One of the signatures of the pandemic has been the quiz. Sometimes these have been online, and I have noticed a number of my peers among the auctioneering and dealing fraternity – and it does always seem to be the male variety – posting pictures of objects on Facebook and Twitter, challenging their friends and followers to guess what it is or who made it.
The other type of quiz growing in popularity has been the weekly video conferencing type, with various households from the same family or friendship group coming together over a few drinks and nibbles to compete over rounds of questions on film, geography, current affairs and so forth.
In both cases, while it is pleasant to learn some esoteric facts as the answers are revealed, the real value of these events is that they act as a focus for maintaining communication when all other means of getting together are denied us.
Being the quizmaster on a video conference quiz is a bit like being on the rostrum; somehow one finds oneself surrounded by the same set of characters: the one who doesn’t understand what’s going on at all; another who keeps interrupting at the wrong moment; a third who makes regular challenges to the process…
It can be a bit stressful dealing with all of this, but the fun and camaraderie that goes alongside it means you wouldn’t miss it for the world.
