Oprah Winfrey: high profile - yes; difficult anagram - absolutely

Charles C

Lively energy at the Duchy Arms last night as 14 teams joined the mêlée battling against the trivia for the £40 bar tab. Just six points separated the teams at half-time, with the room abuzz with love for general knowledge, pub fare and the fact January is nearly over.

At close-of-play, “3 Ozzies & a Pom” earned the first packet of consolation sweets, just missing the second-from-bottom bottle of wine, which went to “Vagabonds” – both teams excellent on countries and nationalities. Having been kicking themselves for not doing better in the first half, “85G” ended up playing themselves one point beyond the wine. Still, are points possibly better than wine anyway? Hmm, one to ponder.

Teams were then bunched up over the following five points, with teams agog to learn that: Takoyaki is Japanese for battered balls of octopus (not battered octopus balls, which should be illegal); Meghan Markle’s Dad’s name is Thomas; and, the water Jesus walked on was the Sea of Galilee.

Just missing a podium position, “French For Mushrooms” delivered an enviable return to the Duchy Arms quiz, proving very adept at celebrity identification. Taking bronze, “One Of Us Won 150 Bratz Dolls In A Magazine Competition” (apparently mice subsequently ate most of the dolls) did excellently to get all three film screenshots. In silver position, “Aloe Vino” had an impressive quiz, getting 3-from-3 on the Pharrell Williams – Happy lyrics question.

After a surprise tie-breaker for first place, “Fisherman’s Friends” just edged ahead of the brilliantly-named “Jenny Potter & The Pillow Princess” for the victory bar tab. Both teams covering a range of knowledge from cocktail ingredients to three cryptic airport names. Unbelievable scenes.

“Tina Turner & the Dry Wall” won through to the jackpot round with the closest guess to my question on the world’s longest guitar solo (24 hours 55 mins!!) but the jackpot ticket in the cruel envelopes eluded them and the pot rolls over to £189 next week. Serious cash for a seriously unserious quiz. It could be yours! Seriously – it really could. #onlytheduchyarmshastheanswer