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Sunday 30 November 2008

Assorted News...

A couple of bits of news, firstly about a stalwart of the Quiz League for many years and your correspondent's predecessor in the role of Secretary / Whatever, Peter Cole.

Peter has spent a fair bit of this year recovering from breaking both arms right at the start of the year. All is now going very well and Peter has just undergone another operation on his left arm to fix a broken plate and the prognosis is good. Peter has also decided to retire from full time work at the end of November, so in fact from today! Peter and Tina are both looking forward to trips round the country to renew old acquaintances, so get the kettle on!

Going, going...

After the games on Tuesday the 2nd of December we have one more round of League games (9th) before our Christmas break. I will actually be away from later this week as my family and I are off to New Zealand to spend Christmas with the more far flung elements of my said family.

I thus won’t be around next week for obvious reasons and nor will the News & Views. I will sort it all out when I get back just before the New Year. If you have any problems next week, please call John, Graham or Marshall.

We then start again on Tuesday the 6th of January. If I don’t see you before then, can I wish you and yours a very Happy Christmas and a peaceful 2009.

Cup & Plate Draw...


These games will be played on 27/01/2009.

Questions will be set by the George & Dragon and the Sutton Church House who will supply 3 Question Masters each.

The Harrington ‘B’, the Crown and the Cock Inn will assist with asking questions. These teams will provide 2 Question Masters each. Please decide beforehand who is going to turn out so we don’t have to call anyone on the night.

Questions for the Quarter Finals of the Cup and Plate will be set by 2 of the losing teams from the above games. A draw will be made after the above games have been played.

The Cup (25/11/2008)...

A great set of questions from the Ox-fford 'C' and the Church House Bollington facilitated a very pleasant evening. Thanks also to the Waters Green Rams for providing an emergency Question Master very late in the day - much appreciated.

The Principals won't be defending their Plate title this year as they made their way into Round 2 of the Cup with a comfortable win over the Sutton Church House. Last year's beaten Plate finalists the Knot Inn also won through to the last 16 of the Cup at the expense of the Crown.

The two closest games involved the Castle teams. The closest saw the New Castle just beat the Puss Artists 85-84 whilst the Castle came out on the wrong side of a 108-106 result against the Plough Taverners.

The draw for Round 2 of the Cup and Round 1 of the Plate is above...

Cup - Round 1 Results


Week 3...

Week 3 gave us a set of questions that suited some better than others. I think it is good to see a variety of topics on offer and you can't have enough questions on comics as far as I am concerned! The North West of England is a better informed place for more people now knowing who Norrin Radd is...

You can peruse all the questions via Nick's excellent blog from the link on the right.

News & Views - Week 3 (18/11/2008)




Monday 24 November 2008

Cup - Round 1

Champions League - small beer indeed compared to the mighty Macclesfield Quiz League Cup competition. The Dolphin reign supreme here having won for the last two years and they kick off their defence on Tuesday night.

Week 3 League results are to follow, here is the draw for this Tuesday the 25th of November...

Sunday 16 November 2008

Week 2...

Week 2 in the A League saw another mighty clash between 2 teams at the forefront of quizzing in South East Cheshire, namely the Dolphin Dragons and the Principals (fresh from their draw last week). The Dolphin Dragons won an excellent game 168 - 143 with former "Mastermind" Liz Horrocks and Robin Morrell both scoring 36 for the Dragons. Alan Levitt and Graham Bailey chipped in with excellent 33s for the Principals.

The Ox-fford 'C' got their season off to a flying start with a 160 - 142 win over the British Flag, Haydn Thompson top scoring with 39. Elsewhere, the Dolphin eased past the Castle with Peter McBride adding an impressive 42 to last week's 39, whilst the Ox-fford did the same against the New Castle.

The Ox-fford v New Castle game was subject to a last minute "change of venue" as the Castle's Landlord had put his back out and couldn't open. All hail the Nags Head in Waters Green for providing a room at the last minute, and thanks to the New Castle for still bringing down the end of game pasties and delicious gravy. Much appreciated...

In the B League, the Waters Green Phoenix continued their rise from the ashes by beating the Cock Inn 155 - 111, that stalwart of many a daft question Bob Langstaff top scoring with 36.

There were a lot of 36s around in the B League, Alasdair Reid and Mike Vickerstaff both had that score for their respective teams as the Puss Heads beat the Baths Hotel in a close contest 131 - 123.

Best B League score of the night was Brian Bogie's 42 for the Knot Inn who beat the George & Dragon 162 - 101. Mike Bennett was on good form for the G&D with 27.

Rick Davis scored 39 to top the B League Individual table but couldn't stop the Church House Bollington from losing to the Plough Taverners 120 - 140, David Williams scoring 30 for the Plough.

In the C League, the "Sutton Derby" was won by the Lamb Inn, who beat the Sutton Church House 124 - 105. Paul Griffiths (33) and Win Greenwood (27) top scored for each side.

The Albion beat the Chester Road Tavern 119 - 96 with Roberto Rodriguez scoring 27 for the Albion and Tony Moores doing likewise for the CRT. The Albion always seem to find players with interesting names...

The two Byrons, Bards and Laureates, are still looking for their first win, the Bards going down to the Harrington 'B' and the Laureates to the Waters Green Rams. Geoff Parkin tops the C League Individuals with another excellent 30 for the Harrington 'B' whilst mention must be made of Tracey Crellin's excellent 27 for the Rams.

Of the 12 games this week, 9 were won by teams who went “first first”, i.e. first in the Specialist Round, with 3 won by teams going the other way around.

News & Views - Week 2 (11/11/2008)




Monday 10 November 2008

Week 1...

And they're off...

A seamless start to the season occurred last Tuesday with every Question Master in place and all teams turned up. The quest for knowledge (and possibly a drink to go with it) goes on...

The A League saw a mighty early season clash between the Dolphin and the Principals, with the game finally ending in a draw at 151 apiece. Surely this should have been televised? If they can get away with showing Fulham v Newcastle...

Good scores were the order of the day from all players as you would expect in such a high scoring game, Peter McBride (39) & Alan Levitt (36) top scoring for each side.

The other games were less close with the Dolphin Dragons, Castle and Ox-fford registering early wins to get their campaigns off to a flyer.

Generally closer in the B League where the Puss Heads stand proudly atop the table after a 140 - 111 win over the Church House Bollington. Dave Pennington (33) led the way and that long time traveller (not time-traveller, although he does live Oldham-way where time is a bit behind) Andy Johnson also scored an excellent 30.

The closest game was at the Waters Green where the newly named Waters Green Phoenix just edged the Baths Hotel by 3 points. A solid team effort here in the absence of Captain Nick who is floating around the edge of Africa in a boat for a couple of weeks in a loin-girding exercise for updating his blog upon his return. Jon Thompson, Wendy Brown and Bob Langstaff all flew the flag with 21 each.

The Plough Taverners and the Cock Inn also won to complete the set for this first week.

In the C League we warmly welcome two new teams from the Lord Byron, namely the Byron Laureates and the Byron Bards. Both had tricky fixtures against teams with several hundred years (quite literally) of experience in this format and both were beaten by the Harrington 'B' and Sutton Church House respectively. Geoff Parkin (36) and Win Greenwood (30) did the trick for their respective teams as they so often do.

The newly relocated Prince of Wales, aka the Crown got off to a winning start in their new home by beating the Waters Green Rams 116 - 100. Kenny Davenport-Slater top scored with 21 in his first appearance since 2006-07, during which time he has also grown a new bit on his name.

Finally the Lamb Inn beat the Albion 131 - 106 with Marshall Barnard and Simon Rumsey chipping in 24 each.

Well done to the Knot Inn and the Chester Road Tavern who produced some entertaining questions with much less notice than every other team gets during the season. Of the 12 games this week, 5 were won by teams who went “first first”, i.e. first in the Specialist Round, with 6 won by teams going the other way around, plus 1 draw.

News & Views - Week 1 (04/11/2008)






It lives again!

Just when you thought you could give up memorising the length of the Nile in millimetres (just in case it is ever asked), Macclesfield Quiz League returns to save the winter months from a total lack of sporting entertainment.

For those who weren’t at the Finals Night in May or the AGM a couple of weeks ago, both Cup and Plate finals were excellent contests.

In the Cup, the Dolphin beat the Ox-fford ‘C’ by the score 114 – 98.


The Plate final was contested between the Principals and the Knot Inn, the Principals emerging victorious 105 – 81.

Tuesday 7 October 2008

AGM - 14th of October 2008

The AGM is now confirmed as Tuesday the 14th of October at the Weaver, Thornton Square, as usual. We will play the final first of all and then conduct our other business. See you there!

Sunday 28 September 2008

New Season 2008 - 2009

As the rains of summer give way to the sunshine of autumn, the fancies of young and old men and women turn to thoughts of answering (or not) daft questions on a Tuesday night, for no better reason than we like to do so.

Macclesfield Quiz League returns for what I reckon is the 28th or 29th season and if there any historians out there who can tell me definitely one way or the other how long we have been doing this, feel free to let me know.

The first business is, as ever, the AGM, where we will play the Plate Final to boot. The date for the AGM will be decided in the next couple of days and the date will be posted as soon as I know it.

Unless the Large Hadron Collider turns itself back on and does something to us whilst we aren’t looking, the date will be either Tuesday the 14th of October or Tuesday the 21st of October at the Weaver, Thornton Square, as usual. We will play the final first of all and then conduct our other business. Watch this space for an update…

This year the Plate Final is between the Knot Inn and the Principals. Questions are in hand courtesy of the Castle with assistance from the Sutton Church House from amongst those submitted by you all at the end of last season.

As I write, I can announce that one new team have expressed a wish to join this year, namely the Lord Byron on Chapel Street, Macclesfield. They are most welcome and if all goes to plan I will start them off in the C League as is customary.

All being well the first game of the season will be Tuesday the 4th of November – the week after half-term, as is now customary.

Sunday 20 July 2008

Summer Entertainment at the Lamb Inn...

As the summer (as we laughingly call it in this part of the world) wears on and Macclesfield Quiz League remains on holiday until the autumn, those of you looking for a few more questions to answer and sharpen the skills for next season need look no further than the Lamb Inn at Sutton.

Wednesday night will be Quiz night every week at the Lamb, starting at 9pm sharp, from this coming Wednesday the 23rd of July.

Teams up to a maximum of 6 are permitted, there is no entry fee and a gallon of ale for the winners is on offer.

To further get you in the mood there is also a "Curry Club" up till 8.30pm to get you set up properly for the challenge.

Friday 16 May 2008

The Final Scores...

Many thanks to all who attended the Finals Night on Tuesday.

There was an excellent turn-out, the Cup Final was a finely contested affair and the butties were very welcome too. I have only a small number of trophies left in my possession; I will contact the winners separately.

In the Cup, the Dolphin beat the Ox-fford ‘C’ by the score 114 - 98. Congratulations to all concerned.

Thanks also to our very own Paul Daniels and Debbie McGee, otherwise known as Rick Davis and Allan Sherratt, for asking the questions and scoring respectively – much appreciated, your fine efforts added to the night’s entertainment as always. Given that Rick was not too well last week, his efforts were above and beyond even our usual high expectations – Rick, thank you.

The League Champions also deserve much credit, namely the Ox-fford (A League), British Flag (B League) and Knot Inn (C League). Well done indeed and see below for details...

The final trophy of this year will be settled at the start of next season as usual. The Plate Final will be: -

Knot Inn v Principals

This game will be played at the AGM before the start of next season, sometime in September / early October, date and place to be confirmed, although the place will undoubtedly be the Weaver!

If I don’t see you before we start again, have a great summer and I will be in touch…

Regards,

MW

Cup Final Winners 2008 - The Dolphin



Big Fish indeed...The Dolphin!

Cup Final Runners Up - The Ox-fford 'C'



A great effort by a great team...The Ox-fford 'C'

Your Cup Final Scrutineers...Allan and Rick...


Messrs Allan Sherratt (scoring on the left) and Rick Davis, (Question Master Extraordinaire on the right...)

Finals Night - A League Winners...The Ox-fford!


Top of the tree this year...you don't suppose they've had a drink, do you..?...The Ox-fford!

Finals Night - B League Winners...The British Flag!




Top effort...back in the A League next year...The British Flag!

Finals Night - C League Winners...The Knot Inn!


All hail the Knot Inn...

Finals Night Pictures...











Thank you to all who attended on Tuesday. Here are some random pictures, click on the picture to see who they are...

Monday 12 May 2008

Finals Night!

The last remaining entertainment for the season is the Finals Night.

In case anyone has missed it - how dare you? - the Finals Night - INCLUDING BUTTIES - will be at: -

The Weaver, Thornton Square, Macclesfield

Tuesday 13th May 2008

7.30pm onwards for prompt 8pm start.


The evening will consist of the Cup Final initially and then the presentation of all this season's prizes.

The Cup Final will be between the Dolphin and the Ox-fford ‘C’.

Your quizmaster for the night will be Rick Davis from the Church House Bollington, ably assisted by Allan Sherratt.


Final Scores...

The end is not just near...it is here!

18 weeks of titanic struggle has concluded and congratulations are due to the triumphant teams you can identify from the scores below, along with commiserations to those less successful - next season it all starts afresh!

In the A League, the Ox-fford won the title for the third year running, and the Principals enjoyed an excellent season in finishing second. The Principals also have the Plate Final at the start of next season to loom forward to. The New Castle and the Church House Bollington fell through the relegation trap-door, but both teams will be missed and were excellent opponents (and good company) through the season.

Mark Watson won the A League Individual standings with Alan Hodgson second.


Since the turn of the Millennium, Mark and Alan have shared this honour between them and Alan is still 5-3 ahead over the last 8 years!

Alan has been a fantastic player in this and many other fora over the years, and his standing in this arena remains unchallenged (and unchallengeable) in your correspondent's view.

Third place was shared this year between two other titans who could not be separated over 14 games - Haydn Thompson of the Ox-fford 'C' and Peter McBride of the Dolphin.

The B League saw the tightest finish of the season with the British Flag winning the title on "points scored" (or "goal difference" as we colloquially call it!).


The Flag just pipped the Harrington Academicals by dint of scoring 19 points more over the 16 games after finishing with identical Won - Drawn - Lost records. Congratulations to both teams - a wonderful effort.

The Baths Hotel and the Lamb Inn will start next season one rung lower, but their time will surely come again.

Malcolm Asquith from the George & Dragon won the Individual title and this is his first such title in the League. Malcolm - well done indeed.

Jon Thompson from the Waters Green Wonderers was second after a brilliant season and Jackie Hulme from the Cock Inn claimed third spot with 3 other players just one question behind her. A doff of the cap is due to both.

In the C League, the Knot Inn won the title and promotion in their first ever season. This is a great achievement and congratulations go to all the Knot players. They have a very strong squad and will challenge in the B League next season. Their Plate Final in October against the Principals will also be a sight to see...

The Puss Artists also had a great season, finishing second and up to the B League next time round.

Andy Bailey from the Puss Artists heads the C League Individual standings and has had a fantastic campaign. Brian Bogie from the Knot Inn finished second having played only the minimum counting games whilst John Hargreaves from the Albion capped a fine season for him (as usual) with a well deserved third place.

In terms of questions, the Principals crept up on the rails and won the Cars and Vans 4U Ltd Question Setters Trophy with their Specialist questions from the last week of the season. They just edged out the long-time leaders the New Castle by 0.36 of a point.

Incredibly close stuff and both teams deserve much credit, but well done to the Principals for winning this trophy for the second time in 3 years.

Final Cars and Vans 4U Ltd Question Setters Trophy


Final Results - Leagues A, B and C...







Results - Final Week 18 (22/04/2008)


Monday 21 April 2008

Annual East Cheshire Hospice Quiz

The above event is well worth your support will take place this year at Fallibroome High School, Priory Lane on Friday the 27th of June (7pm entry for a 7.30pm start).

The quiz is organised by Paul Morrissey to ensure the questions are fair and sensible and is an important fund raiser for the Hospice, often I’m told outdoing the Summer Fete held the following day. The quiz originally started back in the day as a way of utilising the empty marquee on the Friday night!

The event is light hearted and would be ideally suited to League teams who fancy a night out with good beer and the entry fee includes a ploughman’s supper, albeit Paul says a genuine ploughman might have something to say about that…

You can find all the details and entry forms etc at the link below to the East Cheshire Hospice website…

http://www.eastcheshirehospice.org.uk/default.asp?id=94

Cars and Vans 4U Ltd Question Setters Trophy


Week 17...

Tuesday the 22nd of April sees the last League games of this season with much still up for grabs.

Only the Lamb Inn have fallen through the relegation trapdoor so far, albeit the New Castle and the Church House Bollington have an uphill mathematical struggle in the A League tonight whether they win or lose.

The B League title still hinges on tonight’s results - The Harrington Academicals could pinch it from the British Flag if they win and score heavily enough - whilst the final relegation place rests between the Three Crowns and the Baths Hotel.

In the C League the Knot Inn are champions and assured of going up whilst the Albion have gone from strength to strength after their team’s trip to the barbers and will join the Knot if they can win tonight. If the Albion lose tonight, a win for the Puss Artists could see them pinch the second spot.

There are also lots of people in all 3 Leagues who could still get into the “Top 10” individual places depending upon tonight’s performances.


See here soon for the results of the final conflict...

News & Views - Week 17 (15/04/2008)






Tuesday 15 April 2008

Finals Night - Tuesday the 13th of May 2008

Come along and see the Cup Final between two mighty opponents, the Dolphin and the Ox-fford 'C'.

The Cup Final and presentation of all the season's prizes will take place at the Weaver Public House, Thornton Square, Macclesfield, Cheshire, 8pm sharp on Tuesday the 13th of May 2008.

All are welcome (it is a pub after all...)

Cup & Plate Semi Finals...


Cars and Vans 4U Ltd Question Setters Trophy


Week 16...

Some issues settled this week but much remaining to be decided in the final two weeks of League action on the 15th and 22nd of April.

The Ox-fford sealed their third successive A League title with a 174 - 124 win over the Castle. Since the turn of the millennium only the Ox-fford or the Dolphin have won the A League, but this season has shown that the Principals are now a mighty force to be reckoned with after adding to their squad at the start of the season. The Ox-ffords / Dolphins and the Principals look set to contest the A League scenario for a while yet, unless you fancy the challenge...

The runner up spot is still up for grabs and any of the following three teams can still do it.

At the other end of the table, 2 from 3 of the Castle, New Castle and the Church House Bollington will go down to the B League. Tonight sees a "4 Pointer" between the Castle and the Church House with the winners surely staying up and the losers going down.

In the B League, congratulations to the British Flag and the Harrington Academicals, both playing in the A League next season and deservedly so. The Flag just need 1 more point to secure the B League title from a mathematical perspective.

At the bottom end, the Lamb Inn have it all to do and the Three Crowns and the Baths Hotel are the others under threat. The George & Dragon continue the most remarkable "game of two halves" ever seen with their 6th consecutive win after their 8 consecutive defeats at the start of the season.

In the C League, hats off to the Knot Inn, Champions and promoted to the B League at the very first time of asking - an excellent effort. Runner up spot is still anyone's guess with the Puss Artists and the revitalised Albion fighting tooth and nail, although the Sutton Church House and the Park Tavern can't be ruled out either.

Much more discussion will follow after tonight's results...

News & Views - Week 16 (01/04/2008)




Monday 31 March 2008

Cars and Vans 4U Ltd Question Setters Trophy


Week 15...

Another high scoring week in which the questions (set by the Castle) were very favourably received for the most part.

In the A League, the Ox-fford need one more win to secure the League title after pipping the Principals in the tightest of contests, finishing 179-176 to the Ox-fford. Their meeting earlier in the season resulted in a narrow win for the Principals (171-166), so there has been barely anything to choose between the teams this season, both contests having been played on nights when the questions have favoured those of us who have answered a lot of quiz questions over the years! Mark Watson had his second 57 of the season for the Ox-fford with only the true identities of Hinge & Bracket sinking the full house ship...Paul Morrissey also scored a season's best 42. The Principals scored very consistently also with Graham Bailey and Alan Levitt each contributing 42. Tim Findlow and Alan Gilday had season's best 39s.

Elsewhere, the Dolphin beat the Ox-fford 'C' 174-156 albeit the 'C' were missing some regular players due to illness and that awful "earning a living" business. Peter McBride (45) and Alan Hodgson (39) top scored for the Dolphin and Derek Owen contributed his season's best score of 27. Alice Walker chipped in with 45 for the Ox-fford 'C' and Tim Massey scored a season's best 30.

The Dolphin Dragons secured their A League status for next season after a narrow 6 point win over the New Castle. Chris Wearne top scored with 27, another season's best (lots of them this week). Graham Wallace and Shauna Barstow each scored 30 for the New Castle.

The two relegation places will be shared by two of three teams - the Castle, New Castle and the Church House Bollington. All three teams have identical records and are separated only by "total points scored". The Castle and Church House Bollington meet each other in Week 17 which could be decisive...

In the B League, congratulations once again to the British Flag whose promotion to the A League is assured. On the night the Flag lost to a thumping performance from the Harrington Academicals, who now look favourites to join the Flag in the top shop next season. Dave Partington (39), Rob Parkin and Stuart Mills (33 each) and Mike Hewitt (30) all scored heavily for the Academicals.

The Three Crowns have become the League's draw specialists and shared their match with the Baths Hotel 143-143 to give the Three Crowns their second draw of the season. Dave Pennington top scored for the Three Crowns with 33 whilst Mike Vickerstaff (39) and Mary Bloor (season's best 36) did the same for the Baths.

The Cock Inn just beat the Waters Green Wonderers by 1 point, with several people on both sides getting 27s - Jackie Hulme for the Cock, Bob Langstaff, Wendy Brown and Jon Thompson for the Wonderers.

Finally, the Lamb Inn edge ever closer to the trapdoor to the C League as they lost 128-119 to the George & Dragon who continue their extraordinary second half to the season winning their 5th game on the trot. 27 was the highest score here too, with Paul Griffiths (Lamb) and Malcolm Asquith (G&D) being the top scorers.

The situation at the bottom of the B League is nothing like as clear cut as the A League, but the Lamb are running out of options and need to win their last 2 games to survive. The other place looks like it might be between the Three Crowns, Baths Hotel and George & Dragon, but much can happen yet.

In the C League, 1 more point will guarantee the Knot Inn promotion in their debut season, despite their loss this week to a bravura performance from the Albion, who it was pleasing to note had a full complement of 4 again this week. John Hargreaves (42) and Roberto Rodriguez (30) had season's best scores for the Albion who won 150-136, Art Higham scoring an excellent 39 for the Knot.

The second promotion spot looks like it should be between the Albion and the Puss Artists who completed a 139-116 win over the Harrington 'B'. Andy Bailey maintained his form with 36 whilst Matt Eagles had a season's best 27. Dave Cooper for the Puss and Geoff Parkin for the Harrington also scored 27.

The Sutton Church House beat the Prince of Wales with yet more "best scores", 27 from John Stein and 24 from Ray Henry doing the trick. The Park Tavern beat the Waters Green Rams thanks to 42 from Nick Lloyd-Griffiths and 30 from Shaun Lloyd-Griffiths, again both season's best efforts.

News & Views - Week 15 (18/03/2008)




Monday 17 March 2008

Puss Artists...


Continuing our ramble around the teams in the League, here are the Puss Artists in all their glory. Happily ensconced by the canal on Buxton Road, the revamped Puss in Boots (home of the Artists) happily welcomes all and sundry to its pleasant surroundings - even the sort of people who play in the Quiz League!

Our picture shows (left to right) the main man Andy Bailey, Ashley Cooper, Dave Cooper and Matt Eagles.

Cars and Vans 4U Ltd Question Setters Trophy


Sunday 16 March 2008

Week 14...

14/18ths of the way through the season and still all to play for, although bets are getting hard to come by on some teams as I will discuss later...

Everything is still very much possible in the A League where no sensible punter would bet on the outcome. The Principals completed the double over the Dolphin with a 170 - 149 win with very solid scoring all round. Alan Gilday had his best night of the season with 39, the same score as Graham Bailey. Lesley Davies got a season's best 33, and Alan Levitt had the same score. If 33 is the lowest individual score of the night, that adds up to a pretty powerful team performance. Peter McBride with 39 and Stuart Rowbotham with 30 (in only his 3rd League start of the season) contributed to what was still a very respectable score for the Dolphin.

Elsewhere the Ox-fford beat the Dolphin Dragons by a very similar game score (172 - 147), Mark Watson (48) and Liz Horrocks (42) top scored for the Ox-fford and Dragons respectively.

At the other end of the table, the Church House Bollington enjoyed a narrow 5 point win over their follow promoted team from last year in the New Castle. Rick Davis continued his very solid scoring with another 30 for the Church House (taking him into the Top 10 individuals) and Graham Wallace scored a season's best 39 for the New Castle.

In the B League, some things are much clearer. The British Flag are guaranteed promotion to the A League - well done indeed - and they must be odds-on favourites for the B League title with only the Harrington Academicals (6 points behind) now able to catch them. The Flag beat the Waters Green Wonderers by a handsome margin with Neil Drummond (39), Helen Laurence (30) and Tony Browne (27) all contributing major scores.

The Academicals enjoyed another good win over the Lamb Inn, Dave Partington (33) and Mike Hewitt (27) enjoying season's best scores. Closest B League game of the night was at the Baths Hotel, who just lost by 5 points to the ever-improving Plough Taverners who have won 3 out of their last 4 games to move into 3rd place.

Having lost their first 8 games of the season, the George & Dragon have now won their last 4 on the bounce to move towards mid-table. Malcolm Asquith (33) was supported by a fine Jeater family effort with Pat and Annie both scoring 27 each, in helping the G&D to a 12 point win over the Three Crowns. I would also like to welcome back Alasdair Reid to the League who debuted this week with a fine 33 for the Three Crowns. Alasdair played many years ago for CAP and even the Gardeners Question Team for those of you who are old enough to go that far back...welcome back Alasdair.

The top of the table clash in the C League produced a win for the Knot Inn over the Puss Artists. Like the British Flag, the Knot Inn just need 1 more point to be guaranteed a place in the B League next season and look favourites for the title with a 6 point lead over the Puss, albeit having played 1 game moire. Brian Bogie from the Knot equalled Geoff Parkin's best C League score of the season with 48 whilst Art Higham weighed in with 42.

Closest match of the night saw the Waters Green Rams just beating the Albion by two points. The Albion, freshly shaven after last week's kerfuffle, did very well with Jenny Wright scoring a season's best 27, the same score as John Hargreaves. The Rams just edged it though thanks to an excellent 39 from Adum Carr, ably supported by 27 from Tracey Crellin, both season's best performances.

Elsewhere, the Park Tavern beat the Prince of Wales with Nick Lloyd-Griffiths (27) leading the way for the Park, whilst the Sutton Church House beat the Chester Road Tavern by 6 points with Betty Dobson and Barrie McQuinn contributing 24 each. Steve Moores had a season's best 42 for the Chester Road.

Individually speaking, the final "Top 3" in the C League will be surely be Andy Bailey, Brian Bogie and John Hargreaves, the only question remains in what order.

Speaking of personal scores, we are now at the stage of the season when only either the best 11 (A League) or 12 (B & C Leagues) individual scores from however many games you have played are counted. Several players have now played more games than these numbers. Just in case anyone was wondering why their totals had not increased as much as they thought they should have…

News & Views - Week 14 (11/03/2008)




Monday 10 March 2008

Paul Beard

Finally this week I must unfortunately make mention to all teams of a serious incident that occurred after the end of last Tuesday’s C League game between the Albion and the Harrington ‘B’. The match was played at the Albion and the Albion team included Paul Beard who has played in the League for many years.

In essence, after the conclusion of the game, Paul Beard assaulted one of the Harrington ‘B’ team members by grabbing him by the throat and pushing him against a wall, accompanied by abusive and threatening language. Other people in the pub then intervened and prevented any further incident or injury. This sort of behaviour is entirely unacceptable and frankly actionable on a formal legal basis should the party involved wish to do so. The party involved has been advised and will consider their position.

I have spoken to those concerned, including Paul Beard of course, who fully admits the physical assault as outlined above and he has stated to me (and many others) that he will take no further part in any Macclesfield Quiz League games in the future.

The League Committee (John Knight, Graham Bailey, Marshall Barnard and I) have met and acted as follows:-

1. We note and accept Paul’s comments that he has no intention of playing any further part in the League from this point onwards
2. In any event, the incident is so serious that we formally ban Paul from playing, watching or otherwise taking part in any way whatsoever in any Macclesfield Quiz League games for the remainder of this season
3. If Paul wishes to participate in the League again at any point after the conclusion of this season, he can only do so if he first contacts any of the Committee (preferably myself) who will meet with him beforehand to discuss (and seek assurances about) his future conduct

The Albion team have been informed of the above and both accept and understand the decisions made. I should stress that no other Albion team members were involved in this incident and that they are all entirely blameless in the matter, indeed I am grateful for their co-operation and understanding subsequently. Paul’s actions were, and remain, entirely his own responsibility.

I am sure the matter will end there. If it does not, please let me know.

Week 13...

A week in which the A League has its 3 "derby games" with the two Dolphins, Ox-ffords and Castles all playing each other. At the end of it all, only 2 points separate the top four teams in the League - all to play for...

At the Dolphin, the Dolphin got the better of the Dolphin Dragons in one of their usual closely fought contests, Peter McBride scoring 45 and Alan Hodgson scoring 42 in the process, with both Liz Horrocks and Robin Morrell weighing in with 33 each for the Dragons. On the other side of town, the Ox-fford got the better of the Ox-fford 'C' who were without Haydn Thompson, the dreary business of earning a living once again having interfered with the real business at hand. Mark Watson scored 45 for the Ox-fford whilst Mark Shaw scored a seasons-best 30 along with Ian Willsdon in a very solid all round effort. Paul Jenkins made his first appearance of the season for the Ox-fford and scored 24 - all on the General Knowledge having fallen foul of the old trick knowing the answer to most of the Specialist Round questions apart from his own! The Castle and New Castle had the closest game, the Castle just edging it by 14 points with the ever consistent Jeff Corry cementing his "Top 10" individual place with another very good 30. Shauna Barstow top scored for the New Castle with 24.

In the B League, the British Flag moved ever nearer to automatic promotion albeit they only edged out the Baths Hotel by 2 points this week, helped in no small part by Helen Laurence's excellent 33. The Waters Green Wonderers ended their recent barren run in beating the Lamb Inn - Bob Langstaff (Waters Green) and Chris Butler (Lamb) each scoring a seasons-best 33. The Harrington Academicals moved into second place with an 8 point win over the Cock Inn, Mike Hewitt scoring 27 for his best effort of the campaign thus far. The George & Dragon continued their renaissance with a good win over the 3rd-placed Plough Taverners, Malcolm Asquith scoring 33 for the G&D and comfortably topping the Individual table.

In the C League, the Knot Inn stay on top courtesy of a win against the Sutton Church House, with Brian Bogie (21) and a season's-best 18 from Richard Briand leading the way. Ray Henry scored 24 for the Sutton Church House. The Puss Artists now occupy second after beating the Waters Green Rams. In a lower scoring game than usual, Andy Bailey's 33 for the Puss was decisive despite David Reynolds countering with 27 for the Rams. Steve Adshead made a welcome return to the League in his first appearance of the season for the Park Tavern and his 33 was comfortable the best score in a close win over the Chester Road Tavern. Tony, Jim and Steve Moores all made 21 each for the CRT. The Albion beat the Harrington 'B' in the remaining game with John Hargreaves scoring 33 for the Albion and chasing Andy Bailey and Brian Bogie for the lead at the top of the Individual table.

Sunday 2 March 2008

Cup & Plate - Semi-Final Draw...

Champions League? - consolation prize compared to this...
The draw for the only Cup and Plate competitions that count are above...

Wednesday 27 February 2008

Cup & Plate Quarter Finals - Results and Analysis




The results of all 8 matches are shown above. Look away now if you went second...

All 8 games were won by the teams going first. Some of those teams a betting man would have expected to win anyway of course, but there were some thumping margins of victory amongst the games. Nick's site has an interesting post in respect of his game and the below analysis bears out his comments.

The above table makes interesting reading. All 8 games are listed in the columns from left to right and the scores for each of the 6 Rounds can be seen as well.

Rounds 2, 4 and 6 were all won by the teams going first in every game, with the teams going first scoring three times as many points in total as those going second in doing so. Rounds 1 and 3 were predominantly (but not exclusively) won by teams going second, albeit by nothing like the same margin. Scores for Round 5 added up to exactly the same total points scored by those going either way, albeit 5 out of the 8 teams going first won the rounds in their games.

Let me know if you find this interesting. Let me know as well if you don't...

Watch this space for the Cup and Plate Semi Final draws - the Magic Ball Bag will pronounce soon...