Fifteen of us gathered for the annual quiz. Chairs were set out, the screen erected and the mini projector connected. David Ho with helpers prepared tea and coffee. Custard creams seemed the favourite biscuit in the absence of mince pies. Having led the team that won the quiz last time round, Roger H was the compiler this year. There were fifteen of us in the hall; we were divided into 5 groups of 5, until Roger pointed out that he couldn’t be in a group! So one had to manage with just four. The questions ranged far and wide; from: which railway owned locomotives named ‘Gog’ and ‘Magog’; to the number of wheels on the ‘Decapod’, and which railway developed it; and what were the name and purpose of the one other British locomotive with same wheel arrangement?
Some questions gave rise to a number of supplements One such was How many countries did the freight train from China to Britain travel through. The answer was eight. Each country scored one point. Most people forgot poor old Belgium. Although Roger had made it clear at the beginning that the decisions on the correct answers were his and they were final, as with most pub quizzes, there was a dispute about the identity of the longest rail tunnel on mainland Britain. Roger’s answer was the Severn Tunnel but some quizzers argued that it should be the Northern Line. But Roger’s answer stayed.
After an hour or so of head scratching and counting the correct answers, the group that was declared the winner was the one led by Geoff Roberts. So he has the privilege of setting the questions for next year’s edition.
We finished, as planned, at 12 noon or thereabouts. Most of us then repaired to the ‘Red Lion’ for a Christmas Lunch. This completed a strange but ultimately successful year for EKOGG. But before we left David G reminded us that we should nominate members for the various vacancies for the committee by the end of the year.
Ross S
