Rachel, Tim and Jeff will be back with another instalment of Countdown and quizzing in the main hall at Church House (CM7 1EY), next to St Michael’s Church.
Date: Saturday 2nd November 2024.
Start time: Doors open 10:30 for draw at 11:15.
Games to be played: 5 games of Countdown and 4 rounds of Quiz.
Hosted by: Rachel Perkins, Tim Goaté and Jeff Clayton.
Venue: Church House, next to St Michael’s Church, Braintree, CM7 1EY (Google Maps link).
Wheelchair accessible?: Yes
Price: £12 per person or £20 for two or £10pp in groups -- payment preferably by PayPal, please.
Parking on site? No. Please use a nearby car park, such as at Braintree railway station, all of which are chargeable.
Refreshments provided? Tea, coffee, soft drinks, fruit and biscuits will be available free of charge from the kitchen.
Lunch is not provided but you are welcome to bring or buy your own food & drink.
Finish time: 18:00/18:15 (aim for the 18:59 train back, not the 17:59 – stay with us a while longer!).
Accommodation available? Yes – the nearest options are the Travelodge and the White Hart, both in Braintree town centre; other guesthouses and hotels are also available nearby (please enquire).
Train connections: Braintree station – direct service from London Liverpool Street, or change at Witham off main line services from Ipswich and Norwich. The 09:48 service from London Liverpool Street passes through Witham at 10:34 and is due into Braintree at 10:51. The 18:59 return passes through Witham at 19:15 and arrives into London at 20:01. Please check Abellio's railway timetable for full details.
Bus connections: First 70/170/370 from Chelmsford, First X20 from Colchester, Arriva 133 or First X20 from Stansted Airport. The £2 fare cap on single bus fares is available on these services and is expected to remain in place until the end of 2024. Please check with the operator before travelling (or ask us). To check times and live locations, we suggest using www.bustimes.org.
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Everyone plays five 14-round games of Countdown (8L 4N 2C) alternating with four rounds of The Big Weekend Quiz — our exciting format where the pub quiz meets the game show. You play Countdown in pairs (Bristol format), and everyone will be in teams for the Quiz. You play both with a basic pen-and-paper (a Captain represents each team in the Quiz), and we have all the graphics on our big screen.
You'll be drawn at random for each of the five games of Countdown. We will use the Swiss format for pairings this year, and only the results of these matches will count towards the FOCAL league standings. Once again this year, there won’t be a Grand Final as we want to give more time to both Countdown and quizzing for everyone to enjoy.
At the start of the day, everyone will also be drawn at random into teams of 4, 5 or 6 (depending on exact numbers) for four rounds of our Quiz. We believe a good quiz question is both well written and well structured -– we’ll explain everything on the day. There’s also a timed question at the end of every round with bonus points up for grabs! Your admission fee includes both Countdown and our Quiz.
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Getting to the venue
If you’re coming by car, chargeable parking is available nearby at the railway station (CM7 3QL). Alternatively, use the George Yard Shopping Centre multi-storey (CM7 1GF – £6.00, locked at 19:30). Allow 10-15 minutes to walk to/from either. We have set the start and end times of the event around the trains.
If you’re coming from Stansted or Colchester, there’s an hourly express bus X20 serving Braintree which stops near the tournament venue in the town centre.
When do I need to be there?
Doors open from 10:30, and you can enjoy a hot or cold drink from the kitchen before we get underway at 11:15. After introductions, we’ll generate a random draw for the first matches. Feel free to bring your own notepad, notebook, scrap paper etc and a few decent pens.
How do the Countdown matches work?
All matches will consist of 14 rounds — eight letters games, four numbers games and two conundrums (LLNLLNCLLNLLNC).
The hosts will split the presenting duties between them and each match plays out just as you see on the telly, with the aim of making the day as interactive and as enjoyable as possible.
Everyone will play five matches — there is no knockout phase — and everyone will have the opportunity to pick the letters throughout the day.
You will be able to choose your numbers in your pairs, twice each in every match (we’ll explain how).
At the conundrum, the clock starts when the scramble is revealed on the screen. When you’ve got the answer, tap your table (lightly!) to indicate to your opponent that you are buzzing in, then promptly write down and conceal your declaration. The full 30 seconds will run for the benefit of everyone in the room, so the second player should still attempt to solve it — you never know, the first player may have got it wrong! In case of a dead heat, we can provide a tie-break conundrum to decide a winner.
At the end of each game of Countdown, all the hosts will need from you is the final score from your pair.
You will very likely be paired with different people throughout the day who you haven’t met before. Everyone is in the room to play Countdown, of course, and a little common courtesy will go a long away.
We play in good faith, and we trust you to keep score as the game goes along. For anything you can’t agree in your pair, there is time to flag queries at the end of every round – for whether a word is valid, or a numbers solve is right, etc.
What about breaks in between?
There will be a break for lunch at about 12:30 — you can either bring your own food, or take a stroll towards Sainsbury’s, Tesco or the High Street — but please, take the time to recharge between matches, too. The kitchen will be stocked with drinks and light snacks, toilets are available and you can always step outside for some fresh air. If you need to make or take a phone call, we would just ask that you wait until the end of the match in play.
If you need to disclose anything in confidence, please just let Jeff or Rachel know.
What happens at the end?
We round the day off by 18:00 with presentations to our Countdown winner and high flyers, plus a £100 CASH JACKPOT to the winning Quiz team. We don't think we'll fit everything in before the 17:59 train back, so we would suggest you aim for the 18:59 train.
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Outline timetable for the day (subject to minor changes and allowing for breaks):
10:30 Doors open – please register when you arrive, then settle in and help yourself to tea, coffee, soft drinks and snacks from the kitchen.
11:15 Welcome, followed by team draws for the Quiz and the first round draws for Countdown.
11:30 Round 1: Countdown then Quiz
12:30 Lunchtime
13:15 Round 2: Countdown then Quiz
14:30 Round 3: Countdown then Quiz
15:45 Round 4: Countdown then Quiz
17:00 Round 5: Countdown
18:00 Prize giving
18:15 End
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Payment
You can book your place with host Jeff using PayPal:
£12 per person for an individual booking;
£20 for two;
If you wish to book a larger group, please email Jeff to advise numbers (£10pp).
Please remember to select the “family/friends” option, as your contribution is voluntary to help cover Jeff’s personal costs of organising the event. Once all reasonable expenses have been met, any surplus will be donated to St. Michael’s Church.
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What’s happening in the evenings?
Jeff will arrange group bookings at two different restaurants in the town centre for the Friday and Saturday nights. Interested? Let Jeff know if you want a seat at the table!
What about staying over?
Well, why not make a weekend of it — a new Travelodge opened in the town centre last year. There is also accommodation at the White Hart (Greene King). Out-of-town, you have a selection of farmhouses and old inns offering accommodation in the countryside around Braintree, as well as two Premier Inns and a Holiday Inn Express next to the A120. Please check with individual venues about chargeable parking. We would recommend arranging taxis to get to/from the town centre if you’re not coming by car.
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Any questions?
Either post here, or email jeffclaytonquiz@gmail.com.
Attending or organising a FOCAL event is subject to the FOCAL Code of Conduct.
External web links and other details are provided in good faith in advance, and will be checked regularly, but please take care to cross-check them for your own assurance. If you find anything to be incorrect, please let us know. Thanks!
— Rachel, Tim and Jeff.
(for signup discount purposes!)
