Category Archives: Dr Paul’s Blog

Thursday Night Quiz Action

Thu, February 21, 2019 Dr Paul Leave a comment

Quizzes Tonight:

7pm – Argyle Bar (Cellar). Jackpot £60. Cheat answer: Chef (music round)

9pm – The Newsroom. Jackpot £50. Cheat answer: Pablo Picasso (pic round).

The cheat answers for tonight include this song by Chef out of South Park:

The song is about snacks but also kind of about his bollocks. This is why South Park became so popular in the late 90s. There wasn’t much else to do.

Anyway, as dedicated readers will know: Thursday now MOVIE Thursday: I’m in the middle of a list of my ten favourite films of all time.

The chart so far:

10 .Flash Gordon (1980)

9. Jesus Christ Superstar (1979)

8. The Good The Bad & The Ugly (1966)

7. Zardoz (1974)

6. Das Boot (1981)

5. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (2004)

This week:

4. Hair (1979)

Definitely the greatest film ever made. It’s got a pounding soundtrack, hippies who appear to live wild in New York City, life death, babies and LSD trips mixed up with the Hare Krishna tribe.

I think I watched this once a month during 1994 which is when my group of friends discovered this movie that by then was already a relic.

I was too young to be a 1970s hippy but I’d been vaguely fascinated with this subculture before. My favourite character out of ‘The Young Ones’ was Neil and what teenager doesn’t want to be Danny out of ‘Withnail And I’?

But this American film gave a new spin to my understanding of 70s hippies: they could also be cool, blag their way into high-society parties and execute some pretty nifty pre-rehearsed song-and-dance routines.

The film evolved from an earlier stage musical. Apparently the musical’s writers thought the film wasted the original story and was a poor adaptation but I’ve seen a stage production and it was tedious compared to this grand entertainment.

Watch it but don’t ask for it to make much sense at all until it gets near the end and suddenly there is a real and possibly fatal human drama on top of all the sexy foolery of the last hour.

If the movie didn’t thump you with big emotions at the end it would probably be worth a single watch. But the heartbreak keeps me coming back, as do the songs and the mad set pieces.

e.g:

The horse ride in the park for the song ‘Sodomy’

Claude’s trip:

The bit where Woof won’t have his hair cut for a short spell in jail and is subsequently interrogated to find out if he is gay. He sings his way out of trouble, of course:

There’s load more but you have to watch the film. It’s the greatest film ever made and I fear that I have left no room to improve for my top 3. I’m gonna have to think hard to come up with something for next week.

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See you tonight

Cheers,

Dr Paul

By the way: Dr Paul is on Twitter and Dr Paul also is on instagram. Enjoy.

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Roses Are Red…

Fri, February 15, 2019 Dr Paul Leave a comment

It was Valentine’s Day last night (at both quizzes).

Valentine’s is always a weird night. There are couples who never go out with each other and have no idea what to do. They are awkward.

Some of the groups of single people are awkward. Awkwardness hangs in the air like Lynx Africa.

This was more true at the Newsroom, being a city centre venue. The Argyle was quieter as the romantic pairs were probably all in Salvatore’s instead. We’ll never know. It was certainly more relaxed and that’s why I went for the ROSES ARE RED contest there.
Simple instructions: write a four line poem where the first line is “Roses are red”.

Here are the results.

ACTUAL POETRY

Roses are red

Violets are too

I’m Colourblind

And fucking hate poetry.

Roses are red

Violets are blue

I have a knife

Get in the van

Roses are red

Love is dead

Maddy McCann’s skin

Covers my shed.

Roses are red,

May is absurd.

They want to leave the EU,

But you can’t polish a turd.

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

Poetry is dead,

And so are U2.

Roses are red

My baws are blue.

My gooch is broken,

My sex life is too.

There you go. These works were all written in the space of a few minutes. See how easy it goes? You too can be a great artsit.

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Thu 14th Feb – Nothing Says “I Love You” Like Taking Your Significant Other To A Pub Quiz

Thu, February 14, 2019 Dr Paul Leave a comment

Quizzes Tonight:

7pm – Argyle Bar (Cellar). Jackpot £30. Cheat answer: Kenya (pic round)

9pm – The Newsroom. Jackpot £50. Cheat answer: Cream (music round).

Well done to The Chameleons who won the big money at the Argyle last Thursday. Everything is back to normal now.

Remember: Valentine’s Day is a real thing. Buy him/her a rose. Take him/her to the pub quiz. She/he will love it and, by extension, you.

Here is the cheat music help for tonight. It refers to the music round at the Newsroom and it is Cream:

Excellent.

Anyway, Thursday now MOVIE Thursday where I use this blog to detail my ten favourite films of all time.

The chart so far:

10 .Flash Gordon (1980)

9. Jesus Christ Superstar (1979)

8. The Good The Bad & The Ugly (1966)

7. Zardoz (1974)

6. Das Boot (1981)

This week:

5. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)

Pretty much the greatest film ever made. Did I say that last week? Of course I did. But this is better.

This is one of a handful of films that I paid money to see at a cinema twice.

When I watched this in 2004 I was amazed, knew the missus had to see it, so I took her and saw it again the very next day. I don’t think she liked it as much as I did.

Wes Anderson has probably made “better” movies. I saw ‘Grand Budapest Hotel’ and ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ and I remember thinking at the time that both were better than Life Aquatic but Life Aquatic still remains in my head in a way that the others haven’t.

Mind you, it was probably the first Wes Anderson film I’d seen so I hadn’t become jaded about the style which, admittedly, gets slightly samey the more of his movies you watch.

One thing that makes the film stick is the music. You’ve got the guy doing the Bowie songs in Portuguese and that’s pretty cool but it’s the Mark Mothersbaugh electronic soundtrack stuff that proper got me and still rocks me.

Like this:

The film is basically a father-son drama (which so many of Anderson’s films are) but, under Bill Murray’s reign as king of his own boat, there is a special, believable madness which draws you in and an attractive disregard for real geography, and real oceanography.

Here is a tour of the boat:

The film is so utterly and obviously completely made-up, but equally feels just about real and possible and you end up sympathizing with nearly everyone in the film. There are no real heroes or villains, everyone is suffering one way or another.

Owen Wilson feels, for once, that he’s not just playing Owen Wilson. All the casting is perfect. It’s a film that makes you wish you were part of the team in the film, in this case the crew of the Belafonte… which is the opposite of last week’s film Das Boot where every fibre of your viewer’s body makes you glad you are NOT part of the crew.

Although it is sad, and people do die.

I would watch this film again in a moment. Maybe I’ll watch it when I get home from the quiz tonight.

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See you tonight

Cheers,

Dr Paul

By the way: Dr Paul is on Twitter and Dr Paul also is on instagram. Enjoy.

For cheats and hints to win Dr Paul quizzes in Edinburgh, get the weekly email.

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Wednesday Night – Valentine’s Eve

Wed, February 13, 2019 Dr Paul Leave a comment

Quizzes tonight:

7pm – The Joker & The Thief. Jackpot £30. Cheat: Marc Chagall (pic round)

9pm – Brass Monkey, Drummond Street. Jackpot £30 Cheat: The Chi-Lites (music round)

It’s half-term. Kids are everywhere. There’s only one way to escape them and that’s to come to the pub, get wasted on booze and do the quiz.

Here’s tonight’s music round cheat-o which is for the Brass Monkey at 9 o clock:

This is the best of all possible hair and the sweetest of sad soul.

This is the 1970s, a time and a place which is barred to us. Time travel is not real – youtube is as close as we can get.

There are a set of break-up records from the mid-seventies where you really feel for the guy singing.

As a child, these sad-story soul songs are some of the first pop records I can remember hearing and I believed that every word was true and related personally to the singer.

I used to feel so sorry for them, until I realised pop was poetic license and only quizzes were the truth.

I’m talking about records like Sylvia’s Mother and There Goes My First Love.

Pure weep.

Anyway – you’ll be weeping tonight if you miss the quiz. Also, with one day to Valentine’s – maybe tonight is the night you will meet the human of your dreams. All you have to do is be bright and witty at the quiz. It’s like a magnet.

Love,

Dr P

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Mon11th Feb – Monday Pub Quiz Action

Mon, February 11, 2019 Dr Paul Leave a comment

Quizzes in Edinburgh Tonight:

7pm – Brass Monkey Leith. Jackpot:£50. Cheat: Pomeranian (pic round)

9pm – Safari Lounge. Jackpot £30. Cheat news: The Pixies (pic round)

This is Monday. The start of something big. Or just bloody half-term, if you have kids.

Don’t have kids? See people looking frazzled? Wondering what the problem is? It’s half-term.

Anyway, that’ not important. What IS important is the quiz,

Here’s the cheat music for tonight’s quiz at the Safari. It’s one of my own favourite acts, The Pixies.

I couldn’t find a decent video, so it’s just music. Worth a listen though.

So it’s minimum jackpots at the quizzes tonight but come along anyway. Your knowledge, wit and good looks may be enough to snare a lover. It is, after all, Valentine‘s week – and in those few days leading up to the 14th, some single people get just a little more desperate.

But there are plenty of others who couldn’t care less, so don’t make assumptions. Just be yourself.

Yo,

Dr P

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Mon 28th Jan 2019 – Super Quizzes Ahoy

Mon, January 28, 2019 Dr Paul Leave a comment

Quizzes in Edinburgh Tonight:

7pm – Brass Monkey Leith. Jackpot:£100. Cheat: The Byrds (music round)

9pm – Safari Lounge. Jackpot £30. Cheat news: Cabaret (pic round)

Well, we have a rollover at the Brass Monkey Leith, a rare pleasure. Come and get your filthy grubby hands all over the £100 and then piss it up the wall or save it. I don’t mind which.

Well done to the Speckies who took the slightly large pot at the Safari last week which means we are back to basics in Abbeyhill tonight, as if there were any other way.

The cheat music for tonight’s quiz at the Brass Monkey Leith. It’s the Byrds who existed in the 1960s and, without looking up Wikipedia, I’ll guess that exactly half of them are now dead. I’ll look it up while you’re watching the video:

Right, there are five of them, so the prediction of half is going to be wrong.

The video is from 1965, so from that line up THREE are alive and TWO are dead. The dead ones have almost identical surnames: Clark and Clarke. I don’t think this is significant.

Anyway, they are 40% dead and 60% alive. Nice going.

Maybe some of the alive ones will come to the quiz tonight. You never know when you’re going to meet some auld guy who was a star in the sixties.

Yo,

Dr P

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Thu 24th Jan – Pub Quiz Scene In Edinburgh Tonight

Thu, January 24, 2019 Dr Paul Leave a comment

Quizzes Tonight:

7pm – Argyle Bar (Cellar). Jackpot £150. Cheat answer: Dave Dee Dozy Beaky Mick and Titch (music round)

9pm – The Newsroom. Jackpot £50. Cheat answer: Gone With The Wind (pic round).

That’s four rollovers at the Argyle over the last four weeks. Surely we’ll get a winner tonight?

Meanwhile here’s the cheat clip for tonight’s music round at the Argyle: which is a sixties called Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Titch with a quality rocker from back in the day…

Tremendous.

Anyway, Thursday now MOVIE Thursday where I use this blog to detail my ten favourite films of all time.

The chart so far:

10 .Flash Gordon (1980)

9. Jesus Christ Superstar (1979)

This week:

8. The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (1966)

Literally the greatest film ever made.

I know I said that last week’s film was the greatest film ever made but this chart hasn’t been written in advance, I’m just thinking of the best film I can every week for 10 weeks so by the time we hit number 1 it should be totally banging.

Anyway- I re-watched The Good The Bad And The Ugly a couple of months ago just to check it is still brilliant and I was not let down.

Maybe you know the title but don’t know the film. Basically a story of bounty hunters, outlaws, civil war and treasure and it’s set in the American old west but filmed in Europe and made by the Italian director Sergio Leone.

There were several films of this ilk in the 60s which were made by Italian directors so they got the (slightly derogatory) name ‘Spaghetti Westerns’.

Unlike most American-made westerns, then men in the films were not clean-cut heroes. They were all dirty bastards, even the “goodies”. It was a refreshing change.

The Good The Bad and The Ugly is the last and the most famous of a trilogy by Leone and it’s just terrific.

There’s dirt in spades, sudden death at every corner and situations that just look like the end of the line, scenes of real desperation.

The film carries a constant sense of murder, menace and cheap life. All the way through you’re thinking “Ah couldnae cope with this”.

At the same time it manages to be funny, but without being a stupid clown.

Anand it has some of the greatest film music ever recorded. The music was composed by Ennio Morricone and stands the test of time. It’s a byword for “epic”

The main theme is a cracker, and very famous – but one of the best bits of tune is here: ‘The Ecstacy of Gold‘, when they finally find the cemetery they’ve been looking for, the cemetery with all the buried gold. The loot is in one of those graves.,the one marked ‘Arch Stanton’… all you have to do is find it…

Actually, Tuco finds the grave pretty quickly which is fortunate cos the music’s great and everything but it would be rubbish if this scene was two hours long which seems a more realistic prospect.

That’s why films are great though, isn’t it. They just tell you the story. None o’ the shite!

Watch this film – it is more satisfying than most. In fact, as I said above, it’s the greatest film ever made.

You want another recommendation? I happen to know this is James the Baker’s favourite film.

How is this film only number eight on my list?

Well, I have one week to think of something better.

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See you tonight

Cheers,

Dr Paul

By the way: Dr Paul is on Twitter and Dr Paul also is on instagram. Enjoy.

For cheats and hints to win Dr Paul quizzes in Edinburgh, get the weekly email.

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Creepy Germany, 1977

Fri, January 11, 2019 Dr Paul Leave a comment

I’ve been playing this Schlager hit at the quiz for years but it was only last night that I was informed that it’s a big dirty creep-fest

Thanks to the geezer in team ‘Pub Fiction’ (I don’t know his name) at the Argyle Bar who pointed this out.

This song was a hit in 1977 and it’s the lyrical content that is, at best, questionable.

The story of the song is that a young woman is driving on her own. For more than half an hour, some ratty old sleazy German bloke with a big moustache guy drives slowly behind her, ignoring obvious opportunities to overtake.

In his car he is ogling her, getting excited about her hair and wondering where the woman is going.

In her car she worries that she is going to be kidnapped or whether it might be undercover police that are stalking her.

It’s full-on #metoo or #ichauch

It’s not cool.

Eventually she has enough of feeling “queasy” and pulls off the road, intending to hide her car behind a hedge. Luckliy he doesn’t follow: he stays on the Autobahn and keeps going.

So the situation is defused, but she’s out of her mind that’s half an hour of high anxiety she’ll never get back.

Fuck that guy.

Here are the lyrics alongside Google Translate’s English rendering:

Rada rada radadada
Rada rada radadada
Rada rada radadada
Rada rada radadada
Im Wagen vor mir fährt ein junges Mädchen
Sie fährt allein’ und sie scheint hübsch zu sein
Ich weiß nicht ihren Namen und ich kenne nicht ihr Ziel
Ich merke nur sie fährt mit viel Gefühl
Im Wagen vor mir fährt ein junges Mädchen
Ich möcht’ gern wissen, was sie gerade denkt
Hört sie den selben Sender oder ist ihr Radio aus
Fährt sie zum Rendevouz oder nach Haus’?
Rada rada radadada
Rada rada radadada
Was will der blöde Kerl da hinter mir nur? (Ist sie nicht süß)
Ich frag’ mich, warum überholt der nicht? (So weiches Haar)
Der hängt nun schon ‘ne halbe Stunde ständig hinter mir
Nun dämmert’s schon und er fährt ohne Licht (So schön mit neunzig)
Der könnt schon hundert Kilometer weg sein (Was bin ich froh)
Mensch, fahr’ an meiner Ente doch vorbei! (Ich fühl’ mich richtig wohl)
Will der mich kontrollieren oder will der mich entführen oder ist das in zivil die Polizei?
Rada rada radadada
Rada rada radadada
Wie schön, dass ich heut’ endlich einmal Zeit hab’
Ich muss nicht rasen, wie ein wilder Stier
Ich träum’ so in Gedanken, ganz allein’ und ohne Schranken
Und wünsch’ das schöne Mädchen wär’ bei mir
Jetzt wird mir diese Sache langsam mulmig (Im Sigesglück)
Ich fahr’ die allernächste Abfahrt raus! (Heut’ ist ein schöner Tag)
Dort werd’ ich mich verstecken hinter irgendwelchen Hecken
Verdammt, dadurch komm’ ich zu spät nach Haus’
Bye bye mein schönes Mädchen, gute Reise
Sie hat den Blinker an, hier fährt sie ab
Für mich wird in zwei Stunden auch die Fahrt zu Ende gehen
Doch dich mein Mädchen, werd’ ich nie wieder sehen
Rada rada radadada
Rada rada radadada
Rada rada radadada
Rada rada radadada
Rada rada radadada
Rada rada radadada
Rada rada radadada
Rada rada

Rada rada radadada
Rada rada radadada
Rada rada radadada
Rada rada radadada
In the car in front of me is driving a young girl
She drives alone ‘and she seems pretty
I do not know her name and I do not know her destination
I only realize she drives with a lot of feeling
In the car in front of me is driving a young girl
I’d like to know what she’s thinking
Is she listening to the same station or is her radio off?
Is she driving to the rendezvous or home?
Rada rada radadada
Rada rada radadada
What does the stupid guy behind me want? (Is not she cute)
I ask myself, why does not it overtake me? (So ??soft hair)
He’s been hanging behind me for half an hour
Now it’s dawning and he goes without light (So nice with ninety)
He can be a hundred kilometers away (which I’m glad)
Man, drive past my duck! (I feel really good)
Does he want to control me or does he want to kidnap me or is this civilian police?
Rada rada radadada
Rada rada radadada
How nice that I finally have time today ‘
I do not have to race like a wild bull
I dream so much in my thoughts, all alone and without barriers
And wish the beautiful girl were with me
Now this thing is getting queasy for me (in Sigesglück)
I drive out the very next exit! (Today is a beautiful day)
There I’ll hide behind some hedges
Damn, that’s why I’m coming home too late. ‘
Bye bye my beautiful girl, good trip
She has the turn signal on, here she leaves
For me, the journey will

Nasty.

Cracking tune, but.

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Thursday 10th Jan – Quizzes Tonight In Edinburgh

Thu, January 10, 2019 Dr Paul Leave a comment

Quizzes Tonight:

7pm – Argyle Bar (Cellar). Jackpot £90. Cheat answer: Roxette (music round)

9pm – The Newsroom. Jackpot £50. Cheat answer: Real Madrid (pic round).

How’s ya diddlin? Quizzes tonight with the lion’s share being ready for jackpot snack attack in the back of Marchmont, the real deal, the ARGYLE.

Meanwhile here’s the cheat clip for tonight’s music round at the Argyle:

Holy hell. What a belter. This is soft rock from the past but, somehow, the future.

I cannae be bothered talking about politics any more. Thursday is now MOVIE Thursday where I use this blog to detail my ten favourite films of all time.

10. Flash Gordon (1980)

Literally the greatest film ever made.

So why have I put it at number ten? Cos it’s the first film I thought of and despite being the greatest film ever made I’m sure to think of something better next week, so I’ll stick it in at number ten and hope for the best.

There’s no point in choosing a film that I genuinely think isn’t the greatest film in the world. Every film on the list has to be that.

Anyway: Flash Gordon has got Vultan and his Hawk Men, Ming The Merciless, Dr Zarkov, Klytus, Prince Barin and a soundtrack by Queen.

It’s got the bit where Flash Gordon defeats the intergalactic imperial guard by the power of American Football

It’s got Peter Duncan out of Blue Peter being defeated by the wood beast and begging to be killed quickly.

It’s got the bit where Flash wrestles with Prince Barin on the spiky, tilty platform thing for which Brian Blessed has the remote control and they could fall off into space at any moment.

It’s got the bit where the Hawk Men recklessly attack war rocket Ajax to the heavy rock music sound of Brian May.

It’s got the bit where Flash crashes through the lightning field to destroy Ming’s wedding and finishes off the evil ruler of the Galaxy by impaling him right on the end of his rocket.

Jesus Christ. It is amazing.

I have one week to think of something better.

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See you tonight

Cheers,

Dr Paul

By the way: Dr Paul is on Twitter and Dr Paul also is on instagram. Enjoy.

For cheats and hints to win Dr Paul quizzes in Edinburgh, get the weekly email.

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Wed 9th Jan 2019 – Wednesday Quizzes

Wed, January 9, 2019 Dr Paul Leave a comment

Quizzes tonight:

7pm – The Joker & The Thief. Jackpot £30. Cheat: England (pic round)

9pm – Brass Monkey, Drummond Street. Jackpot £180 Cheat: Senor Coconut (music round)

Note the large jackpot at the Brass.

Yeah – The first Joker & The Thief quiz of the year finally marks a return to full normality. Let’s enjoy the straightness, the orthodoxy and the sheer normality all the way up to the Festival. First half of the year is the best half of the year.

And, in football, it’s an odd year so there’s not even a European Championships or World Cup this year to wreck everything in June/July… no… NO.. WAIT – The Women’s World Cup is on this summer in France and Scotland have qualified.

It’s the first time a Scotland team have qualified for the World Cup since 1998 which is pretty much since you lot have been born.

But it is women’s football, so will the occasion be marginalized, ignored and swept under the carpet?

Or will the paucity of Scottish football success manifest itself in a big fuss and a big buzz for the women’s team?

I have no idea which way this will go. I suspect the former and kinda hope for the latter. Me and the missus and the kid were even thinking of going over to France for one of the games. Quite fancy Scotland v Japan in Rennes – 14th June.

Anyway, sidetracked. Here is tonight’s music round cheat clue which is for the Brass Monkey:

This is one of Senor Coconut’s terrific techno-merengue-style covers of the songs of Kraftwerk.

Now, Kraftwerk has always been great but just sometimes you listen and think “this is all a bit exact, a bit teutonic – it needs some loose Latin“. And, happily, Senor Coconut fills this need.

I was reading about him the other day. His real name is Uwe Schmidt and he’s a German bloke who was so into Latin techno that he moved to Chile. The video was filmed in Santiago, Chile and is worth a watch.

Disappointingly. the fat bloke with the maracas who stars in the video is not the actual Senor Coconut. But you can’t have everything.

Anyway, come to the quiz and we’ll all have a good time.

Yo,

Dr P

Remember to follow Dr Paul Twitter for fact thrills and and Instagram for pictorials.

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DP Quiz Live

Category Archives: Dr Paul’s Blog

Thursday Night Quiz Action

4. Hair (1979)

Roses Are Red…

ACTUAL POETRY

Thu 14th Feb – Nothing Says “I Love You” Like Taking Your Significant Other To A Pub Quiz

5. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)

Wednesday Night – Valentine’s Eve

Mon11th Feb – Monday Pub Quiz Action

Mon 28th Jan 2019 – Super Quizzes Ahoy

Thu 24th Jan – Pub Quiz Scene In Edinburgh Tonight

8. The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (1966)

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Creepy Germany, 1977

Thursday 10th Jan – Quizzes Tonight In Edinburgh

10. Flash Gordon (1980)

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Wed 9th Jan 2019 – Wednesday Quizzes

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The Latest from Edinburgh Quizmaster Dr Paul