The Hounds of Summer

What threatened to be an understrength Hound in terms of numbers became a full classroom ultimately albeit Pete arrived slightly after the register had already been taken. No doubt he will be serving a detention at some stage.

PICTURE ROUND

A particularly easy bunch of celebs this week, even I got 8. Others easily identified Tim Woodcock and Forrest Whitaker for a unblemished start.

CURRENT AFFAIRS

I had been swotting up this week, anticipating Daren's potential absence, but still never knew half of them.  My notes are slightly unclear as to how many we actually got wrong, e.g. was the answer to Q6 76? However, for the record there were 7 countries automatically qualifying for Eurovision this year; Austria (Holders/Hosts), France, Italy, UK, Spain, Germany (paying for it, and ultimately 4 of them filling the last 4 places), and Australia (Special guests). We got no credit for Australia, a badly worded question at best.

EUROVISION HOUND

On to the Eurovision with some good questions from Siobhan, and some very bad answers from us. In brief we;

- successfully negotiated the old Celine Dion/Switzerland & Mouskouri/Luxembourg chestnuts.
- managed to understate Ireland's total victories by two.
- mixed up Jedward with a singing/dancing turkey (perhaps slightly understandable this one)
- in what will become known as the 'Abba Question' we only had to choose between the numbers from 0-12 inclusive, and could not possibly have got it more wrong.
- in what will become known as the 'Beatles Question' we not only failed to acknowledge the fact that Lennon & McCartney couldn't even bear to be in the same room as each other by 1969, we also ignored the irreparable damage it would have done to their hard won street cred had they penned a Eurovision entry. Equally, anyone turning the song down had they done so would not have been making the best career decision for themselves.

CONNECTIONS ROUND

A good one this week, all people who have been featured on UK postage stamps. After the event I vividly recalled the Francis Chichester, Gandhi and Alec Guinness ones but not Samuel Johnson or Nicola Adams. Others were Gustav Holst, Freddie Mercury, Vivien Leigh and Prince Andrew.
An interesting assertion from one Hound that in order to be featured one has to be dead first!

TEN POINTERS

Another good round and 30 points here, didn't culminating in us winning last week, but pushes others towards needing to ace the Jeopdardy round to win.

POETRY

What a sensitive bunch Hound turned out to be, with the possible exclusion of whoever lamented the omission of the works of Pam Ayres and Spike Milligan. The one we didn't get was 'The Green Eye of The Little Yellow God' by John Milton Hayes, so here goes;

There's a one-eyed yellow idol to the north of Khatmandu,
There's a little marble cross below the town;
There's a broken-hearted woman tends the grave of Mad Carew,
And the Yellow God forever gazes down.

He was known as "Mad Carew" by the subs at Khatmandu,
He was hotter than they felt inclined to tell;
But for all his foolish pranks, he was worshipped in the ranks,
And the Colonel's daughter smiled on him as well.

He had loved her all along, with a passion of the strong,
The fact that she loved him was plain to all.
She was nearly twenty-one and arrangements had begun
To celebrate her birthday with a ball.

He wrote to ask what present she would like from Mad Carew;
They met next day as he dismissed a squad;
And jestingly she told him then that nothing else would do
But the green eye of the little Yellow God.

On the night before the dance, Mad Carew seemed in a trance,
And they chaffed him as they puffed at their cigars:
But for once he failed to smile, and he sat alone awhile,
Then went out into the night beneath the stars.

He returned before the dawn, with his shirt and tunic torn,
And a gash across his temple dripping red;
He was patched up right away, and he slept through all the day,
And the Colonel's daughter watched beside his bed.

He woke at last and asked if they could send his tunic through;
She brought it, and he thanked her with a nod;
He bade her search the pocket saying "That's from Mad Carew,"
And she found the little green eye of the god.

She upbraided poor Carew in the way that women do,
Though both her eyes were strangely hot and wet;
But she wouldn't take the stone and Mad Carew was left alone
With the jewel that he'd chanced his life to get.

When the ball was at its height, on that still and tropic night,
She thought of him and hurried to his room;
As she crossed the barrack square she could hear the dreamy air
Of a waltz tune softly stealing thro' the gloom.

His door was open wide, with silver moonlight shining through;
The place was wet and slipp'ry where she trod;
An ugly knife lay buried in the heart of Mad Carew,
'Twas the "Vengeance of the Little Yellow God."

There's a one-eyed yellow idol to the north of Khatmandu,
There's a little marble cross below the town;
There's a broken-hearted woman tends the grave of Mad Carew,
And the Yellow God forever gazes down.         

JEOPARDY ROUND

Some late Bear Traps avoided, including what instrument a specific member of the Corrs plays. This question took on a life of it's own, going from 4 people convinced it was the fiddle, to one and a half seeming certain that it was drums (which it was). First Oasis single also left some room for doubt since about 6 songs were mentioned, some of which weren't even on the first album.

MUSIC ROUND

Solid as ever, can't remember the ones that we couldn't remember.

A win over the Anoraks by a six point margin. Hoorah for the Hounds of Summer!     

Other topics of conversation on the night as follows...

- Avignon has a bridge, and a landmark known as the Palace of the Popes,
- Get of the roof quickly if you experience hailstones as large as big things.
- Don't do the quiz in the Spread Eagle, they don't let you cheat but relatives of the quizmaster can.
- Grimsby still smells of fish, as do their residents even if transported to Wembley. 
- No Old Whitgiftians present tonight, so far as we know.   
- Don't do the quiz in the Spread Eagle, they don't let you cheat but relatives of the quizmaster can (do you see what I did there?).. 
- Deckchair shirts may be acceptable in the Office, but Hound has a reputation to keep up. Never trust a man in stripy trousers, not even Justin Hawkins.  
- Always choose your kettle carefully.
- Don't even think about downloading QuizUp 2.0.

G-Hound