Ramblings on Pub Quizzes

I have no better title to this post, as its merely a ramble about recent events in a quiz that happened to me and generally the way Pub Quizzes in the UK are.

Quizzing is a funny old thing here in good old Blighty. It is perhaps the only form of ‘competitive’ activity where being good is frowned upon! I have heard this analogy before but cannot remember where (so cannot give credit to whoever posted it)…but if you had say a local golfer who spent hours every day for years practicing to try and drive down his handicap, he would be applauded. However, if someone took the same time to revise and practice for quizzes and began winning regularly in the same location, it would be frowned upon. Why is this the case?

Of course I am referring to local pub quiz scenes here. The mutual respect at the highest level of quizzing in the UK is akin to any other activity, but at a general local level below this there is definitely an issue.

Take for instance a local quiz I attend. The scores are read out at the end…..Team A have 47, Team B have 48 but the winners with 67 are Team C……cue a groan and a moan. Accusations of cheating are muttered between other teams, its always the same. In fact in most pub quizzes I go to if a similar thing happens you get the same pattern. If a local golfer wins the annual tournament by 7 shots, the rest of the players are not going to turn round and point an accusatory finger. So why does it happen in quizzes? What is it in the UK that makes being good at pub quizzes so bad and frowned upon?

One opinion I have heard mentioned before is that people go to quizzes to be entertained and would rather have some chance of a small prize than having “professionals” take the victory every week. Mastermind Champion David Clark posted on his far superior blog that a quiz he used to enter and win was changed to make it a more random affair with some style of Bingo quizzing to stop his team winning as the landlord feared other punters were being driven away. I also know people who have left certain quizzes in my old hometown and here because of the same winners every week and the gap between 1st and everyone else. One person even stated to my quizmaster friend they wouldn’t be coming back as they “wanted a fun night but the professionals spoil it”.

But surely if people going to the quiz are only there for the entertainment, as they suggest, then why does it matter to them who wins? Obviously they care about winning if they are leaving the pub quiz because they cannot win? It just does not add up!

The Eggheads and The Chase has done a lot to celebrate good quizzers of course, Clever Dicks also went out of its way to recruit the finest quiz players in the country and the likes of Mastermind and Brain of Britain still hold prestige (I suppose University Challenge and Only Connect could be thrown in their too) but generally these are seen as a world apart from the normal quizzes taking place every night around the country.

I am not in the position yet where I can regularly win a pub quiz alone or just with my other half. Being 26 a lot of older pictures and 70’s-80’s questions catch me out which is the areas I am working on. But there has been a few occasions where I have done well. Being a dedicated quizzer I always have a good chance of a placing if questions suit. But what I have found is because maybe I am 26 and quiz in a team of usually just me and my other half, everytime I do well the inevitable happens…mutterings of “cheat”!

Here is a good example for you. 15 minutes before a recent quiz I called a friend on my iphone to see if he was coming (I am not bragging about having an iphone there by the way it is important for the story later on). As always I switched my phone off before the quiz and left it in my pocket. It was one of those nights where it was “the night”. Every quizzer has these where the questions suit, the current affairs are all stories you know, the wipeout plays into your hands….its bound to happen.

I gathered earlier in the night that the team next to us were the regular winners. He gave the sheet out to them and said “I hope its challenging enough for you” and they had that air about them, regular winners do. I think the problem was here as well we were at this quiz for the first time. As I said the quiz went well. The regular winners handed their sheet in. We had a nice friendly chat to them, talked about a few questions etc.

The scores were read out….Second place was…Regular Winners (I won’t mention names) 42 points, Me and my other half 44 points. We had won, the regular winners looked around the room for who was going to collect the prize, not even considering it could be us. I got up and as I was walking back to the seat the quizmaster said “Well done to the Scrambled Eggheads” to which one of the regular winners shouted out “and their iphone!”. Totally uncalled for. For the next 20 minutes the two elderly gentlemen who had been talking to us very friendly all night simply shunned us, he sat shaking his head. Examining the answer sheets and basically or want of a better word in the huff.

I did not want to leave straight away even though I was ready to, that would add to suspicion and even though I had of course not moved throughout the night and kept my phone well away I was made to feel as if by winning I had done something wrong.

Annoying to say the least! I had done very well to beat teams of larger, older and probably more experienced players and I was made to feel unwelcome and totally out of place. Another example of good quizzing performances getting bad reactions.Being called a cheat doesn’t bother me in the sense that I know I did not cheat and won fair and square but the way in which the treatment afterwards comes its really baffling to me. It has happened on similar occasions before but not to this extremity.

Sunday Quiz

Afternoon folks! The British weather is treating us to a lovely weekend of rain so managed to get the Sunday evening quiz done a little earlier today. Answers in the comment box!


Current Affairs
1. Which former England One-Day Cricket Captain made his professional boxing debut this week?

2. Which famous tea-clipper was reopened by the Queen this week, 5 years after being destroyed by fire

3. Who resigned as Prime Minister of Holland this week?

4. Who was top of the Times Rich List which was released this week, holding onto the position since 2005?

5. The manager of Barcelona announced his intention to leave his post with the club this week. Name him?

General Knowledge

6. Guy Garvey is the lead singer with which band?

7. Jupiter is composed primarily of what element?

8. Name the British submarine which sank the Argentinian cruiser General Belgrano.

9. 1 AU is the mean distance from the earth to where?

10. The Romans called it Dubris. What do well call this English town or city today?

11. Matilda of Boulogne was the wife of which King?

12. The “Famous Players Film Company” established in 1912, was the original name for which film distribution company which is still going strong today?

13. In which annual Rugby fixture, played since 1878, do teams compete for the Babcock Trophy?

14. Who was the first Midfielder to score 100 goals in the Premier League?

15. Who wrote the lyrics and music to “Top Hat”?

16. Scarlett Johansson appears as the Black Widow in which superhero movie currently showing at UK cinemas?

17. R Kelly has been at number 1 in the UK singles charts twice. “I Believe I Can Fly” was the first. But what was his second and last UK number 1?

18. In 1944 he was played by Dick Purcell and in 1957 he was portrayed by Matt Salinger. Name the fictional character?

19. Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck appeared in the original movie before making cameo roles in the 1991 Martin Scorsese remake. Name the film.

20. James Brunot is credited with inventing what popular board game?

Counterpoint

Just a quick update today. It somehow passed me by but the new series of the music quiz Counterpoint has started on Radio 4. Well worth catching up on the iplayer with cracking questions as always!

The Peoples Quiz

Do you remember the Peoples Quiz?

It was aired back in 2007 and featured a whole raft of the giants from the quizzing world. Have a quick check on Youtube and around Wikipedia if you need more information but the reason Im mentioning it today is that I have discovered that the BBC website for the show is still active.

The site contains actual questions used in the show and a decent little quiz game. HERE

Getting a new quiz off the ground...

I suppose this is a question I intend for any experienced quiz masters but any suggestions at all would be useful.

Basically, a friend of mine who is a quizmaster in a few pubs in the region, decided to take on a new quiz. Despite good advertising in a popular local paper and posters in the window only one team showed up, mine! The pub made the decision to cut the quiz back a few weeks, get some interest and try again. My friend has decided he no longer wants to do this quiz on a Monday Night so I may have the option of stepping in.

However, how can I avoid the situation of what happened the first time? The pub has a reputation of being a “dead pub” somewhat but is picking up massively. It has a sports theme and offers etc on matchdays so the trade is there. However, the Monday Night Quiz has attracted little interest so far. How can I change this? What is the best ways? Any tips from people who have taken a new quiz from the ground up to be a success would be much appreciated.

I have a few ideas such as advertising it as a one off quiz at first with a decent prize or even a charity event, get a date about 3 weeks in advance, at the start of a month when people have been paid and get a poster up in the bar to catch the regulars attention.

Any suggestions would be great? Obviously making the quiz fun to help with word of mouth is a given but its initially getting those first people through the door I need advice.

I suppose this is a question I intend for any experienced quiz masters but any suggestions at all would be useful.
Basically, a friend of mine who is a quizmaster in a few pubs in the region, decided to take on a new quiz. Despite good advertising in a popualr local paper and posters in the window only one team showed up, mine! The pub made the decision to cut the quiz back a few weeks, get some interest and try again. My friend has decided he no longer wants to do this quiz on na Monday Night

Mastermind Final

For anyone who may be interested the BBC have moved this years Mastermind Final from the 4th May to the 11th May to make way for coverage of the Snooker final.

Be a Quiz Winner

I think I may have mentioned this before, but this is in reply to a few emails I have had in the last few days asking me if I know of any guide books on how to be a better quizzer. I am in no position to give the advice needed but this book by Mastermind Champion David Clark is a great place to start...

Here is a link to buy the book on Amazon (ebook but you do not need a reader, just download the free software to use on a phone or laptop)

Pub Quiz #4 Answers

1.       Butterfly

2.       Billy Wyman

3.       Matthew Webb

4.       Lynn

5.       George Gershwin

6.       St Moritz, Switzerland

7.       1988 Calgary

8.       Andrew Lloyd Webber

9.       Synchronised

10.   Geordie Shore

11.   Golf

12.   Cricket

13.   Seaplane racing

14.   Squash

15.   Gaelic Football

16.   Tony

17.   Paul

18.   Alan

19.   Tommy

20.   Duncan

21.   The connection is they are all the first names of Steven Coogan characters (Paul Calf, Alan Partridge, Tommy Saxondale, Duncan Thickett)

“I once read a synopsis….”

I was watching an old edition of Eggheads recently and a question on literature came up which drew an interesting comment from Barry Simmons. Now, Barry Simmons is an experienced quizzer, by all accounts a nice bloke and someone who I have the utmost respect for so this is not a dig at anyway in him, just a comment he made interested me.

Barry made it clear he had never read the book in questions, but "once read a synopsis" and got the answer. He got the answer correct, won the round and of course as long as you know the answer it doesn't matter where it came from. But I am using this comment to ask other quizzers if that’s a common approach and how they find it as an effective way to learn?

Of course what we are talking about here is literature, a very broad subject and once which takes time to learn. I have always been the sort of quizzer to actually take the time to read the works, read the novels and plays etc. Of course I use reference books but mainly as a back up for knowledge and a refresher but my initial knowledge of literature comes usually from having read the book. Indeed, I use TV adaptations and films too usually after reading the book. I find this is an enjoyable way of learning and it appease the other half who at least gets to see me when I’m watching the TV versions as opposed to locking myself in the spare room.

I am going slightly of tangent and I realise reading it back this post is a little messy, but basically what I am wondering is how other quizzers go about learning the vast amounts of knowledge needed to be successful in Literature categories? Obviously full knowledge of Shakespeare, Dickens etc is a must but what about the subject in general? Are synopsis the best, time-saving way, considering reading book after book of fiction would cut into other learning time?

Pub Quiz #4

Well folks here is another round of questions for you. Answers as usual in a few days time.

1.       A Red Admiral, a Viceroy and a Painted Lady are all types of what creature?

2.       Who was the bass player for the Rolling stones between 1962-1992?

3.       Who was the first recorded person to swim the English Channel without any aids?

4.       What is the name of Alan Partridge’s long suffering PA in “I’m Alan Partirdge”?

5.       Robert Alda played which famous composer in the 1945 film “Rhapsody in Blue”?

6.       Which was the first location to host the Winter Olympic games twice?

7.       And at which Olympic games did the famous Eddie the Eagle represent the UK?

8.       Who appeared on stage with UK entrant Jade Ewan at the 2009 Eurovision song contest?

9.       Which Gold Cup winner had to be put down after this year’s Grand National?

10.   Shown on MTV which “reality show” set in Newcastle Upon Tyne  stars Jay, Charlotte, Gary and James amongst others?

Sporting Trophies

In which sports would you compete for the following trophies –

11.   The Eisenhower Trophy

12.   Sheffield Shield

13.   Schnieder Trophy

14.   Drsyadale Cup

15.   Sam Mcguire Trophy

Connections

16.   Name the film starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, released in 2011 in which the pair encounter an alien?

17.   The first name of the astronaut who became the first American in space?

18.   Name The Who’s famous Rock Opera movie  directed by Ken Russell that was made in 1975?

19.   In Macbeth, name the father of Malcolm and Donalbin ?

20.    Whats the connection between the above answers?

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is back....applications open!

I meant to mentioned this last week but it slipped my mind. It appears as if Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is returning in July for some Live shows in which members of the general public are getting the chance to compete for the big prize once again. After so many dull celebrity shows it is nice to see the show returning to it's routes.

Even better, no need for costly phone calls this time, applications are being taken online at http://www.itv.com/beontv/

Good luck, my application is of course already in!

Answers to Pub Quiz #3

 Hope you enjoyed the quiz! Here are the answers to the quiz I set a couple of days ago

1.       St Alban

2.       Belgian

3.       Wilfrid Brambell

4.       Christina Ricci

5.       True

6.       Murmation

7.       Colchester

8.       Edict of Milan

9.       Skiing

10.   Gemini

11.   Everything but the Girl

12.   1997

13.   Sunderland

14.   Herring

15.   Robert W. Wilson

16.   Big Brother

17.   Christmas Crackers

18.   Ashes to Ashes

19.   Mother Natures Son

20.   Famous episodes of Only Fools and Horses

Family Fortunes Quizzes/ Rounds.....

Now, having attended a great deal of quizzes over the past few years it may be surprising that this Monday night was the first time I had actually taken part in a Family Fortunes style quiz. I know from other quizzers that this style of quizzing and using these style of rounds is very common but for some reason this week was the first time I have played in one, and to be fair I enjoyed it.

However, the important thing here is that the Family Fortunes quiz was separate from the normal quiz. I can understand the annoyance if this was included in the normal quiz as one of the rounds. Indeed, it really tests a different sort of skill in my opinion and brings more luck into proceedings. Certainly, it is easier to guess at this sort of round and pick up points.

But this Fortunes quiz came at the end of the night, after the quiz had finished and offered Beer Tokens for winners. Everybody took part and looked very keen to do so. The format was the Red tooth style, 10 questions with a double point bonus if you get the top answer in the right box. 60 points on offer and our score of 41 (same as we got in the actual quiz) was enough to take a share of the win and beer tokens.

I think this was a really well put together set from Red Tooth. There were questions I could use my quizzing knowledge to gather, a few silly ones that produced laughs and plenty of variety so everybody in the team could have a go (although only two of us on this occasion). It was a good way to end the night and especially a Monday!

I suppose two questions come from this...

Would I attend "just" a family fortunes quiz? To be honest I do not think I would go out of my way to go to a quiz that was purely based on this. Yes I enjoyed it as part of a wider nights quizzing, but unless I was already in the bar for other reasons and was offered the chance, I would not make a night of just the fortunes quiz.

Do I think Family Fortunes rounds should be included in quizzes? Again I would say no as even though they are fun they work best in a separate game as I mentioned above. I imagine say a 10 point round on family fortunes could really effect the result of a quiz and seeing how its testing a different skills and relies a lot on luck it probably serves best on its own.

Either way, I enjoyed my first family fortunes style quiz at the end of the proceedings in The Isis on Monday! What are your thoughts on these kind of rounds?

Pub Quiz #3

Trying to keep these coming at a nice rate now, had some good responses. Tough connection this week but Im sure some people will get it.

1.       In 2006, a group of COE Clergy campaigned for which saint to replace St. George as the patron Saint of England?

2.       What nationality was the astronomer and Scientist Georges Le Matire who in the 1920’s was one of the early proponents of the Big Bang Theory?

3.       Who played Paul McCartney’s ‘grandfather’ in the Beatles film A Hard Days Night?

4.       Which actress appears in the black and white dancing scenes in Chers video for “The Shoop Shoop Song”?

5.       True or False…..alongside the Hat Tax and Window Tax, there was a Wallpaper Tax in 18^th Century England?

6.       What is the collective term for a gathering of Starlings?

7.       Camulodonum was the first capital of Roman Britain. By what modern name is this city known?

8.       Name the act, issued by Constantine 1, which gave greater protection to Christians across the Roman Empire?

9.       A “Christie” is a manoeuvre is which Sport?

10.   If you were born on the day of the Battle of Waterloo, what star sign would you be?

11.   Which act had hits with “Missing” “Rollercoaster” and “Driving”?

12.   In what year was telephone voting introduced into the Eurovision Song Contest?

13.   In which city could you use the Park Lane Transport Interchange, visit the National Glass Centre and take a walk in Mowbray Park?

14.    From which fish are kippers made?

15.   Arno Penzias, along with who, devised proof of the big bang theory based on detection of cosmic background radiation?

Connections

16.   Name the TV series, the winners of which include, Brian Dowling and Craig Phillips?

17.   On the 25^th December you may find jokes, hats and novelty toys in these?

18.   Name the TV series, a follow up to Life on Mars, with the lead character being played by Phillip Glienster?

19.
   Which Beatles song contains the lyrics “All day long I’m sitting singing songs for everyone, sit beside a mountain stream, she her waters rise, listen  to the pretty sound of music as she flies”?

20.   What connects the above 4 answers?

The Quiz Addict Quiz Trek 2012 #9

The Isis, Sunderland

Since my move to Sunderland I have discovered a number of pubs I simply did not where there. From the outside it is hard to tell where The Isis is, but after one visit I certainly won't forget. I have always struggled to find a decent Monday night quiz wherever I am quizzing so its nice to find somewhere with a good crowd, good quiz and plenty going on.

The Isis has recently been reformed I am told and it shows, its a very traditional, cosy real ale pub in the city centre just enough out of the way to be outside of the bustle and bustle. They call Monday night "The Big Quiz" night as it involves so much more than just the quiz.

I must admit, when I first walked in and saw the barman setting up Red Tooth sheets I was a bit disappointed. You may have heard me mention Red Tooth before and to be honest I quite like the quizzes they produce, which I know isn't a popular opinion amongst quizzers. I was hoping for a original quiz produced by a dedicated quizmaster but nevertheless Red Tooth it was, and just like every other Red Tooth quiz I have done, I enjoyed it!

The quiz seems to be quite popular as they pack a diverse night into the proceedings. The Quiz is the Red Tooth usual with current affairs, pictures, connections, trivia trial, top 5 and wipeout rounds. Apart from some obscure current affairs questions I thought the level was quite good this week. I am always too cautious on the wipeout round though. I managed to name all 5 clubs which Teddy Sheringham had played for, managed to ace the trivia trail round and put a connection together despite failing on one answer. Did struggle on the uk "Top 3 single" with "Sun" in the title though and as I said a few current affairs round. However, considering there were only two people in the team 41/60 was a pleasing score and one we have won a Red Tooth quiz with before. Guess what won it? 42......two teams landed 42 which was a shame but we enjoyed it anyway.

On yet more positive notes about the quiz there was no cheating, no one sneaking to the loo with the mobiles etc......probably because the quizmaster said "Anyone googling will get a good beating". The tone of the whole night is light hearted and fun, ideal for a Monday! The quiz is delivered at a good pace too!

Other events to make the night fun 13-card bingo (you have 13 playing cards per team, the quizmaster goes through his deck and shouts out cards, first team to get rid of 13 win) and a Deal or No Deal game. This is a raffle and if your number comes up you have a go at a version of the game with real boxes and money. 1p to £250 being the range. An offer of £45 was made last night, but greed kicked in and 50p was won!

And the whole night ends with Fun Fortunes from Red Tooth. A family fortuned style game with prizes of beer tokens. I am going to go more into this in another post but suffice to say I did enjoy it, glad it wasn't part of the quiz normal and ended up winning and landing beer tokens for next week! 

All in all then The Isis is a great way to spend a Monday evening and is a warm welcoming, friendly and relaxed pub!