Weekly Roundup, W/E 28/07/2017

Usually, I have something to say before I get into the meat of a weekly roundup.  Today, I have nothing. Which isn’t strictly true, I have a huge amount to say, but none of it is strictly relevant to this, the week before last. I was at QuizFest last Saturday, see, and my perspective has been significantly changed by that. Before I can review the week’s quizzes that followed that, I’ll need to put up a separate post explaining what I mean. For now, I’d prefer to reflect on things as they actually were, before all this.

I suppose I do have something to say in that regard. The week before this one was utterly chaotic, and that didn’t really change as this one started, since Monday was to be my 3^rd quiz and I was woefully underprepared. The quiz itself was ultimately written, but as Sunday’s first quiz of the week loomed, it still wasn’t fully printed. An inauspicious beginning, but I shall reveal what happened beyond those busy hours…

Quiz #137 – Sunday 23^rd July, Turf Tavern, Carlisle

Weekly Roundup W/E 21/07/2017

It's very strange to be sitting in a hotel room on a Friday night typing up this blog, especially since it pretty much counts as work for me, part of the administration that goes with this second, unpaid, job of mine that is full-time amateur pub quizzing. I'm on holiday from the office job and yet the point of this holiday is, as has been the case for my last several holidays, quizzing.

This time, the holiday is to the New Forest, for an amazing event called QuizFest. I'll be writing more about that later, but I'm at an inconvenience due to being short on time, stuck using a poor hotel wifi connection (which I'm abusing by watching Mastermind as I type this) and without a mouse since I managed to forget to bring mine. I've got 2 weeks of these roundups to write though and I don't want to be delaying any further.

As to the first of these weeks, it was a very strange one. I only did 2 quizzes as a Little Mix gig meant that even though I drove all the way to Carlisle, I wasn't able to find anywhere remotely close to park, so had to drive all the way back without doing it! I then missed the Wednesday quiz due to a family member unexpectedly visiting, which turned out to be for the best since I'd have struggled on 25 questions on the rivers flowing through capital cities. I got a lift there with the host this week which is how I learned that one.

So, to the quizzes I actually did...

Quiz #135 - Monday 17th July, Kings Arms, Dalbeattie (P)

Weekly Roundup, W/E 14/07/2017

I'm writing this third roundup of the day in unfortunate circumstances, because there was no parking to be found anywhere close to my usual Sunday quiz, forcing me to turn back straight away without stopping. An unfortunately wasted evening, but it does at least afford me time to do this, so let's get to it.

Quiz #131 - Sunday 9th July, Turf Tavern, Carlisle

Weekly Roundup, W/E 07/07/2017

In my last post, I said what I needed to say. It's done, I'm moving on! A new half year awaits, and many more quizzes! In the case of this week it was less than usual, due to missing the Monday quiz for reasons I can't explain in this space. Still, I was able to attend the Laurie Arms quiz on Friday, so I had 4 to go to. I want to make the tone of this review more positive than the last one, but would the results reflect that desire?

I honestly can't remember off the top of my head if they do or not because I haven't checked my scores. I should do that before I start writing...

Quiz #127 - Sunday 2nd July, Turf Tavern, Carlisle

Weekly Roundup, W/E 30/06/2017

I must admit that my delay in posting my latest weekly roundups was somewhat deliberate, this time. At the end of Friday's quiz, a bombshell was dropped: the lease on the pub was in the process of being sold, and there was no guarantee that there would even be another quiz. I was devastated, I can't pretend otherwise. 2 years 11 months ago was when I started my quizzing, and it was at The Grapes.

I found out this Friday that the pub changed hands at the start of the week, and the last of the quizzes was the one just past. The good news is that the new owners intend to begin the quizzes again, though they didn't appear to know how when I spoke to them on the phone, as no instructions had been left. Obviously it won't be the same man doing it so I've no idea what to expect, but I'll definitely be going along all the same, when it starts up again.

In the meantime, I'd have missed the next one anyways due to going on holiday, and there's the monthly Laurie Arms quizzes to give me at least some kind of a Friday fix until the new ones start. There may also be something in Castle Douglas, I'll need to try and find out more about that. If possible, I'll write a post specifically about the Grapes quiz, though I may struggle for the time for that. The show must go on, however, and I've got 3 weeks worth of reviews to write. 

This week was the last week of the first half of the year, and I've drawn up some statistics about that which I'll post separately.The first priority was making sure that I ended the first 6 months on a high.

Quiz #122 - Sunday 25th June, Turf Tavern, Carlisle

A Random Quick Quiz

Hi all! It's been quite a while since I posted any quizzes on here, as a result of my working on quizzes for live hosting, so here's 10 questions on the origin of words. The source for all 10 is the Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins (2010) by Julia Cresswell.

1. The word “nausea” originally referred to one specific kind of sickness. Which kind?

2. The word “jail” shares its origin with that of a natural land feature, as a result of one of its letters softening over time. What is the land feature?

3. The word “daisy” is a contraction of what two words, which refer to the physical look of the flower?

4. The word “chivalry” ultimately comes from the Latin “caballus”. To which animal does this word refer?

5. What famous ruler of antiquity gives their name to the origin of the much more recent Russian term, Tsar?

6. This one is a bit of a quiz classic: what 4 word phrase is today usually contracted to the single word, “goodbye”?

7. The word “tooth” derives from an Old English word with a shared Latin root, a word that has ultimately given its name to a kind of weapon, as well as a relevant profession. What is the weapon?

8. The words “clothes horse” and “easel” both use the analogy of an object being as though a beast of burden for a human’s task. The latter comes from a Dutch word for which animal?

9. The word “nickname” is a case of a word being incorrectly spelled, and both the spelling and meaning changing over time. The original meaning was “additional name”. The original word was hyphenated – what was it?

10. The word “ranch” come from a Spanish word referring to a group of people sharing in what activity?

Weekly Roundup, W/E 23/06/2017

This week was a truncated week, dominated by my having hosted my own quiz on Monday. I'm honestly very happy with how that quiz went, though it was clearly easier than I expected as the winning score was a mammoth 79/85. Which at least justifies my having made my first quiz so difficult! I need to try being more organised with my quizzes, but then I could say that about my life in general. All my thoughts were devoted to it, and I was left emotionally drained by the experience, which I'm hoping will stop happening once I build up my experience as a host. I've already started writing my next one, and I'll try and complete at least a round a week for it. I've got a job to do here though and I can't excuse a bad performance with distraction based on other aspects of said job. With that in mind, let's get on with the post-mortem for this week.

Quiz #119 – Sunday 18^th June, Turf Tavern, Carlisle

Weekly Roundup, W/E 16/06/2017

I’m beginning my typing of this sitting at home while waiting for a gas company to arrive. Oh the joys of home ownership, and the regret of not taking a full day off since my time is running short. Good thing I have so much alternative work to keep me occupied, then! Last week was another busy week of quizzing, though most of my thoughts were devoted to my own next event, which is tonight as of writing this intro. I effectively took 3 days off after last week, which I really cannot afford to do in future. Lesson learned, I suppose (and hope)! Or not, as it turns out, as I finish this nearly a full week later on Sunday afternoon. Fortunately my next roundup is only 3 quizzes long, so will be up in short order.

Quiz #114 – Sunday 11^th June, Turf Tavern, Carlisle

Weekly Roundup, W/E 09/06/2017

Predictably, after spending several hours writing my epic review of my holiday, I’ve fallen a couple of weeks behind with the roundups again. 2 as of starting to write this, almost 3 as of actually posting it. I really need to start managing my time better! I’ve no preamble for this post, except to say that it was always going to be interesting to see how I would respond to being back at my usual quizzes after a refreshing and relaxing holiday. I’d already started back the same night I returned with a win at The Grapes, but would that continue?

Quiz #110 – Sunday 4^th June, Turf Tavern, Carlisle

Weekly Roundup - Holiday Edition - W/E 02/06/2017

Hello and welcome to a special edition of my weekly roundups in which I'll be covering my holiday to the gorgeous and amazing city of Nottingham! For non-Brits, it's a city of a bit over 300,000 that lies somewhere in the middle of England, and which is most famous for its association with Robin Hood. Living in a town carried by its own obsession with a national hero (Robert Burns), the omnipresence of the legendary outlaw in the town isn't weird to me.

I visited for the first time last September, and it's interesting to consider how things have changed in that time. It was the first time I'd ever done 6 quizzes in one week, and the first time I'd ever travelled specifically for the purpose of quizzing. I'd never been, and didn't know what I was doing. But I loved it, so I had to come back!

I actually did return to a few of the quizzes I did last time, but a few were new, as this time I didn't travel beyond the city itself. As I wasn't writing this blog last time, I'll need to explain the format of each quiz as I go (with one exception - Wednesday). So this blog might be a bit longer than usual, though it should also be quite informative, I hope!

Quiz #104 - Sunday 24th May, Trent Navigation, Nottingham