Settling a tie

I’ve allowed this one to percolate for a while, rather than posting a knee-jerk reaction last week after it happened. What am I talking about? Well, it’s the film quiz in the Gwyn Hall. If you’re a regular reader you might remember the ongoing saga from this time last year of the prizes for winning the League. Well, not last Wednesday but the Wednesday before that we had the first monthly quiz of 2025. The outcome of the League for last year was announced, and it turned out what we were tied at the top with another team. Both teams were told to nominate 1 player. The two players were asked 1 question – with a numerical answer. Closest answer would win the league. No, we didn’t win.

Okay, that’s life. After last year’s prize fiasco I can’t say I was at all bothered about whether we won the league or not. We deliberately gave the last quiz of the year a miss, and we would have been given a point just for turning up, so you could argue (and indeed the organisers did) that we only had ourselves to blame. But it’s just – and Dan pointed this out on the night – I couldn’t help feeling that it was odd to have just the one player from both teams answering. It was even odder considering that the quiz itself on the night had to be also settled by a tie break, and this was open to the whole team.

Oh well, it could have been worse. I’m put in mind of The Office, where Brent and Finchy’s team lose on a tie break, yet decide that they’ve won because Finchy can throw Tim’s shoe over a building. I’m sure I also saw or heard of a tied quiz being settled by both teams building paper airplanes with the winners being the team whose plane flew furthest.

It takes all sorts.