Kids’ Lit Quiz World Final Part 3

Yes, it’s food! A wonderful mixture of the plain, the unusual and the exotic – yes that is an octopus tentacle attached to my fork (and it tasted very nice too!). It’s not related to a Lit Quiz question, but was the plate of food I consumed at the dinner after the quiz. The dinner was a most entertaining affair. I got to sit between two contestants, one from the N. Ireland team and one from the S. African team. Both young people were easy to chat to and enjoying their time in Oxford immensely.

I will say one thing for the three main organisers of this event – Jackie Atkinson, Gaynor Cooper and Barbara Hickford - they didn’t miss a trick. The venue, the food, the drink … every detail had been thought through and a most elegant solution provided. I know they worked very hard at the fundraising in order to be able to host the final. Sponsors for events like this are always hard to come by, but they begged, borrowed and scrounged on a scale beyond the imagination of most. Well done the ladies!

Phillip Pullman was called on to say a few words. As one would expect, he spoke elegantly and with passion.

Unfortunately the photos I took of Phillip giving his talk were all a little blurred, as I had my camera on maximum zoom at the time. You’ll have to make do with this one and pretend I’m not lurking!

Wayne Mills, the quizmaster spoke for some time, thanking everyone and handing out lots of gifts to various dignitaries and sponsors, but possibly the most elequent of all were the youngsters. One member of each team stood up and gave a short speech on their favourite book and why the rest of us should take time to read it. The choices were varied and interesting … and not what I would have expected at all. Not a Harry Potter in sight!  Each spoke with clear passion and confidence, which was most impressive given the size and composition of the audience they were speaking to. My best wishes go out to all those who took part. It was a fantastic event and I look forward to seeing some of the organisers again later in the year for the next set of heats.