You cut me open and I keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding quiz

Charles C

Trying hard not to hear, but they talk so loud. Their piercing sounds fill your ears, try to fill you with doubt but if you’re sure you know the answer, you just have to write it down. Ignore your team-mates! Equally, if you’re not totally sure, perhaps listen to those around you whose goal is to keep you from falling. That sort of Leona-Lewis-laden turmoil was played out in real time at the quiz last night as 13 teams battled it out for the £40 bar tab. Along the way, we learned: The Cranberries are in the top 3 best-selling Irish bands (The Corrs are not – would you believe it?!); Winston Churchill was the first person to be made an Honorary US Citizen; and, there are 11 herbs and spices in Colonel Sanders’ famous secret recipe.

“Bojo Nono” won the consolation Smarties, and were very speedy to identify the Weezer band photo. Just ahead of them, “Average Second Date” – who had put in a superb performance on a points-per-person basis, won the bottle of wine, possibly taking their ‘average’ date a couple of notches higher. Joint on 38 points, “Derren Brown Snorted 13 Grams For Robert Mugabe”, who did well to recognise the South Sudan flag, “Stick A Pony In Your Pocket” – the only team to recognise an early photo of Melania Trump; and “Same Difference” – power duo who were the best team on my points-per-person metric.

Hiding around the corner of the bar, “The Invisibles” got 3-out-of-3 on the Leona Lewis lyrics question; while “Radagast the Brown” tapped up some good history knowledge to answer the question on the invasion of Afghanistan in the late 70s. Just ahead of them, “We Love Eric” delivered a superb second half, even knowing the name of the personality experiment done using inkblots (Rorshach Test). Level with them, “Conservative Party Drug Counsellors” had taken a break from the sterling work they do for their day jobs to play an excellent quiz, even getting 3-out-of-3 for the Russell Crowe Oscar nominations question.

On the podium, “How Can I Say I Love You When You’re Sitting On My Face” fought internal team conflict (convinced that one of their own had sabotaged their quiz chances) but got 3-out-of-3 on the film screenshots and the tube stations, while, level with them, “Hucklebum, Tooting” dropped a mark on the tube stations but did know The Simpsons well. Taking silver, regular favourites, “S Club Parrty”, whose expertise ranged from tramp stamps to tithes. Just one point ahead of them came “Fishermen’s Friends”, who did well to get the dingbat and the anagram as quickly as they did.

“The Invisibles” got the closest guess to the jackpot question on the distance from London to New York (5,577km) but did not defeat the mystery envelopes. Rollover for next week. Just under £200 to be won. You have to be there though. Such drama. I don’t care what they say, I’m in love with the quiz. #onlytheduchyarmshastheanswer