Greenwich, National Maritime Museum, Old Royal Naval College, Cutty Sark, Hawksmoor church, pub quiz: Lynn News Bar Man in London

Bar Man by Jeff Hoyle

The lockdown and then an ill-timed dose of Covid have prevented me heading down to Blackheath in South East London for a few years, but recently I was once again invited down to be quizmaster at a local church fundraising event.

It’s no hardship to visit this fascinating corner of London, with time on Saturday to wander across the heath where my father spent some of the war on an anti-aircraft battery defending London against incoming bombers.

These days it is a far more friendly place with semi organised sports games, kite flying, fitness groups and dog walkers making the most of the wide green expanse. After taking in the majestic view of the dockland skyscrapers, we walked down through Greenwich Park to explore this fascinating area.

If you haven’t been, it should be high on the list for your next visit to the capital.

The National Maritime Museum, the Old Royal Naval College and the Cutty Sark are fairly well known, but wandering round by the river, through the market or checking out chance discoveries such as the local church designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, one of only six in the capital, is just as enjoyable.

Still, this was just a prelude for the main event and we loaded the vehicles and set off for the church hall a couple of hours in advance. The reason for this early departure soon became clear.

There were tables to erect and chairs to set out. Tablecloths, fresh flowers, napkins, cutlery, pens and paperwork to distribute.

Meanwhile the food was arriving, all cooked by volunteers. Bread needed slicing, crisps, water jugs and glasses circulated. The mobile bar was set up with excellent beer brewed by a volunteer and professionally dispensed from kegs an attractive alternative to the wine and soft drinks.

Soon it was time to check the sound system, take the entrance money, sell the raffle tickets and crack on with an enjoyable evening which seemed to go very well. I had the easy task, of asking the questions, and entertaining the masses. All too soon it was over, and the tasks repeated in reverse.

Half an hour later it was as though we had never been there. Lots of people put in a massive effort to make it all happen, but was it worth it? With 90 people attending at £20 per head added to the raffle proceeds and bar takings, the total profit from the event was £1,993 all for a homeless charity in Lewisham to add to the £11,000 that All Saints had already raised over the preceding year, so yes.

But more than that, everyone had a very enjoyable time.

I saw a letter in the Lynn News commenting on all the articles that referenced alcohol recently and I guess that all except my column were negative. It is good to remember that a pint or glass of wine can be a pleasure sometimes. True, the event could have gone ahead without alcohol, and indeed I limited myself to one pint as I was performing, but I don’t think it would have been so enjoyable.

I was pleased to win a two pint carry out in the raffle and be presented with a large bottle of beer for my efforts, both of which were consumed with great enjoyment. I have a couple of quizzes coming up closer to home in the next few weeks.

We won’t raise as much money, but the entry will be cheaper and I hope that we will have just as much fun aided by a moderate amount of beer.