The pub quiz where proposals and births have happened mid-game
Quiz host Simon Davies with regulars at The Acorn pub(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
For most people, a pub quiz is just a weekly tradition, but at one Wirral pub, it has become a community ritual that has seen proposals, marriages, and even players joining from hospital delivery suites. Quiz host Simon Davies, 57, from Chester, has been running the quiz night at The Acorn in Bebington every Thursday at the pub for seven years.
It has been built from just three teams on opening night to now, a weekly crowd of 45 teams, with players logging in from all over the region and even countries across the world.
However, unlike most pub quizzes, what makes it unusual is that half the teams play inside the pub, while the rest join live from home through a livestream system Simon helped keep alive during lockdown.
He told the ECHO: "When we went into lockdown, we went from everyone being in the pub one week to suddenly being at home, but we just carried on. We found ways to stream the quiz so people could play from their phones while seeing and hearing everything in the pub."
Despite restrictions being lifted, the popularity of taking part in the quiz from home has still remained to this day.
Simon said: "We're probably the only pub in the country where half the teams are in the pub and half are playing from home. We've had people playing the quiz right from the lockdown period to today. We've had people travelling in from all over, including Wrexham and Birmingham and had people tuning in from America, Australia, India and all over Europe.
"People playing at home get exactly the same experience as people in the pub, there's no delay, it's all instant. If they forget to book a table and the pub is fully booked, they just log in from home instead.
"The pub was very quiet before the quiz, but now Thursday nights are the peak night."
Simon said the community spirit created by the quiz became especially important during lockdown, when it became many people's only social night of the week, a role it continues to hold.
He said: "For a lot of people, it was their night out. It's become a real community thing, and it's become so popular.
"We have a reputation in Bebington for being quite a good night out. It's very light-hearted and a good laugh.
"I'm always switched on and reading the group and try to keep it light-hearted and as accurate as possible. I think people keep coming back because they never know what's coming next and quite often neither do I.
"We've got tables of three generations. One gang, which consists of the nan, grandad, dad, and all the grandkids, has been coming every week since we started. A lot of the teams that play the quiz have grown up with it as well.
"There's a young couple who have been playing since they were students, and now they're married and about to have their first child."
And they're not the only ones. The quiz night has also seen multiple proposals, with one couple even continuing to play as they prepared to welcome their first child.
Simon said: "They announced the pregnancy during the quiz, and we followed it all the way through.
"When she went into labour, they took the quiz with them to Arrowe Park Hospital. They sent photos from the delivery suite with the laptop open and the quiz on in the background.
"They wanted to share it with everyone. I thought it was really lovely. Everyone playing the quiz was so pleased for them, we all clubbed together and got them a gift. So it's very much a community.
"I know everyone's face, and I do my best to keep up with everyone so I get to know some of them really well."
Despite the pub regularly filling up, Simon said the quiz is always open to new teams who are keen to join in.
He said: "Sometimes people who have come into the pub for just a meal or a drink and not the quiz end up getting involved. We always end up engaging with them and involving them, whether they like it or not.
"People find they might start off very quiet, but after a week or two, everyone's speaking to them, so it's a really good way of making new friends and enlarging your social circle. It's somewhere for people to go to eat and drink, meet people, and have a chat. Quite often, after the quiz, you'll find a lot of people stick around.
"It's become a habit for a lot of people. We have quite a few people who come along who don't do the quiz but want to be a part of the night and listen and be a part of it. We're quite happy for as many people as possible to come along. It's very much a community thing as it is an entertaining night."
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