I can’t off the top of my head recall if this anecdote comes from David Niven’s “The Moon’s A Balloon” or his “Bring on The Empty Horses.” However I distinctly remember reading in one of the books that he was once staying with sir Noel Coward in Jamaica, and the two of them were reminiscing. Niven remarked that he was sad because he’d reached that stage of life when more and more of his friends were dying. To which Noel Coward replied “Personally I’m glad if mine make it through lunch.”
I started in my career as a quizzer at the relatively tender age of 23 and a half. This was back in the late 80s, when pub quizzing didn’t really seem as popular amongst twentysomethings as it is now. So it does stand to reason that my oldest quiz friends are literally my oldest friends. Many of my first quiz friends were in their 40 s and 50s then, and this was 23 years ago. It was only in my last post that I mentioned again my old friend Allan Coombs, who passed away a year ago. In one of life’s little ironies I was saddened to hear on Friday that another old friend of mine, Neville Evans, has passed away. Unlike Allan, Neville was not a very serious quizzer, but it was Neville who first made me into one. My wife grew up in the same street where Neville and his family lived. Mary and his daughter Anna became very good friends, and on top of that, Neville taught Rural Science in the school they both attended. So even after Mary’s family moved house, the two families still kept in touch. I can’t say that I felt that I knew Neville that well when he turned up on my doorstep a day or two after the birth of my son Mike, and announced that he was taking me out to wet the baby’s head at the Railway Club. Neville was a regular player in the Thursday night quiz there.
I enjoyed that evening so much that the Thursday quiz in the Railway club became the regular highlight of my week. Within a very short space of time I was in the club’s Port Talbot Quiz League team, and I was hooked. And Neville, for a long time, was my closest friend.
As I said, a serious quizzer he wasn’t , although his general knowledge was more than good enough for him to hold down a place in our league team until the whole thing broke down 3 or 4 years later. But as a man, Neville was remarkable, a genuine original in every way possible. For one thing, once he retired from teaching he began his own business making and selling replica Manx Norton motorcycles in his front room ( he did have a big house). Three days before my driving test, Neville turned up at my house and announced that he was going to take me out for a bit of practice. ‘A bit of practice’ turned out to be a lot of testing the route for the Black Mountain Rally the next weekend. I have been as frightened as I was on that day a few times since, but not many. Yet it must have worked, since I passed my test. Nev must have been a hell of a teacher, since whenever we’d go to quizzes in pubs throughout the length and breadth of Port Talbot men in their twenties, thirties and forties would forever be coming up to him, shaking his hand , and reminiscing about some or other of Neville’s more eccentric lessons. Whenever and wherever you were with Neville it didn't seem to matter. There was always somebody there who knew him. In fact the rest of the league team and I had a theory about what we thought of as ‘the Neville Evans Magnetic Effect’. Neville had been in the RAF in the 50s , in his own words ‘single-handedly holding back the red hordes across the Rhine’ . The rest of the team reckoned that if by some miracle we had been invited to represent Port Talbot in an international competition, held in Ulaan Baatar, for the sake of argument, someone would walk straight up to us on the street , holding out their Mongolian hand, saying the Mongolian equivalent of
“Ah, Neville ! How are you ? How long has it been ?” He simply knew people everywhere.
Well, the team broke up , when Allan became sick, Noel moved away, and the league folded. Though I still saw quite a bit of Neville, we didn’t tend to go to quizzes together any more. I’d go up to his place to watch the 5 Nations matches with him – an interesting experience since Neville, being a true Welshman always supported two teams – Wales, and whoever was playing against England. But we really did lose touch when Anna, his daughter, married and moved away to Gorseinon, and we moved away from one part of Port Talbot to another. We maybe saw each other and spoke to each other two or three times a year for the last two or three years, and I last spoke to him about three weeks ago. It happens. But the memory of those few years in the late 80s and early 90s were amongst the most memorable and happiest times of my quizzing career. Neville, thank you. You were the sort of person who leaves a man richer for having known you. Thanks for being a good mate. Rest in Peace.
Sunday, 15 May 2011
Friday, 13 May 2011
Question Master's Eye
I hope that nobody thinks that this post is in any way a celebration of the work of Mr. Jim Davidson. To be honest, on the odd occasion that I’ve seen him on TV shows when he’s offstage, being himself, warts and all as it were, he hasn’t really come across as being very nice at all. Still, the fact is that I did used to watch “Big break”, his 90’s snooker based gameshow. The reason why I feel drawn to make this confession is that he and his co presenter John Virgo always used to have a little banter each week over Mr. Virgo’s ‘Commentator’s Eye’. This referred to the way that John Virgo could spot almost immediately whether a given shot was going to go into the pocket or not. Years as a snooker professional, and then a commentator had trained him to this peak of ocular achievement, so it seemed.
Ok. Well, I wouldn’t have mentioned this, except that last night, at the rugby club, I found myself using the phrase ‘question master’s eye’ in rather a similar vain. At the moment none of our semi regular setters want to be question master in the club, so Brian and I have been taking it in turns between us, in a sort of holding pattern until somebody else volunteers to have a bash. Ths is why it was my turn to set the quiz at the club last night, even though I last did it only a fortnight ago. Now, both Brian and I like to start each of the 8 round with one ‘in-the-news’ question. It turned out that of my 8 questions, Brian had earmarked no less than 4 of them for next week’s quiz. When he mentioned this after the quiz was over, my immediate response was
“Ah, well, that’s question master’s eye.” Question master’s eye , then is the ability – or the affliction if you prefer- of seeing, hearing , or reading something, and almost instinctively knowing that its going to make a good quiz question. And as we all know, if you think some piece of information will make a good quiz question, chances are other people are going to think exactly the same thing when they hear , read or see it. After all, you don’t really have to be any kind of quiz genius to see that
What is the name of Sir Paul McCartney’s fiancee ?
Which two teams will play in the final of this year’s Europa Cup ?
Where in Pakistan was Osama Bin Laden Killed ?
In which city did the Tesco riots take place ?
etc. etc. – are all things which are going to make decent questions.
In terms of quizzing, certainly, I have always thought of myself as a fairly lucky soul. When I was nobbut a novice, back in the days of my semi-youth in 1988, I was fortunate enough to be noticed playing in a social quiz in the Railway club in Port Talbot by the best league quiz team in the town, and asked to play for them. The other team members were all pretty good, and one of them was a great quizzer, my old friend Allan Coombs who sadly passed away a year ago. I don’t honestly think you make a better start to a quiz career than coming under the collective wing of a team like that. For one thing they’d all been playing for years. For another thing, without being cold – hearted, win at all costs professionals they were serious and competitive, and they knew what you had to do to be a top team , well , certainly for the circles in which we moved then, anyway. I learned a lot about tactics, but also I learned a lot about preparation for quizzes. Most of which I have never put into serious practice, but that’s just through my own indolence. One of the things that Alan, Barry, and later on when I met him, John were all keen to stress was the importance of ‘doing the papers’, and loath though I am to admit it, of course they were right. And of course, the more you do it, the better you should get at spotting the questions which are likely to arise from them.
Coming back to this whole idea of ‘question master’s eye’ I’m drawn back to my first round appearence in Mastermind 2007 ( Season of Blessed Memory ) . I managed to have a brief chat with each of the other three contenders before the start of the show. I will admit, I would never deliberately try to psych an opponent out. I’ve had something of this kind happen to me once, and it was rather unpleasant. Still, I wasn’t above trying to figure out who was likely to be a strong player amongst the opposition. So I asked the quietest one of them, a very nice chap , a rather transparent, “Do you play in quizzes at home ? “ to which he made a reply something like this –
“Not so much now, although I set a few . In fact I’m hoping that my question master’s eye ( yes, I’m sure he DID actually use this very phrase, although this may be my memory playing tricks on me ) will help me spot the questions which arelikely to be asked. “
My immediate thought was that he was referring to general knowledge, in which case it was a bit of a forlorn hope, since it is just so wide. However thinking about it, he must have meant his specialist subject, in which case I think he was spot on. It worked too, he had a very good score , as I recall, although the wheels came off a little for him in the GK.
Mind you, with regards to question master’s eye, the glass is probably just as much half empty as its half full. I think particularly of the times we all think we’ve been rather clever on boning up on a thing we think we’re likely to get asked in a particular quiz, only to find that effort wasted. For example, all those hours spent on the Russell Ash Top 10 of Everything book in preparation for the CIU finals, only to find the top 10 question isn’t one of the ones in the book !
Ok. Well, I wouldn’t have mentioned this, except that last night, at the rugby club, I found myself using the phrase ‘question master’s eye’ in rather a similar vain. At the moment none of our semi regular setters want to be question master in the club, so Brian and I have been taking it in turns between us, in a sort of holding pattern until somebody else volunteers to have a bash. Ths is why it was my turn to set the quiz at the club last night, even though I last did it only a fortnight ago. Now, both Brian and I like to start each of the 8 round with one ‘in-the-news’ question. It turned out that of my 8 questions, Brian had earmarked no less than 4 of them for next week’s quiz. When he mentioned this after the quiz was over, my immediate response was
“Ah, well, that’s question master’s eye.” Question master’s eye , then is the ability – or the affliction if you prefer- of seeing, hearing , or reading something, and almost instinctively knowing that its going to make a good quiz question. And as we all know, if you think some piece of information will make a good quiz question, chances are other people are going to think exactly the same thing when they hear , read or see it. After all, you don’t really have to be any kind of quiz genius to see that
What is the name of Sir Paul McCartney’s fiancee ?
Which two teams will play in the final of this year’s Europa Cup ?
Where in Pakistan was Osama Bin Laden Killed ?
In which city did the Tesco riots take place ?
etc. etc. – are all things which are going to make decent questions.
In terms of quizzing, certainly, I have always thought of myself as a fairly lucky soul. When I was nobbut a novice, back in the days of my semi-youth in 1988, I was fortunate enough to be noticed playing in a social quiz in the Railway club in Port Talbot by the best league quiz team in the town, and asked to play for them. The other team members were all pretty good, and one of them was a great quizzer, my old friend Allan Coombs who sadly passed away a year ago. I don’t honestly think you make a better start to a quiz career than coming under the collective wing of a team like that. For one thing they’d all been playing for years. For another thing, without being cold – hearted, win at all costs professionals they were serious and competitive, and they knew what you had to do to be a top team , well , certainly for the circles in which we moved then, anyway. I learned a lot about tactics, but also I learned a lot about preparation for quizzes. Most of which I have never put into serious practice, but that’s just through my own indolence. One of the things that Alan, Barry, and later on when I met him, John were all keen to stress was the importance of ‘doing the papers’, and loath though I am to admit it, of course they were right. And of course, the more you do it, the better you should get at spotting the questions which are likely to arise from them.
Coming back to this whole idea of ‘question master’s eye’ I’m drawn back to my first round appearence in Mastermind 2007 ( Season of Blessed Memory ) . I managed to have a brief chat with each of the other three contenders before the start of the show. I will admit, I would never deliberately try to psych an opponent out. I’ve had something of this kind happen to me once, and it was rather unpleasant. Still, I wasn’t above trying to figure out who was likely to be a strong player amongst the opposition. So I asked the quietest one of them, a very nice chap , a rather transparent, “Do you play in quizzes at home ? “ to which he made a reply something like this –
“Not so much now, although I set a few . In fact I’m hoping that my question master’s eye ( yes, I’m sure he DID actually use this very phrase, although this may be my memory playing tricks on me ) will help me spot the questions which arelikely to be asked. “
My immediate thought was that he was referring to general knowledge, in which case it was a bit of a forlorn hope, since it is just so wide. However thinking about it, he must have meant his specialist subject, in which case I think he was spot on. It worked too, he had a very good score , as I recall, although the wheels came off a little for him in the GK.
Mind you, with regards to question master’s eye, the glass is probably just as much half empty as its half full. I think particularly of the times we all think we’ve been rather clever on boning up on a thing we think we’re likely to get asked in a particular quiz, only to find that effort wasted. For example, all those hours spent on the Russell Ash Top 10 of Everything book in preparation for the CIU finals, only to find the top 10 question isn’t one of the ones in the book !
Tuesday, 10 May 2011
Answers to those connections
I’m sure that you’ve all already worked out all the answers to the questions I left you last week. Still, just in case, here you are : -
1)
What was the full name of Ted Danson’s character in ‘Cheers’ ?
SAM Malone
Which England test cricketer died in a car crash in Australia in 2002 ?
BEN Hollioake
In which novel by Henry Fielding is the eponymous hero an orphan adopted by Squire Allworthy ?
TOM Jones
What was the name of the twin killed by Romulus, the founder of Rome
REMUS
What is the connection between your last four answers ?
UNCLE
2)
Which country’s national flag has a red field, on which there is one large yellow star in the top left hand corner, flanked by a semi circle of smaller yellow stars ?
CHINA
Caroline Lucas, elected MP in 2010 to represent Brighton Pavilion, is a member of which party ?
GREEN Party
Pennyroyal is a variety of which herb plant ?
MINT
What is the connection between your last three answers ?
TEA
3)
Which 1960’s sitcom, revived in the late 70’s, was set in Fenner Fashions ?
The Rag TRADE
Which English city stands on the river Wensum ?
NORWICH
Which Russian word denotes a worker’s council ?
SOVIET
What is the connection between your last three answers ?
UNION
4)
How is the Parthenon Frieze more commonly known in the UK ?
The ELGIN Marbles
Which famous explorer was born in the town of Blantyre ?
David LIVINGSTON
Who is the only driver to win the Chinese Formula 1 Grand Prix twice ?
Lewis HAMILTON
Which politician took the title Lord Bannside when promoted to the House of Lords ?
Ian PAISLEY
What is the precise connection between your last four answers ?
SCOTTISH ADMINISTRATIVE HQs
5)
The Lifeguards and which other regiment make up the Household Cavalry ?
The BLUES and Royals
Which dish consists of prunes wrapped in bacon ?
DEVILS on horseback
For which film did Jack Palance win his Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1992?
CITY Slickers
What is the connection between your last three answers ?
CARDIFF SPORTS TEAMS ( respectively rugby union, ice hockey and football )
6)
In which old TV series did John Alderton play Bernard ‘Privet’ Hedges ?
PLEASE Sir
Which England international footballer, with 11 caps, once of Nottingham Forest, played as a lone striker for Aston Villa in their 1982 European Cup victory over Bayern Munich in 1982 ?
Peter WITHe
Which medieval poem sees King Arthur and his men challenged to a deadly game by a giant of an unusual hue ?
Sir Gawaine and the Green kNIGHT
Which alternative comedian released songs “Ullo John, Gotta New Motor ? “ and “Pop up toaster “ ?
Alexei SAyLE
Which charity was founded by Cecil Jackson – Cole in 1961 ?
HELP The Aged
Who captained the Scottish rugby team in their grand slam season of 1990 ?
David SOLE ( SOUL )
What was the name of Angie Dickinson’s character in the TV series Police Woman ?
PEPPER Anderson
What is the more usual name for the Collegiate Church of St. Peter ?
Westminster ABBEY
What is the connection between your last 8 answers ?
ALBUMS BY THE BEATLES
As I’ve said before, the connections are a bit of fun. Its not a format that I invented – I nicked it off Geoff Evans, he probably got it from someone else, and other people have taken the idea from me before now. But it seems to go down quite well at the club, as long as you don’t do it every time you compile a quiz. One of these to two normal quizzes of mine seems to work.
1)
What was the full name of Ted Danson’s character in ‘Cheers’ ?
SAM Malone
Which England test cricketer died in a car crash in Australia in 2002 ?
BEN Hollioake
In which novel by Henry Fielding is the eponymous hero an orphan adopted by Squire Allworthy ?
TOM Jones
What was the name of the twin killed by Romulus, the founder of Rome
REMUS
What is the connection between your last four answers ?
UNCLE
2)
Which country’s national flag has a red field, on which there is one large yellow star in the top left hand corner, flanked by a semi circle of smaller yellow stars ?
CHINA
Caroline Lucas, elected MP in 2010 to represent Brighton Pavilion, is a member of which party ?
GREEN Party
Pennyroyal is a variety of which herb plant ?
MINT
What is the connection between your last three answers ?
TEA
3)
Which 1960’s sitcom, revived in the late 70’s, was set in Fenner Fashions ?
The Rag TRADE
Which English city stands on the river Wensum ?
NORWICH
Which Russian word denotes a worker’s council ?
SOVIET
What is the connection between your last three answers ?
UNION
4)
How is the Parthenon Frieze more commonly known in the UK ?
The ELGIN Marbles
Which famous explorer was born in the town of Blantyre ?
David LIVINGSTON
Who is the only driver to win the Chinese Formula 1 Grand Prix twice ?
Lewis HAMILTON
Which politician took the title Lord Bannside when promoted to the House of Lords ?
Ian PAISLEY
What is the precise connection between your last four answers ?
SCOTTISH ADMINISTRATIVE HQs
5)
The Lifeguards and which other regiment make up the Household Cavalry ?
The BLUES and Royals
Which dish consists of prunes wrapped in bacon ?
DEVILS on horseback
For which film did Jack Palance win his Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1992?
CITY Slickers
What is the connection between your last three answers ?
CARDIFF SPORTS TEAMS ( respectively rugby union, ice hockey and football )
6)
In which old TV series did John Alderton play Bernard ‘Privet’ Hedges ?
PLEASE Sir
Which England international footballer, with 11 caps, once of Nottingham Forest, played as a lone striker for Aston Villa in their 1982 European Cup victory over Bayern Munich in 1982 ?
Peter WITHe
Which medieval poem sees King Arthur and his men challenged to a deadly game by a giant of an unusual hue ?
Sir Gawaine and the Green kNIGHT
Which alternative comedian released songs “Ullo John, Gotta New Motor ? “ and “Pop up toaster “ ?
Alexei SAyLE
Which charity was founded by Cecil Jackson – Cole in 1961 ?
HELP The Aged
Who captained the Scottish rugby team in their grand slam season of 1990 ?
David SOLE ( SOUL )
What was the name of Angie Dickinson’s character in the TV series Police Woman ?
PEPPER Anderson
What is the more usual name for the Collegiate Church of St. Peter ?
Westminster ABBEY
What is the connection between your last 8 answers ?
ALBUMS BY THE BEATLES
As I’ve said before, the connections are a bit of fun. Its not a format that I invented – I nicked it off Geoff Evans, he probably got it from someone else, and other people have taken the idea from me before now. But it seems to go down quite well at the club, as long as you don’t do it every time you compile a quiz. One of these to two normal quizzes of mine seems to work.
A Rainy Night In Newport - Cash Prizes
Right, so we’re back at work, the league finished weeks ago, and it’s a Monday night. You’re right, there’s nothing else for it, we have to go to Newport.
Actually we don’t HAVE to go at all, and I certainly don’t want to make it out that the Monday night quiz in the Pill Harriers is a chore. Its anything but. I haven’t been since before Christmas, simply for the reasons that I’ve been playing in the league in Bridgend on a Monday night, and then after that my son Mike prevailed upon me to come and try to win some money with him in Cardiff, and then we had that nice little run of bank holidays. But those reasons are no longer valid.
In fact, its not a case so much of no longer having any good reason not to go to Newport, but a case of having very good reasons why I should. It works like this – at the moment its just myself and Brian who are taking turns compiling the Thursday night quiz for the Aberavon rugby club. Now, for all I know someone else will turn round this Thursday night and volunteer to do next week’s, and very welcome this would be too, but its not something I can bank upon happening. So at the moment I’m only actually playing there every other week. John and I were playing every other week on a Tuesday night in the Duke of Wellington in Cowbridge, but that’s currently closed for refurbishments. When it reopens a new landlord will be taking over, but whether he will resurrect the quiz is anybody’s guess. It will be a shame if he doesn’t, but there we are. So there’s no quiz on a Tuesday night at the moment. All of which leaves the Sunday night quiz in the Dyffryn Arms in Rhos. Very enjoyable it is too, but even so its just not enough when it’s the only quiz you get to play in during a week.
It isn’t just that, though. Sometimes you just need to be in a proper, hard quiz, with people who don’t mind it being a proper, hard quiz. If you’re a long term reader you might know that I’ve discussed the quiz in the Pill Harriers rugby club in Newport before. Its run by Trevor Parry. You might know Trevor, and if you’ve played in various leagues its just possible you may also have played in his quizzes before now. I’m not sure how many he is currently supplying questions for, but I fancy he has quite a few. Whatever my gripes about the handicap system that they use in the quiz on a Monday, I would never try to deny that the standard of the questions is very good, a cut above what you’ll get in most other places. And you know sometimes, well, sometimes that really is what matters most. So much so that you’ll even drive the best part of 40 miles there, and 40 miles back to play in it.
By way of a comparison, in the Sunday night quiz, which I have already said is a good, enjoyable quiz, there are 5 rounds of 10 questions – most of them not too hard. Sometimes there’s also a picture round, and sometimes there isn’t. In the Cowbridge quiz there were 7 rounds of 10 questions. Two rounds of general knowledge, and 5 specialist themed rounds, on one of which a joker must be played. In the rugby club on the Thursday there are 8 rounds of 10 questions, and a handout, usually pictures but not always. In Trevor’s quiz on a Monday night there are 3 specific General knowledge rounds of 20 questions. Then there’s a photograph handout, then a questions handout. The second handout usually has a good 50 or more answers required, so there are , when you think of it, well over 100 questions in the evening.
By way of another comparison too, there is still a cash prize. Now, my attitude towards cash prizes has undergone an unusual metamorphosis in recent times. Even as recently as five years ago round our way it was quite possible to play in cash prize quizzes 4 or 5 nights a week, two of which could be for very significant amounts. Most of these have either disappeared, or seen the cash prize replaced by wine, beer tokens, whatever. Is this due to the plague of mobile phones ? Possibly. Whatever the case, the cash prizes have gone. Now, I won’t lie to you, up until relatively recently I looked upon this as a handy source of additional unearned income. Whenever a money quiz folded, or changed to prizes, it used to really annoy me. Yet now, while I’ll never turn a cash prize down, I can’t say its that big a motivating factor for me. Case in point, I’ve played in a £100 first prize quiz in Cardiff maybe 6 or 7 times, and won it every time apart from the first. The reason why I only ever go once in a blue moon has nothing whatsoever to do with not wanting to do what I believe is known in the trade as ‘killing the goose that laid the golden egg. ‘ No. The fact is that I just don’t like the quiz very much. End of story. In fact if it wasn’t for Mike dangling the carrot of getting to spend an evening in his company, I probably wouldn’t go again. Whereas if the cash prize in Newport went the way of all flesh, I don’t think it would really bother me. Granted we never won it that often, and granted that it wasn’t ever quite of life-changing proportions, but nevertheless it would sometimes pay for your petrol and a drink or two. But I have to say that its not as important to me as either winning, or at the very least feeling that I’ve played quite well.
While I’m on the subject of cash prizes, looking back now , with the benefit of hindsight I can see that they were always something of a mixed blessing. Don’t get me wrong, there were times when you’d win a cash prize and the money would come in very handy, but then there were all the times when you were mentally already spending the money, and then you didn’t win. We’ve probably all seen how people will use phones to cheat in a quiz where there’s no cash, only a prize, or maybe even no prize at all at stake. So you can’t entirely blame cash prizes for the spread of phone cheating, but undoubtedly a cash prize must have increased the temptation.
Also there was the reaction of those who didn’t win. I shall have to be careful how I phrase this, as it really isn’t my intention to upset anyone in particular. Still, I think particularly of the £100 quiz in a pub in Neath, which I have promised myself never to mention by name in any arena that might give them free publicity. Alright, John and I were rather sneaky in the way we played there the first time. We turned up an hour before the quiz was advertised to start, had a couple of drinks, and generally behaved like two old codgers who’d just popped in for a drink and a chat, and then we let the landlady ‘talk us into’ playing in the quiz. The rule was that there was a maximum of 60 marks available. First prize was a gallon of beer. However if the winning team scored over 50 out of 60, then the first prize was £100. No team had ever achieved this feat before. We scored 54 that night, and left it for 3 or 4 weeks, then came back and scored 55. We did this a couple more times, and then the landlord finally made a point of approaching me one evening, and saying piously something like,
“Its not me, lads. As far as I’m concerned, if the prize is there, its there to be won. But . . . “
- Here it comes, I thought. –
“ But it’s the other teams. They think its unfair. (It wasn’t. ) They say that you only come into the pub to play the quiz. ( We did ) . They say that you’ll win the money every time you play ( We would ). “ and so on, and so forth. I have to say that it crossed my mind that he was himself getting a little sick of paying out £100 a month when prior to our arrival on the scene he didn’t. Still, if you took what he said on face value, the fact is that no other team had come close to winning the money in over a year. There is no reason to think that they would have been able to do it whether we were there or not. Which left me to ask myself – would they ever have complained about a team winning each time they played when they were only playing in one out of every four quizzes. I doubt it. Jealousy over money.
Mind you, having said all that against cash prizes, I still accepted my share of the pot last night.
Actually we don’t HAVE to go at all, and I certainly don’t want to make it out that the Monday night quiz in the Pill Harriers is a chore. Its anything but. I haven’t been since before Christmas, simply for the reasons that I’ve been playing in the league in Bridgend on a Monday night, and then after that my son Mike prevailed upon me to come and try to win some money with him in Cardiff, and then we had that nice little run of bank holidays. But those reasons are no longer valid.
In fact, its not a case so much of no longer having any good reason not to go to Newport, but a case of having very good reasons why I should. It works like this – at the moment its just myself and Brian who are taking turns compiling the Thursday night quiz for the Aberavon rugby club. Now, for all I know someone else will turn round this Thursday night and volunteer to do next week’s, and very welcome this would be too, but its not something I can bank upon happening. So at the moment I’m only actually playing there every other week. John and I were playing every other week on a Tuesday night in the Duke of Wellington in Cowbridge, but that’s currently closed for refurbishments. When it reopens a new landlord will be taking over, but whether he will resurrect the quiz is anybody’s guess. It will be a shame if he doesn’t, but there we are. So there’s no quiz on a Tuesday night at the moment. All of which leaves the Sunday night quiz in the Dyffryn Arms in Rhos. Very enjoyable it is too, but even so its just not enough when it’s the only quiz you get to play in during a week.
It isn’t just that, though. Sometimes you just need to be in a proper, hard quiz, with people who don’t mind it being a proper, hard quiz. If you’re a long term reader you might know that I’ve discussed the quiz in the Pill Harriers rugby club in Newport before. Its run by Trevor Parry. You might know Trevor, and if you’ve played in various leagues its just possible you may also have played in his quizzes before now. I’m not sure how many he is currently supplying questions for, but I fancy he has quite a few. Whatever my gripes about the handicap system that they use in the quiz on a Monday, I would never try to deny that the standard of the questions is very good, a cut above what you’ll get in most other places. And you know sometimes, well, sometimes that really is what matters most. So much so that you’ll even drive the best part of 40 miles there, and 40 miles back to play in it.
By way of a comparison, in the Sunday night quiz, which I have already said is a good, enjoyable quiz, there are 5 rounds of 10 questions – most of them not too hard. Sometimes there’s also a picture round, and sometimes there isn’t. In the Cowbridge quiz there were 7 rounds of 10 questions. Two rounds of general knowledge, and 5 specialist themed rounds, on one of which a joker must be played. In the rugby club on the Thursday there are 8 rounds of 10 questions, and a handout, usually pictures but not always. In Trevor’s quiz on a Monday night there are 3 specific General knowledge rounds of 20 questions. Then there’s a photograph handout, then a questions handout. The second handout usually has a good 50 or more answers required, so there are , when you think of it, well over 100 questions in the evening.
By way of another comparison too, there is still a cash prize. Now, my attitude towards cash prizes has undergone an unusual metamorphosis in recent times. Even as recently as five years ago round our way it was quite possible to play in cash prize quizzes 4 or 5 nights a week, two of which could be for very significant amounts. Most of these have either disappeared, or seen the cash prize replaced by wine, beer tokens, whatever. Is this due to the plague of mobile phones ? Possibly. Whatever the case, the cash prizes have gone. Now, I won’t lie to you, up until relatively recently I looked upon this as a handy source of additional unearned income. Whenever a money quiz folded, or changed to prizes, it used to really annoy me. Yet now, while I’ll never turn a cash prize down, I can’t say its that big a motivating factor for me. Case in point, I’ve played in a £100 first prize quiz in Cardiff maybe 6 or 7 times, and won it every time apart from the first. The reason why I only ever go once in a blue moon has nothing whatsoever to do with not wanting to do what I believe is known in the trade as ‘killing the goose that laid the golden egg. ‘ No. The fact is that I just don’t like the quiz very much. End of story. In fact if it wasn’t for Mike dangling the carrot of getting to spend an evening in his company, I probably wouldn’t go again. Whereas if the cash prize in Newport went the way of all flesh, I don’t think it would really bother me. Granted we never won it that often, and granted that it wasn’t ever quite of life-changing proportions, but nevertheless it would sometimes pay for your petrol and a drink or two. But I have to say that its not as important to me as either winning, or at the very least feeling that I’ve played quite well.
While I’m on the subject of cash prizes, looking back now , with the benefit of hindsight I can see that they were always something of a mixed blessing. Don’t get me wrong, there were times when you’d win a cash prize and the money would come in very handy, but then there were all the times when you were mentally already spending the money, and then you didn’t win. We’ve probably all seen how people will use phones to cheat in a quiz where there’s no cash, only a prize, or maybe even no prize at all at stake. So you can’t entirely blame cash prizes for the spread of phone cheating, but undoubtedly a cash prize must have increased the temptation.
Also there was the reaction of those who didn’t win. I shall have to be careful how I phrase this, as it really isn’t my intention to upset anyone in particular. Still, I think particularly of the £100 quiz in a pub in Neath, which I have promised myself never to mention by name in any arena that might give them free publicity. Alright, John and I were rather sneaky in the way we played there the first time. We turned up an hour before the quiz was advertised to start, had a couple of drinks, and generally behaved like two old codgers who’d just popped in for a drink and a chat, and then we let the landlady ‘talk us into’ playing in the quiz. The rule was that there was a maximum of 60 marks available. First prize was a gallon of beer. However if the winning team scored over 50 out of 60, then the first prize was £100. No team had ever achieved this feat before. We scored 54 that night, and left it for 3 or 4 weeks, then came back and scored 55. We did this a couple more times, and then the landlord finally made a point of approaching me one evening, and saying piously something like,
“Its not me, lads. As far as I’m concerned, if the prize is there, its there to be won. But . . . “
- Here it comes, I thought. –
“ But it’s the other teams. They think its unfair. (It wasn’t. ) They say that you only come into the pub to play the quiz. ( We did ) . They say that you’ll win the money every time you play ( We would ). “ and so on, and so forth. I have to say that it crossed my mind that he was himself getting a little sick of paying out £100 a month when prior to our arrival on the scene he didn’t. Still, if you took what he said on face value, the fact is that no other team had come close to winning the money in over a year. There is no reason to think that they would have been able to do it whether we were there or not. Which left me to ask myself – would they ever have complained about a team winning each time they played when they were only playing in one out of every four quizzes. I doubt it. Jealousy over money.
Mind you, having said all that against cash prizes, I still accepted my share of the pot last night.
Saturday, 7 May 2011
R.I.P. Sir Henry - Winning like a gentleman
A man who was something of a hero of mine passed away last week. I am referring to the late Sir Henry Cooper, of course, a true gentleman whom I was fortunate to meet once when I was a guest of a member of Ealing Golf Club. If you read any of the well deserved tributes in the newspapers , you may well be aware of the fact that Sir Henry was certainly the first – and I also think the only , man to win three Lonsdale belts outright. Without wishing to do any injustice to Sir Henry’s memory though, there was actually a boxer who won more British Heavyweight Championship fights than he did, and was British champion for longer than he was, who only won two Lonsdale Belts. I am referring to Bombardier Billy Wells, who fought in the 1910’s.
Back in these early days of professional, Queensberry rules boxing in the UK, a British champion could only win Lonsdale belts for bouts held in the National Sporting Club, in London. Hence the reason why Bombardier Billy only won the two. The NSC was founded in Covent Garden in 1891, and its first president was the Earl of Lonsdale, hence the Lonsdale Belt. The club did a lot to raise the status of boxing. It was a private members club, and bouts would take place after dinner in front of about 1300 members and guests. The rules insisted on silence between the rounds, and good sportsmanship, and the story goes that a prominent notice in the club reminded all concerned to –
Remember that it is better to lose like a gentleman than to win like a blackguard .
Noble sentiments, I’m sure you’ll agree. I mention this, since it impinges upon a philosophical question which I’d like to ask. What would you prefer – to win a quiz having not played to the level you feel you should, or to lose, having played really well nonetheless ? Now, if you are thinking to yourself – well , come on, Dave, the fuss you’ve made in posts in LAM about being beaten by cheats etc. etc. show that you take winning far too seriously, then congratulations to you. You know me very well.
Still , my team lost on Thursday evening in the quiz in the Rugby Club. This was all 100% kosher and above board, I hasten to add. We were beaten by the Lemurs, Rob and Terry’s team, and I know the team so well I know that there is absolutely no way on this earth that they would cheat. They don’t even need to either, they’re a good team. So, as I say, they beat us – only by a single point on the actual questions, and by another point on the picture handout, but there we are, a miss is as good as a mile. Now, losing down the rugby club is normally enough to make me trudge home with a face like a smacked bum, and wake up the next morning feeling that the whole world is against me. Yet it didn’t happen like this on Thursday night. I actually walked home feeling pretty good, despite losing. Why ? Well, though I say it myself, I played very well. We were short as a team, and I had some terrific answers. I’d ‘spotted’ all the in the news questions from the papers, and had all of them , and there were some good answers which came from the work I’d done to try to ensure the league team were covering all the angles. But Lemurs were brilliant on the night, full credit to them. They deserved to win.
For all the enjoyment I got out of the evening, though, I’d would still much prefer to keep the occasions when I feel very happy with the way I played, even though we lost, to a minimum. Losing like a gentleman is fun, but winning like one is still better.
Back in these early days of professional, Queensberry rules boxing in the UK, a British champion could only win Lonsdale belts for bouts held in the National Sporting Club, in London. Hence the reason why Bombardier Billy only won the two. The NSC was founded in Covent Garden in 1891, and its first president was the Earl of Lonsdale, hence the Lonsdale Belt. The club did a lot to raise the status of boxing. It was a private members club, and bouts would take place after dinner in front of about 1300 members and guests. The rules insisted on silence between the rounds, and good sportsmanship, and the story goes that a prominent notice in the club reminded all concerned to –
Remember that it is better to lose like a gentleman than to win like a blackguard .
Noble sentiments, I’m sure you’ll agree. I mention this, since it impinges upon a philosophical question which I’d like to ask. What would you prefer – to win a quiz having not played to the level you feel you should, or to lose, having played really well nonetheless ? Now, if you are thinking to yourself – well , come on, Dave, the fuss you’ve made in posts in LAM about being beaten by cheats etc. etc. show that you take winning far too seriously, then congratulations to you. You know me very well.
Still , my team lost on Thursday evening in the quiz in the Rugby Club. This was all 100% kosher and above board, I hasten to add. We were beaten by the Lemurs, Rob and Terry’s team, and I know the team so well I know that there is absolutely no way on this earth that they would cheat. They don’t even need to either, they’re a good team. So, as I say, they beat us – only by a single point on the actual questions, and by another point on the picture handout, but there we are, a miss is as good as a mile. Now, losing down the rugby club is normally enough to make me trudge home with a face like a smacked bum, and wake up the next morning feeling that the whole world is against me. Yet it didn’t happen like this on Thursday night. I actually walked home feeling pretty good, despite losing. Why ? Well, though I say it myself, I played very well. We were short as a team, and I had some terrific answers. I’d ‘spotted’ all the in the news questions from the papers, and had all of them , and there were some good answers which came from the work I’d done to try to ensure the league team were covering all the angles. But Lemurs were brilliant on the night, full credit to them. They deserved to win.
For all the enjoyment I got out of the evening, though, I’d would still much prefer to keep the occasions when I feel very happy with the way I played, even though we lost, to a minimum. Losing like a gentleman is fun, but winning like one is still better.
Thursday, 5 May 2011
Question Feedback
It was the May Day in Melin quiz last night which I mentioned last week. I think that it went off quite well. Mind you, it’s a little difficult to judge, and this is the main thrust, for want of a better word, of this post.
When I compile the quiz and act as question master for the rugby club, I also mark all of the answer sheets for each round. Its no chore really, and more than that, I find it gives me some valuable feedback about the questions. You soon get to see which questions are too hard, which questions are too easy, which questions that you think are sitters have been made too obscure by the way you’ve phrased them, and so on and so forth. If your questions aren’t written clearly enough you’ll soon see by the number of teams getting the wrong end of the stick. If you care about how much people enjoy your quiz, as I am sure that most of us do, then this is the kind of informal feedback that comes in handy.
Last night we opted for the ‘swap your answers with another team format’. Horses for courses. That’s the way its always been done in this quiz, and to be fair there are advantages in seeing what other teams have written, maybe having a bit of a laugh and a joke with them about it. But it did mean that all I had to go on were the scores that the teams achieved. Now, there was a sprinkling of quizzers from the old Neath league – sadly defunct since 2000 – but for the most part these were just innocent civilians, so scores for each round ranging between 6 – 9 out of 10 showed me that I had probably pitched the questions at just about the right level. But it would have been interesting to see which questions in particular caused the problems, for future reference. Never satisfied see, that’s my trouble.
When I compile the quiz and act as question master for the rugby club, I also mark all of the answer sheets for each round. Its no chore really, and more than that, I find it gives me some valuable feedback about the questions. You soon get to see which questions are too hard, which questions are too easy, which questions that you think are sitters have been made too obscure by the way you’ve phrased them, and so on and so forth. If your questions aren’t written clearly enough you’ll soon see by the number of teams getting the wrong end of the stick. If you care about how much people enjoy your quiz, as I am sure that most of us do, then this is the kind of informal feedback that comes in handy.
Last night we opted for the ‘swap your answers with another team format’. Horses for courses. That’s the way its always been done in this quiz, and to be fair there are advantages in seeing what other teams have written, maybe having a bit of a laugh and a joke with them about it. But it did mean that all I had to go on were the scores that the teams achieved. Now, there was a sprinkling of quizzers from the old Neath league – sadly defunct since 2000 – but for the most part these were just innocent civilians, so scores for each round ranging between 6 – 9 out of 10 showed me that I had probably pitched the questions at just about the right level. But it would have been interesting to see which questions in particular caused the problems, for future reference. Never satisfied see, that’s my trouble.
Wednesday, 4 May 2011
More Connections
Well, it seems that the connection question I left with you in my last post has sparked a little bit of interest. In case you couldn’t figure it out, and are too honourable to google it , here’s the solution : -
1) Which british athlete gained a silver medal in the men’s 400metres in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics ?
Answer – Roger Black
2) Who made his only visit to Britain in a very brief stopover at Prestwick Airport in 1960 ?
Answer – Elvis Presley
3) Which is the shortest of William Shakespeare’s play ?
Answer - The Comedy of Errors
4) What is the connection between your last three answers ?
Answer - Twins - Roger Black has a twin sister, Elvis had a twin brother, and the play is about twins.
Bearing in mind the response to the question I thought that you’d maybe like the other sets from the quiz. So here they are : -
1)
What was the full name of Ted Danson’s character in ‘Cheers’ ?
Which England test cricketer died in a car crash in Australia in 2002 ?
In which novel by Henry Fielding is the eponymous hero an orphan adopted by Squire Allworthy ?
What was the name of the twin killed by Romulus, the founder of Rome
What is the connection between your last four answers ?
2)
Which country’s national flag has a red field, on which there is one large yellow star in the top left hand corner, flanked by a semi circle of smaller yellow stars ?
Caroline Lucas, elected MP in 2010 to represent Brighton Pavilion, is a member of which party ?
Pennyroyal is a variety of which herb plant ?
What is the connection between your last three answers ?
3)
Which 1960’s sitcom, revived in the late 70’s, was set in Fenner Fashions ?
Which English city stands on the river Wensum ?
Which Russian word denotes a worker’s council ?
What is the connection between your last three answers ?
4)
How is the Parthenon Frieze more commonly known in the UK ?
Which famous explorer was born in the town of Blantyre ?
Who is the only driver to win the Chinese Formula 1 Grand Prix twice ?
Which politician took the title Lord Bannside when promoted to the House of Lords ?
What is the precise connection between your last four answers ?
5)
The Lifeguards and which other regiment make up the Household Cavalry ?
Which dish consists of prunes wrapped in bacon ?
For which film did Jack Palance win his Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1992?
What is the connection between your last three answers ?
6)
In which old TV series did John Alderton play Bernard ‘Privet’ Hedges ?
Which England international footballer, with 11 caps, once of Nottingham Forest, played as a lone striker for Aston Villa in their 1982 European Cup victory over Bayern Munich in 1982 ?
Which medieval poem sees King Arthur and his men challenged to a deadly game by a giant of an unusual hue ?
Which alternative comedian released songs “Ullo John, Gotta New Motor ? “ and “Pop up toaster “ ?
Which charity was founded by Cecil Jackson – Cole in 1961 ?
Who captained the Scottish rugby team in their grand slam season of 1990 ?
What was the name of Angie Dickinson’s character in the TV series Police Woman ?
What is the more usual name for the Collegiate Church of St. Peter ?
What is the connection between your last 8 answers ?
There we are – hope that you enjoy them.
1) Which british athlete gained a silver medal in the men’s 400metres in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics ?
Answer – Roger Black
2) Who made his only visit to Britain in a very brief stopover at Prestwick Airport in 1960 ?
Answer – Elvis Presley
3) Which is the shortest of William Shakespeare’s play ?
Answer - The Comedy of Errors
4) What is the connection between your last three answers ?
Answer - Twins - Roger Black has a twin sister, Elvis had a twin brother, and the play is about twins.
Bearing in mind the response to the question I thought that you’d maybe like the other sets from the quiz. So here they are : -
1)
What was the full name of Ted Danson’s character in ‘Cheers’ ?
Which England test cricketer died in a car crash in Australia in 2002 ?
In which novel by Henry Fielding is the eponymous hero an orphan adopted by Squire Allworthy ?
What was the name of the twin killed by Romulus, the founder of Rome
What is the connection between your last four answers ?
2)
Which country’s national flag has a red field, on which there is one large yellow star in the top left hand corner, flanked by a semi circle of smaller yellow stars ?
Caroline Lucas, elected MP in 2010 to represent Brighton Pavilion, is a member of which party ?
Pennyroyal is a variety of which herb plant ?
What is the connection between your last three answers ?
3)
Which 1960’s sitcom, revived in the late 70’s, was set in Fenner Fashions ?
Which English city stands on the river Wensum ?
Which Russian word denotes a worker’s council ?
What is the connection between your last three answers ?
4)
How is the Parthenon Frieze more commonly known in the UK ?
Which famous explorer was born in the town of Blantyre ?
Who is the only driver to win the Chinese Formula 1 Grand Prix twice ?
Which politician took the title Lord Bannside when promoted to the House of Lords ?
What is the precise connection between your last four answers ?
5)
The Lifeguards and which other regiment make up the Household Cavalry ?
Which dish consists of prunes wrapped in bacon ?
For which film did Jack Palance win his Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1992?
What is the connection between your last three answers ?
6)
In which old TV series did John Alderton play Bernard ‘Privet’ Hedges ?
Which England international footballer, with 11 caps, once of Nottingham Forest, played as a lone striker for Aston Villa in their 1982 European Cup victory over Bayern Munich in 1982 ?
Which medieval poem sees King Arthur and his men challenged to a deadly game by a giant of an unusual hue ?
Which alternative comedian released songs “Ullo John, Gotta New Motor ? “ and “Pop up toaster “ ?
Which charity was founded by Cecil Jackson – Cole in 1961 ?
Who captained the Scottish rugby team in their grand slam season of 1990 ?
What was the name of Angie Dickinson’s character in the TV series Police Woman ?
What is the more usual name for the Collegiate Church of St. Peter ?
What is the connection between your last 8 answers ?
There we are – hope that you enjoy them.
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