Inter-Ward Club Quiz

Wednesday 5 September 2018

At the latter end of June this year, the Master received an email from our Hon Secretary informing her that the Club had been invited to participate in the Inter-Ward Club Quiz.  Our Ward Club last participated in 2015.   In 2016 the date clashed with the September Committee meeting and in 2017 the event had proved so popular that we missed out as the venue was not large enough to accommodate all the Ward Clubs wishing to take part, our application had arrived after the notional cut-off point for Clubs.

This year, the Quiz was organised by last year’s winners, Queenhithe Ward Club, who took the step of hiring the larger venue of Painters’ Hall for the event.  The rules were changed. Clubs were now restricted to one table of 6 per club.  Since we were only allowed 6 people on the team and the Master was expected to participate, it meant only five places were available.  Impractical to circulate to the 200 membership for so few places it was decided to target the Committee.  Five intrepid Masterminds of the Committee stepped up, President David Graves, Upper Warden Geoffrey Savage, 1st Assistant David Pearson, Past Master David Bland and our Hon Sec, Barbara Allan to face an uncertain future, glory or disgrace.  All were self-funding to the tune of £30 per person.

The evening went well, we were under strict orders from the Hon Secretary not to come first as the winning Ward Club would be responsible for organizing next year’s Inter-Ward Quiz.  A fate surely worse than death or coming bottom of all the Ward Clubs!

We delivered. We came second by missing first place by only one point.  Seventeen Ward Clubs took part and some of them fielded two teams, so we did very well.  The top three were as follows:

First Billingsgate with 74 points

Second Cripplegate with 73 points

Third Aldersgate with 72 points.

The good news was broken to the Committee and amid the rounds of emails congratulating the team we were suddenly bitten by the urge to conduct a Quiz evening for the Ward Club next March as a warm-up to next year’s Inter-Ward Club Quiz.  Except this time we will throw all caution to the wind and aim to win the Inter-Ward Club title for ourselves.

Hurrah!

Mary Nurse
Master