Teams were ready and poised to claim the top prizes at the third WCB virtual quiz night on Thursday, 20th May. With pens in hand and no Google in sight, Liveryman Matt Barrett and his team, Foreshank Redemption, knew just what needed to be done as their claim for the WCB Egghead title began...
Following the surge in online virtual quizzing during the first lockdown of 2020 I felt underwhelmed at the idea of another session of quizzes when the Livery announced their list of virtual events. However, as all good Liverymen should, I signed up my wife and friends to support the Livery and break the monotony of groundhog day after groundhog day in Lockdown. I grabbed a selection of wines and snacks, (inspired of course by some of WCB's other great virtual events), and set up ready to compete with Livery friends, some of which I had not previously had the benefit of sitting close to at a luncheon.
Like the wine tasting virtual event, there was variety, surprises and a determination to finish the lot!
My early apprehension about yet another quiz soon faded with the professional and fun hosting by QuizQuizQuiz. Like the wine tasting virtual event, there was variety, surprises and a determination to finish the lot! I thought it was excellent to see a wide variety of final points totals between first and last, meaning that the one and all approach was a success and a raft of brainiacs did not dominate the teams.
As I joined the Zoom call for the third quiz, I was really pleased to see that there were still so many people supporting the event, even though Lockdown restrictions have begun to ease and hospitality had opened again. That said, we were even more pleased to see that the winners from the last quiz were not competing this time! Our team's hopes of improving on our 4th place finish in the second quiz meant that our dream of a top 3 finish might become a reality, We could even win a prize!
Foreshank Redemption started slowly, with a big deficit to some leading teams after the first round. However, my 15 year old daughter finally repaid our efforts and came up with some outstanding answers in the last 2 rounds for us to clinch joint first! This led to an exciting decider when the Master and myself were left to battle it out in a head-to-head tiebreaker. I gracefully took second place overall and will be enjoying a fine case of wines to boot (ready for the next event).
I want to take this opportunity to commend the Events & Engagement Committee on organising the virtual events, and particularly on the recent addition of the post event breakout rooms. Thanks also to our brilliantly entertaining host Lesley-Anne Brewis from Quizquizquiz, as well as Liverymen Bill Holmes and Assistant Paul Dolan for providing the winning prizes of champagne and wine.
Our wonderful and historic Livery is built on fellowship and these breakout rooms have allowed me to enjoy the end of the events taking a glass of wine, beer or whiskey with friends from the trade, and to meet new friends.
Well done to all, and I hope to see you soon.
LIVERYMAN MATT BARRETT