The Results

Snoopy's Friends suffered a surprise home defeat at the hands of the resurgent Electric Pigs

Albert ran out comfortable winners at the Fletcher Moss against TMTCH

History Men returned to last season's form with a good home win over the Getaways - Ivor writes:

"It might be freezing outside but inside the Red Lion it was a convivial evening with the Getaways - and, despite a Man Utd game, not too noisy in the snug.  No Clive, however, as he preferred to freeze at Old Trafford (WebEd: Doesn't he mean Eastlands, Clive?).

A welcome return to form at last just before next week's 'European' game against the Alexandra.  We intend to enjoy next week because it is most unlikely we will qualify for next season's cup.

Anyway.... about this week's game.  When I say a welcome return to form what I really mean is that Ann (with six 2s and plenty of rescue 1s and steals) made up for the rest of our team's pedestrian activity." 

X-Pats lost at home to league leaders SPW (despite Kieran's absence - presumably watching the dull 0-0 game at Eastlands?)

Ethel Rodin lost their way down at the Stadium of Murk against the in-form Opsimaths (though Roddy thinks that it would have been a much closer affair had they won the toss and batted first)

Question Paper - The Verdict

Charabancs of Fire set this week.  Another of their high class efforts full of innovation, Irish quirkiness, challenging questions, interesting and lengthy bouts of extraneous information, some dead easy pictures and......well, actually 'Bob Bloody Dylan' (as he's now to be known  to Ethel and the Opsimaths collectively).

All in all it made for a most enjoyable evening down at the Stadium of Murk in the company of the hospitable Ms Rodin.  The sign of a good quiz, I feel, is the quality of the conversation sparked off by the answers rather than the questions that lead up to them - and there was plenty of quality chit-chat in the Swan's Darts Room (why wasn't there a Darts Room in Cluedo?).  Roz, our QM, sat directly under the Darts Board which might have been tempting fate somewhat when a local tottered in with a couple of pints looking as if he fancied a game of arrows.  One glance from Roz, however, was sufficient and he wandered off

As to the BBR (7 & 8) I leave it to A from the P to sum up:

"We all enjoyed the Blockbuster Bingo Round so we nominate those 20 questions to share the much-prized WithQuiz QotW award"

As I only have room for a single question in the QotW box below I have gone for another contender, but Andrew's point is well made - and coming form a team famed for its innovative approach to setting that is high praise indeed.

From the Red Ivor's reaction to the paper was also pretty positive:

"No one got Declan Kidney, which must be one of the most unusual names in sport since the skier Picabo Street.  Perhaps like the 'Boy named Sue' it encouraged the necessary channelled aggression on the rugger field. Thumbs up for the paper - the blockbuster bingo was quite high scoring though the longer acronyms invited some lucky predictions (but not Confederation of the Rhine!)."

More reactions received on Thursday morning......

From Mary at the Fletcher Moss:

"We all thought there were too many music questions and too much Bob Dylan!  Also the picture question Round 5 Q3 was inaccurate - the junction of Oxford Street and Regent Street is Oxford Circus, not Hanover Square.  Nevertheless an enjoyable evening and a good paper."

From Howell at the Stadium of Murk:

"An interesting quiz with a wide ranging array of Bob Dylan questions – it must have been great for anyone who actually likes his music.  I did like the question about Jura's paps – a nice pair to go with the near-obligatory punk rock bollocks.  We spent the evening in the Darts Room, thus missing the Romanian TV coverage of the Sitteh vs PSG.  All I can say is that the finished redecoration of the main front room must be sensational given the time it is taking to complete what is clearly planned as a case of 'swan upping'."

..and finally Pig Gary assailed me this morning with a flurry of texts.  His overall conclusion: "an excellent quiz".  He singled out the innovatory Blockbuster Bingo round for special praise even though he is clearly not a fan of Bingo rounds.  He did, however, have one gripe (which was also commented on in our match at the Swan).  A number of the pictures seemed to serve no useful purpose in the content of the question.  It was like watching TV programmes where there always has to be a picture even when what's being talked about is totally abstract (if you've been watching Niall Ferguson's otherwise excellent Ascent of Money on Channel 4 you'll know what I mean).  Looking at David Jason intently just because the question was about one of his roles didn't really make much sense.

'Question of the Week'

This week History Man, Tim, votes for Round 1 Question 8:

What collective name is given to 3 steep-sided conical mountains which rise to 2,575 feet and dominate the landscape of one of the Hebridean islands?

For the answer to this and all the week's questions click here.

Chatterbox

It's 'Oop for the WIST Champions Cup' next week as last season's top 4 WithQuiz league teams battle it out with the top 4 from last season's Stockport league.  As it happens our top 4 league finishers, and theirs, have been identical for the past 2 years so it's a case of déjà vu with last season's WIST Champions Quarter Final matches repeated.

There are some differences however.  The venues have been reversed with the Opsimaths and History Men playing at home and the Charabancs and SPW away in this first set of matches.

Also changed is the format.  Last season we set the paper to the Stockport format.  This season they are providing the setters but the style of paper is the WithQuiz style.  So let's hope for some bafflement amongst the Stockport mob as they realise that to be sure of victory they have to get a few unconferred 2s - something they're not used to doing.

Don't forget too that the postponed Ethel Rodin v Snoopy's Friends match takes place at the Stadium of Murk using the same paper as is being used for the Cup matches.  It's a key game this for Snoopy's in particular as they try to keep in touch with the league leaders, SPW.

And for those collecting the question papers we have agreed with the Stockport setters that all envelopes will be left in the Red Lion in the usual fashion.

Megson's Pulpit

........in which Dusty repents for causing Ivor's damnation.....

A chairde,

Father Megson was trying to stay warm by playing keepy-uppy in bed last night when Dusty dropped in.

"Bless me Father", she chirped, "and how's yer belly off for spots?  Isn't it a lovely evening to be happed up under the goose feathers?  Hope ye don't mind me droppin' in only yer skylight was open.  Holy mackerel, Father, that's a fierce big bed you've got there.  Isn't it an awful waste of space with you bein' a celibate man?  If ye were a proper Christian, ye'd share it with the poor people of the parish and them less well endowed than yerself.

"That's a great game you're playin' there, Father.....don't stop on my account.......away ye go again and I'll do the countin'.   One, two, three...........nine, ten, eleven......oh, hard luck, Father.....that was brilliant altogether, Father.... Mr Dusty would be awful jealous; his personal best is still seven.....and that was achieved back in the torpid summer of '59.

"But enough about you, Father.  Let's move on to more important matters.  Listen Father, would ye ever wipe that disgustin' sweat off yer manly torso and then we'll kneel down and say the rosary for poor wee Ivor and his broken team.  Have ye not seen the table?  Sure the History Men are lower than the beasts of the field.  If it wasn't for them Johnny-come-lately Punks, they'd be bottom of the pit.  'The last rusty dodgem in the fairground of futility', to quote the Venerable Bede.

"Kneel down beside me now Father - not too close, I'm a happily married woman - and we'll begin.  We'd better make it the Sorrowful Mysteries,  Oh Father, it's no use, me conscience is killin' me even worse than me corns.....ye'll have to shrive me here and now.  Get out of that bed, ye lazy pup and give me absolution.

"Ye see, Father, it's all my fault.  Picture the scene.  There I was a few months ago stuck for hours in the chiropodists while he pared me corns.  I'd read all the CHESHIRE LIFE magazines twice over so I was forced to get out me copy of PARADISE LOST which I normally save for visits to the Post Office.  It was written by a protestant, Father, so I'm sure ye didn't have it in the seminary but it's a fierce good yarn.  It's all about a shower of big-headed bad angels who get on God's goat by sayin' that they're just as clever as He is and they join a Trade Union demandin' equal rights for angels.  Then God really loses the bap and He shouts in a big loud voice 'Ye have me nearly astray in the head with yer constant caterwaulin', feck off the lot of youse and go and live in saecula seculorum in a fiery furnace and give me head peace'.  So they did what they were told for once and that's when Hell was invented.  Not many people know that.  I should be on the Eggheads, shouldn't I Father?

"So far so good, Father, but guess what I did then.  When I was gettin' me corns pared I shut me eyes and prayed to God that he would cast them aul hoors from the Griffin into a fiery pit as well and bad cess to them.  I know that was a fierce uncharitable thing to do but I get awful fed up with them winnin' every week and their egos the size of Co. Roscommon and anyway, how was I to know that God would bollox it up and send the wrong team down into the fiery pit?  It makes you think Father, if He can't tell the difference between Ciaran and Ivor, he can't be all that omniscient, can He?  Maybe them bad angels had a point after all.

"Anyway Father, what's done is done.  Just tell me what the penance is for sendin' the wrong team down and then I'll toddle off home to be Mr Dusty's obedient handmaid......and wouldn't it be a hoot if God gets it right next season........it'll take more than a mid-season change of name to fool Him next time."