WE knew it was going to be one those evenings when the dispute started over a piece of music. Or to be more precise, the theme from a television series. It was The Avengers, I said, with all the authority of someone who really knows the subject. No, it s

WE knew it was going to be one those evenings when the dispute started over a piece of music.

Or to be more precise, the theme from a television series.

It was The Avengers, I said, with all the authority of someone who really knows the subject.

No, it's The Saint insisted another member of our team.

In the end it turned out to be Miami Vice.

That was obvious once it was played for a second time.

Such are the joys of a quiz night.

This particular event was being run by the Rotary Club of Royston, and it begins what has become the quiz night season.

For the next two months or so we will be pitting our wits against the other clever-clogs who seem to attend all these events.

In the spirit of such occasions it's not the winning that matters, but the taking part. After all, such events are run to help one or other worthy cause.

Anyway, that's what we would like to believe.

The fact is it's about making sure that a team which beats you previously doesn't do it again.

There is a certain amount of rivalry on the quiz night circuit.

It's all right not to win the contest, but to be behind certain other teams at the end of the evening is just not acceptable.

The trouble is all those other regular teams on the circuit think the same.

It's a serious business - but not that serious.

By the end of the evening we could tell the difference between the theme music of The Avengers and Miami Vice.

But, at least, I didn't say it was The Saint. Probably no-one else did either.

Such are the problems of the quiz night.