HomeCommunityNuneaton couple become UK's longest-serving pub quiz masters after 30 years

Nuneaton couple become UK’s longest-serving pub quiz masters after 30 years

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A couple have become the UK’s longest-serving pub quiz hosts — having posed a staggering 450,000 questions over the past 30 years. Geoff and Val King held their very first quiz night at The Longshoot Hotel in Nuneaton , Warwickshire , back in 1996, and are still firing questions at eager pub-goers three decades on. Despite leaving school without a single qualification between them, the pair now helm five quiz nights a week, putting some of Britain’s sharpest minds to the test. The devoted couple have officially broken the record for the longest pub quiz residency run by the same pair at a single venue anywhere in the United Kingdom. Spanning five different locations from Sunday through to Thursday, their quiz empire reportedly brings in more than £30,000 a year. Grandfather-of-four Geoff, 68, who previously worked in the motor trade and as a mobile DJ before taking up quizmastering full-time, said: “I was first asked to do a quiz night in the mid 90s. “All the usual quizzes were very much a pre and Second World War quiz, very historic. I said to Val that if we’re going to do it, let’s make it fun for all knowledge levels. And that’s how it started. “It’s always been a slogan of mine, if you can get a years residency out of a pub you are very lucky. “On the ten years anniversary we didn’t think about it, but then 20 years came and we couldn’t believe we were still doing it. “And now we’re saying we’re the longest running duo, which we can’t believe. “I say claiming it but I have proof that we are the longest duo to host a pub quiz in the same residency for over 30 years. “There was one guy who came close in Manchester but he’s stopped.” Despite amassing a wealth of knowledge without any formal qualifications, the duo don’t believe they’re quite prepared to face the Chasers or Eggheads just yet. Geoff continued: “If I knew everything I would go on Who Wants to be a Millionaire and win and not do this. “I’ve got a great memory for questions that I’ve asked so I know not to repeat them. I’m not the Brain of Britain, but I’ve got a good memory. “I left school not very well educated, I kept getting kicked out of class. “My end of year report said goodbye to the best laugh in class. “I’ve got no degrees, no O-Levels, no results – you don’t need qualifications to be a quizmaster.” Geoff has now assembled an extensive archive of thousands of questions, gathered from more than 30 quiz books to guarantee no query is repeated. Every quiz features six rounds, with questions pitched according to the age demographics of the participating teams. Over their three-decade tenure, they’ve posed close to half a million challenging posers – yet Geoff disclosed that the toughest question punters consistently struggle with is deceptively straightforward. Geoff continued: “We try to make sure every round caters for every age and knowledge level. “We have an old crinkly section and a young supple section. “I’ve got a database, when I see a quiz book I buy it. I’ve got quiz books going back to the 1980s. “I have to check the facts as sporting feats often change, but usually they’re all fine. “I always start with more questions than I need, I then choose the best 12 questions based on the crowd and the age group. “We have six rounds, four spoken, a picture and an audio. “Every quiz night has very strong teams, if a team wins three weeks in a row we ask them to start on the fourth week with a minus three point handicap. “We always start the night with no mobile phones, of course no smart watches and then asking people not to go to the toilet. “Every three years I will bring out a question that I’ve asked before that people always get wrong. What does the WD stand for in WD40? “It often gets a lot of people – they think it’s so simple but it really isn’t.” Val, 70, remarked: “We never really thought about it then we realised that we’d gone into ten years. “Then all of a sudden it was 20 and now all of a sudden it’s 30. “We’ve made quite a few friends along the way. It’s always a very social occasion. “But when people leave the pub after the quiz night and they’ve got a smile on their face, we know we’ve done our job right. “The teams have all become quite good friends over the years. They all meet up and chat to each other, it’s lovely.” Participant Nadine, who belongs to ‘Team Nomad’, revealed her group has been taking part in Geoff and Val’s quiz since 2002. Nadine, from Hinckley, Leics., said: “It’s good fun and they play some good music, and we like to challenge ourselves. “We never win. We used to in the early days but we don’t do anymore. We don’t mind. “Geoff, despite his bad jokes, is quite entertaining.” Densa Jack team member Haydon Davis, 62, from Nuneaton, said: “I come to meet up with a group of friends. “We enjoy the quiz and it creates debate on the table. Sometimes arguments, but mostly debates. “It’s a fantastic quiz, it crosses all ages and we love the music round, especially when it’s the oldies. “It’s a great social occasion and a chance to find out how clever or not so clever you are. Geoff is fantastic host and Val’s brilliant.” Regular attendee Dawn Lemont, 63, from Nuneaton, revealed she has been coming to the quiz for at least a decade, sharing her winning formula: “We’ve got quite a lot of wins. My tips are – read the news and keep looking at quiz shows and picking up answers.” Have a go at these questions by Geoff and Val that catch people out the most – the answers are at the bottom. Questions 1. Which London postal address has the postcode SW1A 1AA? 2. Which two creatures are featured on the Australian coat of arms? 3. What two metals make up brass? 4. What do the initials BAFTA stand for? 5. Why do some football clubs have triangular corner flags and others have square? 6. What kind of fruit is a pink lady? 7. By law, what type of cheese can only be made in the counties Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire? 8. How many functioning funnels did the Titanic have? 9. In the 2002 football World Cup ‘Fevernova’ was the official name of what? 10, What is the height in inches of a table tennis net in the UK? Answers 1. Buckingham Palace. 2. Kangaroo and an Emu. 3. Copper and Zinc. 4. British Academy of Television Arts. 5. Triangular flags indicate the club, at some time, won the FA Cup. 6. An apple. 7. Stilton. 8. Three – the fourth was fitted for aesthetic reasons but acted also a ventilation shaft whereas the other three carried out the function of remove the gases from the coal burning engines. 9. The football used in all the matches. 10. 6

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