Xmas Q uiz

ested then please contact me via the e-mail address below and I will provide further details of what is involved. Alternatively, please feel free to speak to any members of the Training Team.

Associate Group Training (AGT)

Attendances of trainees wishing to participate in an observed ride remained high for the October (8 Associates) and November (6 Associates & 3 Full Members signed up for FTFM) AGTs. Thank you to Mick Hewitt and Colin Digby for their efforts in organising these days and handling allocations.

The next AGT will be held on Sunday, 12th December. Please ensure that you arrive at the Beryl Platt Centre, 12-14 Redwood Drive, Writtle, Chelmsford, CM1 3LY, with a full tank of fuel by 09:15 for a 09:30 start.

There is no need to pre-book – you can just turn up on the day. Attendees are requested to use face coverings inside. You may also stay outside if you wish but please ensure that the Observer at the allocations desk is aware of your attendance.

Please be aware that we request a £10 charge from each member participating in training at AGTs to cover the Group’s expenses.

Associate Member Training / Full Member Training

We only had 1 Full member and 1 Associate booked for the final 2021 AMT/ FMT day, held on Sunday, 24th October.

John Tipper puts a lot of effort into organising the AMT/ FMT days, which provide an excellent opportunity to help you develop your riding skills over longer routes that you are unlikely to be familiar with. We really hope to see higher numbers of attendees in 2022 – please check out the available dates in the new Events Diary elsewhere in this issue of TUG and get your bookings in early!

BMW Club Track Days 2022

If you wish to explore your bike’s capabilities a little further that would be wise on the road then the BMW ‘rider friendly’ track days offer a very enjoyable and popular option. These days are restricted to road legal bikes only. You also do not have to ride a BMW! Provisional (and as yet unconfirmed) dates for 2022 are:

 Monday 9th May, Cadwell Park;  Monday 23rd May, Snetterton;  Monday 18th July, Cadwell Park; and  Monday 15th August, Snetterton.

These events are very popular and spaces fill up quickly. You do not need any previous track experience. Free coaching is available, should you require any assistance. For the latest information check out: www.thebmwclub.org.uk/ sportingregister/

Robert Bensley is the organiser and may be contacted via: robertbensley@btinternet.com

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Should any members have any training related queries then please contact me via e-mail to training@eamg.org.uk , or on 07570 992801 or speak to the most relevant member of the Training Team.

EAMG XMAS Quiz 2021

Chris Johnson

(mug shot courtesy of DVLA)

The EAMG Christmas quizzes tend to follow the same format every year: same personnel, same rounds, same jokes, with only the questions being, mostly, different. This year things were actually a little different. For a start, because of booking problems at Channels, it was held in November. No problem—the retail Xmas period seems to start in late summer nowadays. Then it was combined with a freebee for the members; a heavily subsidised buffet which would provide better brain food than the normal crisps, nuts and chocolates with which the participants indulge themselves. This was very posh; linen tablecloths and real plates set six to a table. The idea was that people would sit six to a table and have finger food served to them in the interval.. Forlorn hope. In the event the usual suspects congregated a dozen to a table near the bar, and when the interval came complained vociferously about short commons. Jill, who likes a tight ship, was not too happy about this.

Normally the quiz is run in a polished, witty and urbane manner by your experienced quizmaster. Well, that’s what he likes to think anyway. However Channels had installed a new PA system which turned out to be more of a PW (public whisper) system. For the first two rounds I was using unassisted voice, and the usual suspects were complaining, vociferously of course, that they could not hear. I advanced gradually up towards the rear, whereupon those at the front really couldn’t hear. It was a shambles, and getting some rapport with the audience was impossible. Fortunately Colin Digby headed up behind the bar to negotiate with the Channels staff, and normal service was resumed., but the magic had taken a dent. It should all have been smooth sailing after that, but when it was time for the ‘Sounds’ round it turned out that Channels had also installed a new CD player which none of the staff

knew how to operate. The start of the round was much delayed and, when it finally got going, was a series of miscues, awkward silences, and wrong tracks. Fortunately the members chose to treat the debacle with considerable good humour. The quizmaster was a little more shaken and forgot to give the answers to the Picture Quiz (which were subsequently published on the Forum). We got through it all somehow.

The rounds seemed to be within acceptable limits for difficulty. The Sports and Sounds rounds seemed the easiest for most, with Science predictably being the hardest. The best Joker play was by Table 5, and the worst by Table 9. Table 3 was best for the picture quiz, which seems to have been a bit harder than usual. The results were, out of a possible 110:

1) Table 6 with 73 points 2) Table 3 with 70 points 3) Table 5 with 68 points

The coveted wooden spoon was awarded to Table 9 with 51 points

Somewhat predictably, the tables stuffed with people tended to do better than those with only a few. Since we cannot really enforce table counts I have decided that next year I am going to complement the Wooden Spoon with a Moral Victory award for the table which does best in terms of the number of people on it. Incidentally, I only bring ten prizes for the winners so if a winning table has more than that number on it then some will go short!