c4countdown

Even if the organisation/committee reads what you're saying here, then tries to enact something in good faith, I'm inclined to think you'd both still harbour views like these if any of the work wasn't to your liking. The proper spirit of making suggestions in a community extends to stepping up and p...

Your interest is in participating at tournaments, and Focal provides a one-stop-shop not just for participants, but also for organisers, so that they can sell their offerings better to attendees. MK is then largely paid for by the levies which organisers have raised, absorbed from their admission re...

The whole running of FOCAL has seemed rather opaque from the start.

Including the bit where your suggestion to significantly restructure event scoring was heard and then implemented?

There are too many back seat drivers in this thread. Some of you obviously come on here a lot to comment on what organisers should do. So, if you've never taken the reins before, here's a suggestion squarely and directly for you: put yourself forward to run an event in 2025. I had earmarked a June s...

27 signed up and spaces still available for tomorrow.

Jeff

I have had a last minute expression of interest from someone who is about to sign up but who also is angling for the buddy discount. So, if anyone else still wants in and likes a deal: - Either make yourself known on here and the other person will contact you to recoup their half of the £20, - Or co...

Jeff then knocks on the window to say hi, and explains (through text) he's involved in the opening of a new bus-themed cafe and all buses will be delayed as a result. Wonderfully flattering and thoroughly disproportionate in equal measure :) I always took care to ensure I could "step up" ...

Ok thanks for letting me know Dan. Admissions are well into the 20s now, so we should have teams of four and five in the Quiz. Don't forget that £100 cash jackpot! Still taking enquiries and bookings, but in the interests of making sure we have enough to cater for everyone, please confirm your atten...

wouldn't fire regs expect a list of attendees as a duty of care , especially a room in a bigger establishment? Yes, the Fire Service would expect what in professional terms is a Site Responsible Person to be able to account for everyone. This is something which Rachel and I have separately gleaned ...

Ok thanks for letting me know. Won't be running this next year (at least, not in Braintree) but hopefully you can attend one in due course

Jeff

Yup!

The fact that Jeff doesn't publicise the Braintree attendee list (even behind a "paywall" to paid-up attendees) is a source of frustration to many. I used to publish them years ago, but the specific reason why I stopped is that I believe the provisions and requirements in GDPR do not enti...

Just a word of thanks to everyone who responded this weekend. We now have 16 firm sign-ups and up to another 10 TBCs. So, look forward to hearing from even more of you and pushing the attendance even higher

Thanks
Jeff

Three weeks to go now, so I've just checked a few prices to help you with the planning: Travelodge : Fri 1st Nov, £46.99 Sat 2nd Nov, £62.99 Rail fare, London-Braintree return : Covering two out of the three days: £41.60 Day return: £31.60 There is currently a Hare Fare special offer at £18 on selec...

Braintree won't be taking place in November 2025, and is very unlikely to take place at all in 2025.

I have earmarked a June slot and have tentatively enquired about a venue in Southampton. It would be a traditional Lincoln-style event.

Jeff

The announcement in late spring / early summer that DCDL would be axed, was followed in August by the passing of Patrice Laffont -- who, just short of his 85th birthday, was still working as producer on that show. Monsieur Laffont was host of DCDL from 1972 (the reboot when the numbers game was intr...

Hi again, Just to help with the planning, can I ask if people would be willing to say whether they definitely are coming but just haven't got round to sorting it yet, genuinely don't still know, or definitely won't be attending, please? That way I can better plan for numbers at dinner on Friday nigh...

Hi everyone, Five weeks until Braintree on Sat 2 Nov, so a quick recap on what you can expect. Countdown: Five 14R games (LLNLLNCLLNLLNC). We will draw randomly for the first game, then follow the Swiss system. The conundrum at R7 will be 9-letter, R14 will be 10-letter. We will also use Fiona's tou...

Just a reminder that we're open for sign-ups, and Rachel is already busy conscripting some more new faces! £12 each or £20 for two; full details above; email/PayPal jeffclaytonquiz@gmail.com . Once again Braintree will be the last qualifying event on the Focal circuit for the year before the finals ...

FOCAL returns once again to the Essex market town of Braintree on Saturday 2nd November. Rachel, Tim and Jeff will be back with another instalment of Countdown and quizzing in the main hall at Church House (CM7 1EY) , next to St Michael’s Church. Date: Saturday 2nd November 2024. Start time: Doors ...

The league table file on the Focal website has been updated with the final standings from Braintree:
https://focalcountdown.com/leaguetable/

Yes, two of the players who turned up to give it a try came to the conclusion, after R3, that Countdown at this level probably wasn't for them -- so, yes, they asked to be paired in R4 and then withdrew, though they stayed with us for the last two instalments of Quiz. Perhaps they would have had eas...

Just to say thank you to everyone who came to Essex at the weekend -- I hope you enjoyed both the Countdown and the Quiz, and everything else in between. I was thoroughly exhausted, and I am still buzzing now! I'd also just like to say a few words on format. Fwiw, my interpretation of the results is...

Friday 3rd: Mosaic Turkish restaurant, CM7 1UG. Table is booked for 19:00. Meet in The White Hart pub (diagonally opposite) from 18:00. Saturday 4th: Yak & Yeti Indian/Nepalese restaurant, CM7 3PP. About 15 minutes' walk east of the town centre. Table is booked for 19:30. Suggest usual post-tour...

Just a word to say the deadline for announcing a rail strike on Saturday 4th November has been and gone. There are also no planned engineering works between London and Braintree on Saturday 4th (or on Friday 3rd, or on Sunday 5th). For those of you planning longer journeys with connections, please c...

Quick update with three weeks to go -- we have 12 confirmed sign-ups and 5 maybes. Some of them are new faces, not all of them use this forum, and I know some of you are waiting on things like further dates for railway strikes to be announced before committing. As ever, do get in touch with any quer...

Hi everyone, Braintree is just five weeks away now, and we have reserved dinner tables at: - a Turkish restaurant on Friday 3rd November for 19:00, and - a Nepalese restaurant on Saturday 4th November for 19:30. Please let me know if you would like a seat at either or both (or neither 😆) and I'll gi...

Just a reminder that we're open for sign-ups, and we've already persuaded some new faces to come and see how this all works! £12 each or £20 for two; full details above; email/PayPal jeffclaytonquiz@gmail.com . Once again Braintree will be the last qualifying event on the Focal circuit for the year ...

FOCAL returns for the fourth time to the Essex market town of Braintree on Saturday 4th November. Rachel, Tim and Jeff will be back with another instalment of Countdown and quizzing in the main hall at Church House (CM7 1EY) , next to St Michael’s Church. https://scontent.fltn3-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t3...