EFOG Extra Quiz Saturday 26th February

It was rather surreal travelling to the wilds of Theydon Bois. I hadn’t been out “properly” for some time. How many people would be there? What do we do now about sharing our snacks? Will anyone be wearing masks, social distancing? At least I’d tested negative earlier, so should be safe to sit next to – hopefully! Would I get lost, even with my Sat Nav? I did, of course – but Val was at the end of a phone …. so I made it on time. I just about had time to admire the stars before going into the village hall …. Inside was like stepping back in time: a full hall, lots of buzz, smiling and chatter, snacks and drinks on tables. A Raffle Table invited you to buy tickets – unless you were too late (like me). Was there excitement in the air? I think so.

Great to see my EFOG friends again, as always. Just managed to exchange warm greetings before the quiz began. Our joker round (Food & Drink) was quite early on – we were one point short of a full score. We did even better on some other rounds. All good selections. Did you know there are gates named after Margaret Thatcher in London or what anniversary is traditionally associated with pearls or what gives Drambuie its distinctive flavour? We were definitely in tune with the quiz designer when it came to (old) films and Disney cartoons – even the young(er) ones among us. Some of us were struggling to remember the tables printed inside our school exercise books when it came to definitions of measures even older than us. But we did well. We came second (thanks to a challenge on scoring accuracy earlier by the redoubtable Kathy (backed up by super-efficient Trevor).

Best of all, it was estimated that the quiz, including the raffle (4 EFOGers won prizes) has raised about £1000 for the St Clare Hospice. Not a mask in sight but plenty of hand sanitiser and people did seem to be pretty much keeping to their tables. It didn’t feel scary at all. Many thanks to Sue S for organising this event on our EFOG calendar. It was a great. Good fun. I do hope we have now travelled back to a more “normal” future – with more nights out to come.

Pamela,  28th February 2022