Sunday 5 May 2013

30 Quiz Experiences to Try Before You Die

Yes, I’m feeling a little bit better today, thanks for asking. Today is Phillippa, my eldest daughter’s 27th birthday, and so I’ve been surrounded by all of my family, and that’s working its usual magic. My head is clearer, and my chest feels a little better. I reflected a little on my post yesterday on the subject of 100 things to do before you die, and I’d like to offer you my 30 Quiz Experiences to Try before you Die. I invite you to see how many you’ve already done – and I’ll tell you about my own strike rate at the end.

Quiz Experiences to Try Before you Die (No particular Order)

1. Appear on a TV quiz
2. Complete the Big Four of appearences on University Challenge, Mastermind, Brain of Britain and Only Connect
3. Appear on Mastermind and go through a whole round without passing on a single question.
4. Persuade William G Stewart and Channel Four to resurrect Fifteen to One
5. Play in a pub quiz and have every single question right
6. Write and publish a quiz book
7. Meet Fred Housego
8. Play in a pub quiz on your own and win
9. Play in a quiz every night of the same week
10. Play in two pub quizzes on the same night
11. Write your own quiz blog
12. Take part in a charity quiz auction
13. Play on the same team as Phil Tufnell
14. Play in an event with more than 50 teams
15. Compile a pub quiz and be question master
16. Create an idea for a new quiz show
17. Create a new quiz board game
18. Argue with a question master
19. Have a Quiz Trophy named after you
20. Play in at least one Grand Prix event
21. Win a Quiz League
22. Join the committee of a Quiz League
23. Share a Quiz with friends or colleagues who don’t normally do quizzes
24. Play a game of The World According to Ubi
25. Tell someone off for cheating with their phone in a quiz.
26. Introduce someone to quizzing and watch them become a good quizzer in their own right
27. Play in a pub quiz in a different country outside the UK
28. Play in a quiz in a different language
29. Play in a team that has a genuinely funny AND original name
30. Come up with a perfect question

How did you get on? Are there any experiences which I didn’t put down that you would have included? I’m sure there must be. Right, here’s my own answers: -

1. Done it – including radio 18 shows in 8 different series.
2. No – haven’t done UC, and can’t see how it could happen. If there was any chance, though, they’d never have to ask me twice
3. Yes – in 2007 I only passed on my first SS round. For the rest of that series I answered every question, although not all correctly.
4. Oh, I wish someone would
5. Three times in total, I think
6. Yes – all on the kindle
7. Look – I’d just really like to meet Fred Housego, ok? You know how important Mastermind is to me. So Fred, once again, if you do by any chance happen to read this, I’d love to have a pint and a chat – or just a chat if you’d prefer. Just drop me a line
8. Yes. I’ve never done it in the rugby club . . . yet
9. No – 5 in one week is my record
10. Yes – when they moved the Haywain quiz to early on Sunday evening.
11. Oh, er, let me think about that one
12. Great fun – GetConnected 2010-12
13. Yes – believe me what you see on TV with Tuffers is what you get.
14. Birmingham Mega Quiz. Mind you, not all of them – or even most of them – would have been serious quiz teams
15. Yes
16. Yes – leaving aside my April Fool “Count Your Beans” , my idea based on Bid a Note from Name that Tune has yet to be appreciated by any production company
17. No
18. Yes – despite what we all say they are NOT always right
19. Yes – on this Wednesday teams from Neath will be competing in the MayDay in Melin Annual quiz, to try to win the Dave Clark mastermind 2008 Trophy ( I kid you not)
20. Yes – and had I not been ill yesterday I might well have played in another
21. Yes – Port Talbot – Neath – Swansea – Morriston – South Wales Echo – Llandeilo - Bridgend
22. Yes – I served on the committee of the Neath Quiz League. Just before it folded.
23. Yes – every time I compile one for the club I share it during lunchtime with colleagues in work. They often ask me when they can have another one, believe it or not
24. Yes – it is the finest quiz ‘board’ game around, in my opinion.
25. Yes – Aberavon rugby club – ooh, it felt good.
26. No – a lot of people seem daunted by the amount of work involved in becoming good.
27. Yes – Spain
28. No, although I have read a quiz book in French – and enjoyed it
29. That one’s all in the ear of the behearer. I’ll be honest, I don’t think we ever progressed much beyond the level of Norfolk and Goode style witticisms
30. No, although I am a great admirer of other peoples’ good questions when I hear them. A great recycler of other people’s good questions too.

7 comments:

LisaH said...

1. Appear on a TV quiz (x3)
10. Play in two pub quizzes on the same night - no but I've done a GP and a pub quiz the same day
18. Argue with a question master - oh yes
20. Play in at least one Grand Prix event
21. Win a Quiz League - does being second reserve for the winning team count?
23. Share a Quiz with friends or colleagues who don’t normally do quizzes
24. Play a game of The World According to Ubi
30. Come up with a perfect question - I wish

Unknown said...

1. I think 16 at the last count.
2. Three out of four, have not been on Uni Challenge.
3. No.
4. Would like to.
5. No.
6. Only on Kendall.
7. No although I saw him transporting Magnus to his book signing.
8. Did this twice in the Canaries on holiday - in a conventional pub quiz I think I came third.
9. I wish.
10. Yes if friendly quizzes are counted.
11. No.
12. Not sure what this is.
13. Who's Phil Tufnell?
14. Don't think so.
15. Yes.
16. No.
17. No.
18. Frequently.
19. No!
20. Yes.
21. No.
22. No.
23. Yes.
24. Never heard of it.
25. No.
26. No.
27. Not in a pub quiz as such (see above).
28. I got involved in some kind of quiz show in Calais shopping centre - to this day I haven't a clue what was going on.
29. Not as far as I remember.
30. No.

Londinius said...

Thanks guys

Lisa - 2nd reserve for the winning team definitely counts ( put it this way - it WOULD if it was me)

Hi Howard - Yes - friendly quizzes ( surely an oxymoron) count!

Ewan M said...

On Q26 and the subject of introducing someone new to quizzing...

I'd probably done 2 pub quizzes in my life (many years ago while at Uni) before I started reading this blog. Although I was a long-time watcher of Mastermind and University Challenge I'd never been more than an armchair quizzer. It was through your blog that I first made the acquaintance of my team captain, Brian Pendreigh, and I joined his quiz team just over a year ago.

Now I'm an enthusiastic quizzer, I quiz once a week at least, participate in the Hot 100 monthly and recently represented Scotland (C team) in a Celtic Nations event. While I'd hesitate to claim I was any good yet (though our team has won a number of national quiz competitions since I joined, mainly thanks to the abilities of my team-mates)I'd say that your blog definitely introduced me to the world of competitive quizzing and inspired me to take it up.

Cheers,

Ewan

Londinius said...

Hi Ewan

You're welcome!

Hey, that's another one I've done then!

Cheers!

Michael said...

(Regular reader, very occasional poster...)

This is excellent fun. Here's what I've managed:

1. Yep (up to 4 now)
2. I've done UC and OC (I'm in the upcoming series 8 of the latter), although getting on the other two might be tricky given that I'm leaving the country in a few months...
5. Closest we've come was 38/40 on a pub quiz in Canada.
9. I've done Monday to Friday in one week, but never all 7.
11. Yep! http://pubquizpostmortem.blogspot.co.uk/
15. My first being for a friend's birthday.
16. I've had countless over the years, not sure it counts if they've never got beyond me enthusiastically explaining them to bored-looking friends, though...
18. I'm pretty sure this happens every week (this week: how many puppies in 101 Dalmatians...)
23. Probably more often than I should.
25. Haha, yes.
26. I think I can claim to have corrupted my partner into the Way of Quizzing (who has since captained University Challenge and Only Connect teams)
27. Yep - Canada and the USA.
28. No, although I'm moving to Montreal, where I'm told there's a French quiz I should try (no, I don't speak any French).
29. I think there's an unwritten rule that a pub quiz team name will *never* be original and funny. The same rule that dictates you will always have a Quiz Team Aguilera...

I make that about 10, which is more than I'd expect.

I think I'd add 'Play in a pub quiz on your own' separately to the list, as that is a really strange experience in itself (I did it for the first time, in Seattle of all places, last week).

bj said...

Good thread...
1. Appear on a TV quiz, Numerous, going back to the 1980s.
2. Complete the Big Four of appearences on University Challenge, Mastermind, Brain of Britain and Only Connect. Three out of four, with wins on two of them.
3. Appear on Mastermind and go through a whole round without passing on a single question. Yes.
4. Persuade William G Stewart and Channel Four to resurrect Fifteen to One. No
5. Play in a pub quiz and have every single question right. No, and to be honest that sounds really boring.
6. Write and publish a quiz book. Yes, co-authored two, back in the day.
7. Meet Fred Housego. No.
8. Play in a pub quiz on your own and win. I have no desire to do that.
9. Play in a quiz every night of the same week. Ditto.
10. Play in two pub quizzes on the same night. Yes, and won them both.
11. Write your own quiz blog. Not as such
12. Take part in a charity quiz auction. No
13. Play on the same team as Phil Tufnell. No thanks.
14. Play in an event with more than 50 teams. Yes
15. Compile a pub quiz and be question master. Yes
16. Create an idea for a new quiz show.Yes
17. Create a new quiz board game. No
18. Argue with a question master. I try not to.
19. Have a Quiz Trophy named after you. Not yet. A couple of teammates have had trophies named after them, but they are dead.
20. Play in at least one Grand Prix event. yes
21. Win a Quiz League. I have played in a single game in the Sunderland league. The team was on a roll when I joined it. The roll ended.
22. Join the committee of a Quiz League. No
23. Share a Quiz with friends or colleagues who don’t normally do quizzes. for sure.
24. Play a game of The World According to Ubi. I think I introduced you to it?
25. Tell someone off for cheating with their phone in a quiz. yes
26. Introduce someone to quizzing and watch them become a good quizzer in their own right.Yes
27. Play in a pub quiz in a different country outside the UK.No
28. Play in a quiz in a different language. No, though one of my best memories of quizzing is Andy Tucker and Dave Taylor simultaneously correcing my Latin.
29. Play in a team that has a genuinely funny AND original name. Hmm.
30. Come up with a perfect question. Nae bother.