To celebrate their tenth Christmas, Alpha members decided to meet for Breakfast. It was a masterly exercise, because it got everyone involved, whether they wished it or not.<\/p>\n
They didn\u2019t arrive together. Geoff, the chef, was first, and proceeded to greet the others as they arrived. Bear in mind that the members had never seen each other before. When Sue arrived, there were whispers of \u201cSue,\u201d and \u201cWho,\u201d\u00a0 An enhanced whisper of \u201cWho\u2019s Sue\u201d was heard, and Geoff duly reached for his classic reference of \u201cWho\u2019s Who.\u201d That shut him up for a few minutes.<\/p>\n
Clare, on the other hand was concerned about the seating plan,. \u201cWhere,\u201d asked\u00a0 Clare, \u201cis my chair?\u201d. The reply was \u201cOver there,\u201d followed by, \u201cbut take care.\u201d. They all gave it a glare \u2013 and a stare, and decided that was fair, but enough. \u00a0\u00a0 Others had arrived, and Geoff, who by this time had refreshed himself with pure desert water to solve a problem with hiccups during his greetings.<\/p>\n
But Hakim observed that Margaret Ramsey\u2019s book mentioned nothing about punctuation by hiccups, so Geoff threw a challenge \u2013 \u201cHow do you represent a hiccup?\u201d<\/p>\n
Kim, wondered if a colon:ist was the right person to answer, so instead she suggested that perhaps they should say grace.<\/p>\n
\u201cWould grace have a capital G or a small one?\u201d wondered Suzanne, who, having not yet quite conquered France, might be regarded as a semi-colon;ist.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s a capital G, should Grace be in single quotes, or double?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOr none at all?\u201d<\/p>\n
The questions came thick and hard, and Chris endeavoured to bring sanity to the discussion.<\/p>\n
\u201cStop!\u201d, he called, \u201c and if it\u2019s in quotes, and it\u2019s the last word in the sentence, then should the stop be inside the quotes or outside?\u201d<\/p>\n
Hakim pondered. \u201cThat\u2019s two stops in one sentence. I don\u2019t think Margaret Ramsey would like that, either.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then Christine, our pristine leader, (lucky rhyme, that!) asked if everyone had arrived. \u201cWhere was Fran, for instance?\u201d<\/p>\n
But Fran was in the bran as it was breakfast, and she\u2019d been working a night shift. When she heard her name mentioned, she said, \u201cI\u2019ll make a dash and be with you all.\u201d<\/p>\n
But it was Rosemary who really made a breakthrough. Very keen on detail, and her sharp eyes spotted an anomaly \u2013 \u201cthere are quotes in the oats\u201d she exclaimed, \u201cbut without an exclamation mark as you can\u2019t mix tenses in a single clause\u201d.<\/p>\n
This was accompanied by a vigorous nodding by Rose, who knows. \u201cDo you think you could write a story with the oats as the main character, and the Alpha members as the environment?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLike the oats betting the adjacent quotes that they\u2019d be preferred and eaten earlier.\u201d But this crumb of creative writing fell to the floor.<\/p>\n
Then Zena, yet again unable to decide, thought she\u2019d try a bit of everything. Success didn\u2019t elude her, for she announced the perfect answer. \u201cI\u2019ve found ellipses in the Rice Krispsies!\u201d<\/p>\n
So all our plates were heaped with them \u2013 even Stephen\u2019s – from now on.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you know what printers call the exclamation mark?\u201d asked Sally<\/p>\n
\u201dAnswers ranged from \u2018No-o-o\u2019 to \u2018No!!!\u2019 and even \u2018No! No! No!\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cA screamer,\u201d replied Sally.<\/p>\n
All the Alpha members looked at each other and said \u201cScreamer?\u201d, \u201cA Screamer!\u201d and \u201cFancy that\u201d.<\/p>\n
Olaf took up the theme for the comma man, although his hearing is none too good. \u201cDid you say ice cream with a fancy hat? Bit early in the day, I should think. I\u2019m ready for marmalade. Pass the Margie for my toast, will you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Then Christine, observed (a bit less pristine than before), \u201cI don\u2019t think that should be a question, Mark.\u201d All the Alphas stopped eating their breakfasts, and decided to grill Christine, making her even less pristine. But she had, as always, an answer. \u201cI think it\u2019s time we had another European amongst our ranks. Perhaps he\u2019ll be a German, Deutsch mark.\u201d<\/p>\n
On cue, the door opened, and in walked the most glamorous, beautiful woman you\u2019ve ever seen. As she was neither German nor called Mark, it just emphasized the creative thinking of the group.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid someone say host?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
None of the Alpha members thought to correct her by saying \u2018Host for Toast\u201d, so she continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am good looking, intelligent and very rich. So I am letting you enjoy Christmas by looking at me, while you pit your thoughts against my intelligence, and you may gain a share in my wealth \u2013 a whole point for the annual Alpha contest.<\/p>\n
All I want you to do is to deduce my name from correctly attacking the clues.<\/p>\n
Read on!<\/p>\n
My name has exactly 10 letters. Olaf is going to ask me 10 indirect irrelevant questions, and I will reply with the initial letters of a well-known proverb, saying, clich\u00e9, idiom, book, play or film title or just a well-used phrase or sentence.\u00a0 One of the letters will have a *\u00a0 beside it, and the last letter of that word will contribute to my name.<\/p>\n
Were my name a three-letter word, the following questions might have been posed, and I would have answered in the shown manner.<\/p>\n
Q1. \u201cHow on earth can I possibly find out your Name?\u201d \u00a0Answer:\u00a0 W T A* W T A W<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Q2. \u201cYou don\u2019t seem to be overwhelmed by people asking questions \u2013 why is \u00a0that?\u201d Answer:\u00a0\u00a0 T C B T S*<\/strong><\/p>\n Q3. \u201cYou make this so hard for us ordinary folk. Do you know what I should call you?\u201d Answer:\u00a0 A E* O T P<\/strong><\/p>\n The answer to Q1 is clearly Where there\u2019s a will, there\u2019s a way.\u201d The third word is starred, but it\u2019s only a single letter so the last letter is also an \u2018a\u2019.<\/p>\n The answer to Q2 \u2013 with a little thought is \u2013 The calm before the storm. The starred letter is the fifth, the word is \u2018storm\u2019, so the letter we want is \u2018m\u2019<\/p>\n The answer to Q3 is an Ibsen book title \u2013 An Enemy of the People. The starred letter is the second, the word is \u2018enemy\u2019 and the letter we want is \u2018y\u2019.<\/p>\n So we get the name \u2018Amy\u2019. Easy, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n But my name isn\u2019t Amy, and your problem is on the next page.<\/p>\n Please note: (1) There are some sayings which may have slight variations\u00a0 e.g. \u201cTo have one\u2019s cake and eat it\u201d or \u201cTo have your cake and eat it\u201d. If you don\u2019t like my version, see (7) below<\/p>\n (2) In case of disagreements, the hostess\u2019s decision will be final. If you don\u2019t like the hostesses decision, see (7) below.<\/p>\n (3) The name of the hostess should be sent to Olaf by the end of 2013, and should be accompanied by the 10 words indicated by stars. These will be used as deciders only if there is more than one entry getting the name right. If two entries are deemed to be of equal intellectual merit, the first one received will gain preference for the selection of winner. Otherwise, see (7) below.<\/p>\n (4)\u00a0 As the subject has now been exhausted, punctuation plays no part in this Quiz. If you\u2019re a fan of punctuation, see (7) below.<\/p>\n (5) You may use any friends and relatives to help you, if you\u2019ve got any left after previous years\u2019 Christmas quizzes. If you haven\u2019t, see (7) below.<\/p>\n (6) All the answers are well-known and used in the UK, but I am aware that this may not necessarily be the case for those who live elsewhere. See (7) below<\/p>\n (7) To show you how sympathetic I am, I will utter the word \u201cTough!\u201d (double quotes and a screamer).<\/p>\n What I want is for you to get my name, and email it to me by the end of this year, December 31st You may indeed guess the name even though you don\u2019t get all the letters, so in case I receive more than one entry with the correct name, please also send the 10 words from which you selected the last letter.<\/p>\n The winner will share part of my fortune (i.e. a whole point towards the annual trophy hunt) approved personally by Christine.<\/p>\n Question 1.\u00a0 \u201ccan you give me an indication of how difficult this Christmas quiz is going to be?\u201d Answer: L L F A N* I A H<\/strong><\/p>\n Question 2. \u201cIf I can\u2019t get your name right, will my life be dull and dreary?\u201d<\/p>\n Answer:\u00a0 E C H A S* L<\/strong><\/p>\n Question 3:\u00a0 \u201cWhy have you only got marmalade for my toast this morning?\u201d<\/p>\n Answer: I J T J* Y B N J T<\/strong><\/p>\n Question 4: . \u201cI could write you the best novel in the world \u2013 would that persuade you?<\/p>\n Answer:\u00a0 A Y C D I* C D B<\/strong><\/p>\n Question 5: \u201cIf you would sit for me, I could paint your portrait almost as well as Whistler, but would you have the time?\u201d<\/p>\n Answer:\u00a0 I Y W T K T T A A P*<\/strong><\/p>\n Question 6: \u201cWhy are you promising to share your riches with one of us, rather than the whole wide world?<\/p>\n Answer: B T D Y K T T D Y D*<\/strong><\/p>\n Question 7: \u201cI\u2019ve a friend who is in charge of the Bletchley Park Museum about cracking the enigma code. Can I ask him?\u201d<\/p>\n Answer:\u00a0 A S* T C A N<\/strong><\/p>\n Question 8: \u201cDon\u2019t you think some Alpha members will be upset at having their hopes raised and then broken by your method?\u201d<\/p>\n Answer: Y* C M A O W B E<\/strong><\/p>\n Question 9: \u201cWhat will happen to my chances if I get only one letter in your name wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n Answer:\u00a0 G W T W*<\/strong><\/p>\n Question 10: \u201cI feel that I\u2019ve exhausted all the questions that I might reasonably ask. What else is there?\u201d<\/p>\n Answer:\u00a0 H* Y R A G B L<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" THE\u00a0 ALPHA BREAKFAST To celebrate their tenth Christmas, Alpha members decided to meet for Breakfast. It was a masterly exercise, because it got everyone involved, whether they wished it or not. They…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":138,"menu_order":9,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-213","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alphawriters.net\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alphawriters.net\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alphawriters.net\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alphawriters.net\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alphawriters.net\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alphawriters.net\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/213\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alphawriters.net\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alphawriters.net\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}FIND MY NAME<\/h2>\n
YOUR PROBLEM<\/h2>\n
\u00a0THE CLUES<\/h2>\n