Sunday Connect 7 Quiz #3 Answers

Here are the answers to the Sunday Connect 7 Quiz……

1.       Adam Smith

2.       Mark Thompson

3.       Ricky Martin

4.       Rhodes

5.       Mont Blanc

6.       Arnold  Rimmer

7.       Aaron Ramsey

The connection is they are all surnames of famous TV Chefs!

More next week….

Sport Relief 2012 Quiz! Entry....

On many occasions over the past few years I have devised quizzes to coincide with various Charity Events, namely Comic Relief, Children in Need etc, and in the past have raised quite a lot of money for charity. 

This year however I have decided to use The Quiz Addict Blog as a platform to raise even more money, this time, with Sport Relief in mind. 

Sport Relief 2012 takes place next month and the advertising push as already begun with various bits and bobs going on.

To raise money for Sport Relief I have spent some time devising a very testing, hopefully very fun and enjoyable quiz for anyone to take part in.

The cost of entering the quiz is a mere £3 made payable via paypal to fully234@hotmail.com. Every single penny donated for the quiz will go to Sport Relief and there will also be some prizes for the winner which I am trying to sort out now. You will be emailed the quiz and given the email address to return it to. There will be a winner and leaderboard posted online. 

The quiz contains all variety of rounds with the main focus being on general knowledge and I have tried to incorporate as many anti-cheat measures as possible.

It is all for charity and I have put some time and effort into making sure the quiz is fun so please if you can spare it enter the quiz and hopefully I can raise a decent amount for Sports Relief 2012!

Only Connect - Wall Night

Only Connect Wall Night

Monday night of this week also saw the latest in what is turning into a long line of specials of Only Connect. This is by far and away one of the finest shows on TV and one of its most popular rounds, The Wall, has been chosen for a special mini tournament before which was obviously a success as it returned last night. Several teams from previous series returned to play it out over Quarter Finals in the first half hour show and then the Semi's and Final later on. All is available on BBC iplayer and is well worth a watch.

Congratulations go to The Inorganic Chemists who won the final narrowly pipping the Oxford Librarians. It was a close final but the Oxford Librarians seemed to get too caught up with "Won" being in the currency link where as the Inorganic Chemists spotted the "Won" "Tu" "Ait" "Fore" run which was the decisive factor.

All in all a great show and if you like this and have access to a Smart Phone, there is a cracking app available!

University Challenge - Quarter Final

University Challenge - Quarter Final 

University of Manchester vs Newcastle University

Well, not in a million years did I expect the quarter final of University Challenge between Manchester and Newcastle to turn out the way it did and what we got on our screens last night, with all due respect, was a drubbing!

Of course being from the North East my support was firmly with the Newcastle team and Ben Dunbar, Nicola Pang and Eleanor Turner all proving to be solid players in previous rounds I had them down as a potential dark horse to make the final.

However, with both teams having already lost once before the outcome here was simple...loose and you are out! The winners would still need another victory but on this evidence that should not be hard to come by.

Tristan Burke was on fire throughout and his command on the buzzer gave Manchester such a lead. Michael Mckenna propped up with a batch of great answers as did Joyce but Burke was leading from the front and for the first 15 minutes the lead just grew and grew. By the 15 minute mark it seemed all over, Newcastle worryingly silent with Turner and Pang seemingly ignoring Dunbar and Dent on the few buzzes they did get. both myself and the person I was watching it with detected some bad blood between the team maybe? Either way they were no where near their best and Burke took them apart.

330-95 was the final score and Manchester look a formidable force. Newcastle, despite showing great promise in previous rounds, had a shocker and exit this series of University Challenge. For Manchester another win is needed but if Tristan Burke plays half as well as he did on this showing that should not be an issue!

CleverDicks Trailer

Cleverdicks is the new Sky Atlantic Quiz show due to air sometime in early 2012. Seemingly aimed at the "upper end" of the quiz show market they have released a trailer this week which can be found at - http://www.splashmedia.co.uk/index.jsp?lnk=040001

David Stainer, winner of Only Connect amongst other things, pops up and I am still looking forward to this despite some negative remarks regarding the trailer. What do you think?

Brain of Britain - Round 1 - Match 12

Brain of Britain - Round 1 - Match 12

Monday is becoming something of a haven for the best quiz shows and with University Challenge and Only Connect Specials to come, Brain of Britain was just the start of the night. I personally feel that Brain of Britain is one of the best Quiz shows around on any format the moment and bar last weeks set of really easy questions its one of the hardest to actually win. 

This was the final and 12th heat with the Semi Final's commencing next week! 12 was also told to be the qualifying score for the runners up places. 

Contenders - 

Ian Banks

Dennis Muchmore

Paul Philpott

Maggie Pearce

The first round was fairly open with points scored by three players and plenty of interesting questions. Ian Banks set off on the second round with pantomime knowledge but more importantly followed it up with a further point to add to his told. Dennis Muchmore managed to get the bonus from Banks but failed on his round. Paul Philpott knew the Beano was first published in the 1930's and got himself off the mark. Banks and Dennis Muchmore managed to rack up a few steals to take a joint lead with 4 points. Well on their way to the golden 12.

Dennis Muchmore did not know that Claudio Suarez ,the most capped international footballer of all time, is Mexican and a string of tough questions followed which the Brains struggled to get to grips with. This Quiz has the habit of going this where a string of wrong answers is followed by a string of points scoring. Either way this was a much tougher test than last weeks outing.

Dennis Muchmore knew that Stevie Wonder's "Happy Birthday" was dedicated to Martin Luther King but failed on his own question, no-one was able to put together a string to take the lead. It took four guesses for the Brains to know the J in J Edgar Hoover stood for John,  and the points were starting to stall but Ian Banks had made it to 6 giving him a one point lead heading into the break in quizzing as Beat the Brains came along (...and the Brains were beaten).

Heading into the second half and it really was anybodies game although Maggie had shown little to suggest she could launch a comeback. Poor Ian Banks had a lot of sports/entertainment questions and they continued to rack up in this round, he was winning at this stage though so he can't have been complaining!

Dennis Muchmore picked up a bonus and then headed into his assault on the second half knowing that Arthur Morris invented the Velleta Dance but failing to build. Paul Philpott was starting to pull through and bring himself into contention but again another round in which no one could build on scores meant that Muchmore was leading 9 to Banks 8. A two horse race is Philpott could not get a run going!

I did not know Berne was the only Swiss City to be a World Heritage Site but one of the Brain's did (you learn something from every show!) and Banks and Muchmore were now 9-9 in the lead with around 6 minutes to go. Both could get the 12 and make the final at this rate but after a few one sided shows this was much more interesting.

Dennis Muchmore went on what could turn out to be a key run notching up a hat trick of answers taking him to a two point lead and hitting the golden 12 mark. 

The final round got underway and Ian Bank's failed on his first question meaning he would need to acquire two bonuses to make it through to the final. A solid effort but a bit of bad luck getting so many entertainment/sport questions early on proved crucial. Dennis Muchmore added another one to his total meaning he was just about on his way to the Semi Finals. All eyes now on if Banks could join him and getting Tamworth as being the location of Peel's Manifesto was enough for one point and he also picked up a bonus from Maggie Pearce to send him through.

The win went to Dennis Muchmore but both he and Ian Banks head into the semi finals which start next week, and both have to be considered serious contenders!

Final Standings -

Dennis Muchmore - 13
Ian Banks - 12
Paul Philpott - 6

Maggie Pearce - 5

Well that is it for the first round and the contest heats up as next weeks show is the first Semi Final and we get closer to finding out the Brain of Britain.

Buy Quality Quiz Questions Here!

Buzzer Questions #1

I meant to post these up some time ago but it slipped my mind. These are some of the questions I set for the buzzer quiz, as seen in below videos, for the Lightspeed event in York a few weeks back. They work better in that format as most are designed to get progressively easier to encourage a buzz but here are a selection. If anyone particularly wants the full set just pop me an email to fully234@hotmail.com...Answers in the comment box.

In terms of size this is island is the seventh largest in Scotland. It is often referred to as “Scotland in miniature”  and is separated from the mainland by the Kilbrannan Sound. Name the Scottish Island that has Brodick as its capital and Goatfell as its highest point?

This author was born in 1958 and has since wrote 10 adult novels many of which have been turned into films. He won the Man Booker Prize in 1993 for a novel about a 10 year old boy living in Barrytown although perhaps his most famous novel tells the story of a group of unemployed Irishmen who form a Soul Band. Who is the author of Paddy Clarke Ha Ha HA and The Commitments?

Which American Physicist, born in 1904, and often referred to as “the father of the atomic bomb”, was appointed as director of Eisenhower’s Manhattan Plan in 1941 that sought to create American Nuclear weapons?

Which British Formula 1 Driver who drove for Mclaren, Ferrari and Williams won the World Championship in 1992?

Which Actress, born in 1944, took her name from a character in the The Great Gatsby and made her film debut in the 1977 Woody Allen film “Annie Hall” although her most famous role was as Reipley in the Alien series?

Name the country. This country became a constitutional monarchy in 1952 and its national day falls on December 5^th. Over 90% of the population are Buddhists and chief exports include rice, rubber and precious stones. It has borders with Laos and Cambodia amongst others and has the Baht as currency. Its capital city is Bangkok.

Name the year. Geoffrey Fisher retired as the archbishop of Canterbury, the World Wildlife Fund was founded, Private Eye was published for the first time, Elvis Presley had 4 UK Number 1’s and Yuri Gargarin became the first man in space?

At 3,776m tall, this mountain is the tallest in its country and was last week announced as a World Heritage Site by Unesco. Its name translates as “wealth” or “abundant” in English and along with Mount Tate and Mount Haku it is considered as one of the “Three Holly Mountains” in its country. Located on Honshu Island, what is the largest mountain in Japan?

Arran

Roddy Doyle

Robert Oppenheimer

Nigel Mansell

Sigourney Weaver

Thailand

1961

Mt. Fuji

Sunday Connect 7 Quiz #3

A little later than usual this week folks but here is this weeks Sunday Connect 7 quiz. Answer each of the questions and spot the connection between them all. Answers to be posted later in the week and if you fancy a go post in the comment box or email me at fully234@hotmail.com


1. What was the name of the political Economist who wrote "Wealth of Nations"?

2. Who is the current Director General of the BBC who is planning to step down after the 2012 Olympics?

3. Enrique Martin Morales is the real name of which singer?

4.What is the name of the island located in the eastern Aegean Sea, the largest of the Dodecanese islands?

5. What is the highest mountain that lies within a country in the European Union?

6. Name the character played by Chris Barrie in the sci-fi Comedy Red Dwarf?

7. Which footballer was named Welsh Young Player of the Year in 2009 and 2010?

And lastly find out the connection between all seven answers!

Mastermind - First Round - Episode 10

Mastermind - 1st Round - Episode 10

A little bit of bias tonight again as I settled down to watch Mastermind. Gareth Kingston had announced on facebook his episode would be screened this week so I had my fingers crossed he would pull it off.

Contenders - 

Geoffrey Snape

Sally Mabey

Chris Willis

Gareth Kingston

Geoffrey Snape was first up and took on what I thought was a very wide subject managing 11 points on New York followed by Sally Mabey who had a much narrower subject on the Womens Institute managed 10. Gareth Kingston was next and delivered a very confident display answering on Pugin, someone I have very little knowledge on. He managed to get 14 right from the 15 asked and that was enough to lead after round as  Chris Willis ( a former Countdown Champion I believe) scored 13 on Wimbledon Tennis Singles since 1990. This set the stage for a close contest but with Gareth, a former Semi Finalist, sitting in first place he was always going to be the favourite.

Sally Mabey really needed something special to put the others under pressure and give herself a chance. I think she had the most gettable set of the night adding another 10 to her score. Not really enough and the same can be said of Snape who only managed 8 after a terrible run in the middle of the round when the passes would not stop flowing. This made him loose all confidence and by this stage Mastermind was over for him as well.

It was now a clear scrap between Willis and Kingston and Willis had the perfect chance to put Gareth under pressure by posting a good score. He came to the chair firing on all cylinders and the 14 was a cracking score from a very tricky set giving him a total of 27 to take back and leave Gareth with the chase. Always likely to hunt that total down Gareth needed a good start to the round and he got exactly that matching Willis 27 with the lead but taking the contest on the fact he did not pass.

All in all this was a tightly fought episode of Mastermind. Both Gareth and Chris would have been very worthy winners and perhaps we will see Chris again. Gareth showed some nerves seemingly, more so in the GK round, but answered well and perhaps the few looks of disappointment on his face were because he knew he should have got some of the questions he answered wrongly. Either way, this performance will stand him in good stead and he certainly will be a contender for a place in the grand final. Good luck!

Final - 

Gareth Kingston - 27
Chris Willis - 27

Sally Mabey - 20

Geoffrey Snape - 19

The Quiz Addict Quiz Trek 2012 #5 - Trivial Pursuit/Guinness Pub Quiz

Trivial Pursuit/Guinness Pub Quiz National Event

Black Bull, Peterlee

Last night I headed up the local quiz I often attend on a Wednesday at the Black Bull, Peterlee for the usual Redtooth based event. However, as part of the Sizzling Pubs chain the venue seemingly is part of a national quizzing event in association with Guinness who have teamed up with Trivial Pursuit to produce a 6 week quiz event that I believe is on a national scale.

We were told before the quiz started that as well as the usual prize for entry (which was just the money they took in from the players) that this was part of a 6 week event, in which, if you had the highest 6 week total you would have a "chance" of winning £500 and an appearance on the Chris Moyles Breakfast Show. They did not make clear much else but gave the sheets out.

The quiz as well as being sponsored by Guinness is in association with Trivial Pursuit.The Answer sheet is littered with the logos and adverts for the board game series and the questions take that format. What you get is 6 rounds of 6 questions on the typical Trivial Pursuit subjects.

The only instruction given was that you were not allowed to cross out any answers............

The questions were exactly what you would expect from Trivial Pursuit....a mixed bag. Some were rather easy, some very difficult and some required some thought. There was a nice balance between questions aimed at younger players and older ones and the set was well constructed. After all, its very very rare in my part of the world you can walk into a pub quiz and be faced with questions on Art and Literature!

As with all forms of Trivial Pursuit though there were some very dubious answers, one of which I need to research today to put my mind at rest, and a few I will mention at a later stage. All in all though most of the 36 questions I enjoyed and it made a nice change from the Redtooth set.

The 4 of us played well and got what we thought was a good score but nevertheless a team who had never been to the quiz before, and obviously had heard about this event, took the win but not by a great deal meaning we should still have a chance in the 6 week run if we stick with. Unfortunately with my  move planned for 3 weeks time I may have to bow out early of this one.

Anyway, I am eager to find out more information about this Trivial Pursuit Pub Quiz Competition which Guinness are involved on and Ill post more up as I find out, but if anyone else has any information please let me know!

Checking in with The Chase....

The Chase

The Chase remains ever present in ITV's tea time slot and looks likely to do so for some time. I tend to catch a few episodes a week although due to travel to work I tend to miss bits and bobs. After an early finish on Monday I was able to get home for the shows 6pm start time on ITV +1 (which I keep forgetting about).

For me the Chase is still an enjoyable quiz show. Its always nice seeing respected and successful quizzers on Tv shows such as this and with the addition of Paul Sinha the Chase continues to go from strength to strength.. Its a good concept, Bradley Walsh makes a good presenter and it has not got stale yet....nowhere near.

I think the team have come up with some cracking questions, albeit heavy on pop culture which is only to be expected and I tend to learn at least a couple of new things ever show I catch. I have applied to be on the show again so hopefully that will come off. It is a hard show to win, really hard (I would say harder than Eggheads due to the multiple choice of their last round) but on Monday someone managed to take home £8,000.

You do tend to get the impression ITV are not after good quizzers to face The Chasers. There have been some fantastic quizzers on the show who have done brilliantly but its more personality than knowledge that will get you through the audition I feel.

All in all though The Chase is a great addition to the tv schedules and long may it continue.....

http://www.pubsquiz.co.uk

Checking in with Eggheads

Eggheads vs Alderney Rock Hoppers

As I have mentioned on here before, I am a fan of Eggheads and tend to catch as many episodes as possible via Sky plus or on iplayer. After so many episodes the show is still going strong, seems to be attracting steady ratings and waves of teams wanting a crack at taking on the Eggheads.

Last nights episode involved a team from Alderney taking on the Eggheads team consisting of  Pat Gibson, Kevin Ashman, Judith, Barry Simmons and Chris. As I said of the Chase earlier, its nice seeing the UK's top quizzers get so much airtime and the success of Eggheads is probably a huge reason for that. Either way £5,000 was on the line.

Judith was up first, always one of the first to play and Food and Drink was the subject. Judith is usually strongest in this area, as oppose to the likes of Sport which she usually faces. Bridget put Judith under pressure and had her guessing the final question taking it to sudden death which always tends to favour the Eggheads, particularly the stronger players. Bridget did get one of her's right but Judith managed one more and moved into the final. Not the best start for the team from Alderney and the strongest Eggheads were to come.

Time rather reluctantly took on Music and chose one of the finest quizzer in the world, Pat Gibson, to play against (in a very funky Hawaiian number). The questions, apart from the Abba one, were very tricky indeed and Pat took it 2-0.

Arts and Books next, always a tough subject to beat the Eggheads on and this is quizzing bread and butter and choosing Barry as an opponent, Julie was up against it and Barry eased into the final. 3 down and the Alderney Rock Hoppers were struggling badly.

Film and TV for the final head to head, Bill chose Chris to meet wearing his favourite rugby shirt but it was not enough to inspire him as Bill joined his sister Bernice in a final showdown. I always feel with Pat and Kevin together, and to that extent Barry too, the Eggheads are most difficult to beat and missing a gift of an opener about Christchurch, showed no knowledge of us Presidents by stating Taft died in the same year as Queen Victoria and the Eggheads had another easy win under their belt!

Eggheads remains to be enjoyable, entertaining and great tea time viewing after all these years, in my mind it has not become stale at all and just like with the Chase, its good to see top level quizzers on tv. I am much looking forward to Sky Atlantics Cleverdicks for that reason!

The Quiz Addict Quiz Trek 2012 #4

Acre Rigg Social Club, Peterlee

With my move out of the area pending I am trying to visit the last few local quizzes that I am aware of but have never yet been too. Last night it was the turn of Acre Rigg Social Club in Peterlee and their Tuesday night quiz. This was nit just the first time I had been to this quiz in 2012 but the first time ever. I knew very little about the quiz format etc before heading up to the Club last night but it turned out to be a fun quiz and an enjoyable step on The Quiz Trek 2012.

The venue itself was perfectly fine, very friendly people, cheap drinks (always helps) and a large function room dedicated to the quiz. Fair enough they ran a Bingo game first, which I pretend to myself I do not enjoy but actually do, before heading into the main quiz. There was about 8 teams competing and again we were by far the youngest pair, but that matters little as everyone was welcoming and friendly.

The quiz began with two rounds prior to the questions being read out. One round was of course Pictures, this time 12 tough pictures of famous Captains (fictional and non fictional) which everyone seemed to struggle with followed by a missing word round. For instance what missing word connects Captain......Book (answer being Log Captains Log - Log Book). That kinda thing. I would not usually appreciate such a round normally but it made for a change as thats not something I have experienced before in a quiz. We managed maximum points for this (there was only 3 available if you got 8/10 or more) and then the questions.

The set of 30 general knowledge questions is more than it sounds as some questions had three parts, for instance question 1 was three current affairs answers in the one box, so it lasted a good while. The questions were all general knowledge based apart from that first one covering a range of areas, a few old chestnuts thrown in, questions to suit the mainly elderly players and well researched bits of trivia. There were also a few multiple choice questions thrown in there and all in all this was a good set. In fact I would go as far as saying one of the best purely general knowledge sets in this area.

As with all quizzes there was some I was surprised I knew, some I had no clue about and others I knew I should have got but all sorts of areas were covered and it made for a good set. Again, being the youngest by a considerable amount meant we missed a few we may otherwise have got with extra team mates, but we had a decent total and ended up about 5 points off third place (we were only told the top three) which I was happy with as the team in third tend to be in the running at other quizzes we attend.

Add a knowledge based jackpot (name of a harbour) and a guessing/random knowledge based jackpot questions (How many RNLI Lifeboats in operation?) and there is a chance to win a bit of a prize.

All in all then my experience of the quiz at Acre Rigg Social Club was nothing but a positive one. Certainly the most friendly quiz around with us as newcomers and youngsters welcomed very nicely indeed, good general knowledge based questions without too much on entertainment and varied rounds of play. For my last few weeks quizzing in this area, this will be my Tuesday night fix!

Also I was told that next week the quizmaster is totally different with a totally different quiz and set up. I shall be attending and if radically different I will include it as the next entry but nevertheless there will be some more Quiz Trek entries on the blog this week as I intend trying out a Local Music Quiz, returning to the Sunday Night Quiz at the Moorcock and possibly even the rarest of rare, a Friday Night Quiz.

In association with

http://www.pubsquiz.co.uk

The Exit List - Episode 3

The Exit List - Episode 3

ITV's latest big budget quiz/game show continued last night and after enjoying it much more last week I was eager to catch up with the latest instalment on ITV Player (which I keep forgetting exists!). This episode featured Phil and Danny from Manchester.

The format is getting familiar now with easy opening questions, gradually getting tougher and mixed in with very demanding rounds they call the "Panic Room". The contestants tonight got off to a bad start missing the second question which meant after two rooms their memory list was five. It couldn't have got much worse for Danny and Phil as the room after was a Panic Room on names of Cheese's based on pictures. Really hard and the lads struggled meaning a random string of letters was added to their list. It was now going to be very hard for them proving again that the Panic Rooms are the key players in this game. Yet again I found myself really enjoying The Exit List which I never thought I would be saying after the first episode.

A few good answers stopped the decline, a wrong answer on Dragons Den added 4 more answers to the list, although not the end of the world given the subject matter and £30,000 was now in the kitty as the game got serious. The pair had a few more questions in them and two more wrong answers saw another 8 added to the list which I believe makes it the longest Exit List of the series so far.

With an imposing Exit List they decided to call it a day and leave the maze to take on the final challenge. Remembering any list on this show in the studio lights, with the pressure and the money that is at stake must be tough going and will take some mental strength but as we saw last week it is doable. Tonight's pair though have a much much tougher challenge on their hands. Recalling it in order is key as if you start skipping it is going to make it doubly hard. Not only that but also remembering the route out of the maze is not going to be as easy as it seems!

Phil was the one recalling and he started confidentially and got over the first Panic Room set of letters fine and was moving to half way on the list. Saying Boxer instead of Boxing seemed to through the flow a little but he kept his nerve but began to struggle naming the Dragons from Dragons Den and skipped the question which sent him into a flurry. This proved to be his downfall and he failed with a few answers to go.

However, of course the interesting twist here was whether Danny had took the safety option and accepted a sum before the Exit List started. £4,000 was offered and I think this is a really great part of the game and along with the Panic Room adds some drama. Danny had not took the deal and the pair were cruelly told on the big screen they had total winnings of £0.

All in all The Exit List, whilst never going to be up there as my favourite with the more serious quizzes, is a solid, entertaining and enjoyable big budget prime time gameshow and you cannot really say fairer than that. If you have not seen it give it a whirl!

The Bank Job - Series 2 Applications Open!

The Bank Job was shown earlier in the year at Channel 4 and is returning for a second series. Another of Channel 4's big budget shows its a mix of basic quiz  question answering, deal or no deal and a Golden Balls ending. It was fun for what it was...

Anyway this post is just to mention that the series 2 applications are open and what you need to do is play online against another player within the tournament hours (9pm-11pm), win 3 games and you will be considered!


This is the link - http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-bank-job

Sunday Night Quiz # 2 Answers

Well a few people have e-mailed me puzzled by this and a few got it right....The answers and connection are below.


1.       Greece
2.       Finland
3.       Serbia
4.       Russia
5.       Norway
6.       Germany
7.       Azerbaijan


And the connection? The last seven winners of the Eurovision song Contest in that order....

University Challenge - Quarter Final

University Challenge - Quarter Final 

University College London vs Worcester College Oxford

Line Ups  - 

Worcester College, Oxford

Dave Knapp

Jack Bramhill

Rebecca Gillie

Jonathan 

vs

UCL

Al Carver

Patrick Cook

Jamie Karran

Tom Andrews

It is at this stage in a series of University Challenge that you start to become familiar with the contestants. Both the teams tonight had won their first quarter final meaning a win tonight would send them into the Semi Final.

Jamie Karran has become something of a cult figure on this years show and seems to get a lot of mentions on Twitter etc, and looking at my blog stats a lot of people seem to be goggling his name. Giving a skateboard move for a question on ice skating maybe one of the reasons why.

These are the kind of episodes I enjoy where everyone is having some input and the sides are both working as a team with no player dominating the buzzer. The best team wins in this case rather than the team with the best individual. 

It was close throughout the early stages  but as the scores totals UCL began to move into a lead and were 105-75 up with the final ten minutes to come. Gillie was not beaten yet though and her Worcester team roared back and took a 130-100 lead after UCL lost points on the buzzers.  This trend continued throughout  with Worcester College winning 170-120.

Worcester College Oxford thus becoming the first team to make it into this years Semi Final's and a worthy winner too. Karran and UCL will have to wait until next time and with only about 6-7 weeks to the final this is really hotting up!

Brain of Britain - Round 1 - Match 11

Brain of Britain - Round 1 - Match 11

Perhaps the only good thing about a Monday, Brain of Britain continued on last night with another heat as we approach the semi finals, a very close one indeed.

Contestants - 

Alan Hay

Paul Duke

Toby O Connor Morse

William Thirsk Gaskell

Although tonight's heat was very very close......a few of the top runners up from previous rounds must be kicking themselves that they were not in this heat. I do not been to be disrespectful to any of the contenders in any way but off the top of my head I think not only was this the lowest scoring heat so far but also I feel tonight's questions were the easiest set yet!

As an inexperienced quizzer my scores are never great on this but tonight I managed to answer a heck of a lot more than usual which is by no means a measure of difficulty of the quiz, but to me it says a lot! A hatful of insanely hard questions did pop up though and couple this with the fact that obvious answers were missed and you have your explanation for the low scores.

Alan Hay always looked likely to win throughout but a good challenge from Paul Duke. Gaskell never really got going but showed some good knowledge elsewhere. We have seen some fantastic displays in recent heats of this series and some serious contenders have emerged, and I may be very wrong, but I do not think we have seen one here.

Standings - 

Alan Hay - 10
Toby O Connor Morse - 9
Paul Duke - 7
William Thirsk Gaskell - 5

"Quizzers" Documentary

Many of you may have already seen this Documentary, part of the New Shoots series on Channel 4 a few years back. Its called Quizzers and was set at the 2006 European Championships in Paris. It features Cj De Mooi, Kevin Ashman and The Chaser Mark Labett amongst other famous quizzing faces. Its a fun little 25 documentary and well worth a watch if you get the time!

Updates: Moving gets closer...

Well its Monday morning and I hope one of the last Monday mornings I am hearing my alarm ring at 6.30am. My move to Sunderland continues to take closer steps and due to renting and needing a bond etc etc I have had a week shut indoors hence why there have been no new editions to the Quiz Trek this week. What I do intend to do is make a final trip to all the local quizzes in this area before I do move so that should see a few entries in the Quiz Trek postings.

I am really looking forward to my move and its going to open up a whole new world of quizzing, bring me into the heart of a city and make my work/life balance so much easier.

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I am also still working on my listings sites for a guide to quizzing in the north east so if you run or know of any type of quiz at all please email me at fully234@hotmail.com as the site is coming on great now. I am looking for any quizzes in County Durham, Tyne and Wear or Teeside really.

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You may have also seen I have been posting up a lot of quiz questions recently and am tending to get a lot of answers emailed in to me which is great! If anyone wants a go at setting any quiz questions for those features please free free to email me a set and Ill post up the questions with any links etc you want as a way of thanking you.
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And as I get many request on here asking for pub quiz questions do not forget Jason who provided us with questions from pubsquiz.co.uk is on hand......

Sunday Connect 7 Quiz #2

Well I had a few good responses to this feature last week so hopefully a few more to come this week. As usual the answers will be posted up on Tuesday-ish with the connection. The questions are a bit easier this week but Ill be interested in how many people can work out the connection Good Luck!

Questions




1. Batzos, Katiki and Sphela are cheeses' from which country?

2. Turku is the former capital and oldest city of which European nation?

3. Former Aston Villa striker Slovan Milosevic, is the most capped footballer of which national side?

4.  Matryoshka dolls originate and are famously associated with which county?

5. Trondheim is a large city in which country?

6. In what country is the Zugspitze the highest peak?

7. Baku is the capital city of which nation?


And then find the connection............................

Ill give you one hint. In the answers you have got in front of you, the order they are in is also part of the connection.

Word Wars!

Just a quick post this morning before I start on the Connect 7 quiz for this week. I have just finished watching 'Word Wars' which was shown last night on Sky Arts HD. It is not quiz related but I thought I would give it a mention as its a cracking little documentary about the world of competitive Scrabble. I know that does not sound interesting but it really is a fascinating insight into the world of these mostly American men who are professional scrabble players. Give it a try if you ever see it on again!

Egghead vs Egghead

I found this video whilst strolling through the internet and features Eggheads Pat Gibson and Barry Simmons going head to head

Pubsquiz.co.uk Teaser - Answers

Well thats nearly two days now of having the cryptic quiz up and running so its about time I posted up the answers. Again a big thanks to Jason over at Pubsquiz.co.uk for supplying us with the picture round this week. How did you do?

Answers
(1) 2012
(2) The King’s Speech (The King’s Peach)
(3) E.T.
(4) Thor
(5) Spaceballs
(6) Brighton Rock
(7) Pulp Fiction
(8) Psycho
(9) Young Frankenstein
(10) The Fifth Element

Wednesday Teaser

Picture Quiz from PubsQuiz.co.uk

I have been helped out in my bid to have more quizzes on the blog by Jason over at Pubsquiz.co.uk who has provided me with the use of one of his Cryptic Picture rounds this week. I featured Pubsquiz as my site of the week last week as well as an interview with Jason himself about the site which is ideal for anyone who looks to buy quiz questions.

Have a go and see how you do, I really was baffled on a few but as always with these if you cannot work out the answer it will all make sense when given it. Ill post answers later in the week.

Designed By

Book of the Week - The Thirties: An Intimate History of Britain (By Juliet Gardiner)

Reviving this feature for a one off as I am currently engrossed in this stunning work by Juliet Gardener. Published in 2010 this mammoth book tells the tale of the 30's in a lively, vibrant and informative way. Starting with the Paisley cinema disaster in 1929 and ending with the outbreak of war this covers everything you need to know about the decade that is often overlooked. Politics, home life, society and culture is just the start as this mammoth book goes into great


Full of information, usual titbits and info that could well come up local quiz and a fantastic way to improve your knowledge of this era this is well worth your time!


Here is a link to buy the book on Amazon if interested...

The Exit List - Episode 2

The Exit List - Episode 2 

Last weeks opening episode of ITV's new prime time, big budget gameshow The Exit List left me somewhat in two minds. The first episode was badly explained, rules were thrown at viewers left right and centre and the team did a great job of confusing audiences.

However, much improvement with the second episode. Now the format has sunk in, as I am sure it has with most viewers, this second episode seemed more relaxed, the rules were explained more clearly and everything went smoothly. In fact I dare say I really enjoyed The Exit List!

The first 20-30 minutes is just really for the contestants to build money before the serious questions start. Everything asked on the night was fairly easy but the first 4-5 questions are gimmies. The Panic Rooms tend to be a bit harder, I found the fashion one very hard indeed but we are not talking needlessly hard. Again its good good play along at home value and is in a good slot on Tuesday night. The Exit List may prove to be a hit after all!

Last night saw Nicola, a welsh woman, talk a lot....and I mean a lot but rather than being annoying she was quite entertaining. She played a blinder towards the end. What happens is basically only one of the two can play the final round which is naming the Exit List. However, the one who does not get chosen to name it gets an offer, without the namer knowing, of a lower sum. So last night for example the male, I forget the name, was naming the list, if he won £25,000 was his. However, when Nicola went away she was offered £4,000 to take home there and then. Nobody see's what she picks. The male named the list, got out and to his mind had won £25,000. However when reunited Mall Allwright, who is a decent host of The Exit List, tells the male of the twist. I was convinced by her face that Nicola had taken the £4,000 meaning the £25,000 was irrelevant.....but she hadnt, she had fooled us all! £25,000 was theirs.

All in all a fun addition to the schedules and The Exit List will now be something I watch every week...or at least try to.

Eggheads - Monday 16th January - Eggheads vs The Tramlines

Eggheads - Monday 16th January - Eggheads vs The Tramlines

As I have mentioned on here before, I tend not to mention every episode of Eggheads I watch but thanks to him mentioning it on Facebook, I knew team captain Brian Pendreigh was appearing on the show tonight. Brian has appeared on a whole host of quiz shows in the past, and indeed if you listen to Brain of Britain you will have heard his episode go out only three hours before this. So again I was rooting for the Tramlines on this occasion!

The game was of very high standard, everyone seemingly a good quizzer. Kevin Ashman was knocked out which seemed to really boost the Tramlines and Brian had saved himself until the end in what proved to be a great idea. The Eggheads stumbled when it got to sudden death on a question about a South American leader and Brian pounced, showcasing a great quizzing knowledge in getting to some quality answers in the final showdown. They won and took away the £5,000 prize money and beat the Eggheads. A very entertaining show and a great performance. Well done to the Tramlines!

University Challenge - Quarter Final

University Challenge - Quarter Final 

Clare, Cambridge vs Homerton, Cambridge

Clare, Cambridge

Chris Cao

Daniel Janes

Jonathan Burley

Jonathan Foxwell

Vs.

Homerton, Cambridge

Jau Euesden

Francis Conner

David Murray

Thomas Grinyer

An all Cambridge affair in the first Quarter Final for both sides and perhaps one of the best contests of the series so far. Close throughout with the contest going too and fro and really anyone could have taken it. 

Homerton were the unlucky ones in the end, with the scores tied close to the buzzer they just missed out after Clare went into a last minute rampage. The look of relief on Cao's face when he realised his final buzz was the winning one said it all! Homerton played well though and David Murray is a strong captain able to take control of his team, although seemingly not listening to Paxman as he stated "You're not listening to me!" in some weird shriek. I had to rewind it on my Sky Plus as I assumed the shriek was from one of the Homerton team. Grinyer played well, again showing from his performance in the last round that he is an excellent quizzer.

But the winning team had strength throughout and each player really had their moment to shine for Clare which is ideally what you need on a University Challenge team. One player who can dominate the game is all well and good but a solid team were everybody has their contribution always will prevail. Daniel Janes, who played superbly in the previous round, was again in top form and won some crucial point but Jonathan Foxwell got some vital buzzes on tough questions to rack up the points.

170-145, Clare had won a fantastic contest. Both sides will prove tough opponents whichever route they take next!

Site of the Week: QuizMania

http://www.quizmania.co.uk

As promised a new regular feature on The Quiz Addict is going to be the site of the week and this week it falls to the turn of Quizmania. Quizmania have been around a heck of a long time, over ten years in fact, and surviving and thriving in such a competitive market is a sign of the quality and reliability of their quizzes.

Whatever the occasion, Quizmania have produced a quiz for it. Not only the standard pub quizzes but leisure events, corporate events and publications have benefited from a Quizmania quiz. 

What makes Quizmania different? Well like all the top sites from which you can buy quiz questions online, Quizmanias database is constantly updated meaning up to date questions are guaranteed.  There is such variety in each quiz too that it really makes everything feel fresh, you can customise the quiz to your heart is content and the team over at Quizmania are very friendly and will cater for your every need!

Quizmania therefore is another option to consider when seeking to buy pub quiz sets online!

Brain of Britain - Round 1 - Match 10

Brain of Britain - Round 1 - Match 10

Monday Afternoon means only one thing at present, Brain of Britain. One of my favourite quiz shows around at the moment reached its tenth episode of the series with another Semi Final place at stake. Even better this afternoon as a known figure on the UK Quiz scene, and a facebook friend of mine who I have chatted to on a few occasions, Brian Pendreigh was taking part. He certainly had my support and I was looking forward to the show. Brain has appeared on a whole host of UK quiz shows and indeed also had on his facebook that he would be on Eggheads tonight as well.

Today's Contendors : -

Roman De Bowski (sp?)

Brendan O Connor

Brian Pendreigh

Steve Terry

Without further a do we were underway Roman got us underway with a confident double, Brendan managed one and Brian picked up a score on a bonus. Brian Pendreigh identified Saturn next to take a share of the lead but Roman stole a bonus point on trees to edge back in front. This was going to be a close battle. Steve Terry continued the trend of having everybody on the score board in Round one and when Roman had managed another bonus he moved into a two point lead. Very solid answering in the opening round!

Roman was looking steady and another double extended his lead. Brendan O Connor notched another point but Brian missed a science question and Roman was beginning to pull away. As always with Brain of Britain though one good run can change everything. At the end of round 2 Roman had moved onto 8 and into a 5 point lead.

Roman missed his opening question and Brian was straight in for the bonus, then identified the Badger as from the Weasel family but a bonus was gained on a Cardinal John Fisher questions by Brendan O Connor. It was very close between the contenders at this stage but Roman was pulling away, someone needed a great run to catch him and peg him back. 

Roman was on fire and scored 5 in a row for the bonus, fantastic quizzing and Roman placing himself as a contender for the overall title. He was now going to take some catching and already had a score that could win the heat. Roman was picking up on all the scraps when others failed, answering several on his rounds....in this form he was unbeatable. Every quizzer has "their day" when everything just goes right and Roman was having one of those days....12 point lead at the interval stage. Impressive! Still not over but Roman would need a massive collapse to loose it for here.

The questions in the next round came from a former Brain of Britain Champion and as you would expect were very tough indeed stumping the Brains on both questions.

Back to business, Roman missed his first question with Brendan answering correctly and moving into his round and put a little run together of 2 questions to boost his total. Brian Pendreigh missed his chance to close the gap as did Steve Terry. Brendan snatched another point closing the gap to 10 and looking like the only other contender. The next round though saw Roman gain a point and an 11 point lead with only a couple of rounds to go and Roman was as good as home and dry, especially when he added another point in the following round. 

Brendan would need two five runs to get close and he so nearly made it in the next round, but at least there was a little pressure there eased by Roman stealing the bonus when Brendan slipped up. Brian Pendreigh was not getting the best set of questions. The lead was still ten going into the last round...Roman was the winner!

The last round played out

Today's Contendors : -

Roman De Bowski (sp?) - 24

Brendan O Connor - 12

Steve Terry - 8

Brian Pendreigh - 6

A great display of quizzing by Roman with a fantastic score showing a great all round knowledge, putting together a solid 5 run and leading from start to finish. A serious contender for the Brain of Britain crown this year!

Catching up with Pointless....

Back when Pointless was first aired, I used to make sure to see every episode. I really enjoyed the concept, the show was on just as I was getting in from work making it ideal viewing to unwind to with a cup of tea and I actually applied to appear on the show.

As the series began to go on I did however become less and less interested. When I moved jobs and ended up having to record the show to see I did not get round to watching it and ended up missing entire series of Pointless. Not that I was too bothered but sitting on iplayer I thought I would give it a try and check in on how the show is doing.

The show is now in its fifth series and the basic set up has not changed with Alexander Armstrong fronting as well as ever and the ever so slightly annoying know-it-all Richard Osman behind the laptop clearing up questions. This was the Pointless episode from 13th January....A Eurovision fan as one of the contestants too. Nice to see a mention of my Mastermind Specialist subject of the future!

Has Richard Osman became a comedian seen I last saw this show? If he is he obviously needs to go back to the day job. In fact, what is his day job?

The first round of Pointless is the same as always. The subject is given, words ending in "aze" in this case and then both members of the team give an answer, the fewer the points the better.  (In case you havent seen Pointless it is like Family Fortune in reverse, you have to find correct answers nobody said hence the fewer the points the better).  Not too keen on these "words" type round, makes the show more of a gameshow and less of a Quiz show. Saying that the contestants came up with a lot more than I did!

The second round involves seeing some clues. For instance this episode of Pointless had a list of 6 Drummers. Contestants had to correctly identify which band the drummer played with and also score low. So anyone going for Ringo Starr would obviously be expecting a high score. I like this round as its more a quiz and you can test your knowledge and certainly learn a thing or too!

After this round the Head to Head remains the same. Oscar Wilde plays was the subject and the team with the lowest points wins. Again another good subject and I like list type questions and it certainly stumped one of the teams here! Just proves that Pointless is one of those game shows when gaps in your knowledge are exposed, really exposed. It's a shame when you cannot even guess, maybe they should introduce some sort of lifeline where they show you a few answers and you guess. Maybe would make it better to watch than people hazarding daft guesses that they know is not right. Cricket World Cup Quarter Finalists was next, a better topic to be able to guess at. This round is a best of three and is was Steve and Paula who made it through.

The final of this show has always been tough to win. You are given a subject, usually a tough and you have to get a Pointless answer....an answer nobody else has said. £5,250 was on offer on this show, it rolls over every day depending on the amount of Pointless answers given as well. Really hard going and the topic in this episode, from the choices they had, was Childrens Book and the contestants had to name Enid Blytons Famous Five titles......tough to get a Pointless answer on that. To be fair I would be clutching at straws too as Steve and Paula admitted they were. They did not win, an incredibly tough tough round with the Pointless answers being "Five go Down to the Sea", "Five Fall into Adventure" and "Five have a mystery to solve" amongst others.

The one thing I will say about Pointless is its a quiz show I do always learn something from and its got great play along at home value, especially when you know the subject. Although the days where I make sure to watch every show have passed, I still would love a crack at this and another application will be going in shortly. It is enjoyable and when I move and get the chance to watch it after work maybe I'll settle down to see Pointless more often!