There is a lot of improvisation with the cooking this evening and a real emphasis on the fast as we’re running late. Ben decides to get everybody’s shoes out and start taking photos of them just before the rain descends. We draw names from the hat to decide the quiz teams for the evening and by the power of Springsteen we speed to Llanbardan. It is soon very clear that some of the teams are taking the quiz more seriously than others. Lucy has arrived with a large plastic folder that presumably contains her team’s revision notes!
And now to introduce the teams- the Quiz Wigs with their team captain Lucy, Ben, Rosa and Megan. Tom’s Tarts with team captain Tom, Louise, Femke, Tomoko and Kathryn and finally Brian’s Swollen Ankle Paul, Gillan, Charlotte and team captain Brian. The obligatory team photos are snapped and pumped up we head into the heart of the Black Lion to commence battle and flex the cerebral powers of Cerbyd collectively.
The Black Lion is a stereotypical pub in a small village in West Wales but not one local bats an eyelid as the Quiz Wigs enter looking like extras from the Rocky Horror Picture Show. I spy the Cerbyd Quiz poster up behind the bar and get the drinks into quench the thirst of my erudite colleagues.
The quiz kicks off with Martyn the Quiz Master in total control. There is one rather contentious moment where things threaten to boil over. The disagreement typically involves art, specifically the name change of the Tate Britain. After some unnecessary and frankly embarrassing heated shouts from members of the Cerbyd team things start to settle down again. Martyn sticks to his guns and is not swayed.
A great Quiz Master never allows the facts to get in the way of a good quiz. Louise’s knowledge of the first testament is rather impressive and the half time scores in reverse order are the Quiz wigs on 34, Brian’s swollen ankle with 37 ½ and Tom’s Tarts in the lead on 43.
After rushing to cook and eat dinner, shock sweeps across the faces of the Cerbyd contingent as it is announced that there will be lunch at the half time interval of the quiz. It’s proper old school pub quiz grub too. Sausage, chips with buttered bread come out on silver plated platters and everyone from Cerbyd gets stuck in. None more so than Tomoko, who has only recently discovered the ground meat goodness of sausage. Cerbyd return for the second half of the quiz plumper and slightly sleepier than before but quickly the brains are ticking over again as Martyn fires the questions off.
The final scores are in! In last place is Brian’s Swollen Ankle with 53 ½, the Quiz Wigs come in second on 54 but Tom’s Tarts are the run away winners with 59. My team celebrate respectfully and there are three cheers and a pint of bitter for Martyn for being quizmaster and such a willing host. Needless to say the regular quiz teams score handsomely and leave Cerbyd in a league of their own.
Before we leave there is time for the wigs to be put to great use as a look-a-like competition featuring the Cerbyd captains keeps the whole pub amused. The penultimate day of Cerbyd’s adventure is nearly up with the group wanting to stay up late and savour every last moment but not one of us can muster the energy and soon we are sleeping soundly.
