Hexhams Quiz and Curry Night - 10 October 2018

October is a cold month, and certainly begins to reinforce the fact that it is the beginning of the chilly period of the year when people start to turn up the collars of their coats, thrust their hands a little deeper into their pockets and look forward to getting home to their central heating or warm fires. The tide of warm Summer evenings has very definitely given way to those of the much cooler Autumn by this time of year and the evenings are just that bit more raw; our thoughts are certainly more aligned to evenings at home by the fire than going out in the dark and chilly evenings.

Sometimes, though, an event comes up that is enough to entice even the most reluctant of us to venture forth into the Northumbrian Countryside, especially with the tempting prospect of a curry and quiz night at the Doctor Syntax Pub to take part in one of Ed Graham's excellent and always hilarious Quizzes, courtesy of Hexham and District Motor Club. For those who remember last year's event, it was as enjoyable as an event could ever be, with a truly wonderful curry and Indian meal thrown in to warm everyone up and make them feel as welcome as it was possible to do.

This year's event, however, almost didn't come to pass when the Dr Syntax became suddenly very empty and unavailable at the eleventh hour, however Ed pulled out all the stops and with all the effort that he and his team could muster, the event took place as scheduled, albeit without the much anticipated curry (much to some of the attendees' disappointment).

Nevertheless, the event did occur, the quiz was held, the questions were just as flaky as in all the years gone past and Ed's efforts at pronouncing foreign names were just as hilarious as they have ever been. And to be fair, Ed's choice of questions was for some the highlight of the evening, as they encompassed almost everything from RallyCross to Rallying, from Hillclimbs to Historics, from Sprints to Circuits.

There were ten rounds of nominally ten questions each, however as Ed pointed out at the very beginning of the night, 'I was going to make it 100 questions, but I lost one along the way so it's 99 now'. In truth, the total number of questions was more in doubt that the answers coming from Durham Auto Club, as some sections had nine, some eleven, and some an indeterminate amount not verified by anyone at all. They did vary an enormous amount though, and that gave each and every team an equal chance of victory; not for Ed the quiz based purely on rallying, for him the excitement was to encompass all manner of motorsport trivia, and challenge every competitor along the way.

Despite the low temperature there was a relatively healthy turnout, and competition was fierce; each team doing their best to achieve the Golden Fleece: that elusive victory that only comes with a combination of general knowledge and the ability to interpret what Ed is actually asking at any one point and enter an answer that just might approximate to what he is seeking.

Final positions after a very enjoyable couple of hours answering questions and catching up with friends were as follows:

1 Whickham B 73 pts
2 Where's The Curry? 70 pts
3 Hexham MC 59 pts
4 Whickham A 52 pts
5 Durham AC 37 pts

A superb win for the Whickham B team, comprising of Brian Townsend, Gary Laverick, Matthew Price, Mick Kinghorn, Peter Metcalfe, Phil Kenny and Tosh Townsend, narrowly beating the Hadrian Team 'Where's The Curry?' by only three points. It's true to say there was much merriment and smiling faces on the night, as Ed's quizzes are always not only very enjoyable but also huge entertainment. It was such fun it should really be expanded into an Interclub Challenge, where each Club fields a team or two in a season long Quiz Challenge. Who knows? It could just have the legs and might well take off.

Many thanks must also go to all the teams who turned out to take part; you are all part of our extended Motorsport family, and we love being part of the whole thing.

Here’s looking to the next Interclub Challenge and seeing just who manages to take the spoils of victory in that one!