Let's Get Quizzical

11.50pm. This evening we went to the Holgate conference room, below ground floor (from the ground floor entrance at least), and "enjoyed" the quiz. In reality it was pretty gruesome. I was there before quite a number of others (i.e., Roy, Kirsten, and Paul), and the pub style quiz didn't start until about 7.20pm.

The quiz started off fairly ordinary - we named our team The Mad Physicists on Tour - and basic rounds about name that number (3.14159265, 2.99x10^8, 2.781828 etc) were fairly straightforward, but we quickly found that we lost enthusiasm for later rounds. Things were not helped by a team member who was round, orange (we nicknamed him Agent Orange) and exceedingly unpleasant in body odour (we took turns to make comments on Facebook about his all round (literally) unpleasantness), and another team member (Robbie, cardigan wearer) who despite my best efforts, remained silent throughout. Why come all this way and then say nothing? It doesn't make sense.

Agent Orange... although my camera made him appear red. Take it from me, he was orange. And smelly.

The whole list of the team names were Event Horizon, Blue 2, We Thought It Was A Disco, Mad Physicists on Tour (that would be us), Black Heads, Green With Envy, Radioactive Custard (I like that one), Deep Blue, and, most amazing of all, The Tutors. Can't imagine who was in that group...

We all headed for the bar, directly underneath the dining room. Roy and Kirsten were both knackered and didn't even make it to 9pm. But Paul and I were not ready to go to bed, so after a few pints, we sat outside under the stars with some white wine that I brought from Birmingham, and put the world to rights -- along with telling one another a few secrets. Nothing dreadfully revealing but the sort of confidences you'd share with partners and trusted friends only. Paul has become a trusted confidant, my wingman in fact, so I trust him implicitly.

It wasn't an especially late night (just as well really, as we have a lab to attend in the morning), but it felt good to be sociable, and nice to be back in an environment in which one is unconditionally accepted. Friends are not often like that and it's a lovely feeling. I only wish Paul and I lived closer to one another.