A giants life: A Questionable Pastime

Some years ago, myself, Mrs Giant68 and Mini Giant68 started going to a pub quiz. Not necessarily for the quiz but just to get out of the house and socialise with our friends. Over the years we became quite successful at the quiz and at gaining new friends. We have seen quizmasters come and go and the result now is that I, together with some of the other quizgoers run the quiz.

This all came about due to the fact that the pub landlords father had been running the quiz for a while and the landlord had decided that the time had come to move on. So Brian the Quizmaster went as well. The quiz was in danger of finishing and, therefore, the social event of our week would be no more and the friendships we made could evaporate into thin air. So I took on the task of organising it. I make sure that every Thursday there is a quizmaster, there are prizes for the various rounds, raffle tickets to sell etc. I also make sure that there are enough prints of the answer sheets and picture round sheets. I farm out the quiz to whoever wants a go. I do it every now and then, Mini Giant68 does it and a few others. I don’t want to do it every week as I like to take part in it. I like to test my knowledge against all the others. A bit selfish really, and a bit childish. But i think that human nature is such that we want to know that we are good at, or better at something than other people.

Bear in mind that we know most of the people that turn up for the quiz, we are friends, maybe not close friends but friends all the same. But they never seem to be happy. No one, apart from those of us that host the quiz, seem to realise the amount of effort that goes into writing a quiz every week. You may think that it is a piece of cake to come up with 40 or so questions every seven days, but try it. I must admit that i have learnt a few things over the last few months, do you know which national monument is painted international orange? Or what the name of Blofelds white cat is in the James Bond films? I do. But there are times when the quiz teams start to argue. We always state that the quizmaster is always right, but that is not good enough. I have to wonder sometimes why they bother coming.

And how do we stop people Googling? We can watch them while they are in the pub but now that you have to outside for a fag…?

I sometimes wonder if it is worth the effort. The time spent writing a quiz that will cater for all levels of intelligence, all genres of music, art, literature. Maybe I just need to develop a thicker skin, and realise that I can’t hope to win against people who don’t listen to music, watch films, or the news. Maybe questions about the length of time it takes for different types of paint to dry?

OK, so the Golden Gate Bridge is painted international orange and Blofelds cat is Solomon.

But what is the name of the polar bear that stands on top of the Fox’s Glacier Mint?

And which is the shortest motorway in England?