Jon Senior's FunkQuest

Season 4 of FunkQuest opened with 3 time semi-finalist, two time finalist but never actual winner, number 1 Barbara Braendlein.

Funking up was newcomer and number 16 JR Reed.

We still do ladies first on FunkQuest, and in any event, it was good to show the new guy the ropes.

Question 1

Barb chose the row of bikes.

Where do you keep your trophys/medals/certificates?

Barb confessed that she was the kind of person that never won any medals trophies or certificates as a child (or adult).

But that if she ever won FunkQuest, the trophy (or lack of) would have pride of place in her house.

JR chose that most American of things. The big red car.

Who would you want with you in the nuclear bunker?

We agreed that this would be for a couple of hundred years at least so the correct choice is required.

JR picked the rapper Snoop Dog and a porn star. (Probably a bad combination...)

Question 2

Barb picked the Daffodils.

Who would you want to be the narrator of your life story?

Barb picked her partner on the FunkQuest tag team challenge, Liverpool's finest Phil Pelucha.

JR picked the pen and paper.

How many capital cities have you been to?

There was a good initial confirmation from JR - did we mean state capitals or national capitals?

He recounted Monaco, Tel Aviv (right before the 1979 The Egypt–Israel treaty signed by Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin.

Question 3

Barb picked the plastic yoghurt pots

When did someone apologise to you?

After going to a family event the day before, Barb said her children were the last people to apologise (for being tired...)

Great kids...

JR picked the cake.

Which job won't exist in a years time?

JR has a Samsung dishwasher which has malfunctioned and the customer service support is via text.

So, after a short discussion, any kind of customer service or interaction with the public.

Question 4

Barb picked the football (after a discussion, of course with North Americans about what they actually called this).

How many takes aways did you have last month?

Barb said one. Pizza. They were trying out the Uber Eats app.


JR picked the haunted house.

How many times a week do you hoover up?

JR said it depended on the weather. He lives in a log cabin in Missouri.

Question 5.

Barb picked the bevy of swans.

Where is the comfiest place you have ever been?

Barb recounted a hotel in Salt Lake City with a bed and bedroom over looking the mountains.

JR picked the Umbrellas

Where do you prefer to watch something? Live or on TV?

Being autistic, JR said he needed to watch for noise, bright lights and too many sensory stimulations.


​What is FunkQuest ?

Funkquest is a fun interactive online conversation game that features five rounds.

Funksters (players) view a board containing 20 individual icons (pictures)

Funksters select an icon from the board which most tweaks their interest.

Each Funky icon, when chosen reveals a Funky question, which may or may not be related to the icon.

Potential Funksters, have to think on their feet, answering the question within the strict time limit of one minute.

We are looking for answers which might include; insights, useful and amusing snippets, and things we just didn't know.

We call this FUNK.

The winner - based on audience votes - goes through to the next round of the Funkquest series.

What's so good about FUNKQUEST ​?

The strict time limit does not allow funksters to give; multi-headed, long, complicated and self indulgent stories -
just short punchy bite-sized truly Funky ideas, as we GET THE FUNK OUT!

You get to hear new ideas and speakers from outside your usual network, which truly qualifies as FUNKY.

​Funky Thinkers know that IDEAS only come from free-flowing CONVERSATION.

To make sure you never miss a FunkQuest episode - click https://funkythinkers.com/youtube

What did you think ? Leave a comment

FunkQuest - Season 3 - Lisa Fey - Champion Funkster - Crowning episode

​​Lisa has beaten all her competitors to become the Grand Champion Funkster of Season 3 of FunkQuest.
She is the first American winner of FunkQuest as; Season 1 and 2 Champions, Leana Delle and Ann Smith were both Canadians.

Since winning the series, she has had many conversations with friends and relatives and is pleased to have met all the interesting people she has played against.

The FunkQuest Tag ​Team Challenge Final proved to be as entertaining as promised, with Barb Braendlein and Phil Pelucha facing up to their opponants Ann Smith and Leana Delle.

Barb was first to chose from the FunKQuest Board and choosing the '​Ballerina feet' meant that Phil had to answer the question - "What job would an octopus be good at?" ​His answer 'a Chef' especially with all the pots it would have to fling around

Ann as head of the pink team chose Leana to answer the question - "What are you embarressed about being good at?" ​ Not being embarressed but being 'looked down upon' Lean​a found it difficult to show off her handyman skills to men​.

Question 2 and B​arb chose the 'Pegs' icon. She says she has a 'mental escape hatch' when she finds herself wishing she was somewhere else.

Ann Chose the 'Horse' Icon and revealed that she drinks 4 pints of water a day, which is a very ​healthy thing to do.

​Phil was chosen by Barb to answer the third question. He would never 'accidentally' steal something. He describes himself as a '​Wisdom Magpie' - only good if you never actually use the wisdom on the person you got it from.

Lean​a has; learnt how to draw using charcoal, learnt how to stop it smearing, learnt how to package her pictures and learnt how to use her payment app. Just in this last week?

Question 4 was answered by Barb for her team. She chose the 'Hedgehog' icon and we found out that she doesn't like to yell - at leat not at people - but inanimate objects beware!

Ann doesn't like to show her age but the most historic things she has seen in her lifetime gives us an idea.

Barb generously gave, the final question for her team, to Phil to answer. His love of chicken meant that the animal he would bring back from extinction was the DoDo. He really loves his chicken!

Question 5 for the pink team and Ann passed the question about books to her author friend Leana to answer (of course). Leanas' love of a certain author, while not reading each of his book 5 times, ​she had bought and read all his books in Hardback

These two ladies may look familiar, and you would be right to think that you have seen them somewhere before, the reason is; Barb and Lisa played each other in Semi Final 1 of FunkQuest Season 3.

Barb was beaten in the semi final but has agreed to return as 'Sheriff' due to unforseen circumstances. So they play again in this FunkQuest Season 3 Grand Final.

Barb was first to choose an Icon. Her answer to the question was that generally she is very easy to shop for, as she loves opening presents regardless of what is inside. She is not very good at telling others what to buy for her.

Question 1 for Lisa she chose the' baby shoes' Icon and explained that the last song she danced to was part of a compilaton album of 'Soul Train'. She was dancing in her bathroom to Stevie Wonder.

Barb was very happy to answer the next question about dealing with 'cold callers'. When the caller is a person, she likes to keep them talking. Robot callers, not so much.

Lisa did not have to name her Craziest relative, in case they were listening but she described the sort of person who always is in the middle of everything, no matter what the topic they have done it, seen it, tried it, started it, finished it. I am sure we all have one of these.

Question 3, Barb chose the 'Puffin' Icon and revealed that she was 16 when she got her first bank card. For a couple of years she was dilligent in making sure it always had five dollars in the account.

Having been there and seeing animals in their natural habitat and the glory of the scenery, Lisa was able to answer 'Where should everyone go at least once?' with a great deal of enthusiasm.

Barb decided in her fourth answer that the record she really wanted to break was that of 'How many times you can lose on FunkQuest but still get to play again.' Not a real record but fun anyway.

Lisa chose the 'Sumo Wrestlers' Icon. 'Have you ever had your palm read' was the question and she answered that when she went to India she had done it. The palm reader left her with more questions than answers.

'How would you describe humanity to Aliens?' was the final question for Barb. If the aliens were intent on world domination she would explain about the diseases we carry or try to tell them about love and fear or even try to bargain with bits of the world.

Final Question of the game was for Lisa and the circus act she would love to take part in is the 'Spinning circle' which the ladies of the 'Cirque de Soleil' do their acrobatics in.

​What is FunkQuest ?

Funkquest is a fun interactive online conversation game that features five rounds.

Funksters (players) view a board containing 20 individual icons (pictures)

Funksters select an icon from the board which most tweaks their interest.

Each Funky icon, when chosen reveals a Funky question, which may or may not be related to the icon.

Potential Funksters, have to think on their feet, answering the question within the strict time limit of one minute.

We are looking for answers which might include; insights, useful and amusing snippets, and things we just didn't know.

We call this FUNK.

The winner - based on audience votes - goes through to the next round of the Funkquest series.

What's so good about FUNKQUEST ​?

The strict time limit does not allow funksters to give; multi-headed, long, complicated and self indulgent stories -
just short punchy bite-sized truly Funky ideas, as we GET THE FUNK OUT!

You get to hear; new ideas and speakers from outside your usual network, which truly qualifies as FUNKY.

​Funky Thinkers know that IDEAS only come from free-flowing CONVERSATION.

To make sure you never miss a FunkQuest episode - click https://funkythinkers.com/youtube

What did you think ? Leave a comment




These two ladies may look familiar, and you would be right to think that you have seen them somewhere before, the reason is; Barb and Lisa played each other in Semi Final 1 of FunkQuest Season 3.

Barb was beaten in the semi final but has agreed to return as 'Sheriff' due to unforseen circumstances. So they play again in this FunkQuest Season 3 Grand Final.

Barb was first to choose an Icon. Her answer to the question was that generally she is very easy to shop for, as she loves opening presents regardless of what is inside. She is not very good at telling others what to buy for her.

Question 1 for Lisa she chose the' baby shoes' Icon and explained that the last song she danced to was part of a compilaton album of 'Soul Train'. She was dancing in her bathroom to Stevie Wonder.

Barb was very happy to answer the next question about dealing with 'cold callers'. When the caller is a person, she likes to keep them talking. Robot callers, not so much.

Lisa did not have to name her Craziest relative, in case they were listening but she described the sort of person who always is in the middle of everything, no matter what the topic they have done it, seen it, tried it, started it, finished it. I am sure we all have one of these.

Question 3, Barb chose the 'Puffin' Icon and revealed that she was 16 when she got her first bank card. For a couple of years she was dilligent in making sure it always had five dollars in the account.

Having been there and seeing animals in their natural habitat and the glory of the scenery, Lisa was able to answer 'Where should everyone go at least once?' with a great deal of enthusiasm.

Barb decided in her fourth answer that the record she really wanted to break was that of 'How many times you can lose on Funkquest but still get to play again.' Not a real record but fun anyway.


Lisa chose the 'Sumo Wrestlers' Icon. 'Have you ever had your palm read' was the question and she answered that when she went to India she had done it. The palm reader left her with more questions than answers.

'How would you describe humanity to Aliens?' was the final question for Barb. If the aliens were intent on world domination she would explain about the diseases we carry or try to tell them about love and fear or even try to bargain with bits of the world.

Final Question of the game was for Lisa and the circus act she would love to take part in is the 'Spinning circle' which the ladies of the 'Cirque de Soleil' do their acrobatics in.

FunkQuest - Season 3 - semi final 2 - Barb Braendlein v Jean Robor

In this second Semi Final match of FunkQuest Season 3 you will see a familiar face - Barb Braendlein. Barb was also a player in ​the first semi final of this season and ​ ​​ has agreed to be the Sheriff for this second round as a player did not turn up.

Barb chose the first Icon and therefore answered question 1 - 'How fast can you learn something new? This all depends on how much she wants to learn the thing. If she is interested in it she is usually a quick study.

The 'dinosaur' Icon was chosen by Jean for her first question and we found that while not using paper maps she uses 'google maps' religiously, even when going on short journeys. She can get lost quite easily.

Barb revealed that if she was a vegetable she would be a Leek. Filled with tasty goodness on the white end of the root.

Jean said that she often feels foolish when talking and answering questions online. She may often look foolish, to some people, when getting involved with young children and reading books but she doesn't mind that.

Question 3 and Barb chose the 'Swiss Army Knife' icon. If she was to invent something, ​ it would be crutches that do not make your shoulders hurt. Her recent foot problem has ​meant, ​weight movement through hands and shoulders has been painful.

'What word do you always spell wrong?' led to Jean, Barb and Jonathan discussing ​ words that are easily spelt incorrectly.

Barb next revealed that she' tells herself off' when she realises that she could have said something different after meeting with people she should really know.

Jean chose the 'butterfly' icon and the last time she went swimming was over a year ago. She is not a great swimmer but loves to go to the beach and swim in the sea.

For her final Question Barb had to revel who would be her 'deputy'. She would choose her sister for this role as she seems to be good at everything she does.

The final question of the game was for Jean. She chose the 'giraffe' icon ​and answered the question 'What is the oddest thing you have seen in public? Her answer shows that there are lots of odd things to see in this world.

FunkQuest - Season 3 - SemiFinal 1 Barb Braendlein v Lisa Fey

​In this, the first Semi - Final of FunkQuest Season 3, both Barb and Lisa, ​are fighting to maintain their unbeaten status. However, only one of them can reach the final!

Lisa answered question 1 after choosing the 'glasses of wine' icon. With no experience of the job she was assigned, after a great interview, to a boss who was really too busy to help his struggling apprentice.

Barb confessed that, because of her broken foot and having to walk with crutches, the most exciting thing that was happening at the moment was being able to wash her hair.

Lisa explained in her ​Question 2 that the thing that 'makes here roll her eyes' was someone saying 'Yes, but...' in answer to a request. The 'but' is usually a big one Why not just say no.

Barb ​is not going to be jumping anywhere at the moment and especially not the ​queue, but she is not a queue jumper anyway. It ​annoys her when cars go fast to get in front of the line and try to merge in.

​The place Lisa would love to visit is one of the areas of the world which still contain Gorilla families, in the hope that she can get close while they ignore her.

Barb chose the 'Shoes' icon for her third question, '​Which planet would you like to visit?' and not being that ambitious to go anywhere out of this world, staying on Earth works for her​.

​We can stop using more than we need, by not buying more than we need. Lisa has a great ​wardrobe idea and a way to give stuff away.

Question 4, and Barb chose the 'Russia' icon, particularly appropriate as she has named her crutches, Boris and Natasha​. In answer to the question asked, she would like to invite her n​eighbours over for a drink as long as it's not alcoholic.

​Lisa chose the​'Paint' icon for her final question. It all depends on how important the thing is to make Lisa try, try and try again​. And if she can't do it she is not afraid to ​'Phone a friend'.

For the final question of ​​Semi - Final 1, Barb told how she last stayed awake for more than 24 hours, when in college. As a travelling Jazz pianist with bands and singers she often had to stay up for a long time.

FunkQuest - Tag Team Challenge - Semi Final 2 - Barb and Phil v Lisa and Ginger

​Lisa and Ginger ​(​Orange team)were the first to go in this Semi-Final 2 Episode of FunkQuest Tag Team Challenge.

Lisa, as head funkster of her team chose the 'Lion' icon. The question; ​ 'Who comes when you call?' was answered by Ginger​ and we found that she can make a variety of noises to call her dog. ​

As Head funkster of the pink team, Barb chose the strawberry cake' icon and answered the question; 'If you died tomorrow who would come to your Funeral?' She ​had already thought about, and the usual 'close family' subjects were mentioned, as well as someone a bit more contenscious.

Second ​question- and Lisa revealed her love of her first car. With it she became a real party animal.

Phil answered the Pinks team question 2 - Living in Liverpool (England) he was already too close ​to the North Pole. He can't deal with being cold and travels to hot countries to stay warm. He has been known to wear 'Long​johns' beneath his suit at work.

Ginger wishes that she could play the piano. ​The ability to play more than 'Chopsticks' would be great, especially ​when she comes across a stray piano.

In his quest for warmth, it is only right that Phil has seen lots of 'famous land marks' from around the world. What are they? Watch the video to find out

Lisa answered her question four- 'When was the last time you drank a pint of milk?' and exclaimed she belived she was 'lactose intolerant'. Milky drinks of any kind are out and now so is coffee. She is feeling great.

​The 'nervous girl' icon was Barbs 4th choice, which turned out to be very apt as she told the story of her first swimming lessons, which happened ​in an outside ​pool.

Question 5 for the orange team was answerd by Ginger. The best thing about life for her is, being grateful every day for everything we have.​

Final Question​ and the 'Skiing' Icon​ was chosen by Barb, answered by Phil. 'What irritates you about your neighbours?' 'The fact that I have​ them'. he said. To find out all the reasons he gives watch the video.

FunkQuest -Season 3 - Episode 4 - WT Hamilton v Zakary Haines
​Wayne (WT) and Zak are the last players, before the semi finals, in this short season 3.

Wayne chose the 'guitar' icon for his first question 'How do you see yourself physically?' He sees himself as very sexy (ha ha). He went to the gym before covid 19 to burn off the calories he gets from drinking beer.

Zac re​vealed he has moved house many times ​through his teenage years, he has been settled for the last 3 years. He doesn't like the new year, as it is during those cold months he used to move. He has however mastered the art of packing boxes.

Question 2 - ​Wayne likes small gathering rather than big parties, as the conversations flow more easily and stories can be told again and again.

Zak thought about a variety of ​Artists who could​ paint his portrait but chose Leonard de Vinci, because of the way he thought out of his realm and pushed himself differently in his era in time

The 'squirrel' icon question; ​reminded Zac ​of the american magician 'Chris Angel'. His extreme stuff and pain toler​ance was considered 'dark magic'.

In Wayne's third question, he told us that before Covid 19 he didn't binge on TV s​hows but now he is hooked on 'Dark' - a time travelling, mind bending​ ​series, much like 'L​ost'.

Wayne revealed that his mind tends to go blank while he is driving, he travels a lot but forgets where he is as he drives.

Zak is usually an easy going sort of bloke but when he was seventeen he showed courage, by complaining about the service he and his mates were getting at a diner.

Zak's fifth question showed us that he was a footballer rather than an actor at school. He did enjoy participating in student radio at this time.

The ​final ​question, ​came from the 'Nebular' icon. Wayne joked about the fact that if he was in the ​'Amazing Race​' - an​ american TV show - he and his wife would not reach the first leg of the race. He revealed that getting to an event, half an hour late, ​was a good thing​!

FunkQuest - Season 2 -Ann Smith- crowning victory episode
Undefeated on any of her FunkQuest challenges, Ann Smith is most definitely the Grand Champion Funkster of FunkQuest Season 2.

​Jean and Laurie are two more, brand new, players, trying to get the 'Funk Out' in ​Season 3 ​​of FunkQuest.

Jean​ was first to choose an​ Icon - the ​Battleship' - a childhood reminder of a loved game. - Her question revealed that she had never learned to do CPR (cardiopulmo​nary res​uscitation) but it was on her' list to do' now she had grandchildren and babysitting duties.

Laurie's worst boss; was a narcissistic shouter, who she reported to HR, after he shouted at her for something that wasn't her fault.

​In Jeans second question she told us of jumping the queue at a store by heading for the self serve section, where, she was pulled up by the man behind her who she hadn't noticed. Wearing masks could have made it worse, but a conversation, eased a long wait in the queue.

Laurie chose the 'bouncy house' icon for her second question. She always likes to hear bad news first. If you hear the good news first, you are left ​to stew on the bad news after. Looking back on her life she realises that most times, things turn out alright.

The planet Pluto is a bit of a conundrum. Laurie would like to visit Pluto just to prove it is a planet - but in the end she thinks that she would be dead long before she got there.

The 'Accordion' icon was chosen by Jean and; her 'lucky charm' - was a 'mood ring'. This was a christmas present she had opened early, then re-wrapped so as not to be found out. All the rage at the time - the black faced ring changed colour with your mood.

Question 4 was for Jean and if ​she was to be 'stuck somewhere in time' she would like it to be in the early ​20th century. As a fly on the wall she could watch how her parents used to live and work and perhaps manage to get back to ​the 21st century with a greater understanding of what they had to go through.

Lauries question 5 revealed that she was a trier. Throughout her early life ​she had been put down by people telling her she was stupid or not smart enough, so she tried, tried and tried again and is now a teacher with a Masters degree.

Never being able to make a gingerbread house Jean chose that Icon; with the question - 'When did you have to stay awake for 24 hours.' Her answer ​was at a 'youth club lock in' event. She stayed up mainly because she didn't want anyone to play a joke on her.