Gutted

Can I make a confession, here?

Can I?

I’m going to, either way.

I.

Am.

Officially.

Bloody.

Well.

GUTTED!

It’s been coming awhile, but the King Harold got cancelled tonight.

Or temporarily suspended, for the foreseeable future at least, and that’s almost the same same thing.

Almost.

The recession hasn’t helped.

And it doesn’t help, right now, that I could see it coming.

Just from little comments made about by the regulars, about things, were giving me hints that things weren’t well with the King Harold. That’s a whole other story, maybe.

Seeing that we’ve had four teams, most nights, at both venues, I always had the belief that we’ve had a good base to build on; – four teams is a good basis to build from.

But trouble’s been brewing for a while.

We had two teams* in tonight – the Three Muscatears were in, and looking forward to an entertaining evening, and The Team With No Name, who’s, who’d come income in because they had seen the A-board outside.

I could cry.

I won’t.

Instead, right now, I am good and bloody angry.

Let me be frank, here.

Over the first few months, I’ve done well in the King Harold, under Martin, the manager who originally hired me in.

I’d anticipated things doing equally well, although much more slowly˚, under the new manager, Ian, and his assistant, Dan.

But the slow-down started before Ian and Dan had got there.

I think the trouble started while Martin had still been there, about eight months or so into the run and the problem’s weren’t coming from him.

I believe the problems were coming from certain other people.

Possibly.

Either way, I know a lot of poster’s and flyers were taken down.

And someone insisted Martin try and get me to switch over to Sunday night.

Now, a shift of night’s not too bad.

But needs a LOT of planning. AND a lot of checking with the quiz regulars, to see which alternative night of the week is going to be the most acceptable alternative.

And wasn’t something that the feedback I got from the customer’s told me would work.

But someone insisting Martin put it into a two week suspension was a disaster for us.

We went, in the space of a fortnight, from a regular minimum of eleven teams — and reaching up to 15, on a good night — to six regular teams.

And halving the income earned from the quiz, overnight.

It went downhill from there.

I’m stubborn.

I kept going.

And have done, since them.

Until tonight.

I know how well the Harold’s quiz has done, and that it was capable of being re-built to the same level, hard though it is in the current recession.

I know that BOTH the teams who came, came because they’d seen the a-board, outside the pub. The Team With No Name were going to be bringing friends, next Tuesday.

Well …

You can imagine, can’t you?

You can possibly also imagine how I feel about this, knowing, after five years of running successful quiz nights, that I’d been hired to do a job – one I do well –, and then effectively had someone shoot me in the foot.

I don’t know about you, but I treasure my venues.

I get to know their regulars, their staff, their managers; – the feel of the place can be dependant on these people.

So loosing the gig at the King Harold has made this a bad night for me.

But one thing I will do is post what would’ve been used, tonight; – King Harold 66 turns out be the last one I’ll be writing for this venue, for a while.

ROUND ONE: – GENERAL KNOWLEDGE.

Q1) Who was the fourth Emperor of Rome; – Claudius, Nero, or Caligula?

A1) Claudius

Q2) What’s the current minimum age of criminal responsibility, in the UK?

Q2) 10

Q3) Which footballing Jack was known as “…the Giraffe”?

A3) Jack Charlton.

Q4) Which youth movement saw its 100th birthday, in 2007?

A4) The Boy Scouts.

Q5) What is the plural of talisman?

A5) Talismans

Q6) In a poll for Radio 2, which rock band was named as Britain’s greatest?

A6) Queen.

Q7) In which month of 2006, was the Jewish New Year?

A7) September. (The 23rd, to be exact.)

Q8) Which star has set up his own production company, in China, a couple of years ago?

A8) Jackie Chan.

Q9) In the book version of “The Wizard of Oz”, what’s the name of Dorothy’s pet dog?

A9) Toto

Q10) What star sign cover’s the months of December & January?

A10) Capricorn.

ROUND TWO: – THE WRITTEN WORD.

Q11) Which Nobel winning Russia writer died in 2008?

A11) Alexander Solzhentsyn

Q12) Which romantic publisher’s saw it’s 100th anniversary, in 2008?

A12) Mills and Boon.

Q13) Which Robert wrote “Starship Troopers”?

A13) Robert A Heinlein

Q14) 2008 saw the premiere of the stage version of which controversial Salman Rushdie novel?

A14) “The Satanic Verses”

Q15) Who – apparently – got killed off, in the comic book world,in 2008?

A15) Batman’s alter ego, Bruce Wayne

Q16) Which fantasy writer was a part-time member of prog-rock band, Hawkwind; – Michæl Moorcock, Terry Pratchett, or Storm Constantine?

A16) Michæl Moorcock

Q17) 2008’s James Bond novel was called “Devil May Care”; – who was the author?

A17) Sebastian Faulks

Q18) Which German author has been doing rather well off the back of the 2008 credit crunch?

A18) Karl Marx

Q19) According to the narrative poem by Tennyson how many horseman took part in the Charge of the Light Brigade?

A19) Six hundred. (600)

Q20) Which famous British science fiction writer died in 2008? (Bonus for telling us what the C stood for)

A20) Arthur C. Clarke. (Charles)

ROUND THREE: – THE LIVING WORLD.

Q21) What’s the common name for the five armed form of asteroidea?

A21) Starfish

Q22) South America’s only remaining NATIVE species of bear was the model for Paddington Bear; – what’s it called?

A22) The Spectacled Bear

Q23) By what other name are antirrhinums popularly known?

A23) Snapdragons

Q24) What is a male swan called?

A24) A cobb

Q25) Myrmecology is the scientific study of which insect?

A25) Ants

Q26) Technically, how many legs does an octopus have? (Bonus for telling us what the rest are …)

A26) Believe it or not, two. (The other six tentacles are arms)

Q27) What fruit are you said to be if you are accompanying a courting couple?

A27) A Gooseberry

Q28) Which bird gave Fleetwood Mac a No 1 instrumental?

A28) “Albatross”

Q29) What name is given to animals that eat grass and plants?

A29) Herbivore

Q30) What is the green colouring matter in plants known as?

A30) Chlorophyll

ROUND FOUR: – HOBBIES AND LEISURE.

Q31) What collectible item would you usually get from a Gibbons catalogue?

A31) Stamps.

Q32) Which hobby would you be pursuing if you were using ropes, tackle, and, usually, a cliff?

A32) Abseiling.

Q33) What Japanese game do the Chinese call Wei Chi; – Go, Chess, or Backgammon? (Bonus for telling us what the Japanes version’s equivalent to the term ‘Check’ is.)

A33) Go. (Atari)

Q34) The name of which game is derived from the name of a bishop’s crozier?

A34) Lacrosse.

Q35) If a team at bridge wins a grand slam, how many tricks have they won: – 11, 13, or 15?

A35) 13 tricks.

Q36) Raoul Capablanca, Nigel Short, and Viswanathan Anand are all past or present champions of which board game?

A36) Chess.

Q37) If you’re wearing white, ringing bells, and waving hankys, what are you doing?

A37) Morris dancing.

Q38) What is a whist tournament, or competition called; – a whist drive, a whist rally, or a whist race?

A38) A whist drive.

Q39) The Clock, the Nightmare, and The Revenge were all designed by who?

A39) Professor Erno Rubik. (Accept Professor Rubik, or Rubik.)

Q40) If you were doing serigraphy, what would you be doing: – silk screen printing, bell ringing, or tee-shirt printing?

A40) Silk screen printing.

ROUND FIVE: – SPORTING CHANCES.

Q41) What nationality is F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya?

A41) Columbian.

Q42) Which Australian wicket keeper scored a record breaking 158 runs, in his 1st test match innings, in England?

A42) Andy Gilchrist.

Q43) How many players are there, in a Lacrosse team; – ten, twelve, or fourteen?

A43) 10

Q44) In which year was F.I.F.A formed; – 1904, 1919, or 1934?

A44) 1904

Q45) Who was the 1st tennis player to win 3 consecutive Wimbledon titles, since Fred Perry?

A45) Bjorn Borg.

Q46) Brian Clough was once quoted as saying “…you get, you pass it to another player in a red shirt” – which former Notts player was he talking to, at the time?

A46) Roy Keane

Q47) Gerald McLennon was left brain damaged, after fighting which opponent? (Bonus for telling us the opponents nickname.)

A47) Nigel Benn. (Also known as the Dark Destroyer.

Q48) What is the name of Hong Kong’s famous horseracing track?

A48) Happy Valley.

Q49) How many laps are raced in the Indianapolis 500?

A49) 200

Q50) Alberto Tomba was famous for which form of skiing?

A50) Slalom Skiing.

ROUND SIX: – GENERAL IGNORANCE.

Q51) What’s the name of the pub in “The Archers”?

A51) The Bull.

Q52) Phyllis Gates was married to which Hollywood star; – Ronald Reagan, Rock Hudson, or Steve McQueen?

A52) Rock Hudson.

Q53) Is Bill Clinton’s home state Arkansas, or Arizona?

A53) Arkansas.

Q54) Dick Rockola invented which musical device?

A54) The Jukebox.

Q55) What does the Japanese word “Kanpai,” mean, in English?

A55) Cheers.

Q56) Saint Cecilia is the patron saint of which form of art?

A56) Music.

Q57) What kind of tree is an Osier: – an oak, a willow, or an elm?

A57) A willow.

Q58) US inventor, Robert Adler, died at the age of 93 - what TV device did he invent?

A58) The TV remote control.

Q59) Which king ruled Britain at the start of World War One?

A59) George 5th.

Q60) Who became ruler of Spain, after the Spanish Civil War?

A60) General Franco.

Here’s hoping you enjoy it.

* Losing John & Roger, and Joe, and Kevin & Louise, when they split, means we’ve lost some main contributors. Not good.

˚ I should add that I’m not blaming Ian or Dan for this, bloody angry as I am. They’ve not been there long enough. I should add that I’ve seen a few pub managers, and tenants. Ranging from genius, through good, competent, ok, iffy, not bad, bad, and complete drunken bloody idiot. Ian and Dan aren’t in the last four.