NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • Deloitte Fast 50
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

Banned pub quiz champs plan to sue

By Emily Chan
Daily Mail·
18 Mar, 2016 07:40 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Horn Pub owner Adrian Bell, 53, claimed the team won the quiz's £40 bar tab prize two or three times a month. Photo / Google Street View
Horn Pub owner Adrian Bell, 53, claimed the team won the quiz's £40 bar tab prize two or three times a month. Photo / Google Street View

Horn Pub owner Adrian Bell, 53, claimed the team won the quiz's £40 bar tab prize two or three times a month. Photo / Google Street View

Three friends have been banned from taking part in a weekly pub quiz - because they win it too much.

Nick Mepham, 49, Graham Deaves, 65, and Norman Hughan, 82, were told they could no longer take part in the Monday night event at The Horn Pub in St Albans, Hertfordshire in England so that someone else could have a chance at coming first.

Now the avid quiz-goers, who go by the name Storming Norman, plan to take legal action, claiming that they are being discriminated against because of their age.

The trio say they have only won the quiz 11 times since they started to take part in early May 2015.

They were turned away from the event at the end of February after taking part in the quiz, which costs £2 (NZ$4.20) to enter, every week since early May 2015.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Mr Mepham, from Luton, said: "It's totally unfair. We turned up at the pub to take part and were told we were banned.

"They said it was because we keep winning but that's not true. We're often head-to-head with another team and we certainly don't win it every week.

"In our eyes we were making the quiz more competitive. There had been no official complaints about us for winning too much and the ban wasn't made because we had been cheating.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Before we came along, another team had been winning lots. The ban hasn't been justified."

The school teaching assistant and his teammates Mr Deaves, a retired computer specialist, and Mr Hughan, a retired supermarket worker, were awarded a £40 bar voucher between them to spend on food and drink at the pub every time they won.

They also once won the £1,600 (NZ$3389) jackpot, which is given out every six months to the winners of a head-to-head quiz between the top three teams.

Storming Norman claim their closest rivals - Team Win - have almost as many victories as them.

The trio believe the decision to stop them entering may have been because of their age.

Mr Mepham said: 'The other teams that take part in the quiz are younger than us, and we were referred to as "old boys", so we believe the decision was made on discriminative grounds.

"We're going to speak to a solicitor about what we can do.

"We know that we don't fit with the vibe of the place as it's quite a young person's pub but it seems ludicrous to tell regular, paying customers they're no longer wanted.

"We're disappointed and it's unfair. It's insulting, and they shouldn't be able to get away with it."

Horn Pub owner Adrian Bell, 53, claimed the team won the quiz's £40 (NZ$84.70) bar tab prize two or three times a month.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He said: "We started getting grumblings from other people about their constant winning and the attendance numbers started going down.

"People thought they were professional quiz goers because they were always so many points ahead.

"When we spoke to them, we suggested that it might be healthy for the quiz if they take a break for a little while, to get the numbers back up.

"When they wrote complaining they mentioned how some of the staff at the pub had described them as 'old boys'.

"No offence was meant or intended by this. I'm 53 and I've been described as an old boy before.

"I've put a lot of time, effort and money into the pub for people to hear music and come and drink. I'm proud of The Horn. I'd never do anything to upset anyone."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Mr Bell added that Storming Norman were welcome to come back to the quiz once attendance numbers were back up.

-Daily Mail

Save
    Share this article

Latest from World

World

11 injured in Michigan Walmart stabbing

World

'Flew out of their seats': Sudden dive injures two on Southwest flight

World

Israel allows Gaza aid airdrops amid famine fears


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Recommended for you

'Too sexy': Kiwi reporter speaks out on Fox Sports snub, lashing 'boys' club'
Sport

'Too sexy': Kiwi reporter speaks out on Fox Sports snub, lashing 'boys' club'

'Insidious offending': Uni student behind NZ's first 'SMS blaster' attack
Crime

'Insidious offending': Uni student behind NZ's first 'SMS blaster' attack

Helicopter crashes in Bay of Plenty, three people injured
Bay of Plenty Times

Helicopter crashes in Bay of Plenty, three people injured

Mitre 10 Westgate's swift reopening date after blaze drew huge emergency response
New Zealand

Mitre 10 Westgate's swift reopening date after blaze drew huge emergency response

Tactix hold strong halftime lead over Mystics in ANZ Premiership final
Netball

Tactix hold strong halftime lead over Mystics in ANZ Premiership final

'Divisive rhetoric': Opposition critical of Peters' immigration comments
Politics

'Divisive rhetoric': Opposition critical of Peters' immigration comments



Latest from World

11 injured in Michigan Walmart stabbing
World

11 injured in Michigan Walmart stabbing

The victims included six men and five women. The suspect is in custody, police said.

27 Jul 03:13 AM
'Flew out of their seats': Sudden dive injures two on Southwest flight
World

'Flew out of their seats': Sudden dive injures two on Southwest flight

27 Jul 03:00 AM
Israel allows Gaza aid airdrops amid famine fears
World

Israel allows Gaza aid airdrops amid famine fears

27 Jul 12:35 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search