28th November–Home to the Harrington Academicals

On a bitterly cold night with a biting wind the Lemmings prepared to meet the Gawsworth visitors – but the weather was the least of their problems. With Sunil and Becky alternating (Becky’s shift pattern) the Lemmings have been able to put up a team of four so far this season but disaster struck this time; For family reasons Bob was unable to play and the home team had to provide the question master leaving a team of two!! Despite desperate efforts Nick had failed to attract reserves to play but through Mark’s sterling efforts John Knight very kindly agreed to act as the question master; Becky too agreed to play but would be unable to attend until 9PM or thereabouts – at least a viable team.

Both sets of questions had been set by the Sutton Club and we found them to be well balanced and interesting with a round on writers known by three names (all of which were required). One contentious question was what is the common name for the scapula – the visitors said shoulderblade but the question master’s answer sheet was collar bone – the Lemmings thought the Academicals were right and after checking with Wikipedia (contentious!!) they were given the points.

The questions are now available on line here. (I am struggling to put a link on the right – will persevere.)

At the end of the Specialists the Lemmings were trailing by just 5 points with 45 to the visitors’ 50 – the large number of conferred points mainly due to playing with three. General Knowledge is usually the Lemmings’ strong point so they entered those questions with some optimism, especially as Becky would be arriving shortly. But it was not to be – no complaints about the questions but the visitors won by over 30 points with 99 to 66!! Final score was 149 to 111.

Individual scores were Becky 0/3, Sunil 6/9, Nick 6/15 Tomo 15/15 with conferred points 16/18 and pass-overs 2/6. The Harrington collected 4/12 pass-overs. Had it not been for Tomo it would have been an even greater defeat.

The meal ended with a splendid beef stew and french bread – many thanks to Steve (Brian on holiday), to John the QM ad the Academicals for a very pleasant evening.

21 November Round 2 of the Cup

Having had a bye in the first round of the Cup this was the Lemmings’ first appearance in this season’s contest  and it was with some trepidation that they prepared to meet the Oxford C once again on their home turf. Not that the visitors are in any way the stony-faced miseries that A League teams are often portrayed, on the contrary they are a relaxed, friendly team with an immense store of knowledge finishing top in the A League last season with Alice achieving the highest score.

The Lemmings started off well dropping just one point in the first round (both teams overruling a member’s correct answer in one case – Assyria!!) but then began to flag a little. The questions were well balanced but unfortunately not the Lemmings’ strengths.

Scores for each round of 20 questions were (visitors first) 17/16, 20/12, 20/7, 17/15, 18/14 and 20/14

The evening was rounded off with a fine selection of sandwiches – many thanks to Brian and Stephen, to the Oxford C for an interesting and light hearted game and to the question master from the Sutton Mutton.

14th November - Home to the Harrington B

It was a pleasure to offer a warm welcome to the Harrington B who were promoted to the B League at the end of last season – it is quite some time since we played a team from the Harrington Arms in Gawsworth and we are looking forward to the return game in this historic pub.

It was a most enjoyable game with lots of jokes and laughter and interesting rounds. The lefties on the Lemmings were rather disappointed with a round introduced as being on the Russian Revolution as they had been running through the prominent names Kerensky, Korrnilov, Martov and the usual revolutionaries but in fact most of the questions were about Russian individuals in the arts etc – nothing wrong with that and leftie noses are easily put out of joint.

The questions will shortly appear here when I hope to add a few comments on the blog and any others are welcome. At the end of the evening IJ who had posted a comment in the 7th November blog introduced himself (which was a relief as we had been trying to identify him!!) and we discussed his comments but really whether or not a question deserves the award is decided at the AGM and not by the blogger.

At the end of the Specialist the Lemmings had a nose ahead with 47 to 41 and increased their lead in the General Knowledge with 92 to 71. Individual scores were Bob 6/18, Sunil 0/15, Nick 6/15 and Tomo with 18/24 – an excellent score of 42!! Conferred points were 10 with 7 pass-overs while the visitors collected 6/3 pass-overs

The evening was rounded off with an excellent minestrone soup and crusty bread – thank you Brian, the visitors from the Harrington and Andrew the question master from the Nags Head who kept the quiz moving bristly along.

7 November–Home to the Nags Head

On a very cold evening the Nags Head this week had to cross the Waters Green again after meeting our sister team the Rams last week. The Lemmings once more had Becky playing after a firm first appearance the previous week. The Nags are old friends one of whom (Andrew) made an impressive appearance on the TV quiz 15 to 1 earlier in the year.

The question master from the Rams kept the game running smoothly at a brisk pace  whilst offering beer breaks at satisfactory intervals. By the end of the Specialist rounds the Lemmings had a nose ahead with 61 points to 55 and were feeling rather smug. But then the Nags made a remarkable comeback in the General Knowledge beating the home team with 91  to 80 and taking victory with 146 to 141. Even so, Bob, who has been playing in the Quiz League for many years scored his best ever PB with 42 – congratulations Bob, well done.

There were two nominations for the coveted Nine Banded Armadillo award, both from the sports section in the Specialist rounds – Questions 5 (bitten by a lion) and 8 (jolly hockey sticks).

Individual scores Bob 15/27, Becky 9/9, Nick 12/6, Tomo 12/12 conferred points 10/18 and pass overs 3/8

A generous supper was provided by Brian and Stephen – many thanks to them, to the question master and to the victorious Nags Head for an interesting game

Taking It Easy

The Lemmings have had a rather leisurely start to this season, having no game in week 2 and a bye in the Cup/Plate competition. However the questions and updates can be found here. Back into action next week!!

A New Dawning

The start of a new season for the Macclesfield Pub Quiz League with the Lemmings facing the Royal Oak at home in the first game. The Oak are a very friendly team and always a delight to play - despite their having to cross county boundaries to get to Macclesfield they are always in good spirits.

The questions were very good indeed (means players get a good score and struggle to beat it for the rest of the season!), well balanced and covering a wide range of topics and the lead went from one team to the other several times but at the end of the Specialist questions the Royal Oak had a nose in front with 62 to 60.

Much the same pattern followed with the General Knowledge but this time the home team managed to scrape through with 86 to the visitors’ 83 securing a one-point victory of 146 to 145.

Credit must go to Dave McGuinness the question master who controlled the game with a light hand and particularly to the timekeeper (also from the Plough Horntails)  - it always improves the game when no-one is allowed to abuse the timescales.

But the crown for the evening must go to Bob of the Lemmings who, although he didn’t mention it, has had his outstanding work for the Rainow community recognised with a Civic Award – congratulations Bob.

Individual scores were Bob 15/21, Sunil 6/12, Nick 9/12 and Tomo 18/15 with 25 conferred points and 13 pass-overs. The visitors collected 17 pass-overs.

An excellent evening rounded of with a much-varied selection of sandwiches and pickles – many thanks to Brian, to the officials from the Plough Horntails and a special thank you to the Royal Oak.

As advised in my previous post there will be some changes in communication as the questions now will appear on http://maccql.com/ along with the information formerly distributed as News and Views. This will offer several improvements.

A New Season and a Few Changes

The first games of the new season will be on 10th  October and the new season will see some changes.

The League will have its own website that will have important improvements I have been unable to implement in the blog, in particular the answers will not be visible until the user selects to see them.

The questions from the final can be seen from the link at right – an excellent game that the Waters Green Rams won won with 110 to the British Flag’s 69 – a very interesting and entertaining game.

If anyone has any suggestions for other improvements please let us know.

This blog will continue with the emphasis on the travails/joys of the Waters Green Lemmings.

The Final Countdown – and a new Record

 

“This is the sorrowful story Told as the twilight fails

And the monkeys walk together Holding their neighbours’ tails”

The final game of the season and the Lemmings were facing their sister team the Waters Green Rams who were already guaranteed promotion. With Bob struck down by flu the Lemmings were unlikely to strike out and defeat the Rams but time would tell.

The questions had been set by the Weaver and we thought they were very good, well balanced and most were answered (even if it was by just one of the teams!). There was laughter, banter and generally good humour throughout the game that was a most enjoyable evening.

Sunil covered for Bob and once again scored more than his dad, individual scores being Sunil 9/12, Wendy 6/15, Nick 6/6 and Tomo 12/9 with conferred points 13/8 and pass-overs 0/8; the Rams collected 7/21 pass-overs. Perhaps all that can be said is that it’s a pity we weren’t playing pontoon as all scores except Nick’s were 21!!! Maybe we should start a new League.

But to put all this into perspective at the end of the Specialist the Lemmings were lagging with 46 to 63 and the General Knowledge score of 58 to 116 did nothing to recover the deficit. Final score the Rams won with 179 to 104 – a difference of 75 points that we think is the heaviest defeat ever inflicted on the Lemmings in their various guises since the Rising Sun days.

Brian and Stephen then provided an excellent chicken curry with naan and rice that was very good indeed – a sort of celebratory feast for the Rams and a consolation for the Lemmings – thank you Brian and Stephen, to the Rams for an enjoyable evening and to the question master who showed fairness and quiet humour.

March 14th Home tothe Park Taverners

 

The lengthening days and shadows herald the dawn of spring but also the twilight of winter – and the season for the Macclesfield Pub Quiz League. Just two more games - tonight’s against old friends the Park Taverners.

Wendy was playing again and as Bob had family responsibilities Sunil stepped in as reserve; the questions did not match with the Lemmings’ strengths and in fact it was a very slow scoring game, the first round for instance (both teams) scored only 1 conferred, 2 pass-overs with just one 3 – Tomo as usual on form struggling to keep the Lemmings’ head above water.

At the end of the Specialist the visitors had built up a substantial lead with 58 to the Lemmings’ 36 – not a good start but at least consistent as the General Knowledge again saw the the visitors increase their lead with 87 to 71  - a sound thrashing with 145 to 107. No complaints, the questions were fair, balanced and the visitors worthy winners – well done. Not planned but if our defeat allows the Park Taverners to remain in the B League next season we will be very happy.

Individual scores were Sunil 0/12. Wendy 9/12, Nick 3/9 and Tomo 18/18; conferred 4/11, pass-overs 2/9 and the visitors collected 8/6 passovers.

Brian provided an excellent cheeseboard to round off the evening – many thanks also to the question master and to the visitors for a most enjoyable evening.

As a bonus for the question harvesters I will shortly publish the questions from the East Cheshire Hospice quiz last Friday – it was very well attended (except by one team who fielded only three of the eight allowed, two of whom came late!!! But still came 9th – again thanks to Tomo’s sterling efforts all alone), excellent fun and over £1600 raised – next quiz July 14th

7th March Away to the British Flag

 

This game was played the day after team member Matt was laid to rest following an extremely well attended and deeply moving service in Rainow parish church. Representatives from the many walks of life that Matt trod came to pay their respects from football, refereeing, running, university days, Loreto School where he taught…. and of course quizzers from several teams in the Macclesfield Pub Quiz League. Touched with humour the eulogy read by Laura showed the deep love they shared from university, to marriage, to their beautiful sons in whom they have so much pride. Those of us who thought they knew him discovered unknown depths – he taught himself Greek, and was an exceptionally good cook of particularly Middle Eastern and North African food although he was himself a non-preaching vegetarian. The Loreto Girls Choir sang beautifully in a service that was truly a celebration of his life and achievements.

Afterwards the groups moved to the delightful country pub the Robin Hood where beers reflecting Matt’s interests were displayed on the pump clips with a wide selection of refreshments including a never to be forgotten fruit cake.

Matt was able to draw together his many interests , in particular Nick remembers that once when Matt had set the questions for the quiz he first asked them of his students to ensure that balance and difficulty were right. He is sorely missed, may he rest in peace – the world is a poorer place without him.

So the Lemmings faced up to a game against the British Flag sitting at the top of the League with promotion assured. It is a very welcoming pub and the draught Bass was in good form and the home team are old friends and adversaries. The specialist questions had been set by the Nag’s Head and unfortunately did not play to the Lemmings’ strengths as they were adrift with 43 to the Flag’s 57 by the half-way mark. They began to pull back some of the lead with the General Knowledge rounds (set by The Sutton Mutton) until the final three rounds where they took a severe beating losing with 61 to the Flag’s 82 – final score 139 to 104. There were murmurings that the nominations for the Nine-Banded Armadillo were to grow this week.

Individual scores were Bob 9/12, Wendy 6/12, Nick 6/12 and Tomo 9/12 with 7/9 conferred points, 6/4 pass-overs whilst the Flag collected 7/9 pass-overs.

Thanks are due to Alasdair the question master who controlled the game with a light touch and good humour, to the Flag landlord for an excellent selection of sandwiches and of course to the Flag quiz team who will now march off to the rarer air of the A League – we wish them luck.

28th February - Question Setters/Masters

 

This week the Lemmings had set both sets of questions and were question masters – we’d like to thank all teams for their support and messages of sympathy.

There was a bit of a mix-up with the questions for which I apologise.

Hope to see a good quiz turnout on Monday

21st Feb Cup Semi Final

 

The blog this week is filled with deep sorrow and a terrible sense of loss – Lemmings team member Matt Rogers passed away suddenly last Friday. His comments on this blog made it a much more interesting read and his analysis of the week’s questions and scores showed great insight.

Matt previously played for the Robin Hood in Rainow and when the Lemmings were desperately looking for a replacement at the beginning of the season they decided to approach the Robin Hood as they had strength in depth. Nick mentioned this to Matt and with the agreement of his team mates he became a Lemming - pretty much as Nick had hoped. Throughout the season he has consistently scored over 30 and was the B League’s top individual scorer; he was a team player and a warm and humorous personality and will be sadly missed. Our thoughts reach out to his family at this terrible time.

The Lemmings faced the Royal Oak in the semi final of the Cup who had generously offered to postpone the game but we felt the game should go ahead; the question master Glyn from the Park Timers also showed himself to be flexible and understanding – our appreciation to both team and Glynn.

Sunil stepped in to make up the team numbers, but we did keep an empty chair at the table …

The questions  were pretty good only one causing some discussion – the wording of Q32.

It was a close-fought game with each round swinging one way or the other – the Lemmings took the lead with 19/17 in round one, lost it in round 2 14/20, lost again in round 3 11/14 then made up some ground in round 4 19/15 before slipping back again with 15/17 – still only 5 to make up. But then disaster struck – in the final round while the visitors picked up 20 points the Lemmings scored 0 – certainly a first for the Lemmings and it must be very rare throughout all Leagues – final score 103/78 to the Royal Oak. We wish them well in the final.

Matt’s funeral is on Monday 6th March 12 o’clock at Holy Trinity Church Rainow and Laura will be happy to see people from the quiz community there.And thank you to all the teams who have sent their condolences.

14th Feb - A Valentine from the Bowling Club?

 

It was a pleasure to walk into the Pack Horse Bowling Club as there had been rumours of it closing down; apart from the bowling greens there are two large bars/meeting rooms with a well stocked bar and a warm welcoming atmosphere. There are many activities catered for and they do an excellent job raising money for the East Cheshire Hospice.

The quiz team we have known for many years and it was good to see them again. The questions were varied and produced some surprises – who knew the name of the river flowing through Middlewich for instance (in fact there are three)  and to link Sheffield and Lisbon with the fact that both are built on seven hills required a big leap in imagination. The History was unusual in that it was a picture round that went down well.

The Sport round however did not play to the Lemmings’ strengths and the home team leapt ahead and by the end of the Specialist rounds the Bowling Club led with 66 to 54.

Not particularly bothered the Lemmings have made up bigger deficits in the past and entered the General Knowledge with equanimity. These questions were perhaps a little top-heavy with sport (the Lemmings having already been humiliated) and inconsistent (the Heinz empire started not with beans but horseradish sauce!!) but playing with discipline the deficit was slowly eaten up – Matt in particular put in a splendid performance  with Tomo close behind - but it was not to be! The Specialist finished with the Lemmings just a nose ahead with 78 to 76 – but still 10 points adrift – final score 142 to 132.

Individual scores were Bob 6/12, Matt 15/24, Nick 3/9 and Tomo 15/15 conferred points were 10/10 with 5/8 pass-overs. The home team collected 6/3 pass-overs.

The evening was rounded off with a very tasty selection of sandwiches and for what was definitely a first for the Lemmings – cheese-filled oatcakes!!

Many thanks to the management team, to the quiz team and to Heather who kept a light hand on the proceedings as question master for a pleasant evening – but no valentines!

7th Feb Away to the Nags Head

 

The Lemmings were welcomed to the Nags Head, a lovely old market pub featured in many of the historical photographs of the town. The landlady has taken advantage of the many rooms formerly used by shepherds and cowherds who brought their beasts to town for the market; the quiz therefore took place in an upstairs room isolated from whatever was happening downstairs.

The Dizzy Blonde once again proved itself to be the best of Robinsons offerings and perhaps contributed to the friendly and jocular atmosphere in which the quiz took place. This was best exemplified after the Science Inventions Q6 about Percy Shaw and Bob started to tell a joke and the home team finished the punch line for him – perhaps they’d heard it before.

The questions we thought were very good, there were no armadillos, no Wikipedia warriors (love that phrase) good balance and varied; Matt found his form again and the Lemmings slipped ahead in the Specialist with 58 to 41. This was maintained in the General Knowledge winning with 79 67 – final score 137 to 108.

Individual scores Bob12/21, Matt 12/18, Nick 6/6 Tomo 12/9 Conferred 9/12, Pass-overs 7/13 the Nags collected 4/6 pass-overs.

Nick surprised most players including himself when after his sanctimonious comments about conferrals last week he gave a ridiculous answer to a question loaded with clues (Q30 GK) with an answer from another book!! Blame the Dizzy Blonde I think.

The evening was rounded off with sausage butties – a welcome treat on a very cold night – thank you to the landlord, to Dave Partington for being a patient and fair question master and to the Nags Head team for a very pleasant evening

31 Jan Home to the Cock-A-2

 

The Lemmings welcomed the Cock-A-2 on a damp, cold night the pain of which was eased with a roaring fire and an excellent selection of ales including a winter porter.

Although there was competition in the form of a ladies’ darts match unusually it did not cause much of a disturbance – it was teams from two other pubs in a knockout competition playing a “neutral board”  although whatever advantage that gives escapes me.

The questions were quite difficult (evidenced by the comparatively low scores against other weeks) but well balanced and fair and brought some very interesting snippets; for instance the song “Miss Otis Regrets” (A&E Q6) that we all knew was a rather pleasant song popularised by many of the best singers including Ella is actually about a woman who in the past 24 hours has been betrayed, shot her seducer, been tried and found guilty and is about to be hanged!! I’ll never listen in the same way again. On a lighter note GK 26 answer was discus but as the visitors pointed out add an s and the whole thing changes,

At the end of the Specialist rounds the Lemmings were trailing with 51 to the visitors’ 58 and although the scores were low there were only five questions unanswered. The Cock-A2 continued with a strong showing into the General Knowledge which they won with 86 to 79 – final score 144 to 130 – well done!!

Individual scores were Bob 15/6, Matt 3/15, Nick 6/15 and Tomo 9/15; conferred points were 8/9 with 10/9 pass-overs whilst the victors collected 11/6 pass-overs.

A couple of personal observations not necessarily shared by the rest of the team – too often timing is too casual and can be used to advantage, and as a great believer in conferring I’d like to point out that if only half of the visitors’ pass-overs had been conferred successfully by the Lemmings they would have won with 138 to 136 – ah well!!

24th Jan Cup Quarter Final at the Plough

 

Back at the Plough this time to face the Horntails, sister team to last week’s opponents, the Taverners. the Lemmings once again enjoyed a warm welcome for the all-conferred quarter final of the Cup.

Question master duties were shared by Pat Jeater and Brian Bogie and it must be said that this was an outstanding double act and it would be good to see them sharing responsibilities in future Cup or Plate games – perhaps the finals? With light humour and an excellent balanced set of questions the game sped along interspersed with snippets of memory from all around the room. This really was a most enjoyable evening and will be long remembered.

The winner of each of the six rounds swung from team to team, scores being  (home team first) 12/22 12/24 20/17 13/17 17/19 and 21/13 – final score 112 to 95 for the Lemmings.

The game was rounded off with a varied selection of sandwiches and general agreement that it had been a most enjoyable evening. Many thanks to the landlord (who came to wish us farewell as we left), the Horntails and especially to Pat and Brian.

17th January Away to the Plough Taverners

 

The Plough now seems a lot brighter since the makeover and change of managers – the odd sepulchral green light outside has been replaced with bright lights and the interior is lighter the beer however remains the same – Black Sheep and Tetleys.

The Taverners are old friends and at the last confrontation they beat the Lemmings by just 4 points – this wasn’t going to be easy.

Nevertheless it was a good spirited game, so relaxed that Bob hit form with jokes that have not been heard before!! The answer to Science and Nature question 2 he thought was a description of a zoo that doesn’t have any penguins! And to Q5 in Sport he offered the answer water polo (both as asides not formal answers).

The questions had been set by Church House Bollington, brought together by Ed following the sad loss of Rick Davies after whom a new trophy will be named. They were original and testing and met with a very favourable reception, particularly by the Lemmings as they played to their strengths giving them a lead of 59 to 48 at the end of the Specialists. Whilst sports questions may have been a little heavy in the General Knowledge this too was to the Lemmings advantage, Matt in particular picking up 30 points contributing greatly to the Lemmings score of 93 to the home team’s 74: final score 152 to 122

Individual scores were Bob 9/15, Matt 15/30, Nick 6/12 and Tomo 12/15; conferred points were 8/10 with 9/11 pass-overs. The Plough Taverners picked up 8/5 pass-overs.

Mention must be made of the question master Scott from the Rams who was very good on timing (a frequent cause of complaint by the Lemmings) and controlled the game in a relaxed manner.

There was a generous offering of sandwiches (ham and cheese) nfor supper – many thanks to the landlord, to the home team and to Scott for a most enjoyable evening.

10th January - Would the Academicals Teach Us A Lesson

 

With hollowed eyes and bloated bellies following the Christmas/New Year break the Lemmings were again facing old friends the Harrington Academicals for the second half of the League – at the previous meeting, the Lemmings had scraped home by just 5 points so we knew we’d have a tough game ahead.

Once again there were distractions, but fortunately this time they were not in the pub – Manchester United were playing Hull City in the League Cup whist closer to home Macclesfield Town were facing Dover in the League; the TV was switched off and there were no competing darts so apart from the occasional chat at the bar the games was held in relative serenity.

The Specialist questions had been set by the Cock-A-2 and were quite challenging although Tomo scored well and one in particular was immediately nominated for the Nine Banded Armadillo trophy (Geography 1) – the subsequent question could also have been nominated but Tomo knew the answer. In fact Tomo had a very good round. At the end of this phase the Academicals had a narrow lead of 58 to 56.

The General Knowledge were set by  the Park Timers and whilst there were some murmurs about imbalance (after all, they’re all easy if you know the answer) were well received with Matt in particular having a very strong run. Although again there was some discussion about one question in particular Q22 (What foodstuff is a berliner) – the Academicals answered with sausage that was declared incorrect and the Lemmings (with Kennedy’s speech in mind) answered doughnut (the given answer) and were given the point. The Academicals then took advantage of the new rule and referred to Wikipedia (?) and said they were right and got three points – the Lemmings accepted this graciously but I’m not at all sure having since checked – no doubt Bob and perhaps others will have something to say about this. It made little difference to the points as the Academicals won those rounds with 99 to 93 and says much about the spirit of the evening.

Final scores were a victory to the Academicals with 157 to 149, individual scores being Bob 9/9, Matt 3/30, Nick 3/15 and Tomo 21/18; conferred points were 8/14 with 9/7 pass-overs. The visitors collected 6/8 pass-overs.

United and Macc Town both won, results 2-0 and 2-1 respectively. Brian then produced an excellent selection of sandwiches and pickles  to round off the evening. Many thanks to Brian to the Academicals and to the question master Jeff and his timekeeper for an enjoyable evening

13th December–half way

 

This game marked the half-way point in the season and brought together the two teams from the Waters Green Tavern. The Rams had again to draw on their rich pool of reserves to make up the team.

Interestingly the same evening saw a team from the Bull’s Head at Broken Cross defeat the Eggheads and the previous week (episode 28) a team from the Bollington Brass Band took them to a close run sudden death although they lost. And yet not one of either team looked the slightest bit familiar.

Both teams felt that the Specialist questions relied more on trivia than knowledge and this is reflected in the individual scores. No questions however qualified for the Nine Banded Armadillo award. Nevertheless the Rams took the honours with 50 points to the Lemmings’ 38. Mike Vickerstaff patiently suffered as question master and deserves a special mention.

The general knowledge were more serious and the Rams thrashed the Lemmings with 108 to 87 leaving a final score of 158 to 124.

Individual scores were Bob 9/15, Matt 9/24, Nick 0/9 and Tomo 6/18; conferred points were 10/11 with 4/10 pass-overs while the Rams collected 6/10 pass-overs.

Brian then provided an excellent cheese board while the Lemmings licked their wounds – many thanks to Brian, to QM Dave, and to the Rams for a thrashing. On to the next half!!

6th December–Away to the Park Taverners

 

Always a pleasure to meet up with these old friends and this was no exception – moreover the occasion was heightened by it being Pete’s birthday (although it did bring back memories of his birthday five years ago when his team mates splashed out on champagne and left the Lemmings decidedly worse for wear).

The Park Tavern is a very friendly pub, with helpful staff and a wide selection of (mainly Bollington Brewery)  ales ranging from Long Hop at 3.9% to the very desirable (except on quiz night) Eastern Nights IPA at 5.6%.

As usual it was a joyous game- even the fact that the Sports questions round had been left off the pack for the question master was speedily resolved by using up supplementaries from earlier rounds. But then there were sufficient sports questions over the course of the game that more than made up for a dedicated round (at least 9 in the General Knowledge!).

A lot of thought had gone into the Specialist questions, the three “free” rounds being quite different – and they deserved extra points for the very attractive diagram of yoked oxen – but they didn’t get any! The General Knowledge let themselves down with too many sport questions but were otherwise OK. There were calls for Q53 (Phillip Green’s superyacht) to be entered into the Armadillo competition but in fact it was all over the papers having cost a modest £100,000,000 built to his wife’s designs.

At the end of the Specialist questions the Lemmings had managed a healthy lead thanks in no small part to Tomo – he always scores well but this week scored a full house in the Specialist; this helped give the Lemmings a lead of 72 to 56. The General Knowledge also played to the Lemmings’ interests as they maintained their lead with 88 to 55 giving a final score of 160 to 111.

Individual scores were Bob 15/9, Matt 12/18, Nick 12/12 and Tomo 24/21; conferred points were 5/8, pass-overs 4/3 while the home team collected 4/4 pass-overs.

The pub then presented us with a splendid selection of cheese and grapes supplemented by a delicious chocolate birthday cake for Pete created by Heather. Thank you Heather, the Park Tavern, Grenville for his easy-going control of the game as question master and as always the Park Taverners for a most enjoyable evening.

29th November–Home to the British Flag

 

In some respects the visitors are rather like the Lemmings, bobbing between the B League to the A League and back again the following season so we knew that to keep our hopes of promotion alive we would need to win this game.To ensure there would be no distractions the Flag asked that the radio/juke box be turned off so  the game started in an atmosphere of calm and serenity - almost monastic!!

After the first couple of specialist rounds, the Lemmings had built up a substantial lead of 11 points and began to feel confident – but then it all changed!!! Not only did the Flag have two very successful rounds but the peace and tranquillity vanished with waves of sound signalling the arrival of the ladies darts teams.

The question master Dave from the Nags Head managed to cope with the noise and valiantly persevered but at the end of the Specialist the Lemmings were trailing 67 to 55. There was nothing wrong with the questions (in fact only 2 were not answered by either side) and the balance was fine- interestingly Bob, Tomo and Nick all scored 9 whilst Matt broke the mould with a crushing 12.

After a beer break in which the Salopian and Newby Wyke took something of a bashing the Lemmings returned to the fray, bravely overcoming the chilling war cries from the darts area and working with much discipline managed to win the general knowledge with 90 to 83. Unfortunately this still left a deficit of 5 and the visitors wore the victor’s crown.

Dave the question master did a valiant job but a separate timekeeper would have been able to keep a firmer grip on the game.

Individual scores were Bob 9/15, Matt 12/24, Nick 9/6 and Tomo 9/18; conferred points were 14/16 with 2/11 pass-overs – the visitors picked up 5/6 pass-overs.

Brian then appeared with a magnificent supper of burgers, onions, chips and bread for a spectacular finish – many thanks Brian, Dave and the Flag for a most enjoyable evening.

22nd November – Home to the Park Taverners

 

In the latest of a remarkable run of home games the Lemmings welcomed old friends the Park Taverners although both teams were handicapped – Pete could not make it for the visitors and was covered by a substitute while Nick was on crutches following surgery to his foot. This was the second round in the Cup competition so everything was conferred which means that everyone’s strengths are called into play. This was perhaps best illustrated by Shauna’s in-depth knowledge of the Japanese word for a martial arts training area, but in general the questions were very good covering a wide range of subjects

It was a very friendly and close game with each team taking a close lead in each of the 20-question rounds:

Results (home team first) 19/19, 15/8, 15/16, 19/13, 17/19 and 18/20 the Lemmings just shaving it with 103 to 95.

The evening was rounded off with a splendid cheese board that complemented the Caskade ale that seemed to be the favourite of the night. Many thanks to Brian, to the Taverners and to the question master from the Pack Horse Bowling Club for a very pleasant evening.

15 November – Question Masters

 

It was the Lemmings’ turn to be question masters this week meaning they would lose their perch at the top of the League. Moreover Bob had to be away but fortunately the Nags Head were able to provide a question master for their game and the day was saved.

Matt took the chair at the British Flag who were playing the Harrington Academicals and enjoyed a “predictably close fought but friendly game between the British Flag who led throughout and the Harrington Academicals who were never quite shaken off, but came in 7 short.  Scores were healthy and the questions received with reasonable enthusiasm.  Only 13 questions eluded both teams, although there were a glut of these at the start of the Generals.  One discovered a few things during the night including that there are several ways to size a lake, that the RSPB never was "the Avian society", but did start out as the "Plumage Society" and there are folk out there who know how many games a baseball team plays each year, whilst others have had the skill and privilege to negotiate the 21stC oblivious to the lyrics of "Angels".  There was little in the way of controversy, though my incorrect ordering of the question about the home ground of Kilmarnock and "1066 and all that" certainly didn't help the Accies' cause, whilst delighting the member of the Flag for whom one sport question per night is  more than enough”.

Nick was asking the questions at the ever-friendly Park Tavern, a long-standing team of good friends who were playing the Lemmings’ opponents the previous week, the Pack Horse Bowling Club. Here too things ran smoothly the only slight dissent being the measurement of a lake (volume, surface etc) and whether or not Phnom Penh was actually alliterative – both swiftly dispensed with. Whilst some questions were quite difficult they were well balanced despite Alsace putting in a surprising double appearance.The visitors put up a brave fight but the Park carried the day.  The evening ended with a very cheffy supper, presented in individual bowls (no queuing up!!) of spicy meat and rice – very impressive!!

Next week the Lemmings face the Park Tavern in the second round of the cup – a tough one!

8th November– A Night of Triumph and Tragedy

 

The Lemmings welcomed the Pack Horse Bowling Club, a team we had not met for probably five years with the our various promotions and relegations in the different leagues – it was good to see familiar faces.

In addition to our struggle, over in America was another battle for the presidency the result of which was equally in doubt. Seldom has such a race been so filled with empty promises, lies and personal abuse – even more than the Brexit campaign.

Fortunately there was no such animosity in the Waters Green Tavern as the game started.

The whole team struggled with the Specialist Questions, not that there was anything wrong with them they just didn’t fall to our strengths and at the end we realised we had a fight on our hands with a slender lead of just 5 points – 50 to 45.

The Specialist however enabled to Lemmings to kick into gear and they started to pull gradually ahead finishing with 113 to 67, and a final score 163 to 112.

Special mention must be made of Graham from the Park Tavern who acted as question master; not only was he clearly suffering with a heavy cold there was the added distraction of noise from the ladies darts competition, customers at the bar and perhaps worst of all irresponsible chatter by the Lemmings. Nevertheless he controlled the quiz with good humour and his voice held out until the supplementaries.

The atmosphere was friendly and jovial but the joke of the night must go to the landlord Brian – at the end of the game Nick paused at the bar to talk to a couple of friends and Brian interrupted to ask that we keep the noise down – there was a ladies darts game to consider!!!

Individual scores were Bob 6/21, Matt 6/30, Nick 6/15 and Tomo 12/21; conferred points 14/13 with 6/13 pass-overs whilst the visitors collected 2/3.

We woke the next morning to the sad news that Trump was the next president of America – what a tragedy!

The evening finished with an excellent cheese board with black pudding, grapes and French bread which all went well with the fine selection of real ale. Thank you Brian, the visitors and especially Graham for his perseverance.

1 November Home to the Nags Head

 

For the third consecutive week the Nags trudged across the car park to face the Lemmings – was this a final warning via Mario Puzo? Nick was back in place looking very sleepy after a long day’s travelling with the unenviable job of following Wendy’s success.

Whilst the teams have known each other for many years they were feeling almost family after the glut of home games for the Lemmings. The atmosphere was fine as both teams are still on excellent terms and the game proceeded with lots of humour and laughter.

The Specialist rounds we found to be difficult but gettable working as a team and the Lemmings built up what appeared to be an unassailable lead of 62 to 50.

General Knowledge were also a good set of questions but after two rounds the Lemmings found themselves in second place! However with a very disciplined approach the Lemmings made up the deficit eventually winning the General Knowledge 85 to 82 with a final score of 147 to 136.

Nick’s failure to remember names is well documented and accounts for the large numbers of conferred questions,but this week he surpassed himself by giving three wrong answers: mistaking the capital of Korea (Pyongyang) as Panmunjom, going even further mistaking Pinochet for Galtieri, but as Matt has kindly pointed out our former PM similarly couldn’t differentiate “between one right wing South American dictator with a penchant for making thousands of their own civilians disappear and another”. Fortunately the rest of the team were able to carry the day.

Individual scores were Bob 12/18, Matt 15/18. Nick 6/6 and Tomo 12/9; conferred points were 7/20 with 10/12 pass-overs whilst the Nags picked up 6/6.

It was a most enjoyable evening rounded off with a tasty selection of sandwiches lubricated with the Tavern’s fine selection of real ales, not least the Plateau from Burning Sky brewery with amazing taste at only 3.5%. Many thanks to the question master, to the setters, to the Tavern’s hospitality and most of all to the visitors for a really enjoyable evening.

25th October Cup/Plate home to the Nags Nead

 

 

Once again Matt has stepped in with a very thorough report – and well done the Lemmings with special thanks to Wendy

Half-term week meant a shift in attention to the Cup, although one factor that wasn't going to change much was the opposition.  The Nags Head were making the second of three consecutive visits to the Tavern (Rams last week, Lemmings in the league next) and may find their autopilot from the Waters Green car park awry when next at home.  With Nick still abroad, Wendy continued to deputise and we expected a close contest against a team that seems to have finally settled (after much traversing through all 3 divisions) into the upper half of the B League.

Questions came from the Weaver and the Royal Oak and the quiz progressed at sharp pace thanks to the efficiency of the Royal Oak QM and timekeeper (neither of whom play regularly in the league, so thanks to them for helping out) and the accessibility of the Weaver questions.  These could have probably been asked in a league match without too much pain and the opening two rounds went 17-18 (Nags first) and 19-21 with only one question getting past both sides.  The last bit of round 3 was much tougher, as if to set the scene for the Oak and the Lemmings edged that one 14-16.  After half time the Oak took the "Cup approach" to questions - remembering that only one person per team would ever "need" to know the answer and the Nags shaded round 4 11-10, with the Lemmings gaining the 5th 11-9 (in this section a run of 8 questions saw 7 stump both teams).  The final round was a "downhill finish", a little easier and this was 15-14 to the Lemmings.  So, 6 very tightly fought rounds, but the Lemmings shaded five of them to win out 91-84 and march onwards to, what will in all likelihood be, evisceration by an A league giant soon.  There were no complaints with questions, both setters had taken a legitimate, albeit different approach.  A couple of sandwiches later it was time for a swift journey back up the hill (or a not so swift journey for the back-to-fitness Andy Johnson) and we will all try again next week.

18th October–Away to the Cock A 2

 

Very grateful to Matt for this excellent report in my absence:

 

“Rusty, pet? Rusty is too good for this lot!” (Pete Postlethwaite to Tara Fitzgerald, Brassed Off)

With Nick and Sunil sunning themselves in Turkey, the remaining Lemmings got to “enjoy” a typical autumn eve of heavy rain to make their second and last league journey beyond the bright new “welcome to Macclesfield” signs to Henbury and a set of opponents who seem to have settled comfortably into the B league pace of life after many years of hovering between this and the A league. With discussion stimulated by the potential of a Rick Davis award for hospitality, the opponents scored well on their cheerful and welcoming outlook but, through no fault of their own, would be handicapped by the single handpump dispensing a passable Robinson’s Unicorn. I did, at one point, experience a sharp citrus note, but only by virtue of switching to tonic water.

The absence of Nick led to the return from “retirement” of Wendy (a retirement that had, at least, lasted two games longer than Tomo’s) and the issue of whether possession trumped many years of service in the allocation of the coveted Number 2 spot. It did and Wendy found herself answering third, having protested that she felt decidedly rusty. The questions were provided by the British Flag and, with the good-humoured input of Neil the QM, we generally enjoyed them – racing ahead on the American States and Sport, before being hauled in by the opponents on a Geography round that we found tough, whilst Science was a bit too much for all of us. The overall impression was positive and healthy scores were posted by both teams and the Flag will, I suspect, bounce back well in the QSL after their somewhat brutal GK offerings last year. The second half, provided by the Sutton Club drew praise for variety and accessibility, although the more sad amongst us experienced a powerful sense of déjà vu in the last few rounds. The Lemmings fared well in general (though I was miffed with myself for forgetting that Dopey had no beard by virtue of looking several decades younger than the other dwarves and with my long since departed scoutmaster who had (heaven knows why?) taught us that a cutty sark was a short shirt which, in retrospect, seems near enough), Bob came to life in the latter stages after a difficult start, Tomo displayed impressive team discipline, sacrificing a few 3s for conferral when not quite sure, but the star of the show was undoubtedly our super-sub who answered 9 of her GK questions and finished with an all-time PB. The Cock battled hard but came up short, with a final score of 155-132. For those able to put Mock-Turtle Soup a long way from their minds, a pleasing array of well-filled sandwiches ensued, along with some liquid relief back at base camp, where we discovered that anything we (and our super-sub) could do, our sister team (and their very super-subs) could do better, but all went well.

Bob 3/21, Matt 15/15, Wendy 12/27, Tomo 9/15.

Conferred 11/13. Passed Over 9/13. Opponents collected 4/4 passed-overs.

11th October Home to the Plough Taverners

 

Once again it was good to meet up with old friends we have played many times before in various venues – they have now returned to their old haunt the Plough.

Bob was away and Sunil took position 1 in his first game of the season.

The Chester Road Tavern had set the Specialist questions and made a very good job of it – unusual topics, well balanced questions and full of interest. Once again Matt and Tomo scored well contributing to the Lemmings nosing ahead with 59 to 57.

The General Knowledge set by our sister team the Rams were also very challenging and fair but the Lemmings slipped behind losing 72 to the Plough’s 78. Final score 131 to 135 – the Plough worthy winners.

Individual scores Sunil 6/9, Matt 15/12, Nick 3/9 and Tomo 21/12; conferred points were 10/15, pass-overs 14/15 while the visitors picked up 11/11.Final score the Plough Taverners won with 135 to the Lemmings 131. Matt and Tomo both scored very well while Sunil in his first game beat his father!!

The evening was rounded off with an interesting cheese board provided by Brian along with delicious Austrian air-dried ham, Many thanks to Brian, to the visitors and last but not least to Keith our patient and thorough question master.

4th October - Away to the Harrington Academicals

 

A New Beginning

The first game of the new season – and with new member Matt whom we dragged away from the Robin Hood with the promise of a game every week and choice of the first butty if we win. We were away to the Harrington Academicals, old friends in a very welcoming pub that has changed considerably in the past few years having for many years been a part of a working farm business. The Cock-A-2 had a problem providing four question masters and the Harrington helped out by providing one.

The questions had been set by the Ox-Fford a pseudonym for a well known League secretary – they were very well received and scored highly by both teams. The Thar desert caused some scratched heads and there was general surprise that Dave Lee Travis was almost a local boy – born in Buxton; but the one that generated much chat about supporting the team, and uplifting quizzes was Q42 in the General Knowledge.

It was a jovial and friendly evening and the Lemmings finished the Specialist with a nose in front with 70 points to 60 – no room for complacency. The General Knowledge was closer but the Lemmings still managed to hang on to their lead with 89 to 84.

Individual scores were Bob 15/9, Matt 21/15, Nick 9/12 and Tomo 12/27; conferred points were 9/17, pass-overs 4/9 whilst the Harrington picked up 2/5 pass-0vers. Final score 159 to 144 – a good start for the Lemmings, a great opening game by Matt and Tomo maintaining a high scoring rate.

The evening was rounded off with a fine selection of sandwiches that soaked up the new Robinson’s offering Hop Gun – a very palatable drink. Many thanks to the landlord and to the Academicals for a fine start to the new season.