Treasure Hunt

When?
Sunday 30th May 2004

Where?
Across London

Why?
To have fun and raise money for charity

Forum
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The Judges' Summary of a Successful and Fun Day
Treasure Hunt 2004 was a great success. Following on from last year's inaugural event, those taking part formed their own teams (or were assigned to a team) and were required to answer a series of questions about London, search for clues and find treasure - all of this done in order to have a great day out, but more importantly, to raise funds in aid of The Chinese Mental Health Association (CMHA).

The start
On a bright, sunny, Sunday morning, teams arrived outside the National Gallery, on the steps leading to Trafalgar Square. Individuals were checked in by the BCS Organisers and then the teams, whose names included the mysterious "5 Deadly venoms" and " 4 No's and a Mei bee", received a pre-prepared lever-arched file which contained their briefing instructions and their questions.

With so many participants milling around, it was no wonder that tourists also gathered to find out what was going on. Indeed, a puzzled German tourist believed that we were his walking group for his day's sightseeing around London.

At 10.30am, Leon Lee, CMHA, kindly made an introductory speech, pressed the button and the sound of the hooter signalled the official start of the BCS Treasure Hunt 2004.

The next time all teams would be together again would be later on that day, at 5.30pm, at Oriental City, Colindale, Edgware, for marking, dinner and prizegiving.
In the meantime, teams faced a daunting 101 treasure hunt questions, including some specific timed challenges.

Questions and answers
The teams comprised some people who had taken part last year, and their experience showed as they carefully sifted through the questions, assigning tasks and planning their next few hours with military precision. Would their use of handheld GPS devices be useful?
Others sat on the steps overlooking Trafalgar Square, in bewilderment as they waded through the questions, deciding what they could or could not do, or more importantly, where to have lunch.

Several of the BCS Organisers had to be at certain places during the day to be involved in certain questions (qn 30 and qn 97).

For question 97, teams had to find a specific paragraph from Jung Chang's Wild Swans, navigate their way to a Chinese supermarket on Electric Avenue, Brixton, by noon in order to receive a "gift" (a pack of noodles) which they needed to collect in order to complete question 30 and then be in a position to earn lots of points. Alas, no team managed to meet at noon. Somehow, teams believed that the meeting point was somewhere in Chinatown. One team member was seen running down Charing Cross Road, mobile phone in hand, shouting to his team-mate on the line "Are you sure I need to goto Chinatown? I'm certain Electric Avenue is in Brixton!".

A couple of questions involved going to Leicester Square. What no one knew was that the European premiere of the movie, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", was on the same day and some areas were cordoned off and packed with screaming Harry Potter fans who were awaiting the stars of the movie. Well done to any team who somehow managed to get the answers from there.

The Tate Modern hosted a sketching question (qn 6). A couple of the sketches are shown in the photo gallery and it is clear that there are some talented artists amongst us.

Qn 19 involved a photo of a team member sitting in a Rolls Royce or Bentley. How was it possible to answer this question when the Bentley showroom in Berkeley Square was known to be closed on Sunday. One team had the answer and talked their way into the driver's seat of a Rolls Royce waiting outside a wedding!

Qn 24 involved a photo of team members in a "swimming pool". Whilst wading in the fountains at Trafalgar Square was fine, the ICA Seniors team somehow managed to get into a proper swimming pool and walk around the interior fully clothed!

Qn 44 involved a photo with a famous person. Whilst the ICA Seniors team somehow managed a photo with Ken Livingston (note: everyone was suspiciously wearing a coat and hats on that day), others met real life famous people. One team met Christopher Biggins, in full make up, at the London Palladium, whilst another team had the good fortune to run into Joey Yung, a HK singer shooting a video on a bridge over the Thames.

Qn 48 required teams to meet a BCS member wearing a checked hat outside the Hayward gallery between 3.45pm and 4pm. As the BCS Organisers looked on in secret, teams gave the password "The Moon is a Balloon is a novel by David Niven" and, in return, were told a mysterious Chinese phrase which they had to translate. Successfully, all teams who met the mystery man successfully completed the translation "money isn't everything".

Buried in the middle of the question pack was qn 60 and it was on arrival at Oriental City that the teams were able to find out why they had been instructed to bring a copy of Sunday newspaper with them. For 25 points, teams had to make a wearable suit for one team member. Whilst the suit-making art may be a skill that Saville Row is famous for, the teams that successfully made a suit discovered a new way to express their fashion sense and artistic capabilities. Special mention to Oxford Dragons, whose neatly pressed suit, with minimal creases, looked like it had come straight from Giorgio Armani, and also to the ICA Seniors, whose team member wore a hat, ear rings and a bangle.

Prizes and Dinner
Whilst marking of questions took place, teams relaxed and enjoyed not having to rush around anymore. Unfortunately, Oriental City was hosting a Thai Festival and their were hordes of people milling around. However, it was amusing that nobody raised an eyebrow at 12 people standing outside dressed in newspaper suits.
Dinner began after the "well-dressed 12" modelled their attire, catwalk-style, to applause and ovations from fellow team members.

During dinner, the prizes were awarded. Congratulations to team "Special K featuring Angel with Dirty Faces" who were crowned BCS Treasure Hunt 2004 Champions. Runners up were "The Team with No Name".
Winners and runners up received shiny trophies for their efforts, whilst everyone else who took part received a Treasure Hunt 2004 medal which ensured that everyone's achievements were recognised and appreciated by the BCS Organisers.

Charity
As a result of everyone's participation, more than £600 was raised for CMHA.

Thanks
In addition to all you intrepid Treasure Hunters, a word of thanks must also go to the BCS Organisers who performed tirelessly behind the scenes developing the questions, organising the dinner and undertaking the hectic marking on the day.

Comments
Don't forget, you can post your own comments about the day on the Forum.

Next year
If you didn't take part, you can always sign up now for next year's event!

Questions (and Answers)

Each team received a set of questions and they spent the day frantically searching for answers to earn points.

See the questions and answers for 2004.

Position

1

2

3

4

5=

5=

7

8

9

10

11

Points

490

460

425

418

405

405

350

265

249

194

167

Team name

Special K featuring Angel with Dirty Faces BCS Treasure Hunt 2004 Champions

The Team with No Name BCS Treasure Hunt 2004 Runners Up

4 No's and a Mei bee

Oxford Dragons

5 Deadly venoms

Lone Rangers Strike Again

Lone Rangers

ICA CEYE

Carolyn's Crew

ICA Seniors

Team Ahab

Chinese Mental Health Association (Registered charity no. 1058934)

Founded in 1992, Chinese Mental Health Association (CMHA) is a registered charity providing services and supports to psychologically distressed Chinese and their families. It is the only specialised charity of its kind in the UK.

CMHA provides free direct services such as Advocacy, Information, Housing advice, Counselling, User Social Group and Carers support to help sufferers combat isolation and encourage integration back into the community.