What took 2 days to set up, 1 day to pull down and several volunteers to run and organise was definitely the most enjoyable night of my deployment?

This night was known as the AFL Sports Trivia Night hosted by Dipper and MAJ Jackson of 26 Combat Supply Company. The evening was composed of A.F.L videos, dinner and refreshments, auctions, raffles and most importantly the trivia contest. The videos at the start of the evening were history documentaries of the A.F.L along with some video messages from A.F.L club coaches players and executives. These messages were for appreciation of our efforts in the peacekeeping role in East Timor. Dinner for the evening was a buffet style all you can eat extravaganza with food ranging from BBQ meat to chicken as well as seafood. Refreshments were supplied by 26 Combats Boozer which was 2 alcoholic beverages or soft drinks.

The entertainment kicked off with the arrival of Dipper who jumped straight into his humorous antics that had others and myself in stitches. The auctions and raffles were staggered throughout the evening with all proceeds benefiting the schools and aiding in education materials for the children around Dili.

The fund raising was ultimately successful as they raised approximately $34,000. In the auctions it was unlikely to bag your favourite jersey as people were bidding anything up to $6,000 for their favourite team. Hawthorne, Carlton and Sydney were the big buys which was good value considering they had autographs from club Brownlow medallists, captains and leading players. The raffles were just as successful with the main prize being an Essendon jersey with autographs from James Hird, Kevin Sheedy and Mark Mercurio. The trivia competition staged during the evening had approximately 30 teams all, consisting of 6-8 people each. 176 AD Sqn placed 2 teams in the competition. My team consisted of WO2 A.Browne, CPL F.Kelly, PTE M.Pullen, myself and two other members from the Postal section. The second team boasted members from the Air Dispatchers and also Termites from who were working at the port. The questions were in groups of 10 with around 10 sets of groups. The questions ranged from all sports during the last 100 years.

Our team started off well jumping to about 3^rd place after the first couple of rounds, but we soon slumped after the questions became more complex with a larger variety of sport questions being asked. Overall our team contended well and finished in the middle of the field, conceding defeat to the other 176 team which finished higher up the order. Nobody was to leave empty handed though as each table was given a goody bag full of A.F.L merchandise that saw me leave with a bulldog mask.