11th March 2010 - Teenage Hound

In homage to my daughter's birth 13 years ago to the day, we entered this week's quiz at the Jolly Farmers as 'The Teenage Hound'.

Once again it was just the Core Team members in action and readers will be intrigued to learn that two of us wore shirts and one a hoody. Pre-match-meals had consisted a mushroom risotto; chicken drummers, chips and peas; and fusilli pasta with a tomato and chilli sauce. Match the clothing and food to the member at your leisure.

The whole quiz followed a strangely familiar pattern. First round saw us score 27 out of 30 to be joint second. The music round once again saw us improve to be joint first going into the last round. We got four out of five correct on each of the Films, History, Sport and Entertainment sections and then completely blew up on the True or False. We went for T.F.F.T.T. and we should have gone T.T.T.F.F. giving us a lowly one out of five.

After that it barely mattered that we got nine of the final ten correct and it was somewhat fitting that we missed what turned out to be a fairly obvious anagram for the very last question (DISCOUNT = ???).

We ended up in joint third, two point behind the winners. We were closer to Venus than we were to winning the raffle and the general despondency and inevitable boozing led to a slightly fractious end to the evening although, in keeping with the Team's name for the evening we did have some memories of our first teenage year to share - one of us broke our arm, one was having glockenspiel lessons and one was hating everyone and wanting to die!

We need somehow to break this pattern of being second after the first round, joint top after the music round and then falling away badly in the final round - it is highly likely that The Hound would benefit from an injection of fresh perspectives - so, if you can possibly make a guest appearance next week you'd be very warmly welcomed.

Indeed.

*20th March 2010 update*
It was only as I once again went through Purley on a single decker bus, earlier this evening, that I remembered something of my journey home after the above described quiznanigins a week ago.

Far from being the usual, mildly-stressful, thigh-clenchingly tiresome, combat of battle between an ever increasingly full bladder and the need to retain one's seat for another 20 minutes until the 'home-stop' is reached and the final, undignified, sprawl for immediate personal emptying in a bush somewhere near the bus stop is achieved - this bus ride home was slightly different.

Not MUCH different you'll note, but just 'slightly'.

It had started with me buying an egg & bacon sarnie from the local, late-night, post-pub-quiz, convenience to occupy myself as I whiled away the mere 6 minutes until the bus was due. My first bite had me chomp down on some unseen gristle and, for a man with a gag-reflex so weak that the Guinness Book Of Records are in almost constant contact, it was no suprise that I retched the mouthfull, and a pint or so of Numbers, into the communal waste bin that was conveniently placed. Almost as if exactly placed for the purpose, it only subsequently occured to me.

Recovering quickly from the pathetic reaction I'd had to some long gone pig and a bit of unfertilized chicken reproduction, I made it onto the bus and, noting that there were a bevy of mildly attractive but-only-'cos-you're-a-bit-drunk-and-actually-they're-all-about-seventeen-so-grow-up-and-ignore-them type girls at the back of the single decker bus I sat down almost immediately behind the driver.

As I sat I offered a weak 'smile' of recognition and hopeful indifference, inserted the earphones to my lugs and pulled the hood over my head. Gangster style. Naturally. Imagine therefore my state of mind then when one of the previously observed 'dollies' landed in my lap and spoke several words that I could only guess at because all I could actually hear was ....

*a work in progress - it's late - I must sleep*