W***@public.gmane.org
2006-04-04 07:48:33 UTC
Just picked up the following via a google alert!
Why do journalists alays get something wrong!
Wayne
Crazy about Scrabble – Nuala and Mike O’Rourke Photo: 032906_51
Word is, they can sweep the board!
THERE'S nothing Mike and Nuala O'Rourke enjoy more than a swift set of
Scrabble. My word, they're good.
While some humble Scrabblers stumble over the basics (Cat, Mat, sorry my
brain hurts) and others seek the ultimate scoring maximum (something including Z
presumably) the O'Rourkes are wondrous wordsmiths who enjoy taking on
all-comers in competition.
The couple live in Kestrel Road, Oakham and also play on the internet.
But the latest Scrabfest saw them reach the quarter finals of a top-flight
East Midlands tournament, the format of which, ironically, is based on one of
Mike's ideas, that of visiting each other's homes to play.
The competition, Lest, the Local Elimination Scrabble Tournament, is
occupying lively lexographers from as far afield as Huntingdon and Nottingham to
whom the sound of tiles on boards is the sweetest sound this side of heaven.
Top prize is £50, small beer compared to the national prize of £500, but
it's the taking part that counts.
Nuala, 45, a bank official who is currently ranked sixth in the UK and twice
represented Ireland in the World Championships) faces a quarter-final crunch
game in the women's event against opponents from either Nottingham or
Lincoln.
Mike, 51, an IT analyst who is unranked and reckons Nuala wins seven out of
ten games against him, takes on second favourite Nick Deller in the men's
section.
Matches are best of six and, whatever happens, competitors are not allowed
to sweep their pieces from the board and announce: "This is a stupid game and
I'm not playing any more. So there."
It's not a done thing – and neither is asking opponents what an obscure word
means.
Mike recalled: "A recent game involved a chap and an elderly lady. The man
put down the word Zo and felt obliged to explain: "Actually it's a Himalayan
yak" to which the woman snorted: "I know it is; I used to own one."
The weirdest word he has ever come up with is "beziques, (the plural of the
card game) which is worth 302 points. His most recent one was chagrins, which
was worth 154.
Brian.martin-J9SvRgIwW8PHoW/***@public.gmane.org
03 April 2006
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Why do journalists alays get something wrong!
Wayne
Crazy about Scrabble – Nuala and Mike O’Rourke Photo: 032906_51
Word is, they can sweep the board!
THERE'S nothing Mike and Nuala O'Rourke enjoy more than a swift set of
Scrabble. My word, they're good.
While some humble Scrabblers stumble over the basics (Cat, Mat, sorry my
brain hurts) and others seek the ultimate scoring maximum (something including Z
presumably) the O'Rourkes are wondrous wordsmiths who enjoy taking on
all-comers in competition.
The couple live in Kestrel Road, Oakham and also play on the internet.
But the latest Scrabfest saw them reach the quarter finals of a top-flight
East Midlands tournament, the format of which, ironically, is based on one of
Mike's ideas, that of visiting each other's homes to play.
The competition, Lest, the Local Elimination Scrabble Tournament, is
occupying lively lexographers from as far afield as Huntingdon and Nottingham to
whom the sound of tiles on boards is the sweetest sound this side of heaven.
Top prize is £50, small beer compared to the national prize of £500, but
it's the taking part that counts.
Nuala, 45, a bank official who is currently ranked sixth in the UK and twice
represented Ireland in the World Championships) faces a quarter-final crunch
game in the women's event against opponents from either Nottingham or
Lincoln.
Mike, 51, an IT analyst who is unranked and reckons Nuala wins seven out of
ten games against him, takes on second favourite Nick Deller in the men's
section.
Matches are best of six and, whatever happens, competitors are not allowed
to sweep their pieces from the board and announce: "This is a stupid game and
I'm not playing any more. So there."
It's not a done thing – and neither is asking opponents what an obscure word
means.
Mike recalled: "A recent game involved a chap and an elderly lady. The man
put down the word Zo and felt obliged to explain: "Actually it's a Himalayan
yak" to which the woman snorted: "I know it is; I used to own one."
The weirdest word he has ever come up with is "beziques, (the plural of the
card game) which is worth 302 points. His most recent one was chagrins, which
was worth 154.
Brian.martin-J9SvRgIwW8PHoW/***@public.gmane.org
03 April 2006
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]