Saturday 14th October 2023 saw Sunnyside and friends meeting in Church for the Tearfund Big Quiz Night 2023 and what a fantastic time we all had! There were nine teams, totalling 60 people, plus Katie RS as Quizmaster. It was wonderful to have a wide range of attendees – from our congregation with their families and friends to parish roads neighbours, and from our gardening team to friends from other Berkhamsted Churches.

There were eight rounds complete with interesting round names! – 2022 Quiz, Arts and Culture, A Link to the Past, Nature Myth-Busters, Flags of the World, General Knowledge: Are you a cat or dog person?, Food and Drink, and A Sporting Choice. Some rounds were close scores (for example Arts and Culture ranged from 4-6) whereas others were much wider ranging (for example Flags of the World ranged from 1-6!). Finishing scores were spread out this year – from 32 to 43 (out of a possible 48 points) – and with a clear winner so no tie-break required. Where are the Smiths? (Su W, Pay W, Steve T, Karen T, Kate S, Howard S, Hannah S, Jackie H) were awarded the wooden spoon and a sweetie each (need to find out who physically took home the spoon!). The Five Pillars of Wisdom (Richard L, Julian L, Marianne L, Matt L, John K) were awarded a bag of sweets for achieving second place. But proving that good things can come in small packages, the group with the least number of participants, The Breakfast Club (Lesley B, Bernie B, Jane L, Tim L) smashed it with 43 points! As you can see from the photo, they were pleased with their sweets (and possibly future bragging rights). We also had a fun game of Heads and Tails, with Marianne L winning half of the pot! (£27.50 from a £1 stake).

At least 149 churches and 5489 other quizzers took part this year contributing to a Tearfund total of exceeding £50,000 and climbing. Since 2019, Sunnyside has raised over £2,600 for Tearfund through the quizzes. This year we’ve raised an incredible £827.10 (including gift aid) and counting – as I know some folks who were unable to attend would like to support the cause. There’s still time to donate: https://www.justgiving.com/page/katie-randall-stratton-1694624545949

Many thanks to all those who had baked for Community Cafe and allowed us to raise extra funds for Tearfund in the evening using leftovers, Stephen T for quite a bit of tech support, Rachel W and Jane C for help getting the refreshments ready, Samson RS for putting out the answer sheets etc, and to everyone working together at the end to get church back ready in record time.

I’ll let you know when we hear the 2024 save the date!