10 th September 2009

All,

My first taste of the weekly quiz night and I get the honour to update you on the result. Some of you already know, I am a man of few words, so I will keep it short. I almost didn't make it but luckily, Daren told me that it was at the Jolly Farmers, as I was heading for 'The Snatch' at first. Apparently, I was a day late for that one. Also, to my surprise I could not sample the potential culinary delights that I have heard so much about. Therefore, a trip to KFC to purchase a Tower Burger ensued. Not one of the best I have had, but hit the mark.

Onto the Farmers. I note that although I grew up in Purley, my experience of the Farmers is limited due to it being a bit of a safe house for some 'do-as-you-likies' when I was younger. This was my third visit to the pub, and I must say, it had a much calmer atmosphere than back in the day.

At about 8:15 the quiz master said his piece about how is in the overall league winners pot (£550), and that this week's raffle prize was a bottle of Champers. Very nice indeed. Also, quizmaster informed us that there was £350 in the pot and six keys left if you wish to gamble the champers ! With a team consisting of Tina (great writing skills), Dazzler (obscurity a speciality), Hound (he knows everything), and Kevster (for he loves rioting) I thought we must have a great chance.

First round consisted of 30 questions. When the first question 'What company use the logo 'It's finger licking good' in their adverts rolled off the quizmasters tongue, I thought 'yes please' we are in here.

End of round one, we were somewhere near the bottom with 27 points. Interestingly, we counted we got at least 5 answers incorrect. Only 3 points adrift. Plenty of time to pull this back. As the quiz progressed, it was interesting to learn that Brad Pitt's first name is in fact William, and that Robin has a wide musical knowledge plucking Labbi Syphry (forgive the spelling) from thin air. We progressed well until the true / false round of 5 questions where we slipped up slightly. However we had the last, most important round which was double bubble for correct answers. From memory this went fairly well, and spotlight on Daren with the assistance from Kevster, the last question as the first was answered correctly.

My first experience of the quiz however left me slightly perplexed. We finished joint last with five other teams on 105 points. There was only one winner with 108 points, joint second with 2 teams on 107 points and a couple with 106 points. It was all very close, and I understand that it is always like that, very close. I do feel slightly embarrassed because the two young ladies sitting at the bar beat The Hound of the Bungholies.

As the marking system is a mystery, I take comfort that there could have been many differing 'PERMUTATIONS' to the results !