After an absence of two years, the Cowbridge Rotary Club Grand Charity Quiz was back, albeit on a smaller scale, with only 15 teams, each of four members, competing (there were 28 factions in 2019 and 30 in 2018). There was also a noticeable decrease in the slickness of the operation compared to previous years – ring-rustiness, perhaps?
There were two official Cowbridge u3a teams, The Dragons* and The Wizards**, with a few other u3a members being spread around the opposing foursomes.
The contest began with a tabletop picture round, with 5 connections also to be found from the answers. There was an “alphabet” music round featuring artists and their songs, as well as standard rounds of questions on a variety of subjects. A joker could be played on one of the last four rounds, which meant the points scored would be doubled.
The Wizards were running in fourth place at the interval, but were unable to improve on that position, despite high scoring in the last two rounds. Finishing with a score of 223, they were just three points behind the joint second place teams, but 26 behind the winners, who registered a mighty total of 249.
The Dragons registered a creditable final tally of 198, actually outscoring The Wizards in the second half of the competition.
Once again, it was a very agreeable social event, with the wine flowing, where the big winners were the Rotary charities.
The composition of the Cowbridge teams essentially depends on who is available and willing to participate in u3a and charity quizzes, rather than the desire to have an elite squad. If you would like to join the membership pool, you will be extremely welcome – just contact Fran and Hywel Davies, the Quiz Group Leaders.

Steve Monaghan

* Gwerfyl, Jean, Peter and Ian
** Fran, Valerie, Hywel and Steve