For the first time, letters, numbers and conundurhams are coming to the historic cathedral city of Durham.
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Date and times
Saturday, 6th July 2024
Doors open: 10:00
First half
Introduction and first round draw: 10:30–10:45* (15m)
Round 1: 10:45–11:55 (1h 10m)
Round 2: 12:00–13:10 (1h 10m)
Lunch: 13:15–14:15 (1h)
Second half
Round 3: 14:15–15:25 (1h 10m)
Round 4: 15:30–16:40 (1h 10m)
Grand final (15-rounder): 16:50–17:30 (40m)
Prize presentation: 17:30–17:50 (20m)
Close: 17:50
*Please be aware that if you are late, you will be "Pruned" for each game that has already started at the time of your arrival.
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Venue
Merryoaks Community Hall, Park House Rd, Durham, DH1 3QF
We'll be in the main hall for the event, which I’ve booked until 18:00. There’s a party booked in for 18:30, so we will need to be out of the hall by then.
Getting to the venue:
The community hall is located 1.5 miles southwest of Durham Railway Station — the station being located in the city centre. If you want to get your steps in, it's a 36-minute walk from there according to Google Maps. If not, there are two bus services that run from the newly built bus station (oooh), which stop within a five-minute walking distance of the venue: Arriva's 7, and Go North East's X21. Alight at the Douglas Gardens stop.
For anyone planning on driving in, I would highly recommend using the Park and Ride scheme and then either walking or bussing over to the venue. There are three Park and Ride sites: one in Belmont, one in Sniperley, and one in Howlands. The Belmont site is located on the A690, approximately 300 metres east of Junction 62 of the A1; the Sniperley site is located approximately 400 metres north of the A167/A691 junction; and the Howlands site is located less than one mile after joining the A177 at the A167/A177 roundabout. The PR1 and PR2 buses run up to every 15 minutes and take you right into the city centre via Millburngate Bridge (alight here). They are £2 per person each way. The last bus back to the Belmont site is at 18:30; the last bus back to the Sniperley site is at 18:36; and the last bus back to the Howlands site is at 18:37. Please note: the car parks close at 19:00. All information is available at https://www.durham.gov.uk/parkandride.
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Overview
The event will be carried out in the “Lincoln” style. This comprises tables of three, at which there are two players and one host. You will rotate with those on your table, hosting one game and playing two in each round.
You will play eight preliminary games of Countdown in the 9-round format. There will be a random draw ahead of the first game to determine the fixtures. In the games that follow, Atropine's Swiss generator will pit you against similarly scoring contestants, so don't worry if you're completely wiped out in the opening match.
Once the four preliminary rounds have concluded and the scores have been gathered, the two contenders with the most wins and points will compete in the grand final to determine the event champion. There will be a 15-minute break to set the final up. In what is now the typical grand final setup for a “Lincoln”-style event, it will involve my board at the front of the room, which is elevated to give everyone involvement in the game and potentially better the players.
As a subtle twist, the grand final will additionally be a charity match in aid of the mental heath organisation, Mind. At the end of the game, I will convert the combined scores of the two finalists to pounds (£1 per point) and donate the amount to the organisation. This will be a personal donation; it will not come out of entry fees or FOCAL expenditure. https://www.mind.org.uk/
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Prizes
The top 8 will receive prizes for their performances.
The following will also receive a prize:
• Rudest word offered
• Most obscure word declared (any length)
• Closest game result(s)
• Closest score to a random number at the end of the heats
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Admission
£12 per person. This can be paid directly to my PayPal at https://paypal.me/adambeach99/12.
Remember to select the "Family/Friends" option when sending through the payment. I am also happy to accept cash payments on the day.————————————
Lunch and snacks
As with most co-events now, lunch will not be provided; however, snacks and such will be. There is a pub, The Duke of Wellington, which is a five-minute walk away. They do a takeout menu, which I'd be happy to take preorders for. I will be placing this order on Monday, 1st July, so please let me know what you're having by then.
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Evening plans
Still being finalised. There's an Ask Italian in Durham City Centre, so I'll most likely going be booking the evening meal here. https://www.askitalian.co.uk/menus/full-menu. I'll make enquiries about a group booking.
There are a few pubs dotted around, so we can hit them after the meal as well.
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Parkrun
For the parkrunners among us, the Durham course takes place at the Graham Sports Centre within Durham University. Location: Maiden Castle, Stockton Road, Durham, DH1 3SE. The average finish time is 00:28:18, which will hopefully be sufficient time for everyone to get back to their accommodation for a shower before the first round draw takes place at 10:45.
Full details here: https://www.parkrun.org.uk/durham/course/
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Entries (as of 26th April 2024)
1. James Robinson
2. Matt Gould
3. Euan Crabb
4. Paul Craib
5. Archie Rodger
6. Phil Stanton
7. MSR
8. Bradley Horrocks
9. George Armstrong
10. Tasneem Rana
11. Elizabeth Beer
12. Tom Carey (Maus)
13. George Baker
14. James Burley
15. Tricia Lowther
16. Alan Lowther
17. Adrian Fletcher
