Immrama Table Quiz - a Fun Fundraiser and Brain Teaser

Last Friday night saw the first fundraiser for Immrama 2010 with the annual Table Quiz in Ballyrafter House Hotel. This is a much-anticipated event for the past few years since Immrama became a fixture on Lismore's cultural calendar.

Our not-quite-winning team - Mike, Jane, me and Alan mulling things over

Edward the local vet is the quizmaster extraordinaire who sets the questions and can always be relied on to throw a few curveball cryptic questions. It's all in good spirits and most people don't get too hung up on winning, just having a good time and enjoying the craic. There are always good prizes donated by local businesses and people and they are raffled at half-time, bringing in yet more dosh. People are very generous and despite the recession, the local arts don't seem to suffer - Immrama last year was extremely well supported by everyone who flocked to Lismore to see both celebrity and lesser known travel writers in person.

I was on a team with three friends, and we were enjoying ourselves thoroughly with no recriminations when an answer was wrong despite being sure it was definitely the right one - I tried not to be too pushy as I have a tendency to be sure I'm right when I may just be a tad wrong! I was chuffed to have the correct answer to the highest capital city in Europe (answer: Madrid at about 700m/2,100ft altitude) and we had fun deciding whether the question referred to altitude or latitude. The first round was a string of word puzzles - not just anagrams but cryptic words within words - they have done the rounds of some table quizzes lately and are great fun. How about this - "lang4uage" or "mail male"? I'll leave you to figure them out and will answer them in the comments later!

Ballyrafter is a lovely venue for the quiz . It's a country house hotel just outside Lismore, and Immrama has used it from the start in 2003 for the Literary Breakfast on the Sunday of the festival. This event is always the first one to be fully booked. Hubby was manning the computer score spreadsheet and managing any disputed scores. Our teen daughter and four of her friends were collectors on the evening (gathering up the answer sheets after each round) and ticket sellers for the raffle.

I was delighted to win two prizes - a voucher for a studio photo with a local photographer, and a ceramic pot made by friend and quiz team-mate Jane! You can see the pot in the photos here. It was the second pot I won in the Immrama table quiz - I got the narrow-necked one a few years back and now have a nice set. Investments for retirement perhaps? They are certainly unique, and she has some terrific work.

We didn't win the quiz - that accolade went to a team from Fermoy who are table quiz veterans and feared in quiz circles as unbeatable - but we were pipped at the post for 3rd place by a two tie-breaking teams in 2nd place. So we were technically 3rd but actually 4th which was great. It was a lovely evening and nice to meet friends who had come along with their teams.

Now it's countdown to the next fundraising event - Devonshire Day in March. I blogged about it last year and may do so again if there is anything different to add, and then we have the launch and festival itself to look forward to. Watch this space for updates and more info as the festival line-up unfolds over the coming months - though nothing will be revealed until the launch party.

Photos of the quiz with hubby at the raffle prize table; my raffle prized pots by Jane.