The latest set of questions from the Sunderland Echo Quiz League have been posted up HERE. We managed to carve out a win on what was a fun and enjoyable set.
(If you are looking at the questions for the first time, it is worth mentioning that the League is team based, as opposed to the individual basis of most quiz leagues)
Thursday, 30 November 2017
Wednesday, 29 November 2017
SpeedQuizzing in Sunderland
I have mentioned on the blog a number of times, that I am quite a fan of SpeedQuizzing. In the hands of the correct quizmaster it can be the most engaging of all the formats you are likely to come across in a pub. Living up in Sunderland though, options are limited and the pub that does in it, believe it or not, had complaints from regulars who didn't appreciate the changes...
Anyway, the next event in Sunderland takes place at The Chester's Pub, 8.30pm on Tuesday 5th December.
Well worth a look if you are yet to experience SpeedQuizzing!
Anyway, the next event in Sunderland takes place at The Chester's Pub, 8.30pm on Tuesday 5th December.
Well worth a look if you are yet to experience SpeedQuizzing!
Monday, 27 November 2017
Best Quiz Books of 2017 #6 - The Only Quiz Book You Will Ever Need
The final entry in this series is again, not a book that was released this year, but instead a book I have managed to work on during 2017. I did buy the Kindle version of this when it was originally released but found that version hard to use, hence I picked up a copy from a local book store this year.
The book is written by some big names in the world of quiz, including Egghead Pat Gibson, under the banner of the National Quiz Team. As you would expect therefore, the book is very very testing and there will be questions that appear in this book you won't hear anywhere else, or probably ever hear again. On the whole, the book is fun and starts of with a bit of a "something for everyone" approach but if you stick with it until the end, you will face some of the toughest questions you are ever likely to encounter outside of a competitive quiz event.
Fun and enjoyable, but not for the faint hearted!
The book is written by some big names in the world of quiz, including Egghead Pat Gibson, under the banner of the National Quiz Team. As you would expect therefore, the book is very very testing and there will be questions that appear in this book you won't hear anywhere else, or probably ever hear again. On the whole, the book is fun and starts of with a bit of a "something for everyone" approach but if you stick with it until the end, you will face some of the toughest questions you are ever likely to encounter outside of a competitive quiz event.
Fun and enjoyable, but not for the faint hearted!
Friday, 24 November 2017
Merry Christmas
With the big day almost upon us, I would just like to wish everyone reading the blog a very Merry Xmas and best wishes for 2018!
Monday, 20 November 2017
UK Pub Quiz Championships
The 2017 UK Pub Quiz Championships, organised by Redtooth, took place this past weekend at Bramall Lane, Sheffield. Although I haven't been attending as many organised quizzes as I would have liked this year, I made damn sure I was able to attend this event as the debut edition was my favourite quiz of last year and it is safe to say that the event has been the highlight of my quizzing year once again...
There was a slight format change this year, meaning rather than being spread over the weekend with bits of entertainment and Poker/Darts events going on, both the Team and Individual quizzes took place over one day.
The Individual quiz kicked off proceedings, and I was happy to see that the format had changed little. Rather than being an exam style quiz with written questions, each 30 question round was presented in traditional pub quiz style (i.e. a question master with a mic!). The only minor change was reducing the number of rounds from 10 down to 8. I think this worked in my favour as some of my weaker rounds from last year were combined. (Rounds included....TV and Film, Sport, Pictures, Music, History/Politics, 2017, The World, Art and Literature).
The changes to the rounds coupled with the fact I put a little but of work in to ensure a better placing meant I was able to improve from 28th last year up to 14th this year which I was very pleased with. I only really had one terrible round (Music) but managed to recover by keeping steady in the others. The Sport, Music and TV/Film rounds were presented in a similar manner to last year, questions 1 beginning this time in the 1950s and ending with the present day. This gives a great overview and creates a more level playing field.
The main work I had put in the week prior was just to recap for the 2017 round. Last year the winner scored 100%, so I wasn't aiming for a round win but knew I could make up some points at least with just a few hours revision. Hence, the last ten questions of the round being on Winners of 2017 worked in my favour (although I still didn't manage to get the Mercury Music Prize winner.)
Last year I picked up a small prize in the Picture Round and knew I had chance to make up some points there too. I ended up 1 point away from being involved in a tiebreak for second in that round, which was partly down to putting Dylan instead of Aidan (Turner) when the picture of Poldark came up. Still, more than happy with that!
Congratulations to Nic Paul who retained his title, with Clive Dunning 2nd and Egghead Steve Cooke 3rd. When I returned to the bar after a quick break, I was over the moon to notice I had managed 14th, beating people I don't tend to beat, and the 5 players who had travelled down from the North East had all managed to be in the top 15.
Onto the team quiz.....
Last year, a team we cobbled together on Facebook, (Myself, Tom Mead, Sam Roberts and Colin Daffern) managed 2nd place, beating some very good teams on the way. So, hopes were high of another good finish. The format of the team quiz was 12 rounds in total. The first half was 6 rounds, after which the teams would split, the top half would go into the final and play for the main prizes, the bottom half would compete for a £100 plate prize.
The first half went well, and we actually ended up in second place with a strong score. A connection round on wrestling, Colin bossing the music round and some solid team play all round left us with a good placing ready for the second half.
This year a Wipeout round had been introduced (think the TV show Wipeout) in which we were presented with a grid of twenty answers.....10 were right, 10 were wrong....you could answer as many or as few as you liked but if one was wrong you scored 0 for the round. The first half ended with Colin rattling off 8 answers of people on the list who were aged 85 or over and we made it through to the final.
The second half, quite rightly so, was much trickier and after dropping a couple per round we dropped down to 4th place overall. Which, considering the calibre of opposition, is a good showing. Despite Colin getting one of the most impressive connections I seen (after 3 clues he instantly knew what was being asked for was things mentioned in the lyrics to Cool for Cats!) we had a bad picture round and couldn't make the ground up. The wipeout this time was based on towns and cities of England with populations over 100,000, which proved a tad controversial, but didn't effect us as we played it safe with 5 right answers, hoping some teams to be wiped out. But alas, I haven't played in a more fun team quiz all year!
Congrats to Paul Sinha, Oliver Levy, Chris James and Marianne Fairthorne who were crowned champions for the second year in a row.
Overall, the UK Pub Quiz Championships has again been the highlight of the quizzing year. Great questions, great venue and great company. I hope it will return next year!
There was a slight format change this year, meaning rather than being spread over the weekend with bits of entertainment and Poker/Darts events going on, both the Team and Individual quizzes took place over one day.
The Individual quiz kicked off proceedings, and I was happy to see that the format had changed little. Rather than being an exam style quiz with written questions, each 30 question round was presented in traditional pub quiz style (i.e. a question master with a mic!). The only minor change was reducing the number of rounds from 10 down to 8. I think this worked in my favour as some of my weaker rounds from last year were combined. (Rounds included....TV and Film, Sport, Pictures, Music, History/Politics, 2017, The World, Art and Literature).
The changes to the rounds coupled with the fact I put a little but of work in to ensure a better placing meant I was able to improve from 28th last year up to 14th this year which I was very pleased with. I only really had one terrible round (Music) but managed to recover by keeping steady in the others. The Sport, Music and TV/Film rounds were presented in a similar manner to last year, questions 1 beginning this time in the 1950s and ending with the present day. This gives a great overview and creates a more level playing field.
The main work I had put in the week prior was just to recap for the 2017 round. Last year the winner scored 100%, so I wasn't aiming for a round win but knew I could make up some points at least with just a few hours revision. Hence, the last ten questions of the round being on Winners of 2017 worked in my favour (although I still didn't manage to get the Mercury Music Prize winner.)
Last year I picked up a small prize in the Picture Round and knew I had chance to make up some points there too. I ended up 1 point away from being involved in a tiebreak for second in that round, which was partly down to putting Dylan instead of Aidan (Turner) when the picture of Poldark came up. Still, more than happy with that!
Congratulations to Nic Paul who retained his title, with Clive Dunning 2nd and Egghead Steve Cooke 3rd. When I returned to the bar after a quick break, I was over the moon to notice I had managed 14th, beating people I don't tend to beat, and the 5 players who had travelled down from the North East had all managed to be in the top 15.
Onto the team quiz.....
Last year, a team we cobbled together on Facebook, (Myself, Tom Mead, Sam Roberts and Colin Daffern) managed 2nd place, beating some very good teams on the way. So, hopes were high of another good finish. The format of the team quiz was 12 rounds in total. The first half was 6 rounds, after which the teams would split, the top half would go into the final and play for the main prizes, the bottom half would compete for a £100 plate prize.
The first half went well, and we actually ended up in second place with a strong score. A connection round on wrestling, Colin bossing the music round and some solid team play all round left us with a good placing ready for the second half.
This year a Wipeout round had been introduced (think the TV show Wipeout) in which we were presented with a grid of twenty answers.....10 were right, 10 were wrong....you could answer as many or as few as you liked but if one was wrong you scored 0 for the round. The first half ended with Colin rattling off 8 answers of people on the list who were aged 85 or over and we made it through to the final.
The second half, quite rightly so, was much trickier and after dropping a couple per round we dropped down to 4th place overall. Which, considering the calibre of opposition, is a good showing. Despite Colin getting one of the most impressive connections I seen (after 3 clues he instantly knew what was being asked for was things mentioned in the lyrics to Cool for Cats!) we had a bad picture round and couldn't make the ground up. The wipeout this time was based on towns and cities of England with populations over 100,000, which proved a tad controversial, but didn't effect us as we played it safe with 5 right answers, hoping some teams to be wiped out. But alas, I haven't played in a more fun team quiz all year!
Congrats to Paul Sinha, Oliver Levy, Chris James and Marianne Fairthorne who were crowned champions for the second year in a row.
Overall, the UK Pub Quiz Championships has again been the highlight of the quizzing year. Great questions, great venue and great company. I hope it will return next year!
Sunday, 19 November 2017
Round up of 2017 - Honorable Mentions
Two books that I have enjoyed very much this year that don't quite fit into any of the other categories....
The Joy of Quiz is one of my favourite books of the past few years and takes a look at the wide world of quizzing from Trivial Pursuit to TV Game shows. Packed full of interesting facts and stories, this is essential for everyone who enjoys quizzing.
Although "Question Time" was not quite the book that I thought it was going to be, it still was an enjoyable read. Focusing on the quizzing scene in the UK to book does tend to deviate from the core subject at times, but is an easy read and will interest anyone with a fondness for a pub quiz...
The Joy of Quiz is one of my favourite books of the past few years and takes a look at the wide world of quizzing from Trivial Pursuit to TV Game shows. Packed full of interesting facts and stories, this is essential for everyone who enjoys quizzing.
Although "Question Time" was not quite the book that I thought it was going to be, it still was an enjoyable read. Focusing on the quizzing scene in the UK to book does tend to deviate from the core subject at times, but is an easy read and will interest anyone with a fondness for a pub quiz...
Tuesday, 14 November 2017
Quiz League Questions
Last week marked the second week of the season in the Sunderland Echo Quiz League. The questions have been added to the site and are well worth a look. They can be found HERE and if you scroll down to the set from the 8th November you can see for yourself.
As always with these, it is worth mentioning that unlike most leagues, the Sunderland League is team questions.
As always with these, it is worth mentioning that unlike most leagues, the Sunderland League is team questions.
Monday, 13 November 2017
UK Pub Quiz Championships - This Saturday!
Easily my favourite event of last year, the Redtooth UK Pub Quiz Championships returns this weekend at Bramall Lane, Sheffield. Still plenty of places left and you can expect a great day with a high quality quiz....
Saturday, 11 November 2017
Top 5 Regular Quiz Nights of 2017 - #4
#4 - Tipsy Cow
Sunderland
9pm Tuesdays
There is a good solid circuit of quizzes in Sunderland at the moment, the only problem being a lot of them are on the same night! I attended the quiz at the Tipsy Cow one night earlier in the year without much expectation, but over the weeks the quiz grew into one of the finest in town. The pub hires a local entertainer in to do the quiz and every week he produces a set of quality and testing questions for the ever growing number of teams. The format is nice and simple....30 GK questions, a music round and a themed round of 10 with some pictures thrown in. The host is present throughout the quiz, walking round the tables and hence cheating simply does not happen!
In addition to the normal quiz, there are rounds of card bingo and a great last man standing game which always adds excitement to the end of the night and another chance to win. Sadly, after moving home in August, and with another good quiz on Tuesday on my doorstep, I have had to give up the Tipsy Cow, but if you are in the city centre on a Tuesday night, you won't regret giving it a whirl!
Saturday, 4 November 2017
Pub Quiz Questions #03 - Answers
1. Football: Name the three players who have scored 5 or more goals in two World Cup Tournaments? Miroslav Klose, Thomas Muller and Teofilo Cubbillas
2. Which American author was awarded the 1993 Nobel Prize for Literature, the first black woman to receive the award? Toni Morrison
3. Which British fashion designer came second to Kian Egan on the 2013 series of “I’m a Celebrity” and currently hosts the Uk Version of “Say Yes to the Dress”? David Emmanuel
4. Who designed the famous iron suspension bridge, opened in 1826, that spans the Menai Strait? Thomas Telford
5. Other than “Sit Down”, name either of the other two singles by the band James to reach the Top 10 in the UK? “She’s a Star” and “Sound”
6. Who carried the flag for Ecuador at the 1972 Olympic Games and 24 years later was elected President of the nation? Abdala Bucaram
7. Which 1885 epic poem relates the fictional adventures of an Ojibwe warrior and his love for Minnehaha? The Song of Hiawatha
8. 38 members of the MacDonald clan were killed in which infamous event of February 1692? The Glen Coe Massacre
9. Which author 2003 debut novel “Brick Lane” was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize? Monica Ali
10. Which notorious player was the first in NFL History to rush for more than 2000 yards in a season? OJ Simpson
2. Which American author was awarded the 1993 Nobel Prize for Literature, the first black woman to receive the award? Toni Morrison
3. Which British fashion designer came second to Kian Egan on the 2013 series of “I’m a Celebrity” and currently hosts the Uk Version of “Say Yes to the Dress”? David Emmanuel
4. Who designed the famous iron suspension bridge, opened in 1826, that spans the Menai Strait? Thomas Telford
5. Other than “Sit Down”, name either of the other two singles by the band James to reach the Top 10 in the UK? “She’s a Star” and “Sound”
6. Who carried the flag for Ecuador at the 1972 Olympic Games and 24 years later was elected President of the nation? Abdala Bucaram
7. Which 1885 epic poem relates the fictional adventures of an Ojibwe warrior and his love for Minnehaha? The Song of Hiawatha
8. 38 members of the MacDonald clan were killed in which infamous event of February 1692? The Glen Coe Massacre
9. Which author 2003 debut novel “Brick Lane” was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize? Monica Ali
10. Which notorious player was the first in NFL History to rush for more than 2000 yards in a season? OJ Simpson
Friday, 3 November 2017
Pub Quiz Questions #03
1. Football: Name the three players who have scored 5 or more goals in two World Cup Tournaments?
2. Which American author was awarded the 1993 Nobel Prize for Literature, the first black woman to receive the award?
3. Which British fashion designer came second to Kian Egan on the 2013 series of “I’m a Celebrity” and currently hosts the Uk Version of “Say Yes to the Dress”?
4. Who designed the famous iron suspension bridge, opened in 1826, that spans the Menai Strait?
5. Other than “Sit Down”, name either of the other two singles by the band James to reach the Top 10 in the UK?
6. Who carried the flag for Ecuador at the 1972 Olympic Games and 24 years later was elected President of the nation?
7. Which 1885 epic poem relates the fictional adventures of an Ojibwe warrior and his love for Minnehaha?
8. 38 members of the MacDonald clan were killed in which infamous event of February 1692?
9. In 2003, which authors debut novel “Brick Lane” was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize?
10. Which notorious player was the first in NFL History to rush for more than 2000 yards in a season?
Thursday, 2 November 2017
Try your hand at Speedquizzing....
I have mentioned many times on the blog that I am something of a fan of Speedquzzing. I am sure many reading this blog have already tried, or at least are aware of Speedquizzing - a standard pub quiz using a mobile phone to answer questions, rewarding the fastest players along the way.
Anyway, for those of you in the Sunderland area, its that time of the month again for the Chester to host their Speedquizzing night. It happens on the first Tuesday of each month so get yourself along on Tuesday 6th November if you are free and you won't be disappointed!
Anyway, for those of you in the Sunderland area, its that time of the month again for the Chester to host their Speedquizzing night. It happens on the first Tuesday of each month so get yourself along on Tuesday 6th November if you are free and you won't be disappointed!
Wednesday, 1 November 2017
Pub Quiz Questions #02 - Answers
|
1.
The films 3:10 to Yuma, Get Shorty
and Out of Sight, as well as the FX TV show Justified, are based on
the works of which crime writer who died in August 2013?
|
Elmore Leonard
|
|
2.
Formed in 2001 in Chicago, which band are
fronted by Patrick Stump who released their debut album “Take This To Your
Grave” in 2003 and got their name from a character who appeared in the
Simpsons?
|
Fall Out Boy
|
|
3.
Football: Who is the only player to have
scored over 10 penalties in the Premier League and still maintain a 100%
scoring record?
|
Yaya Toure
|
|
4.
In which county would you find the Cerne Abbas
Giant?
|
Dorset
|
|
5.
Which is the highest mountain in Northern
Ireland?
|
Slieve Donard
|
|
6.
One of the five pillars of Islam, what does
Zakat involve?
|
Giving alms/Giving to Charity
|
|
7.
The recreational lake known as The Serpentine
is located in which London Park?
|
Hyde Park
|
|
8.
Which pop group had reservationson the infamous “Lockerbie Flight”, having to cancel at the last minute due
to studio sessions overrunning?
|
The Four Tops
|
|
9.
In the TV Series Doctor Foster, what is the
first name of Doctor Foster?
|
Gemma
|
|
10.
Vince Clarke had Top 5 singles as a member of
4 different groups. Name them?
|
Yazoo, Erasure, Depeche Mode, The Assembly
|
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