Wirral Quiz League

The heats of the MQL MIMIR competition will take place at Aigburth People's Hall, Liverpool on Wednesday 16th March, beginning at 8.00pm.  The heats will consist of the following matches, with the Wirral players highlighted in yellow:

The Wirral heats of the Individual MIMIR championships took place at New Brighton Cricket Club on Thursday 18th Feb.

The title was won by Karl Whelan (Hoylake LTC ), with Jim Eccleson (Oxton Cons) finishing second and Rodney Watkins (NBCC) finishing third.  The finalist will go forward into the MQL Mimir competition. The heats of this will take place at a Liverpool venue on March 16th, with the final being held at the MQL presentation night in Southport on May 11th.

ITV are currently on the lookout for amazing contestants for a brand new quiz show 500 QUESTIONS!

500 Questions is an intense game of strategy and stamina, the aim of the game is to hold your own and bank cash as you go. There is just one rule. Three wrong in a row and you’re out! With a challenger to take your place and tens of thousands of pounds waiting to be won, can you handle the pressure?

If you, your friends, colleagues or anyone else you know are up for a laugh, have great general knowledge and want the chance to win thousands of pounds then please head to: www.itv.com/beontv/shows/500questions

A chap called Mark Fraser is looking to join a team in the Wirral League.  He is an experienced quizzer, having played for teams in the Northern and Liverpool Leagues, and previously played for Wayfarers Cricket Club in the Wirral League.  I was formerly a team mate of his and can vouch for his qualities.

To quote Mark himself - "Fairly wide range - chemistry, biology, medicine, not bad on history, geography and the arts. Know a fair bit of rubbish too"​.

He lives in Prenton and has transport.  Please contact him by email on mark@fraser88.co.uk and let me know if you have offered him a place.

Graham Barker of Rainhill Victoria of the Liverpool league appeared on Mastermind on 22nd January,  answering questions on Sir John Gielgud. 

Alan Gibbs of the Ormskirk League will be appearing in the Grand Final of 15 to 1 on Friday 30th October on Channel 4 at 3.00pm.

Given that it's Halloween,  Alan is expected to wear a truly horrifying shirt.

“The Really Tricky Sports Quiz Book” has been compiled by David Jenkins and Ian Starkie, based on questions that were devised for the Stone (Staffordshire) Cricket Club Sports Quiz between 2011 and 2014.  The book has 70 rounds of 10 questions with each round being worth between 10 and 38 marks.  In addition, there are 20 tables of sporting facts to be completed throughout the book.  There are 13 different sports covered, although football and cricket have the lion’s share, and several thematic rounds, including decades, managers, geography, captains and birthdays!

Where possible, questions have been devised to stand the test of time but we have used 31^st March 2015 as the up-to-date point.  The questions have been designed for groups to have a go at so we suggest that you share them with friends and family.

All profits from the sale of the book will go to two charities:-

• Katharine House Hospice, based in mid Staffordshire
• Stroke Association

“The Really Tricky Sports Quiz Book” costs £6.99 or £8.50 including p&p (UK) and is available from The Willows Publishing Co Ltd, 17 The Willows, Stone, Staffordshire ST15 0DE.  Payment can be by cheque or directly into the bank.  For further details contact:-

David Jenkins - jenkins.willows@ntlworld.com Tel 01785 814700

Ian Starkie - ianstarkie@aol.com Tel 01889 271046

They have initially printed 1500 books and we need to sell 400 to cover the printing costs.  To tempt you to buy a copy (or preferably copies!) of “The Really Tricky Sports Quiz Book” here are some sample questions:-

• Which footballer, whose clubs include Chelsea and Stoke City, came on as a substitute to replace his father in an international against Estonia in 1996?
• Three Indians have scored more than 2000 test runs and taken over 200 Test wickets.  Who are they?
• Five golfers have represented Team USA 8 or more times in the Ryder Cup. Two of them made their first appearance in the 60s, one in the 70s and two in the 90s. Name them.
• Since the Second World War, which three Great Britain athletes have won Olympic medals in the Men’s triple jump?
• Who is the only woman to have won 8 grand slam singles titles as a teenager?
• Which circuit has hosted the most Formula 1 grand prix – 64 – missing only one year between 1950 and 2014?

It with great sadness that we have to report the death of Dennis Collins of the Not Forthcoming Quiz Team.

Dennis was a stalwart of the Wirral Quiz League having played since the early 1980's with his first team The Admiral in Rock Ferry.

Dennis' teams (under their various names!) won 4 Division One titles over the years and recently Dennis was a member of the victorious Wirral team that won the Chester Challenge Cup.

For many years Dennis was the League's Results Secretary and also successfully ran the Riley Cup competition in tandem with the Liverpool Quiz League.

He will be sorely missed within the Wirral and Liverpool quiz community and our condolences go out to his family and friends.

His funeral will take place at 3.30pm on Monday 7th September at Landican Cemetery. His son and fellow team member David advises that a buffet will take place at The Basset Hound after the funeral and all are welcome to attend. Please email him on dtcollins@btinternet.com so that he has some ideas of numbers.

On 24th August, John Stitcher appeared on BBC 2's Only Connect as a member of The Athenians.

Remedy Productions are holding auditions for Fifteen to One in Liverpool on the 28^th of August. If anyone is looking for more information please email them at SeanMaguire@remedyproductions.tv or give them a call on 0141 428 3417.