I am sitting in the cold but clean flat waiting for the inspector to come to officially close out our residency in the mews so I fear I may not have time to do last night's final quiz (for now) justice.
Bill's friend Graham threw a fabulous leaving do for him at work. Complete with blog photo slide show, a card signed by all and a little parting gift - Churchill the Hedgehog. He became our quiz mascot.
Which was a better mascot than a cucumber - - we found this in Jules' handbag. Don't ask...
When I arrived, Claudia came over to tell me that there was a bottle of wine waiting for me. My wonderful friend Kats called the pub yesterday to order a bottle for my last night as a surprise!!! Thank you, my friend! It was delicious.
The whole gang was there. We were really touched that everyone came early to eat with us before the quiz. Ollie had an early flight to Germany in the morning but came to see us off and quiz with us one last time.
Chris allowed us to have one big team - Weak Orchestra - of 10 people!
Chris allowed us to have one big team - Weak Orchestra - of 10 people!
Jerry, Jules, Ann-Maria, Cat, Mike, Ollie, Sophie, Robert, Jen, Bill
I don't really remember what a couple of these pictures were supposed to be…look happy with your mouth open?
This was supposed to be some sort of religious experience.
Everyone wants to play with Churchill.
turns out hedgehogs like beer. Even when they are stuffed.
Ann Maria and her American parents.
Whatever is happening here, I'm sure it's NOT Jules cheating on the quiz.
So how about some quiz questions?
What toffee-like confection was produced by 3 rival companies in Doncaster in 1948?
What happened between January 17, 1991 and February 28, 1991?
The Oomoa Loompas were in what movie?
What was the currency of The Netherlands before the euro?
What island was Father Ted from?
In the Owl and The Pussycat, what did the dish run away with?
Who was born Paul Hewson?
Who is the twin of Pollux in the constellation of Gemini?
Bessie Warfield was born in the US, died in France and is buried near Windsor Castle - how is she better known?
Who said Catholics need not breed like rabbits?
Bill and I agreed that Mike is a great actor trapped in an actuary. Whenever Bill throws out direction, Mike embraces it fully and give it his all.
Quiz Answers: (and yes, we did win but with 10 people how could we not?)
What toffee-like confection was produced by 3 rival companies in Doncaster in 1948? Butterscotch
What happened between January 17, 1991 and February 28, 1991? Desert Storm
The Oomoa Loompas were in what movie? Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
What was the currency of The Netherlands before the euro? The Guilder
What island was Father Ted from? Craggy Island
In the Owl and The Pussycat, what did the dish run away with? The Spoon
Who was born Paul Hewson? Bono
Who is the twin of Pollux in the constellation of Gemini? Castor
Bessie Warfield was born in the US, died in France and is buried near Windsor Castle - how is she better known? Wallis Simpson
Who said Catholics need not breed like rabbits? The Pope
After the quiz, Chris came over to spend a few minutes with us.
I don't think you can see it but Jules scratched in all the girls names in the glitter on her phone cover : Cat, Jules, Jen, Soph, AM
Now we are with her wherever she goes.
I hate good byes.
We will definitely be back at the Victoria as soon as we can.
We couldn't have a send off without a little sparkle.
I've had these tiny Fortnum and Mason sparklers for yonks and since I can't pack them for the flight - they needed to be burned!
Bill lit them from his cigar.
Look how happy everyone is. I feel like I've discovered the cure for sadness - light up a sparkler and suddenly everyone is having a good time.
But wait - all good acts end with a big dance number - the girls break into a tap.
It was really hard to say goodbye at the end of the night. It took a lot of effort not to become a puddle outside Ann Maria's building.
We loved every minute of being in England but we spent the first two years as tourists trying to collect experiences to bring back with us. It wasn't until we met this group that London truly became our home - a place where we belonged. We love London but we love our friends even more.
This is not the end. We will be back and we hope that you will come visit us. We will be friends forever and years from now when people ask how we all met we will say that a pub quiz brought us together back when Jen and Bill were on assignment. We'll start reminiscing about memories we haven't even made yet and the day that we had to fly home won't feel like such a big deal after all. xo
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