9th January - THE HALFWAY STAGE

The halfway stage and the local derby between the Lemmings and the Rams on the home turf in the Waters Green Tavern. The Rams currently vying for first place with the Nags Head (who have set tonight’s GK questions) with a game in hand. Becky was playing to bring the team to full strength and soon made a name for herself as the team’s number one guesser.

The last blog mentioned Adum’s fall at the Harrington Arms and he turned out for the Rams this time with his leg encased in plaster after having two plates screwed into his leg – it was a much more serious fall than had been realised – and testimony to Adum’s devotion to the quiz.

The Specialist rounds had been set by the Prince of Wales and whilst there was a lot of meat in the range of questions it was not felt that they were well presented, reflected in the generally low scores by the Lemmings. They started off well with questions about Cheshire celebrities but the standard was not held and there was a narrow escape for an armadillo question with one about how to score more than 147 in snooker – the answer took about 10 minutes to read out but as it was a supplementary we felt it did not qualify. Also one question was thrown out by both teams as it required the answer peat to a type of coal – a supplementary was used instead.

At the end of the Specialist rounds the Rams were a nose ahead with 47 to 42 – not too much to worry about.

General Knowledge were much better balanced and spread but the Lemmings failed to make up the deficit and in fact lost the rounds by 68 to 65 making a final total 115 to 107.

Special mention must be made of Andy Johnson who as question master controlled the game with humour spiced with anecdotes about the vetting process.

individual scores were Bob 12/6, Becky 3/0, Nick 0/18, Tomo 6/9 with conferred 13/20 and 8/12 pass-overs. The Rams collected 2/9 pass-overs.

The game ended with a generous spread on the cheeseboard with baguettes, biscuits and celery with two excellent chutneys and the spirits of the Lemmings had been held up by the superb Ossett beer Nelson Sauvin (New Zealand hop) with Becky opting for the slightly melon-flavoured offering from Mallisons. Thank you Brian for a wonderful spread, Andy for making defeat a pleasurable experience and the Rams for a lively and enjoyable evening.