December CHRISTMAS Challenge

The  Christmas  Quiz  night  and  Annual  Competition  was attended by 36 members and 11 guests, including Les Thorne who is our honorary member, giving a total of 47 on the night. The evening consisted of the usual general knowledge Quiz of eight subjects, the Raffle, a magnificent spread of food created by Susan  Barnes, and the  Club  Christmas  Challenge.  The subject of this year’s challenge was “Something powered by Wind” with prizes going to the ‘Most aesthetically Pleasing’, and the ‘Most Functional’. The wind was provided by a Hair Dryer and / or a fan. All Competition entries were placed on the display table at the beginning  of  the  evening so  members  and  visitors  could examine and check them over at their leisure. The quiz this year was compared by our very own Mike Dutton(who also doubles as our HWA Treasurer) who took to the stage to quell the rebellious hordes should there be any dissent from the members, and to host the evening. Members and their guests arrived and took their places at the tables (some armed with alcohol from the bar). There was a total of six teams who each gave themselves some pretty bizarre Team Names.

The rules of the evening were explained by Mike who basically said that the Compere is always right if there is a contested answer…!The subjects of the quiz were “Christmas”, “Connections 1” and  “Connections  2”, followed  by  the “Picture  Round”, “Movies”, “Who am I”, “Sport” and “General Knowledge” rounds.

After Round 4 we had the break for the Fabulous Festive Food that was very kindly, and very professionally, prepared by Susan Barnes, with free Tea and Coffee, produced by our famous Tea and Coffee makers. During this half-time break our illustrious Chairman Dave Gibbard invited all the five (5) members who had produced items for the Competition to “Display their Wares”. Unbeknown to most of us Dave Gibbard had secretly recruited some select members of the congregation to act as Judges for the “Most Aesthetic” aspect of the Christmas Competition entries. These covert judges had done their work and reported their findings back to Dave, who then invited the entrants to take their creations up to the stage where the electric hairdryer and fan were waiting. The winner of ‘The most Functional’ aspect of the challenge was to be decided by the volume and longevity of clapping from the crowd, with Dave G being the adjudicator.

The first entry was a set of beautifully turned ‘Christmas Trees’ made by Brian Eyley. Brian had  turned  a selection  of  trees, each tree was a different size, but each had a rounded base  so  that it freely wobbled. The trees were randomly placed on  the table by Brian who then selected and  turned  on the hairdryer,  they all realistically  wobbled and  swayed  in  the  breeze  from  the hairdryer and looked great. An effective and lovely piece to grace any Christmas display.