Wednesday 31 October 2012

University Challenge - 1st Round Qualifiers





So with the final episode of the first round of University Challenge airing this week I have devised a table of the rank order of the automatic qualifiers for the next round. A big spread in scores and based on first round performances I would be surprised if the winner came from outside the top 5 here.


UCL - 260
University of Durham – 245
New College Oxford - 230
Imperial College London - 225
Magdalen College Oxford – 205
Pembroke College Cambridge - 200
University of York – 185
University of Manchester - 180
St. Georges, University of London – 175
Warwick - 175
Jesus College Oxford – 150
Bangor University – 125
University of Bath - 125
University of Bristol – 120


We also have play off teams to add to that with  - 

Lincoln College, Oxford - 175
Kings College, Cambridge - 145
Lancaster - 145
Homerton College, Cambridge - 140

Should be an interesting conclusion to the series!

Tuesday 30 October 2012

£100,000 Pub Quiz Prize...Not Too Shabby....

And here I was content with my dozen beer vouchers....

It seems that somewhere in our fair isle a team of 5 walked into a pub quiz, won it and ended up with a £100,000 win to share between them. How?? The story is below....Before you read it have a guess how it was achieved. 

Story is HERE


Hows about that then?......(Maybe I shouldn't use that saying any more)......At my work we award achievement cards to learners who complete tests etc and we present them with scratch cards and giving out £100's worth every week for a year or so now has killed my faith in them as very few people win anything let alone a big prize. But then again this proves sometimes you can just get damn damn lucky!

Bravo and a good idea for a prize! I this day and age with pubs cutting costs giving away a batch of Scratch Cards certainly sounds better than a "£3 prize for third place" so a nifty little idea.

Book Suggestion: Book of Lists

Shortly, after a few requests last year, I am going to be putting together a list of gift ideas for quizzers for Xmas. I was surprised last year to get quite a few messages from people eager to know any ideas of what to buy quiz obsessed friends for Christmas.

Anyway, a nice little book here I have been working my way through recently. The Book of Lists! Every quizzer loves a list and enclosed here are tones of them...but not the usual sort you would imagine. It is not a book like the Top 10 of Everything which I would also suggest but The Book of Lists is full of useful information, interesting facts and plenty of good humour to tie in with the vast amounts of information contained within.

One of the most useful books for both learning and setting questions I have used in recent weeks...





And as mentioned above the new version of the Top 10 of Everything is infinitely useful to any quizzer. Certain to earn you points at the next pub quiz you attend.



Monday 29 October 2012

Only Connect 2012/2013 - Quarter Final 2


Only Connect 2012/2013 - Quarter Final 2


Last week saw a pretty one sided match and I was expecting tonights to be much much closer. Experienced quizzers galore usually makes for a top class episode...

Footballers
Barry Humphrey
Michael Mcpartland
Jamie Turner 

Cinephiles
Howard Kelly
Nancy Dickman
Tim Catlin

So the Cinephiles got us Underway tonight and Nancy Dickman picked up from where she left off in the last heat of the previous round recognising "lost" days for 2 points. In reply the Footballers went for a 3 pointer but missed out on a tough question focusing on "food that bear their own name". As always a sigh at the music round as the Cinephiles picked it up and neither team managed to spot the musical instrument clue which was a toughie. Barry Humprhey managed to get the Footballers first points of the match by spotting the American states hidden in the words.

The Cinephiles followed up their music round with the pictures and this was turning into perhaps the toughest episode of the series so far. A great link on Mario Kart items in pictures was one of the few I managed to get anywhere close to in this round. The Footballers ended the round with "God Bless Our Native Land", "Oben am Jungen Rhein" "My Country Tis of Thee".....Michael Mcpartland recognising those all being sung to the same tune that being the 4th clue, "God Save The Queen".

4-3 the footballers lead after the first round! Shaping up to a close match!

Round 2 started with a question right up my street on Fawlty Towers however very tough in the sense that the order of the episodes was the final four episodes of season 4. The Footballers picked up the bonus on by going for the most famous episode, "The Germans". The Footballers themselves extended their lead further with the picture round based on middle initials and at 8-3 in the lead were starting to pull away.

And again a question right up my street! On the local area of Bridges over the Tyne.....Michael Mcpartland (being from Middlesbrough I believe) seemed to pick this up on a bonus for the footballers. Definitely the most points I have also managed on a show by this stage. The Footballers got the dreaded formulas question and Barry Humprhey "guess at something going down" technique worked a treat for a further 2 points. Indeed Barry was playing a stormer noticing the next link early on concerning Grand National Horse Races.

13-3 the Footballers lead (Indeed a 10-0 round there which could prove crucial).

The Footballers were first to the wall and you felt a good performance here and they were in the Semi's.  An early spot got the round off to a great start and without a shadow of a doubt considering the form they seemed to be in the wall was solved with 2 connections. Surely enough to take them into the semi final!

Nothing short of a full house was needed from the Cinephiles who were way off the form they had shown in the first round. I spotted the Pokemon link straight away (sad I know but when I was a nipper this was all the rage). Nancy Dickman recognised they were "characters from a video game or something" and by spotting the remaining connection they had solved the wall. Indeed when it came to the connections Nancy Dickman saw the Pokemon link for a full house.

19-13 going into the last round. This could get interesting.

Cinephiles started superbly indeed getting the 3 of the first 4 buzzes. The Olympic Venues round got the Footballers into the round but they lost a point to take it to 21-17. Maybe I had wrote the Cinephiles off too early? A very tough round on things represented by OC had both stumped and a late loss of points from Footballers left the score agonisingly close.

Footballers ended up with a 20-19 win after loosing two points in the last round.  A gripping end to a close contest and the Footballers make it into the Semi!

University Challenge 2012/2012 - Heat 13

Warwick vs Aberdeen

Well with no Mastermind this week its all on Monday Night for the TV quizzing fix starting off with a first round match in this years University Challenge Series as Warwick took on Aberdeen  Indeed, this is the final match of the first round and Jeremy reminded us that 140 was needed by whoever looses this heat to make it into the second round. As a side, I certainly did not realise how old the University of Aberdeen was (5th Oldest in the UK)...

Warwick
Shane Quinn
Sarah Jane Rodell
Andrew Shaw
James Wheatley


Aberdeen
Thomas Ainge
Shaun Mcmahon
James King
Russ Collier


A Sunderland lad in Collier....my support was immediately with Aberdeen!

Andrew Shaw got the final first round match of University Challenge underway with a great buzz on Hitchcock but struggled to make any further gains with a tough round on duels. Shaw was in again though on the next question, on Scrooge that I completely missed, and they did far better this time with the bonuses and Warwick found themselves 35-0 ahead. James Wheatley added to this recognising Swindon from a list of tough clues ("Magic Roundabout" giving it away but interestingly the home of the first lending library which I feel I should have known but didn't). 50-0 by the time the bonuses had been taken.

I have said before the picture rounds have been fantastic this year and we had scenes of movies recreated in Lego to identify. Loved this round and Aberdeen took it with Collier buzzing in and the team working their way through all the bonuses to bring themselves back in. Indeed Shaun Mcmahon buzzed to give control to Aberdeen to open a round on Art installations...very tough indeed!

I was close as the first music round approached, again very tough as all of the music rounds have been this year. Very rarely have teams correctly answered a music starter in this series (would be interesting to know the stat for this!). James Wheatley, strong on the buzzer all night, was in on the next question though to hand Warwick the music bonuses. These were very tough again. 75-55 Warwick lead.

It was perhaps at this time when it became apparent both of these teams would probably not be reaching 140 so only the winner would advance and one teams University Challenge journey would be ending tonight. Whether time passes quickly or slowly on the show I will never know but as Warwick etched more and more into the lead,110-55, after another Shaw buzz, Aberdeen would need a strong fightback.

Another great picture round to identify World Heritage Sites, which probably-man-of-the-match Andrew Shaw, lapped up to take Warwick to 125-60. Shaw soon took the teams total over the key 140 mark to ensure they will be seen again and more than definitely it seemed at that point as winner of this heat.

At 4 minutes to go Aberdeen, at only 70, were down and out of the series this year. They did well with some of their bonuses but just weren't quick enough and let Warwick control the buzzer.

Warwick are strong on the buzzer and if they can convert this into more points via the bonuses they may be a strong team to beat.

Warwick win 175-100 for Aberdeen!











Quiz Book Suggestion

I think I may have recommended this one before but nevertheless it is a cracking book from which I have certainly learnt a great deal and has also tested my knowledge in all sorts of ways. It is of course topical as we are bang in the middle of the current series...The University Challenge Quiz Book. Well worth your time, whatever level of quizzing you enjoy.





And then if you like a laugh there is always the very different "Universally Challenged" Book which focuses on the best and most insane wrong answers given on Tv shows.




Quiz and Advice


It has been a while since I posted up some quiz questions as I have been working on a Quiz Book that I am hoping to publish on Kindle soon.

I am trying to pitch it at a certain level which is very very tricky. Can you have a go at this and let me know in the comment box how many of the ten you got!

Cheers!




1. Which Tennis Player, who turn professional in 1986, has an Iranian father, an Olympic Gold Medal and became the quickest player in history to amass $1 Million in prize money when he did so after 43 tournaments?

2. Which iconic British solo artist sang the theme tune to the TV Series “Adam Adamant Lives!” starring Gerald Harper?

3. Which nation won the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Euphoria” by Loreen?

4. Declared the “World’s Best Restaurant” by Restaurant Magazine in 2006, which chef owns the Fat Duck restaurant in Berkshire?

5. Other the Games of 2012, in which other Host City did Queen Elizabeth II officially, open the Summer Olympic Games?

6. Due to the familial relationship between them, what collection term is given to the Roman Emperors Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antonius Pius and Marcus Aurelius?

7. What was the name of the short lived ITV soap opera in the 1980’s, broadcast on Friday and Sunday Nights, focussing on the daily on goings of a Manchester market?

8. Which actor was on stage during the 1974 Oscar ceremony when Robert Opel conducted his famous streak?

9. What two word name is given the second parliament of James I due to the fact that it failed to pass a single piece of legislation?

10. Appearing with Charlie Chaplin in ‘The Kid’, which actor player Uncle Fester in the 1960’s TV version of ‘The Addams Family’?

Answers
--------------------------


  1. Andre Agassi
  2. Kathy Kirby
  3. Sweden
  4. Heston Blumenthal 
  5. Montreal
  6. Adoptive Emperors 
  7. Albion Market
  8. David Niven
  9. Addled Parliament 
  10. Jackie Coogan



Friday 26 October 2012

Mastermind 2012/2012 - Heat 11


Mastermind 2012/2012 Heat 11

With it finally being confirmed this week that 3rd and 4th place players will be considered in the runners up slot it was onto heat 11 of this years contest. And a familiar face!

Contestants -

Kathy Richards
Brian O' Donnell
Nick Mazonowicz
Mark Roberts

Kathy Richards kicked us off with The Waltons, a TV show I am not too clued up on but there were a few gimmies in there I managed to get. 12 was a solid round and leaves her in contention

Brian O' Donnell was the familiar face I mentioned. He was part of our runner-up team at the Scottish Team championship, ran after the World Quiz Championships in Edinburgh earlier in the year, and is a very good quizzer. He took on Nigel Gresley as a subject. Brian auditioned for Mastermind on the off chance on the day of the WQC as the team were there looking for contestants. This round however did not go as well as he would have hoped, and even though I would have every faith he would put in a storming GK round, he left himself a lot to do scoring only 6.

Nick Mazonowicz took on a specialist subject I had no real ideas on, Len Deighton's Samson books. Nick looked sharp and confident and whacked in a score of 9. As I said last week I think taking on fictional novels as a subject is a very tricky thing.

Mark Roberts took on Lord Palmerston and a double figure score here would give him every chance of progression. A confident start continued throughout as Mark managed 9 which left him with every chance.

Again it looked like it was going to be close.


So the standings after the SS round


Kathy Richards - 12
Nick Mazonowicz  - 9
Mark Roberts - 9
Brian O' Donnell - 6

Brian was first back to the chair and I know from the WQC team event that he has a strong general knowledge. The round went in phases with strong series of answers followed by some slip ups and this really affected the rhythm. 13 scored in the round taking him to 19 and sadly probably not enough.

Nick Mazonowicz  needed at least 10 to put him in contention. Given it was 26 points to get in as a runner up it was all about the win today and an early pass stream slowed his scoring down despite a strong start. Nick had a clear strategy of passing on questions he didn't know rather than spending time thinking about them and this looked like it was going to cost him towards the end as he seemed to get stuck on 17 for a long time. Perhaps a few more seconds thinking time could have helped and ending on 19 meant he tied with Brian but again, you would imagine a 20 + score would come from somewhere.

Mark Roberts started confidently and looked very relaxed, taking his time to ensure points were on the board. Mark picked up on most of the gimmies and also worked his way through some of the tougher questions to soon be within touching distance of the lead.  It could not be closer as an answer after he buzzer landed him 20 points. Not enough to be a highest scoring runner up so....

Kathy Richards needed at least to take the win this week. Early struggles on the gimmie questions suggested it may be closer than I imagined and Kathy did not seem to be settling in to the round at all but she gave herself time to muster up enough answers to keep the scoring going. Even though this was far from the best GK round we have seen due to the nature of the heat this week it always was looking as if she would be the winner but a huge collapse towards the end of the round meant Mark Roberts with 20 had took the win. So Kathy misses her golden opportunity....

The final Mastermind standings this week -



Mark Roberts - 20
Kathy Richards - 19
Nick Mazonowicz  - 19
Brian O'Donnell - 19


Congratulations to Mark Roberts who makes it through to the next round! It was a pretty low scoring heat this week and indeed out of 44 contestants 33 have scored higher than the 20 that won this heat but you can only beat what is in front of and best luck to Mark in the Semi final!

And that leaves the overall standings of Mastermind this year at...


Qualified
Gregory Spiller - 32
Kathryn Palmer - 31
Christine Plume - 29

Jonathan Gordon - 29
Michael Wright - 29
Sian West - 26
Shahab Mossavat - 26
Matthew Bradshaw -26
Aidan Mccquade - 24

John Chadwick - 23
Mark Roberts - 20


Highest Scoring Runners Up
Chris Cann – 29
John Wheeler – 29
Helen Marshall - 28
Paul Whittaker - 27
Chris Quinn - 27
Nathan Joss – 26


Other
Alan Sharp - 26
Bart Smith - 25
Andrew Hunt - 25
Nina Fetherston - 25

Philip Walters - 25
Andrew Granath - 24
Alan Wharmby - 24
Rosalind Winter - 24
Laurie Handcock – 24
 Kevin Baker - 24 
Roland Mcfall – 23
Hazel Humprheys - 22
Chris Kirk - 22
Les Wallace - 22
Graeme Marley -22
 Ian Copping - 22
Alan Haddick - 21 
Kathy Richards - 19
Brian O Donnell - 19
Nick Mazonowicz - 19
Sarah Le Fevre - 19
Jackie Phillips - 19
Mathhew Clarke - 18
Nathan Scott – 18

Xavier Woodward - 18
Nick Gunatilleke - 17
Barbara Bell - 15

Thursday 25 October 2012

Only Connect Quarter Final 2 Preview


Only Connect 2012/2013 - Quarter Final 2 Preview

With The Draughstmen setting the standard in the first Quarter Final we move onto to the second Quarter Final in what should be another close game.

The Footballers meet the Cinephiles. The Footballers took a 18-11 victory in their first round heat which despite being one of the lowest winning scores does not put them as outsiders. With experience quizzers in the ranks including Barry Humprheys, who you may recently have seen victorious on Breakaway as well as Cleverdicks, and Michael Mcpartland they certainly have pedigree. You would have to think though that a score higher than 18 will be needed. 

The Cinephiles won the last heat and their resounding victory is still fresh in the mind with a 33-8 win. Almost double The Footballers total. With Nancy Dickman in the ranks the Cinephiles too have some great pedigree. They were solid in all 4 rounds and emerged as one of the highest scoring teams.

This one is sure to be close but based on first round form my Prediction is with the Cinephiles to advance in a narrow win although counting out the Footballers would be foolish indeed.



Wednesday 24 October 2012

Mastermind Week 11 Wiki Challenge

A nice range of subjects this week...

The Waltons
The Bernard Sampson Novels of Len Deighton
Sir Nigel Gresley
Henry John Temple


I think, with it also being my week off, I will have a go at most of them. The only one I may struggle with is the Deighton novels but the other three should be much fun!

Monday 22 October 2012

Only Connect 2012/2012 - Quarter Final 1


Only Connect 2012/2013 - Quarter Final 1


As stated in my preview I though this would be a very interesting encounter indeed with two sides with quite different strengths displayed in the first round. My prediction was a narrow win for the Draughtsmen, all top ranked UK quizzers.

Draughtsmen
Iwan Thomas
Stephen Dodding
Andy Tucker

Numerists 
Hanna Twitchell
John Wilson
Dorian Lidell

The Draughtsmen opened up proceedings with a strong first round which is what you would expect from an experience team. I think the key to this match was going to be building up an unassailable lead going into the last round as that is where the Numerists were so strong in the first heat. With the first round ending in a 6-3 lead for the Draughtsmen there was a big chance this was going to be a very close encounter.

The second round however was where the game seemed to be won this week. The Draughtsmen started off with one of the few 5-pointers we have seen this series based on Rugby Union points scorers, added  quick bonus and scored again on the next questions. All of a sudden the Numersists mood seemed to turn a little as they perhaps realised the pedigree of opponent tonight. The Draughtsmen only missed one very tough question and even though the Numerists took some confidence from lapping it up a 15-4 lead was looking ominous.

Sadly for the Numerists, the wall defeated them. So many time you hear contestants get the link but fail to identify the four...this time it was the TV shows of the 70's. Yes, it was before their time but I thought that was a very gettable link. They made a good effort on a wall that was indeed testing but 1 link and 2 connections sealed their fate.

The Draughstmen on the other hand played it perfectly. Making as much use of the time as possible, a clearly good strategy on this round, they got full points on their wall and by this point had sealed their place in the Semi Finals.  25-7

The Numerists are one of the finest players of the last round in this years series and it showed again. They dominated this round scoring more than double than the opponents but it was too little too late. 28-14 was the final score and a well deserved victory.

Congratulations to the Draughtsmen who have every chance in the contest this year, especially on this sort of form. The only downside for them could be that final buzzer round but 28 is a fantastic score and no team will want to face this experienced bunch in the Semi!

University Challenge 2012/2012 - Match 13



University Challenge 2012/2012 - Match 13

Oxford battled Cambridge tonight in a rather high standard affair....

Homerton, Cambridge
Daniel Hooper
Michael Angland
Luke Fitzgerald
Drew Miley

New College, Cambridge
Raymond Beecroft
India Lenon
Andy Hood
Tom Chappleman

After a few early episodes where no real contenders emerged, tonight we saw two teams who could definitely have an impact on later rounds. New College managed to take the win with 230-145 but a rage of knowledge from both sides suggested there is more to come.

Indeed, New College stormed into an early lead from which Homerton never recovered. A 55-0 lead early on gave them much breathing space and as the game progressed that proved vital. At 90-60 it looked like Homerton might be on the verge of a comeback but every time they put together a run, New College struck to halt the momentum. 

As usual there were some great rounds tonight in the music and picture rounds, both of which have been of such high quality this series. The Horror Film Score round I particularly enjoyed as well as the old picture of Newcastle Central station. 

Andy Hood was by this point leading well from the front and the gap started to widen again and by the time Paxman announced 6 minutes to go the 170-105 lead looked enough. Homerton did not give up but Cappleman managed some key buzzes to get New college over the line.

230-145 win for New College and we have a serious contender on our hands!



Mastermind Runners up Ruling Confirmed


Anyone following the blog over the past few days will have noticed that there has been some discussion as to how the "top 6 runners up" for the current series of Mastermind would be working. I can now confirm for sure that it will not be merely the "runners up" considered but basically the top 6 with the highest score who failed to win their heat. Hence the new standings are....


Qualified
Gregory Spiller - 32
Kathryn Palmer - 31
Christine Plume - 29

Jonathan Gordon - 29
Michael Wright - 29
Sian West - 26
Shahab Mossavat - 26
Matthew Bradshaw -26
Aidan Mccquade - 24

John Chadwick - 23


Highest Scoring Runners Up
Chris Cann – 29
John Wheeler – 29
Helen Marshall - 28
Paul Whittaker - 27
Chris Quinn - 27
Nathan Joss – 26


Other
Alan Sharp - 26
Bart Smith - 25
Andrew Hunt - 25
Nina Fetherston - 25

Philip Walters - 25
Andrew Granath - 24
Alan Wharmby - 24
Rosalind Winter - 24
Laurie Handcock – 24
 Kevin Baker - 24 
Roland Mcfall – 23
Hazel Humprheys - 22
Chris Kirk - 22
Les Wallace - 22
Graeme Marley -22
 Ian Copping - 22
Alan Haddick - 21
Sarah Le Fevre - 19
Jackie Phillips - 19
Mathhew Clarke - 18
Nathan Scott – 18

Xavier Woodward - 18
Nick Gunatilleke - 17
Barbara Bell - 15

Mastermind Quiz Book

I have mentioned the new Mastermind Quiz Book on previous occasions but it is certainly worth mentioning again. Released a couple of months ago this book follows the format of the show well with a mixture of GK and SS rounds (all quite wide areas i.e. Olympic Games, Dickens etc). I have had much fun with it and the question writing is of a good standard! Well worth investing in to see you through this dark horrible winter nights!


Mastermind 2012/2013 - Heat 10



Mastermind 2012/2013 - Heat 10

Due to a busy, derby-day related, weekend I have only just got round to writing up my views on this weeks show. I was very interested to see how top-ranked quizzer Chris Quinn fared....

Contendors - 

Helen Marshal
Bart Smith
Chris Quinn
Jonathan Gordon

Helen Marshall kicked off proceedings in what turned out to be one the closest run heats of the series. Her 12 on Catherine of Aragon, which I tried on the Wiki challenge and failed miserably, set a good bench mark and indeed with Bart Smith clocking in 9 on Fanny Craddock it looked like a solid score. Chris Quinn had chosen Roddy Doyle novels and as always with this sort of subject it can be tricky. Questions based on events in novels can be so random and lazily set that a round can suffer. Chris managed 8 which would keep him in contention but Jonathan Gordons 13 with no passes gave him the early lead.

Standings after SS round -

Jonathan Gordon - 13
Helen Marshall - 12
Bart Smith - 9
Chris Quinn - 8

Chris Quinn was first out in the GK round and produced perhaps the finest GK round of the series of the series so far. A stunning 19 points put him right in the mix with 27 the score to beat. Despite a great round of 16 himself Bart Smith could only manage to take his total to 25. Both Jonathan Gordon and Helen Marshall managed 16 too in what was easily the highest standard of GK we have seen so far and indeed it ended up being Gordon's extre point in the first round that was a difference. A very high quality episode indeed.

Final Scores - 

Jonathan Gordon - 29
Helen Marshall - 28
Chris Quinn - 27
Bart Smith - 25

Congratulations to Jonathan Gordon who moves into the next round with the 3rd highest score so far. Still only two players have breached 30. Helen Marshall has also given herself a fine chance of making the next round and although only 8 of the 40 players so far have scored more than him, Chris Quinn narrowly missed out!



Qualified
Gregory Spiller - 32
Kathryn Palmer - 31
Christine Plume - 29

Jonathan Gordon - 29
Michael Wright - 29
Sian West - 26
Shahab Mossavat - 26
Matthew Bradshaw -26
Aidan Mccquade - 24

John Chadwick - 23


Highest Scoring Runners Up
Chris Cann – 29
John Wheeler – 29
Helen Marshall - 28
Paul Whittaker - 27
Philip Walters - 25
Andrew Granath - 24


Other
Chris Quinn - 27
Nathan Joss – 26
Alan Sharp - 26
Bart Smith - 25
Andrew Hunt - 25
Nina Fetherston - 25
Alan Wharmby - 24
Rosalind Winter - 24
Laurie Handcock – 24
 Kevin Baker - 24 
Roland Mcfall – 23
Hazel Humprheys - 22
Chris Kirk - 22
Les Wallace - 22
Graeme Marley -22
 Ian Copping - 22
Alan Haddick - 21
Sarah Le Fevre - 19
Jackie Phillips - 19
Mathhew Clarke - 18
Nathan Scott – 18

Xavier Woodward - 18
Nick Gunatilleke - 17
Barbara Bell - 15

Sunday 21 October 2012

Tipping Point: Contestant Call



I gave up on Tipping Point within a few episodes and I would use the term "quiz show" very very lightly when describing this but it looks like it will be returning for another run and ITV have a call out for applicants. The website is HERE with all the details.

Good Luck if you are applying!

Looking for a Pub Quiz in London?

Obviously I am stuck up here in the North-East but if any readers are from the London area there is a good article in the London Evening Standard regarding what it feels are the Top 5 quizzes in the Capital.

The Link is HERE

Thursday 18 October 2012

Quiz

A few teasers for you, its been a while since I posted some quiz questions up! Answers in the comment box....

1. Name the former MI5 officer who wrote the international best-selling book Spycatcher an expose on what he felt was the failings of the institution?

2. In which English County is Chesterfield?

3. Which northern Bavarian German town is notable for a music festival at which performances of the Operas of Wagner are presented as well as being home to the Margravial Opera House?

4. Which Architects works include the Pompidou Centre, the Lloyd's Building in London and the Millenium Dome?

5.  Which Italian painter is famous for portraits where the heads of the subjects are usually made from fruit, vegetables  and flowers amongst other items?

6. Which UK High Straight Chain, named after its founder John, was formed in 1849, has switched between British and American ownership several times and in 2004 sold its Laser Eye Surgery division to Optical Express?

7. Which Dutchman was the coach of the GB Athletics team during the 2012 Olympic Games?

8. Quench released in 1998 was the third chart topping album, and sixth album release, by which British Band?

9. The RIBA Gold Medal is awarded to people in what field?

10. Who won the Man Booker Prize for the second time in four years this week for the novel Bring up the Bodies






Book Review: Be a Quiz Winner - David Clark


David Clark has won Mastermind and appeared on a wide variety of gameshows in his years of quizzing. He also runs one of the best and most popular quizzing blogs on the web "Life After Mastermind". This ebook is designed to aid quiz players of whatever level to improve there quizzing ability and as the title suggest, be a quiz winner.

If you have ever read the Life After Mastermind blog you will know David is passionate about quizzes. The blog contains wonderful insights into the world of quizzing from quizzes in his locals, to analysis of the major tv, radio quiz contest and also including comment on the issues all quizzers face up to. Its really worth a look!

So after enjoying the blog for the best part of a year I had no hesitation in paying the small £3.39 price for this ebook reading half of it on my iphone and half on my laptop. Its well wroth the money as David has went into some detail on his subject matter.

As the synopsis on Amazon tells you this book is about how to improve yourself at quizzing. It doesnt give the facts and information, but rather a more useful guide as to what you need to learn. David uses his experience and covers all the main subject boards that come up in quizzes and the basic knowledge you will need. For anyone keen to brush up on general knowledge it provides a perfect study guide about what you should be looking out for.

David also devotes a chapter to other aspects of quizzing such as what to do in an actual pub quiz, what to expect, how to work well as a team as well as giving advice and reflection on playing in leagues and how to get on television.

Its a great short read and for anyone like myself you is young and hungry to improve knowledge, personal advice like this from someone who has been there and done it is invaluable. I enjoyed it and will use it thoroughly after the first read to steer my learning and quiz buffing.





Note: You can download a free app for Pc's and iphones etc that let you use Kindle software.


Also, long time readers will know I have mentioned this book before but it is well worth reposting for any new readers who may not have had chance to read it!

In It To Win It: Contestants Wanted





By no means a show I am fond of, but National Lottery In It To Win It, has open applications until the 15th November. The link is HERE

The questions are usually quite easy on this one but I can imagine,  with the sums of money that can be won, this will take some effort to be a part of. Either way good luck to anyone who applies!

Cleverdicks is no more!


This was announced a few weeks ago but I have only just got round to watching the full series. Cleverdicks was originally shown on the Sky Atlantic Channel, with repeats on Challenge. Due to the repeats clashing with the Olympics I left myself with around 13 episodes to catch up with and just as I was approaching the final few, I read in several papers that the show had been canned!

Such a shame....

Cleverdicks aimed at being a high brow quiz, inviting top UK quizzers to compete and asking the sort of questions, covering the sort of topics, you would not find on your average gameshow. Over the weeks we saw top ranked UK Quizzers, Mastermind champions and known faces from the quizzing circuit. compete. 

My initial views remain the same, I really loved this show and it is a shame I now have to talk about it in the past tense. Although there were one or two minor problems, mainly the guessing nature some rounds descended into, I felt this was one of the best, freshest and most enjoyable shows on Tv. Anne Widdecombe turned into quite a good host by the end of the run I thought and it was a good overall package.

From what I can gather Sky were waiting to see Challenges viewing figures to determine whether to go with a second series. Clashing with the summer and the Olympics won't have helped, not to mention the vast amount of soaps the show clashes with between those hours, but one way or another Sky clearly did not get what they wanted out of this and Cleverdicks is no more!


Wednesday 17 October 2012

Mastermind Challenge - Week 10

Getting last weeks episode out of the way as soon as possible this weeks is promising to be interesting. Chris Quinn, who I see as a serious contender for the crown this year, is in the line up with the specialist subjects being -

Roddy Doyle Novels
Catherine of Aragon
French Grand Opera 1823-1900
Fanny Craddock



Wiki Away!

Only Connect - Quarter Final 1 Preview

Only Connect 2012/2013 - Quarter Final Preview

Draughtsmen vs Numerists 

It hardly seems a week since the first episode of this series but already we are at the Quarter Final stage of Only Connect. Given the high standard shown so far this year this is going to be a tough route to the final with tomorrows show putting the Draughtsmen against the Numerists.

The Draughstmen must be considered one of the favourites for the whole series. Stephen Dodding, Andy Tucker and Iwan Thomas are all known quizzers with impressive backgrounds. Iwan is of course a former Brain of Britain winner, Andy has been a Mastermind finalists and Stephen Dodding won a few episodes of Cleverdicks as well as being a regular on the UK Quizzing circuit. As we saw though in their first round match Only Connect is a different kettle of fish altogether. Leading into the final round easily they were almost pipped to the post! It will be interesting to see tomorrow how they perform on the last buzzer round as this could be key!

The Numerists on the other hand were phenomenal on the buzzer in the final round and I would suggest they are strongest team in the final round as as I said at the time if they can stay within touching distance they will take some beating in that final round. James Wilson is certainly one to watch in this round as he racked up a hatful of points last time around.

This is really a tough one to call, in a normal quiz The Draughtsmen would take some beating, but this is Only Connect and its too close to call. If Numerists lead or are only 1-2 behind going into the last round I think they could win it otherwise...

Prediction: Draughtsmen narrowly  

Tuesday 16 October 2012

Book Suggestion - Bumper Pub Quiz Book


My recommended book this week is, for a change, a quiz book and this is one of the finest books in my ever growing collection. The Bumper Pub League Quiz Book is chocked full of questions of "quiz league" standard meaning they are tougher than a lot of the usual pub-quiz style question books out there.


Each set of questions contains sets for a Team A and Team B with individual rounds and a "drinks round" so what you get is a unique format. it also gives you some idea, if you are considering entering a league, of the style of questions and formats you may face.

This is a bumper edition so you get great value for money with all the various quizzes within and it will test every corner of your knowledge. There are no old chestnuts, no repetition and no filler, just a range of top quality quiz questions.

Well worth adding to your collection and here is a link to purchase the book on Amazon if you are interested.....




Monday 15 October 2012

Only Connect 2012/2012 - Round 1 Heat 8

Only Connect 2012/2013 - Round 1 Heat 8


Already we have reached the final first round match of this years Only Connect and just like in the University Challenge match that preceded this, we were in for another one sided match.

Accountants
Itzhak Matthai
Thomas Gough
Drew Firth

Cinephiles
Howard Kelly
Nancy Dickman
Tim Catlin

Nancy Dickman is no stranger to quiz shows of course, being the 2009 Mastermind champion and indeed appeared on an Only Connect special last year competing for a Mastermind Team against the all conquering Crossworders. Immediately that made me view them as favourites tonight but you never know with this show!

It did however start as I expected with a strong early showing from the Cinephiles. The Accountants were playing a tactic, whether consciously or not, of risking early buzzes and maybe it backfired here as a buzz on Sam Smith before a giveaway clue maybe cost them some points. I wonder if "Smith" would have been given for their answer on this question even though is was denied after? Either way it had little bearing on the final score. I was pleased to get the Gladiator music question though which neither team got, a very rare occurrence for me on Only Connect but by the end of round 1 Nancy Dickman was leading the Cinephiles in a 5-0 lead.

The second round continued in the same pattern with the Cinephiles on a roll. It was 14-2 at the end of the round, all but over, thanks to some great answers on Beckhams children (I maybe would have got this one on 5, another rare occurrence)  and the Queens grandchildren. They picked up where the Accountants were dropping points and heading into the wall the lead was commanding.

The wall proved a bit much for the Accountants. The Madonna connection sprung up from the off for me but the team failed to get it, even when given the connection, and managed only 2 points. It was a tougher wall than the Cinephiles got, slightly  but they lapped it up to gain 10 points and moved into a 24-4 lead. The last round can see massive swings but not that much!

The buzzer round again saw domination from Cinephiles with some very interesting rounds here. Thomas Gough has a nice run mid round but with a final score of 33-8 it was a very one sided match all round!

Well done to the Cinephiles and in the final match of the first round, another contender emerges.

This is going to be a fantastic run in to the final. 

University Challenge 2012/2013 - Match 12




University College London vs University of Exeter

Well, last weeks episode brought some interesting comments online and without further a do we are vastly approaching the end of the first round. Tonight saw University College London take on the University of Exeter.

UCL
Adam Papaphilippopulous
Tom Tyszuzuk Smith
Simon Dennis
Tom Parton

Exeter
John Ault
Rob Bental
William O Rourke
James Bellamy


Exeter got a nice easy opener with a full house on "straits" but that was about the highlight of their night as masterclass from UCL, Simon Dennis in particular, paved the way to a win and a very convincing one at that!

Paxman was on form tonight bellowing "You Cannot Confer" at Exeter and chuckling at a couple of wrong answers on a letter question but he did show more surprise and smiles than usual at some of the cracking answers UCL conjured up.

As I mentioned tonight was really the Simon Dennis show. His team mates all made contributions but his buzzing was dominating and he has been the first captain of the series so far to really do so. I think UCL will certainly go far in this sort of form! The range of knowledge Dennis showed was vast and early into the game UCL started to move away running away with at least 10 continuous minutes of the show being entirely on them.

Again tonight saw some cracking questions with a great picture round on roads and a very tough but enjoyable music question on songwriters. But it was all about UCL tonight and no team will want to face them in the next round!

260-85 UCL win!

Congratulations to UCL and I expect we will be seeing a lot more of them in the future.

Friday 12 October 2012

Mastermind 2012/2013 Standings So Far....


I originally thought that the 6 runners up with the highest scores would be making it through to the next round of Mastermind but seemingly it is to be the 6 highest scoring people in second place. Hence the ladder underneath has changed a little and even though a few scores from 3rd and 4th place contenders would have won a heat, they cannot be considered as a highest scoring runner up!

Hence for the current series this is how it stands after tonights' Episode....


Qualified
Gregory Spiller - 32
Kathryn Palmer - 31
Christine Plume - 29
Michael Wright - 29
Sian West - 26
Shahab Mossavat - 26
Matthew Bradshaw -26
Aidan Mccquade - 24

John Chadwick - 23


Highest Scoring Runners Up
Chris Cann – 29
John Wheeler – 29
Paul Whittaker - 27
Philip Walters - 25
Andrew Granath - 24
Roland Mcfall – 23

Other
Nathan Joss – 26
Alan Sharp - 26
Andrew Hunt - 25
Nina Fetherston - 25
Alan Wharmby - 24
Rosalind Winter - 24
Laurie Handcock – 24
 Kevin Baker - 24 
Hazel Humprheys - 22
Chris Kirk - 22
Les Wallace - 22
Graeme Marley -22
 Ian Copping - 22
Alan Haddick - 21
Sarah Le Fevre - 19
Jackie Phillips - 19
Mathhew Clarke - 18
Nathan Scott – 18

Xavier Woodward - 18
Nick Gunatilleke - 17
Barbara Bell - 15

Mastermind 2012/2013 - Heat 9

Mastermind 2012/2013 - Heat 9

The next batch of contestants stepped into the black chair tonight as Mastermind enters its 9th heat of the series. A few interesting subjects tonight so without further a do lets get on with it...

Mastermind Contenders Tonight -

Barbara Bell
Nick Gunatilleke
John Chadwick
Xavier Woodward

Barbara Bell kicked things off with her round on National Parks of England and Wales  In all fairness a very tough subject but there were plenty of questions in there that were "gimmies" and that were missed. I thought it was perhaps the pressure of the chair that caused this round to go wrong but Barbara shook her head at most of the answers when given indicating she had never heard of them. Barbara never recovered for a pass chain early on and a stuttering start left her with 5 points.

Nick Gunatilleke was next and he struggled too on Battles of the American Civil War. Maybe it was under preparation, maybe it was the pressure but he looked very nervous and looked a rabbit in the headlights. Perhaps he has just seen what happened to Barbara and feared he was next. I actually beat him in this round with no preparation and that is saying something! All credit to Nick though and I never mean any disrespect in any of these reviews so please don't take that the wrong way but I have to be honest. 4 scored.

John Chadwick looked by far the most relaxed and calm reeling off answers on HP Lovecraft. Usually 10 would give him a lot of work to do in the GK round but tonight it was good enough to give him a 5 point lead. As someone said on my Facebook "This was the Mastermind Heat to Land" and, with no disrespect to anyone else, John put himself in with a great shout of getting to the next round.

Xavier Woodward took on Boxing World Title Fights since 2000. If you consider how many titles there are and how many weights and spread it over 12 years, this is a heck of a big subject. Xavier struggled with albeit some over worded questions but the nature of the subject would always make that an issue. 4 was scored again.

So the scores after the SS Round -


John Chadwick - 10
Barbara Bell - 5
Nick Gunatilleke - 4
Xavier Woodward - 4

Now, and I know I keep saying this, but without any disrespect, is that a record for lowest combined total over a SS round?

I don't know if this was coincidence or not but the GK rounds seemed a lot easier tonight. Based on my usual sort of scores and my partners chip in's we were considerably higher tonight than usual.

Either way Nick was given the task of going out first and scored a very respectable 13 with a range of knowledge shown. A solid SS round would have set him up with a nice score here but that was not to be at with a total of 17 that was the lowest score of the series so far and probably not quite enough to put serious pressure on John Chadwick.

Xavier followed a similar pattern and with a score of 14, again, would have been well in contention for a heat win had the SS score been higher but his total of 18, although leading at that point, was not going to be enough.

Barbara continued where she left off from round 1 with a lot of passing and hesitation. Ending up with a score of 15 which sadly means that is the lowest score of the series so far. I think once the nerves had took over it was round over and I am sure in another situation she would have racked up many more points on those questions, but that is Mastermind for you!

John Chadwick strode to the chair needing 9 to be assured of the win and cruised to 13 with some confident answering and clearly taking the tactic of guessing instead of passing. He had a little stutter on 18 for a few questions, whether he knew in his head he was close to winning (or can you see the score?) he moved onto 19 after a few misses and 23 was the final total. 13 is by no means a bad effort but he makes it through with the lowest winning score so far and actually this score would not have been in the top 20 of the 36 players so far. But, you can only beat what you play against and John did enough and showed more than enough knowledge to earn his win.

The reaction amongst quizzing friends online has been what you would expect. This was a low scoring heat and I don't want to offend so I will keep a few opinions to myself. Well done to John Chadwick and best of luck for the next round!

Final Standings - 


John Chadwick - 23
Xavier Woodward - 18
Nick Gunatilleke - 17
 Barbara Bell - 15

I am just working on a proper table of Runners Up now as I was informed last week that its not going to be just the highest scoring players, they also have to have finished in second place. That should be posted shortly.