12th March Home to Sutton Mutton

Just three games to the end of the season and all teams are looking over their shoulder – are they safe? Will they go up? Are they relegated? This game was between the two teams at the bottom of the B League and the Lemmings were struggling to drag themselves up the table to avoid relegation.

But Fate struck before even the game started – both teams were seated and ready to go when the visitors asked who was asking the questions – the Lemmings were due to provide the Question master!! PANIC!!! Nick rang Sunil to see if he could make it and then a discussion with Bob and Tomo about who would be question master – this problem was resolved when Becky gamely volunteered to be QM even though she has never done it before. The visitors graciously  gave the Lemmings extra time to allow Sunil to get to the Tavern and the game eventually started.

The Specialist questions had been set by the Harrington Academicals and were much appreciated including a round on the final words of films and two-wheeled transport. At the end of the Specialist the Lemmings were ahead by a nose with 59 to 54. The General Knowledge helped the Lemmings strengthen their lead with a final score of 136 to 107.

Whilst in no way a criticism of the questions it was unfortunate that some of Sunil’s questions were actually vision-based (colour of bathing suits in Baywatch for instance) – not sure what we do about that.

Individual scores were Bob 9/15, Sunil 12/3, Nick 12/12 and Tomo12/12; conferred points were 7/25 with pass overs 7/15. The visitors picked up 6/7 pass overs.

Becky deserves a special mention for her questioning – she did very well indeed especially as this was her first attempt – thank you Becky, and to Brian for a fine selection of sandwiches and to the Sutton Mutton for a most enjoyable game.

5th March Question Masters

Having set the General Knowledge questions, the Lemmings were this week question masters in the C League.
Nick and Sunil were at the Plough for the Horntails game against the Park Taverners to oversee a very friendly game with lots of laughter rounded off with very tasty sandwiches.
Sunil got a special thank you as it was his birthday and his brailler had fascinated everyone.
Bob covered the game in Rushton Spencer (the home team won)  whilst Tomo officiated at the British Flag.who lost to the Nags Head.
Also see the following request for potential Masterminds:
From: Emily Starns (Belfast) <EmilyS.HTH@Hattrick.com>
Sent: 07 March 2019 11:11
To: markw@maccql.com
Subject: Mastermind 2019
Hello Mark,
Hope you're well
My name is Emily, I'm a Casting Researcher working on the new series of Mastermind. We're currently scouring the UK to find the next bunch of contestants to sit in our iconic black chair. If you’d like to be in with a chance of winning one of our coveted glass bowls please email mastermind.hth@hattrick.com ASAP to request an application.
I was also wondering if you would be happy to help us out by posting our flyer on your website/social? It would be hugely appreciated!
Any questions feel free to drop me an email.
Thanks so much,
Emily


Someone must be interested

26th February Away to the Park Taverners

Always a pleasure to meet again with the Park Taverners, adversaries and friends over many years enhanced by this being the hottest winter day since records began.

The Park Tavern is a very lively pub with two quiz teams, a weekly film and a wide selection of ales from the Vale brewery in Bollington – and an excellent scibar every month with outstanding speakers in various scientific subjects.

The questions had all been set by the Dolphin and both teams found the Specialist in particular to be very difficult, reflected in the comparatively low scores for the Visitors, although the Lemmings conferred well. The Taverners did better than the Lemmings though with 46 points to the Lemmings’ 43 – which goes to show that although hard they were well balanced.

The General Knowledge rounds were more popular and once again the Taverners came home a nose ahead of the Lemmings with 80 to 75 taking the game with 126 to 118 – 8 points clear.

Individual scores were Bob 6/27 Becky 0/6, Nick 6/12 Tomo 12/6; conferred points 13/18, pass-overs 6/6 whilst the Taverners picked up 6/8 pass-overs.

The game was played in excellent spirits with jokes and banter and rounded off with a generous supper of very tasty nachos – many thanks to the landlady, to the home team and to the question master from the British Flag.

19th February Plate Semi Final

This week the Lemmings were host to the Harrington B team – bridges had already been built as with them we are providing the questions on 5th March and vetting is well advanced.

As usual the Lemmings tried to manoeuvre the visitors towards the open fire which provides a very efficient distraction as the smell of burning flesh fills the pub. Sadly they spotted this and moved further away, There were compensations however as they had brought along Lola a delightful (and very well behaved) chocolate labrador that in turn provided a distraction for the Lemmings!! Nick wrongly said Eric Clapton had sung about her but was gently corrected – it was The Kinks!. Not a good start!!

The questions (Rushton Diamonds and Park Taverners) were very good and only a tiny handful was not got by both teams and the rounds were fairly evenly matched.

After the first round of 20 questions the Lemmings had stolen a slender lead with 20 to 15 but the next round was level with both teams scoring 20. The round leading up to the half-way mark saw the Lemming graze through with 14 to 13 – a narrow lead of 6.

The second half was a little more favourable to the Lemmings who got 22 in the first round to the visitors’ 16; next twenty was 18 to the visitors; and the final round saw the Lemmings seal victory with 20 to 13 and a final score of 114 to 93.

Tim from the Park Timers controlled the game with good humour and the evening was rounded off with an excellent cheeseboard with grapes, chutney and fresh baguettes. Many thanks Brian, to the visitors and to Tim for a very pleasant evening.

5th February Home to the Harrington Academicals

A game we’d been dreading – when we played the Academicals in the first leg the Lemmings were given a sound thrashing by over 50 points and at the last reckoning the Academicals were sitting proudly at the top of the B League having lost just one game, But bloodied but unbowed the Lemmings welcomed the visitors to a glowing fire, an excellent selection of fine ales and smiling faces behind the bar.

The Specialist we thought to be very good, with a round in which all the answers were fish-related and a good varied selection for the others. Fortunately they fell very much in line with the Lemmings’ interests and they had built a surprising lead of 58 to the visitors’ 33 at the break.

The General Knowledge were not so well received especially having avoided football in the Sports round the GK was rather top heavy with soccer questions of one form or another.However both teams played on gamely in excellent spirits – there were two occasions when possible contentious points were awarded to the opposing team with good grace.

Again the Lemmings did well taking the GK with 73 to the visitors’ 63 and taking the game with 137 to 96.

Individual scores were Bob 3/15, Becky 3/6, Nick 18/9 and Tomo 9/12; conferred points were 15/20 with 10/11 pass-overs. The visitors collected 1/5 pass-overs.

It was a very pleasant evening rounded off with a vary varied cheeseboard from Brian with fresh baguette and biscuits with chutney – many thanks for Brian, to the Academics and to Anne the patient and genial question master

29 January Away to Rushton Diamonds

Or at least we should have been but the snow isolated Bob in Rainow and we had no means of making the journey.
But anyone who did play please feel free to make comments here.

22 January – Plate Quarter Final

Yes it’s winter and with the first flakes of snow comes disaster!

First Bob who lives in the hills, rang – roads are closed and he doesn’t think he can make it.

Then Sunil, in Coventry for a meeting, rang to say his taxi failed to arrive, and he has missed his train but the next one is due to arrive at 8 o’clock. He rang later to say the second train was running 20 minutes late.

Looks like we’d be a team of two but after a flurry of phone calls managed to get Becky to play.

Fortunately we were playing very good friends the Park Tavern who were happy to agree to a delayed start and the game started with Sunil’s arrival.

As always all questions were conferred (if individual scores had been taken Tomo would have shined) and the two teams fought a very close battle.

After the first 20 questions the Lemmings had slipped behind with 14 to the visitors’ 15 but both teams scored 18 in the next round. The Lemmings then fell further behind with 17 to the Park’s 19 – now a deficit of 3!

But then the Lemmings’ luck changed as they took the next round15 to 12 making the scores level before moving on to a strong finish in the next two rounds with 18 to 12 and 16 to 12 – a final score of 98 to 88.

As always with the visitors it was a very pleasant game and the question master Keith was a fair and flexible official.

The evening drew to a close with a fine selection of sandwiches – thank you Brian, the Park Taverners and to Keith.

Here’s hoping the weather improves.;

15th January – Away to the British Flag

It seemed ages since the Lemmings last visited  the Flag as the hosts had enjoyed something of a sabbatical in the A League before returning to the B League and giving the Lemmings a drubbing of nearly 30 points in the first game of the season.

The pub is a cosy local that despite being a free house is still selling Robinsons Unicorn and others from the former owner and a guest that for our visit was Marston’s Pedigree all well kept.

The evening started with black clouds on the horizon as Becky was not at the Waters Green Tavern the  customary gathering point (she had made her own way to the Flag setting the alarm bells ringing) and the question master was stuck in traffic following a serious accident between Hazel Grove and Macclesfield. Sighs of relief when both Becky and the question master arrived but the Lemmings were obviously a bit jumpy.

The Specialist rounds set by the Nags Head were interesting and clearly a lot of thought had gone into them – one round on trains in film and another on various aspects of magic were different and enjoyable. It was a keenly matched game and at the end of the Specialist the Lemmings were trailing by just 8 points with 47 to the Flag’s 55. We’ve made up bigger deficits in the past.

The General Knowledge questions had been set by the Robin Hood and were rather patchy with too much effort on pairing the questions. They did however manage to score this season’s first nomination for the coveted Nine Banded Armadillo trophy for which the answer was kenning described in Wikipedia as “a type of circumlocution, in the form of a compound that employs figurative language in place of a more concrete single-word noun. Kennings are strongly associated with Old Norse and later Icelandic and Old English poetry.” No-one in the room had ever heard of this!

Again these rounds were closely fought but the Lemmings could not break the Flag’s lead and the teams ended with equal points, 77 each with the Flag victorious with 132 to the Lemmings 124.

Individual scores were Bob 6/15, Becky 3/12, Nick 6/15 and Tomo 15/12; conferred points were 12/10 with 5/12 pass-overs – the Flag picked up 5/18pass-overs.

It was a pleasant game rounded off with a selection of sandwiches – many thanks to the landlord, to the question master and the home team.

8th January Home to the Nags Head

This was the half-way point in the League and now all the games played so far will have the venue changed (home/away). It was almost a local derby as the Nags is only around the corner from the Tavern, and the quiz team are old friends and adversaries.

The Specialist questions had been set by the Park Taverners and were very well received – they covered a wide range of subjects with a round on islands and clearly a lot of thought had gone into the setting. The scores at the ne of the Specialist were equal with 72 each.

The General Knowledge rounds set by the Rushton Diamonds were less kind to the Lemmings who saw the Nag’s Head slipping ahead, until they had built a substantial lead of 98 to 70 finishing the game with 169 to142 (Nick’s scoring may have lost a point there).

Individual scores were Bob 15/15, Sunil 18/9, Nick 12/12 and Tomo 18/12 – Conferred points were 6/13 with 3/9 pass-overs whilst the visitors gathered 3/12 pass-overs.

It is interesting to look at the conferred points as usually the Lemmings get a very high score here but only two questions were conferred in the Specialist which reflects the excellent balance and difficulty of the rounds.

Special thanks are due to Brian the question master who kept the game flowing with a light and humorous touch, to the visitors for a pleasant and jocular game and finally to Brian for an excellent selection of sandwiches.

11th December–Last Game of 2018

For this, the last game of 2018 , the Lemmings were playing the Plough Horntails old friends for many years and this last game had a rather festive feel about it with much laughter and fun – so much so in fact that a bottle of sherry and mince pies would have seemed appropriate.

The Specialist questions had been set by the Park Taverners and were no doubt the most innovative and imaginative of the season – the Geography round was a set of photographs of islands from across the world, an alliterative round in which each of the answers (names) first and second names began with the same letter and another round in which players were presented with words from which all vowels and spaces had been removed. All very different, nicely balanced and interesting.

At the end of the Specialist the Lemmings were rather surprised to find they had nosed ahead with a lead of 64 to 52 – but could they maintain this?

The General Knowledge questions had been set by the Chester Rd Tavern and covered a wide range of topics and the Lemmings slipped back a little – but only by 1 losing 77 to 78.

It seems the Lemmings have now broken into their stride after a very slow start to the season as they finished the game with 141 to the visitors’ 130.

Whilst there was fun and merriment throughout the game two incidents nearly brought the house down: the first was when the expected answer was Izaak Walton but the reply give was J P Hartley!! And whilst Bob always has a joke for every occasion this was a first airing for his understanding of Harvey’s Bristol Cream was a breast enlarger!!

Individual scores were Bob 9/15, Becky 15/6, Nick 9/9 and Tomo 21/15; conferred points were 3/17 with 7/15 pass-overs and the visitors picked up 6/11 pass-overs.

The evening was rounded off with hot dogs and mustard supplied by Stephen the manager for which all were extremely grateful in these cold and windy times. It was a perfect evening so many thanks to Stephen, to Pete from the Park Taverners for his patience and endurance as question master, to both question setting teams and of course to the Horntails – we look forward to seeing them again.

The Lemmings offer festive greetings to all in the Macclesfield Pub Quiz and to those that follow it – MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

4th December–Away to the Sutton Mutton

The Lemmings were away to the imaginatively named the Sutton Mutton. This team originally played at The Lamb in Sutton but after a takeover, a makeover and change of name to the Sutton Gamekeeper the establishment now prioritises food (admittedly good) and the quiz team moved across the road to the village hall . This is a fairly large building, nicely decorated for the festivities and with three handpumps and a selection of keg beers. And the quiz team also changed their name to emphasise the long-standing continuity.

Although the faces were not familiar the Muttons have retained the sense of humour and fun that the Lamb always enjoyed and it was a very pleasant game

The Specialist questions were very good and although they did not particularly fall easily for the Lemmings they were marked highly – a round on theme music was good and imaginative although Nick failed to recognise the description of his favourite advert – the old English sheepdog singing Freddy Mercury!! . At the end of the Specialist the Mutton had taken a pretty good lead of 57 to 49 and the Lemmings are no longer smug about catching up on the General Knowledge.

The GK questions were also enjoyable one incident in particular causing gusts of laughter: following a question about Dick Turpin’s horse, the QM muddled the answers and said that fifth in line to the British throne was … Black Bess!!

Nevertheless the game continued with laughter and banter both sides scoring well and following recent experiences the Lemmings were a little surprised to find that they had taken the GK with 96 points to the home team’s 87 giving a final score of 145 for the Lemmings and 144 to the Mutton – a very close finish to a most enjoyable game.

Individual scores were Bob 3/18, Sunil 9/15, Nick 9/12, Tomo 12/21, conferred points 12/20, pass-overs 4/10 with the home team collecting 4/5 pass-overs.

The evening was rounded off with a tasty selection of sandwiches – thank you to the village hall, to the Question Master (also from the Mutton) and to the home team for an excellent game.

13th November–home to the Park Taverners

Always a pleasure to meet up with the Park Taverners, friends over many years.

Once again the Lemmings were playing at home and were hoping for a change in their fortunes not having won a game this season.

We very much liked the Specialist questions which showed a lot of imagination, including one round with each answer beginning with the letter O (although the Lemmings shamefully failed to get One Flew Over the Cuckopos Nest – as did the visitors!). Nevertheless the Lemmings continued with their previous form and at the end of the Specialist were trailing with 47 to the visitors’ 65 – a deficit of 18!!

The General Knowledge questions were also very good - and somehow stirred the Lemmings into action as they finished with 102 to the visitors’ 81 scraping home by 3 with 149 to146. It must be said this was due in no small part to Tomo’s remarkable 45 and a solid performance by Bob with 36.

Individual scores were Bob 12/24, Becky 0/9, Nick 3/18 and Tomo 18/27 conferred points 10/16 with pass-overs 4/8. The park collected 6/2 pass-overs.

A most enjoyable evening so many thanks to the Park Taverners, to question master Phil and to Brian and Stephen for a splendid selection of sandwiches to round off the evening.

The Lemmings are question masters (among others) for the next two weeks and will next play on 4th December.

30th October–First Round of the Knockouts

For this first round of the knockout competitions the Lemmings were playing at home against the Sutton Club, a team that has spent many years playing in the League; not only were they met with a blazing fire and a fine selection of ales, but there was a very special welcome as playing for them was Wendy, formerly a stalwart of the Lemmings and who is still sadly missed.

The questions had been set by the Nags Head and British Flag and covered a wide variety of subjects. In the first round (20 questions ) the Lemmings held a slender lead with 13 to 10 – quite a comfort after the serious beatings they had suffered so far!

Round 2 however the visitors came bouncing back finishing with 11 points to the Lemmings’ 7 – they had stolen the lead.

Bloodied but unbowed the Lemmings stormed into the third round with 21 to the visitors’ 12 a satisfying lead of 8.

The Sutton Cub then rallied to take round 4 with 14 to the Lemmings’ 13 – catching up!

In the fifth round they were even better with 12 to the Lemmings’ 7 – a lot now hung on the final round as the visitors were just 2 points behind with 59.

Could the Lemmings cling on for their first win of the season? No!!! – They were consistent with earlier games scoring only 8 to the Sutton Club’s 13 losing the game with 69 to the visitors’ 72.

No complaints, the questions were fine, it was a very friendly atmosphere with lots of jokes and banter and Alastair the question master did an excellent job. Maybe the Lemmings should mug up on horse racing!

A tasty selection of sandwiches and lots of hugs and kisses for Wendy rounded off a very pleasant evening

23rd October–Away to the Harrington Academicals

The Lemmings got off to a messy start when five people turned up expecting to play, and once again Sunil wended his weary way home alone. The Academicals already have three in the top ten scorers and surprisingly the Lemmings having lost every game so far have two, Bob and Tomo. Should be a close game.

Seems ages since the Lemmings last played at the Harrington with fond memories of the late Mrs Bailey the former landlady who ruled the pub with a rod of iron and and an even stronger sharp tongue. Tomo has more poignant memories as when he asked the questions there last season Adum from our sister team fell and broke his foot struggling on with the game in agony!!

We thought the questions were very good and imaginative, with a very different round on isles and islands of the UK and a picture round on bald-headed men (with verbal descriptions for the visually impaired!!). Even so at the end of the Specialist the Lemmings were trailing with 45 to the home team’s 64 – but they’ve made up such a deficit several times in the past.

In the General Knowledge each of the Lemmings scored better but it was not enough and they lost by 107 to 75 making the final score 171 to 120.

So, nothing if not consistent,  the Lemmings went down with another huge deficit and seem to be a reflection of the town’s football team who lost 5-0 to Northampton on the night (although they have had one win!!!).

So, looking forward to the Cup/Plate competition next week when we play the Sutton Club and perhaps a change of fortunes.

Individual scores were Bob 15/18,  Becky3/12, Nick 6/6. Tomo 9/18, Conferred 6/15, pass-overs 2/6 and the Academicals picked up 9/8

The meeting was rounded off with a selection of tasty sandwiches from the current landlord – many thanks to the landlord, to the Academicals and to the question master from the Plough Horntails.

16th October Home to the Rushton Diamonds

It was a pleasure to meet these old rivals again and they received a warm welcome to the Tavern. A glowing fire had been lit, there was the usual excellent choice of real ales and no distractions from other games or competitions – a perfect setting for an evening of gentle banter and quizzing.

The Lemmings were in buoyant mood as after the sound thrashing last week things could only get better.They had suffered heavily losing by 28 points and were confident they would never see such a deficit again.

However they got off to a very slow start, Sunil leading the field with 9 Bob and Tomo separating him from Nick’s 0!! And at the end of the Specialist rounds the Lemmings were trailing with 33 to the Diamonds’ 66, already a greater difference than last week’s entire game!! 

The Lemmings do not usually like to complain about the questions and in fact the questions themselves were OK. But the Lemmings did feel strongly that there was much imbalance on the evening – had they started with second in the Specialist they felt sure they would have achieved a much better result, a feeling that is supported with a glance at the scores below. But, to be fair, when we questioned other teams they had not noticed any imbalance.

The Lemmings did however have one stroke of luck when Sunil was asked to say what is the Prdsall Chord which he had recently visited with Nick on a historical walk about the birth of the railways.

Whilst the Lemmings fared better in the General Knowledge rounds they still lost by 71 to 97 and the inevitable question is raised – is this a record?

Despite the deflating run of play, it was still a very pleasant evening with a lot of friendly banter, good humour and a joke from Bob that may have been heard before.

Individual scores were Bob 6/21 Sunil 9/12 Nick 0/15 Tomo 3/21 Conferred 13/10 with 2/2 pass-overs – the Diamonds collected 9/11 pass-overs.

All the questions and results are (or soon will be) available here 

The evening was rounded off with a very tasty selection of sandwiches along with a large bowl of Brian’s real twice-cooked chips – many thanks Brian, the Diamonds and the question master.

Home to the British Flag 9th October

As twilight fell over the long hot summer dawn broke over the new season of the Macclesfield Pub Quiz League.

The Lemmings welcomed the British Flag back to the B League, mostly sporting bright new tans and as keen as the Lemmings to get off to a good start. Some of the questions fell into the Lemmings’ lap – three on Croatia whence Nick had just returned and 3 or 4 on Australia all of which fell to Becky who had spent some time there.

Nick struggled as usual with names but conferring saved the day – in fact only Tomo scored more than the conferred points – see below.

The questions were of a very high order, as we have come to expect of the first game of the season, with no challenges and high scores.

It was a game with much laughter and banter and an excellent start to the season.At the half-way point the Lemmings were trailing by 71 to 57 but have made up such a deficit in the past. Unfortunately this was not the case and the general knowledge result showed the Flag moving further ahead with 103 to 87, final score 174 to 146.

Individual scores were Bob 5/21 Becky 9/9 Nick 6/15 and Tomo 12/21 conferred points were 13/13 with 4/8 pass-overs. The Flag picked up 5/8.

A fine finish to the evening was a superb stew with slices of baguette provided by landlord Brian.

Many thanks to Brian, to the Flag and to the question master Alasdair from the Nags Head.

27th March The Final Countdown

The curtain was falling on the last League games of the season. The Lemmings were playing their sister team the Rams who were first equal in the B League with the Royal Oak and a game in hand. The Lemmings meanwhile were in a comfortable mid-table obscurity position of fourth and resolved to defeat with dignity.

The Specialist questions were very interesting and the Lemmings marked them highly, despite losing that group with 37 to the Rams’ 59 – everything going to plan and as Bob pointed out they were looking worried.

General Knowledge were also challenging and interesting and the Lemmings steeled themselves for the confirmation of their ambitions. But no!! They took these rounds with 89 to 67 winning the game with 126 to 125 – a very pleasing result of crushed ambition. A fine end to the season that did not affect the Rams’ promotion and the Lemmings remain in fourth.

Individual scores were Bob 3/24, Sunil 0/12, Nick 6/12, Tomo 15/18; conferred points 11/8, pass-overs 2/15 while the Rams collected 7/15 pass overs.

The evening was rounded off with a fine chicken curry and rice with naan – a splendid end to a great game and a truly enjoyable season. Many thanks to Brian for his support throughout the season, to the Rams for a good-humoured game, to the question master Alasdair from the Nag’s Head for his firm but light-hearted control of the game and finally to Mark for his unflagging work throughout the season to keep all Leagues running smoothly.

And finally up the road Macc Town FC regained the top spot in the League with three points clear after a 1-0 victory over Gateshead scored in the 88th minute, another last-minute lifesaver!

20th March - It Shouldn’t Happen To A Vet

A frequent comment on the results sheets when they are handed in is “Were these vetted” – sadly the questions this week were not. The General Knowledge were sent for vetting two weeks before the quiz but there was no response from the paired team. On the other hand the Specialist were received on the Friday before the quiz leaving no time to make thorough changes although the Lemmings did point out one inaccuracy that was corrected in the printout. But then it got worse!!! At 5.30 on Tuesday evening Mark discovered that only the Specialist questions had been printed and delivered which meant frantic printing and copying (fortunately with the key to the photocopier room) of the General Knowledge questions. Crisis was averted by the usual calm, orderliness of the Quiz League but it was a situation that should not have arisen.

Sunil asked the questions at the Plough (again with his brailler) which saw a very friendly game against third-placed Nags Head with a couple of queries that would have been avoided had there been any serious vetting: Earth being the fourth largest planet (is that starting from the smallest, or should it read terrestrial planet?) and as Churchill was Prime Minister twice the answer to his predecessor would have been ambiguous so a supplementary was used.

Bob covering the Harrington also had problems with the size of Earth in a very friendly game which saw the Royal Oak continue their winning ways against the Harrington B.

Tomo with assistance from Becky (who emerged as a very confident scorer and interpreter of vagueness)  oversaw the Rams defeat the Harrington Academicals.

So with just one more game for each team to play there was no change at the top of the B League and it seems unlikely there will be any.

13th March – An Evening of two ‘alves

This week the Lemmings welcomed the Plough Horntails for their penultimate game (the Horntails still have a game in hand). The evening started very well as there were peals of laughter by the time the question master arrived and things just got better.

The first round was Dumb Britain, a little confusing at first but very good indeed once understood. We were given questions taken from various quiz shows to which we were required to give the correct answer – and were then given the wrong answer given in the show – absolutely hilarious. The sport round in keeping with current concerns was about women’s sport while the arts and entertainments round was just what the Lemmings love – a lot of ballet, opera, art and literature – all to the Lemmings’ strengths but rarely called for. Remaining rounds were equally good (although out-of-towners probably struggled with the food and drink round) and were marked very highly accordingly. The Lemmings had stolen a lead at the end of the Specialist with 64 to 47.

General knowledge rounds were also good and they contained more than usual cultural questions that added power to the Lemmings’ elbow. The Lemmings took these rounds 103 to 75 making the final score 167 to122. This is probably the highest score the Lemmings have got for many seasons and is a tribute to the teamwork displayed.

Individual scores were Bob 15/21, Becky 9/12, Nick 12/’27 and Tomo 15/21; conferred points were 8/14 with 5/8 pass-overs; the visitors collected 5/5 pass-overs.

Many thanks are due to Brian for a delicious sausage casserole with bread, to Stuart the question master for his humorous control of the game, to the Horntails for probably the best game of the season and to the Harrington Academicals and Park Taverners for excellent questions..

Meanwhile some 20 miles away another clash of teams took place – Manchester United played Seville and lost 2-1 after a lifeless performance that showed none of the flair and attacking football that was the hallmark of Sir Alex Ferguson’s tenure. Mourinho’s cautious and boring style violates United’s history of attacking football and entertaining games which go back to its origins providing relief for Manchester’s workers. A travesty – no wonder Fergie looked furious as United were booted out of the Champions league.

Perhaps I should add a little information about not allowing anonymous comments - it is not to force contributors to disclose full details but maybe first name and the team played for - I really don't want to see it lead to a reduction in the number of contributors

6th March–Back at the Harrington

This week we played the sister team of last week’s opponents, the Academicals but with an added bonus. On this visit we learned more of the labyrinthine layout of the pub. On arrival there were diners in the room last week’s contest was held  that caused some consternation but we were then told our venue was in the upper parlour – yes the upper parlour!! This must have been reserved for Mrs Bailey’s very special customers (perhaps even the member of the Robinson family who lives in the village although I think they fell out when Robbies insisted on installing hand-pumps rather than carrying jugs from the cellar). It was furnished with a beautiful polished wooden table illuminated with candles – the visitors felt guilty putting beer glasses down and were relieved when beer mats appeared.

The specialist rounds were interesting and the palindromes were a bit of a change and by the end of the Specialist the Lemmings had managed to build a healthy lead of 58 to 46. The general knowledge were also set by the Dolphin Dragons and again played to the visitors’ strengths  taking 86 to 71. Final score 144 to 117.

Mention must also be made of the question master Mike who efficiently kept the game moving with a firm hand on timing and a light touch and sense of humour.

Individual scores were Bob 6/21, Sunil 6/9, Nick 18/9 and Tomo 9/21; conferred points 14/19, pass-overs 5/7 and the home team picked up 1/5 pass-overs.

Once again we were delighted with a generous selection of sandwiches – many thanks to the landlord and very pleasant and helpful staff, to Mike and to the jolly players of the Academicals.