Chair’s blog: Big Quiz raises smiles and thousands of pounds for charity

More than £3,000 was raised for a charity which works locally when the Chair of Three Rivers District Council hosted her Big Quiz Night for more than 160 participants. Cllr Debbie Morris looks back on a fun-packed evening.

At 6.30pm last Saturday night, the doors to Watersmeet opened for the Big Quiz Night. It had been months in the planning and excitement levels were mounting. 164 quizzers wandered into the auditorium - some with drinks in hand - to the strains of wonderful live jazz being played by the Howard Morgan Trio. The scene was set.

I welcomed the eager crowd and then Bryan Jukes, our excellent quizmaster, got the quiz going. Two rounds in and the food arrived: delicious fish pies and vegetarian lasagne made by Harry Kyriakou of The Corner Plaice in Croxley Green. These went down exceedingly well!

Raffle tickets then went on sale. There were almost 20 prizes to be won including dinner at The Grove Hotel and golf at Sandy Lodge Golf Club.

Following another four rounds of questions and the marathon round, the winners were announced - who barely dropped a point throughout - a stunning performance.

The Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire, Robert Voss CBE CStJ, drew the raffle. It was great to see the delighted faces of those with the winning tickets as they came up to choose their prize.

The Big Quiz Night was in aid of my chosen charity, Pets As Therapy . More than £3,000 was raised, which included a significant donation from Lidl.

There was a tremendous buzz in the room on Saturday night. Everyone seemed to have a great time and most importantly, a huge sum was made for Pets As Therapy. Thank you to everyone who participated and volunteered to make the Big Quiz Night such a success. I spent Sunday on the sofa recovering!

PHOTO: Ann Johnson, Deputy Mayoress of Dacorum, Cllr Alan Johnson, Deputy Mayor of Dacorum, Celia Voss, Robert Voss CBE CStJ, Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire, Barbara Graham, Mayoress of Hertsmere and John Graham, Mayor of Hertsmere. Andrew Morris and Cllr Debbie Morris, Chair, Three Rivers District Council.