On a night when warnings were issued for thunder, lightning and heavy rain, stalwart members of Bognor Regis WI braved the weather to test their knowledge, analytic and practical skills and their teamwork. Once assigned to one of five colour coded teams, President Dinah Barrand gave them the brief:

returning to your anchored luxury cruise ship from a shore excursion in heavy seas you, along with your teammates, have been shipwrecked on a desert island. You need to get a message to the cruise ship and the only way to do this is to get the mobile phone that is hidden in a treasure chest and 6 puzzles need to be solved to gain the code for the treasure chest padlock and the treasure chest location.

Amidst much hilarity the members took to the challenge with alacrity testing their number, logic, map reading and code breaking skills. In addition, tents had to be erected within a time limit (and squeezed into); those who had retained memories of Girl Guide camps, or who had been on a WI camping weekend were at a distinct advantage. Luckily, the desert island was well supplied with tropical delights to sustain the puzzlers with fruit kebabs and a variety of delicious cakes, a pleasure denied to participants on Desert Island Discs and much appreciated.

The final challenge of making and using a decoder to provide the location of the treasure chest was fast and furious as members raced to solve the final clue. The Red team triumphed, found the phone and shared the booty of chocolate coins and gold wrapped sweets.  Well done to Chris, Shelley, Jeanette, Manuela, Mandy, Karen and Val and everyone who tackled the challenge with enthusiasm and humour.

The raffle echoed the theme with ‘mystery’ prizes of varying sizes, wrapped to conceal their identity. Suffice to say the biggest and the prettiest weren’t necessarily the best!

Following the business section of the evening and having congratulated everyone on their puzzle solving abilities – BRWI is definitely more Mensa than Denser – Dinah wished all members a safe journey home.

click here for all pictures of the evening.

click for Record of June 19 meeting

words:  Gina Fitch-Roy

photos: Sarah Greenway, Katie Lyne, and Kate Claisse