An Ending.

Well, that’s that over.

And I can’t say I’m glad.

I’m not.

I’ve cancelled the Hutton quiz.

I spent a frustrating 20 minutes or so, having a somewhat confrontational discussion with Sue, the Hutton’s landlady.

I don’t think, in the six or so year’s I’ve been running pub quizzes, I’ve been left feeling so insulted.

Or told – TOLD – how to write them.

Not by Denise, the manageress who originally got me doing them, not by Pete and Chris, who’d given me a free hand and introduced me to Phil, at the Plough, who was needing a quiz.

They’d suggest, certainly.   Very tactfully, too.   And, in those early days, that came in helpful, especially while I was still learning the job.   And the audience.

Her objection was simply that the regular’s were complaining that the quizzes were “too hard”*.

One thing that I have learned about pub quizzes, from doing them as long as I have, is that it only some of a given pub’s regulars will usually take part.

The original run of the Hutton’s quiz had plenty of people turning up; – mostly the semi-regulars, who’d turn up once or twice a week if something was on, or stop in for the occasional beer, and pub quiz fans who do two or three quizzes a week.   Same with the King Harold, the Napier, the Plough, ad nauseum.

So I pitch the questions to the audience who do come.   Which could’ve been at a good seven or eight teams, tonight, going by the feedback and comments I’ve had.

Being aware that those regulars who do chose to attend are a blessing, and a rare one at that.   I do know that.   And, having worked at the Hutton for some seven years, I knew the lives, tastes and habits of its regulars better than most.

On top of that, Sue had been mulling over running a quiz herself, in-house.   I can’t blame her for that.   There is a recession on, and it’s usually cheaper to do entertainment that way.

But I can say that I feel deeply insulted by the simple fact that she announced on the Facebook group, and had the posters up, today.

Today.

Sue didn’t have the decency to leave doing that until after today; – until whatever had happened, happened.

That added insult to injury.

Granted I’ve been expecting this, since the King Harold gig, collapsed; – and, as a few friends, Adrian in particular, along with a couple of others who’ve sent text messages pointed out, not being able to split costs between two venues was not a helpful factor in these benighted times.   They also pointed out that other alternatives will crop up.

And granted, I’m an attention seeking, people pleasing old so-and-so.

But I also think I’m one that knows what he’s doing, when it comes to a quiz.

But for the sake of completeness, I’ll post up the question set I would have used.   And probably add more.   Enjoy them.

ROUND ONE: –  GENERAL KNOWLEDGE.

Q1) Who wrote the novel “War & Peace”?

A1) Count Leo Tolstoy.

Q2) What is the more usual name for Roentgen Rays; – X Rays, Gamma Rays, Ultraviolet Rays or Magnetic Resonance

Q2) X Rays.

Q3) A ‘Miller’ is a move in which sport; –Ice Hockey, Trampolining, or Diving

A3) Trampolining.

Q4) Festfolk was the original name for which Swedish group?

A4) ABBA.

Q5) Janice Deveree was very well known for having a 14 inch what?

A5) Beard.

Q6) Fredrick Sanger invented which life saving drug?

A6) Insulin.

Q7) What part of the body does a turtle use to breathe; – Belly, Shell, Mouth or Anus?

A7)  Anus.

Q8) On what make of motorcycle did Barry Sheene win the 500cc-world title in 1977?

A8) Suzuki.

Q9) Which band was not from Liverpool; – Searchers, A Flock of Seagulls, Stone the Crows or OMD?

A9) Stone the Crows

Q10) Julius Caesar said “The die is cast” after crossing which river; the Tiber, the Rubicon, or the San Marino?

A10) The Rubicon.

ROUND TWO: – OPENING LINES.

Q11) “Hit the beat & take it to the first line”

A11) “Mercy”, by Duffy.

Q12) “Daddy told me ‘Look into the future, Sit at your computer, Be a good girl’”.

A12) “No Good Advice”, Girls Aloud.

Q13) “Ha, Ha, Ha, Whatcha laughin’ at?”

A13) “21 Seconds”, So Solid Crew.

Q14) “There's no point in asking, you'll get no reply”.

A14) “Pretty Vacant”, the Sex Pistols.

Q15) “Ooh it’s so good, it’s so good, it’s so good, it’s so good, it’s so good”.

A15) “I Feel Love”, by Donna Summer.

Q16) “Sometimes I get to feeling I was back in the ol’ days, long ago”.

A16) “Those were the Days of our Lives”, Queen.

Q17) “Wake up in the morning, slaving for bread, sir, so that every mouth can be feed.”

A17) “The Israelites” Desmond Dekker and & the Aces

Q18) “’Scuse me girl, I know it’s a bit embarrassing but I just noticed some tan lines on your shirt there.”

A18) “Fit but you Know it”, by the Streets

Q19) “Never let it be said that romance is dead”.

A19) “Ruby”, the Kaiser Chiefs

Q20) “Has he lost his mind?   Can he see or is he blind?”

A20) “Iron Man”, by Black Sabbath

ROUND THREE: –  BLINDED WITH SCIENCE.

Q21) What type of pen did Lewis Waterman invent?

A21) The fountain pen.

Q22) What nationality was motoring pioneer, Gottlieb Daimler?

A22) German.

Q23) What was Bakelite, the 1st commercial plastic, a cake decoration, or a brand of bread?

A23) The 1st commercial plastic.

Q24) True or False; - the boiling point of water increases with altitude.

A24) False.   It decreases.

Q25) What’s the highest level of degree universities award?

A25) A doctorate.

Q26) What connects a muscle to a bone?

A26) A tendon.

Q27) True or false; - South Africa is the world’s largest producer of Chromium.

A27) True.

Q28) Astronaut, Alan Shepard was the 1st person to do what on the moon, hit a golf ball, watch TV, or go to the toilet?

A28) Hit a golf ball.

Q29) Which invention was invented last, the CD, the fax, or the photocopier?

A29) The CD.

Q30) What was a Nickelodeon?

A30) An early Jukebox.

ROUND FOUR: –  SPORTING CHANCES.

Q31) Who was Britain’s first Olympic gold medallist, in a throwing event?

A31) Tessa Sanderson (1984).

Q32) There are 4 host nations for the 2011 Cricket World Cup; – name any of them.

A32) Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Q33) Which England Cricketer had a 2005 Autobiography entitled “Calling the Shots”?

A33) Michael Vaughan.

Q34) What would a judo  artist do with a judogi?

A34) Wear it; it’s that distinctive white judo suit.

Q35) Mirka Vavrinec is the girlfriend and manager of which sports star?

A35) Roger Federer.

Q36) In which year was F1 Driver Lewis Hamilton born?

A36) 1985.

Q37) How many consecutive wins did Bjorn Borg have in the men’s singles at Wimbledon?

A37) Five.

Q38) Name any of the three European countries have hosted footballs World Cup but have never won it?

A38) Spain, Sweden & Switzerland.

Q39) What sporting event does the Royal Family traditionally attend, on the first Saturday of September?

A39) The Highland Games; also called The Bræmar Gathering.

Q40) What was used by football referees for the first time in 1878?

A40) Whistles.

ROUND FIVE: –  HOBBIES & LEISURE.

Q41) Twycross is what sort of tourist attraction?

A41) A zoo.

Q42) How many sides has a 100 sided dice?

A42) Depending on which version you use, either 10, 20, or 100

Q43) The Hall of Mirrors is in which French Palace?

A43) Versailles.

Q44) Philately will get you nowhere, unless you collect what?

A44) Stamps.

Q45) In which European country is De Efteling theme park?

A45) Holland.

Q46) In the film “Psycho”, what was Norman Bates hobby?

A46) Taxidermy.   (Stuffing things)

Q47) In gambling, what are ‘Fulhams’; – loaded dice, or marked cards?

A47) Loaded dice.

Q48) In which month would you go to a Burns Night celebration?   (Bonus point for the date in the relevant month)

A48) January.   (January 25th)

Q49) Where is the National Museum of Geography; Bradford,Manchester, or Leeds?

A49) Bradford

Q50) The YOC is the junior branch of which organisation;  the RSPB, the Royal Horticultural Society, or the Raoyal Society of Art?

A50) RSPB.   (It’s the Young Ornithologists Club.)

ROUND SIX: – GENERAL KNOWLE IGNORANCE.

Q51) In North America, what’s the significance of July 1st; – Canada Day, US Independence Day, or Martin Luther King’s birthday?

A51) Canada Day.

Q52) What would a cooper make?

A52) Barrels.

Q53) Which college of London University was founded by Sidney James Webb?

A53) London School of Economics.

Q54) Which Bedfordshire Wildlife Park 1st opened its doors, in 1931?

A54) Whipsnade.

Q55) What was Ansel Adams; – a photographer, a sculptor, or a painter?

A55) A  photographer.

Q56) Which Association famously heckled Tony Blair, in 2000?

A56) The Women’s Institute.

Q57) The creeping mint, Mentha Pulegium, is used in many medicinal teas; - how’s it better known?

A57) Pennyroyal.

Q58) What sign of the Zodiac covers the period April 20th to May 20th?

A58) Taurus.

Q59) Josip Brip was better known as which Eastern European leader?

A59) Marshal Tito.

Q60) Rebekeh Wade took on the editorship of which tabloid newspaper, in 2002?

A60) The Sun.

And the table round I’d’ve used, tonight.

Q1) 1797 saw the death of James Hutton; – was he a geologist, a physicist, or a chemist?

A1) A geologist.

Q2) Actress Sarah Bernhart died on this day in 1923; – which European country was she from?

A2) France

Q3) 26th March, 2006 saw what ban come into force, in Scotland?

A3) The smoking ban.

Q4) The 26th also saw the celebration of which Roman Catholic saint; – St Emmanuel, Saint Ludger, or Saint Margaret Clitheroe?

A4) All three of them.

Q5) 26th March, 1964 saw the birth of guitarist Baz Warne; – which British punk band was he a member of?

A5) The Stranglers.

Q6) This same day in in 1948 saw the birth of Liv Tyler’s dad; – which American rock band was he the singer for?

A6) Aerosmith.

Q7) The first Henley Regatta was held in which year; – 1839, 1840, or 1841?

A7) 1849.

Q8) 26th March 1484 saw William Caxton print which book; – the Bible, Æsop’s Fables, or Plato’s Republic?

A8) Æsop’s Fables

Q9) Which Christian Denomination published their Holy book, in 1830; – the Mormons, the Christian Scientists, or the Jehovah’s Witnesses?

A9) The Mormon’s

Q10) In 1976, the Queen sent the first royal … what?

A10) Email.

But, as a final point, I’ll apologies to Steve Allen, on Facebook.   Steve, I’m sorry I wasted your evening.

And I’ll say the same to the No Ideas, the AKA-47’s, the BDSM’s, the Domestic Blister’s and to everyone else who came, tonight.

I’m sorry to have wasted people’s evenings, tonight.

I’ll also thank everyone who’s been to one of my quizzes.

My intent is to keep adding posts, and questions to this blog.

I’m intent on finding something to do with my time; - even if it’s adding my thoughts on what I read, the movies and TV I see, and the news I hear.   Maybe start doing quizzes, again, elsewhere, if that’s what’s in store.

Nik Nak’s Old Peculiar is not over.

Not by a long shot.

Now, does anyone know anybody who wants to buy a pub quiz … ? 

* One of the worst complainers, back in the old day’s, was Emma.   Who, bless her little cotton socks, only stopped, after her long term partner, Jim, wrote a quiz for me.   It took him three weeks, from what I recall …