Getting Quizical

Every year the local Rotary Club have their Quiz Night. For the last 3 years I have joined in along with some of my boys. The first year it was JA and OJ, last year they both came along and ET joined us. This time DC came too as he had nothing planned for tonight. Unfortunately although it was her birthday my mum has been poorly today so couldn't join us.

Picture this..................... a junior school hall with 16 tables set up for teams of six. Average age range mid 50's to mid 70's mainly professional/retired professionals. Most tables set up with glasses and bottles of wine. But not table 8...............table 8 was the one used by the Team .......The Mathletics. On this table were plastic cups and bottles of cola oh and my non alcoholic grape drink, a pack of twiglets and a bag of carrot batons.

It was one of those quizzes where teams mark each other's papers then pass them back. The team at the next table were doing badly, we were pleased each time we got a question right that they didn't. There was a sheet of song titles that we had to name the show they were from........I knew a lot of the song titles but not which show they were from...............the 70s section I did get some of the answers right like Equal Pay and Kerry Packer but I didn't know that Maggie T announced that in 1976 Free School Milk would end, neither could I remember who was the Sports Minister made responsible for drought in 96. The question about the end of the monopoly by BBC radio was very very close. I guessed Capitol Radio but that was beaten by London Broadcasting Company a day earlier!!

We would have done better in the music and colour section if we had heard the Quiz master say that we had to put the song title not just the colour in the title. I think from the out cry at the start of the answers to that section probably at least a dozen teams had only written the colour in each title. At least we did have Pink Pantha and Yellow Brick Rd, unfortunately I didn't follow my instinct to write 'nights in white Satin', 'Blue Moon', 'Sweet Georgia Brown' 'whiter shade of pale, just writing the colour only got us half points. It was during this round that ET decided that they should fill in the gaps with guesses. OJ and DC took that one step further and filled in the gaps with daft answers. I have no idea what question got the answer 'Toilet Duck' but the mythical monster that was a womans head with body of a lion was answered with Anne Robinson! The N American landmark that constantly goes backwards became Michael Jackson!

But the team marking our papers were enjoying the sense of humour my boys were showing.

At the end of the quiz we were the only team who hadn't played our joker which would have doubled the points scored on that round. Whilst the table marking our papers came 2nd last we had the honour of being rock bottom although we were applauded for our valiant effort considering that we were disadvantaged by our ages.

we might have come last and earnt the wooden spoon but it was the first time since christmas day that we had been out together as a family (no absentees). The last few months we have been doing more things together which can only be good for all of us.