'Where in The World' Quiz Night, 7 Dec 2016

I must say, not being one who spends their time boeying the planet for enjoyment, I found Wednesday's Quiz night hard going - some 86 snaps from anywhere and everywhere, many from places I hadn't even heard of, and we were expected say where they were.

The locations varied from the celestial (the Milky Way) to the macabre (a granite slab Aztecs used to sacrifice maidens to appease the gods). As if it wasn't hard enough for people like me, there were deliberate attempts to throw us off the scent with multicultural references. Thus we had a Ukrainian parade in national costume in Toronto, and a statue of Charlie Chaplin at the Chinese New Year celebrations in Leicester Square.

Many contributors insisted that clues were to be found in their pictures. A tiny part of a flag lurking in a corner of the picture.. a signpost with wording beyond the resolution of the projector. Do me a favour!

But when it came to totting up the scores at the end of the evening, all the teams deserve credit for how well they actually did. Congratulations to the winning team for an outstandingly good score (no-one actually remembers what it was!). So well done Anne, Martin, Dave S and Abi. It was Abi's first visit to the club - so nice to meet you Abi and we hope to see you again soon.

It was a great evening enjoyed by everyone and good practice incidentally for anyone expecting a couple of rounds of Trivial Pursuits after their Christmas dinners. Thank you Mark for organising the evening to ensure its success.

When the President of the SPA Kathy McLenaghan visited PhotoCraft earlier in the year, Mark's wistful side-glances at her Chain of Office did not escape our notice! So at the end of the evening, Mandy presented Mark with something we knew he secretly coveted. Apologies for having to compromise on the materials, but knowing he has a sweet tooth, we felt that chocolate money would be a suitable substitute for gold medallions.

I am sure everyone will want to join me in wishing Mark a very a happy and enjoyable Christmas. Mark has worked like stink all year to make sure the club runs smoothly. Not only has he taken the Chair and kept the website up to date, but with Aodan away, he has also been helping out on the club secretary front, organising the programme and publicity.

All this would be a full time job for many of us (he does one of those as well). All taken in his stride without a murmur of complaint, so please accept a big thank you Mark from all of us. And have a great Christmas in Iceland - keep safe and wrap up warm!