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Care for Kids North Devon is to receive £2,000 as the nominated charity for this year’s Really Big Quiz in Barnstaple, which was held by local accountants Simpkins Edwards in November at the Barnstaple Hotel.
As a firm fixture in the Simpkins Edwards diary, this was a very welcome return for the popular event after postponing in 2020 due to Covid restrictions. Now in it’s 11th year, the quiz has raised over £32,000 since it’s launch in 2010 for a whole host of local charities supported by the Town Mayor of Barnstaple.
Jilly Watson and James Welton, partners at Simpkins Edwards’ Barnstaple office, took on the role of quizmasters, with twenty teams at the ready to pit their wits against each other. Ten rounds of questions tested their knowledge across the eclectic range of subjects, from current affairs and sport, to US presidents and 80s music.
In the end, with two team evenly matched, a tie breaker was needed to decide the Really Big winners. Knowing how many bones an elephant has paid off for team Prose and Cons, who pipped Scumbag University to the post, winning by 106 points to 105 points! Locals at Work secured a respectable third place with 97 points.
Along with the quiz, people were able to take part in a ‘heads and tails’ game for a bottle of champagne, as well as a fantastic raffle. This featured a number of generously donated prizes, including a ticket for two at Combe Martin Wildlife Park, a family ticket or Rosemoor Gardens, and vouchers for Barnstaple eateries Lilico’s and Lush Bar and Restaurant. There were also festive and afternoon tea hampers, many bottles of alcohol and much more. Unsurprisingly, this made the raffle a popular part of the evening.
Cllr Rennles, Town Mayor of Barnstaple was on hand to accept a cheque from Simpkins Edwards for the money raised by the event. He said “Once again, thank you to Simpkins Edwards for providing an excellent quiz and a fantastic evening. We’re very grateful for their hard work in organising such a successful event and raising funds for Care for Kinds North Devon.”
Jilly Watson, partner at the Barnstaple office, said: “Organising The Really Big Quiz is definitely a really big team effort, bringing together the Simpkins Edwards’ IT and marketing teams along with volunteers from our Barnstaple office, who help with everything from marking quiz sheets and selling raffle tickets through to operating the electronic score board and counting the money raised, ensuring the event goes smoothly. It’s always fantastic to see it all come together on the night, with everybody getting into the spirit of the quiz and having fun – and, of course, raising money for a brilliant local cause.”
James Welton, partner at the Barnstaple office, added: “This is one of the highlights in our events calendar and it was wonderful to see so many teams back to support the quiz after we had to cancel this in 2020. Covid is obviously an ongoing consideration, so we did make some changes, such as swapping the usual buffet to provide pre-plated food at each table. This went down so well that we may well make it a permanent change. We’re certainly already looking forward to making The Really Big Quiz a success again in 2022 so we can continue to help make a difference for local charities.”