I did a quiz!

Last week, I was getting ready for an event I'd been planning since February and feeling very nervous about it. The Cathays Ultimate Charity Movie Quiz was borne out of a desire to do some charity fundraising (but without having to run a marathon or some other similar physical torture). I've always liked pub quizzes, but since I'm a bit of a movie geek thought it would be good to combine the two and the idea of running a movie quiz was born.

I wanted to make it more than just a quiz, though, and envisaged it as an event, something akin to a movie premiere. I booked our church hall for the venue, contacted the UK Garrison (volunteers who dress up in movie-accurate Star Wars costumes) to see if some of their guys could attend, enlisted my younger brother to play some music and dragged in my own family to help. I also blagged loads of prizes for a raffle and the winning team.

I must admit, there was a point about two weeks before the date when I was worried no one would turn up. Ticket sales were small and there seemed no sign of anyone else showing interest, but I somehow held my nerve and by the day of the quiz, nearly forty people had booked tickets.

The event was, as far as I can tell, an amazing success - far exceeding my own expectations. We had sixty people in the room and raised £470 for two great charities (Llamau and Edith's Home). The Star Wars costumes added a real wow factor to the event, even though a few people were a bit scared of them!

I came away really proud of what I'd acheived, and fairly stunned too. Not wanting to blow my own trumpet, but I was responsible for pretty much most of the entire event. I did most of the planning and preparation (my mate Marv did a lot of great work on the questions) - it was only on the night when actual bodies were needed to set up and run things that other people contributed (who were all amazing, by the way).

It was good to be reminded that I am capable of making things happen, something which I have a lot of self-doubt in. I am not the most naturally of organised people, and so I've had to develop strategies to cope with my shortcomings to get stuff done. I've run a business, directed short films and started campaigning for Basic Income, to name a few things. Sure, I've made plenty of mistakes but that shouldn't stop me from trying. The main lesson I've learned from this quiz is that good preparation is key - and lots of time to get ready for it helps too.

Will I do another movie quiz again? Yes, hopefully - but not just yet. I need time to recover!