EDitorial ± 27-Nov-2000

Trivial Pursuits

Saturday night was quiz night in the village of Mellis, somewhere near Eye in the county of Suffolk. Three or four times a year the great and the good (plus a few others) turn out to do battle, agonising over 80 or so questions and endeavouring to play their joker wisely. The whole thing is put together very profesionally, and makes for an entertaining if nail-biting evening. Oh, and for the price of admission, a fish and chip supper is thrown in too. Can't be bad.

This particular occasion was the first to take place in the newly extended and greatly refurbished Mellis village hall, miraculously transformed into a rather smart venue thanks to the ceaseless efforts of certain local residents, not least Mr C G McDonald. Jolly well done!

Of Little Importance
Hopes were high before the event for the Ask The Family team, twice previous winners, comprising Jan & Geoff, Linda & Philip, and Gail & Ed (me!). And halfway through the contest, things were going well, since we had a very slight lead. But after the chips, we bottled it. We had a couple of poor-ish rounds towards the end, and didn't do well on the table round: 40 capital cities, name the country. Should have paid more attention in geography. Cue Agnetha & Frida:

The winner takes it all
The loser has to fall
It's simple and it's plain
Why should I complain?
— Abba
After all the counting and shouting, we finished fifth. But like James Bond, we shall return.

Some questions we did well, in my humble opinion, to get right:

  1. Who played the character Blanco in Porridge?
  2. How many gallons are there in a firkin?
  3. Who was Ronald Reagan's first wife?
  4. In which country was Churchill born?
Some questions we didn't get:
  1. Who wrote Gone With The Wind?
  2. What's the first Canterbury Tale?
  3. Monrovia is the capital city of which country?
  4. How many eyes has a bee?
Be seeing you!

Ed