The Armchair Treasure Hunt Club
2002 Annual Event

Mr Martin Dennett and Miss Deborah Hatton hosted The Annual Club Event Sunday September 8th 2002 The Marquee Suite, The Cock Hotel, High Street, Stony Stratford

Once again, Martin and Deborah invited club members and non-members alike to their charming home town for a good natter and a hunt on foot around the town, punctuated by a buffet lunch.

Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

	<	Some of the day's hunters with organizers Martin and Deborah kneeling at the front.
		The winning team with Mike Smith holding the wooden box containing the deco magnifying glass, and flanked by Martin and Deborah.	>

	<	As the day begins, teams are formed and the game's afoot.
		Shirley, Vernon, Rob and Diane are ready to start.	>

	<	Brian and Lyn open the sack of goodies given to each team.
		The Lord Peter Wimsey Team begin. Matt, Sue, Alan, Clive and Dan try to make sense of the contents: mini Cluedo and Monopoly boards, Stony Stratford Title Deed cards, string, a mirror, and a shovel.	>

	<	Jim, Nick, Rosemary and Mike - Inspector Morse's team - seem quietly confident.
		Sherlock Holmes' team start their trek around Stony Stratford, following the sequence on the Monopoly board.	>

	<	Lord Wimsey's team (Shena, Clive, Alan, Dan, Geoff) aren't quite sure what to look for.
		Aha! Alan and Clive spot something in the stonework.	>

	<	Dan scrabbles around in the sack - it looks like the mirror might come in handy after all...
		...hidden behind the sign post is a Cluedo card - that's one location eliminated!	>

	<	Ann, Sandra, Brian and Ben - four of Hercule Poirot's team - confidently stroll the streets eliminating suspects, locations and weapons.
		Here, the revolver card is hidden behind a 'No Entry' sign.	>

	<*	Shena sets the theme for the afternoon - searching another obscure place for a Cluedo card.
		Sandra is legless!	*>

	<†	Inspector Morse's Team think they've seen something...
		...but appear to have less luck in the field.	†>

	<	The Wimsey Team found nothing whimsical about having to stretch up and peer into the mirror to find this clue.
		With stage one complete, teams return to The Cock for a natter, some food, and a chance to examine some of the spoils of earlier hunts.	>

	<	"I'm telling you, Deborah, his beard was down to here."

		Suitably refreshed, the teams make their accusations, and receive some photos from the murder which they must use to discover the location of the buried weapon. Shena and Sue discuss the Wimsey strategy.	>

	<*	It's a quick dash to each teams' murder location. Alan and Geoff reckon they know the exact spot of the buried weapon from the eerie photos of their accused.
		Yep - X marks the spot as Clive uncovers a film pot containing the miniature weapon - a dagger. Without pausing Clive runs back to The Cock - hoping he'll be the first to return - leaving the rest of the Wimsey team in his wake.	>

	<	Dan tidies up the divot whilst Clive dashes back...
		...where he arrives, exhausted - but first!	>

	<	Meanwhile Dan and Shena stroll back at a more sensible pace.

		What, to the victors of stage two, seems like ages later, the other teams start arriving with their found weapons. Father Brown's Team: Peter, Alison, Rachel, Paul, Shaun and Stephen - arrive second with a revolver.	>

	<	Then Mikey, for The Sherlock Holmes Team - with a lead pipe.
		Stephen Hallam has the candlestick found by Miss Marple's Team.	>

	<	Hercule Poirot's sleuths found the spanner, which Brian proudly holds.
		But it is Clive and his mini dagger that gets first pick of the full size replica prizes at the end of stage two.	>

	<	Lord Wimsey's agent, Clive, chooses the full-sized version - this magnificent dagger.
		No one argues with Shaun as he wields the shiny revolver he chose for Father Brown's Team.	>

	<	Jamie picks the big candlestick for Sherlock Holmes' Team.
		Shirley has a shiny spanner to show for the efforts of Miss Marple's Team.	>

	<	Brian takes the lead pipe for Hercule Poirot's Team.
		John is left with the rope for Inspector Morse's Team.	>

		Clive draws his lot as the teams divide up their respective prizes.	>

	<	With brains already aching, the teams are asked to recreate a game of Conserve-A-Tree... an obscure game of complex manoeuvres. The resolution of the game will lead to the location of a final buried prize. The tension is great and as brains are about to explode, the Wimsey Team think they've cracked this third stage too and rush out to a wooded area in the North where they dig for the treasure.

		But the Wimseys haven't thought it through properly and are digging in the wrong place - and hot on their heels are Holmes's crew. Mikey quietly finds the right spot as the Wimsey's are tying themselves up with string.	>

	<	Mikey proudly opens the wooden box he unearthed and find a fabulous deco style magnifying glass with which he returns to The Cock, to show the rest of his team.
		And as sun sets, the heavens open, and a rainbow appears - leading, perhaps, to a pot of gold?

All pictures courtesy of Nick Perry except * Matt Edwards and † Mike Southgate.

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