Manic is one word to describe the first 'Quarterly Quiz' at
the MAC. Fun is another. As you walk in you are greeted by the sight of a roaring fire being projected on to a screen that occupies most of the reception desk - an electric guitar, pedals and amp are there too. Also there are fairy lights, a small table, a chair, a pint of Guinness and local comedian Paul Currie. It's at this point you feel under dressed. Starting at the floor he is wearing a pair of perfect white cuban heels and a Ron Burgundy style suit (only in blue). He has teamed all this with shoulder length hair and a wonderful beard. Standing at least 6 feet tall, he is, quite literally, a feast for the eyes.
The Quarterly Quiz happens every 3 months (hence quarterly) and is £5 for a team of 5. It started about 8:30pm on Sunday night, finishing about 3 hours later (for a full nights entertainment it was certainly value for money). As the Quiz started, Paul revealed that he had a different prop for each round. He had a snow hat and goggles for the Geography round (as he made wind noises into the mic and quoted Captain Scott) and a visor and sunglasses for the film round - oh and a rubber hand on a ten foot pole for the "draw a horse" round. Yes thats right, there was a draw a horse round and the results were quite surprising, in a good way. Our team won this round with help from our friends over at
The Skeleton Blog, as the rubber hand of fate picked our flying horse to be the best.
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| Guitar Intros |
The other rounds consisted of film, Geography, culture, general knowledge, picture rounds, guitar intros and sport. The picture round, rather ingeniously, consisted of pictures of various bar staff behind their respective bars and you had to guess what bar it was. Extra points if you knew the bar person's name. The usual "guess the intro" round was replaced by the intros being played on an electric guitar. It's always great to bring a bit of live music in when possible and this was a fun round.
Currie also conducted the sports round in a "spide" accent the whole way through, like. Because who loves sport more than spide.
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| Wall of Horse |
We didn't win the overall quiz, but the awarding of the prizes was no less frenzied than the previous 3 hours. The first place winners were disqualified from winning prizes because they had sneaked more than 5 onto their team. The second place winners were also exempt from winning prizes because they were made up of MAC staff. So the 3rd place winners won the 1st place prize and 4th place won the second place prize. Stop me if any of this is making sense...
The prizes consisted of jotters, Lowry prints and colouring in books, tickets to shows at the MAC and vouchers for meals at the MAC restaurant.
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| The winning Horse |
All in all it was a brilliant evening. I was designated driver so ne'er a drop passed my lips all evening and even stone cold sober it was a brilliant time. We'll be back in 3 months, you should probably get a team together and do the same.
Saint Anne’s Square is an area of Belfast which is often over looked as it’s not directly in the hustle and bustle of the city centre, but it is an area which PastieBap was keen to explore. In recent years the area has been rejuvenated and is now a really good spot to experience a bit of culture, what with the new MAC (Metropolitan Arts Centre) opening up.
We then ordered the smoked haddock, the mushroom risotto, the fish & chips and the ribeye minute steak (with a £3 supplementary charge). There was literally not a complaint among us: the food was served quickly, the staff were attentive and the food itself was fantastic. Especially the ribeye minute steak (served with a mouth watering beef marrow butter and red wine jus), the cut was fantastic and it's the first time in a long time that I've ordered steak and actually got it cooked to how I asked for it (medium-rare incase you were wondering). We then treated ourselves to desert - rhubarb crème brûlée, sticky toffee pudding and apple & plum crumble. Each was exquisite and beautifully presented. It was certainly no surprise to learn that The Potted Hen won the best restaurant in Northern Ireland in 2011 at the National Restaurant Awards. Plus, if you aren't local, or can't be bothered getting a taxi home, there's a Ramada Encore right next door!
We then headed across the square to the MAC, Belfast's brand new arts venue. Their website states that their aim is to "select, create and mix up music, theatre, dance and art – bringing you the very best of local and international talent under one roof." 
We went to see a new drama by playwright Owen McCafferty (who wrote the play Mojo Mickybo on which the film Mickybo and Me is based) called Titanic (Scenes from the British Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry, 1912) which is based on the emotive verbatim testimonies heard at the Titanic Inquiry in London following the disaster. This formal inquiry took place over 36 days and involved nearly 97 witnesses. Directed by Charlotte Westenra, this drama takes a completely factual and interesting account of what happened 100 years ago and brings it to life right infront of your very eyes.
We start off with the lowest ranked witnesses and progress towards the higher class witnesses as we learn about the last few hours of that fateful journey, searching for answers and someone to blame. We hear testimonies from many witnesses including two watchmen, a baker, Joseph Ismay and Cosmo Duff Gordon and his wife all of which create a rich image of what happened that night and the intricacies which made up its demise. Each of the 14 characters has their own specific, unique personality, nuances and ways of presenting themselves and talking and the entire cast did a fantastic job of adding their own spin on the verbatim testimonies.