Maesteg U3A kindly hosted another inter-U3A Quiz in June 2019 at Coytrahen Community Centre. This year, there were ten teams of five members, drawn from Bridgend (2 teams), Swansea, Maesteg (2 teams), Porthcawl (2 teams), Pontyclun (2 teams) and Cowbridge (Gwerfyl, Fran, Val, Hywel and Steve), which made for a competitive afternoon.

In a change to normal practice, the refreshment break (savouries and sweets) was taken before the quiz began; were the home U3A trying to induce a post-food languor in the opposition?

The first round was on the identification of iconic buildings, with photographs being shown on a large screen, followed by science and nature questions, then humanities.

After three rounds, the Cowbridge quintet was in second place.

The next round was on the theme music to films or TV series with a “war theme”. Despite some of the tunes played sounding familiar, this was Cowbridge's worst-scoring round – 4 out of 10, which put paid to any hopes of winning.

The quiz continued with pick and mix questions. The last marking was of the tabletop question sheet, on which the Cowbridge team achieved a creditable 20 out of 20. Unfortunately, several other teams gained good scores on this round too.

The worthy winners, by two clear points, were the Porthcawl B team, with Pontyclun A in second place. The Cowbridge team finished in fifth place, a mere half a point behind the two teams that tied for third place, and only 4 points adrift of the winners.

Steve Monaghan