Members of the 6.30pm congregation at St Mary’s gathered on Saturday night for a quiz that was, quite frankly, a sell-out crowd. From the start, it was clear this wasn’t going to be your average, politely-nodding-along kind of evening. The rounds were terrifically well-chosen, blending cerebral challenges with tasks that required intense focus.
There was barely time to consult Google, or for one round, the Bible, before the next challenge was upon us. The ‘Are we there yet?’ round had us following Google Maps instructions and mentally navigating from St Mary’s to Maidenhead train station, the dreaming spires of Oxford, and Helsinki.
The engineering challenge was equally gripping; we were tasked to build towers out of spaghetti and marshmallows, with the winning structure soaring to a dizzying 98cm. Then there was the sauce round. Ten identical-looking jars of Tesco’s finest, ranging from ‘mildly disconcerting beige’ to ‘aggressively burnt orange’ tested our palates to the limit.
Every second counted, and in a finish that came down to the wire, the team ‘Da Yout’ won by a whisker – their youthful exuberance clearly giving them the edge in the high-pressure world of church quizzing. A huge thanks to Sarah Clube and Callum Patterson for organising such a brilliant event.