We were doing well throughout the well-organized quiz, in the top three out of ten tables. By the end, however, we had slipped to fourth. Pops won a box of chocolates as a raffle prize, but he complained that those weren't the ones he liked. He looked greedily at the huge boxes of Cadbury's Milk Trays that went to other lucky contestants. The big child. I mollified him by saying we could swap out the sweets we had put in my godson's (Diddum's) as yet unposted present; it is becoming his xmas present at this stage. I got a bag full of bath goodies.
After Glenda the Good Witch had distributed the prizes for the winners, there were some prizes left over. She asked all those who hadn't won anything to stand up. People from three tables stood, including Corkman and Galway Girl. Each table was instructed to send one representative to the front of the room. We nominated Corkman. Glenda picked a topic for each of the three people. One guy got Literature, another got Science, and Corkman got Music.
Corkman was the last of the three to get his question. In his case, however, Glenda decided that he had to perform. She said to win a prize, Corkman had to sing Leonard Cohen's "Passing Through" song. The place erupted in laughter, and Pops turned to me in consternation. "Oh, poor Corkman, she is putting him on the spot terribly," he worried. I shook my head, still laughing at Glenda's stunt. "Are you kidding?" I replied. "We won't be able to get him to stop."
Sure enough, he took off his glasses and launched into song, complete with his generous arm gestures. Some of the audience joined in the chorus. After the second verse, Glenda and others tried to get him to stop. Everyone's cheering and applauding finally convinced him.Corkman and Galway Girl took the brother and Pops back home before heading to our local. I headed off into town, having made alternative arrangements. Great night.
