Withington Pub Quiz League - quizbiz 11/05/22

N.B. If you're one of the 5 teams not competing in the finals next week you need to contribute questions to the 'Knocked Out United' paper. See '...and also' below		Ethel Rodin beat Opsimaths Electric Pigs lost to Bards Albert beat Charabancs KFD lost via walkover to History Men
*Ethel and the Bards sail through to the Val Draper final while Albert will challenge the History Men in the Plate final*
Val Draper Cup Ethel Rodin beat Opsimaths Ethel make light of their handicap to reach another Val Draper final Mike sees the Opsis miss out yet again on a Val Draper final... We've won the League trophy several times down the years but the Opsis just can't get their hands on the Cup. All evening we flirted with success (unlike Wolves whose walloping was heralded every few minutes by whoops of delight from the Ladybarn social members watching the TV below) - but as the final two rounds came along we fell short. The evening got off to a bright start for the home team (Geoff, Roddy, James and Greg) as they eradicated their 5 point handicap in one fell swoop in Round 1. However once this detail was out of the way the Opsis (Howell, Hilary, Emma and Mike) got stuck in and led for most of the rest of the evening until a dreadful Round 7 (Bingo 'Connecting Wall' choices) saw Ethel back in front for the final sprint. Drummers United (Round 5) Emma is proving a really useful addition to the Opsi squad with a range of knowledge and interests that supplement rather than overlap the rest of the team - amply demonstrated last night by a number of twos that none of the rest of us would have got near. She's great company too - think of Anne (Ivor's nemesis) in Opsimath colours. In the QM chair we were blessed to have one of the paper's setters, Anne-Marie, (ably assisted by Brian who handed out the pictures with his usual grace). Anne-Marie (like me when I'm QMing) can't resist the temptation to insert a few choice adjectives to indicate her own views whenever there's a question with (say) the name of a Tory MP in it - which all adds to the colour and enjoyment of the occasion. With James on hand last night to fill in with some insights from the Westminster village we did politics pretty well. Roddy too was hot on tales from the classical music scene and the fate of Hindemith's scores. ..and Saxophonists United (Round 6) After the quiz it was a joy as ever chatting to our victorious opponents. I was sitting next to Greg and we got to discussing our own league and its modus operandi. Greg was full of praise - and he certainly has experience of a few other quiz formats and competitions. We should rightly treasure and celebrate the innovation and erudition we habitually bring to the simple Pub Quiz concept. This week's Prodigal paper demonstrated those virtues well. McKinley Morganfield (R1/Q3) Val Draper Cup Electric Pigs lost to Bards Tony's warriors fight their way to the final A convincing victory for the Bards at the Fletcher Moss - and an end to this year's campaign for the Pigs. Mr & Mrs Rev (R6/Q3)	Was that immorality or immortality? (R2/Q6) WithQuiz Plate Albert beat Charabancs A comfortable passage to the Plate final for the Albert team QM and strict disciplinarian, Mike reports from the touchline... Well another wild night at The Didsbury. The paper had many interesting questions though it has to be admitted that the team going second, in this case The Charas, tended to get the worst of the pairings. As usual the Albert's standard of behaviour declined as the drink flowed and, conscious of my status as QM, I had to explain to Eveline that offering to fight in The Didsbury car park was not the way to resolve issues about the questions. The Bingo round made a reappearance after being out of favour for a while. The aggregate score in the 70s indicates that in general it was a good paper. For the Plate final I have agreed with Ivor that we play at the Red Lion since The Didsbury can become very crowded. Also the reorganisation of the schedule has caused us some difficulty in that we will be two players down. It would be helpful if someone would volunteer to QM in which case we would be able to turnout a full team - but we will fulfil the fixture even if we have to play three-handed. Accrington's late musical genius whose Panic shocked the Promenaders (R3/Q2) Chara 'The Vice' John adds... Despite a very generous handicap lead over our opponents the Charas were struggling throughout to keep in touch with an excellent Albert team. Damian had absented himself on the flimsy excuse of a holiday in France and we missed his knowledge and leadership. After 6 rounds of stalwart rearguard action the floodgates finally broke and we were overwhelmed in Rounds 7 and 8. It seemed something of an end of term occasion (for us at least) and the words 'convivial' and 'sporting' spring to mind. Mike O’Brien QM’d as usual in a firm but fair manner. WithQuiz Plate KFD lost via walkover to History Men KFD scratch, so the History Men go through Ivor 'Walkover' Cartmill reports... KFD ceded our match tonight as they were unable to raise a team. I suppose we should be grateful for small mercies; we avoided question-setting duties because of a similar walkover in the preliminary round and now find ourselves in the Plate final despite having played but a single match (and that was a game we lost!). It might be too much to hope that the Albert throw in the towel next week to guarantee a trophy (albeit a minor one) for the Historymen. At least there is a proper plate to play for now; when we won the Plate in the mid 2000s it was a last minute ceramic plate rustled up from the Albert Club kitchen on prize-giving night. As Anne-Marie and her colleagues already had a physical copy of the paper ready for us, Mike H and I entertained ourselves by collecting it, retreating to the Albert Club and having a go to see how well we might have done. I am happy to report we think we would have won easily with Mike and I getting 8 twos each. Indeed we think that Anne in 'easy Seat 4' would probably have got 9 twos. ...and Mike H adds... As you know, Kentucky Fried Donuts decided that they would watch the slaughter of the Wolves rather than participate in a Cup match with the History Men (and Ladies) - but Ivor thought it would be interesting to have a go at the quiz anyway. I'm very glad he did as it was most enjoyable - an excellent quiz from the Prodigals, one of the best of the season. We calculated that based on the answers we got right (mostly Ivor of course, but a few from me), the quiz slightly favoured the team going first. If we'd played and gone first, we would have got 22 questions right, and if we'd have gone second, 19. Of course with the other History Men players the score would probably have been quite a lot higher. So congratulations to the Prodigals, a very enjoyable evening, and some well thought out, and balanced questions.	Quiz paper set by... ...Prodigals Average Aggregate score 83.0 Plenty of points to be hoovered up as the aggregate scores came in well above average. This paper proved (as if we didn't already know) that the Prodigals are not just good at answering questions, but that they can compile a pretty set for the rest of us. As ever there was plenty of variety on show with a picture round on lesser known partners, homage rounds to famous drummers and saxophonists and a welcome return for the Bingo format. The latter had an added (and just for fun) element whereby the teams were invited to play an Only Connect Connecting Wall game with the one-word question subject names on the Bingo card. Powell and Pressburger genius (R7&8/NIVEN) ...but what did John D think... We all thought it was a good paper, especially the picture round, which we would nominate in place of a favourite question. There seemed to be an awful lot of questions where individuals knew half the answer, or could provide another clue to help getting to the actual answer. So it was a night for conferred answers, particularly for the Charas. ...and non-combatant *Ivor... It was another first rate paper from the Prodigals. The 'Famous wives of famous men' complemented well the Prodigals previous 'Famous husbands of famous women' round. Great question setting skills in abundance. A special mention must go to 'sound-alike' way they worked Stan Getz into the answer to one of the questions. Question of the Week* This week the Opsimath/Ethel Rodin ensemble went for Round 5 Question 7 - cleverly cryptic with enough clues to provide a pleasing penny-drop moment... Which British politician was born in 1912, christened John and first came to prominence when appointed Professor of Greek at the University of Sydney at the age of 25? For the answer to this and all the week's other questions click here. John, the Greek professor down under (R5/Q7) ...and also Next week we stage the Val Draper Cup, and the WithQuiz Plate finals. The Albert Club which has often been the venue for these finals is unavailable due to the Club AGM being held next Wednesday so I'll leave it to the captains of the 4 teams involved to sort things out. At the time of going to press, however, I've been told the Ladybarn Club has been suggested for the Val Draper final and The Red Lion has been agreed for the Plate final. I'll be editing the paper being used next week and will place the question paper envelopes behind the bar at The Red in the usual fashion. Fugu - and fugu too (R2/Q2) ...and as tradition has it the paper next week will be set by 'Knocked Out United' (i.e. with contributions from the 5 teams NOT playing in either of the finals). As stated above I'll be acting as editor-in-chief for the 'KO United' paper this year, so could KFD, The Prodigals, The Opsimaths (Brian), The Charabancs and The Electric Pigs each please send: One round (any format/theme you wish) and 6 paired questions (i.e. 3 pairs) ...to me at the usual email address by the evening of Saturday May 14th. Finally for the 4 teams involved next week I need to know which of the 5 rounds contributed in whole by a KO United team you liked best. So, I will indicate on the question paper which those 5 rounds were and can you please rank your first, second and third favourites when you return the scores to me late Wednesday evening. A bottle of wine for the team submitting the favourite round will be awarded at the End of Season ceremonies in a fortnight's time.