Cultureseekers History & Culture Quiz: London - Then & Now! & St. Patrick's Festival

Well, it's been another hectic week - so it wasn't until last night that I had a look to see whether there was anything on Meetup for today, and which hadn't been on when I last looked. And lo! there was something for lunchtime today. Cultureseekers had advertised a quiz on London scenes - guess the location, each of which was compared with an old, black and white photo of the same scene: some side-by-side some merged! Now, Cultureseekers has been on my radar for years - I know people in it, and they do seem a very busy group. But I was put off by the membership fee. Well, now it seems, you don't have to pay to attend - full membership, however, costs £13 per year, which includes some free events, some discounted events, as well as discounts around London. But that's optional. And this was free. So I signed up.

I was the 71st to RSVP - not by any means the last though, the final list had 84. I joined the call about 10 minutes early, to find I was the 13th.. in the end, we had a max of 75 (including one from New York), not all of whom stayed. But you do get that with free events. Now, with few on the call that I knew, and so many attendees.. I lurked, muted and with camera off. Well, you can relax that way, right?

The conversation was a bit overwhelming, even with only a handful of people talking - many were talking over each other. The organiser didn't participate, until it was time for the quiz - 25 questions, each comprising either a pair of photos, or two that had been merged. And apart from the intrigue of trying to guess the answers, it was just fantastic to see what clever merges had been created, and how the various places had changed during the last 100 years or so:

(This wasn't one of the photos used, but gives you a good idea of the kind of thing we were looking at.) Anyway, it was great fun - the very first photo up was of the Palace Theatre, just up the road from where I used to work, on Shaftesbury Avenue! The number of times I passed it.. Mind you, the question as to which road it was on was a bit mean, as the entrance is actually on Charing Cross Road..

In common with most of the people who revealed their scores, I got most right - there were some easy ones, like Smithfield Market, some I got after a bit of thought - I was delighted to spot Cheapside, by means of the little food kiosk on the left, which only takes cash, and which I tried just once. (Of course, I used to work on Cheapside too.) Good job I've spent most of my time around the centre though - I wouldn't have known half as many if I'd still been based in West Kensington. Fell down on bridges and football stadiums - but I had a respectable score, and as I say, it was fun.

Not much chat afterwards - but there could hardly have been, with so many people. Anyway, people almost immediately started signing off - and what a cacophony, with everyone talking over each other again. Similarly, there was a flurry of messages to the event page after. But they do seem a friendly crowd. I believe this quiz is weekly - might check them out again. I don't know why Meetup never suggested them, when I was looking for something to do.

It's nearly two weeks now since St. Patrick's Day. And what with the pandemic raging harder than ever, of course it was all online this year - at least they had more time to prepare than last year! And they did us proud, with a week's worth of festivities - most available on the festival website, and for free. I hadn't had time to see everything I wanted to, but luckily, it's still there to watch. Which is what I decided to do after the quiz, when there was a lull in decent programmes.

I finished the Foil Arms & Hog videos - they're a comedy trio that I know to be good. And afterwards, I watched an introduction to sean-nós (old-style) dancing - a traditional Irish style. A pleasant end to the afternoon. And yes, there's still plenty on the website for me to check out.