It has been a decent couple of weeks for ‘Peachey’ and her Ploughman’s Bunch! (Wolvercote) comrades.

Firstly, they put their housemate and fellow Premiership rival, the Plough, to the sword with an 87-73 thrashing which has, thankfully, rekindled a title challenge most pundits felt had terminally stalled.

Then, they followed up this momentous victory with overall success in last Thursday’s latest Tabletop, the Colin Ross Memorial.

Named in honour of a sadly departed member of the now virtually defunct Bicester Civil Service, a team which in the nineties so thoroughly dominated this county’s quiz scene they once went three years without losing a single league fixture, the competition was split between two venues, the North Oxford Conservative Club (Summertown) and the Sun Inn (Hook Norton).

Champions for the past two years in the North, the Blue Boar Bees (Chipping Norton) have misfired badly in this season’s defence of their crown.

Five defeats from eight starts has left them one place off the bottom of the table but with half the campaign still remaining, a healthy run of positive results could yet see them bag the hat-trick.

The kick-start they need may have just been provided by their performance five days ago up the road in ‘Hooky’.

With three of their main divisional challengers also in attendance, the Bees decimated the field posting a score of 127, twenty ahead of next door neighbours, the Chequers, with the Bell (Lower Heyford) third on 106 and the hosts taking fourth, a point further back.

The Woodman (North Leigh) pitched up late, pleaded for pens and paper and, unsurprisingly, finished last despite winning the final round. Still, they were not disgraced on 103.

The Bees tally was good enough for third in the general classification, a really commendable effort.

Over in Summertown, from as early as round two, the contest became a two--horse affair.

Premier Section outfits, the Royal Blenheim (Oxford City) and the Plough, were distinctly off-colour so it was left to the Green Road Club (Kidlington) to provide the Bunch! with their sternest opposition.

These two sides went at it hammer and tongs, each having their share of the lead.

Entering the closing stages, Diddly Dee and his ‘Kiddy’crew led by one but a monumental last ditch endeavour from the Bunch! saw them over the line with 132 to prevail by two with the gallant Black Swan (East Oxford) taking third spot in this leg (fourth overall) but another twelve points in arrears.

That’s now five Tabletops to date and the Bunch! (2) and the Plough (3) have made it a clean sweep for Wolvercote.

Will they make it six in two days time as the Mary English Valentine-themed Memorial takes centre stage?

Word count – 452

Questions provided by James Carr

Questions and Answers:

Q. With what is a Carpet Bag Steak stuffed before being grilled?

A. Oysters

Q. Standing just 4ft 3 inches tall, which 1950’s/60’s American pop star was nicknamed ‘Little Miss Dynamite’?

A. Brenda Lee

Q. The River Severn flows through which three English county towns?

A. Shrewsbury, Worcester, Gloucester.

Q. On which country did the U.S.A declare war in 1898?

A. Spain