36 Shades of Quizical

Last night was Expats quiz night down at Lulu, it was a hot and sticky evening (fortunately I made it home just before the thunderstorm hit) but it was fractionally cooler in the bar.

Chris promised us a 'bumper holiday' quiz and he then proceeded to torment us with 36 instead of the usual 25 questions.

Emma, our quiz queen, had been bagsied as a team partner* by KP, and as it was KP's first quiz we let it go.  Emma's sister, H, and brother in law D, are visiting this week and as D works for a proper, grown up newspaper** I thought I'd have a good chance of winning with him as a running partner.  No.  He is clearly only the tea boy at the Telegraph*** as I'm sure the only question he got right was:

- where did Napoleon meet his Waterloo?  Admittedly, if left to my own devices I'd have put either France or Sweden**** but D did confess that 'Belgium' was just a good guess.

Quite how we managed to get 28/36, the top score (along with two other teams) is still beyond me. 

We were rubbish on the music round getting only 2/6 right - Chris cheated and played Donna Summer singing the Gloria Gaynor hit 'I will survive', so when having to put the artist singing for the answer I think almost everyone wrote Gloria.  There was very nearly a riot when that answer was read out!

Then there were the six questions all about abbreviations used in the internet, these were clearly compiled with the help of a teen, that was another disastrous round for us:

- ROFL.  I think everyone knows that.
- LOL. Ditto.
- AFK.  Not a clue...we were truly clueless, 'Away From Keyboard'.
- BRB.  Ditto, we were told it's 'Be Right Back'.
- IMHO - honest or humble?  Maybe it's a north/south divide?
There was clearly one other question but I left the answer sheet in the bar (either that or D hid the incriminating evidence)

We had only one round of questions about the Olympics, hardly surprising seeing as the quizmaster is Australian (10th*****) and the quiz is held in Germany (6th) and they weren't 'serious' sport questions:

- what's the colour of the middle Olympic ring?  I was adamant the top left was black...but no, at least I don't actually live and work in London, haven't been going past the Olympic emblem 
10 times per day for the last month/year.
- what nationality was the diver who became an internet star due to his backflop off the 3m board?  I knew this, because diving is my favourite Olympic sport (nothing to do with the trim bodies and tight little speedos they sport!

Then there was the round all about holiday reading matter.  We had to finish the title to the books listed on some dodgy website as THE books to read by the pool this summer:

- Fifty Shades of ?  Which brought howls of laughter from all bookgroup members there, because that's what we read this summer.
- Captain Corelli's ?  Can't believe this made a summer reading list, I read this 11 years ago at least (it was definitely before Jasmine)
- The French Lieutenant's ?  Ditto (although I haven't actually read this, yet)
- Game of ?  Thrones, in case you haven't seen the TV mini series (very good adaptation, IMHO) and I've read all the books up to now, shan't be reading the next ones though, the story is being dragged out, new characters being added at the author's whim...
- The Hunger ?  Games, if you haven't read the books or seen the first of the trilogy of films, a good story, even if it's written for teens.


All in all it was an entertaining evening, I didn't even have to walk home after my normal chauffeur left to go home to bed (thanks KP for risking turning into a pumpkin and dropping me home) I came away with a dinner/bbq organised for Saturday and what looks like a girlie weekend in London in early December to see Naked Boys Singing... 

Congrats to Karen and Emma for winning the quiz, how many wins is that Emma?
Edit: oops, it wasn't Emma & Karen that won (although they did also get the 28/36 score) the congrats should go to Ve & Hannah.  Sorry guys, I blame the fizz.

* Chris only lets us have teams of two, because we're all so good at trivia (not).
** which prints world events and not just gossip.
*** I think it's the Telegraph that pays his wages, but that could just be a vicious rumour. 
**** think Eurovision.
***** position in the overall medal table, I seem to remember the host nation coming 3rd, squeezed between China and Russia

Run Rabbit

On Saturday I ran in a "Women's Lauf" in Cologne, only 5k, but that was quite far enough.

I've done these runs before, in England, but there they are always promoted as sponsored runs, with all the proceeds going to breast cancer charities.

I ignorantly thought that this would be the same idea, the fact that it was for women only and the T-shirts being pink emphasised that in my little head.

No.

We were never at any point encouraged to raise money for any charity and I have the feeling that all the proceeds from entrance fees and T-shirt purchases went straight into the coffers of the organisers.  Sad eh?  What a missed opportunity.

As to the day itself...it was hot...it was busy...it was also good fun.

My friend Marianne had suggested it months and months ago and we were four, we just needed a friend from Africa then we'd have had all the continents covered M joked, there was me, Natalia (Russia), Sing (Singapore) and Marianne (Mexico), but in total there were well over 6000 runners, I'd say "women" but as there were several men in drag* I wont.

The warm up session was a zumba class**, would have been better if we'd been closer to the stage then we could have seen what we should do with our legs - all we could see was the waist up!  And then we had to find the starting line, or rather the queue to the starting line, which was when S and I lost M & N.

here we are in the midst of the starting crush
waiting for the B of bang.

The route, once we eventually got through the starting gates, was reasonably scenic, along the Rhein (past many beer gardens, full of people relaxing in the summer sun) and past an entertaining oompa band, through a bottle neck, over the bridge, along the other bank of the Rhein, up some steps (didn't run up the steps - couldn't (and wouldn't have anyway) because everyone was walking up them) over another bridge, past the oompa band again and then looped back to the starting point.  As we were going over the 2nd bridge we were trying to work out how much further there was, I'd seen the 1km marker but no others and S had seen none, she tried to convince me that there was less than 1km to go and then we went past the 4km sign.  I was gutted.  But I made it.  Thanks to S, who is much younger and fitter than I am and is used to running considerably longer distances too, a couple of times along the course I told her to run ahead if she wanted to, but no, she said we'd stay together which was great, because I know I'd have walked that last 1km if she hadn't been there too!

The atmosphere during the afternoon was amazing, people clapping and cheering along the pavements, cars hooting and at one point an ICE was slowing down to come into the main station and sounded its horn (it was very, very loud, but then he was only a matter of metres away) and once we got through the finish line there were stalls with fresh fruit and water and even beer (hey, it's Germany***) but all I wanted to do was get home and showered.

Unfortunately this run has exacerbated a pre-existing foot problem of mine so now I'm limping around like a 60year old and wont be able to run for sometime!

* odd that, it's advertised as a women's race, presumably with the idea that women feel safer running with just other women...

** it's the latest fitness craze, although as M commented, Mexican women have been dancing like that for years and suddenly it's the next big thing.

*** I think it was alcohol free beer, but we couldn't be bothered to queue, so I can't confirm that rumour!

Sunday Snaps 124

Saturday I & three friends took part in a "Womens' Run".

5K alongside the Rhine in Cologne on a hot, sunny weekend afternoon, it seemed like a good idea back in March.  

This was taken by a friend of one of the girls I was running with, I'm in the black cap, we're queued up waiting for the start.

Sundy Snaps 123

A week ago I was lying in the sun in Spain (this was a view from the sun lounger)  
We flew back last Monday and I have now caught up on the washing and ironing, just in time for friends to visit.
Haven't quite got back into the blogging zone though, sorry.  
Will try harder....