Table Quiz

Last night, I finally did something with the folks from work - every now and then they have pop-up social events, and this time it was a pub quiz. So I could see whether all those tv quiz shows have helped! Took place at The Castle pub, not far from the office.

Well, they came and got me when it was time to leave - the guy organising it had taken numbers, and booked a couple of tables - at a maximum of six per team, we ended up with five on each. People swapped back and forth according to which team they wanted to be on.. we ended up with one person on ours who'd never done a pub quiz before, and wanted to know what it'd be like! Someone else said her speciality was dogs (identifying breeds from pictures).. you've guessed it, when exactly such a question came up later, she got it wrong! :-) In her defence, the two breeds are very similar.

The pub quiz here takes place every Tuesday, in the upstairs room - and isn't it funny how pubs always have these narrow, winding stairs, so tricky if you have drink taken.. Anyway, it was lovely that they had a working bar upstairs; I'm not used to that convenience, and it made a big difference not to have to manoeuvre drinks up the aforementioned stairs. People were also ordering food, which staff were happy to bring from downstairs - there seems to be a decent menu.

Two rounds of 20 questions each, some picture questions, which came on an accompanying sheet, with a colour version pinned to the wall for reference. Some very easy ones to start - but they got harder. And woe betide the guy on our team who, although of Indian heritage, and professing to be an expert on curries, couldn't name the curry that's called for the flat pan it's cooked in! Wouldn't accept the answer of another team member, who got it right.. the aforementioned Indian (ethnicity) chap wasn't having a good night in general, as he was also supposed to be a football expert - and got the height of the goal wrong! O well. It's all fun. And it was particularly fun when I contributed a few correct answers.. and guess what? Our team won! a £50 bar tab card. To be spent on future outings of the same kind. Oh, I'll be there..

I love quizzes, so enjoyed this immensely. And although they didn't order any more drinks after the quiz itself was over, and left soon enough after, it was nice to hang out, however briefly - and interesting to hear someone on our team remark that most of the office have no interest in socialising outside a circle consisting of themselves! So it's not just me then..

Walked home, of course - but had to be early to bed, for that (perpetually cancelled) meeting this morning, so couldn't blog. And then the meeting didn't happen either, of course! Tonight, I've had it in mind for the longest time to accompany Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) to see The Welkin at the National. But you see, I had a Seatplan theatre token that I wanted to use - and the bind is that they still haven't introduced web bookings for those, and so I had to ring. During office hours. And whenever I thought of doing it was outside of office hours. Until last week.. and in the meantime, of the £47 tickets that had sold out, three more became available - in the back row of the stalls. So I booked one of those, getting a discount for my voucher. And despite the dire warning from the automated voice, that I'd be charged an extra £3 for booking this way.. well, she obviously completely forgot about that, because I wasn't. Handily, they sent me an e-ticket.

Tomorrow, I had film in mind at first. But top of the film list - when I had time to look at it - was Outside the City, a documentary about trappist monks, whose numbers are dwindling, and whose members are ageing, so they can no longer run the farm, and have taken to brewing beer instead. Yeah.. I'm sure it's very good, very interesting - but I'm not that enthused. I'm not even a beer drinker.

Instead, I noted that UITCS are off to see Leopoldstadt, which I found much more interesting. 'Tis the season for Holocaust memorials, indeed.. well, it's the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the majority of the camps. Anyway, it seems to be popular - when I checked the official website for Wyndham's, only three premium tickets remained in the whole theatre! However, checking the event page, I noted that someone was trying to sell a ticket, as he could no longer go, and didn't seem to be having any luck. Well, I got in touch - and it worked out well for both of us, as I'm now going in his place! for a much lower price. The ticket arrived on Monday morning. Oh, and they've extricated that unexploded bomb, so it should be ok to head to the area.

On Friday, Helen is coming to town and we're having lunch - in Byron Burger again. And that evening, I'm off to see Faustus: That Damned Woman, at the Lyric Hammersmith.

On Saturday - why, I finally get to a UITCS social! They have them every now and again, but they're generally sometime I can't make. I go to so much with them, I'm delighted finally to be able to go to a social as well. This is on in the Phoenix Arts Club - ah, memories of happier days, when I worked in the next building over..

And on Sunday, well, initially I was thinking of film again. But wouldn't you know it, that damn film is still showing - that day only, next week! Never mind, UITCS again came to the rescue - and I'm now going with them to an operatic treatment of Alice's Adventures in the Underground, at the Opera House! We would go for a meal as well, but so many are keen that it might be difficult.. ah, the perils of popularity.