Compulsory Meat Raffle lost to the Charabancs.  Damian, as ever, gives us the inside track:

It was a derby match at the Turnpike tonight against CMR, one of our favourite quiz opponents.  The Charas kept ahead in every round despite struggling with motorway services and the film 24 Hour Party People.  Roisin actually saw the film, but couldn't recollect any scene in which God commends Tony Wilson for hiring - or not hiring - Mancunian wannabes.  Maybe she was otherwise engaged on the back row when that particular scene came on!

Ethel Rodin lost to I Blame Smoke Fairies.  Kieran was our man on the spot:

An auspicious night, it being Martin's 50th birthday - but pretty hard going.  The Cricket Club was also hosting the Bards/Pigs match and showing Liverpool v City on the big screen.  All sorts of distractions then but we kept our focus on the Albert's tough paper.  By half time we had established a seven point lead.  During the compulsory ciggie break, and following City's sad demise, Dave Pig gave us the happy news that they were four points to the good over Tony's expensively assembled band of quizzing superbards.

With renewed hope that the Didsbury arrivistes might crumble (all my reports are going to include the words "course and distance" from now on in) we set about the second half casting the occasional anxious eye at the doors to the back room where the Bards/Pigs clash was taking place.  It was rather like the crowd outside St. Peter's looking at the chimney of the Sistine Chapel during a Papal election.  Sadly for us, as our game drew to the end of round 7, the black smoke of His Honour emerged beaming as widely as any no mark cardinal unexpectedly jumped up to the top job.  With a fiver in hand he strode to the bar to buy the Pigs the most bitter bitter they've ever consumed.

Despite cruelly crushed hopes we completed our victory over the ever affable Ethel.  The evening ended with us providing His Honour with a solemn promise that we hadn't been trying to work out what The Bards were useless at in advance of their match against The Opsimaths on our paper next week.  Honestly we really, really haven't.  Turns out that Tony has climbed a fair number of Scottish mountains anyway so that idea's gone for a burton.  (Mike, just between you and me, I'll leave the paper behind the bar of the Griffin on Tuesday before the Everton/City game.  That way there's no electronic record that could be traced - you know what these legal types are like.  Is that ok?  If not then contact me via the usual secure pigeon route.)

(Ed: That's fine, Kieran.  Oh, BTW I have heard Tony's not too good on legal questions these days.  Not sitting any more, you know)

TMTCH tied with the Prodigals in a thriller at the Parrswood - the first tied match of the campaign.  Hanger Graham reports:

Right down to the wire at the Parrswood with a 33-33 score draw.  Bet nobody had that down on the Quiz coupon!!  The Hangers played a slowly, slowly, catchy monkey game with my own high point being the opportunity to rehearse my Michael Caine impression in Round 5.

As Kieran reports above, the Bards struggled up to the end of Round 6 against the Electric Pigs then cantered home in comfort.  Tony recounts:

For us it was a case of coming back from the dead.  We played second and in the first half of the quiz we knew all of the Pigs' questions and none of our own.  After 4 rounds we trailed 17-13.  We didn't gain the lead until round 7.  In round 8 the Electricity Company caught up with the Pigs as they blew a fuse and failed to trouble the scorer.  It may appear we won comfortably but in truth we felt as if we'd scraped it.  In short it was an evening full of tension.