Quiz Night

Last night I experienced my first British Quiz Night. Apparently, they are quite the thing, and have quite a following. When a friend invited me, I was rather excited - especially considering that a fish and chips dinner was included in the price. I forgot one key element though - I live in Europe.

The event started at 7:30, a bit early by European standards. After an introduction to the cause that we were supporting, the quizzing commenced. I do need to mention that my table was made up of 4 Americans, 1 Scotsman, and 1 Englishman.

Round 1 - Words
I didn't know any - this was quite crushing as I normally consider myself fairly well read and quite the wordsmith. I shall have to find a copy of The Oxford Dictionary to prepare myself for next time - Merriam-Webster just doesn't cut it over here.

Round 2 - Britain
This needs no explanation - we didn't do so hot. How was I supposed to know what the most recent British National Park was?

Round 3 - Transportation
This was a cool round because Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was one of the answers. By the way, does anyone know what country has only one submarine and its sole purpose is to transport tourists to the bottom of a lake?

Round 4 - Connection
Two American answers - New York City and San Francisco - made this a memorable round. And we scored 18 out of 20 - definitely our best showing. Plus, it was a neat round because all of the answers were connected (hence the round name)- as cities from Around the World in Eighty Days. I would like to contend that teams that answered New York should not have been awarded credit since that is a state.

Short break - Fish and Chips time
It was after 9:00 - not a problem by European standards, but this is one aspect of life I have not adjusted to yet. I cannot tell you how unappetizing greasy fish and chips appear at this time of night, and I'm normally a fan. I also recommend that if you plan to attend one of these events that you hide a salt shaker in your handbag before you go, you will definitely need it. One last item of note, I really prefer the fish that does not have one side of skin on it - who really wants to eat skin? The redeeming quality of the meal was that someone had smuggled in some "Toe-mah-toe sauce," aka ketchup. They really don't understand why we eat the stuff on chips (french fries) - here it's either mayonaise or malt vinegar, both of which make me cringe, but I was grateful for the thought.

Round 5 - Music
Not a pretty sight. I blame this round on the fact that I have now had the "Tune Up" song from Music Machine stuck in my head for 24 hours.

Round 6 - Names
Didn't know any of them. Did you know that Bing Crosby's real name is Harry? The quizzer tried to give a hint, calling it a common name. I've only known one person with that name, and he was my Pa-paw.

Round 7 - Food and Drink
We played our joker, good for double points. It didn't really help us much, but I did learn that paella is cooked in a paella pan - hence the name.

Round 8 - Mixed Bag
Random questions. I think this was the only round where I actually knew an answer.

Fortunately, we had some people smarter than me on my team, so we didn't actually lose, just came in second runner up in that direction. I kind of wish we had lost, because then we could have gotten the wooden spoon award, and I need another one. Guess I'll have to go shopping instead.

All in all, it was a great evening - I learned a lot and it was a great eye-opener into British culture. I'm looking forward to my next quiz night, but next time I'm eating supper before I go. I just don't think I can face fish and chips that late in the evening again, or the weird dreams it gives me.