good show – enjoyed it.
On with the show then. On Monday’s show we had the South of England, represented by Marcel Berlins and Fred Housego (that pint is still on the table if you’re interested, Fred. Just drop me a line.) against Northern Ireland represented by Brian Feeney and Polly Devlin. Question one asked the South of England : -
Can you explain how Switzerland, Italy, Luxembourg and Spain together might transport you to RCH?
Now, the thing was, I actually could. My first thought when I heard RCH was – Chile’s international car registration. CH is that of Switzerland, I of Italy, L of Luxembourg, and E of Spain. I thought that was relatively straightforward. I’m afraid that Fred and Marcel didn’t get it at all, despite question master Tom Sutcliffe’s pointed allusions to Fred’s famous profession. No points.
Northern Ireland’s first seemed rather more obscure to me.
If I swim back to a Nevada city, where I play a board game and I learn where to go dancing, what language do I speak?
Like the team, I guessed the city might be Reno, and the game, Ludo, so the language might be Latin. I couldn’t get the dancing thing, which apparently was Disco. Which is actually latin for I learn – and that’s something I learned from listening to the show. I’d maybe have had a couple of points for this, but no more.
The South of England received their music question, and were played a piece of classical music – Baggy Trousers by Madness – When the Saints Come Marching In, then they were asked -
Where would you go to see these in action?
Fred and Marcel didn’t recognize the first either. Now – Baggies and Saints suggested Premier League football teams, which I had slightly before Marcel and Fred. Baggies are at the Hawthorns, and Saints at St. Mary’s. Now, when Fred speculated with the Toon Army for the first, Tom confirmed that he had the right team for the wrong reason. I speculated with The Thieving Magpie, which indeed it was. St. James’ Park. Kudos to the setter for that one – I really liked it. 3 points to the South – I would have had at least that many.
Northern Ireland then had their own music set. We began with hit the Road Jack, and were then asked -
Add to this piece what happens when you top a trifle, when you stop smoking, and when things might have gone well at Jonathan’s; and you have a catalogue of surprising violence. Can you explain?
My answer was a succinct – no, I can’t. Like Northern Ireland, I knew that you put cream on top of a trifle. But not to what purpose with the question. Whipped cream? Yes, apparently. When you stop smoking you kick the habit. So hit – whip – kick. I really don’t think I’d have had any point for the Jonathan allusion. His was a coffee house which was also used as a stock exchange, where you’d make a killing. Ho boy. I think I had the same that Northern Ireland did with 2.
Back to the South of England. Now, their next question began with : -
Who might be accompanied by a Captain who lost his ear, a puzzle with a long literary tradition, and a month associated with fertility?
Well, obviously the captain was the famous Jenkins. Fred had that. As for the month, well, that was May. Tom asked a riddle, to give a clue that the puzzle was riddle, and surprisingly Fred and Marcel still didn’t get it. I’ll be honest, the only person I could think of with the name Riddle – excluding the mythical Jimmy – was Nelson Riddle, which saw me punt with Frank Sinatra. This turned out to be correct, and messrs May and Jenkins were also band leaders who had worked with the great man. Quite pleased with myself for that.
For their own third question, Northern Ireland were asked
You could get 8 out of 10 for connecting Hockney’s Percy, Jane Fonda’s outlaw, and poet Carl Sandburg's weather report. How?
Well, when I saw this one I knew that Percy was a cat – was he Ozzie Clark’s cat? – and Jane Fonda’s outlaw could therefore be Cat Ballou. 8 out of 10 owners said their cats preferred it etc. But where Carl Sandburg came in, well, that I couldn’t explain immediately. Rather strangely Polly had a mental image of Lee Marvin singing Wanderin’ Star. I say strangely because he sang that in Paint Your Wagon. He was in Cat Ballou, though, and that’s what she was driving at. She mistakenly thought Percy was a dog, and then she explained the Carl Sandburg reference. Apparently his weather report depended on how his cat’s tail is standing up. Is that how the Met Office do it? Actually, though, no, she was barking, or miaowing – up the wrong tree. It was all to do with a poem he wrote called Fog, apparently. 3 points for Northern Ireland – I think I’d have had more.
For their last South of England were asked
In plural form, why do these people show a uniform purpose? A 1970s England Manager and also his nickname as a player; an 18th century novelist, poet and playwright; and a Black Country comedian known to his friends as Chris Collins?
Now, I think Chris Collins is a bit of an old quiz chestnut. He is of course Frank Skinner. The Skinners are one of the honourable livery companies of the City of London. Put that together with The Mercers (England caretaker manager Joe), and the Goldsmith’s (Oliver) and bob’s your uncle. Fred took a punt with Jasper Carrot, and had to be given the clue that he was a supporter of the Baggies in order to get it. Once he had that one he was away although like me he had no idea of Joe Mercer’s nickname as a player. When Tom said he shared his nickname with a Prime Minister, then Grocer, as in Heath, occurred, but I wouldn’t have had it otherwise. 4 points for that.
The last question for Northern Ireland was
The owner of a goat well known to Val Doonican, and the custodians of Top of the Form and Broadcasting House, should put you in mind of a famous traveller who walked the Broken Road. Who is he, and what did he do in the war?The first three immediately said Paddy to me – McGinty, Feeney and O’Connell – but the traveler proved more problematical to me. Brian Feeney was in with the answer right away with Paddy Leigh Fermor. In the war he worked for the SOE with the Cretan Resistance, and captured a German general. I didn’t know that, but Brian and Polly did. The Broken Road was the title of one of his books. Well, I might have had one or two points there, but that would have been my lot. Northern Ireland, though, earned 4.
I don’t know how much it really matters, or whether it really matters at all, but for the record Northern Ireland took the win with 12 points to 10. Good show – enjoyed it.
Good Connection
Just a quickie this one. We've reached that time in the year when our semi regulars at the quiz in the club don't seem to be wanting to compile a quiz for a while, so for the last few weeks Brian and I have been playing tag with the question master's chair. Last night it was Brian again, and he did another connections quiz. Which was great, although I was planning to do one myself for next week, so I think I'll put that one on the back burner for now. Not that you need to know any of that. This was my favourite connection from last night: -
1) Which was the first West End Musical to be based on a novel by Charles Dickens, in 1960?
2) Which substance has the scientific name triplumbic tetroxide?
3) Which ceramic takes its name from an italian term meaning baked earth?
4) What is the connection between your last 4 answers?
I won't give you the answers straightaway to give you a minute or two to work them out for yourself. I'm not saying that it's a particularly difficult set, it's just a set that I really liked. unusually, I think we figured out all of the connections last night, which meant that we outscored Lemurs on the quiz questions, but lost very heavily on the handout. Win some, lose some.
Here's the answers to that question set
1) Oliver! - 2) Red Lead - 3) Terracotta - 4) Armies (Oliver's Army - Red Army - Terracotta Army)
1) Which was the first West End Musical to be based on a novel by Charles Dickens, in 1960?
2) Which substance has the scientific name triplumbic tetroxide?
3) Which ceramic takes its name from an italian term meaning baked earth?
4) What is the connection between your last 4 answers?
I won't give you the answers straightaway to give you a minute or two to work them out for yourself. I'm not saying that it's a particularly difficult set, it's just a set that I really liked. unusually, I think we figured out all of the connections last night, which meant that we outscored Lemurs on the quiz questions, but lost very heavily on the handout. Win some, lose some.
Here's the answers to that question set
1) Oliver! - 2) Red Lead - 3) Terracotta - 4) Armies (Oliver's Army - Red Army - Terracotta Army)
Only Connect - Elimination Match 2
Erstwhile Athletes v. Software Engineers
Last time out the Erstwhile Athletes, our own Daniel Fullard, Brendan Curtis, and captain Chris Curtis lost an exciting contest with the team of our own Rach Cherryade, the Record Collectors. In this week’s show they were drinking in the last chance saloon with the Software Engineers, Stephen Macintosh, Anne Harrison and captain Chris Howlett. They were well beaten in their first round by the Welsh Learners, and my friend Margaret. Yes, of course I was rooting for the Athletes. Would that prove to be help or hindrance, though?
Round One – What’s the Connection?
The Engs kicked off with Lion, and received the music set for their pains. Well, most unusually I recognized both of the first two songs – Around Midnight and Midnight at the Oasis. So that was nice. The Engs took the third clue, In the Midnight Hour – and offered a speculative ‘times of the day’. Given another bite of the cherry they made no mistake. Two Reeds gave the Aths Vidkun Quisling – hmm, Norwegian Nazi collaborator – move on – Naseem Hamed – annoying but admittedly brilliant former world boxing champion – move on – Lester Piggott – ah lightbulb. Did they, I wondered, all have honours taken away? Fred (the Shred) Goodwin confirmed it for the last clue. Captain Chris punted that they had all been detained at Her Majesty’s pleasure. No. The Engs managed the key point – that they have all been stripped of honours, for the bonus. The Engs tempted fate by not voicing Horned Viper in the time honoured fashion. We had Marquez the Explorer – and I wanted another clue on this one – Fireman Peyton-Jones, and I had a punt with animated characters, with their surnames substituted for their christian names. Peyton-Jones is the surname of Sam Tân, or for non-Welsh fans, well, you can work it out, I’m sure. Mouseling Ballerina seemed to confirm it. I was sure that the Engs had the answer when they buzzed in after the third clue, yet all they offered was animated characters, and when pushed for more, rhyming ones. Not Fireman Sam/Sam Tân. This let in the Aths for an unexpected bonus, and they were also given the last clue, Postman Clifton. For their own question they opted for Twisted Flax. Now, I think it was Dan who was onto this one pretty quickly. US: Citizen, then Australian: Rolex was enough for him to suggest that these were all the makers of the timing equipment used in the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments. Off two clues this earned a very useful 3 points. Water for the Engs revealed a set of pictures. I didn’t recognize either of the first two, but I did know that the third, the Pope’s ring, is called the Fisherman’s ring. A Fisherman’s Friend lozenge was enough to confirm my suspicions, and it was enough for the Engs as well. Finishing the round off the Aths were left with Eye of Horus. Now, this was a really nice, horribly sneaky set. Elvis – Valyria left me scratching my head. Lapin didn’t help hugely, although there was something in the back of my mind. Klingo, though just about did it. Add the right letter to each, then you get made up languages. Oh the poor old Aths saw the Klingon, but went for Star Trek alien races. This let the Engs in and they were happy to take the bonus. This meant that at the end of round one the Engs had a lead of 5 – 4.
Round Two – What Comes Fourth?
The Engs opted for Lion. The – Prince didn’t offer a great deal to any of us, and II – Lord didn’t do much to help matters. However, the third clue – The Third – Esquire – irresistibly called the words “The sound of hoofbeats in the glade/ Good folk, lock up your son and daughter” to mind. I offered Goes Forth – Captain, being the next Title of a Blackadder series, and the next incarnation of Edmund Blackadder. Neither team could see it – cue groans all round as they realized it. Two Reeds gave the Aths i – 0 – 1. Me, I didn’t have the faintest inkling about this set. I don’t think the Aths did either. It fell nicely for the Engs, though, as they knew it. The sequence was square roots of numbers up to 2 – look, don’t ask me, I was away the day they did Maths at school. The answer was 1.41 something, anyway, it was a bonus to the Engs. Eye of Horus gave the Engs a picture set. We saw what I thought was a Picnic Bar, and I took the gamble that I would never take in the studio, and offered Rock for a five pointer. The @ sign for the second clue looked highly promising, and when the third picture showed people hanging a painting I knew I was home and dry. Mind you, I predicted Blackpool rather than Brighton Rock, so you can’t win ‘em all. With three seconds left to go Stephen worked it out, and saved a point for his team. Twusted Flax was Chris’ choice for the Aths, for which he received (e.g.) Delta -. Ok, I though, that’s a greek letter possibly. The next was Mad Cows author. That meant nothing to me, I’m afraid. Native of Latvia is a Lett. Now that really did help. Presuming that the author was called Lette, then Let would be last , and I , as did the Aths, went for a let in tennis. Good shout, and a nice set. Now, at last Captain Chris of the Engs got his act together, and pronounced Horned Viper the way we like it at LAM. Now I really feared for the Aths. The Engs meant business. Now, with the next sequence, I think that both teams, and I, had the connection, but none of us could complete the sequence. – Use Your Eyes and Ears!– certainly looked like the Green Cross Code, which indeed it was. The next clues was Wait Until It’s Safe to Cross! – The Engs guessed incorrectly, so the Aths got to see – Look and Listen!. Their guess was incorrect. The actual answer was – Arrive Alive! – Yuh huh?! Very, very tricky, I mean, the Green Cross Code Man hadn’t even metamorphosised into Darth Vader when that was about. Water gave the Aths Edward VIII (77). – Now, it looked as if we were looking at a list of longest lived UK monarchs. In which case Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II tops the list. She was born in 1926, which makes her 88 at time of writing, although I guessed it would be 87 when the show was recorded. The Aths took George III (81) and Victoria (81) but really didn’t have it, and were unable to give a considered answer. The Engs offered Elizabeth II Still Alive, but were told that it had to look like the other three in the sequence. In other words, they had to give an age. They were close with 88, but no cigar for that. Still, they had increased their lead in the round from one point to 2, with 8 to the Ath’s 6. Nothing in it.
Round Three – The Connecting Walls
The Aths got to choose which wall, and opted for Lion. They could see several lines early doors, and the first one they isolated was – Kremlin – Fed – Hopman – Davis – all cups or trophies in tennis. Ecclesiastical offices – Pope – Canon – Deacon and Priest all fell into line next. They could see that there was a group of Rat Packers there too, and they played with fire while isolating them, losing two lives, but resolving the wall on their last go. The third line when it resolved was - Child – Knight – Neighbour and Sister. The Aths could guess that this was a word set, but offered that they were all followed by – act – rather than – hood, which was the correct answer. This left Lawford – Bishop – Sinatra – Martin for the Rat Packers. 7 points, and if the Engs had a mare, then the Aths could well be in the driving seat.
Early doors the Engs saw that there was a set of words which are all used to mean – to complain. Whine – Beef – Grouse and Gripe were the ones they wanted and found. Almost immediately cache – stock – reserve and hoard followed suit for fairly obvious reasons. They were onto a set of words which can all follow the word – chain. Now, I liked their technique here. They had three clues which couldn’t possibly be part of the chain set, and they highlighted them. They looked and looked until I heard Stephen working out that the words highlighted were all anagrams of countries – Rain – Iran, Moan – Oman, and Pure – Peru. This meant that they needed to click mail from the chain set, which was Mali. Beautiful logic. The chain set left was Letter – Smoke – Store and Gang. I’m sorry, but they deserved the 10 points they got for doing that, All of which meant that their lead going into the last round was 18 – 13.
Round Four – Missing Vowels
The first set was Reasons you may hear a bell, and with the set falling 3 – 1 to the Aths, maybe the bell wouldn’t be tolling for them just yet. The frankly horrible sounding words that contain all five vowels only once fell 2 apiece. I was nowhere near sequoia or abstemious – kudos to both skippers for getting them. Feminist works fell 2 – 1 to the Engs, and that looked like it would be enough. There was time for Victoria to announce National Lottery Game Shows, but only enough time for the Engs to identify Who Dares Wins. That was enough to seal a win by 24 to 19.
Well done to the Engs – I’ll be honest, I thought that this performance was quite a bit more impressive than their first game. As for the Aths, well, hard lines boys. Some you win, some you lose. I hope that you enjoyed your time on the show, though.
Last time out the Erstwhile Athletes, our own Daniel Fullard, Brendan Curtis, and captain Chris Curtis lost an exciting contest with the team of our own Rach Cherryade, the Record Collectors. In this week’s show they were drinking in the last chance saloon with the Software Engineers, Stephen Macintosh, Anne Harrison and captain Chris Howlett. They were well beaten in their first round by the Welsh Learners, and my friend Margaret. Yes, of course I was rooting for the Athletes. Would that prove to be help or hindrance, though?
Round One – What’s the Connection?
The Engs kicked off with Lion, and received the music set for their pains. Well, most unusually I recognized both of the first two songs – Around Midnight and Midnight at the Oasis. So that was nice. The Engs took the third clue, In the Midnight Hour – and offered a speculative ‘times of the day’. Given another bite of the cherry they made no mistake. Two Reeds gave the Aths Vidkun Quisling – hmm, Norwegian Nazi collaborator – move on – Naseem Hamed – annoying but admittedly brilliant former world boxing champion – move on – Lester Piggott – ah lightbulb. Did they, I wondered, all have honours taken away? Fred (the Shred) Goodwin confirmed it for the last clue. Captain Chris punted that they had all been detained at Her Majesty’s pleasure. No. The Engs managed the key point – that they have all been stripped of honours, for the bonus. The Engs tempted fate by not voicing Horned Viper in the time honoured fashion. We had Marquez the Explorer – and I wanted another clue on this one – Fireman Peyton-Jones, and I had a punt with animated characters, with their surnames substituted for their christian names. Peyton-Jones is the surname of Sam Tân, or for non-Welsh fans, well, you can work it out, I’m sure. Mouseling Ballerina seemed to confirm it. I was sure that the Engs had the answer when they buzzed in after the third clue, yet all they offered was animated characters, and when pushed for more, rhyming ones. Not Fireman Sam/Sam Tân. This let in the Aths for an unexpected bonus, and they were also given the last clue, Postman Clifton. For their own question they opted for Twisted Flax. Now, I think it was Dan who was onto this one pretty quickly. US: Citizen, then Australian: Rolex was enough for him to suggest that these were all the makers of the timing equipment used in the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments. Off two clues this earned a very useful 3 points. Water for the Engs revealed a set of pictures. I didn’t recognize either of the first two, but I did know that the third, the Pope’s ring, is called the Fisherman’s ring. A Fisherman’s Friend lozenge was enough to confirm my suspicions, and it was enough for the Engs as well. Finishing the round off the Aths were left with Eye of Horus. Now, this was a really nice, horribly sneaky set. Elvis – Valyria left me scratching my head. Lapin didn’t help hugely, although there was something in the back of my mind. Klingo, though just about did it. Add the right letter to each, then you get made up languages. Oh the poor old Aths saw the Klingon, but went for Star Trek alien races. This let the Engs in and they were happy to take the bonus. This meant that at the end of round one the Engs had a lead of 5 – 4.
Round Two – What Comes Fourth?
The Engs opted for Lion. The – Prince didn’t offer a great deal to any of us, and II – Lord didn’t do much to help matters. However, the third clue – The Third – Esquire – irresistibly called the words “The sound of hoofbeats in the glade/ Good folk, lock up your son and daughter” to mind. I offered Goes Forth – Captain, being the next Title of a Blackadder series, and the next incarnation of Edmund Blackadder. Neither team could see it – cue groans all round as they realized it. Two Reeds gave the Aths i – 0 – 1. Me, I didn’t have the faintest inkling about this set. I don’t think the Aths did either. It fell nicely for the Engs, though, as they knew it. The sequence was square roots of numbers up to 2 – look, don’t ask me, I was away the day they did Maths at school. The answer was 1.41 something, anyway, it was a bonus to the Engs. Eye of Horus gave the Engs a picture set. We saw what I thought was a Picnic Bar, and I took the gamble that I would never take in the studio, and offered Rock for a five pointer. The @ sign for the second clue looked highly promising, and when the third picture showed people hanging a painting I knew I was home and dry. Mind you, I predicted Blackpool rather than Brighton Rock, so you can’t win ‘em all. With three seconds left to go Stephen worked it out, and saved a point for his team. Twusted Flax was Chris’ choice for the Aths, for which he received (e.g.) Delta -. Ok, I though, that’s a greek letter possibly. The next was Mad Cows author. That meant nothing to me, I’m afraid. Native of Latvia is a Lett. Now that really did help. Presuming that the author was called Lette, then Let would be last , and I , as did the Aths, went for a let in tennis. Good shout, and a nice set. Now, at last Captain Chris of the Engs got his act together, and pronounced Horned Viper the way we like it at LAM. Now I really feared for the Aths. The Engs meant business. Now, with the next sequence, I think that both teams, and I, had the connection, but none of us could complete the sequence. – Use Your Eyes and Ears!– certainly looked like the Green Cross Code, which indeed it was. The next clues was Wait Until It’s Safe to Cross! – The Engs guessed incorrectly, so the Aths got to see – Look and Listen!. Their guess was incorrect. The actual answer was – Arrive Alive! – Yuh huh?! Very, very tricky, I mean, the Green Cross Code Man hadn’t even metamorphosised into Darth Vader when that was about. Water gave the Aths Edward VIII (77). – Now, it looked as if we were looking at a list of longest lived UK monarchs. In which case Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II tops the list. She was born in 1926, which makes her 88 at time of writing, although I guessed it would be 87 when the show was recorded. The Aths took George III (81) and Victoria (81) but really didn’t have it, and were unable to give a considered answer. The Engs offered Elizabeth II Still Alive, but were told that it had to look like the other three in the sequence. In other words, they had to give an age. They were close with 88, but no cigar for that. Still, they had increased their lead in the round from one point to 2, with 8 to the Ath’s 6. Nothing in it.
Round Three – The Connecting Walls
The Aths got to choose which wall, and opted for Lion. They could see several lines early doors, and the first one they isolated was – Kremlin – Fed – Hopman – Davis – all cups or trophies in tennis. Ecclesiastical offices – Pope – Canon – Deacon and Priest all fell into line next. They could see that there was a group of Rat Packers there too, and they played with fire while isolating them, losing two lives, but resolving the wall on their last go. The third line when it resolved was - Child – Knight – Neighbour and Sister. The Aths could guess that this was a word set, but offered that they were all followed by – act – rather than – hood, which was the correct answer. This left Lawford – Bishop – Sinatra – Martin for the Rat Packers. 7 points, and if the Engs had a mare, then the Aths could well be in the driving seat.
Early doors the Engs saw that there was a set of words which are all used to mean – to complain. Whine – Beef – Grouse and Gripe were the ones they wanted and found. Almost immediately cache – stock – reserve and hoard followed suit for fairly obvious reasons. They were onto a set of words which can all follow the word – chain. Now, I liked their technique here. They had three clues which couldn’t possibly be part of the chain set, and they highlighted them. They looked and looked until I heard Stephen working out that the words highlighted were all anagrams of countries – Rain – Iran, Moan – Oman, and Pure – Peru. This meant that they needed to click mail from the chain set, which was Mali. Beautiful logic. The chain set left was Letter – Smoke – Store and Gang. I’m sorry, but they deserved the 10 points they got for doing that, All of which meant that their lead going into the last round was 18 – 13.
Round Four – Missing Vowels
The first set was Reasons you may hear a bell, and with the set falling 3 – 1 to the Aths, maybe the bell wouldn’t be tolling for them just yet. The frankly horrible sounding words that contain all five vowels only once fell 2 apiece. I was nowhere near sequoia or abstemious – kudos to both skippers for getting them. Feminist works fell 2 – 1 to the Engs, and that looked like it would be enough. There was time for Victoria to announce National Lottery Game Shows, but only enough time for the Engs to identify Who Dares Wins. That was enough to seal a win by 24 to 19.
Well done to the Engs – I’ll be honest, I thought that this performance was quite a bit more impressive than their first game. As for the Aths, well, hard lines boys. Some you win, some you lose. I hope that you enjoyed your time on the show, though.
Answers to News Questions
In the News
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news?
1. Rise Like a Phoenix
2. David Lowe
3. Ray McGovern
4. Jimmy Ellis
5. Thomas Neuwirth
6. Michael Sams
7. Marianne Vos
8. Bermane Stiverne
9. Lauriston Court Hotel
10. Abubakar Shekau
11. Event Horizon
12. Pepe Mel
13. Oscar Garcia
14. Iain McGregor
15. Sanya-Jeet Thandi
16. H.R.Giger
17. Ehud Olmert
18. Black on Maroon
19. Wyverns
20. Stephen Sutton
21. Jacques Hamoir
22. Richard Scudamore
23. @InvictusLondon
24. Lou Vincent
25. Aseem Malhotra
26. Narendra Modi
27. Mary Stewart
28. James O’Brien
29. The Island
In Other News
1. IN which state of the USA did a tragic ballooning accident occur?
2. A blue plaque was unveiled to which much loved comedian last week?
3. Which landmark reopened in Washington DC?
4. Who won the Spanish GP?
5. Which England veteran footballer was controversially not picked for Roy Hodgson’s world cup squad?
6. What was the result of the Derby v. Brighton play off semi final?
7. Which team won the HSBC World Sevens Series?
8. Which University was top of the UK Universities list?
9. Which 3 teams were relegated from the Premier League?
10. Why were three members of Take That in the News?
11. Which area declared independence from the Ukraine?
12. Turkey were ordered to pay 90 million Euros by the European Court of Human Rights for what?
13. What was the result of the QPR v. Wigan play off semi final?
14. Name the owner of Aston Villa who placed the club up for sale?
15. Nigel Davies was sacked as Director of rugby of which English club?
16. Who confirmed he will compete in the Commonwealth Games?
17. Reports came in last week of a team who claim to have discovered the remains of which famous ship?
18. Which actress and comedienne announced last week that she is suffering from cancer?
19. What did the prosecutor in the Oscar Pistorius trial ask for and receive last week?
20. What was the result of the Orient v Peterborough League 1 play off semi?
21. Who was sacked as manager of Spurs?
22. Which team trialed an unsuccessful megaphone to make their exhausts louder in formula 1 testing last week?
23. Britons were evacuated from which Kenyan city last week?
24. Mark Carney announced that Interest Rates will be maintained at which level?
25. Where did the Turkish mining disaster occur?
26. Which university was voted Britain’s finest by students?
27. What was the result of the Europa League final?
28. What museum opened in New York last week?
29. Who is appearing in the film “Mr. Turner” as JMW Turner?
30. Which unusual venue will host “Question Time” on 29th May?
31. Which of the Play School toys is to be auctioned?
32. What was the result of the Rotherham v. Preston play off semi?
33. Who lost his appeal over his ban for snooker match fixing?
34. Whose system collapsed when tickets for the Commonwealth Games were supposed to go on sale last week?
35. What did Sepp Blatter admit was a mistake?
36. How much have E.On been ordered to pay back to customers?
37. Frank Skinner is to appear as a guest in which classic TV series?
Answers
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news?
1. The song that won the Eurovision Song Contest for Conchita Wurtz and Austria
2. DJ sacked for unwittingly playing the old version of the Sun has Got Its Hat On – which has the N word in its lyrics
3. Chairman of the Boarding Schools Association – who apologized for historic abuse at schools
4. Former world Heavyweight champion passed away aged 74
5. Real name of Conchita Wurtz
6. NFL’s first openly gay player – for St. Louis Rams
7. Cyclist who won the Women’s Tour of Britain
8. He stopped Chris Arreola to win the WBC world heavyweight title
9. £38 a night hotel in Wales, rated 2nd in UK for customer service
10. Leader of Boko Haram
11. Anthony Gormley sculpture of figures placed on top of tall buildings, exhibition in Hong Kong cancelled after suicides
12. Left as West Brom manager
13. Resigned as Brighton manager after play off defeat
14. Caddie who tragically collapsed and died during the Madeira Islands open
15. UKIP Asian member who left over alleged racism
16. Designer who designed the Alien for the Ridley Scott film – passed away
17. Former Israeli PM jailed over bribery
18. Mark Rothko painting defaced by vandal – restored and placed back in Tate Modern
19. Cambridge Drinking Club, members accused of chanting about rape
20. Inspirational 19 year old who raised over £3million for cancer charities, passed away
21. Claimed last week as the inspiration behind Agatha Christie’s Poirot
22. Premier League Chief Executive under investigation for allegedly sexist emails
23. Prince Harry’s first tweets for the Invictus Games
24. Former NZ test cricketer alleged to have told cricket investigators about widespread match fixing
25. Doctor who came under fire for his claims that statins have side effects
26. Leader of the BJP who won the election in India with the biggest majority for 30 years
27. Novelist – passed away aged 97
28. Presenter of the LBC show on which Nigel Farage seemed extremely discomforted
29. Bear Grylls TV show accused of fakery
In Other News
1. Virginia
2. Tony Hancock
3. Washington Monument
4. Lewis Hamilton
5. Ashley Cole
6. 6 – 2 Derby on aggregate
7. New Zealand
8. Cambridge
9. Norwich – Cardiff and Fulham
10. They were ruled to owe large sums in tax
11. Donetsk
12. The 1974 invasion of Cyprus
13. QPR 2 – Wigan 1 AET
14. Randy Lerner
15. Gloucester
16. Mo Farah
17. Santa Maria
18. Caroline Aherne
19. For Pistorius to be sent for psychiatric assessments
20. Orient 3 –Peterborough 2 on aggregate
21. Tim Sherwood
22. Mercedes
23. Mombasa
24. 0.5%
25. Soma
26. Sheffield
27. 0 – 0 after extra time – Seville 4 – Benfica 2 on penalties
28. The 9/11 museum
29. Timothy Spall
30. Heathrow Terminal 2
31. Humpty
32. Rotherham 4 – Preston 2 on aggregate
33. Stephen Lee
34. Ticketmaster
35. Awarding world cup 2022 to Qatar – he conceded that it will probably have to be staged during the winter
36. £12 million
37. Dr. Who
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news?
1. Rise Like a Phoenix
2. David Lowe
3. Ray McGovern
4. Jimmy Ellis
5. Thomas Neuwirth
6. Michael Sams
7. Marianne Vos
8. Bermane Stiverne
9. Lauriston Court Hotel
10. Abubakar Shekau
11. Event Horizon
12. Pepe Mel
13. Oscar Garcia
14. Iain McGregor
15. Sanya-Jeet Thandi
16. H.R.Giger
17. Ehud Olmert
18. Black on Maroon
19. Wyverns
20. Stephen Sutton
21. Jacques Hamoir
22. Richard Scudamore
23. @InvictusLondon
24. Lou Vincent
25. Aseem Malhotra
26. Narendra Modi
27. Mary Stewart
28. James O’Brien
29. The Island
In Other News
1. IN which state of the USA did a tragic ballooning accident occur?
2. A blue plaque was unveiled to which much loved comedian last week?
3. Which landmark reopened in Washington DC?
4. Who won the Spanish GP?
5. Which England veteran footballer was controversially not picked for Roy Hodgson’s world cup squad?
6. What was the result of the Derby v. Brighton play off semi final?
7. Which team won the HSBC World Sevens Series?
8. Which University was top of the UK Universities list?
9. Which 3 teams were relegated from the Premier League?
10. Why were three members of Take That in the News?
11. Which area declared independence from the Ukraine?
12. Turkey were ordered to pay 90 million Euros by the European Court of Human Rights for what?
13. What was the result of the QPR v. Wigan play off semi final?
14. Name the owner of Aston Villa who placed the club up for sale?
15. Nigel Davies was sacked as Director of rugby of which English club?
16. Who confirmed he will compete in the Commonwealth Games?
17. Reports came in last week of a team who claim to have discovered the remains of which famous ship?
18. Which actress and comedienne announced last week that she is suffering from cancer?
19. What did the prosecutor in the Oscar Pistorius trial ask for and receive last week?
20. What was the result of the Orient v Peterborough League 1 play off semi?
21. Who was sacked as manager of Spurs?
22. Which team trialed an unsuccessful megaphone to make their exhausts louder in formula 1 testing last week?
23. Britons were evacuated from which Kenyan city last week?
24. Mark Carney announced that Interest Rates will be maintained at which level?
25. Where did the Turkish mining disaster occur?
26. Which university was voted Britain’s finest by students?
27. What was the result of the Europa League final?
28. What museum opened in New York last week?
29. Who is appearing in the film “Mr. Turner” as JMW Turner?
30. Which unusual venue will host “Question Time” on 29th May?
31. Which of the Play School toys is to be auctioned?
32. What was the result of the Rotherham v. Preston play off semi?
33. Who lost his appeal over his ban for snooker match fixing?
34. Whose system collapsed when tickets for the Commonwealth Games were supposed to go on sale last week?
35. What did Sepp Blatter admit was a mistake?
36. How much have E.On been ordered to pay back to customers?
37. Frank Skinner is to appear as a guest in which classic TV series?
Answers
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news?
1. The song that won the Eurovision Song Contest for Conchita Wurtz and Austria
2. DJ sacked for unwittingly playing the old version of the Sun has Got Its Hat On – which has the N word in its lyrics
3. Chairman of the Boarding Schools Association – who apologized for historic abuse at schools
4. Former world Heavyweight champion passed away aged 74
5. Real name of Conchita Wurtz
6. NFL’s first openly gay player – for St. Louis Rams
7. Cyclist who won the Women’s Tour of Britain
8. He stopped Chris Arreola to win the WBC world heavyweight title
9. £38 a night hotel in Wales, rated 2nd in UK for customer service
10. Leader of Boko Haram
11. Anthony Gormley sculpture of figures placed on top of tall buildings, exhibition in Hong Kong cancelled after suicides
12. Left as West Brom manager
13. Resigned as Brighton manager after play off defeat
14. Caddie who tragically collapsed and died during the Madeira Islands open
15. UKIP Asian member who left over alleged racism
16. Designer who designed the Alien for the Ridley Scott film – passed away
17. Former Israeli PM jailed over bribery
18. Mark Rothko painting defaced by vandal – restored and placed back in Tate Modern
19. Cambridge Drinking Club, members accused of chanting about rape
20. Inspirational 19 year old who raised over £3million for cancer charities, passed away
21. Claimed last week as the inspiration behind Agatha Christie’s Poirot
22. Premier League Chief Executive under investigation for allegedly sexist emails
23. Prince Harry’s first tweets for the Invictus Games
24. Former NZ test cricketer alleged to have told cricket investigators about widespread match fixing
25. Doctor who came under fire for his claims that statins have side effects
26. Leader of the BJP who won the election in India with the biggest majority for 30 years
27. Novelist – passed away aged 97
28. Presenter of the LBC show on which Nigel Farage seemed extremely discomforted
29. Bear Grylls TV show accused of fakery
In Other News
1. Virginia
2. Tony Hancock
3. Washington Monument
4. Lewis Hamilton
5. Ashley Cole
6. 6 – 2 Derby on aggregate
7. New Zealand
8. Cambridge
9. Norwich – Cardiff and Fulham
10. They were ruled to owe large sums in tax
11. Donetsk
12. The 1974 invasion of Cyprus
13. QPR 2 – Wigan 1 AET
14. Randy Lerner
15. Gloucester
16. Mo Farah
17. Santa Maria
18. Caroline Aherne
19. For Pistorius to be sent for psychiatric assessments
20. Orient 3 –Peterborough 2 on aggregate
21. Tim Sherwood
22. Mercedes
23. Mombasa
24. 0.5%
25. Soma
26. Sheffield
27. 0 – 0 after extra time – Seville 4 – Benfica 2 on penalties
28. The 9/11 museum
29. Timothy Spall
30. Heathrow Terminal 2
31. Humpty
32. Rotherham 4 – Preston 2 on aggregate
33. Stephen Lee
34. Ticketmaster
35. Awarding world cup 2022 to Qatar – he conceded that it will probably have to be staged during the winter
36. £12 million
37. Dr. Who
Saturday, 17 May 2014
So you wanna be a blogger?
I had an email from Jack Bennett this morning. Jack has just started his own quiz blog. It’s called Quiz Musings, and you can check it out here: -
Quiz Musings
Hopefully he will include a link to LAM soon! Jack asked if I had any advice to pass on with regards to making a blog. Silly question! I love giving advice, even when I haven’t got a clue about the subject I’m giving it on. So, for what it’s worth, here’s what I told Jack.
• Jack’s first proper post is a set of questions. That's not a bad idea at all. It is something which will keep people coming back.
* If you're going to run a blog, then be consistent. Don't start with a great glut of posts for the first three months, and then do nothing for a few weeks after that. If you've only got time to post once a week, let's say, then make sure that you do post once a week, every week.
* In the first instance, write for yourself. When I started LAM I honestly didn't think that anyone was going to read it, and it didn't matter. I was writing to get some things out of my system. Then when people started commenting on posts and I knew that it was being read, well, that gave the whole thing momentum.
* Write about what you know. Write about your own quiz experiences, and your own understanding of quizzes. You will have your own unique perspective, and if this comes across then it will be worth reading about. Don't feel that you have to try to come across as someone who's been at the game for decades if you’re not. Don't just copy the same kind of features you'll find in other people's blogs. Your niche will be out there - so find it.
* Don't be rude about anyone, and always try to be fair. If you're not sure whether you ought to say something, then don't until you're sure. For example, whatever you might say about a TV contestant's performance while you're watching them at home, keep the perspective that it is only a game, and nobody deliberately does badly. If you can’t say anything positive about someone’s performance, then state the facts briefly and move on.
* Keep an eye on feedback, and use it to help you improve the blog. For example, if you read my first few months' posts in 2008, you'll notice that the TV reviews are incredibly short. When I noticed that I was getting far more comments posted about the reviews, especially University Challenge, then I started writing more full and detailed reviews, and made sure that I didn't miss a show. Likewise with the 'in the news' questions. I just made an offhand comment about them in one post, and included a few, and it was obvious from the response that this would be a popular regular feature.
* If people take the time and trouble to comment on a post, then make a real effort to comment back promptly. If people feel that their contributions are 1) read - and -2) valued then they are likely to come back and comment again, and other people are more likely to want to comment as well.
*Make yourself available - that is - give readers a way to contact you. Either use your own personal email, like I do, or even set up a new email account just for the blog. TV production companies often want to connect with grass roots quizdom, and they love the blogosphere for this reason. You may find people contacting you, and telling you interesting things which you can use.
* Find your own personal style. For example, I love really good sports writing, so I made the decision when I started writing the lengthy TV reviews that I would try to write as if I was reporting on a sporting contest. I can only go on the feedback that I get, but this feedback seems to suggest that people like this.
So there it is. Common sense really, I would have said, certainly not rocket science and no magic formula. Good luck with your blog, Jack, and I will certainly be keeping an eye on it for the next few months to see how you get on.
Quiz Musings
Hopefully he will include a link to LAM soon! Jack asked if I had any advice to pass on with regards to making a blog. Silly question! I love giving advice, even when I haven’t got a clue about the subject I’m giving it on. So, for what it’s worth, here’s what I told Jack.
• Jack’s first proper post is a set of questions. That's not a bad idea at all. It is something which will keep people coming back.
* If you're going to run a blog, then be consistent. Don't start with a great glut of posts for the first three months, and then do nothing for a few weeks after that. If you've only got time to post once a week, let's say, then make sure that you do post once a week, every week.
* In the first instance, write for yourself. When I started LAM I honestly didn't think that anyone was going to read it, and it didn't matter. I was writing to get some things out of my system. Then when people started commenting on posts and I knew that it was being read, well, that gave the whole thing momentum.
* Write about what you know. Write about your own quiz experiences, and your own understanding of quizzes. You will have your own unique perspective, and if this comes across then it will be worth reading about. Don't feel that you have to try to come across as someone who's been at the game for decades if you’re not. Don't just copy the same kind of features you'll find in other people's blogs. Your niche will be out there - so find it.
* Don't be rude about anyone, and always try to be fair. If you're not sure whether you ought to say something, then don't until you're sure. For example, whatever you might say about a TV contestant's performance while you're watching them at home, keep the perspective that it is only a game, and nobody deliberately does badly. If you can’t say anything positive about someone’s performance, then state the facts briefly and move on.
* Keep an eye on feedback, and use it to help you improve the blog. For example, if you read my first few months' posts in 2008, you'll notice that the TV reviews are incredibly short. When I noticed that I was getting far more comments posted about the reviews, especially University Challenge, then I started writing more full and detailed reviews, and made sure that I didn't miss a show. Likewise with the 'in the news' questions. I just made an offhand comment about them in one post, and included a few, and it was obvious from the response that this would be a popular regular feature.
* If people take the time and trouble to comment on a post, then make a real effort to comment back promptly. If people feel that their contributions are 1) read - and -2) valued then they are likely to come back and comment again, and other people are more likely to want to comment as well.
*Make yourself available - that is - give readers a way to contact you. Either use your own personal email, like I do, or even set up a new email account just for the blog. TV production companies often want to connect with grass roots quizdom, and they love the blogosphere for this reason. You may find people contacting you, and telling you interesting things which you can use.
* Find your own personal style. For example, I love really good sports writing, so I made the decision when I started writing the lengthy TV reviews that I would try to write as if I was reporting on a sporting contest. I can only go on the feedback that I get, but this feedback seems to suggest that people like this.
So there it is. Common sense really, I would have said, certainly not rocket science and no magic formula. Good luck with your blog, Jack, and I will certainly be keeping an eye on it for the next few months to see how you get on.
Ones that Got Away - Linkee
It was my turn at the club on Thursday night, as I think that I might have mentioned in one of last week’s posts. I won’t bore you with the whole of the quiz, but here’s my favourite questions from it: -
1. What did Anne of Cleeves officially become after being divorced by Henry VIII?
2. Who or what was Ken Carson?
3. Which is the largest city in the USA to be named after a British Prime Minister?
4. Two countries beginning with S have a sword or sabre on their national flag. Name them.
5. Who comes next – Eleanor – Elizabeth – Mamie? 6. Which detective first appeared in “Knots and Crosses” in 1987?
7. Which word is often found above the signature of Clarice Cliff on her pottery?
8. To the nearest whole number, what is the current land speed record for the Moon in miles per hour?
9. After the great Barrier Reef, the world’s next largest barrier reef lies off the coast of which Central American country?
10. In 1990, what was the name of the US president?
Alright, we’ve all heard better, I’m sure, and many of us have asked better probably, but those were the questions I liked best in last night’s quiz. The answers are a little further down the page.
I don’t know about you, but I’m usually far more interested in the questions I don’t know the answers to in a quiz than the ones that I do. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’d rather get a question right than get it wrong any day of the week, but once a question passes into the realm of –know that and there is no possibility I will ever get that wrong again – then it loses a lot of its intrinsic value and I start to take it for granted. So I was interested to chance upon this blog earlier this week. It’s by our own Michael Wallace – he of the Board Gamers. He and Jamie K. have been transplanted, if that’s the right word, to Montreal, and they attend quizzes every week. They print the questions they had wrong, and invite readers to see whether they would have helped them win the quiz or not. If you’re interested in checking out Michael’s blog – The Ones That Got Away – just click on this link
The Ones That Got Away
It’s a nice idea for a blog, and I enjoyed it.
------------------------------------------------
I didn’t realize this, but BBC’s the Link, which I like, is actually based on the game Linkee. It doesn’t say so as such, but the credits do acknowledge Linkee’s creators, and a lot of the publicity for the show has mentioned this fact. I posted about Linkee last year when the creators of the game pitched it to the Dragons on Dragon’s Den. If you didn’t catch that particular post and you’d like to read it, then click this link: -
Linkee On Dragon’s DenI’m always interested by anything to do with Linkee, because I wrote some questions for the game last year. A friend of mine who runs a business selling sets of questions contacted me and asked if I could have a go at putting some sets together for him, and he bought quite a few sets off me for Linkee. You can actually write your own sets and send them off to Linkee, and if they use them, then you get your name and location written on the cards in the game. Sorry, lads, but I prefer the cash.
I mention all of this because it makes you wonder if they are using sets of questions which have been used in Linkee, or whether there have been all new sets made for the show. On reflection I’m sure that they will have created new sets for the show, although there will of course be a certain amount of crossover. After all, there are certain connections which are just going to crop up often in connections type quizzes, just as there are certain questions which recur in otherwise totally unrelated quizzes.
--------------------------------------------------
Answers to questions
1) – The King’s Sister – 2) Barbie’s boyfriend, prior to dumping him for surfer Blaine – 3) Pittsburgh – Fort Pitt as was – 4) Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka – 5) Jackie ( Kennedy) - 6) Rebus – 7) Bizarre – 8) 11mph – 9) Belize – 10) Barack Obama, same as it is now, he hasn’t changed it since 1990
1. What did Anne of Cleeves officially become after being divorced by Henry VIII?
2. Who or what was Ken Carson?
3. Which is the largest city in the USA to be named after a British Prime Minister?
4. Two countries beginning with S have a sword or sabre on their national flag. Name them.
5. Who comes next – Eleanor – Elizabeth – Mamie? 6. Which detective first appeared in “Knots and Crosses” in 1987?
7. Which word is often found above the signature of Clarice Cliff on her pottery?
8. To the nearest whole number, what is the current land speed record for the Moon in miles per hour?
9. After the great Barrier Reef, the world’s next largest barrier reef lies off the coast of which Central American country?
10. In 1990, what was the name of the US president?
Alright, we’ve all heard better, I’m sure, and many of us have asked better probably, but those were the questions I liked best in last night’s quiz. The answers are a little further down the page.
I don’t know about you, but I’m usually far more interested in the questions I don’t know the answers to in a quiz than the ones that I do. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’d rather get a question right than get it wrong any day of the week, but once a question passes into the realm of –know that and there is no possibility I will ever get that wrong again – then it loses a lot of its intrinsic value and I start to take it for granted. So I was interested to chance upon this blog earlier this week. It’s by our own Michael Wallace – he of the Board Gamers. He and Jamie K. have been transplanted, if that’s the right word, to Montreal, and they attend quizzes every week. They print the questions they had wrong, and invite readers to see whether they would have helped them win the quiz or not. If you’re interested in checking out Michael’s blog – The Ones That Got Away – just click on this link
The Ones That Got Away
It’s a nice idea for a blog, and I enjoyed it.
------------------------------------------------
I didn’t realize this, but BBC’s the Link, which I like, is actually based on the game Linkee. It doesn’t say so as such, but the credits do acknowledge Linkee’s creators, and a lot of the publicity for the show has mentioned this fact. I posted about Linkee last year when the creators of the game pitched it to the Dragons on Dragon’s Den. If you didn’t catch that particular post and you’d like to read it, then click this link: -
Linkee On Dragon’s DenI’m always interested by anything to do with Linkee, because I wrote some questions for the game last year. A friend of mine who runs a business selling sets of questions contacted me and asked if I could have a go at putting some sets together for him, and he bought quite a few sets off me for Linkee. You can actually write your own sets and send them off to Linkee, and if they use them, then you get your name and location written on the cards in the game. Sorry, lads, but I prefer the cash.
I mention all of this because it makes you wonder if they are using sets of questions which have been used in Linkee, or whether there have been all new sets made for the show. On reflection I’m sure that they will have created new sets for the show, although there will of course be a certain amount of crossover. After all, there are certain connections which are just going to crop up often in connections type quizzes, just as there are certain questions which recur in otherwise totally unrelated quizzes.
--------------------------------------------------
Answers to questions
1) – The King’s Sister – 2) Barbie’s boyfriend, prior to dumping him for surfer Blaine – 3) Pittsburgh – Fort Pitt as was – 4) Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka – 5) Jackie ( Kennedy) - 6) Rebus – 7) Bizarre – 8) 11mph – 9) Belize – 10) Barack Obama, same as it is now, he hasn’t changed it since 1990
In The News
In the News
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news?
1. Rise Like a Phoenix
2. David Lowe
3. Ray McGovern
4. Jimmy Ellis
5. Thomas Neuwirth
6. Michael Sam
7. Marianne Vos
8. Bermane Stiverne
9. Lauriston Court Hotel
10. Abubakar Shekau
11. Event Horizon
12. Pepe Mel
13. Oscar Garcia
14. Iain McGregor
15. Sanya-Jeet Thandi
16. H.R.Giger
17. Ehud Olmert
18. Black on Maroon
19. Wyverns
20. Stephen Sutton
21. Jacques Hamoir
22. Richard Scudamore
23. @InvictusLondon
24. Lou Vincent
25. Aseem Malhotra
26. Narendra Modi
27. Mary Stewart
28. James O’Brien
29. The Island
In Other News
1. IN which state of the USA did a tragic ballooning accident occur?
2. A blue plaque was unveiled to which much loved comedian last week?
3. Which landmark reopened in Washington DC?
4. Who won the Spanish GP?
5. Which England veteran footballer was controversially not picked for Roy Hodgson’s world cup squad?
6. What was the result of the Derby v. Brighton play off semi final?
7. Which team won the HSBC World Sevens Series?
8. Which University was top of the UK Universities list?
9. Which 3 teams were relegated from the Premier League?
10. Why were three members of Take That in the News?
11. Which area declared independence from the Ukraine?
12. Turkey were ordered to pay 90 million Euros by the European Court of Human Rights for what?
13. What was the result of the QPR v. Wigan play off semi final?
14. Name the owner of Aston Villa who placed the club up for sale?
15. Nigel Davies was sacked as Director of rugby of which English club?
16. Who confirmed he will compete in the Commonwealth Games?
17. Reports came in last week of a team who claim to have discovered the remains of which famous ship?
18. Which actress and comedienne announced last week that she is suffering from cancer?
19. What did the prosecutor in the Oscar Pistorius trial ask for and receive last week?
20. What was the result of the Orient v Peterborough League 1 play off semi?
21. Who was sacked as manager of Spurs?
22. Which team trialed an unsuccessful megaphone to make their exhausts louder in formula 1 testing last week?
23. Britons were evacuated from which Kenyan city last week?
24. Mark Carney announced that Interest Rates will be maintained at which level?
25. Where did the Turkish mining disaster occur?
26. Which university was voted Britain’s finest by students?
27. What was the result of the Europa League final?
28. What museum opened in New York last week?
29. Who is appearing in the film “Mr. Turner” as JMW Turner?
30. Which unusual venue will host “Question Time” on 29th May?
31. Which of the Play School toys is to be auctioned?
32. What was the result of the Rotherham v. Preston play off semi?
33. Who lost his appeal over his ban for snooker match fixing?
34. Whose system collapsed when tickets for the Commonwealth Games were supposed to go on sale last week?
35. What did Sepp Blatter admit was a mistake?
36. How much have E.On been ordered to pay back to customers?
37. Frank Skinner is to appear as a guest in which classic TV series?
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news?
1. Rise Like a Phoenix
2. David Lowe
3. Ray McGovern
4. Jimmy Ellis
5. Thomas Neuwirth
6. Michael Sam
7. Marianne Vos
8. Bermane Stiverne
9. Lauriston Court Hotel
10. Abubakar Shekau
11. Event Horizon
12. Pepe Mel
13. Oscar Garcia
14. Iain McGregor
15. Sanya-Jeet Thandi
16. H.R.Giger
17. Ehud Olmert
18. Black on Maroon
19. Wyverns
20. Stephen Sutton
21. Jacques Hamoir
22. Richard Scudamore
23. @InvictusLondon
24. Lou Vincent
25. Aseem Malhotra
26. Narendra Modi
27. Mary Stewart
28. James O’Brien
29. The Island
In Other News
1. IN which state of the USA did a tragic ballooning accident occur?
2. A blue plaque was unveiled to which much loved comedian last week?
3. Which landmark reopened in Washington DC?
4. Who won the Spanish GP?
5. Which England veteran footballer was controversially not picked for Roy Hodgson’s world cup squad?
6. What was the result of the Derby v. Brighton play off semi final?
7. Which team won the HSBC World Sevens Series?
8. Which University was top of the UK Universities list?
9. Which 3 teams were relegated from the Premier League?
10. Why were three members of Take That in the News?
11. Which area declared independence from the Ukraine?
12. Turkey were ordered to pay 90 million Euros by the European Court of Human Rights for what?
13. What was the result of the QPR v. Wigan play off semi final?
14. Name the owner of Aston Villa who placed the club up for sale?
15. Nigel Davies was sacked as Director of rugby of which English club?
16. Who confirmed he will compete in the Commonwealth Games?
17. Reports came in last week of a team who claim to have discovered the remains of which famous ship?
18. Which actress and comedienne announced last week that she is suffering from cancer?
19. What did the prosecutor in the Oscar Pistorius trial ask for and receive last week?
20. What was the result of the Orient v Peterborough League 1 play off semi?
21. Who was sacked as manager of Spurs?
22. Which team trialed an unsuccessful megaphone to make their exhausts louder in formula 1 testing last week?
23. Britons were evacuated from which Kenyan city last week?
24. Mark Carney announced that Interest Rates will be maintained at which level?
25. Where did the Turkish mining disaster occur?
26. Which university was voted Britain’s finest by students?
27. What was the result of the Europa League final?
28. What museum opened in New York last week?
29. Who is appearing in the film “Mr. Turner” as JMW Turner?
30. Which unusual venue will host “Question Time” on 29th May?
31. Which of the Play School toys is to be auctioned?
32. What was the result of the Rotherham v. Preston play off semi?
33. Who lost his appeal over his ban for snooker match fixing?
34. Whose system collapsed when tickets for the Commonwealth Games were supposed to go on sale last week?
35. What did Sepp Blatter admit was a mistake?
36. How much have E.On been ordered to pay back to customers?
37. Frank Skinner is to appear as a guest in which classic TV series?
Answers to News Questions
In The News
Who Or What are the following and why have they been in the news?
1. Maxine Stiles – Alexandra Olson – Penny Thackray
2. Blencathra
3. Marcos Maidana
4. Barbecoa
5. Malky Mackay
6. Only Kids Aloud
7. Alexander Imich
8. North Weald Golf Course
9. Craig Oliver
10. Boko Haram
11. AstraZeneca
12. Cornelius Gurlitt
13. 117/ununseptium
14. Asif Hussainkhil
15. Tyson Gay
16. Helena Costa
17. Michael Wheatley
18. Sir Michael Hintze
19. Pinocchio Rex
20. Robert Riley
21. Bryn Tawe School Swansea
In Other News
1. Who will be the news permanent host of Strictly Come Dancing?
2. Which airline plans to offer a flying butler?
3. Who won the Tour de Romandie?
4. Which team won Italy’s Serie A?
5. What was the result of the World snooker championship?
6. Which celebrity’s abuse court case opened?
7. Which former British tennis number 1 passed away?
8. Which supermarket apologized after criticism over an advert projected onto the Angel of the North?
9. What was the result of the FA Youth Cup?
10. – and between Liverpool and Crystal Palace?
11. How much money did Lily Allen claim to have made from the John Lewis Christmas advert which featured her singing?
12. Who was voted English football writers’ Player of the Year?
13. Whose views on issues are to be added to the A Level English Language syllabus?
14. Who asked for the return of his £20,000 running spikes which have been stolen?
15. Who stood down as Chairman of the BBC Trust?
16. Who pleaded guilty to an indecent assault charge?
17. The BBC will be stopping interviews outside football grounds after matches – why?
18. Which celebrity was told by Police that he will not be facing prosecution?
19. What was the fine handed to Man City for breaking UEFA financial fair play rules?
20. Which former England international announced his retirement ?
21. Syrian Rebels finally pulled out of which city?
22. The PM of which Asian country was ordered by the courts to stand down last week?
23. What was the score between Sunderland and West Brom?
24. – and Man City and Villa?
25. Who was permanently appointed Swansea Manager?
26. Which hooker is out of the England RU tout to New Zealand?
27. Which Welsh author passed away? 28. – and which British rocket scientist passed away aged 70?
29. Who accepted damages from the Sun on Sunday for saying that he had cheated on girlfriend Jemima Khan?
30. Whose proposal for a B Team football league was greeted with widespread derision?
31. What was the score in the first leg play off between Derby and Brighton?
Answers
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news?
1. First women to serve in the Royal Navy Submarine Service
2. Mountain in Lake District put up for sale
3. He lost his world title challenge to Floyd Mayweather
4. Jamie Oliver’s butcher shop, forced to close temporarily
5. Former Cardiff City manager issued statement and dropped all charges against Cardiff City
6. Welsh choir hit by a stomach bug during tour of South Africa
7. World’s oldest man 111
8. Players were forced to halt their games when a capybara invaded the course
9. Tory spin doctor who compared voting for UKIP to behaving badly on a stage do
10. Nigerian Islamist group responsible for schoolgirl kidnappings
11. UK Pharmaceutical firm, subject of hostile takeover bid from Pfizer
12. Munich hoarder of art stolen by Nazis, died
13. Theoretical element of which a few atoms have been created in a lab
14. He tried to cross the Channel on a raft made of a few planks and a bedsheet
15. US Sprinter banned for 1 year for drug use
16. 1st female manager of a French football league team
17. Serial armed robber – nicknamed the skull cracker - caught
18. Made a £5 million donation to the Natural History Museum
19. Nickname of new dinosaur
20. Port Talbot man jailed for offensive tweets about murdered school teacher Anne Maguire
21. School in which the headteacher was accused by pupils of having sex with a colleague in his office
In Other News
1. Claudia Winkelman
2. Etihad
3. Chris Froome
4. Juventus
5. Mark Selby beat Ronnie O’Sullivan 18 - 14
6. Rolf Harris
7. Elena Baltacha
8. Morrisons
9. Chelsea 7 – Fulham 6 on aggregate
10. 3 – 3 - after Liverpool led 3 - 0
11. £8000
12. Luis Suarez
13. Russell Brand
14. Usain Bolt
15. Chris Patten
16. Stuart Hall
17. Obscene and abusive chanting from fans
18. Freddie Starr
19. £50 million
20. Wayne Bridge
21. Homs
22. Thailand
23. 2 – 0 Sunderland
24. 4 – 0 Man City
25. Garry Monk
26. Tom Youngs
27. Leslie Thomas
28. Colin Pillinger
29. Russell Brand
30. Greg Dyke
31. 2- 1 Derby
Who Or What are the following and why have they been in the news?
1. Maxine Stiles – Alexandra Olson – Penny Thackray
2. Blencathra
3. Marcos Maidana
4. Barbecoa
5. Malky Mackay
6. Only Kids Aloud
7. Alexander Imich
8. North Weald Golf Course
9. Craig Oliver
10. Boko Haram
11. AstraZeneca
12. Cornelius Gurlitt
13. 117/ununseptium
14. Asif Hussainkhil
15. Tyson Gay
16. Helena Costa
17. Michael Wheatley
18. Sir Michael Hintze
19. Pinocchio Rex
20. Robert Riley
21. Bryn Tawe School Swansea
In Other News
1. Who will be the news permanent host of Strictly Come Dancing?
2. Which airline plans to offer a flying butler?
3. Who won the Tour de Romandie?
4. Which team won Italy’s Serie A?
5. What was the result of the World snooker championship?
6. Which celebrity’s abuse court case opened?
7. Which former British tennis number 1 passed away?
8. Which supermarket apologized after criticism over an advert projected onto the Angel of the North?
9. What was the result of the FA Youth Cup?
10. – and between Liverpool and Crystal Palace?
11. How much money did Lily Allen claim to have made from the John Lewis Christmas advert which featured her singing?
12. Who was voted English football writers’ Player of the Year?
13. Whose views on issues are to be added to the A Level English Language syllabus?
14. Who asked for the return of his £20,000 running spikes which have been stolen?
15. Who stood down as Chairman of the BBC Trust?
16. Who pleaded guilty to an indecent assault charge?
17. The BBC will be stopping interviews outside football grounds after matches – why?
18. Which celebrity was told by Police that he will not be facing prosecution?
19. What was the fine handed to Man City for breaking UEFA financial fair play rules?
20. Which former England international announced his retirement ?
21. Syrian Rebels finally pulled out of which city?
22. The PM of which Asian country was ordered by the courts to stand down last week?
23. What was the score between Sunderland and West Brom?
24. – and Man City and Villa?
25. Who was permanently appointed Swansea Manager?
26. Which hooker is out of the England RU tout to New Zealand?
27. Which Welsh author passed away? 28. – and which British rocket scientist passed away aged 70?
29. Who accepted damages from the Sun on Sunday for saying that he had cheated on girlfriend Jemima Khan?
30. Whose proposal for a B Team football league was greeted with widespread derision?
31. What was the score in the first leg play off between Derby and Brighton?
Answers
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news?
1. First women to serve in the Royal Navy Submarine Service
2. Mountain in Lake District put up for sale
3. He lost his world title challenge to Floyd Mayweather
4. Jamie Oliver’s butcher shop, forced to close temporarily
5. Former Cardiff City manager issued statement and dropped all charges against Cardiff City
6. Welsh choir hit by a stomach bug during tour of South Africa
7. World’s oldest man 111
8. Players were forced to halt their games when a capybara invaded the course
9. Tory spin doctor who compared voting for UKIP to behaving badly on a stage do
10. Nigerian Islamist group responsible for schoolgirl kidnappings
11. UK Pharmaceutical firm, subject of hostile takeover bid from Pfizer
12. Munich hoarder of art stolen by Nazis, died
13. Theoretical element of which a few atoms have been created in a lab
14. He tried to cross the Channel on a raft made of a few planks and a bedsheet
15. US Sprinter banned for 1 year for drug use
16. 1st female manager of a French football league team
17. Serial armed robber – nicknamed the skull cracker - caught
18. Made a £5 million donation to the Natural History Museum
19. Nickname of new dinosaur
20. Port Talbot man jailed for offensive tweets about murdered school teacher Anne Maguire
21. School in which the headteacher was accused by pupils of having sex with a colleague in his office
In Other News
1. Claudia Winkelman
2. Etihad
3. Chris Froome
4. Juventus
5. Mark Selby beat Ronnie O’Sullivan 18 - 14
6. Rolf Harris
7. Elena Baltacha
8. Morrisons
9. Chelsea 7 – Fulham 6 on aggregate
10. 3 – 3 - after Liverpool led 3 - 0
11. £8000
12. Luis Suarez
13. Russell Brand
14. Usain Bolt
15. Chris Patten
16. Stuart Hall
17. Obscene and abusive chanting from fans
18. Freddie Starr
19. £50 million
20. Wayne Bridge
21. Homs
22. Thailand
23. 2 – 0 Sunderland
24. 4 – 0 Man City
25. Garry Monk
26. Tom Youngs
27. Leslie Thomas
28. Colin Pillinger
29. Russell Brand
30. Greg Dyke
31. 2- 1 Derby
Only Connect - Elimination Match 1
Exhibitionists v. Relatives
What, is it that time already? Time for the first sudden death match of the series? Well, yes, it is , or rather it was last Monday. In the first round the Exhibitionists, Keith Andrew, skipper Tim Westcott and Eric Kilby , were a little bit headstrong in the early rounds, and missed some gettable points, going down 22 – 14 to the distinctly useful heath Family outfit. The Relatives, husband and wife Hamish and Davina Galloway together with Davina’s son Nick Latham, lost out in a close contest with the Europhiles. All to play for then, since the losing team faced an earlier exit than they would have been hoping for.
Round One – What’s the Connection?
The Exhibtbionists won the toss and kicked off proceedings with Twisted Flax. If they were looking for bad omens maybe the fact that they picked the music set early doors was one, judging by the team’s expression when Victoria announced that this was what they were going to get. We heard firstly Soul Limbo by Booker T and the MGs – hmm, too many connections to guess. The next was something I didn’t know. The third was Jessie J – so the connection was singers and groups whose name uses at least one initial. The Exes didn’t have it yet. Boney M and The Rivers Of Babylon finished the set off, and even though they knew it, they just couldn’t see the connection. It happens. The Rels swooped in for that unexpected trifle. The second one was by an artist/group called The Adventures of Stevie V, with whose work I am not acquainted. Eye of Horus gave us Chia Chia and Ching Ching. Now, I wouldn’t have gambled on this, but I had a funny feeling that this might well be gifts from China. It was just as well I didn’t gamble, for the next was 100,000 tulip bulbs. Still, gifts from one country to another looked a decent bet, especially when the third was revealed as The Statue of Liberty. This was enough for the Rels to take the points. Two Reeds gave the Exes Paris: Marion Cotillard. I didn’t have it at this point. Barcelona: Penelope Cruz gave me a clue though, knowing that she starred in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. By this stage Keith was onto the connection, but bearing in mind the need to make sure of the points they took the third clue Cairo: Mia Farrow. The connection was these were the names f actresses, and the city mentioned in a Woody Allen film in which they appeared. The Exes had it, although they didn’t bring in the Woody Allen specific connection. Opting for Water, the Rels received The Blues: W.C.Handy. Immediately I warbled “W.C.Handy, won’t you look down over me”This didn’t give me a first class ticket to the answer though. The next The H Bomb: Edward Teller did give me an inkling, though. About the same time as the Rels I figured that we might well be looking at a set of ‘The Father of. . . “Good enough, and the Rels were making a very good start to the contest. The Exes’ last pick for round one was Lion. This revealed the picture set. I’ll be honest, I couldn’t make out what the first picture was supposed to be. The second was a chap playing bowls. The third was a still from the near-perfect sitcom Porridge. Well, bowls and Porridge suggested Goldilocks. Three photos of Bear Grylls pretty much confirmed it. I’m sure the Exes knew as well, but oh, they got their fairy tales mixed up and went for Little Red Riding Hood. An inevitable bonus for the Rels followed. The Exes’ faces were a picture – a picture incidentally which could have been titled “You Know It’s Not Your Night When . . . “. Left with Horned Viper – Victoria doesn’t voice the second vowel, sadly, - they received The Boulder Mobile – hmm, not sure – Apollo 12 Fuel Element – even less sure – Doc Brown’s DeLorean – and here I had it. Hit them to make them work. Arnold’s jukebox gave it to the Rels, to finish off a very effective round for them – they led by 8 to 2.
Round Two – What comes fourth?
Right, well, this is no time for false modesty. When the exes plumped for Eye of Horus, we saw, first of all, Sojourner. In the studio I would have asked for another clue. At home, though, I thought that we were probably dealing with Mars Rovers, the last of which was NASA’s Curiosity. The second and third clues were Spirit and Opposrtunity. The Exes showed enough spirit to take their opportunity, and gave the right answer of Curiosity. The Rels took Twisted Flax, and nobody – neither the teams in the studio nor the one man team on the Clark sofa managed to get it. 1st: A fox – 2nd: An Owl – 3rd: A snake – would be followed by 4th – The Gruffalo. It’s a fair set, I’ve just never read it. My kids were too old when it came out, I think, and little Ollie, my grandson, is too young yet. Two Reeds brought the Exes more pictures. The first showed someone performing gymnastics on the beam. The second showed the State of Maine. Maine, as you may know, has the abbreviation ME. So Beam – me – “Scotty dog – or maybe Elvis’ guitarist Scotty Moore to finish ‘ I predicted. A house with a huge number of balloons about it gave Up, and the Exes went with Scotty dog. Lovely set that – kudos to the setter. The Lion set the Rels received next was a good one. We had Domo. Major ?– I wondered. Then Waldorf. Waldorf? Waldorf hotel? Waldorf Salad? Stadler and Waldorf? The third was Girl In the Ring. Obviously Brown. So although I have not heard of Blair Waldorf, it seemed fairly certain that the last must be Cameron – so Diaz. So it proved, but the Rels couldn’t see it at all. The Exes missed the chance for the bonus, neither team seeing the sequence of Prime Ministers. Water then gave the Exes South Ronaldsay – Sanday – and here I fancied Mainland of Orkney. Hoy was the third. The Exes hit and hoped with Skye, but it fell to the Rels to give the correct answer of Mainland. The horned viper remained, and provided the Rels with $4 – 5% - and at this point I knew the connection, but wouldn’t have had the correct answer unless I had been looking at my keyboard at the time. The symbol above the seven is the &. Neither team had it. Which meant that we had just seen a good round for the Exes, in which they pulled back 3 points to trail 9 – 6.
Round Three – The Connecting Walls
Lion was the wall of choice for the Rels. The first set they isolated were – Glen – Depression – Basin and Gorge – all hollows or valleys . Terms for sadness – Misery – Funk – Sorrow and Blues fell next. That was as far as they got and three strikes were not enough to untangle the last two lines. They could thought that there was a set of words that can be doubled, but they lacked a fourth word. So they failed to isolate Yellow – Talk – Trouble and Paradise, which are actually all Coldplay songs. This left Arcsine – Humidor – Dale and Organ. I was nowhere near this one myself. They are all anagrams of chemical elements. Oh boy – now that’s fiendish. 4 points.
Room then for the Exes to take the lead if they could solve the whole of the Water wall. They could see cricket equipment, but it just wouldn’t resolve, so they switched to activities for which you need a license. Watch Television – sell alcohol – box and drive fit the bill. At last bat- helmet – pads – gloves resolved for the cricket equipment. That was as far as they got before the time ran out. The third line when the wall was resolved was Stump – C – Class – England. Right at the death the word middle occurred to me, and this was the connection. The Exes missed it. The last set I only got because I had the benefit of seeing the anagrams on the Rels’ wall, which the exes didn’t. Bails – Nordic Era – Players and Ages are all anagrams of herbs. Nasty. Still, it meant that if they hadn’t made ground, neither had they lost any. The Rels led going into the last round with 13 to 10.
Round Four – Missing Vowels
In round four, then, we faced the very real possibility that the Exhibitionists would unexpectedly become the first team to fall. The first set was Types of Jazz, and it fell 3 – 1 to the exes. 14 – 13. Slang terms for the wife were a 4 – 0 shutout for the Rels, who now led 18 – 13. Things considered unlucky gave the Rels 3 more unanswered points before Eric pulled one back for the exes. 21 – 14, and, I’m afraid, it was all over bar the shouting. Plays by Willy Russell were not well known by either team, but the Exes managed the only point of the set. That was all we had time for. A final score of 21 – 15 suggested that the match had been rather more one sided than it actually was. Very bad luck, Exhibitionists, but congratulations to the Relatives – good luck next time out.
What, is it that time already? Time for the first sudden death match of the series? Well, yes, it is , or rather it was last Monday. In the first round the Exhibitionists, Keith Andrew, skipper Tim Westcott and Eric Kilby , were a little bit headstrong in the early rounds, and missed some gettable points, going down 22 – 14 to the distinctly useful heath Family outfit. The Relatives, husband and wife Hamish and Davina Galloway together with Davina’s son Nick Latham, lost out in a close contest with the Europhiles. All to play for then, since the losing team faced an earlier exit than they would have been hoping for.
Round One – What’s the Connection?
The Exhibtbionists won the toss and kicked off proceedings with Twisted Flax. If they were looking for bad omens maybe the fact that they picked the music set early doors was one, judging by the team’s expression when Victoria announced that this was what they were going to get. We heard firstly Soul Limbo by Booker T and the MGs – hmm, too many connections to guess. The next was something I didn’t know. The third was Jessie J – so the connection was singers and groups whose name uses at least one initial. The Exes didn’t have it yet. Boney M and The Rivers Of Babylon finished the set off, and even though they knew it, they just couldn’t see the connection. It happens. The Rels swooped in for that unexpected trifle. The second one was by an artist/group called The Adventures of Stevie V, with whose work I am not acquainted. Eye of Horus gave us Chia Chia and Ching Ching. Now, I wouldn’t have gambled on this, but I had a funny feeling that this might well be gifts from China. It was just as well I didn’t gamble, for the next was 100,000 tulip bulbs. Still, gifts from one country to another looked a decent bet, especially when the third was revealed as The Statue of Liberty. This was enough for the Rels to take the points. Two Reeds gave the Exes Paris: Marion Cotillard. I didn’t have it at this point. Barcelona: Penelope Cruz gave me a clue though, knowing that she starred in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. By this stage Keith was onto the connection, but bearing in mind the need to make sure of the points they took the third clue Cairo: Mia Farrow. The connection was these were the names f actresses, and the city mentioned in a Woody Allen film in which they appeared. The Exes had it, although they didn’t bring in the Woody Allen specific connection. Opting for Water, the Rels received The Blues: W.C.Handy. Immediately I warbled “W.C.Handy, won’t you look down over me”This didn’t give me a first class ticket to the answer though. The next The H Bomb: Edward Teller did give me an inkling, though. About the same time as the Rels I figured that we might well be looking at a set of ‘The Father of. . . “Good enough, and the Rels were making a very good start to the contest. The Exes’ last pick for round one was Lion. This revealed the picture set. I’ll be honest, I couldn’t make out what the first picture was supposed to be. The second was a chap playing bowls. The third was a still from the near-perfect sitcom Porridge. Well, bowls and Porridge suggested Goldilocks. Three photos of Bear Grylls pretty much confirmed it. I’m sure the Exes knew as well, but oh, they got their fairy tales mixed up and went for Little Red Riding Hood. An inevitable bonus for the Rels followed. The Exes’ faces were a picture – a picture incidentally which could have been titled “You Know It’s Not Your Night When . . . “. Left with Horned Viper – Victoria doesn’t voice the second vowel, sadly, - they received The Boulder Mobile – hmm, not sure – Apollo 12 Fuel Element – even less sure – Doc Brown’s DeLorean – and here I had it. Hit them to make them work. Arnold’s jukebox gave it to the Rels, to finish off a very effective round for them – they led by 8 to 2.
Round Two – What comes fourth?
Right, well, this is no time for false modesty. When the exes plumped for Eye of Horus, we saw, first of all, Sojourner. In the studio I would have asked for another clue. At home, though, I thought that we were probably dealing with Mars Rovers, the last of which was NASA’s Curiosity. The second and third clues were Spirit and Opposrtunity. The Exes showed enough spirit to take their opportunity, and gave the right answer of Curiosity. The Rels took Twisted Flax, and nobody – neither the teams in the studio nor the one man team on the Clark sofa managed to get it. 1st: A fox – 2nd: An Owl – 3rd: A snake – would be followed by 4th – The Gruffalo. It’s a fair set, I’ve just never read it. My kids were too old when it came out, I think, and little Ollie, my grandson, is too young yet. Two Reeds brought the Exes more pictures. The first showed someone performing gymnastics on the beam. The second showed the State of Maine. Maine, as you may know, has the abbreviation ME. So Beam – me – “Scotty dog – or maybe Elvis’ guitarist Scotty Moore to finish ‘ I predicted. A house with a huge number of balloons about it gave Up, and the Exes went with Scotty dog. Lovely set that – kudos to the setter. The Lion set the Rels received next was a good one. We had Domo. Major ?– I wondered. Then Waldorf. Waldorf? Waldorf hotel? Waldorf Salad? Stadler and Waldorf? The third was Girl In the Ring. Obviously Brown. So although I have not heard of Blair Waldorf, it seemed fairly certain that the last must be Cameron – so Diaz. So it proved, but the Rels couldn’t see it at all. The Exes missed the chance for the bonus, neither team seeing the sequence of Prime Ministers. Water then gave the Exes South Ronaldsay – Sanday – and here I fancied Mainland of Orkney. Hoy was the third. The Exes hit and hoped with Skye, but it fell to the Rels to give the correct answer of Mainland. The horned viper remained, and provided the Rels with $4 – 5% - and at this point I knew the connection, but wouldn’t have had the correct answer unless I had been looking at my keyboard at the time. The symbol above the seven is the &. Neither team had it. Which meant that we had just seen a good round for the Exes, in which they pulled back 3 points to trail 9 – 6.
Round Three – The Connecting Walls
Lion was the wall of choice for the Rels. The first set they isolated were – Glen – Depression – Basin and Gorge – all hollows or valleys . Terms for sadness – Misery – Funk – Sorrow and Blues fell next. That was as far as they got and three strikes were not enough to untangle the last two lines. They could thought that there was a set of words that can be doubled, but they lacked a fourth word. So they failed to isolate Yellow – Talk – Trouble and Paradise, which are actually all Coldplay songs. This left Arcsine – Humidor – Dale and Organ. I was nowhere near this one myself. They are all anagrams of chemical elements. Oh boy – now that’s fiendish. 4 points.
Room then for the Exes to take the lead if they could solve the whole of the Water wall. They could see cricket equipment, but it just wouldn’t resolve, so they switched to activities for which you need a license. Watch Television – sell alcohol – box and drive fit the bill. At last bat- helmet – pads – gloves resolved for the cricket equipment. That was as far as they got before the time ran out. The third line when the wall was resolved was Stump – C – Class – England. Right at the death the word middle occurred to me, and this was the connection. The Exes missed it. The last set I only got because I had the benefit of seeing the anagrams on the Rels’ wall, which the exes didn’t. Bails – Nordic Era – Players and Ages are all anagrams of herbs. Nasty. Still, it meant that if they hadn’t made ground, neither had they lost any. The Rels led going into the last round with 13 to 10.
Round Four – Missing Vowels
In round four, then, we faced the very real possibility that the Exhibitionists would unexpectedly become the first team to fall. The first set was Types of Jazz, and it fell 3 – 1 to the exes. 14 – 13. Slang terms for the wife were a 4 – 0 shutout for the Rels, who now led 18 – 13. Things considered unlucky gave the Rels 3 more unanswered points before Eric pulled one back for the exes. 21 – 14, and, I’m afraid, it was all over bar the shouting. Plays by Willy Russell were not well known by either team, but the Exes managed the only point of the set. That was all we had time for. A final score of 21 – 15 suggested that the match had been rather more one sided than it actually was. Very bad luck, Exhibitionists, but congratulations to the Relatives – good luck next time out.
Saturday, 10 May 2014
In The News
In The News
Who Or What are the following and why have they been in the news?
1. Maxine Stiles – Alexandra Olson – Penny Thackray
2. Blencathra
3. Marcos Maidana
4. Barbecoa
5. Malky Mackay
6. Only Kids Aloud
7. Alexander Imich
8. North Weald Golf Course
9. Craig Oliver
10. Boko Haram
11. AstraZeneca
12. Cornelius Gurlitt
13. 117/ununseptium
14. Asif Hussainkhil
15. Tyson Gay
16. Helena Costa
17. Michael Wheatley
18. Sir Michael Hintze
19. Pinocchio Rex
20. Robert Riley
21. Bryn Tawe School Swansea
In Other News
1. Who will be the news permanent host of Strictly Come Dancing?
2. Which airline plans to offer a flying butler?
3. Who won the Tour de Romandie?
4. Which team won Italy’s Serie A?
5. What was the result of the World snooker championship?
6. Which celebrity’s abuse court case opened?
7. Which former British tennis number 1 passed away?
8. Which supermarket apologized after criticism over an advert projected onto the Angel of the North?
9. What was the result of the FA Youth Cup?
10. – and between Liverpool and Crystal Palace?
11. How much money did Lily Allen claim to have made from the John Lewis Christmas advert which featured her singing?
12. Who was voted English football writers’ Player of the Year?
13. Whose views on issues are to be added to the A Level English Language syllabus?
14. Who asked for the return of his £20,000 running spikes which have been stolen?
15. Who stood down as Chairman of the BBC Trust?
16. Who pleaded guilty to an indecent assault charge?
17. The BBC will be stopping interviews outside football grounds after matches – why?
18. Which celebrity was told by Police that he will not be facing prosecution?
19. What was the fine handed to Man City for breaking UEFA financial fair play rules?
20. Which former England international announced his retirement ?
21. Syrian Rebels finally pulled out of which city?
22. The PM of which Asian country was ordered by the courts to stand down last week?
23. What was the score between Sunderland and West Brom?
24. – and Man City and Villa?
25. Who was permanently appointed Swansea Manager?
26. Which hooker is out of the England RU tout to New Zealand?
27. Which Welsh author passed away? 28. – and which British rocket scientist passed away aged 70?
29. Who accepted damages from the Sun on Sunday for saying that he had cheated on girlfriend Jemima Khan?
30. Whose proposal for a B Team football league was greeted with widespread derision?
31. What was the score in the first leg play off between Derby and Brighton?
Who Or What are the following and why have they been in the news?
1. Maxine Stiles – Alexandra Olson – Penny Thackray
2. Blencathra
3. Marcos Maidana
4. Barbecoa
5. Malky Mackay
6. Only Kids Aloud
7. Alexander Imich
8. North Weald Golf Course
9. Craig Oliver
10. Boko Haram
11. AstraZeneca
12. Cornelius Gurlitt
13. 117/ununseptium
14. Asif Hussainkhil
15. Tyson Gay
16. Helena Costa
17. Michael Wheatley
18. Sir Michael Hintze
19. Pinocchio Rex
20. Robert Riley
21. Bryn Tawe School Swansea
In Other News
1. Who will be the news permanent host of Strictly Come Dancing?
2. Which airline plans to offer a flying butler?
3. Who won the Tour de Romandie?
4. Which team won Italy’s Serie A?
5. What was the result of the World snooker championship?
6. Which celebrity’s abuse court case opened?
7. Which former British tennis number 1 passed away?
8. Which supermarket apologized after criticism over an advert projected onto the Angel of the North?
9. What was the result of the FA Youth Cup?
10. – and between Liverpool and Crystal Palace?
11. How much money did Lily Allen claim to have made from the John Lewis Christmas advert which featured her singing?
12. Who was voted English football writers’ Player of the Year?
13. Whose views on issues are to be added to the A Level English Language syllabus?
14. Who asked for the return of his £20,000 running spikes which have been stolen?
15. Who stood down as Chairman of the BBC Trust?
16. Who pleaded guilty to an indecent assault charge?
17. The BBC will be stopping interviews outside football grounds after matches – why?
18. Which celebrity was told by Police that he will not be facing prosecution?
19. What was the fine handed to Man City for breaking UEFA financial fair play rules?
20. Which former England international announced his retirement ?
21. Syrian Rebels finally pulled out of which city?
22. The PM of which Asian country was ordered by the courts to stand down last week?
23. What was the score between Sunderland and West Brom?
24. – and Man City and Villa?
25. Who was permanently appointed Swansea Manager?
26. Which hooker is out of the England RU tout to New Zealand?
27. Which Welsh author passed away? 28. – and which British rocket scientist passed away aged 70?
29. Who accepted damages from the Sun on Sunday for saying that he had cheated on girlfriend Jemima Khan?
30. Whose proposal for a B Team football league was greeted with widespread derision?
31. What was the score in the first leg play off between Derby and Brighton?
Friday, 9 May 2014
Answers to News Questions
In the News
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news?
1. Chung Hung-Won
2. I Can’t Sing
3. Marc Marquez
4. Wirral Cricket Club
5. Kevin Phillips
6. Amal Alamuddin
7. Patrick Mercer
8. Sir Alan Moses
9. Chris Tomlinson
10. Cressida Bonas
11. Andros Townsend
12. Constance Briscoe
13. Amesbury
14. Barry Hawkins
In Other News
1. Which two pontiffs became saints last week?
2. Which island in the Bristol Channel regained its status as a bird observatory?
3. What was the score between Liverpool and Chelsea?
4. What was the score in the Heineken Cup semi final between Toulon and Munster?
5. – and Clermont Auvergne and Saracens?
6. Which type of helicopter tragically crashed in Afghanistan killing 5 servicemen?
7. Which broadcaster was detained by Malta police after making allegation about the hunting of migrating birds on Malta?
8. Which two teams secured promotion to League one of the English football league last week?
9. Who has had the Tory whip restored to him?
10. Teacher Anne Maguire was tragically murdered by a pupil in which school in Leeds?
11. Which sentence did Max Clifford receive after being found guilty of sexual assault?
12. John Kerry was criticized for describing Israel as what?
13. Which English club was found guilty of breaking FIFA’s financial fair play rules
14. What was the score in the first leg of the FA Youth Cup Final?
15. Why did Stephen Fry call for a boycott of the Dorchester Hotel?
16. Which classical musician announced he has to retire due to back injury?
17. Who is the PFA Player of the Year?
18. – and the PFA Young Player of the Year?
19. Which Bank of England note was withdrawn from circulation?
20. Who had her conviction for murder reinstated by the Florence Appeal Court?
21. There was much criticism over the sale of £150 million of shares in the Royal Mail to what?
22. In the Champions League what was the score between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid? 23. And Chelsea and Atletico Madrid?
24. Which golf course was bought by Donald Trump?
25. Name the five players shortlisted for the European Cup rugby player of the Year
26. Which film actor passed away aged 71?
27. Gerry Adams was arrested in connection with whose murder of 1972?
28. What did Jeremy Paxman announce last week?
29. Which historically significant object or artifact was reproduced by 3D printer last week?
30. Which was indicated to have been a factor in the tragic death of Peaches Geldof last week?
31. Why did Jeremy Paxman beg forgiveness last week?
32. Which two teams have reached the final of the Europa League?
33. Who was sacked as England batting coach?
34. Concerns were expressed over Michaelangelo’s David last week – why?
35. 5 monkeys belonging to critically endangered species of tamarins were stolen from which British zoo?
36. Sir Roger Bannister revealed that he was diagnosed as suffering from what in 2011?
Answers
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news?
1. South Korean Prime Minister who resigned over the ferry disaster
2. Spoof X-Factor West End Musical to close
3. Won his 3rd consecutive Moto GP
4. Were all bowled out for 3 runs
5. 40 year old former England footballer retiring
6. George Clooney’s iancée
7. MP resigned over allegations over lobbying
8. Chair of New Independent Press Standards Organisation
9. British long jumper complained that Greg Rutherford’s new British record was set with a no jump
10. Former girlfriend of Prince Harry – rumours say they split last week
11. Spurs and England footballer ruled out of World Cup by injury
12. Judge sentenced to 16 months for perverting the course of justice
13. Wiltshire village identified as the oldest continually occupied settlement in England
14. Ronnie O’Sullivan’s opponent in semi final of world snooker
In Other News
1. John XXIII and John Paul II
2. Skokholm Island
3. 2 – 0 Chelsea
4. 24 – 16 Toulon
5. 46 – 6 Saracens
6. Westland Lynx
7. Chris Packham
8. Rochdale and Scunthorpe
9. Nigel Evans MP
10. Corpus Christi College Leeds
11. 8 years imprisonment
12. An ‘apartheid nation’
13. Manchester City
14. Fulham – 3 – Chelsea - 2
15. Because its owner, the Sultan of Brunei, approved a law which could lead to gay people being stoned to death
16. Julian Lloyd-Webber
17. Luis Suarez
18. Eden Hazard
19. The Sir John Houblon £50 note
20. Amanda Knox
21. Hedge Funds
22. 4 – 0 Real Madrid
23. 3 – 1 Atletico Madrid
24. Turnberry
25. Chris Ashton – Steffon Armitage – Schalk Brits – Jacques Burger – Jonny Wilkinson
26. Bob Hoskins
27. Jean McConville
28. He is leaving Newsnight
29. Tutankhamen’s Tomb
30. Heroin
31. Using the N word
32. Seville and Benfica
33. Graham Gooch
34. It has weak ankles, which are suffering from micro fractures and could lead to it collapsing
35. Blackpool Zoo 36. Parkinson’s
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news?
1. Chung Hung-Won
2. I Can’t Sing
3. Marc Marquez
4. Wirral Cricket Club
5. Kevin Phillips
6. Amal Alamuddin
7. Patrick Mercer
8. Sir Alan Moses
9. Chris Tomlinson
10. Cressida Bonas
11. Andros Townsend
12. Constance Briscoe
13. Amesbury
14. Barry Hawkins
In Other News
1. Which two pontiffs became saints last week?
2. Which island in the Bristol Channel regained its status as a bird observatory?
3. What was the score between Liverpool and Chelsea?
4. What was the score in the Heineken Cup semi final between Toulon and Munster?
5. – and Clermont Auvergne and Saracens?
6. Which type of helicopter tragically crashed in Afghanistan killing 5 servicemen?
7. Which broadcaster was detained by Malta police after making allegation about the hunting of migrating birds on Malta?
8. Which two teams secured promotion to League one of the English football league last week?
9. Who has had the Tory whip restored to him?
10. Teacher Anne Maguire was tragically murdered by a pupil in which school in Leeds?
11. Which sentence did Max Clifford receive after being found guilty of sexual assault?
12. John Kerry was criticized for describing Israel as what?
13. Which English club was found guilty of breaking FIFA’s financial fair play rules
14. What was the score in the first leg of the FA Youth Cup Final?
15. Why did Stephen Fry call for a boycott of the Dorchester Hotel?
16. Which classical musician announced he has to retire due to back injury?
17. Who is the PFA Player of the Year?
18. – and the PFA Young Player of the Year?
19. Which Bank of England note was withdrawn from circulation?
20. Who had her conviction for murder reinstated by the Florence Appeal Court?
21. There was much criticism over the sale of £150 million of shares in the Royal Mail to what?
22. In the Champions League what was the score between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid? 23. And Chelsea and Atletico Madrid?
24. Which golf course was bought by Donald Trump?
25. Name the five players shortlisted for the European Cup rugby player of the Year
26. Which film actor passed away aged 71?
27. Gerry Adams was arrested in connection with whose murder of 1972?
28. What did Jeremy Paxman announce last week?
29. Which historically significant object or artifact was reproduced by 3D printer last week?
30. Which was indicated to have been a factor in the tragic death of Peaches Geldof last week?
31. Why did Jeremy Paxman beg forgiveness last week?
32. Which two teams have reached the final of the Europa League?
33. Who was sacked as England batting coach?
34. Concerns were expressed over Michaelangelo’s David last week – why?
35. 5 monkeys belonging to critically endangered species of tamarins were stolen from which British zoo?
36. Sir Roger Bannister revealed that he was diagnosed as suffering from what in 2011?
Answers
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news?
1. South Korean Prime Minister who resigned over the ferry disaster
2. Spoof X-Factor West End Musical to close
3. Won his 3rd consecutive Moto GP
4. Were all bowled out for 3 runs
5. 40 year old former England footballer retiring
6. George Clooney’s iancée
7. MP resigned over allegations over lobbying
8. Chair of New Independent Press Standards Organisation
9. British long jumper complained that Greg Rutherford’s new British record was set with a no jump
10. Former girlfriend of Prince Harry – rumours say they split last week
11. Spurs and England footballer ruled out of World Cup by injury
12. Judge sentenced to 16 months for perverting the course of justice
13. Wiltshire village identified as the oldest continually occupied settlement in England
14. Ronnie O’Sullivan’s opponent in semi final of world snooker
In Other News
1. John XXIII and John Paul II
2. Skokholm Island
3. 2 – 0 Chelsea
4. 24 – 16 Toulon
5. 46 – 6 Saracens
6. Westland Lynx
7. Chris Packham
8. Rochdale and Scunthorpe
9. Nigel Evans MP
10. Corpus Christi College Leeds
11. 8 years imprisonment
12. An ‘apartheid nation’
13. Manchester City
14. Fulham – 3 – Chelsea - 2
15. Because its owner, the Sultan of Brunei, approved a law which could lead to gay people being stoned to death
16. Julian Lloyd-Webber
17. Luis Suarez
18. Eden Hazard
19. The Sir John Houblon £50 note
20. Amanda Knox
21. Hedge Funds
22. 4 – 0 Real Madrid
23. 3 – 1 Atletico Madrid
24. Turnberry
25. Chris Ashton – Steffon Armitage – Schalk Brits – Jacques Burger – Jonny Wilkinson
26. Bob Hoskins
27. Jean McConville
28. He is leaving Newsnight
29. Tutankhamen’s Tomb
30. Heroin
31. Using the N word
32. Seville and Benfica
33. Graham Gooch
34. It has weak ankles, which are suffering from micro fractures and could lead to it collapsing
35. Blackpool Zoo 36. Parkinson’s
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