24th November Cup/Plate Away to the Robin Hood

 

Although it was only two weeks since the Lemmings had last played the Robin Hood, here they were again, this time playing away in the Cup.

It was a real pleasure to return to the Robin Hood, as last time the Lemmings played there the pub seemed to be on its last legs with a big question mark over its future. Under the new landlords however it is a warm and welcoming pub with very friendly staff and three hand-pumps including Hobgoblin and Thwaites. There is an extensive food menu and whilst we were unable to take advantage of it, the photographs are very attractive.

The usual contributor to this blog Alan-A-Dale was this time restored to the home team (strength in depth means players rotate) but the Lemmings were confident following their previous win despite Wendy being away with Sunil standing in for her.

And at the end of the first round of twenty questions the home team were reeling – not from the staggering breadth of knowledge displayed by the visitors but because they had completely thrashed the Lemmings with 21 points to a wretched 10; the second round was much closer with 18 to 17 but they returned to form in the  third set with 17 to 8. With the score at 56 to 35 there was then a beer break – perhaps one that “refreshes the parts that others cannot reach” would perhaps strengthen the straw the Lemmings were clutching. But no – round 4 continued the trend 19 to 13. But then the tide turned and the Lemmings put in a crashing 19 points to the Hood’s 15 – only to revert to form with 18 to 14. Final score 108 to 81.  The Lemmings well and truly shot down by the Robin Hood.

Being ever-optimistic the Lemmings can now look forward to a night off in future rounds.

But it was a most enjoyable evening, great atmosphere in a friendly pub rounded off with tasty beef and egg sandwiches – many thanks to the landlord, to the team and as usual the patient and tolerant question master.

And finally may I say how pleased I am that the blog has become a forum for an open exchange of ideas and suggestions – thank you all.

Stitched Up By The Weaver

 

“If we see light at the end of the tunnel, it’s the light of the oncoming train” – Robert Lowell

The Lemmings knew they were up against it for this game as both Bob and Wendy were away on holiday (not together I hasten to add); reserves Tony and Sunil stepped in and both made a creditable score.

Although playing at a disadvantage,the game was not without its moments of humour; Sunil pointed out that part of question 60 of the General Knowledge is a pizza at Pizza Express; as usual Nick struggled with names, in particular that of the new Bond girl - then immediately after passing it over remembered it was Monica Belucci. And Fortune smiled on the Lemmings in the form of questions on local beers and pubs and they were ahead at the end of the first specialist round.

Despite this, however, the Lemmings were soon floundering and at the end of the Specialist were losing 64 to 38. This pattern was to be repeated for the rest of the evening.

The questions were not well received, in particular for lack of balance – very obscure difficult questions were followed by the simplest and obvious even though in two of the specialist rounds only one 3 was scored: the Sport and Money rounds.

As mentioned before the Weaver has had a substantial renovation, has introduced a wider selection of beers (including their own Weaver brewed by Tetleys) and have a very welcoming landlord who had set aside a corner of the large room for the quiz.

Individual scores were Tony 9/9 Sunil 9/6 Nick 12/12 and Tomo 3/21; conferred points were 3/17 with 2/2 pass-overs – the Weaver picked up 9/11 pass-overs. The Weavers total of pass-overs was mainly through the Lemmings quickly passing over the question so as to cut down on the home team’s conferring. Final Score 180 to 105.

Despite the crushing defeat it was actually a very pleasant evening with lots of laughter, sympathetic questioning from the Dolphin Dragons’ question master and tasty sandwiches to round off the night. Many thanks to the Weaver landlord, the team and the question master.

10th November Home to the Robin Hood

Once again the Lemmings were crossing swords with the Robin Hood who had beaten the Lemmings into second place in last season’s B League and the two teams had progressed to the A League together. No hard feelings of course …. In fact Bob has known one of their team for over 20 years dating back to the old CAP team of fond memory.

The Lemmings sister team the Rams had set all the questions that produced some odd results. Tomo seemed to be heading for a full house of 24 points in the Specialist rounds but the last two questions eluded him - he still got a remarkable 18. On the other hand Nick’s questions just did not fall for him and he struggled along with just 3. Nevertheless they were highly marked as they were not the run of the mill quiz-book type but were still gettable although rather hard.  There has been a suggestion that the final question of the General Knowledge be nominated for the Nine banded armadillo trophy –  would it have been commented on a lot at the time so not so obscure?  Let’s see what others think. On  the other hand, Q6 in Geography is about a language spoken only in one country and is so little known that we all thought it was Aramaic, the language of Jesus.

Individual scores were Bob 9/12, Wendy 12/15, Nick 3/15, Tomo 18/15 conferred points 11/19 with pass-overs 4/6; the visitors picked up 2/4 pass-overs. The large number of conferred points and low number of pass-overs tells its own story.

Thanks to the question master who raced through the questions the quiz was over quite early and the evening was rounded off with an outstanding supper of sausages and onion gravy with bread rolls. Thank you Brian, the Robin Hood and the question master for an enjoyable evening

3rd November–Local Derby

 

The first local derby for a long time – the Lemmings were playing the Rams in the Waters Green Tavern.

In a rather underhand trick the Lemmings arrived early and commandeered the table that both teams prefer, paying scant attention to the protests of the two regulars who were displaced. This didn’t seem to faze the Rams overmuch so the scheme backfired and alienated two possible supporters at the same time.

The Tavern of course maintained its reputation for having the best ales for miles around and this was no exception – special mention must be made of the remarkable Mallinsons New World Pale using a blend of galaxy and simcoe hops that boosted the hopes if not the abilities of the Lemmings.

As usual distractions had been arranged – Manchester United were playing CSKA Moscow away - a restrained and modest affair compared to the ladies darts game that tried to drown out the question master in the Tavern.

The struggling question master is well known to readers of this blog – it was Alan A Dale who adds depth and analysis in the comments.

The questions had been set by the Pack Horse Bowling Club (specialist) and the Wharfies (General Knowledge) and whilst the Lemmings liked the specialist very much they were trailing by 14 points at the end of the series. The General Knowledge  were not so popular and whilst a little ground was made up in the early questions the Rams gradually pulled further ahead.

Individual scores were Bob 12/15, Wendy 12/15, Nick 9/9 and Tomo 9/6 conferred 7/14 and pass-overs 4/7; the Rams collected 9/13 pass-overs. Final score 119 to 149.

The evening was rounded off with a superb cheese board with a peppery salad that Nick nearly missed because he was furthering international relations with two attractive Polish ladies.

Many thanks to Stephen for the supper, to the question master for his light touch and perseverance, and to the Rams who were restrained in victory.

United scraped through 1-0 but it is not clear who won the tarts darts but it was with three falls or a knockout.