Answering the call! Landlords support our hamper appeal at Oxford Arms’ annual quiz night
IF you think you know the answer to this question: What’s the common word for “Ipsation,” then you should have been at the Oxford Arms pub in Camden Town on Monday.
If you had, you would have been in with a chance of winning the £300 snowball question – but you wouldn’t have been able to walk off with the money really, because it was a charity night for the New Journal.
Our annual Hamper Appeal always gets a big boost from the charity quiz at the Camden High Street pub – and the Oxford raised £1,200.
The money will go into our annual delivery of special packages full of goodies to those less well off – the single parent families, the pensioners, the out of work.
Publicans from across Camden Town also turned out for the quiz. The “Naked Street” team, led by ward councillor Theo Blackwell, handed over cash raised from the Camden Inner London Licensees Association (Cilla) annual ball.
Another hard worker on the night was Caroline Maloney, daughter of Tom Maloney of the Oxford Arms and the third generation Maloney to run the pub in 41 years. She follows in the footsteps of both her grandparents and parents. For weeks in the build-up to the quiz, Caroline had been collaring drinkers and getting them to cough up their cash for the chance to be in with an Oxford Arms’ quiz prize.
Lester May, of the Camden History Society, brought three other members along to take part in the quiz after spotting it advertised in the New Journal.
He said: “I saw it in the CNJ yesterday and I thought: ‘Why don’t we put together a team?’ And I managed to muster the chairman and three other members including myself.”
He said the Hamper Appeal was a great idea and added that not only was it “nice to support something local” but it was “even better to do it with a pint of beer in your hand”.
Mr Maloney, the treasurer of Cilla, said the night was a great success. “It was a great crowd,” he added.
And what is the answer to that tricky snowball question? Suffice to say this is a family paper: look it up in the dictionary.
CHARLOTTE CHAMBERS
Where to send your gift
• If you want to help our Christmas hamper appeal – any donation from a penny upwards is welcome – please send your contributions to: Camden Journal Hamper Fund, Camden Road, London, NW1 9DR. And if you know somebody who you think deserves to be included in our annual rounds send in your nominations too. A surprise hamper reminds people they haven’t been forgotten at this special time of year.