Pablo's Armchair Treasure Hunt

Armchair Treasure Hunt 1989

Title: Armchair Treasure Hunt 1989
Setters: Paul Coombs & Brian Jackson
Themes: Chess

Some Notes on the Hunt

Paul Coombs writes...

The pictures for this one simply show the journey from the hiding-place of the 1988 hunt to the new hiding place at Copped Hall. We took the journey, taking photographs on the way, which Brian then turned into illustrations.

I'm not sure it was a conscious decision, but this hunt in particular seems almost ludicrously simple compared with more recent attempts. The giveaway that the hiding place was near the M25 made it easy for the winning team, who often passed Copped Hall, high up beside the motorway, on their way to work. Several red herrings made reference to chess, which in fact had nothing to do with it.

Copped Hall, close to my parents' home, was a ruin in 1989 and the overgrown gardens proved an ideal hiding-place. However, it is now being restored with the help of cash raised by converting the many outbuildings into homes. I never recovered the treasure box, so the restorers may be in for a surprise one day.


Brian Jackson writes...

Actually, I really liked this one too. The celtic borders were fun (an artistic obsession of mine at the time), the illustrations were manageable, being mostly based on photos, and having been the one who did the driving and took the photos I had more input in designing and composing the piece.