QU12 2007 round ten, is to be held at St. Helen's House, Buttway Lane, Cliffe, Rochester, Kent, ME3 7QP. Click Here for a map. The original plan was for a venue in Rochester city centre, but this place is prettier, more comfortable, is more cost-effective, and is close to Will's crib and kitchen. There are engineering works disrupting the journey of anyone heading from London to Rochester by rail. Our experience is that most people attending these events travel by car, but you are also welcome to come by rail, we will try to organise a lift for you. If anyone is coming by rail from London, advice is to go to Higham Station (about an hour from London Bridge / Waterloo East / Charing Cross) and then call Will on 07731 772560, and transport can be arranged from the station to the venue and back.
It could be an easy one to win this, as of Saturday morning there are only five competitors guaranteed. That those five are Beverley Barbour, Mike Abbott, James Webb, Trevor Montague and Kevin Ashman might make a difference. There has not been a major upset in QU12 yet. Sod's law says this might be it!! Whatever, I am going to make some 'phone calls now ('stream of consciousness' news page or what?).
Six days ago we enjoyed the scenery, the adventure, and, best of all, the company of Northern Ireland. I am not going to tell you the result here, for that you must wait to see the film (Click here for the YouTube page). Because I had not quizzed any of the competitors previously I was able to recycle quite a few questions, and I can state that Anto McCann's "USA HIDDEN SAMS" answer and Cate Conway's buzz on "Joan of Arc, Genghis Khan, Beethoven, Billy the Kid" were faster than any I have witnessed before, and that includes Hay-on-Wye three years ago (We had an LSQ in a tent, and there were some real big hitters there). Round One everybody scored, Round Two went to the wire and Round Three was a win for an outstanding competitor. How nice was it to have five females competing? - a demographic that the BBC would die for!
In a life full of pleasant surprises, the one I had on Sunday morning when Will Jones cropped up in the car park in Randalstown with a big grin on his face is one of the most notable. I've said it before and I'll say it again, In travelling to Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Torquay and all places in between, along with the creation of the two biggest quiz sites on the internet, the captaincy of a QLL team, the fabulous thursday night on-line quiz, the invention of systems, collation of information and the constant, unerring, calmness in the face of adversity, there is no person that I know of anywhere that has come remotely near making the usefull contribution, in terms of time, calories, and meaningful results within the Quiz world that Will has done over the last few years. Thank you from me, and, I hope, thank you from anybody who has a shred of rationality about them. Discuss.
The world is a beautiful place: make it better