It’s 1943, and the newly formed Special Operations Executive is recruiting secret agents to join La Resistance and the battle to liberate our European neighbours. The purpose of our mission is subversion. Subversion properly applied is one of the most potent weapons one can use.
That’s the premise of an evening that Kathleen booked when she arrived back after the summer; Maman Le Mot (“Mum’s The Word”).
I wasn’t too keen at first, but it sounded like it would be an interesting night!
Kathleen donned a 40s style dress and hat that she borrowed from Beth at church, whilst I wore a stripy jumper, slicked back hair and an eyeliner moustache.
The evening consisted of lots of characters, plenty of tasks, stories and a bit of mischief.
You were put into teams and had to work together to complete subversion tasks, missions and conversations. These were scored throughout the night, with scores posted on the noticeboard.
In the beginning we were feeling quite mischievous, as we knew we had to distract others from completing their tasks. We sat down and played dominos. Once finished, we left a message on the table which we informed others was a secret message.
One of the most memorable tasks was where we had to lead those looking for the toilets to the bar, telling them there was a special toilet there. Once we had them at the bar, we were to shout to the barmen (who were in on it), “The special toilet, see voo play!”
Kathleen managed to get a gent there and he fell for it! The barmen were rather impressed.
Our team focused on the challenges quite heavily, which paid off, as we were announced as the winners the missions at the end of the evening!
After the sub-task awards were given out, Dispatches were mentioned.
Kathleen got very much in to the swing of things, which lead to a moment of interrogation.
We were dancing to the background music whilst near the bar, when the Captain came by and asked us what on earth we were doing. “The Lindy Bop?” was my response. “That doesn’t look very French! Come with me for interrogation!”
So we followed him to a tiny room, with a single bright light and a chair. When asked what we were doing, Kathleen’s imagination saved the day.
She convinced him that it was in fact a secret code. I mentioned that the left leg meant consonants and the right was the number of vowels. He made a note of our French names and then sent us on our way.
Later on in the evening, I rushed by the Captain and did a little jig. He chased me to find out what it meant!
At the end of the evening in Dispatches, he asked us to come forward and give a demonstration and explain ourselves. They took a not very flattering picture!
The whole night was really fantastic and it was a pleasure to see Kathleen’s creative and theatrical side come out!
Vive Le Franch!