22nd October–home to The Dolphin

After a nerve-racking game against the Dolphin Dragons last week the Lemmings were facing their sister team The Dolphin in the first of a run of home games. Yet despite the formidable reputation of the visitors, the Lemmings were unfazed as once again we had our trusty mascot Rosie complete with flashing collar, and as that great quizzer in the sky Alexander Pope has said “Hope springs eternal”.

The questions were well balanced but there was perhaps an over-emphasis on celebrity game shows and a question on how many prime ministers had served in the 20th century drew criticism as even if one could count a mental list there was insufficient time to do so.

The question master from the British Flag put in a sterling performance despite considerable opposition from the amazonian ladies’ darts teams (not pictured,) remaining unflustered despite the noise.

The Lemmings remained disciplined throwing nothing away and Wendy in particular startled us all several times by dragging something from the deepest recesses of her skull when all others hadn’t a clue!!Even so, it came as something of a surprise at the half-way stage to find that it was level pegging with 49 each – Rosie’s collar blinked!!

The General Knowledge questions were very varied ranging from mythology to advertising slogans via London statues testing a wide range of knowledge that seemed to reflect the Lemmings’ interests.

Scores for the evening were Bob 9/18 Wendy 15/9  Nick 6/15 Tomo 6/18 Conferred 9/13 Pass-overs 4/12.

Scores for the General Knowledge were 85 to 71 in the Lemmings’ favour, final score being 134 to 120. Rosie’s collar was spinning!!

It was a very pleasant game, not taken too seriously, rounded off with a fine selection of cheeses with biscuits and warm baguettes.

Thank you Brian, the Dolphin and well done the question master.

And finally we are proud to introduce the trophy for the nine-banded armadillo award although there are as yet no nominations.

NEW SEASON – NEW NAME

 

At the end of the last season, the Phoenix had achieved their long-held goal of rising from the ashes of the B League into the celestial heights of the A League – which means that their name no longer had any relevance and a new one was called for, more in keeping with their prospects in the new season.

After much deliberation the team decided on another beast who’s activities have often been misunderstood but do seem to presage the future.

So it was with much trepidation that the team headed for the Dolphin for the first game of the season. The pub has recently had a complete refurbishment and is now much brighter whilst retaining its very friendly atmosphere, and the Dolphin Dragons team has been sitting comfortably in the A League for many years. It is also one of the most reliable of the town’s pubs for the quality of the beer (Robinsons).

There was a bit of a query about allowing our sole mascot Rosie into the pub but we eventually resolved that and she did us proud, sporting her new flashing collar.

The questions had been set by the Ox-Fford and were very well received with both teams scoring well and never separated by more than three points as the game edged towards a tense last round with good humour and banter. As was to be expected in the A League there were relatively few pass-overs.

Individual scores were Bob 6/27, Wendy 12/27, Nicki 15/21 and Tomo 15/21 with conferred points 9/10 and pass-overs 6/5. The final score 174 each – a draw!!!

On reflection, some tactical errors cost the Lemmings a win, in particular Nick’s culinary pedantry about the ingredients of a vindaloo cost a valuable point.

Special mention must be made of the quizmaster Paul Morrisey who kept the quiz rolling along with a deft hand and good humour and made the evening such a pleasant one, rounded off with a generous dish of chicken curry with real chips.

Many thanks to Paul, the Dolphin pub and the Dragons for a great quiz evening

A New Season

 

The cool mists of autumn are edging the eccentric days of summer into cloudy memories of floods, heatwaves, holidays and political demonstrations.

Among the memories is the annual party hosted by the Waters Green Phoenix that started as a celebration when they were promoted to the A League many years ago attended by the team, substitutes and partners/wives; the next year was a bit larger when the team were relegated back to the B League and has grown every year since until now about 70 attend. The Phoenix have now again been promoted so next year’s will celebrate relegation as the team name has been changed to the Lemmings.

As usual the season began with the Plate Final, this time between the Plough Taverners and the Park Taverners who faced a varied collection of questions in a very closely fought battle. For the first few rounds the Park edged it with slight margins so there was a difference of 10 points at the half-way point. But the Plough fought back so that with just ten questions left the scores were dead level and the teams matched each other blow for – in the end it was question 119 that decided the issue and the mighty Plough won with 81 to 79. It was a great contest!!

The final was followed by the AGM which as usual took about 10 minutes as the Executive and excellent secretary had done most of the spade work – details will appear in News and Views – see the link at right.

Onwards to a new season!!