12/26/99 13:04:19   (MSO_Admin)   Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Kevin Ashman
12/26/99 13:04:32   (MarkL)   clap, clap, clap
12/26/99 13:04:32   (MSO_Admin)   The winner of the Fifteen-to-One Millennium Quiz yesterday
12/26/99 13:04:40   (MSO_Admin)   and the only man to win the big quizzing treble:
12/26/99 13:04:54   (MSO_Admin)   Mastermind, Brain of Britain and Fifteen-to-one Grand Championship
12/26/99 13:05:05   (MSO_Admin)   Trevor Montague will be along momentarily
12/26/99 13:05:42   (Kevin_Ashman)   Hello,. good evening and welcome
12/26/99 13:05:51   (Kevin_Ashman)   I'm very pleased to be online
12/26/99 13:05:57   (Kevin_Ashman)   and pleased to take any
12/26/99 13:05:58   (Kevin_Ashman)   questions that you wish to throw at me
12/26/99 13:06:10   (MSO_Admin)   We have some questions sent in by e-mail already...
12/26/99 13:06:19   (MSO_Admin)   ...but who would like to ask the first question?
12/26/99 13:06:37   (davidbod)   ?
12/26/99 13:06:48   (MSO_Admin)   David, go ahead
12/26/99 13:07:30   (davidbod)   Who Wants To Be A Millionaire - a good or bad thing for quizzes? It's brought wide-ranging interest to quizzes, but how can it be topped?
12/26/99 13:07:55   (Kevin_Ashman)   I'm not sure that it can be topped
12/26/99 13:08:00   (Kevin_Ashman)   in any practical sense
12/26/99 13:08:06   (Kevin_Ashman)   Whether it's a good or a bad thing...
12/26/99 13:08:14   (Kevin_Ashman)   I don't htink it necessarily affects
12/26/99 13:08:21   (Kevin_Ashman)   the types of quizzes you're likely to see me on:
12/26/99 13:08:31   (Kevin_Ashman)   the liks of Mastermind, Fifteen-to-One, Brain of Britain etc.
12/26/99 13:09:01   (MSO_Admin)   Ladies and gentlemen, Trevor Montague!
12/26/99 13:09:10   (MSO_Admin)   The founder of the British Quiz Championships
12/26/99 13:09:25   (MSO_Admin)   and the organiser of the Quiz event at the Mind Sports Olympiad
12/26/99 13:09:34   (MSO_Admin)   We're very glad to have both Trevor and Kevin here.
12/26/99 13:09:58   (Kevin_Ashman)   I think there probably could be some sort of parallel structure developing
12/26/99 13:10:12   (Kevin_Ashman)   like the traditional diviasion between quiz shows and game shows
12/26/99 13:10:22   (Kevin_Ashman)   and I think Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? was an inevitable development
12/26/99 13:10:32   (Kevin_Ashman)   The sort of idea that somebody somewhere was going to come up with
12/26/99 13:10:37   (Kevin_Ashman)   and I don't think there's any going back.
12/26/99 13:10:48   (Kevin_Ashman)   There are those of us who are happy to compete for no prize at all
12/26/99 13:11:02   (Kevin_Ashman)   but I think there's an element where it's felt necessary to have a reward
12/26/99 13:11:07   (Kevin_Ashman)   in order to attract people to watch.
12/26/99 13:11:11   (braveheart)   hello - can ask a question?
12/26/99 13:11:20   (Kevin_Ashman)   Next question, please
12/26/99 13:11:28   (MSO_Admin)   Braveheart, please ask a question now
12/26/99 13:11:54   (braveheart)   In which year was the world's first 'artificial' heart transplant ?
12/26/99 13:12:17   (Kevin_Ashman)   I think it might be 1982 but I'm not at all sure
12/26/99 13:12:32   (braveheart)   anyone else?
12/26/99 13:12:43   (braveheart)   1982 is incorrect
12/26/99 13:13:10   (mike)   hello to trevor
12/26/99 13:13:15   (braveheart)   the answer is 1969 in the USA
12/26/99 13:13:29   (Kevin_Ashman)   A lot further back than I thought
12/26/99 13:13:31   (braveheart)   hi trev is jonathan if u haven't guessed
12/26/99 13:13:35   (braveheart)   yer
12/26/99 13:14:19   (MSO_Admin)   Who would like to ask the next question, please?
12/26/99 13:14:34   (MSO_Admin)   If there is nobody else then I shall ask a question we were sent by e-mail...
12/26/99 13:14:35   (MarkL)   ?
12/26/99 13:14:38   (Trevor)   Hi braveheart I was surprised it was so early as well but I do remember the man's name was Barney
12/26/99 13:14:40   (MSO_Admin)   Mark, go ahead
12/26/99 13:15:01   (Kevin_Ashman)   That rings a bell with me - Barney Clark, I think
12/26/99 13:15:15   (MarkL)   SOme advice you often hear about taking quizzes is that you should go with your first impression.  Do you two agree?
12/26/99 13:15:18   (braveheart)   yeh...the pump was called ' Liotta' and implanted by Dr denton cooley
12/26/99 13:15:25   (Trevor)   Yes thats right Kev Barney Clark was his name
12/26/99 13:15:26   (Kevin_Ashman)   Yes.
12/26/99 13:15:30   (Kevin_Ashman)   Generally speaking, yes.
12/26/99 13:15:43   (Kevin_Ashman)   I think you should go with your first impression
12/26/99 13:15:47   (braveheart)   i lloed it up in a book i have here :-)
12/26/99 13:15:51   (Kevin_Ashman)   9072102560f the time it's going to be corrrrect.
12/26/99 13:15:51   (braveheart)   looked
12/26/99 13:16:54   (Kevin_Ashman)   Sometimes you can get a wrong answer fixed in your mind in quizzes
12/26/99 13:16:56   (mike)   may I ask a question for trevor
12/26/99 13:16:58   (Kevin_Ashman)   You get it wrong the first time
12/26/99 13:17:10   (Kevin_Ashman)   and then it gets stuck there and you get it wrong second time as well
12/26/99 13:17:13   (Kevin_Ashman)   That can happen
12/26/99 13:17:23   (MSO_Admin)   Please go ahead, Mike!
12/26/99 13:17:42   (mike)   when was the first quiz show on television and who presented it
12/26/99 13:17:51   (mike)   that is british
12/26/99 13:18:00   (Kevin_Ashman)   That's a good one
12/26/99 13:18:09   (mike)   thank you
12/26/99 13:18:10   (Kevin_Ashman)   I don't honestly know
12/26/99 13:18:21   (Kevin_Ashman)   I would say probably somewhere about 1948 or thereabouts at a guess
12/26/99 13:18:29   (Kevin_Ashman)   I'll say Michael Miles and try "Take Your Pick"
12/26/99 13:18:34   (mike)   does trevor know?
12/26/99 13:18:46   (Trevor)   I go back as far as Double your money and Take Your Pick but feel sure there must have been others before the mid fifties
12/26/99 13:19:09   (Kevin_Ashman)   1948 rings a vague bell somewhere
12/26/99 13:19:11   (mike)   ok thanks:)-
12/26/99 13:19:16   (Kevin_Ashman)   or late forties... but that may be a false memory
12/26/99 13:19:37   (MSO_Admin)   Mike Flanagan sends a question by e-mail: "Why did you get involved in quizzes?"
12/26/99 13:19:55   (Kevin_Ashman)   I'd always been interested in quizzes
12/26/99 13:19:59   (Kevin_Ashman)   I'd always watched them on TV
12/26/99 13:20:11   (Kevin_Ashman)   Mastermind, University Challenge and so forth
12/26/99 13:20:24   (Kevin_Ashman)   but I'd never thought seriously about taking part until my mid-20s
12/26/99 13:20:30   (Kevin_Ashman)   when I got involved with an office team
12/26/99 13:20:39   (Kevin_Ashman)   playing in the Civil Service General Knowledge Quiz
12/26/99 13:20:46   (Kevin_Ashman)   The reason I applied for Mastermind in the first place
12/26/99 13:20:52   (Kevin_Ashman)   which was the first one I ever tried for TV
12/26/99 13:21:00   (Kevin_Ashman)   was a combination of other people saying I should try
12/26/99 13:21:06   (Kevin_Ashman)   and watching the shows over the years
12/26/99 13:21:11   (Kevin_Ashman)   and noticing my own scores increasing
12/26/99 13:21:21   (Kevin_Ashman)   and I was in a rut at the time
12/26/99 13:21:25   (Kevin_Ashman)   so I applied for Mastermind
12/26/99 13:21:30   (Kevin_Ashman)   and got on at my second attempt
12/26/99 13:21:34   (Kevin_Ashman)   and it all started from there
12/26/99 13:21:44   (MSO_Admin)   Trevor, is your story similar?
12/26/99 13:22:03   (MarkL)   ?
12/26/99 13:22:33   (grecian)   ?
12/26/99 13:23:12   (Trevor)   Not really, I am from a sporting background and started entering quizzes as a natural progression when the advancement of age meant I was no longer as competitive in that field as I would like to be. I suppose I started seriously in my mid thirties
12/26/99 13:23:45   (MSO_Admin)   Mark, please could you ask the next question? Grecian the one after that.
12/26/99 13:23:56   (MarkL)   Trevor, on the intro page it mentions "sued for the return of his Grand Final prize".  Could you give us details about that?
12/26/99 13:27:18   (Trevor)   Well its a very long story but to shorten it somewhat the simple fact is that the producer of the show has a rule that you cannot have more than one uninvited attempt on the show. I had been on the show in 1989 under my own name and managed to get the first 2 questions wrong. I then applied again under a stage name I had worked under and in 1992 had a second attempt as a ruse. I had worked with William G. Stewart on a show called 'Wanted' and he in
12/26/99 13:28:02   (Trevor)   1992
12/26/99 13:29:05   (Trevor)   I lost the case on a technicality and could not afford the very oppressive appeal costs so settled out of court with Mr Stewart thereby ending the matter
12/26/99 13:29:59   (grecian)   Kevin, congratulations on your win on the Fifteen to One Millennium Special.  The questions were very historical.  To both Kevin and Trevor: to what extent is historical knowledge the foundation  of your success?  And as a self-confessed historical ignoramus, can I ever reach the quizzing pinnacles?
12/26/99 13:30:33   (Kevin_Ashman)   Yes, with a bit of application
12/26/99 13:30:41   (Kevin_Ashman)   I personally think that if you've studied history, as I did,
12/26/99 13:30:51   (Kevin_Ashman)   that's probably the best subject to have studied as a foundation
12/26/99 13:30:58   (Kevin_Ashman)   because history can cover anything you like
12/26/99 13:31:05   (Kevin_Ashman)   it's the corenerstone to all other subjects
12/26/99 13:31:18   (Kevin_Ashman)   Dates and chronology tend to be the hooks on which I hang my information
12/26/99 13:31:24   (Kevin_Ashman)   This provides my basic framework
12/26/99 13:31:30   (Kevin_Ashman)   History is probably my strongest subject all round
12/26/99 13:31:33   (Kevin_Ashman)   But it can be done
12/26/99 13:31:39   (Kevin_Ashman)   even if you don't have a historical backgroudn
12/26/99 13:31:56   (grecian)   I tend to agree.  Philosophy and Economics were very poor quiz subjects!
12/26/99 13:32:19   (Kevin_Ashman)   I sympathise!
12/26/99 13:32:23   (Kevin_Ashman)   You're probably quite right!
12/26/99 13:32:55   (MarkL)   ?
12/26/99 13:33:04   (Trevor)   I know that Kev has a similar interest in history as myself although we approach the subject in very different ways. I love reading general world history but specialise in Tudor history but Kev is very much a date person and is exceptional at remembering times dates and places for the foundation of his historical interests
12/26/99 13:33:34   (MSO_Admin)   Mark, please go ahead with the next question
12/26/99 13:33:38   (MarkL)   Has any quiz show ever gone bankrupt because people won too much money?
12/26/99 13:33:58   (Kevin_Ashman)   Not bankrupted... not that I'm aware of
12/26/99 13:34:06   (Kevin_Ashman)   There was a show called "Trivial Pursuit" on sky
12/26/99 13:34:11   (Kevin_Ashman)   where towards the end of the series
12/26/99 13:34:20   (Buzzorielcox)   ?
12/26/99 13:34:22   (Kevin_Ashman)   they had to give people money towastrds the end of the series
12/26/99 13:34:29   (Kevin_Ashman)   because the daily prize was a holiday
12/26/99 13:34:38   (Kevin_Ashman)   and they ahd bought a job lot of holidays from a company
12/26/99 13:34:43   (Kevin_Ashman)   and they hadn't bought enough!
12/26/99 13:34:49   (Kevin_Ashman)   The series was 65 shows long
12/26/99 13:34:56   (Kevin_Ashman)   and they bought about half that number of holidays
12/26/99 13:35:06   (Kevin_Ashman)   because they thought only half the people would win holidays
12/26/99 13:35:12   (Kevin_Ashman)   in the end they had to gi ve cash,
12/26/99 13:35:15   (Kevin_Ashman)   or cash equivalent,
12/26/99 13:35:21   (Kevin_Ashman)   and let people do their own thing!
12/26/99 13:35:30   (Kevin_Ashman)   But I doubt that actually bankrupted them.
12/26/99 13:35:36   (grecian)   ?
12/26/99 13:35:37   (Kevin_Ashman)   I was on the very last show of the series
12/26/99 13:35:42   (Kevin_Ashman)   and was in that situation!
12/26/99 13:35:53   (MSO_Admin)   Buzzorielcox, please go ahead with the next question
12/26/99 13:36:05   (Buzzorielcox)   Why do you think that there are so few proper quiz shows on TV?  I've done University Challenge and, I'm ashamed to say, Win Beadle's Money, and at the moment only 15-1 seems the only oiption.
12/26/99 13:36:10   (mike)   ?
12/26/99 13:36:25   (Kevin_Ashman)   I think these things go in phases,
12/26/99 13:36:28   (Kevin_Ashman)   quite honestly;
12/26/99 13:36:30   (Kevin_Ashman)   you have lean periods
12/26/99 13:36:34   (Kevin_Ashman)   and relatively fat period
12/26/99 13:36:45   (Kevin_Ashman)   It happens that as far as proper quiz shows are concerned
12/26/99 13:36:49   (Kevin_Ashman)   this is a lean period
12/26/99 13:36:56   (Kevin_Ashman)   You have Brain of Britain and Mastermind on Radio 4 of course
12/26/99 13:37:04   (Buzzorielcox)   True
12/26/99 13:37:12   (Kevin_Ashman)   But there don't seem to be many proper quizzes at the moment
12/26/99 13:37:14   (Trevor)   Not that I know of. The accountants generally make sure the shows are budgetted to the nth degree to ensure that does not happen.Sometimes the jackpot prize is reduced from series to series. I have been on both series of Winner takes all and the prizes were greatly reduced on the later series. Similarly when I won the jackpot on Connections I won £400 although the previous series winner received £1000
12/26/99 13:37:18   (Kevin_Ashman)   This may just be a passing phase
12/26/99 13:37:25   (Kevin_Ashman)   Hopefully there's something better around the corner
12/26/99 13:38:28   (Buzzorielcox)   I hope4 so
12/26/99 13:39:07   (MSO_Admin)   Good topic! Grecian, please ask the next question.
12/26/99 13:39:13   (grecian)   Do you think anyone will win the million on "Who wants to be a millionaire"?  Although it would be an easy task for anyone on the Pro Quizzer circuit, it seems beyond the "Man on The Street".  What is to be done?
12/26/99 13:39:25   (Buzzorielcox)   ?
12/26/99 13:39:39   (Kevin_Ashman)   I think that's a dilmemma for them
12/26/99 13:39:46   (Kevin_Ashman)   Even if people get within 2 or 3 questions of it
12/26/99 13:39:50   (Kevin_Ashman)   with that much money at stake
12/26/99 13:39:57   (Kevin_Ashman)   they're not going to risk it if they have any sense
12/26/99 13:40:04   (Kevin_Ashman)   so they're going to bail out at 250K or 500K
12/26/99 13:40:11   (Kevin_Ashman)   whben they might have gone one to win the million
12/26/99 13:40:23   (grecian)   I think too many blokes are put off from gambling by their wives!
12/26/99 13:40:35   (Kevin_Ashman)   the random selectiopn procedure also means that not too many pro quizzers wil lmake it on
12/26/99 13:40:57   (Kevin_Ashman)   although they didn't make it to the hot seat
12/26/99 13:41:18   (Kevin_Ashman)   One member of the Mastermind club
12/26/99 13:41:21   (Kevin_Ashman)   has made it to the last ten
12/26/99 13:41:25   (Kevin_Ashman)   but didn't make it to the hot seat
12/26/99 13:41:35   (Kevin_Ashman)   There has been one other contestant
12/26/99 13:41:40   (Kevin_Ashman)   who has been on a few other quizzes
12/26/99 13:41:46   (Kevin_Ashman)   and actually won 125,000 yesterday
12/26/99 13:41:53   (Kevin_Ashman)   Sylvia Nixon
12/26/99 13:42:10   (Kevin_Ashman)   Good luck to her!
12/26/99 13:42:18   (grecian)   this seems to be demonstrate that the producers _will_ accept quizzers with a "record", if they can beat the odds of getting on the show.
12/26/99 13:42:37   (Kevin_Ashman)   Maybe
12/26/99 13:42:41   (Kevin_Ashman)   Depends whayt informaiton they give
12/26/99 13:42:51   (MSO_Admin)   Moving onwards, please...
12/26/99 13:43:05   (MSO_Admin)   Mike, please ask the next quesiton
12/26/99 13:43:26   (mike)   can you both remember the very first competative quiz you won?
12/26/99 13:43:39   (mike)   please tell us about it
12/26/99 13:43:41   (Kevin_Ashman)   That includes off-screen as well as on?
12/26/99 13:43:46   (Kevin_Ashman)   If you include of-f-screen
12/26/99 13:43:52   (Kevin_Ashman)   that would have been one at school
12/26/99 13:44:00   (Kevin_Ashman)   one of hte very few I took part in when at school
12/26/99 13:44:01   (mike)   your first experience of winning a quiz
12/26/99 13:44:08   (Kevin_Ashman)   Other than that, it would have been in the Civil Service
12/26/99 13:44:16   (Kevin_Ashman)   In TV terms, it was the first round heat of Mastermind
12/26/99 13:44:21   (Kevin_Ashman)   when I was first on there in '87
12/26/99 13:44:50   (Trevor)   Mine was a TV quiz the Krypton Factor and although I won I must admit the general knowledge ultimately let me down and I was lucky to be pretty good at the other tests in those days
12/26/99 13:45:10   (mike)   what was your worst experience quizzing?
12/26/99 13:45:36   (Kevin_Ashman)   Oh dear!
12/26/99 13:45:42   (Kevin_Ashman)   I'd have to think about that one...
12/26/99 13:45:48   (mike)   you don't have to answer
12/26/99 13:45:59   (mike)   what about your best?
12/26/99 13:46:07   (Kevin_Ashman)   Probably the first one was going back to the very beginning
12/26/99 13:46:11   (Kevin_Ashman)   when I was on Mastermind the first
12/26/99 13:46:15   (Kevin_Ashman)   time and I got to the semi-final
12/26/99 13:46:19   (Kevin_Ashman)   and I lost on passes!
12/26/99 13:46:34   (Trevor)   losing in the first round of winner takes all with Bobby Davro. Not only was i beaten on my nemesis of pop music but Bobby Davro kept calling me 'Hoss' as in Cartwright
12/26/99 13:47:00   (Kevin_Ashman)   Same thing happened to me on the same day!
12/26/99 13:47:09   (Kevin_Ashman)   I lost to a friend of Trevor's funnitly enough
12/26/99 13:47:13   (Kevin_Ashman)   It was just one of those things
12/26/99 13:47:22   (Kevin_Ashman)   I wouldn't regard that as my worst one
12/26/99 13:47:48   (mike)   thanks
12/26/99 13:47:53   (MSO_Admin)   Let's do best experiences now...
12/26/99 13:48:03   (Kevin_Ashman)   I think winning Mastermind was the best one
12/26/99 13:48:10   (Kevin_Ashman)   Closely followed by Brain of Britain
12/26/99 13:48:17   (Kevin_Ashman)   and there's also the associatied ones
12/26/99 13:48:22   (Kevin_Ashman)   of "Brain of Brains" and "Top BRain"
12/26/99 13:48:29   (Kevin_Ashman)   and they're all part of the same thing
12/26/99 13:48:33   (mike)   wow
12/26/99 13:48:37   (Kevin_Ashman)   but Mastermind was the one with the highest profile
12/26/99 13:49:24   (Trevor)   Winning Todays the Day with my friend Andy Curtis was special as I managed to treat my father to a Barbados holiday. I also have many happy memories of winning team quizzes with Kev. He is a handy man to have on your side
12/26/99 13:49:45   (MSO_Admin)   Buzzorielcox, please ask the next question.
12/26/99 13:49:45   (grecian)   ?
12/26/99 13:49:49   (Buzzorielcox)   Do you worry about the spate of shows which seem to be aimed at the mass market, and tend to be very easy?  It seems unfair that  the harder the show, the less the remuneration that you can expect to receive.  Is this the way that quizzes are going now?
12/26/99 13:50:12   (Kevin_Ashman)   I think it's always been that way
12/26/99 13:50:16   (Kevin_Ashman)   in my experience, anyway
12/26/99 13:50:22   (Kevin_Ashman)   I qualify that slightly
12/26/99 13:50:32   (Kevin_Ashman)   because it does seem to be creeping into quiz shows finally
12/26/99 13:50:45   (Kevin_Ashman)   because it was always there in the difference between quyiz shows and gaem shows
12/26/99 13:50:56   (Kevin_Ashman)   On quiz shows, rewards have always been fairly meagre
12/26/99 13:51:06   (Buzzorielcox)   I saw 2000-1 on the BBC the other day, and it was a parody of a quiz.
12/26/99 13:51:34   (Buzzorielcox)   But it was claiming to be a quiz, not a game show.
12/26/99 13:51:47   (Kevin_Ashman)   Whereas on game shows with Noel Edmonds or Michael Barrymore you can win lots of money just for knowing your name
12/26/99 13:51:57   (Kevin_Ashman)   It's even creeping into proper quiz shows nowadays
12/26/99 13:53:03   (Buzzorielcox)   Am I the only person who thinks it a bit much to see people winning large sums of money foe doing something at which they are not terribly good?
12/26/99 13:53:25   (Kevin_Ashman)   Well it can be irritating, certainly,
12/26/99 13:53:31   (Kevin_Ashman)   but it's just a fact of life at the moment
12/26/99 13:53:40   (Kevin_Ashman)   IF you allow it to get too irritating
12/26/99 13:53:44   (Kevin_Ashman)   then it can become a real thorn I think
12/26/99 13:53:51   (Kevin_Ashman)   but the thing to do is just to accept it
12/26/99 13:54:23   (Buzzorielcox)   I'll do my best!
12/26/99 13:54:27   (MSO_Admin)   We'll move on now; please ask the next question, Grecian!
12/26/99 13:54:31   (grecian)   Are either of you tempted to apply for a Classical greek Course with the Open University to add a University Challenge title to your achievements, and get lots of publicity?
12/26/99 13:54:46   (Kevin_Ashman)   *laughs*
12/26/99 13:54:53   (Kevin_Ashman)   No!
12/26/99 13:54:56   (Kevin_Ashman)   Not in my case
12/26/99 13:55:01   (Buzzorielcox)   Sour grapes?
12/26/99 13:55:02   (Kevin_Ashman)   I think that would be a pretty desperate move
12/26/99 13:55:19   (Kevin_Ashman)   I wouldn't go on an Open University course
12/26/99 13:55:20   (Trevor)   Lance Haward is a member of our Mastermind club so I had better not say too much
12/26/99 13:55:25   (Kevin_Ashman)   just to get onto a particular quiz show
12/26/99 13:55:31   (Kevin_Ashman)   good though I think it is
12/26/99 13:55:33   (grecian)   Who said anything about Lance Haward? :-)
12/26/99 13:55:49   (Buzzorielcox)   ?
12/26/99 13:55:50   (MSO_Admin)   Time to move on, I think...
12/26/99 13:55:56   (MSO_Admin)   Please go ahead, Buzzorielcox
12/26/99 13:56:12   (Buzzorielcox)   Do you prefer the old style of University Challenge or the new one?
12/26/99 13:56:28   (MSO_Admin)   (Do I detect an Oxford University Quiz Society presence here, by the way?)
12/26/99 13:56:33   (Buzzorielcox)   Yes
12/26/99 13:56:38   (grecian)   Yes
12/26/99 13:56:40   (Kevin_Ashman)   I presume by style you mean Bamber Gascoigne vs. JHeremy Paxman
12/26/99 13:56:44   (Kevin_Ashman)   in which case I prefer the old
12/26/99 13:56:48   (Buzzorielcox)   Not only that,
12/26/99 13:56:55   (Kevin_Ashman)   There are other aspects...
12/26/99 13:57:02   (Buzzorielcox)   Also the longer questions employed nowadays
12/26/99 13:57:03   (Kevin_Ashman)   the questions used to be a bit more acaemically based
12/26/99 13:57:09   (Kevin_Ashman)   whereas now you get more popular culture questions
12/26/99 13:57:19   (Kevin_Ashman)   There's definitely more of that than there used to be
12/26/99 13:57:20   (Buzzorielcox)   And science
12/26/99 13:57:25   (Kevin_Ashman)   in which case I definitely prefer the old
12/26/99 13:57:27   (grecian)   ?
12/26/99 13:57:53   (Kevin_Ashman)   Some of today's questions do go to too much of a length, yes
12/26/99 13:57:53   (Buzzorielcox)   I must say that I like the greater scope for interruptions
12/26/99 13:58:08   (Buzzorielcox)   which you get now
12/26/99 13:58:15   (Kevin_Ashman)   I think we also found that with the Fifteen-to-one Millennium quiz yesterday
12/26/99 13:58:20   (Kevin_Ashman)   somie of the questipons were a bit long there
12/26/99 13:58:21   (Buzzorielcox)   Yes
12/26/99 13:58:33   (Buzzorielcox)   Especially the one about Crippen
12/26/99 13:58:49   (Kevin_Ashman)   *laughs* I was thinking about that one!
12/26/99 13:58:52   (Trevor)   That one was a nonsense
12/26/99 13:58:55   (Kevin_Ashman)   We got the point of that one quite early one
12/26/99 13:59:06   (Kevin_Ashman)   It was just far too long
12/26/99 13:59:13   (Buzzorielcox)   Indeed. And the answer
12/26/99 13:59:14   (Kevin_Ashman)   No need for it, too much extraneous detail
12/26/99 13:59:19   (MSO_Admin)   Please ask the next question, Grecian
12/26/99 13:59:23   (Buzzorielcox)   It was showing off
12/26/99 13:59:23   (grecian)   Given that Trevor's meisterwork is not yet published, which reference books would you both recommend for quiz revision?
12/26/99 13:59:37   (Kevin_Ashman)   Ooh!
12/26/99 13:59:38   (Kevin_Ashman)   Well...
12/26/99 13:59:40   (Kevin_Ashman)   Mmm..
12/26/99 13:59:44   (Kevin_Ashman)   Whittaker's almanac
12/26/99 13:59:50   (Trevor)   Whitakers
12/26/99 13:59:51   (Kevin_Ashman)   Pears' encyclopedia
12/26/99 14:00:01   (Trevor)   Pears
12/26/99 14:00:02   (Kevin_Ashman)   Once upon a time I would recommend the Guinness book of answers
12/26/99 14:00:08   (Kevin_Ashman)   but that has gone downhill over the years
12/26/99 14:00:14   (grecian)   Guinness Books have declined rapidly
12/26/99 14:00:17   (Kevin_Ashman)   That';s in terms of general reference books
12/26/99 14:00:27   (Buzzorielcox)   ?
12/26/99 14:00:27   (Kevin_Ashman)   I tend to use a range of more specialist ones as welll
12/26/99 14:00:40   (MSO_Admin)   OK, Kevin has to go at 10pm
12/26/99 14:00:48   (MSO_Admin)   so we're winding up the first half of the chat
12/26/99 14:01:03   (MSO_Admin)   If there are any questions particularly pertinent to Kevin as opposed to ones that Trevor could field,
12/26/99 14:01:05   (MSO_Admin)   ask them away!
12/26/99 14:01:13   (MSO_Admin)   Buzzorielcox, I think you were next...?
12/26/99 14:01:27   (Buzzorielcox)   Do you often get asked to appear at public meetings?
12/26/99 14:01:36   (Kevin_Ashman)   I wouldn't say often
12/26/99 14:01:39   (Kevin_Ashman)   but it does happen
12/26/99 14:01:43   (Kevin_Ashman)   I think "publuic meetings"
12/26/99 14:01:48   (Kevin_Ashman)   might be putting iit a bit strongly!
12/26/99 14:01:52   (Kevin_Ashman)   I've been asked to speak to
12/26/99 14:01:57   (Kevin_Ashman)   people like theRotary Club, for instance
12/26/99 14:02:05   (Kevin_Ashman)   and I've been asked to present a few charity quizzes
12/26/99 14:02:12   (Kevin_Ashman)   but public speaking isn't reallyu my forte!
12/26/99 14:02:41   (Buzzorielcox)   You're too modest!
12/26/99 14:02:52   (Kevin_Ashman)   That's very kind of you!
12/26/99 14:03:05   (MSO_Admin)   OK, one more question for Kevin...
12/26/99 14:03:12   (MSO_Admin)   Who would like to ask the last one for Kevin alone?
12/26/99 14:03:19   (grecian)   What are your favourite quiz questions?
12/26/99 14:03:36   (Kevin_Ashman)   In terms of type
12/26/99 14:03:41   (Kevin_Ashman)   or in terms of a particular question?
12/26/99 14:03:46   (grecian)   No, specific questions.
12/26/99 14:03:56   (Kevin_Ashman)   I can't say I've got a favourite
12/26/99 14:04:00   (Kevin_Ashman)   because it does get a bit tedious
12/26/99 14:04:07   (Kevin_Ashman)   wehen the same questions come up again and again
12/26/99 14:04:13   (Kevin_Ashman)   I couldn't honestly say that I've got a favourite
12/26/99 14:04:33   (MSO_Admin)   Right, I think we'd all like to thank Kevin for his time
12/26/99 14:04:56   (Kevin_Ashman)   We are of course looking to the brains of the Oxford quiz society yto take us forward into the new m illennium!
12/26/99 14:05:08   (grecian)   mmm...
12/26/99 14:05:10   (MSO_Admin)   ...which the Brain Trust have declared the Millennium of the Mind
12/26/99 14:05:20   (Buzzorielcox)   Very kind
12/26/99 14:05:35   (MSO_Admin)   It has been a pleasure to have him here
12/26/99 14:05:50   (MSO_Admin)   and we look forward to meeting him again in quizzes in the future!
12/26/99 14:06:56   (Buzzorielcox)   Indeed
12/26/99 14:07:04   (MSO_Admin)   The session is not yet over, though!
12/26/99 14:07:11   (MSO_Admin)   We have another hour in the company of Trevor Montague
12/26/99 14:07:22   (MSO_Admin)   who has interests in quizzing both onscreen and off
12/26/99 14:07:50   (MSO_Admin)   Trevor, a small suggestion: please enter your comments a phrase at a time pressing return after each phrase
12/26/99 14:07:59   (MSO_Admin)   and let us know when you would like to invite the next question. Thanks!
12/26/99 14:08:06   (Trevor)   Ok
12/26/99 14:08:08   (MSO_Admin)   With this in mind, who has a question for Trevor Montague?
12/26/99 14:08:17   (grecian)   ?
12/26/99 14:08:22   (MSO_Admin)   Grecian, please go ahead
12/26/99 14:08:37   (grecian)   trevor, how did you research the more arcane areas of your new book?
12/26/99 14:08:50   (Buzzorielcox)   ?
12/26/99 14:09:01   (grecian)   i have heard it will be the definitive tool for quizzers.
12/26/99 14:09:22   (Trevor)   I am fortunate to be a member of the Mastermind club and had considerable help by many of its members
12/26/99 14:09:47   (Trevor)   I also belong to many clubs and societies which were a rich source of material
12/26/99 14:10:33   (Trevor)   I researched the work to the nth degree and made phone calls around the world to substantiate facts
12/26/99 14:10:47   (grecian)   when is the publication date?  it all sounds very exciting!
12/26/99 14:11:39   (Trevor)   Well, it was to have been November 4th 1999 but unfortunately the project has turned out bigger than anyone realised
12/26/99 14:12:10   (Trevor)   The new launch date is next August to be out in time for the Millennium Mind Sports Olympiad
12/26/99 14:13:12   (grecian)   excellent.
12/26/99 14:13:49   (Trevor)   Any more questions please
12/26/99 14:13:51   (MSO_Admin)   Thanks for the answer; a good topic. Please ask the next question, Buzzorielcox!
12/26/99 14:13:54   (Buzzorielcox)   We actually met briefly after the Quizmail National Shield last year, and you were talking then about a competition run over Teletext.  Is this going to happen?
12/26/99 14:14:52   (Trevor)   No I think you misunderstood. I used the service of the teletext as a means of entering the British quiz championship this year
12/26/99 14:14:59   (Buzzorielcox)   Isee.
12/26/99 14:15:18   (Buzzorielcox)   When will it be possible to enter the next one?
12/26/99 14:15:24   (Buzzorielcox)   And how?
12/26/99 14:15:44   (Trevor)   Next years competition will have many different ways of entering including just turning up on the day
12/26/99 14:16:11   (Buzzorielcox)   Do you know when it is likely to be?
12/26/99 14:16:37   (MSO_Admin)   The dates for the next Mind Sports Olympiad are set as the 19th-28th August 2000, if that helps
12/26/99 14:16:37   (Trevor)   As the competition is run as part of the Mind Sports Olympiad I think it will be early August
12/26/99 14:16:51   (Buzzorielcox)   Thanks
12/26/99 14:17:00   (Buzzorielcox)   I'd better get learning!
12/26/99 14:17:32   (Trevor)   Yeah I think next year will be the biggest and best championship ever held in this country
12/26/99 14:18:16   (Trevor)   Next question please
12/26/99 14:18:18   (MSO_Admin)   We hope to see you all at the next Olympiad! Who would like to ask the next question?
12/26/99 14:18:43   (mike)   ?
12/26/99 14:18:48   (MSO_Admin)   Mike, please ask away
12/26/99 14:19:15   (Buzzorielcox)   ?
12/26/99 14:19:16   (Trevor)   Are you there Mike
12/26/99 14:19:22   (mike)   do you see international quzzing happening?
12/26/99 14:19:34   (mike)   competing like in sport?
12/26/99 14:20:03   (Trevor)   Yes in fact I believe the Mind Sports Organisation has such a project in mind
12/26/99 14:20:15   (grecian)   ?
12/26/99 14:20:17   (mike)   ah good I was wondering about this ?
12/26/99 14:20:46   (mike)   do you think it will  bring better quizzing, unlike the University Challenge
12/26/99 14:20:47   (Buzzorielcox)   Do you think that the cultural barriers would make this impossible?
12/26/99 14:21:00   (Trevor)   Of course there has been the occasional international media quiz viz a viz Mastermind international but I feel strongly that quizzing should be an international SPORT
12/26/99 14:21:29   (Trevor)   The problem has been that there has never been an organising body
12/26/99 14:22:00   (Trevor)   Hopefully with the set up of my National quiz organisation things may change
12/26/99 14:22:07   (mike)   would you consider creating this genisis?
12/26/99 14:22:31   (Trevor)   Questions would have to be monitored very closely though for obvious reasons
12/26/99 14:23:09   (Buzzorielcox)   What about the language barrier?
12/26/99 14:23:21   (Buzzorielcox)   I remember Going For Gold!
12/26/99 14:23:22   (Trevor)   Yes, in fact, I will help in any way I can to further quizzing generally as a sport
12/26/99 14:23:55   (Trevor)   Yes, Going for Gold used inferior British contestants to equalise things to a certain extent
12/26/99 14:24:26   (Trevor)   The continental contestants were of a very high standard but the language barrier made life difficult
12/26/99 14:24:50   (Trevor)   The british are a very insular race so language would be a problem
12/26/99 14:24:52   (grecian)   perhaps international quiz could be in esperanto
12/26/99 14:25:05   (Trevor)   Errr.....Pass
12/26/99 14:25:21   (mike)   no problemo Trevor?
12/26/99 14:25:35   (Trevor)   Next question please and thank you Mike
12/26/99 14:25:37   (MSO_Admin)   A very interesting topic! Buzzorielcox, please ask the next question.
12/26/99 14:26:01   (Buzzorielcox)   Do you see the internet as a valuable quiz tool?
12/26/99 14:26:33   (Trevor)   Very much so. I personally have only been on-line for a year but have found it invaluable
12/26/99 14:26:54   (Trevor)   especially when I have been checking facts for the book
12/26/99 14:27:02   (Buzzorielcox)   For what purposes?
12/26/99 14:27:07   (Buzzorielcox)   OK
12/26/99 14:27:36   (Buzzorielcox)   Hopefully in time it will be less US dominated
12/26/99 14:27:38   (MSO_Admin)   Who would like to ask the next question
12/26/99 14:28:11   (MSO_Admin)   Oops... sorry for cutting you short... -5 for an incorrect interruption
12/26/99 14:28:38   (grecian)   trevor, do you play any other mind sports, and to what standard?
12/26/99 14:29:00   (Trevor)   Yeah I find that irritating. Most of the search engines are US biased
12/26/99 14:29:28   (Buzzorielcox)   I'm finding it hard to get my site listed by them
12/26/99 14:29:51   (Buzzorielcox)   Maybe because it isn't very good yet :-)
12/26/99 14:29:58   (mike)   have you tried using multiple search engines ?
12/26/99 14:30:13   (Buzzorielcox)   Yes
12/26/99 14:30:17   (mike)   you can use uk ones only if you want to!
12/26/99 14:30:58   (Trevor)   I am designing my site at present so I hope I dont have that trouble
12/26/99 14:31:07   (Buzzorielcox)   So do I
12/26/99 14:31:20   (grecian)   ?
12/26/99 14:31:49   (mike)   perhaps the best thing is to have lots of ISP's so that you get more choice and can put your web page on lots more sites!
12/26/99 14:32:07   (Trevor)   Next question please
12/26/99 14:32:15   (grecian)   trevor, do you play any other mind sports, and to what standard?
12/26/99 14:32:19   (MSO_Admin)   Grecian, please go ahead
12/26/99 14:32:44   (Buzzorielcox)   ?
12/26/99 14:33:13   (Trevor)   I used to play bridge locally to a fair standard and chess to county standard as a schoolboy
12/26/99 14:33:55   (Trevor)   Unfortunately quizzing takes up so much spare time that it is not practical to get too involved with other sports
12/26/99 14:34:11   (grecian)   why do you think quiz does not have as high a profile as other mind sports?
12/26/99 14:34:54   (Trevor)   Because there has never been a governing body and it is still in its infancy
12/26/99 14:35:01   (grecian)   fair point.
12/26/99 14:35:40   (Trevor)   I think the potential is there, after all, nearly every pub has a quiz night but chess and bridge have specialist clubs
12/26/99 14:35:48   (grecian)   i agree.
12/26/99 14:36:21   (Trevor)   Who would have thought a simple game like Trivial Pursuit would be so popular
12/26/99 14:36:37   (grecian)   not even its creators, seemingly :-)
12/26/99 14:36:39   (Trevor)   The British are fascinated by quizzes
12/26/99 14:37:05   (Trevor)   More and more the talk in the pubs are quiz biased
12/26/99 14:37:50   (Trevor)   Even when our national sport of football is talked about in the pubs it is usually in the form of who scored this or what was the result of that
12/26/99 14:38:07   (grecian)   more power to the world of quiz!
12/26/99 14:38:42   (Trevor)   Quizzing is here to stay although I am concerned about the large prizes as in Who want to be demeaning lesser quizzes
12/26/99 14:39:08   (Buzzorielcox)   Surely greater quizzes!
12/26/99 14:39:40   (Trevor)   Yeah I personally think the top quiz players should be playing for such prizes
12/26/99 14:40:29   (Buzzorielcox)   Me too.  The woman on the Chris Evans show won a million pounds for knowing that George Eliot was a woman
12/26/99 14:40:37   (Trevor)   I think the general public would be fascinated to see the likes of Kevin Ashman performing against his peers for massive prizes
12/26/99 14:40:40   (grecian)   was he?
12/26/99 14:40:48   (Buzzorielcox)   hahaha
12/26/99 14:41:00   (Trevor)   It would be like Garry Kasparov v Short or whoever
12/26/99 14:41:10   (Buzzorielcox)   Does Kevin Ashman have any peers?
12/26/99 14:41:18   (Buzzorielcox)   He is brilliant
12/26/99 14:41:31   (grecian)   he should _be_ a peer.  Lord Ashman of Winchester.
12/26/99 14:41:33   (Trevor)   The rewards should be there and I will do my best to help things along if I possibly can
12/26/99 14:41:49   (mike)   ):-
12/26/99 14:41:59   (mike)   :)-
12/26/99 14:42:54   (Trevor)   All top quiz players hold Kev in some reverence and he really is the most unassuming character and a great ambassador for quizzing
12/26/99 14:43:23   (Trevor)   Put the fiver in the post Kev
12/26/99 14:43:35   (grecian)   LOL
12/26/99 14:44:04   (Trevor)   Next question please
12/26/99 14:44:05   (MSO_Admin)   Buzzorielcox, please ask the next question.
12/26/99 14:44:35   (Buzzorielcox)   Do you think that by centralising quizzes in this country you might reduce the scope?
12/26/99 14:44:53   (Buzzorielcox)   Will all the quizzes you intend to organize be academic?
12/26/99 14:45:19   (Trevor)   Well thats a good question. I must admit that quizzing tends to be very regionally operated
12/26/99 14:45:45   (grecian)   ?
12/26/99 14:45:52   (Trevor)   We in the South London Quiz League hold an 'International' every year against the northern leagues
12/26/99 14:46:18   (Trevor)   The problem is that all the different leagues have vested interests
12/26/99 14:46:56   (Trevor)   My aim is to be a general overseer and bringer of knowledge to all quiz players irrespective of area or standard
12/26/99 14:47:00   (Buzzorielcox)   In the US there are many intercollegiate quizzes, and they specify how many literature questions they want in each round.
12/26/99 14:47:09   (Buzzorielcox)   And so on
12/26/99 14:47:21   (Trevor)   At the moment all the independent leagues have all the top players
12/26/99 14:47:51   (Trevor)   The brewery run leagues tend to be down market both in standard of question and contestant
12/26/99 14:48:36   (Trevor)   My aim is to cater for the whole spectrum of players and to indoctrinate league secretaries to see the advantages of centralisation
12/26/99 14:48:56   (Buzzorielcox)   Indoctrinate!  Sounds a bit tough.
12/26/99 14:49:33   (Trevor)   A well balanced general knowledge quiz should contain as many varying subjects as is humanly possible
12/26/99 14:50:21   (Buzzorielcox)   It seems to me that ranking quizzers is very difficult, precisely because of this.\
12/26/99 14:50:33   (Trevor)   Believe me if you knew some of the league secretaries as I do then you would know what I mean friendly persuasion does not work you have to dangle a carrot of some sort
12/26/99 14:51:01   (Buzzorielcox)   It isn't always a level playing field, as something like chess is.
12/26/99 14:51:08   (Trevor)   There is a definite north / south divide at present and this is a real problem
12/26/99 14:51:29   (Buzzorielcox)   What forms the basis of this divide?
12/26/99 14:51:53   (Trevor)   The northern players do not get to hear of many big competitions as London tends to be the base for many TV companies
12/26/99 14:52:25   (Trevor)   I have tried to remedy that by recruiting for television shows from northern leagues
12/26/99 14:53:55   (Trevor)   Time is pressing are there any more questions
12/26/99 14:53:57   (grecian)   respect to all those chatting tonight.  But does the fact that only 5 people are online to chat to two of quizzing's biggest names indicate that quizzing will struggle to become more than a very small minority interest?
12/26/99 14:54:58   (Trevor)   No I dont think so. It is Boxing day for one but also there has always been a general apathy among the quiz fraternity
12/26/99 14:55:18   (Buzzorielcox)   Maybe quizzers tend to be Luddites?
12/26/99 14:55:46   (mike)   dont forget Mission impossible is on (He he!!)
12/26/99 14:55:50   (Trevor)   Very much so, most of my quiz playing friends are technophobes
12/26/99 14:56:05   (Trevor)   Exactly
12/26/99 14:56:10   (grecian)   let's hope so, although I'm pleased because it's given buzzorielcox and myself more of an opportunity to ask ridiculous questions!
12/26/99 14:56:21   (mike)   I would put that out as a sound reason trevor!
12/26/99 14:56:26   (Buzzorielcox)   speak for yourself!
12/26/99 14:56:37   (Trevor)   No I've enjoyed it very much, its been great
12/26/99 14:56:48   (MSO_Admin)   We've very much enjoyed having you here
12/26/99 14:56:54   (Buzzorielcox)   Yes, it's been very interesting.
12/26/99 14:56:56   (MSO_Admin)   It's been a very interesting and enjoyable chat
12/26/99 14:56:56   (grecian)   hear hear
12/26/99 14:57:03   (mike)   thanks trev
12/26/99 14:57:10   (MSO_Admin)   We look forward to finding out more about your ventures
12/26/99 14:57:13   (Trevor)   Thanks for asking me and cheers to all the callers
12/26/99 14:57:23   (mike)   de nada
12/26/99 14:57:23   (MSO_Admin)   and the MSO look forward to supporting you however we can
12/26/99 14:57:25   (grecian)   let's all go for a "virtual pint"...
12/26/99 14:57:35   (Buzzorielcox)   Best of luck with the book and your other projects.
12/26/99 14:57:45   (MSO_Admin)   We also all eagerly look forward to a mammoth quiz championship at MSO IV
12/26/99 14:57:54   (MSO_Admin)   London, August 19-28, 2000
12/26/99 14:57:54   (Trevor)   I cannot I'm in training for a very real sports competition
12/26/99 14:58:22   (Trevor)   Warwickshire, February 26th
12/26/99 14:58:51   (Trevor)   I look forward to the next Olympiad in August
12/26/99 14:59:08   (Trevor)   Bye for now I am signing off
12/26/99 14:59:10   (MSO_Admin)   Keep looking at the MSO site for all the latest information!
12/26/99 14:59:18   (Buzzorielcox)   Bye!
12/26/99 14:59:20   (Trevor)   Sure
12/26/99 14:59:21   (MSO_Admin)   Thanks very much for your time and your brain, Trevor!