Let's Get Quizzical

Rishi Dastidar on the Little, Brown quiz night in aid of the National Literacy Trust

To Doggets then, for last night’s Little, Brown pub quiz, hosted by quizzer extraordinaire and LB author Marcus Berkmann.

The atmosphere was tense before we started, with matters not improved by Marcus’ microphone conking out just three questions in. But, with batteries and palates suitably refreshed, we could begin in earnest.

The early rounds were tight, with little to choose at the top of the table. An eye-wateringly high average score of 16 for the first two rounds meant this was going to be a close call of a night. (And kudos to all those who got full marks in the ‘How did those authors die?’ round – who would have dreamed of the wry irony that Tennessee Williams went out choking on a bottle cap?)

But round three was the turning point. Most of the early front runners were felled by combination of over-confidence and intoxication, as questions about Stonehenge, evolution and Beatles’ LP covers befuddled and bemused in equal measure. A decidedly tricky fourth numbers round restored some honour, but there were now only four teams left in it.

Then, squeaky bum time – the fifth and final round. General knowledge was on the agenda, but current US politics proved a lacuna, with only a few teams identifying Barack Obama as the skinny guy with the funny name. Those tantalizing questions which you just knew slipped away again… and then, with one last despairing flourish of the pen, it was over.

And as the dust cleared, a surprise. The might of the marketing ‘Orangutans’, who had been clear leaders through the fourth round, had been pipped at the post by one point, 89-88, by the quiet geniuses of The Typos. They celebrated their prize (wine from under Nick’s desk) with élan, while the runners-up took their runners-up prize of, um, more books, with good grace.

Marcus had one more round in store – for those unlucky enough to have their number pulled out of the pint glass, a solo head to head with him, with three bottles of champagne to be won. Modesty forbids from mentioning who went first, and indeed the sheer mind-bending difficulty of the question he answered, but Marcus was starting to believe he had a chance of taking a bottle home with him.

Lest all this sound too aggrandizing, the night raised £600 for National Literacy Trust. And I, as an interloper, was thoroughly impressed by the collective brain power on display. And a warning – next year, production are aiming for first place… Maybe not.

Posted 24/04/2008 15:12:37 by Rishi Dastidar with 0 comments.