Quizzing Closure...

Here's Kenneth Branagh telling me to
 dream big in my quest for tricky
 questions. TBH, I really wanted a GIF
 of Ken saying 'I'll devise thee brave 
punishments'' from Much Ado About 
Nothing, but the GIF site let me down. 
But, as the saying goes, a not-so-relevant
 bit of Ken is better than no Ken at all.

Well here it is. The morning after the night before. If you read last week's post, you'll remember I was tasked with creating the Sunday night family quiz. This was to be the time when my parents, siblings, and their partners battled to the death with whatever brave punishments I had devised. I spent all week working out suitable rounds, creating questions, and trying to pitch the level of difficulty hard enough for everyone equally, rather than favour the interests of a specific few. It was a tricky balancing act.

In the previous weeks' quizzes, all the standard themes had been done. Lots of sport, lots of general knowledge, and quite a bit of geography. Coming late in the lineup of Quiz Leaders, I had to steer clear of those. (Which is a shame because 'name all the countries of Oceana' would have been a great opening question. But still.) I also caused some familial rumblings of discontent with last week's blog. I was given the advice of one sibling, passed on by another, to make it possible for everyone to get around 70% correct per round. I was also told not to make it too hard.

I had different views. Obviously no one wants to feel thick compared to other people in the quiz. But when it's as difficult for one as it is for another, than I think that's OK. When I watch Only Connect, I am chuffed to bits with myself if I get two or three answers right per show. That was the vibe I wanted. That's how I aimed it to be anyway. I'm still not sure if it panned out that way, but hey. It's done. I enjoyed myself anyway. Basically, there were some easy bits for everyone, some completely impossible bits that required a stab in the dark answer, and some bits that might be work-out-able if you looked at it the right way. As my brother said in the week, during the 'don't make it too hard' convo, 'Nobody needs knowledge, we all need BANTER.' I can only hope I provided that, if nothing else. 

Live action quizzing!

So, why am I banging on about quizzes again today. Well, I thought I'd share the questions I used. Either for your own mental workout, or to use on others. The trouble is, that's easier said than done. Some of the questions were tailor-made for my family. For example in the Only Connect round, the common link between four numbers I listed, was that they were the house numbers of the homes my parents had lived in as a couple, placed in numerical order. There's no point putting that on here. Both for my parents' privacy, as well as the fact literally no one else will have a clue. (Last night, most people seemed to get it, but we know them. We've been to those houses. It wasn't a maths question after all.)

I don't think I can share the Textual References round with you either, although it's a great idea for a quiz. I listed the last text messages that I had received from each of the quizzers. Everyone had to match the family member to the text. Fun! Several of the messages involved family members telling me what starter they wanted for Christmas dinner in 2018. (It should be pointed out that I don't text much, and prefer WhatsApp and Messenger. Some of the texts were truly historical.)

And then there was the Eurovision round. It took the form of a music round, but instead of relying on Eurovision trivia to succeed, the quizzers simply had to identify which country was being represented by the obscure entry I played. It relied on a good ear for languages, picking up an accent, or racial stereotyping. I'm not sure. Sadly, technical difficulties and poor sound quality plagued that round, although the thought was there. But look, I'm waffling. Let's crack on. Below are the more generic questions I can share. Answers are listed at the bottom. It's just for fun, after all. I don't want to leave you hanging and unable to sleep. But enough of me babbling. Let's quiz!

Round One - Shatter That Ceiling!

1. Esther Duflo was the most recent woman to win a Nobel prize, but who was the first?             

2. The first elected head of Government to give birth in office was Benazir Bhutto, but who was the second, and most recent? A point for the name and one for the country.

                           

3. How many women have won an Oscar for Best Director? A point for the number and a point for each correct name.  

                               

4. Zara Phillips was the most recent woman to win BBC Sports Personality of the year, but the first was Anita Lonsbrough in 1962. What was her sport?       

5. At the Academy awards this year, Eímear Noone was the first woman to do something as part of the ceremony. What did she do?

6. What is the name of the first female chancellor of Germany?           

7. Sirimavo Bandaranaike was the world's first female head of government, serving as Prime Minister three times between 1960 and 2000. What country was she PM of?                              

8. In the 2016 Olympics, which two field events did the gold medal winning women achieve a greater distance than the gold medal winning men? 

9. In 2018, a statue was unveiled in Parliament Square, to commemorate a woman from history. It is still the only statue of a woman to be displayed in Parliament Square today. Who was the woman being celebrated?               

10. In 2012, the current youngest Nobel prize winner was shot in the head by the Taliban for protesting for the right of girls to be educated. What was her name?           

Round Two - Just Associate (or Only Connect)

Find the connection between each group of four. 

 1.

Emma Hayes

Willie Kirk

Phil Neville

Casey Stoney 

2.

Beavertown Neck Oil

Elvis Juice

Dead Pony Club

Camden Hells 

3.

library

vicarage

the Caribbean

Bertram’s Hotel 

4.

Spike

Blaine

Kenny

Harvest 

5.

 Digestion Boost

Seriously Seeded

Apple and BBQ Ready to Rolls

Coconut and Rum Fun Buns 

6.

everybody

needs

good

with

7.  

Timothy Dalton

Paula Yates

Helen Willets

William Roach 

                                              

                                       Round Three - Book Me In at the Pictures

For the picture round, can you name the book title and the author from these covers?

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

So there you are. Three rounds of quizzing fun that hopefully incorporated the banter as well. The winners last night were Mon and Gav, and their prize? Well, thank you for asking. I will be using the handy Cheerz app that I downloaded a while back, and selecting amusing photos of them from my phone, to turn into fridge magnets. It's the obvious quiz prize for anyone. That'll be in the post just as soon as I've spent the time trawling back through my old photos. For now, I'll leave you to your own quizzing, and bid you a hearty good day.

Have a lovely week, folks.

ANSWERS

1. Shatter That Ceiling!

1.Marie Curie          

2. Jacinda Arden/New Zealand                                

3. One. Kathryn Bigalow.                                     

4. Swimming

5. She conducted the orchestra for a piece of music.

6. Angela Merkel

7. Sri Lanka/Ceylon

8. Discus and hammer

9. Millicent Fawcett.

10. Malala Yousafzai

2. Just Associate (or Only Connect)

1. Managers of women’s football teams.

2. UK-made craft ales.

3. Locations of corpses in Miss Marple books. (Or all mentioned in the title of MM books.)

4. Leeza McAuliffe's siblings.

5. Bread products made by Roberts.

6. The first four words in the Neighbours theme tune lyrics, omitting neighbours.

7. All listed in the Notable People part of Colwyn Bay’s Wikipedia entry.

3. Book Me In at the Pictures

1. Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

2. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

3. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

4. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling

5. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

6. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

7. Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss

8. The Famous Five by Enid Blyton

9. The Witches by Roald Dahl

10. Leeza McAuliffe Has Something To Say by Nicky Bond (natch)

11. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

12. Paddington by Michael Bond.

Meet My Inner Quiz Dominatrix...

Zoom quizzes. Did they exist before all this? Putting aside the hardcore quiz community, who I'm sure accessed competitive trivia in all sorts of ways, did anyone else hit their video conferencing app and bamboozle their friends when we could actually go out? I don't think so. I mean, did anyone even sit face to face with their pals, and quiz themselves silly before COVID started? Did they? 

Zoom quizzes have
replaced galleries. FACT.

Oh. Well yeah, they did. You don't need to be Paul Sinha to enjoy a pub quiz. For all the Egg Heads and Chasers out there, there are plenty of amateurs who like a pint with their picture round. I suppose once the pubs closed, those causal quizzers found their way to Zoom to keep a social life going. But people virtually quizzing isn't really my query. I guess the question I'm asking is, how come I - whose attendance at a pub quiz is infrequent at best - now participate in a weekly family quiz?


The Bond Family quiz usually happens on a Sunday. That's to accommodate other quizzes that family members attend. (Quiz clashes are the new #firstworldproblem.) Anything up to thirteen people have taken part over the weeks, spread across seven households. Some of us are flaky and occasionally have things to do. (Excuses for non-attendance have included another Zoom meeting, a phone call to make, and tiredness.) But each week, there are enough of us logged on to have a decent competition. It's - insert trigger warning here - the new normal. 

Jauntily angled evidence of the Bond et al quiz.
You can feel the concentration.
You can sense the confusion.

It's not that I'm against quizzing. Far from it. Only Connect has a gold-plated reserved space in my planner, and in my twenties I regularly quizzed with my mates in a pub, where as memory serves - just like Smithy with Gary Lineker - every answer appeared to be Del Shannon. But it's been a pastime I've forgotten in recent decades. Pub quizzes usually sneak up on me now. You manage to coordinate diaries with a mate, sit down with a pint for an overdue catch up, and then a grumpy local taps a microphone and you're suddenly forbidden to speak. This has happened to me multiple times. Perhaps it's where my bewilderment comes in. How is it that I've managed to become a committed Sunday night quizzer when I've got all that baggage? Heaven only knows.

Toasting my success.
Here's to ME.

This week, the stakes are even higher. After an unbeaten run of quizzing genius from my brother and his girlfriend, there's a new champion. ME. Yeah, did you hear that? I ONLY WON THE BLOODY QUIZ. To be strictly truthful, it was not a solo victory. My usual placing of mid-table, was enhanced by some corroboratory support from the sofa. But it still counts. I am the reigning champion. Shower me with rose petals. Waft me with palms. Kiss my ring. 

And now it's my turn. You see, every household in the extended Bond family has taken a turn at being Quiz Mistress. I've managed to dodge that particular time-consuming bullet so far. This has been good news for the rest of my week, but bad news for the likelihood of scoring highly. When siblings throw in sports rounds willy nilly, (two in one quiz! I'm still not over it!) then I'm in danger of relegation. This week, I get to take control. I can inflict all sorts of indignities on my family. I will highlight all their intellectual weakness with the sadism of an evil Magnus Magnusson. I can't wait. 

Well not yet. But soon.

For now I have to write the thing. I've no intention of copying and pasting something from the Internet. No way. I want the personal touch. At the moment I'm at the stage of compiling possible topics. We've had lots of sport, general knowledge, and geography over the past few weeks, so I need to be more niche. Facts about the McAuliffe family would show up those relatives who have not read my book. Or I could dust off my Uni files and see if anyone can match the feminist academic to the quote. Or I could do a picture quiz where they have to identify my favourite fictional characters, from the abstract sketches I've drawn with blunt crayon. (I could have a good go at the Hot Priest, Connell, and Mrs Madrigal.) So many options. So much to do. At the end of the last quiz, the one collective request thrown my way was... no Eurovision. So, OF COURSE there will be a Eurovision round. It's only fair. I've blagged my way through countless questions about Everton, so it's time for my revenge. Buckle up Fambo, you're about to get tested. 

Have a lovely week, folks.

The Eurovision of People's Hearts...

I can only apologise to Adam
Buxton for the comparison. My
GIF site was not very forthcoming
for 'double booked' or 'diary clash'.

Last Christmas I was given tickets to see Adam Buxton at the Liverpool Playhouse. 'Get in!' I thought, as I opened my laptop to add the date to my diary. I'm a fan of his podcast, and this was right up my street. But then - DUH DUH DUHHHH - there was a clash. The evening with Adam Buxton had been booked for the same night as Eurovision. Disaster.

Actually, not a disaster. Not for a second. It was understood immediately that the tickets would be returned, whether a refund was possible or not. No question. People who know me, know my priorities, and so despite being a thoughtful gift that I'd have loved any other night of the year, it was just not happening. And that was that. Except obviously not. Enter pesky Covid, causing ructions. The Adam Buxton evening has now been rescheduled for October - luckily my lax attitude to returning unwanted items means I still have valid tickets - and Eurovision has been cancelled. Yeah. Bit gutted. What's a silly night of fun for some, is the actual love of my life. Alongside cheese, eighties music, and blustery beach walks. (I am the full package.)

Here I am, modelling last
year's stats and thoughts,
before chatting to the nation
via the radio. 18.5.19

Under normal circumstances, next Saturday would be the night in question. I'd be drinking my champagne, eating my seafood platter, and immersing myself in the joy that is Eurovision Twitter. I'd have spent the past few weeks listening to all forty-one entries, I'd be predicting which countries would be exiting at the semis, and I'd be prepping my trivia for the phone interview on Riverside Radio, where I am - in a ceremonial capacity only - the resident Eurovision enthusiast of the Martin Adams Saturday show. That was what next weekend was going to look like.

So, amongst the cancelled birthdays, holidays, and pub seshes, we now have a cancelled Eurovision. It's fine. It's what happens now. No biggie. (SOB) But rest assured, I'll be marking next Saturday, regardless. How? Well, things aren't looking too bad.


If you're a Eurovision tourist, and pop by once a year for the final, then the BBC is here for you. They have a full lineup of special programmes, the main event being a Europe-wide broadcast of 2020's songs showcased without the competition. Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light starts at 8pm. Come the evening, I'll probably be swayed by that. Especially if Eurovision Twitter is on board. 

Eurovision Twitter need a lot more content than a replacement line up for one evening. The ESC season was in full swing when Coronavirus shut it down. From the start of the year, new acts were gradually announced as countries held their national finals. Lots of people had flights booked and weekend deals secured, to attend gigs and parties all over the place. (For example, the London Eurovision Party was supposed to be on March 29th. Spain's PrePartyEs was planned for 10th and 11th of April.) The well-known phrase, 'Eurovision is for Spring not just for Christmas one day in May,' has never been so apt. 

I LOVED Denmark's 2018 entry.
Rasmussen. Anthemic and soaring,
like all my favourites are.

I am definitely more than a Eurovision tourist. It's way bigger than once a year for me. The buildup and gossip that the online community provides is what makes the lull after New Year less boring. Keeping an eye on possible winners as more and more are announced is a great diversion until I get to March when I listen to them all properly. But I'm a bit of an outsider too. There's a general acknowledgement online that Eurovision only got good in the last decade. When it shook off the naffness that came with the eighties. I get that completely. But then I love eighties Eurovision too. I love a key change, a riff on a national costume, and I miss the days when countries had to sing in their own language and it all sounded so varied. But hey, times change. Increased production values and genuinely good songs can't be a bad thing. But it means I'm slightly at odds with younger fans. 

None of that matters though. People are lovely. It's OK to be different. We all have our favourites. And since we've been confined to barracks, with gigs being cancelled all over the show, the ESC community has got itself organised. Recent Saturdays have seen a shared watch of a streamed contest from the past. Eurovision Again! Excitingly, the year is announced just before the 8pm start. It's all so heartwarming and lovely. I've only managed to dip into these, as Saturday night is the one time of the week I get to converse with another human for more than five minutes, but I'm so happy that this has been possible. Twitter is filled with the joy of it too. And even when I've been unable to join in the official #EurovisionAgain stream, I've found time to rewatch some of my favourite years, and felt all the better for it. Eurovision - it makes everything feel sparkly and upbeat.

So onwards to next Saturday. As gutting as it is that it'll different, there's still a bunch of contest-related content in which to explore. I'll still feel a giddy thrill when I hear Charpentier's Te Deum. I'll still feel a nostalgic gut punch at any snippet of a key change or mention of pre-millennium Eurovision. And, I'm just saying it now, Iceland's 2020 entry is brilliant. I'd have bet money on it had I been given the chance. Instead, I'll leave it here so you can enjoy for yourselves. We have to find the upsides. The final one being, I can have my lovely evening of community this Saturday, and still see Adam Buxton in October. Hurrah.

Have a lovely week, folks.

That feeling when you write a blog, do a bit of an Ecosia search for some stats, and then find the same article has been written in the Guardian a week before. I'm so zeitgeisty, it hurts.