Treasure Hunt 2020

On Saturday the 12th of September a group of ULSCR members, both current and former students, gathered together in central London for the annual Treasure Hunt around the capital. The day started with a gathering for breakfast in the Moon Under Water in Leicester Square, followed by an outdoor briefing and team allocation from the setters Chris Backhouse and Anne Hughes.

This year’s theme was, appropriately, focussed around “travelling abroad at home”; that is to say, going to areas in London that bear some resemblance to area one might visit abroad on holiday. The hunt therefore took in three different areas of the capital: Chinatown, Little Venice and Belgravia (this last for its many embassies and consulates).

Each of these areas came with a number of questions/tasks to complete for points, running the gamut from standard to strange. So in Belgravia one earned points by photographing as many of the national flags flying as possible, while in Chinatown one question cryptically asked how many friends were gathering for dessert (the answer was to be found in the name of one of the local eateries). All those participating were very much in high spirits, something assisted by alcohol imbibed during the day (one way to earn points was to drink the most expensive pint; remarkably for London the winner was under £5.00).

Upon the announcement of the winners the prizes themselves were suitably international, consisting of a plethora of beers from all around the world; of these the winning team received 13, the runner-up 6 and the third-placing team 4. Some of these prizes were duly consumed as we worked out where to go for food.

In time we decided to retreat to the nearby Chinese restaurant Wong Kei (seemingly one of the only places in London that still doesn’t take card) for food. At the end of the evening the group dispersed into the crowds of the West End, with some of us requiring some sleep before coming back together on the Sunday morning for service ringing at Poplar and the Isle of Dogs.