NPF Londoner Quiz 2005

[poorjudge]

The story must be told.

 

An exciting and eventful quiz evening at the Londoner as an easier-than-usual set of questions allowed many teams to run up high scores. Even NPF I & II seemed in unaccustomed harmony, making the same wrong guesses on every stinking collective noun question. The calm before the storm.

 

As scores were tabulated, NPF I was in first, the Lebowskis second, and NPF II (Goatscroat, Long Gun, Khun Kong, A Poor Judge of Character, and Ultra 67) were in third, by one point if I recall correctly. There was a complication, however: NPF I had had seven players most of the evening, the seventh having disappeared during the tabulation. Ordinarily this means a deduction of 5 points a the beginning. Unsure of whether the seventh was a player or simply accompanying a player, the quizmaster elected to observe her actions.

 

"How many players did you have this evening?" the quizmaster asks NPF I. "Six," comes the answer. "Ten points off for lying," intones the quizmaster and the sheep are separated from the goats. Lebowski is now first, NPF II is second.

 

NPF I riots, complaining bitterly, overturning tables and setting bystanders alight with flares thrown from the upper deck. The disturbance spills out onto Soi 33 and pitched battles break out, begowned demimondaines joining in in undisguised fury as their customers looked on, sobbing helplessly. Police units from Thong Lo, Lumpini, and Bangrak (if I recall correctly) were called in and eventually dispersed the mob with firehoses and group hugs. NPF I was piss-tested and released for lack of evidence.

 

And where was NPF II, you ask? Immediately upon receiving our 500 baht vouchers we scarpered with our ill-gotten booty in search of, umm, ill-gotten booty.

 

A good time was had by all.

 

Accurate to a fault, I remain,

 

A Poor Judge of Character

[Long Gun]

I did try to write something about this yesterday but it disappeared up my dial-up. Today, my ADSL has been moved and after a tough few weeks, I feel strangely connected with the world again. Anyway, having read PJ's entertaining account I'm glad mine disappeared.

 

One slight detail I think puts a different slant on events is the fact that NPF1's secret 7th player was female, and Asian. There is a historical precedent at these things that additional bodies at team tables are ignored, if they are Thai females, on the basis that most know little of anything that has ever occured outside their village. I don't think anything has ever been specifically declared on this, but it just seemed to be a given, certainly Mrs Itsmedave never seemed to trouble the scorers throughout her pregnancy. Difference this time was that the female was, I believe, Japanese and presumably therefore credited with a certain level of education and a broader worldview, and, yes, there were a couple of Japanese questions in the quiz.

 

I can only assume Rodders sitting on his little bombshell until the very end had something to do with his rather strained relationship with one of NPF1's regulars, even though he has been behaving himself very well recently. I would be surprised if he doesn't come up with some sort of clarification of the rules before the next quiz, and I would be surprised if there is a workable alternative to simply including everyone sitting at a table in the numbers - seems more likely than just ignoring any females, however much the storage and recall of useless trivia remains an overwhelmingly male pursuit.

 

Be interested to read the thoughts of Itsmedave or any others of the team who read the board.

[itsmedave]

Well, it wasn't far of from the riot that was described.

 

After the NPF2 team disappeared faster than a keg of beer at a British funeral. the sh*t hit the fan.

 

As was mentioned, many teams (not just ours) have had Thai females sit with them over the last few years. My wife sat with us for 2 years with only one complaint the whole time. So, with that history there was no reason to expect we would have a problem this time. The female was Thai, the girlfriend of Jim's son...Jim. She does speak decent English but never answered a single question...instead she mostly asked questions...like, what does that question mean? or, What is the answer?, or, Why don't they ask Star Wars questions?

 

So, after 4 months of never bringing a full team and never winning, we finally get 6 guys together, and, in a very close contest, we finally win. It was a huge breakthrough for us.

 

And then Rodney calls us cheaters and liars, and takes points away with what appeared to be a slight amount of glee. Certainly, he had seen the lady sitting there from the beginning and could have mentioned the problem before it was a problem. We would have sent her to the bar. Or they could've charged us 700 baht to play. 100 per member right? So, if we only were asked to pay for 6, then they must consider us to be a team of six, right?

 

But instead, he waits until we've won, and then pulls the rug out. Not fair, and not cricket.

 

My guess is that Rodney was in bad sorts because his friend died that morning...but this wasn't our fault.

 

In any case, at least three of our team (not me) were so angry that he had challenged their honesty, that they vowed not to ever return. Mr. Williamson came over, and was very apologetic and did what he could to mollify us, including offering 500 baht vouchers, but it remains to be seen if that will be enough.

 

I personally love the nights out, and hope to continue, but it seems as if we will at least sit one quiz out in protest and hope for an apology. Whether we ever play together as a team again at the Londoner is still doubt...but I hope so.

 

By the way, Andy thinks that he and Rodney are buds, and that Rodney enjoys the banter between them. It was also not Andy who was among the most upset.

[Pom Michael]

Itsmedave,

 

As I was MIA for these last two quizzes, I can't comment on the actual decision of the Quizmaster, however I can comment on the "extra" person at the table.

 

We had the same situation last year and NPF1 was warned about it when there was a question on having an extra person at the table (and no it wasn't the lucky charm). Then again for a second time last year it became an issue (not with NPF teams) and I remember that the QM did put out clearer instructions.

 

NPF2 has had a few occasions (KK can confirm) where we have not allowed non-playing guest to sit at the table if it means more than 6 people. Just doesn't need to happen in my opinion.

 

Make a choice if you want to have fun at the quiz, or not. I really enjoy the quizzes but if they get to be too competitive then it takes away from the fun.

 

Come to win, but bring only 6 team members so that no-one can even make an issue of it. As the front-runners, you will always come under closer scrutiny then say the "Only Here for the Beer" group.

 

Cheers!

[Khun_Kong]

Pom Michael said:

 

... NPF2 has had a few occasions (KK can confirm) where we have not allowed non-playing guest to sit at the table if it means more than 6 people. Just doesn't need to happen in my opinion.

...

 

Yeah, my TGF almost thinks it is a plot for me to leave her at home, because I used to welcome her, but it obviously created an awkward situation for both of us and for the NPFII'ers.

 

However, she does understand. We just talked about it again, and she said that, although she likes to be with ME, she does not have a sanuk feel for it. The only time she got excited was when there was a question about Ayudheya or Rama V or some such.

 

Sorry if there are any hard feelings out there. It is just a game! Like the whole experience in Thailand, when it stops being fun , you've gotta look for something else.

 

Rodney may have had difficulty distinguishing the female NPFI guest's questions to her teamates ABOUT the game from participation IN the game- they have pretty much the same appearance, especially when 7 people are hunched over conversing in whispers.

 

As a yachtsman, it's hard for me to buy the "they won on a technicality" type arguments. The other name for "technicalities" is "rules".

[itsmedave]

<<Pom Michael said... As I was MIA for these last two quizzes, I can't comment on the actual decision of the Quizmaster, however I can comment...>>

 

But I think you CAN comment. Because it's not the 6 person rule we had a problem with. If that's going to be the rule, then that's fine. But it must be enforced fairly and consistantly and people must know it's going to be enforced beforehand.

 

You mentioned 2 occasions in the last year when this has been an issue...but you did not mention the other 22 times when it was not.

 

We all recognize that prostitution is illegal in Thailand, but if you were the only one arrested for barfining a girl from Nana, and it was the mamasan who pointed you out to the police...and then she said she hoped you'd be back next time...you might be a bit miffed at the situation.

 

Again, the point is that we've been consistantly good customers for many years, and if they wanted to start enforcing this policy with us, then they should have told us at the start. That's all, just a bit of respect and good customer service.

[poorjudge]

I have to disagree here. While I feel that Rodney should have just docked NPF I five points along the way (the whole lying bit was a bit harsh), NPF I handled the whole matter poorly and suspiciously.

 

Look, she sat with you almost all night. A couple of our players were convinced she was playing (N.B. I'm not questioning your honesty, I'm happy to believe your version) and we sit even closer to you than the QM does, so how could he tell?

 

I felt it was particularly bad form when she disappeared for the tabulation, as if you were trying to hide her. Also "Six players and a guest," would have been a much more accurate answer when the QM asked, and it would probably have had the advantage of keeping you out of trouble.

 

The seven player rule isn't new. As has been noted, KK's squeeze has not been permitted to grace us with her presence on a number of occasions. Just because exceptions were made for you before doesn't mean they'll be made every time. You should have asked first.

 

By the way, I don't think the QM is as fond of the "banter" as your fellow team member (who really has been much more enjoyable recently, by the way) thinks he is.

 

Ah, well. Hope you'll all be back. I enjoy seeing you and competing with you.

 

I remain,

 

A Poor Judge of Character

[itsmedave]

Poor Judge said <<I felt it was particularly bad form when she disappeared for the tabulation, as if you were trying to hide her.>>

 

You mentioned that in an earlier post, but while it may have seemed suspicious to you, I would be happy to swear on a stack of bibles that it was entirely coincidental. She lost interest as the game wore on, and spent more and more time away. When the results were tabulated, she was off, I know not where. Had we asked her to leave for the tabulations then Rodney would have been right in docking the points, because we would have been actively trying to get away with something we knew was wrong. (although he still should have said something earlier) But this was not the case, at all, which is why we were so stunned when it happened. It wasn't until all the prizes had been handed out that I actually believed he wasn't just "taking the piss".

 

You said <<Just because exceptions were made for you before doesn't mean they'll be made every time.>>

 

Again I disagree. If exceptions are made every time for 3 years, then the exception becomes the rule. Certainly the spirit of the rule was not broken, as she provided no advange of any kind (maybe even a disadvantage of the distraction...I know I missed hearing a few questions while responding to her) He asked us how many were playing and we answered honestly. Then he called us liars. Not sure what in our history would make him think we were suddenly cheaters who needed extra help to win. Not sure why he thought that the brusque manner in which we were treated was a wise business decision with what were a group of his best customers.

[poorjudge]

Fair enough. We'll have to agree to disagree before Boring Man appears to fill us in on quizzes and the rules and origins thereof.

 

Group hug on Tuesday?

 

Heart full of hope, I remain,

 

A Poor Judge of Character

[Guest]

itsmedave said:

She lost interest as the game wore on, and spent more and more time away. When the results were tabulated, she was off, I know not where.

 

Is she a three holer????

That is the only relevant thing here!!!

GS