We had a ball! (unlike England ;)

So, how do you follow up a dire Word Cup performance from our not-so-on-form-but-quite-possibly-better-than France Three Lions? Simple, host a marvellous night of quiztastic food fun in the middle of Victoria Country Park! And, despite a small Siberian spell creeping in towards late evening, and several peeps disappearing under a small avalanche of blankets, its aim to be fun was definitely fulfilled.

Now, if you’ve spent long enough on this planet, then you’ll know that entertainment comes in a variety of forms: one strand being the pub quiz (fully exportable to a set of picnic benches in a field.)

However, that didn’t quite prepare me for The Van Lieshout version of the perennial favourite; hers was a devilishly brain-taxing one, pitched somewhere between  the Krypton Factor and Mastermind, with a little hint of ScreenTest (kids do come in handy from time to time.) Round after round were punctuated with the groans of “why didn’t I pay more attention to .......the closing credits of Dr Who ......those Harry Potter books gathering dust on the shelf” And, as for the mental challenge round, well, thank goodness for all those endearing Rainman types we share our world with ....I mention no names ;)

But what about the barbeque itself: well, it was a perfectly timed feast, all lovingly cooked and tended to by a small army of flame-retardant coated people, with plenty left for a late round of Shaggy Sandwich stacking. Very nice!

At this point I should also mention some of comedy performances of the evening: a hula-hooping demonstration from Steve which actually managed to accelerate the descent of a hoop faster than gravity would normally allow; some egg-ceedingly (ouch!) good spoon holding and balancing (but why walk like a chicken too?) and a frustratingly poor performance from myself and my three-legged partner (of which only one leg was contributed) due to the inadequacy of masking tape; professionals need gaffer tape don’t you know!

Anyway, a thoroughly great evening and really looking forward to the next.

And before I forget, on behalf of everyone in attendance, I’d like to say a massive thank you to the organisers. It’s always appreciated!!

Paul