Convenors' Mystery Run and BBQ
23 April 2016 / Words: Tony & Iris McDonald; Photos: Rick Andrews & Peter Le
28 starters for the Mystery Run and BBQ met at 9.30 a.m. at Blamey Square, Russell, on a cloudy morning with rain a distinct possibility – and for the first time in a long while, the MX5s had to share the parking with the Corvette Club which had also decided to use the site as their start point for a club run.
After Iris briefed all drivers and navigators, they were flagged off at roughly 2 minutes’ intervals to try their luck with the myriad of questions on the Mystery Run questionnaire! Participants had to be particularly alert to spot the answers to questions, most of which could be seen from their cars without the need to stop.
As soon as all had departed, Iris rushed off to the finish point (Judy and Rick’s residence in Gundaroo) to assist Judy, Rick, Mike, and Tony with setting up tables and chairs, positioning the BBQ trailer, and finalising the food preparation. Feeding a crowd of 33 whilst keeping to a tight budget was demanding, but as it turned out, some of our members must have been on a diet, as there was – as usual – ample food for all.
While Tony took time out to check and score the completed questionnaires, the Two Mikes (Guina & Masters) turned their very proficient hands to cooking the sausages and onions to perfection. All enjoyed the repast, but few could be encouraged to have ‘seconds’!
Towards the end of lunch, Tony and Iris revealed the correct answers to questions, and received some jovial feedback as to the pedantry evident in the marking regime. But as all soon realised, the judges’ ruling was final! As it turned out, two teams of partners drew on scores, so a quiz was conducted to separate the semi-finalists. The first question was answered incorrectly, the second question drew a deathly hush, but the third provided a win to Carol and Graeme Field. Well done to these relatively new chapter members! And last but not least, the Wooden Spooner’s prize went to Mike and Anita Guina – who accepted their wooden spoon with good grace.
So in summary, a fun day was had by all, with the rain holding off for the entire day. Following the clean-up after participants had departed, Rick, Judy, Tony & Iris sat down to a well-deserved cuppa and a chat about the next major event, the Chapter’s 20th Anniversary Lunch in July.
