WEEK 6 - 15/06/23

 

Average scores dipped below seventy for the first time this summer season, as fiendish question setter Chris Curtis cranked up the level of difficulty this week. The Blackbird overcame premiership opponents to remain top of the championship, and the White Hart secured their first win, not before time.

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Guest question reader Jonny was MC at the Blackbird, where the in-form home team took on a slightly depleted Nomads. The first two rounds were taken by the visitors to give them a five point lead, then a full house on round three and a tied round five bracketed the pictures, where the Blackbird had pulled one back. Then a Nomads nightmare in round six, giving away a bonus on the first question, then unluckily picking all three questions that neither team knew. The Blackbird took the lead for the first time on their third question, and kept it with a round score of 13-4, putting them five ahead. Paula put on a super feast of chicken, hot dogs, and sandwiches to fortify the teams for the final round, and the home side consolidated their lead with another bonus to finish winners: Blackbird 77 – Nomads 69.

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A makeshift White Hart team belatedly opened their account for the summer league with a convincing win at the always welcoming Masons Arms. Having built a nineteen point lead after round five, even a late rally from the host team was not enough to cause serious alarm. Holding the quiz outdoors also added to the atmosphere, even if floodlights might have come in handy for the later stages. Masons 62 - White Hart 75.

 

And the Blenheim are back to their winning ways after a week off, playing host to the Seacourt, winning 69 – 58.

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Top team score this week, by a decent margin, was from the Ploughman’s Bunch! who beat the Woodstock Social Club 89 – 56. The Bunch! were playing as a four in the absence of Davids Parr (holiday) and Quinn (squash), but edged ahead in the first round with a bonus on Chessington, before three more bonuses in round two consolidated their lead. The Bunch! then shaded the third round and the pictures (presumably Diana Johnson is one of Boris’s wives) to enjoy fine chips and sandwiches during the break and then to welcome conquering sportsman Quinny to their ranks. More double-figure scores in the last three rounds saw the Bunch! comfortably home against their congenial hosts, who pulled out some good answers at either end of the contest. Answer of the night was almost certainly Samsara, from a perfume expert.

 

WEEK 5 - 08/06/23

 

A few teams struggled to make headway this week, although overall average scores were up at the top end of the five weeks so far this summer.

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The Nomads hosted Woodstock Social Club, who never really got going. After a very difficult first two rounds, Woodstock came back in rounds three and four, but then fell back again in the final three rounds. Meanwhile the Nomads were notching up double figure scores in virtually all rounds and so the final score was Nomads 82 – 54 Woodstock.

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And it was very enjoyable evening with the Blackbird at the Seacourt, worth a visit, must be the cheapest pub in town! The Quiz, which the visitors thought was one of Chris's toughest, was nip and tuck all evening, with Maureen & Richard in fine form for the Seacourt (Maureen wants more science). The game went down to the last question, the unfortunate Seacourt kept Authors until last, to win the game, no team got the answer, so the Blackbird very luckily scraped home by a point. Who's Gloria Steinem? Anybody who got it, fair play to them. Final score, close! Seacourt 67 - Blackbird 68.

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It was nip and tuck early doors for the Ploughman’s Bunch! v the Masons Arms, as the home side edged the first round when no-one knew the economist. Bonuses on Pentateuch and Chadwick restored the lead, which became healthy enough, after further bonuses on Scott and volleyball, to concede a couple of points on the pictures and still be eleven points up. That became sixteen after the Masons picked the two questions no-one knew in round five. The arrival of the food saw the Bunch! lose concentration and the Masons come into their own with some good answers towards the end, and it all finished Bunch! 83-70 Masons.

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The Plough maintained their run of top form, visiting the cosy and welcoming White Hart Eynsham. Plough Captain Nancy steered the ship to a convincing win, with the highest score of the season so far. The home team, who were jolly and sociable as ever, could not find their form, and were sixteen points adrift after two rounds, having conceded five bonuses. They regained a lot of kudos with their second successive full house on the pictures. Truly, they would be a force to be reckoned with if all the questions were pictorial, but where would that leave genial question-master Trev, who controlled proceedings with calm authority. Another four bonuses in the final three rounds put the match well out of reach of the home team, the Plough finishing on 95, White Hart 63

 

WEEK 4 - 01/06/23

 

March went out like a lion, whipping up the water in the bay, then April cried and stepped aside. And what now? June is busting out all over!

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Also busting out were the Plough, waiting until half way through round six before breaking the deadlock in the premiership match with the Royal Blenheim. Every one of the first five rounds was tied, so it was 61-61 going in to the penultimate round when it all started going wrong for the home team, and very right for the visitors. Six bonuses in those two rounds gave the Plough the nineteen point lead they ended with, finishing Blenheim 70 – Plough 89.

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Things got rather tight for the Bunch! at the White Hart halfway through round six, when the hosts powerlifted a bonus on to cut the Bunch! lead to just one. A White Hart full house on the pictures had reduced by three the seven-point advantage that the Bunch! had built up over the first three rounds with solid answers, and round five had been shared. Most of the answers in that sixth round, like Deadlift, seemed to have the potential to be a decisive turning-point, but the Bunch! finished the round strongly to take a six-point lead into the give-it-away, and then to extend that slightly further, putting a deceptive gloss on what had been a hard-fought and good-natured contest. Final score: Bunch! 81-71 White Hart, who were unlucky to be the highest scoring losing team for the second week.

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When the Nomads played at the Masons, unfortunately the home team set themselves an almost impossible task, losing Round One 1-9. Despite them coming back strongly, the Nomads were able to extend the gap in all bar one of the remaining rounds, including a perfect 20 in the Picture Round. The final score was Masons Arms 54 – 75 Nomads. Everyone was able to celebrate when the food came, an amazing spread of both hot and cold food was enjoyed by all.

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With Woodstock only having one player available Suzanne and Rupert from the Chequers, plus Tim Busby, joined Woodstock's lonely heart Paul for the evening, so still playing one short against the Seacourt Bridge. Woodstock started well in round 1 winning 10-5, the second round was drawn 10-10. Woodstock taking round 3, 12-7. The Seacourt were on fire in the picture round, only dropping one point, unable to name the French Scrum half, winning the round 19-17. The second half started well for the Seacourt winning the next rounds 4-9 and 3-9 respectively. This gave them a three point lead going into the last round, Woodstock pulled a couple of excellent answers out of the bag, winning that round 11-8, finishing with a fair result, tied at 67 - 67 after a game played in good spirit with a touch of friendly banter.

 

WEEK 3 - 25/05/23

 

Another week of stimulating and different questions from Chris Curtis, and the average scores are creeping up as we get re-accustomed to his style.

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Lower ambient temperatures and less folk music than their last visit to the Seacourt suited the Masons, and in this latest encounter they won every round. Questions on WW2 aviation certainly helped. Final score 70 to the Masons, 59 to the home team.

 

And in Eynsham it was White Hart 74 - Blenheim 81.

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The stars aligned for the Plough (a.k.a. Ursa Major) on Thursday night, or at least Venus and the moon (not stars) reflecting our home star, illuminating the night sky on the way home. Visitors the Blackbird were singing in the dead of night, learning to fly, but never really getting off the ground. The home team were on good form, registering the highest score on the evening and winning every round except for the tied round six. The Plough scores were going down in the later rounds, while the Blackbirds totals increased, making a Big Dipper of a night, finishing Plough 90 – Blackbird 63.

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The all-premiership match in Bletchingdon went to the away team, the Bunch! ‘We bookended ‘em!’ was the cry from the jovial, never-say-die Nomads as they edged the last round 10-8, having taken the first one 11-10 with a bonus on Dune. But, in between, the Bunch! had won one round 15-6 and another 15-4, and had also shaded the other two rounds and the pictures. With both sides lacking key players, including James (Covid) for the Nomads and Beth (gin) for the Bunch!, answer of the night was Charles’s Zenit St Petersburg. David Parr (who had earlier got Space Raiders and The Tinder Swindler) compensated for errors on Simon and Garfunkel (which followed a misstep on Neil Young) from stand-in skipper Jeremy. It all ended Nomads 65-88 Bunch!

 

WEEK 2 - 18/05/23

 

Chris Curtis keeps those questions coming, and many are happy (some dismayed) by the appliance of science to the topics. Average scores were slightly higher than last week, explained at least in part by the entry of the high scoring Bunch!

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After starting their season last week with a bye, the Ploughman’s Bunch! stormed in with the top score of the night, overcoming the winter season’s championship winners the Seacourt Bridge 88 – 63. If the quiz had begun after the pictures, the Seacourt would have edged this one 32-30 - with the help of some inspired answers in the penultimate round as Maureen held her nerve and stuck with suggestions offered by her team sometimes against their own better judgement. The Bunch! had prevailed 17-13 on the pictures, but the real damage had been done in the first three rounds, during which they built up a 41-18 lead. There was an approving comment on the number of Science questions in relation to the Motorsport one. Answer of the night, as awarded by nonpareil question master Quinny, was initially Roller Blades, although this may later have been amended to, among others, George V.

 

An interesting night at Bletchingdon. The first round was taken 11-10 by the Nomads, then round two reversed that score to be all square. A slight win for the Nomads in round three, then the pictures round was drawn, as was round five. Then the Nomads settled down, with a four point win in round six, and then the White Hart really gave it away. Final score Nomads 79 - White Hart 65.

 

And the Blenheim went to the Blackbird, coming away with a convincing 72 – 59 win.

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The Plough kept up their high-scoring start to the summer with a win at Woodstock Social Club, 86 -77. The odd bonus in most rounds was the difference between the teams, at least until the final round when the Plough managed three to the home team’s one. A full house for the Plough on the pictures gave them a seven point lead, which was consolidated in the second half by a steady accumulation of bonus points. This was several days ago now, but Tim may just about be over his answer, Vancouver, “I was there” for Q3 below, being ruled as incorrect.

 

WEEK 1 - 11/05/23
 

Summer is coming in, which can only mean one thing. Not the weather, but the slimmed-down summer league, which started this week and continues until the autumn equinox, which feels a long way off. Chris Curtis is setting the questions again, and he concocted a set to produce an average score of seventy, with no team below sixty.

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The Masons, visiting the Plough, took an early lead in the first two questions, and went on to take the first round 10-8, maintaining their advantage when round two was a full house. Three unanswered questions in the third round (obviously it wasn’t Charlie Chaplin) saw the scores draw level, whereupon the Plough took the lead with 13-10 on the pictures (although one other team, on their bye-week and in some pre-season training, notched an unverified sixteen nearby, Giotto the answer of the night). The Masons reduced the deficit to just one point in round five, before a decisive round six which the Plough took 13-8, increasing their advantage with a bonus in the last round to canter to a hard-fought nine-point victory against a spirited and good-humoured Masons outfit. A solid all-round performance by the Plough easily compensated for the absence of Jonny, taking French leave, on a convivial evening with both teams grateful for the excellent questions by set by Chris Curtis, and expertly read by Rupert. Plough 79 - Masons Arms 70.

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The Nomads report that it was great to see old friends in a new setting. Good chat and a good quiz. The Seacourt obviously think eight is their lucky number, they scored that in four rounds. Nomads started well and kept it going, winning six rounds, but losing round six. Final score Seacourt Bridge 62 - Nomads 71.

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Royal Blenheim 71 - Woodstock SC 72. Déjà vu all over again, to quote Yogi Berra (allegedly). Last season Woodstock began with a win at the Blenheim, and this season was the same, although in a much tighter match. In the end it came down to the last question - if Blenheim answered correctly then they would win by two. However as knowledge of "Man From Uncle" enemies eluded them, and the visitors won by a single bonus. Good company, good beer and good to see a busy (but noisy) pub on a Thursday night.

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From the Blackbird: lovely evening, as always, at the White Hart, long may these old style pubs continue. Anyway quiz, very close all night until round six, when a six point swing put the result the Blackbirds way. Good to see the numbers back, and good to see some Science questions re-appearing. White Hart 60 v 73 Blackbird.