A Little Extreme Quizzing

It’s Friday evening, and I’ve now completed what in real terms has been 12 days of the job without a break. This is the excuse I offer you for having posted no news questions last weekend, and for not doing it again this weekend. Oh, don’t misunderstand me, I’m not asking for sympathy. I thoroughly enjoyed last weekend in Disneyland Paris, and the children ( and the other staff ) were a pleasure to be with for the majority of the trip. In fact I did make a small contribution to the cause of Extreme Quizzing, by producing a Disney Quiz for the bus. The first two rounds were straight Disney questions. I read out the first set between Neath and Severn Bridge, and the second set between Leigh Delamere and Reading Services.

Now, I did used to think I was too competitive in a quiz. No bones about it, I AM too competitive in a quiz – can’t help it, it’s just how I am. But let me tell you, my worst tantrums are nothing compared to two of my colleagues who were with me. To be fair to the pair of them they have terrific knowledge of Disney – better than mine, and I thought I was no slouch on the subject either. I thought that they were going to lynch me when they were caught out by one question in the first round – what is the name of Mulan’s dragon companion in Mulan ? Mind you, they couldn’t remember the name of the villain in the Incredibles – Syndrome – either, and there’s really no excuse for that. I love the Incredibles.

The second section of the quiz we did when we were about an hour away from Paris. This one I didn’t prepare earlier, but used a CD for. 20 Disney songs, name the film from which the song is taken. For ground rules we agreed that the only acceptable answer was the one on the sleeve of the CD. However this did lead to one contentious answer. Tigger’s song – you know the one – “The wonderful thing about Tiggers, is tiggers are wonderful things. Their tops are made out of rubber, their bottoms are made out of springs etc. etc. “Now, the answer on the sleeve, and so the answer I had said I’d accept was “The Tigger Movie”. But surely this song was also sung in one of the much earlier Winnie the Pooh shorts . In fact I’d lay odds that Tigger first appeared in “Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day” , and sang the song as well. Answers on a postcard to that one. A small footnote as well. The great Robert B. Sherman, who, with his brother Richard, wrote so many great songs for Disney passed away on the fifth of this month.

I saved the final round for the journey home on Sunday, and the long drag from the hotel at Disneyland to Calais. I used the Disney Trivial Pursuit DVD quiz. Which was a bit of an eye opener for me, as I didn’t know that Disney had even ever made a film called Atlantis. Adding up all the questions, there was a possible maximum of 94 points. To give you an idea of my colleagues’ obsession, their team scored a fantastic 91, and even then moaned about the Mulan question ! Thankfully they were ineligible to receive a prize. The top pupils’ team scored 86, though, which was certainly worth a prize I thought.

I only really mention this as it’s the first time I’ve ever organized a quiz which has taken place over a couple of days. Good fun, and at least it distracted the attention on the way home from the driver, who was using his hands free headset to have an angry hour and a half phone conversation with his wife who had apparently been seen b one of his mates out at 4 in the morning. I’m not exaggerating this. It was like an episode of Eastenders, only without the laughs and the feelgood factor one always associates with that fun packed half hour.