Bury & District Quiz League Week 25

With this years week of summer arriving early causing the firing up of the barbecue bought for last year weather forecast, this weeks the semi finals of the handicap cup took place.
First match took place at a strangely subdued Swan and Railway Radcliffe where the B’S were facing an in form SunDial Walmersly Rd side, whom they gave an eleven point start, would that be the telling factor of this Semi, the SunDial scored a psychological point by planting themselves in the “home seats” Alan Clayton was worried that the lucky ley lines might not affect the home team now but anyone knows its Mavis’s tonic that is the deciding factor and then Barney and the Harem chose to go second in the first half was this another tactical switch?
Round one saw both teams miss the first question on the Masseter Muscle and Jaws appearance in Inspector Gadget but the Swans made that bonus to pull the first point back on the handicap. Second question had the Swans score with Endeavour and Morse’s first name but the Harem missed out with the home of the replica HMS Endeavour after completing a world tour, again the Swans scored a bonus. Next one had the Swans score again with the organisation that owns the marine vessel THV Patricia (big clue somewhere there eh!) but the SunDial missed the more difficult Tennyson best friend at Trinity college Cambridge - Hallam which wasn’t picked up this time.
Final questions for the round was the party leader who is MP for Hallam Sheffield and who played Gordon Clegg in Corrie both teams snapped them up, with the SunDial on the board at last. Round Score 8-2 the Swans had hauled back six points on the handicap to trail now by just five points overall 8-13.
Round Two individuals had categories on England Managers, Carmaker Logo’s, Classical Inspired Pop and British Banknotes. Dave “Barney” O’Brien picked up Keegan for a bonus to stretch the lead again but missed out with the England dates as a player for the answer of Don Revie. Second question strangely brought the Elves Tim Green to mind but no relocation problem here, with the Swans picking up Stuttgart’s black horse coat of Arms as Porsche’s logo and the lion of the French city of Belfort was Peugeot for the Harems Helen Lee. Pop is the Achilles heel of the Swans traditionally but would classically inspired pop also prove to be a failing, yes was the answer and they were punished by the Harem’s Anthony Webb who excellently picked up Bach inspired Beach Boys Lady Linda and Tchaikovsky inspired Annie’s Song to stretch the scores further. Both the Swans Edith Cathcart and the Harem’s Anne Lee-Nicolson picked up the cash of Elgar and Issac Newton for a round score of 4-8 and the SunDial extend out to nine points lead overall 12-21.
Round three can be a turning point and this proved to be here, the Swans picked up full house with Shane Warne, Polonium, Evening Standard and Dr John Sentamu’s desert island discs, also picking up bonus’s of Litvinenko and Winston Churchill, the Harem scored only with Jim Laker but almost scored with two others undone by wrong choices only, both teams missed out the diocese of Southwell and Nottingham. Round score 10-2 and the Swans bounce back to 22-23 overall. Round Four, the Stink or Twist round with a theme of Opening Lines. The Swans scored with Edward VIII, Patrick Troughton, The Day of the Jackal and almost scored a full house when a singing John (Britain’s Got Talent) Hill could not wax lyrical or was that cylindrical, enough of the Beatles “Do you want to know a secret” to get the title and they sensibly stuck on four. The SunDial then replied with Abraham Lincoln, The Guns of Navarone and Eight Days a Week but hit a block with the Fifth Dr Who -Peter Davison and also stuck on four, halftime score 26-27.
Round five, with the SunDial going first, had the question-master John Flynn having to make a couple of rulings both turned out to be correct. First question was dropped by the SunDial and the Swans answer of Electronic Games was ruled incorrect. The Swans missed recognising the founders of the Blood Donor Service and the SunDial missed the bonus. The SunDial then answered with too much information with Black Mollies ruled out also and correctly picked up for a bonus by the Swans Tropical fish specialist Enid Cathcart as simply “Mollies” as the species name. The Swans took hold of the round by lifting “Roary the Racing Cars” Sir Stirling Moss, and Mike Hawthorns 50TH Memorial Service for a bonus along with Edith’s Swordtail fish and the bonus Portable Defibrillator, Swan Harry Wilkinson almost got the explicit film category but the R18 XXXperience proved too much and it was also missed by the Harem, a disastrous nil point round for the Harem at this stage, and the Swans had picked up seven points for a lead of 33-27.
The SunDial needed to score heavily in the Two part Round Six to recover the deficit again and they almost had the courage but instead went safe on the first two with answers of Sweden’s high street H&M Store and Cross Channel Swimming. The Swan got the first with a safe two of Matalan but then missed Lewis Gordon Pugh’s lengthy swim of the Thames completely which was picked up for a bonus one point by the Harem. A welsh proverb that a warm January is a warning that May will be cold tough third question was dropped by the Harem and wasn’t picked up either by the Swans. The fourth was deliberated over by both teams but in the end both settled for two, for a round score of 6-7 and total of 39-34. Was it too late for the Harem?
Round Seven is the second individuals with categories of Scottish Bridges, Musical Islands, Sporting Biographies and History of the Panama Canal. First questions had unsurprising answers of Forth Rail and Tay bridges and the second had answers of Skopelos’s Mamma Mia and Bali Ha’i. Third one saw Barney answer Denise Lewis and miss the Black, White and Gold of Kelly Holmes which was picked up by John Hill who just and only just, with Barney waiting to pounce, managed to get Jonathan Edwards; thank god he didn’t have to sing this one. Helen Lee missed the Panama Canal but Enid picked up an excellent bonus De Lesseps then both missed the French artist labourer Gauguin. Round score 8-4 for a total of 47-38. The match was slipping away from the SunDial it seemed, final round saw both teams score on the first, the SunDial then dropped the second Magnesium atom pigmented Chlorophyll answer which wasn’t picked up but the match had finally gone. The SunDial picked up bonuses with Presidential Candidate Wallace and cobalt B vitamin complex B12 but missed there own and the Swans picked up just a bonus Harmonium church organ substitute for a final round score of 3-4 but a match score of 50-42. The Swan B Ram- Raiders go through to final.
Second Semi- Final was between the Rose and Crown Ramsbottom (+13) v Hare and Hounds Holcombe Brook (+7) a close match was predicted and it seems it didn’t disappoint as Yosemite Sam reports:
The Hairy Hounds wandered up the hill to the Rose and Crown Rammy for the second of the Semi-Final Knockouts and chose to go first. Peter Taylor’s Tigers crew had a wangled a bandit six point start, which they had increased by a point after the first round. First individual round was a disaster for the Hairy Hounds, only Andy Ainsworth scored any points with Car logos. The retired Banker of two weeks had forgotten what banknotes looked like and the sports specialist blanked on Kevin Keegan. The tigers had picked up bonuses on both and classical music expert Ian Openshaw was asked the unanswerable Bach boys (sic) music question. So Rose Rammy Burglars had increased their lead and led 28-15 after the second round. Hairy Hounds then correctly answered there next eight questions, compared to Rose Rammys six, giving a half time score of Rose Rammy Burglars 38 Hairy Hounds Hoodies 31. Round five was another disaster for the Hounds and went 7-0 to the Rose Rammy (same score as the other semi? -ed) increasing there lead further to fourteen points. The Hounds hit form and hit back at last when they took the next two rounds 11-8 and 9-4, and so trailed by just the handicap of six points going into the last round. Both teams answered the first questions then Rose blanked there next two, while Hounds scored with there own. So Rose had a lead of two points going into the last question. The tension could be felt all around Ramsbottom, however Rose scored with there final question and Hounds missed there own, resulting in a final score of Rose and Crown Ramsbottom 61 Hare and Hounds Holcombe Brook 57.
The Rose Rammy burglars had stolen the match on the handicap but had the end of season corrected handicap of four been applied then the Hounds would still have lost (drawn? -ed), as they did the beer round. The Hairy Hounds season comes to an end and the Rose Rammy Burglars march on into the final.

Week 26
HANDICAP CUP FINAL MONDAY 19TH APRIL
The Hare and Hounds Holcombe Brook courtesy of Landlord and landlady Andy and Lynne Grant have agreed to hold the Cup final, many thanks go to Andy and Lynne and Ian Openshaw.
8-15 pm for 8-30 pm Start.
Cup final will start with a coin toss for choice of questions.

This Years quiz cup competition culminates with final between Rose and Crown Rammy and Swan and Railway Radcliffe B’s hampered by the bandit handicap of a seven point start stolen by the Rose Rammy Burglars, Taylor’s Tigers have just managed to repel all teams challenging them and this may be the telling factor in this match. However, the Swan B Ram Raiders have overcome all the handicaps thrown at them and a hard fought win in the Semi’s may just indicate where the cup will lie this season. Close match and maybe another tie break final but the Swan B Ram Raiders may be celebrating at the end.
The anti post current betting guide for cup winners is as follows:
Rose Rammy burglars are still favourites but only just and the Swan B Ram raiders are evens money, the Rank outsiders are still current Cup Holders Rose Starling Suffragettes who were knocked out long ago.

Presentation night Quiz and Raffle is at Heap Bridge Social club on Monday 26th April, suggestion for prizes are welcome.

A new challenge is always welcome from any pub, club, or society wanting to test their metal against a regular league side.

TEAM	P	W	D	L	PTS	FOR	AGAINST
RADCLIFFE CC	20	17	0	3	34	1006	828
STOPES TAVERN	20	13	2	5	28	856	790
ROSE & CROWN (STAR)	20	11	1	8	23	944	833
RAMSBOTTOM CC	20	11	1	8	23	836	804
HARE & HOUNDS	20	10	1	9	21	878	815
SWAN & RAILWAY (B)	20	9	2	9	20	873	836
ROSE & CROWN (RAM)	20	9	1	10	19	790	837
HEAP BRIDGE SC	20	9	0	11	18	820	857
PACK HORSE	20	7	0	13	14	824	879
SWAN & RAILWAY (A)	20	5	0	15	10	720	872
SUN DIAL	20	5	0	15	10	699	895

TEAM	HANDICAP
ROSE & CROWN (STAR)	4
RADCLIFFE CC	0
HARE & HOUNDS	7
SWAN & RAILWAY (B)	6
STOPES TAVERN	9
PACK HORSE	10
HEAP BRIDGE SC	10
ROSE & CROWN (RAM)	13
SUN DIAL	17
SWAN & RAILWAY (A)	14
RAMSBOTTOM CC	10


e-mail Phil	e-mail Margaret	Home Page	Team Information

SWAN & RAILWAY (B) (6)	50	v	SUN DIAL (17)	42
ROSE & CROWN (RAM) (13)	61	v	HARE & HOUNDS (7)	57

		BURY & DISTRICT QUIZ LEAGUE 2009/2010