USUALLY he specialises in seasonal quizzes, but after turning his attention from Christmas to coronavirus, an Andover pensioner has helped to raise more than ten thousand pounds for charity.

Stephen Graham, 92, has launched a ‘self-isolation special’ version of his cryptic quiz to help keep people entertained during the lockdown and also raise money for NHS workers.

The Goodworth Clatford resident told the Advertiser: “I run Christmas quizzes, every year for the last ten years.

“It’s a cryptic quiz, not general knowledge or one you can look up. I’m not quite very good at them myself, but I am good at inventing the questions,” he quipped.

After receiving requests from regular quizzers asking for a mid-year coronavirus-themed edition, the retired soldier-turned-teacher stepped up to give people something to get stuck into while they’re confined to their homes – as Stephen is.

“That’s the idea – the wanted something that people could use while they were locked down, that’s why we did it,” he said.

“What I try to do is keep it cryptic, so you can’t just look it up. You’ve got to work it out.”

Normally the Christmas quizzes are distributed as hard copies, made available in local shops and pubs.

But with the lockdown in full swing – and after enlisting the help of his son, Andy – the quiz is instead now being shared online, via Just Giving. And so far, it seems to be a hit.

“We put this one together and launched it ten days ago and we’ve got £11,000 so far,” Stephen added.

As with the Christmas quizzes, Stephen put this latest version together with the help of his friend, Mark Haszlakiewicz. Usually they raise around £7,000 for a mix of national and local charities, but this time it took little more than a week for the fundraiser to reach five figures.

“I was very pleasantly surprised,” added Stephen.

“I was hoping to get roughly what we normally get at Christmas, but this has exceeded that. And it’s only been going ten days or so, so we could get a bit more, I hope.

“The more people who hear about it, the happier we are.”

The quiz comes with a minimum donation of £10, with funds being raised for NHS Charities Together.

Simply sign up online and you will receive the questions, with the answers to be revealed on May 15.

For more information and to sign up go to https://justgiving.com/fundraising/quizcvspecial