QUIZZYLIMPICS COMES TO SAINT JOHN FISHER'S IN PRITTLEWELL 

This was a long time coming after this quiz had changed venues and dates on more than one occasion but after advertising this in the bulletins around the five parishes and seven churches locally, the Knights of Saint Columba finally held this event in the Borough of Southend-on-Sea on the evening of Saturday 20th February and a very enjoyable evening was had by all present. This regional quiz was contested with a chance to reach the grand final as part of an initiative by the Brentwood Catholic Children's Society (BCCS) and was free to enter which made the evening very attractive.

The teams set about choosing a name for their tables and if points were awarded for the names they all picked then the scoring would have been high before the quizmaster had even asked the first question.

Sitting at the top table helping the quiz to function along its merry path can certainly give you a relieved feeling when you see the questions and think 'Oh I know that', and then when the answer is finally given, you realise that what you thought was a name of a type of tortoise was in fact one of the most deadly snakes on the earth. Yes I was having a bad day and lucky for the teams that I wasn't placed on one of their tables!

With that confession out the way, the quiz was highly contested with two teams tying for last place and two teams finishing joint first. Thankfully the two teams that came first represented two different churches so they qualified to both go forward to the BCCS Quizzylimpics final on March 18th in the hall at Brentwood Cathedral.

We held a mid quiz raffle with some fantastic prizes on offer; well it wouldn't be the same if we didn't and a retiring collection for the BCCS ensured that as a fundraiser the whole evening was a worthwhile exercise.

New Member joins Southend-on-Sea 192

The parish of Saint John Fisher has a new member of the Knights from within their community

Today, on the fifth Sunday of the Church's year, and after the Gospel where we heard Simon leaving his fishing boats to become a fisher of men, a new brother; Brother Duncan, joined our Council during Mass at Saint John Fisher's Church in Prittlewell.

Father Lee, who is parish priest at Saint John Fisher's, and is also a Member of Honour spoke some very kind words about our work and support locally, and after the solemn declaration, initiated Brother Duncan into our Order which was followed by a round of applause from parishioners. Brother Duncan, has pledged to support the clergy and the Church and has already been a great help with the work of the Knights this year and we wish him many fruitful years ahead.

Chairman Liam welcoming Brother Duncan after Mass had finished

Most of the Knights present took advantage of the sumptuous cake and coffee on sale in the hall after Mass on the last Sunday before Lent begins. A much needed energy boost ahead of the forty days of Lent to come!