Week 18 - 16/03/23

 

As the winter season approaches the final stages, there were the usual keenly contested matches this week, and league standings are consolidating.
 

The highest-scoring match was the all-premiership fixture with the Bletchingdon Nomads at the Plough Wolvercote, both teams at full strength, and even a few away team supporters in the ‘crowd’. Both teams had the best start, twelve-all in the first round. Then the visitors faltered in the second round, conceding three bonuses to fall seven behind. The pictures were level, one missed each, and the three subsequent question rounds were each taken 11-9 by the resurgent Nomads, to pull up to one behind going into the final round. Then it all went right for the away team, hitting top form when it was needed, scoring six points to nil at the start of the round. The Plough got a few consolation points when it was all too late, and the match finished Plough 75 – Nomads 78.

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Confusion reigned at the Seacourt Bridge, after a mix up by the pub using an old set of questions which were from 16th February, a bye for the home team. The Seacourt won the first round 11-8 but when the first question of the second round was given the Masons said that they had already played this quiz! It was déjà vu all over again. After a little hunting the pub found the current set of questions and the match carried on with those for the remainder of the quiz. The scores were eventually Seacourt 74 - Masons 52.

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Windrush Club 46 White Hart 69. The White Hart withstood a strong start by their hosts, and were only three points ahead after the picture round. However, the three final rounds went to the visitors in emphatic fashion to give a rather flattering final margin. Knowledge of Barry Manilow albums, plus the courage to admit it, proved invaluable.

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The Blackbird were forced to field a much changed team with Captain Conway being the only regular on show, and Frank "The Kerryman" asking the questions. They started well, winning the first round 8-5 but then come unstuck losing round two 4-15 with WSC's John Madden proving to be an expert in text speak, but not rolling on the floor laughing. Apart from round six, all other rounds went WSC's way.
Final score: Blackbird 47 - Woodstock Social Club 67.

 

As always, a great evening with convivial hosts. Thanks to the Blackbird for getting a scratch team together. And in the inner city it was Blenheim 72 - Chandos 57.

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Our culinary correspondent (Ploughman’s Bunch! division) writes:

“We still have one match left on our travels, but last night we came across probably the outstanding contender for ‘Away Food of the Season’. After some questions and answers, at the halfway point bowls of the most fantastic ribs appeared and were devoured with some considerable gusto (and, in my case, quite some mess). After the break there was some more scoring in the occasional moments between sucking the bones and dipping into the rich sauce, which will be the abiding memory of the trip to Chippy. Speaking of which, answer of the night was definitely ‘No, they’re all for you’, when we asked whether the enormous bowl of brilliant chips was to be shared with the sporting and hospitable home team.”

There was also a quiz, which ended Chequers 56-91 Bunch!

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Week 17 - 09/03/23

 

The matches this week saw the championship decided, and a spooky incident in Wolvercote.

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Seacourt Bridge are champions of the championship – winners with three games to play, congratulations to them. After a very flooded journey to the Chandos Arms it was a very close contest with the Seacourt trailing at half time. They were without two of their normal players and only managed to get four over the border to the usual warm welcome at the Chandos. The final score was Chandos Arms 59 – Seacourt Bridge 62.

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After much email traffic on the subject of where it was to be played, the Mason’s beat the Woodstock Social Club, at the WSC. Their usual end of season run of form was helped by a series of questions that played to their strengths, especially in the eleven-nil first round. Final score 56 to the Woodstock Social and 68 to the Masons. A really enjoyable evening all round.

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It is traditional that when Nomads go on a long journey there are trials and tribulations to face. Going to Hooky it's either snow or fog; this time it was fog. It was an interesting quiz - draws in round one and two, two-point win for the Sun in round three. Picture round was 17 - 9 to the Nomads, an eight-point win, remember that. Then it was give-and-take, nip-and-tuck, with the final round one point win to Nomads, to give a 62 - 70 win to the Nomads, by virtue of those eight pictorial points.

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Windrush Club 54 – Plough 75. A team of three set out westwards to Witney to the busy Windrush club, also hosting darts and snooker that night. The home team got off to a good start, winning the first round, but apart from drawing the pictures(?) it was downhill from there. The Windrush were in contention until round six, which the Plough owned 2-12 with four bonuses. Sausage and chips all round sustained the teams on a very social night, finishing Windrush Club 54 – Plough 75.

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It was a good friendly game, as ever, at the Blackbird, where the questions seemed to fall the way of visitors the Chequers Chippy. There were the usual lucky choices and correct answers ignored on both sides, ending Blackbird 47 - Chequers 71.

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Playing in the lively surroundings of the White Hart in Wolvercote (the Plough being shut), neither team enjoyed their first picks in round one, but the Bunch! edged ahead with a bonus. The scores were level at 48 each going into the second half and drawing the traditional comment, over nice pizzas, that we might as well not have bothered with the preceding hour or so at all. Cue the decisive round, and it went to the Bunch! 14-6, who were glad they didn’t try to steal Peter the vicar’s Bible question. Although the Bunch! dropped two points in the final round, they closed out the win, Quinny’s excellent chairmanship having delivered an enjoyable evening for both sides, ending Bunch! 82-73 Blenheim. Not long after the question on Phasmaphobia, (fear of ghosts), for no apparent reason, David Quinn’s full beer glass, apparently jumped off his table and smashed itself in the fireplace. The barman rushed over to sweep up the shattered piece and told us that it was a common occurrence…

 

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Week 16 - 02/03/23

 

This week was remarkable for unusual events, where every home team won, for the first time since October 2021 when league matches restarted after a bout of unpleasantness. In other developments, the average blockbuster score was over 19, the highest ever, with six teams achieving the maximum 20, and four of their opponents racking up 19. The Ploughman’s Bunch! lost their first game since July 2022, ending a winning run of twenty-two matches. These stats are brought to you in memory of John Motson, 10-7-45 – 23-2-23.

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Sometimes you have evenings where everything goes your way, all the cylinders are firing, and even the 50-50s go your way. And then you have times where you can't get your own name right, or buy an answer. Such was Thursday evening for, respectively, Bletchingdon Nomads and the Ploughmans Bunch! It started well for the Nomads, winning rounds one and two, drawing round three, edging the picture round and then also winning rounds five and six. Suddenly with one round to go, sixteen points up! The home team lost the final round by a point, but by then the game was in the bag and the visitors were sunk. Final score, Nomads 78 - Bunch! 63. This will be celebrated in the Social Club on Friday evening!

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And in Botley it ended Seacourt Bridge 70 - Chequers Chippy 68. As you can see a very closely fought game and the win came down to the very last question!

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In town it was Blenheim 86 - Blackbird 57.

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The Masons played their penultimate home game of the season, and continued their too-late run of improved form, beating the White Hart 58 - 52. Questions on Carry On films and Dad’s Army playing to a strength of the team, as did the one on Baker Street – not Gerry Rafferty or Sherlock Holmes, but Danger Mouse.

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Woodstock SC 74 - Sun Hooky 57. Not really a contest as Woodstock opened a nine point lead after two rounds, and things never got better for the Sun. Woodstock, as last week, benefiting from being able to put out a full team for a change, and were perhaps fortunate in their choice of questions.

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With the Plough dark due to staff holidays, their match was played at convivial local venue the White Hart Wolvercote. There was a slightly late start due to a car-scrape in town, and a plethora of beer breaks made for a late finish. The home team built a lead steadily, not spectacularly, with the Chandos always in contention, coming up with some excellent last-moment answers. They earned a round of applause for their bonus identifying ‘foghorn’ as the other name for ‘diaphone’, their answer booming out to all shipping over the increasingly lively pub. Winning round six and drawing the final round was not enough to recoup the difference for the Chandos, always good opponents, and welcome pub customers. Final score: Plough 76 – Chandos 65.

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Week 15 - 23/02/23

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Normal service resumed on the level of difficulty this week, thank you Tim. Only the north Oxon derby produced a close match, but everyone had a good night, as ever.

In Wolvercote, the night belonged to the Bunch! They got only two of their own questions wrong in the first half, and in each instance followed those up with a bonus on the next question, then they made no mistakes at all in the second half. Round five was drawn 12-12, the home side edged round six 13-10 as the Chandos hung on in there, but the Bunch! won all the other rounds convincingly. With Quinny reading, it was a very solid performance by the other Bunch! stalwarts under Beth’s steely captaincy. Answer of the night would have been perhaps ‘mongrel’ for each of the four designer dogs in the picture round. Bunch! 93-56 Chandos, top score of the season so far from the Bunch!

Befitting a local derby, this was a tense nail-biter of an affair. Rounds were won alternately, and the result was decided on the last question. Despite the tension, there was a good sense of bonhomie encouraged by on form Hooky and a warming curry supper. It all ended Sun 65 - Chequers 63, and as a result, the Sun rise to fifth place, bumping the Chequers down to sixth. And in the golden west it finished Windrush 61- Seacourt 75, increasing the visitors’ championship lead to six points.

An enjoyable trip for the Nomads to their friends at the Blackbird. The Nomads took an early lead,

but tripped up a bit in the second round, and then settled into their stride, only losing again in round five. Surprisingly, Vince knew the racecourse question (local knowledge helped) and John didn't. The final score was Blackbird 58 - Nomads 80. A convivial evening with old friends.

White Hart - 60 Woodstock SC 74. White Hart made a slow start and conceded a five point deficit in the first round, never really recovering from there. The lead was reduced to three after round 5 but rounds 6 and 7 went very much Woodstock's way. Some of their victory can be put down to knowledge of perfume and English kings. Maybe that says something about them? Who knows...

At the Masons, visiting guest question-reader Jonny, his big manly voice turning again toward childish treble piped and whistled as he struggled to make himself heard over the busy and popular pub. The first half belonged to visitors the Royal Blenheim with storming rounds two and three, to go into the pictures eleven points ahead. The Masons found their form in the second half, winning the pictures and the last two rounds (after a perfect 12-12 in round five) but it was only enough to reduce the deficit to seven points. Final score Masons 69 – Blenheim 76, and the Masons have scant consolation that their higher points total takes them off the lowest rung of the league table.

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Week 14 - 16/02/23

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Another difficult one from Tim this week, he keeps us working. Most matches were close, low scoring affairs, with the average winning score (63) not much ahead of the average losing score (57). Hands up (counted by five-bar gates) if you love stats.

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The Masons are rapidly becoming the Nomads’ bogey team. For most of the night this didn't look a good evening for the Nomads, lost in round one, narrow win in two, loss in three and the picture round left a score after four rounds of Nomads 30, Masons 39. Then the Nomads traditional round five collapse went the other way, so after that they were one point down. Another Nomad loss in round six, left the Masons two ahead. Thank goodness for give it away. Final score, Nomads 61, Masons 60. Closest of shaves.

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Chequers 55 White Hart 63 The White Hart made their first visit to Chippy in a number of years and managed to eke out a narrow victory. They edged most of the rounds by the odd point before a 3-point win in the final round to give a final score that was more comfortable than it felt at the time. The White Hart's literary knowledge, from Tracy Beaker to Shakespeare, proved useful, and correct (for once).

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The Windrush club travelled to Woodstock to take on the Social Club. Though Woodstock were depleted due to illness, they still held their own till round five, which Windrush managed to win by ten points. Windrush still tried to give it away at the end, with Woodstock winning the final round 9 -2. Final score: Woodstock Social Club 48 - Windrush Club 57, taking the Windrush up to third place in the championship.

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Chandos Arms 53 - Blackbird 56. A lovely evening at the Chandos, good company, good food, open fire, anybody passing should drop in, this pub needs supporting. Anyway, the match was close all night, with the Chandos knowledge of geography outstanding, but alas this was to prove their Achilles heel, come the last question of the night, they opted to keep their knowledge of Irish mountain ranges, mistake! This proved their downfall, and the Blackbird lapped this up, to win by a nose.

 

And the Blenheim continue their good run, beating the Sun Hooky 68 – 55.

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The Plough, back to full strength, took an early lead in the relatively uneventful first round against their great rivals the Bunch!. The second round was extraordinary, with the Bunch! winning five bonus points and an eight-point lead after an 11-2 score-line. The last thing they then needed was a mini-round of tricky film questions followed by some brilliant Plough answers on sporting equipment, a 4-14 score in round three turning the match on its head before the Plough doubled their advantage over the pictures, and then extended it further. That felt decisive, but from seven points down almost everything fell to the Bunch! after that as they somehow managed again not to brood on their misfortune, and they went into the last round three up. Excellent giving by the Plough saw the Bunch! fail on their first three subjects and the Plough sneak ahead; the icing on the cake was a final, irrelevant bonus on Geometry, with question-master Rupert castigating the home team as exemplars of everything that is wrong with the youth of today. It all ended Plough 68-72 Bunch!, still unbeaten.

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Week 13 - 09/02/23

 

Average scores increased to seventy this week, with all four premiership teams scoring over eighty. There was movement in the championship league, with no side with fewer than three wins, an achievement shared by five teams, so it’s all to play for.

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As always, a great night between the Nomads and the Sun Hooky. Despite the final score line, this was a fiercely fought contest for most rounds. There was never more than a point in it for rounds 1, 2, 4 & 6 – total score for these rounds being Nomads 49 – Sun 48. However The Sun had a few difficult rounds with the aggregate score for Rounds 3, 5 & 7 being Nomads 36 – 13. So the final score was Nomads 85 – 61 The Sun.

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Seacourt Bridge 62 – Plough 83. The home team stormed to an early lead, winning round one 12-8, but that was eliminated in the next round. Then the Plough won every subsequent round with some inspired answers and even more inspired guesses – ‘McPlant’ for the vegan burger was chewed up and spat out. The night was enlivened by a session from travelling folk musicians, and there was great chat and banter between the teams.

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Proving that they still have what it takes occasionally, the Masons took the win at the Chandos Arms: 74-58. It was an enjoyable fixture, with great food, and quite a few questions that could have been written for the away team.

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Windrush club travelled to Chipping Norton to visit The Chequers. It was a fun night with lots of banter and laughs, and the food was terrific. Chequers 59 - Windrush 71.

 

And in swinging downtown Oxford it ended Royal Blenheim 85 - White Hart 66.

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Bunch! 84-52 Blackbird. The home team went into this match with some trepidation as to whether the returning Charles would last the full 90 minutes, but he acquitted himself well, though understandably a little rusty and lacking in match fitness. The ever-jovial Blackbird outfit stuck to their task throughout, and won the final round, but that wasn’t enough to make much of a dent in the lead built up earlier by some heavy scoring by the Bunch! A good tempo was set by question-master Stuart, as the Bunch! won the first round 14-6 as they would the fifth round later, Beth picking subjects impeccably and all team-members contributing some good gets throughout. Answer of the night would have been Billy Two Rivers, had either team got it.

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Week 12 - 02/02/23

 

Question setter Tim eased off the difficult questions a little bit this week, with three teams scoring over eighty, and every team breaking the fifty barrier.

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Seacourt Bridge 86 Woodstock Social Club 51. Both teams were short of players sadly, the home team had four, and Woodstock only three, but a very pleasant friendly game. The win consolidated the Seacourt’s position at the top of the championship.

 

And in the west it was Windrush Club 54 Royal Blenheim 81.

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The Sun 60 Chandos 56. A rollercoaster quiz. Sun were well down after two rounds but clawed into the lead by round 5 and were a fraction ahead going into the final round. Chandos are a friendly bunch who like their beer and fortunately the Hooky was on fine form. The win takes the Sun up a couple of league places, too.

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Plough 87 – Blackbird 61. The Blackbirds were chirpy after the first round, winning it 9-8, but they were baked in a pie for the rest of the match, losing every round to a very much in-form Plough under Nancy’s steady captaincy. The animal-themed answers saw Jonny pull Jimmy Rabbitt out of a hat at the last second, but nobody on either team got out of the bunker with a “Golden Ferret”. It was no consolation to the Blackbird that they had the highest losing score of the week, but they were great company on the night.

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Masons Arms 51-81 Ploughman’s Bunch! The Masons edged the pictures, drew round six, enjoyed getting dabchick and gazelle right, but the visitors did well in the other rounds, including an 11-3 start and a 13-2 finish. Again coping without Charles (preparing for the first British spacewalk), it was another good all-round performance with contributions from across the team under Beth’s firm stewardship – although they did miss out on Safe Sex On The Beach. Moment of the night, for Jeremy at least, was undoubtedly looking at David’s scribbled suggestion of ‘Vienna’ for the OPEC question, and commenting ‘This means nothing to me’ (a joke their ex-player Jonathan taught him about ten years ago and which he has been storing up ever since).

It was another great night at the White Hart, who started well - winning the first round 10-7. But then the Nomads found their stride and took rounds 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 – just slipping up momentarily in round 6. So the final score was White Hart 58 – Nomads 69. There was much amusement throughout - with a suggestion at the beginning that the Nomads might have slipped the home team’s Question Master a fiver for a good result. So when the Nomads had a chance of a bonus on the TOTP paired question and Carl Davies looked the QM in the eye and said, “let’s spend the night together” someone shouted out “that’s not bad for a fiver” to which there was a quick retort “I’d ask for change”. Then, when the Nomads got their own TOPT question and Carl looked at the QM and said, “I want to hold your hand”, the QM replied with “well that’s worth another two points”. Eynsham, home of dodgy banter, and long may it be so.

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Week 11 - 26/01/23

 

It was another difficult quiz this week, with most teams scoring well below their average. There were some close results, though, in the usual hard fought matches.

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The Mason’s losing streak finally came to an end at the Blackbird. Questions on engineering and aircraft of the 1930s helped a score-line of 63-43 to the visitors, and they got the third highest score of the night.

 

And a drawn match in Chippy: Chequers 54 - Seacourt Bridge 54. Very friendly game where both teams took it in turn to lead. With the usual memory lapses, inspired guesses and picking of the wrong answer.

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It was real cliff-hanger in Oakley this week. The White Hart, Eynsham storming into a nine-point lead by round five, things looked grim for the Chandos. But when they answered eleven consecutive home questions correctly, the contest was turned on its head. With four questions left in 'Give It Away' round, the Chandos were leading by five points. Despite White Hart answering their last two questions, the Chandos last two questions went unanswered by either team. This left the Chandos winning by one point. Phew! A really close shave, the beer flowed. Chandos 60 - White Hart 59, which takes the Chandos up three places in the league.

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From the Nomads: Well what a nailbiter that was! The Windrush took four of the first six rounds but still only had a three point in the lead as they went into Round seven. But then disaster struck the Windrush as they really did “give it away” – losing the final round 11-2 and, consequently, the match - Nomads 62 – Windrush 56. Ignoring their rather frivolous (but correct) guess of “Dunkirk” as a “great place to retreat”, the answer of the match must go to Pete Baker from the Nomads for remembering that the runner-up to Aldaniti in the 1981 Grand National was Spartan Missile. Where did he dig that up from? As always, it was a great contest with much laughter and a good night was had by all.

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Ploughman’s Bunch! 68-52 Sun. The Bunch! approached this with some trepidation in the absence of Charles (dress rehearsals for the Coronation), but in the welcoming surroundings of the Plough our other players seemed to up their game again in chiseling out a victory which was harder-fought than the final score-line might suggest. The Sun were a point up going into the pictures, our round three score even worse than last week and wiping out our early lead – and it could have been worse if we and not they had offered the answers we might have given. But a good showing in the pictures and thanks to Quinny, David, and Miles, and Jeremy, under Beth’s steely captaincy, they had enough to prevail, particularly after an 11-2 round five which accounted for more than half the final difference between the teams and rather scuppered the challenge from the cheerful Hook Norton outfit, who very much played their part in a diverting evening under the kind oversight of last-minute reader Rebecca, on hand to limit a little Jeremy’s pre-op intake.

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Woodstock Social Club 45 – Plough 87. After a good win last week Woodstock could not maintain that form against Premiership visitors the Plough. The home team conceded two or three bonuses in every round, having to wait until the end of the last round to secure one of their own. The visitors pulled out some unexpected answers (especially on Harry Styles) and had the top score of the night, nearly thirty points more than the average, and nineteen ahead of the next highest.

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Week 10 - 19/01/23

 

It is already the half way point of the season, ten matches played with ten to come, and Tim Busby commemorated this by setting a trickier quiz. Average scores were well below sixty, with only one team nudging past the seventy barrier. Perhaps it was the trace of a Scottish theme in round five? In the face of difficult questioning, some errors were made, but they were careless, not deliberate.

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In the frozen north the Sun Hook Norton had their second successive win to launch them up from eighth to fifth in the Championship. It was a closely contested competition from the start. Tense, nervous, nail-biting (that was Sun captain Pat) and it was anyone's game until the last round. The Blackbird are a genial bunch, and the final score rather flattered The Sun. The Hooky was on fine form and the chicken stew was moreish. Sun 57 - Blackbird 50.

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White Hart 53 - Ploughman’s Bunch! 66. The away team approached the trip to the White Hart with some trepidation in the absence of Charles (keynote speech at Davos), but in the welcoming surroundings of the Eynsham hostelry their other players seemed to up their game in chiselling out a victory which was harder-fought than the final score-line might suggest. The White Hart edged round two, drew round five, and won round six, and the Bunch! could have made it rather easier for themselves had they not gone for the wrong option on a couple of occasions, but thanks to Quinny (a last-second Peggy Ashcroft), David (Marc Jacobs), and Miles (Stig of the Dump), as well as Jeremy (Rips-his-Corsets-off), under Beth’s steely captaincy they had enough left in the tank to prevail: 11-4 in the last round putting a deceptive gloss on the outcome (the low point for both teams having been a 5-3 third round).

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Woodstock SC 61 - Chequers 38. As the results shows, not a good night for the Chequers. Apart from a small revival in round two, which Chequers won 7 - 2, nothing went right for them. Some inspired guessing on Woodstock’s part helped as well.

 

And in the highest-scoring match of the night it was Seacourt Bridge 64 – Royal Blenheim 68.

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The Chandos Arms made the long journey to West Oxfordshire to take on the Windrush club. It was a good contest with very little between the two teams, lots of beer drunk, lots of laughs between the teams, a good night had by all. Windrush, as usual, tried to give their lead away during the give it away round, but just about managed to hang on. Windrush - 55 Chandos 45. Captain Mole reports: “We lost, however we were complimented by the opposition captain about the quantity of beer we drank. I think we had a pint each in every round but one! I think teams' scores should be an aggregate of points scored in the quiz added to the number of pints drunk by that team. How about a change of the rules? After all, we have to keep the pubs in business and making a diet coke last all night won't help.” Wise words worthy of consideration?

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The top team score in a low-scoring night was 71 from the Plough, against 49 by the Masons Arms. The Masons are a very positive team who are great opponents, but they are having a bad run. The Masons stepped on the slippery slope in round three when they did not trouble the scorer. They have only won their first match of the season, against Premiership opponents, the Nomads. But this was not their week to repeat that, despite winning rounds two and seven, tying the pictures and getting two bonus answers in round six.

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Week 9 - 12/01/23

 

It was league matches again this week, the first since 8 December, feels like a long time, because it is. We all agreed that it was good to be back in the swing of regular competition. Tim Busby had a bit of a music theme going, with three questions on bass guitarists, and probably the most consistently wrongly answered bubble-gum question: it was the very forgettable Ohio Express who sang ‘Yummy Yummy Yummy’. Top pick for most was the 1910 Fruitgum Co (they sang ‘Simon Says’). Many heads were hung in shame, or held high in the pride of not knowing.

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There was a good evening at Bletchingdon Sports and Social. The Nomads stormed into an early lead, and stayed there. Their old friends at the Seacourt kept in touch, but managed only one round win, Round 6. The final score was Nomads 82, Seacourt 50.

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Masons 54 - Sun 63. The Sun were pleased to get their first win of the season. The occasion was friendly and convivial. The food was generous, and the Harvey's beer was in top condition. The Masons is a nice boozer.

 

The Royal Blenheim are still in good form, beating the Woodstock Social Club 80-54.

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The Blackbird and White Hart enjoyed a closely fought if low-scoring affair, with the lead changing hands on many occasions and neither team ever leading by more than three points. It was fitting that the scores were level with two questions left, before the visitors' knowledge of punk bands enabled them to clinch victory. The same musical knowledge had proved useful earlier, from glam bassists to classical composers, although no one would admit to knowing the bubble-gum pop answers. Final score: Blackbird 60 - White Hart 63.

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Ploughman’s Bunch! 86-57 Windrush Club. This was a very enjoyable evening as the Bunch! hosted the good-natured Windrush outfit, who kept themselves in the contest with some excellent pop knowledge and edged the fifth round. But despite not having played a league match since the first of December, the Bunch! were a pretty well-oiled machine (although at times a little too ebullient for the watchful eye of question-master Quinny), taking the other rounds by comfortable margins. Beth enjoyed the REM and Gilbert and Sullivan questions and David got the Z-motoring one, and Wigglesworth after the pictures – as well as Ogrizovic. Miles chipped in on the pictures and on a number of other questions throughout.

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Chequers Chippy 49 – Plough 90. The long journey north to Chippy was rewarding for Plough, and the Chequers home team were good company and positive throughout. Question-setter Tim Busby was there in person, large as life acting as question-master. The visitors were consistent, winning each round with a bonus or two, and the pictures were level at seventeen each. Excellent food, with chips, and a great choice of good beer made for a very sociable evening.

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Table Top 3 - 15/12/22

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I have made an old year's resolution not to send any more free copy to the Oxford Mail, so they will not be not publishing my reports in future. My message to my friendly contact there included:

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"I have been thinking (and discussing with quiz league colleagues) about our future relationship with the Oxford Mail. I am sorry to have to conclude that I will no longer be sending you reports each week. We will continue to put out reports on Facebook and our web page, which I can now do a lot sooner after each week’s quiz (Sunday, probably, instead of sending it to you). Can I thank you personally, and from all teams in the Oxfordshire Quiz League, for the support and coverage over the decades, publishing our few words and funding our trophies. I do understand your difficulties with the local newspaper economy, and the problems for the Oxford Mail in the larger organisation. I hope that this is au revoir not goodbye after the long relationship between the quiz league and the Oxford Mail. Perhaps we can pick this up again in the future if circumstances change, don’t be shy about getting in touch if you feel ready to include weekly quiz reports again."

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So I can now publish match reports a little earlier than before, and here is this week's:

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Normal hostilities were suspended for the traditional Christmas Truce this week. Not feeling fit for football in the mud of no man’s land, twelve teams packed three venues for a tabletop quiz set by Pete Baker, genial Nomad, no mad genie, although it’s pantomime season. Oh no it’s not, put that behind you. Where? It was a ding-dong, merrily on high, contest with the lead changing one more time than UK Prime Ministers in 2022. Less often than monarchs, though.

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Question-setter Pete took control of proceedings in Bletchingdon where twenty hardy souls braved the mists to enjoy a social night. The two other venues hosting four teams each were also outside the Oxford ring road – the Blackbird in the deep south and Woodstock Social Club in the wild west.

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Starting in time-honoured fashion with round one, general knowledge, Pete put the teams through their paces, with the Mason’s Arms started as they intended to continue (but they didn’t) with the top score of eight. Round two was themed around Oxfordshire, which suited the Chandos Arms, from over the border in Buckinghamshire, getting their best score of the night, slightly bettered by the Chequers Chippy.

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Round three reminded us all what a year it has been for people dying, all featured in ten questions concerning those who, by one means or another, are “no longer with us” in a very real sense. From the Queen with her annus (careful with that spelling) horribilis to the now pluperfect Christine McVie it was a solemn reminder that we are all on a one way journey with a known destination. Thanks for that, Pete. Top corpse-botherers were the Plough with a near-perfect nine, with the appropriately coloured Blackbird getting their highest score of the match.

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The Sun Hooky and the Nomads led the field in the picture round with eighteen, others struggling with the identification of aircraft and castles. The Ploughman’s Bunch!, habitual tabletop winners, dropped from second place to sixth with a horribly under-performing nine. Round five was a mixed bag, suiting the Woodstock Social Club with seven.

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Round six was ‘Bruce’ themed, with clever-clogs bacteriologists disappointed by the absence of brucellosis. The Royal Blenheim found their best form, as they were equal top scorers (with four others, including the Windrush Club) to pull ahead of the field. Round seven was back to general knowledge, and the Sun Hook Norton got a party seven to climb up to joint first place, what could possibly go wrong? It was all to play for with only four points separating the top six teams, with only the forty-one point blockbuster to mark.

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Groans of disappointment and whoops of delight greeted the scores, especially in Bletchingdon where the White Hart and home team the Nomads led the field with an impressive thirty-two each. The three wise men of the Royal Blenheim were venue winners in the Blackbird, and champions overall, taking the gold medal. The White Hart were winners in Bletchingdon, and in frankincense position across all teams. The Ploughman’s Bunch! had to settle for myrrh (what’s that? it’s a balm!) while the Sun Hooky were top of the tree (very uncomfortable) in Woodstock, but fifth overall thanks to a performance that was more Rudolph than Dasher in the blockbuster.

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That’s it until the next tabletop on 5 January 2023, no quiz on 22 or 29 December (why ever not?).

Have a great break, everyone, Happy Christmas and New Year, and all the very best for 2023.

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Week 8 - 08/12/22

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Industrial inaction at the Oxford Mail? this is what they missed:

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The last league matches before Christmas (starts earlier every year) had lower average scores, dropping like the temperature outside, but not below zero.

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The Seacourt stay at the top of the championship after a very closely fought game against the Chandos, with the lead changing several times. Seacourt Bridge 70 - Chandos Arms 63.

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White Hart 75 - Masons Arms 55. The White Hart's knowledge of low culture, including a clean sweep in the soap opera round, enabled them to draw steadily away to victory, despite the visitors taking the picture round and the last round by a couple of points apiece. Their areas of expertise were confirmed by a full house in the Blockbuster round on Carry On films, not perhaps the proudest boast, but there you are.

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Woodstock SC - 72 Nomads 67. Does this sound like a fairly close game? Well it was for the first four rounds, by which time a Nomads had opened a three point lead. Then things went a bit mad - Woodstock took round five by a six-point margin, added a further nine in round six, and then nearly emulated Devon Loch when Nomads took round seven with a thirteen - six victory. Not enough to win but enough to get the home team seriously worried!

Woodstock’s sound win against premiership opponents takes them up one place to fourth in the championship.

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And in Chippy it was Chequers 67 – Royal Blenheim 80.

 

In Witney the Windrush Club beat the Blackbird 70-46.

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There was a pitch invasion at the Plough (actually, the pub was fully booked with keen diners) so the quiz team moved down the road, for one night only, to the White Hart, Wolvercote. They were given a warm welcome at this cosy community pub: pizza and chips, good beer, and a warm fire. After a tied first round the Sun team were well in contention for the next two, when the Plough stepped up a gear under the leadership, also for one night only, of captain Ruth. Getting all six of their questions right in round five was the zenith for the Sun, but the stars of the Plough did the same to tie the round 12-12. Winning the last two rounds by ten points and seven respectively secured the win for the home team, not quite at home. A friendly sociable evening ended, before the mercury sank too low below zero outside, Plough 86 - Sun Hook Norton 57.

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Week 7 - 01/12/22

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Oxford Mail cultural boycott of quiz news continues, here's what they missed:

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Winter draws on, but it takes more than a cold night to keep us away from the quiz.

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The Plough ventured into the inner city to meet premiership rivals the Royal Blenheim, and what a match it was. A thrilling game by any standard: The Plough won rounds one to four by one, then the Blenheim took round five 13-10 and round six 11-10, so it was all level going in to round seven at 69-69. Then the away team got all six of their questions, the home side missed three and the Plough picked up two bonuses on them to win the round 14-6, and that was their 8-point win: Royal Blenheim 75 – Plough 83.

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It was a cold and foggy night as Windrush Club travelled to Oakley. They soon settled into their stride winning Round One convincingly. However Chandos had other ideas winning rounds two, four and five, and took a lead of five points into 'Give It Away' round. The Chandos edged that round and recorded their second win of the season. The beer flowed. Chandos Arms 67 - Windrush Club 60.

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Sun 62 White Hart 71. After a foggy drive 'up North', the mists cleared sufficiently for the White Hart to start strongly and gain a commanding nineteen-point lead after the picture round. It may have been the effect of the local ale, but the second half was a contrast, as the Sun won the last three rounds to close the gap to nine points. The White Hart move up to third place in the championship.

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It was a tough return to Bletchingdon for the Chequers who hadn’t played the Nomads there for some time. The Nomads took a significant lead over the first three rounds before the Chequers bounced back, drawing the Picture round, and narrowly taking two of the remaining three rounds. However, with an impressive Round six win as well, the Nomads finally took the match Nomads 79 – 63 Chequers. There was some confusion when, the QM said “only 5 seconds to go” but that’s because he was watching the footie and Japan only had to hold on for that time.

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Masons Arms 61 - Woodstock Social Club 70. Round one to Woodstock, round two to Masons, and it stayed very even until rounds five and six saw Woodstock open a significant lead, and a win for Masons in round seven was not enough to come back. The usual good company, good beer, and good food - what more could anyone want?

Ploughman’s Bunch! 83-69 Seacourt Bridge. Everything can turn on just one round, of course, and it was round two – which the Bunch! won 15-4, with three bonuses, and the Seacourt perhaps a little distracted by the state of the World Cup football. The home side followed this up by taking round three 8-4, but the Seacourt won the next two by a couple and two of the other rounds were tied. The teams were well marshalled by reader Stuart, and between them the teams supplied themselves as the answer to the perennial question ‘who ate all the pies?’. This was the first loss for the Seacourt this season, and the Bunch! remain the only undefeated team.

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Week 6 - 24/11/22

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There was no change in any championship positions this week, with the Seacourt Bridge staying top, and unbeaten, after winning 78 - 48 against the Blackbird.

 

In Chippy it was Chequers 72 - Chandos Arms 59: a good game, mostly evenly matched with just one point difference either way in most rounds, against a very friendly team. And the Chequers are looking forward to the long drive to play them on their own ground.

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Windrush Club v Sun Hook Norton was almost a carbon copy of last year's fixture. The Windrush got their nose in front early on and managed to maintain it throughout the quiz. At the start of give it away they had a six point lead, but the Sun came storming back to get the lead with one question to go, luckily the Windrush got their question correct to secure a draw. Great night with great fun attitude from both teams. Final score draw was Windrush Club 67 - Sun Hook Norton 67.

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With both teams from the premiership on top form it was Royal Blenheim 80 – Bletchingdon Nomads 77, described by the away team as starting well, not so good in the middle, and a great finish but too late.

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True to the pattern of most of the Bunch! season so far, they could easily have lost this one. After the first pair of give-it-away questions they were a point down – but then knew all five of the others that the Woodstock gave to them, and picked up two bonuses too, to achieve the deceptive final score-line. The visitors had chiselled out a seven-point advantage coming out of the pictures (with Beth liking the QPR question, of course), only to blow that completely in round five. That was where they only chose three of the nine questions they knew – coming unstuck on three subjects they thought would be good for them, on all of which the Woodstock got bonuses. The Bunch! went ahead by one after round six, but that would not have been enough without the 12-4 blitz on the ten final questions. Final score: Woodstock Social Club 67-74 Ploughman’s Bunch!

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After a shaky start to the winter season the Plough found their mojo, and got it working, against good-natured visitors the White Hart Eynsham. The away team never got going until round five, which they won 10-8, with two bonuses to each side. Then the home team were going like a train to win the final two rounds 27-14, running out winners: Plough 91 - White Hart 62.

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Week 5 - 17/11/22

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Average scores were over seventy for the first time this season, and now there are no teams without a point. It’s all unchanged in Premiership standings, but there is movement in the Championship.

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After three consecutive defeats against Premier League clubs it looked all too familiar as the pointless Chandos lost the first two rounds against Woodstock Social Club. However they were undefeated in the next four rounds, including the picture round. It all went down to the ‘Give It Away', which saw a revitalised Woodstock move to within a point after seven questions, Chandos however finished the round strongly and earned their first win of the season. An exciting match, in a warm, busy, dog-friendly pub, punctuated by a raucous exchange between some dogs that were not friends. Final score Chandos Arms 62 - Woodstock Social Club 59.

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Masons Arms 71 – Seacourt Bridge 72. As the results show it was a very close game with either team taking the lead almost in turns with each other. The Seacourt are enjoying a tremendous start to the season in their new home, remaining unbeaten and going top of the championship.

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A lovely evening at the Blackbird, with the home team off to a flyer, with a nine point advantage after round one, then held the lead until the final round where they nearly imploded with a seven point reversal, points in the bag pulled them through. Victory was aided by Frank the Kerryman’s knowledge of cricket, misspent youth perhaps, also newcomer Tara with her girlie knowledge, something the Blackbirds needed. Stew & dumplings, to finish a good night. Blackbird 72 –-Windrush Club 59.

 

And in Eynsham it was White Hart 66 - Royal Blenheim 78.

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In the highest-scoring match of the season so far it was Ploughman’s Bunch! 87-71 Chequers. This was actually a draw after the break, both sides scoring eighteen in the pictures, and each side winning a round 11-9 either side of an 11-11 round six. The Bunch! had done the damage early doors, against the genial Chequers outfit and under the stern chairmanship of the Quinnster. Bonuses on the map, the keyboard, and the golf saw the hosts jump out to a 13-6 lead in round one, and they edged a point further ahead when David Parr knew Baranski. The Chequers registered a very respectable score but were beaten by the top total of the season, 87.

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The Plough were welcome visitors at Bletchingdon Sports Club, arriving as football training was at full pelt, and the visitors may have had a better night joining in with that. The Nomads were on top form, going into the final round with a ten-point lead, despite drawing two rounds. All too late, the Plough found some form in the last round to win it by three with two bonuses, but the night belonged to the Nomads who ran out (not on to the pitch) winners: Nomads 77 – Plough 70.

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Week 4 - 10/11/22

 

What happened last Thursday? Don't look in the Oxford Mail to find out, read it here:

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It was all change at the top of both divisions this week after some tight matches.

The Seacourt Bridge team travelled north to Hook Norton, hoping to keep their unbeaten record. An early lead by the Sun was nibbled away by the Seacourt, and they all enjoyed nibbling on the chips and sausages. The Hooky was in fine fettle. The Sun are pleased to get their season going, and the Seacourt remain unbeaten, as it ended all square: Sun 60 - Seacourt 60.

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It was a good friendly evening in Chipping Norton, with the lead going from one side to the other. After a good advance in the picture round, the home team managed to remain ahead until a nail-biting final round which came down to the last question. Chequers 55 - Woodstock Social Club 53, taking the Chequers to the top of the Championship.

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The Nomads were able to return to their birthplace (The Blacks Head, or is it the comedo? – see Q3 below) to squeeze out a win after almost a decade (and for “one night only”) as a much stronger team than when they left. They won the first three rounds and, with a drawn picture round, were able to go into the second half with a good lead. The Chandos Arms were improving all the time though – narrowly losing round five and winning round six. However the gap was too big to fill, and the final score was Nomads 80 – 56 Chandos Arms. Regardless of the scores though, the convivial atmosphere meant that a fun night was had by all.

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Masons Arms 45 - Blackbird 70. A raucous evening at the Masons was enjoyed by one and all, the quiz started evenly, but a disastrous second round for the home team with an eleven point swing, swung it the Blackbirds way, a lead they maintained until the end. As always lovely company, great food, good beers was had by one and all.

 

The Plough were hosts to the noted, sorry “no Ted” Windrush Club. It was a relatively low-scoring game, compared to others featuring premiership teams, especially round three which ended 4-2 with nine questions unanswered. The picture round was drawn, but the Plough were slightly ahead in each round until the last, which they won convincingly. It ended Plough 75 – Windrush Club 49.

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The all-premiership clash, the Blenheim hosting the Ploughman’s Bunch! was another close one that the Bunch! could have lost, going into round six five points down against the in-form Blenheim. The pictures looked to be decisive, with the hosts nailing it to take the round 18-10, and with a full house in round five preserving their five-point advantage. But the real turning-point was the penultimate round, which saw a complete reversal as the Bunch! took it 14-4, then closed it out, answering all the questions given to them in the final round. It was a very solid all-round team performance on a convivial evening, boisterous but not too noisy in the pub, with friendly opponents and questions expertly read by Dr Tim. Royal Blenheim 69 - Ploughman’s Bunch! 78, taking them to the top of the premiership.

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Thanks to Tim Busby for the questions, and See “Oxfordshire Quiz League” on Facebook, and oxfordshire-quiz-league.co.uk.

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Week 3 - 03/11/22

 

There was an all-premiership match as the Ploughman’s Bunch! hosted the Nomads. The Bunch! started well against their friends, and despite some fine answers from them had taken the first round 13-10. But they came seriously unstuck in round two as the Nomads got all their questions and two bonuses – and could have had a third on the double BT question. But they hauled it back, levelling the contest with a bonus and would even have gone ahead if a correct answer on the advertising slogan had matched Tim Busby’s correct answer – or fallen behind if the Nomads also correct answer had (it seems Treets, Minstrels, and M&Ms were all marketed that way at various times). A full house for the Nomads on the pictures gave them a three-point advantage, but they knew their 60s Pop to take a five-point lead into the final round, then that rose to seven. But that was the high watermark for the visitors. Beth captained the last round brilliantly, not giving away another one they got until the Bunch! clinched an unlikely comeback win. Bunch! 74 - Nomads 70.

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Mason's Arms 50 - Chequers 63. Another friendly evening: the visitors seemed to pick good questions for themselves, even ignoring several right answers. Then it was a disastrous final round for both teams. And the Seacourt continue their good start to the season:

 

White Hart 56 Seacourt 64 and the blockbuster was a draw at 17 each. A lovely very friendly game. And the Blenheim keep registering high scores, beating the Blackbird 80 – 52.

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Sun Hook Norton 55 - Woodstock SC 64. Another game of two halves. First two rounds were drawn, then Sun opened a six point lead after round three. Woodstock reduced that to two in the picture round, then took round five by 12 - 2, and never looked back. Tim Busby kept order admirably and graciously admitted that both teams were correct in insisting that Treets were advertised as 'Melts in your mouth, not in your hand'. Also Simon also says thank you to the Sun for giving them the two points for answering 'Treets' - they were convinced we were right!

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The Plough team travelled across the misty Otmoor for a warm welcome at community-owned gastropub the Chandos Arms. There was a great atmosphere there, as always, and a fine selection of beer and food. The visitors took the first round by one bonus, but then the home team stepped up a gear to secure three bonuses in round two to pull level. The Plough went a bit further ahead in each round, and the Chandos were in with a good chance until the last round, which the Plough won 10-4, finishing Chandos Arms 57 – Plough 72, a friendly night in a perfect pub.

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Week 2 - 27/10/22

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What's in the Oxford Mail? not my article, as far as I have seen. Well, here it is:

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We are into week two of the Winter League, and the questions are separating the sheep from boys, and the men from the goats. Tim Busby’s austerity measures are giving nothing away, and average scores were 10% lower than last week. As the celebrated philosopher Nash put it “There are more questions than answers, and the more I find out, the less I know”, and Tim B is free to stir it up however he likes.

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In the Blenheim, guest question reader Jonny strained to be heard above the sociable hubbub, in a match that went very much to the home team. They stormed to 10-6 margins in the first two rounds, then stepped up a gear to 14-2 in round three. The ever-cheerful Masons waited until the last question of round five to gain a bonus, by which time the Blenheim had earned eleven of an eventual fourteen. Final score was a convincing Royal Blenheim 79 - Masons Arms 46.

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Newbies the Seacourt Bridge, relocated from North Oxford, celebrated their first match with a win: Seacourt 56 – Windrush Club 46. The new home team member Alison fitted in very well with the scratch team, as three of them are abroad now, so Maureen persuaded her son Mark and daughter-in-law Tracy to play. It was a very pleasant game from both teams.

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Chequers 60 - Sun 46, a good friendly evening as always with the Sun team. After a slow start, the Chequers managed to rake up some points despite the usual wrong picks of questions or answers... and a few surprising, good guesses! The White Hart edged a low-scoring affair at the Woodstock Social Club, thanks to some inspired, sorry, educated guesses and knowledge of dogs in cinema history. Once again, years of watching supposedly low quality TV proved to be useful in the long term. The final score was Woodstock Social Club 56 - White Hart 66.

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In Bletchingdon both teams realised it wasn’t going to be an easy night when the score at the end of round one was 4-2 (that is, the teams got just three questions right between them). Things didn’t improve much as the evening went on, as both teams failed to beat that score on another two of the subsequent five ‘question’ rounds. Fortunately the pictures (19-15 to the Nomads) gave some respite for both teams - although it did mean that more than a third of all the points scored (34 of 101) came from this one round. Nomads won decisively in the end largely due to round six which they took 13-0. It ended Nomads 62 – 39 Blackbird, always a good night and there was still much laughter (some out of despair!).

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Chandos Arms 57-64 Ploughman’s Bunch! It’s always a pleasure to go to Oakley, but the Bunch! didn’t start well – the Chandos scored the first five points (and at the end scored the last six). The Chandos continued to pull out last-minute correct answers to keep them well in the hunt. Some inspired answers from the Bunch! on the pictures saw them draw level, the tables turned as the Bunch! won round five 11-6, and pulled two points further clear in the penultimate round Inspired work by David Parr on American Singers and TV Dating Shows, saw the Bunch! clinch the match, the Chandos’ late rally making the final score a more accurate reflection of what was at times an uncomfortable night for the visitors.

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Week 1 - 20/10/22

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Still nothing in the Oxford Mail, yet, but here's what they would have won:

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After a sociable start to the winter league with two tabletops, the one-on-one league matches started this week. Tim Busby is back as question setter, and he wrote a set to challenge the brain power of the teams, which produced some tight matches.

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Rivals and stable-mates the Ploughman’s Bunch! and the Plough met at their shared venue, and after a drawn first round the match belonged to the Bunch! all the way. Everything went very right for them, and they were never behind, building on an impressive lead each round. They didn’t have Miles on the team, but his uncle Mike Burton did make an appearance to see them four up going into the pictures. Perhaps the food fuelled them in the next two, decisive rounds, which the Bunch! won 24-13, with bonuses thanks to Dolly Parton’s bra amongst other uplifting topics. Winning the final round, too, in what was a very solid team performance led to the final score Ploughman’s Bunch! 85 – Plough 67.

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The White Hart Eynsham start with a win that puts them on top of the Championship, 74 – 48 against the Chequers Chippy. Despite getting their first question of the season wrong, the White Hart managed to shade the first two rounds and ease away in the second half to a rather flattering victory margin over their ever-jolly visitors. The changes to the format caused some brief confusion, but knowledge of mass shootings, American photographers and children's cartoon series always comes in handy.

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The Nomads marked their admission to the Premiership with an away match at the Masons in Headington Quarry. The Masons started with a strong first round and stayed in front until the chequered flag fell, when they were two points ahead. It was an enjoyable and competitive fixture which ended with a score of 60-58 to the Masons.

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And in the double-W match in Witney the Windrush Club hosted Woodstock Social Club. Wonderful wizardry wowed the Witney workhorses when Woodstock’s whizz-kids whooshed wildly with wit and waggishness, willing a win but wilting in the warmth, nothing wishy-washy or weak-willed was wanted. It was a fine fixture between two well-matched teams. Considering that there was lots of background noise from darts and the supporters, the question master kept control. It was a tight match until the Windrush got ahead in round five, then Woodstock fought back in round six to reduce the deficit. Once again the Windrush club looked to have blown it on the give it away round until they managed to get the last two questions correct to steal a draw, score 58-58. Strangely, the teams could not be separated on the blockbuster either, score 13-13.

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In other results the Royal Blenheim ventured north to win at the Sun Hook Norton, 72-56, and the Blackbird won at home against the Chandos Arms 58-53. Very enjoyable evening against a jovial and resolute Chandos team, Blackbird took an early lead and held on until the finale. Questions well read by the Mighty Quinn (Paul, that is). Kidlington Green have left the league, and cancelled v Seacourt Bridge.

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