Results from the Val Draper Cup Round 1

Opsimaths lived up to the norm in Cup competitions by crushing the overdogs otherwise known as St Caths.

Ethel Rodin failed to be overawed by being in the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Dave of West Didsbury (see below) and duly overcame Albert Park.

X-Pats squeaked past FCEK in a thriller at the Sun in September thus reversing the result from the final league game.

Our correspondent X-Pat John writes:

On a matter of protocol, if it had finished 36 all (rather than 37 - 36) how should we have decided the winner?  Roshin and I arm-wrestling was suggested but I couldn't have handled the humiliation!  A limerick-writing competition was also mooted but judging criteria couldn't be agreed. So should it have been extra time using the spares?  But should it have been all the Spares round (what if we'd used one?) or sudden death?  Or should the team with the most 2's on the night have been the winners?  Toss of a coin?  Some skill challenge or just leave it to the teams to decide?

(ED: Definitely the Roisin arm-wrestling.  We are arranging emergency transport so that Roisin can be made available throughout the Withquiz area late each Wednesday night for freeing up stalemated contests.  Just text 'Shannon' to the FCEK mobile and she'll be dispatched.  However, should Roisin get cold feet, then I suggest you agree how to break the deadlock between you on the night.)

Damian the Old provides another slant on the same game:

FCEK got off to a magnificent start in their cup campaign last night, losing to worthy winners X-Pats by a single point in an exciting, close fought match that went right down to the wire on the last question.

Needless to say, that last question was on, yes you guessed it, that old chestnut "cricket" (gee thanks Fingers).  Our esteemed captain, Father M immediately disappeared under the table with a bottle of his favourite homebrew, while Sister Roisin promptly walked off in disgust, so beside herself that she couldn't be bothered to collect her brolly on the way out!!  Brother Ivan D did his valiant best for us while my good self cheered him on from the sideline.  But, alas for us, t'was of no avail!!

To compound our misfortune, I was certain we wuz robbed on the "number of popes" question.  So certain was I that the magic number was 263 and not 264 that I smugly began composing a very sarcastic protest consumed as I was by righteous indignation!!  And what do I find when I get home to check....er, er 264 it is Your Honour!

Anyway, enough of my self pitying ramblings CONGRATULATIONS to Mr. Brennand and co for their magnificent victory.

Your local Papal Expert (now demoted to third class!)

Electric Pigs also reversed the form book by toppling league high fliers the History Men.

Ivor the Historian writes:

A very good game and evenly matched for "steals" and "0"s but the Pigs had a superior "2" rate and rounds 5 and 7 saw us overwhelmed. It was also one of those nights of "not sitting in the right seat" that the quiz gods like to dish out now and again!  Anyway largely enjoyable though I personally had a bit of a disaster including misidentifying the Beatles song as "I am the Eggman", getting the sack of Constantinople in the 4th Crusade wrong even though I read about it in the "The Templars" book four days ago, failing to identify a pine cone and insisting that "All's Well That End's Well" was set in Milan (that certainly did not end well for us).  The Footie connection round was certainly very inventive and Port-au-Prince takes the biscuit as my QotW.

Albert notched up the best total of the night, scoring 44 to trounce Snoopy's Friends

So all this means that Albert Park, Snoopy's and St Caths go out as the 3 Lowest Scoring Losers.  Since they all scored 31 points I have decided that the team that has gone the longest since last setting a paper should be asked to set next week.  This means that St Caths will do the honours.  Hope this is OK?

For details of next week's mouth-watering ties when the Fingers enter the fray click here.

The Paper

The paper this week was set by the Fifth Finger.  Once more the feedback was excellent (as demonstrated by the comments above).  The Fingers have kept up a really high standard in their 3 papers this season.  Clearly the 'European Cup linked' round was popular, with some ingenious penny-drops.  I can still see Pete Taylor saying:

"Capital of Haiti?  Why it's Port-au-Prince, of course - but what has Port-au....OH!!!"

The picture round was just right too, with familiar objects that were definitely gettable without being too easy.  I bet a few of us have thought about trying this type of question for a picture round but then backed off because it was too hard to get just right.

Question of the Week

Andrew Simcock has nominated the whole of Round 3 (the European Champions theme round) for the QotW award.   My own favourite in this round was Question 3:

Where is the main setting for the Shakespeare comedy As You Like it?

Click here to see the answers to this and the rest of the week's questions and answers.

Sad & Glad

First a bit of sad news I heard last night....

Bernard Brannen died earlier this week, aged 89.  Bernard was a good friend of Withquiz.  For many years he QMed for teams based in the Albert (as the Fletcher Moss is properly called by those with some local pedigree).  He frequently did the honours for Amboss until they left the league a few years ago.  He was the perfect gentleman, never rattled by querulous quizzers.  He had a  sharp wit too - as he displayed in his appearances on the Mrs Merton TV show acting as Mrs M's weekly confidant from the audience.

On the glad side........

There can't be anyone from the Withington and Didsbury area who hasn't yet heard of Dave Rainford's good fortune (including Fr M - see below).  Dave  will be 'at home' in the Red on Saturday evening, when (for once) the multiple screens will be put to good use between 8pm and 8.30pm (I gather Dave's run happens in the first half of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire). 

I was lucky enough to be granted an audience with Dave last night at the Albert Club where he promised to give a world exclusive interview to Withquiz.  Indeed I think he may have actually given such an interview but due to the nature of things at 11pm on a Wednesday I have no memory or record of my questions or his answers.  Anyway well done, Dave, from all of us.  I can't think of a more popular winner.

         Father Megson

Fr. Megson is currently in Rome having a preliminary interview with a view to furthering his desperate and perhaps belated ambition of crawling up the slippery rungs of the Catholic higher management structure.  Early feedback suggests that he scored pretty poorly on the infallibility paper.  But he could be wrong there of course.  Mindful of the great events unfolding back in Blighty he has emailed the following.....

Wot's a gel to do?

A Chairde,

Mounting problems, both physically and metaphorically speaking, for Charles and Camilla as it now appears inevitable that their honeymoon will have to be postoned sine nocte on account of the clash with WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE this Saturday night.

A Clarence House spokesman told WITHQUIZ earlier today:

"Both Charles and Camilla are pig sick about this cock-up caused once again by bloody people.  Fortunately, neither of them are regular viewers of MATCH OF THE DAY so that poses no problem although in fairness Camilla does feel that Gary Lineker can look appealingly equine when he laughs.

"Both Royal parties had anticipated hitting the hay immediately after the lottery draw but now feel that they will be unable to do so since WITHQUIZ will be represented on MILLIONAIRE.  Protocol dictates that they remain bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to cheer Big Dave on this his biggest night since his 21st birthday party at the Red almost exactly 46 years ago today (I wonder what that stripper is doing in her retirement?)."

Regular listeners to this website will know that Dave and Camilla go back a long way.  Right back to that snug in the Red next to the gents.

"Dave is absolutely fab" ,

 said Camilla,

"and I would like to take this opportunity to apologise for calling him an oik on the occasion of our last tired and emotional meeting.  I did so in the genuinely mistaken belief that he was poor."

One way out of the impasse might be for Dave to drop out of MILLIONAIRE and run instead in the GRAND NATIONAL which kicks off earlier that afternoon.  Dave's trainer feels however that this idea, like Dave, might be a non-starter.

"Dave has been specially genomed to run in a quiz show," said Mr. Heale ,"and his molecules are simply not wired up to compete in a bruising encounter with 7 foot fences.  Nor does he feel intellectually compatible with either horses or with Irish midgets with annoyingly squeaky voices.  We could in no way guarantee that he would get round the course in time for his tea and DR. WHO which tees off at 7pm.  Sorry.  What about if Camilla watches MILLIONAIRE on her ownio and we ask Ethel Rodin to stand in for her in the Royal Bedchamber for just the one night only.  That shouldn't pose a problem, should it?  It will be pretty dark in there and Ethel is about Camilla's height when she's lying down and neither of them know anything about football or Reality TV so it should be perfect.

"Mind you, we'd still have to find a childminder for Baby Tolan who's normally ready for his teddy long before the end of ANT AND DEC.  And we'd need to buy some new jimjams for Roddy who ruined his old ones at the White Swan last week...........oh dear.......it's all a bit of a logistical nightmare isn't it?"

Royals - who'd have them?

Fr. Megson