Jay Flynn was down on his luck when the Covid pandemic struck. He had just lost the tenancy of the pub he ran in Lancashire and with it the loyal community of locals who loved his quirky weekly quiz. As the world closed down, he sensed the quiz could now be a lifeline both for him and the locals, so he sent them invites to an online version. But he had forgotten to mark the event ‘private’, and on the night, a disbelieving Jay played quizmaster to half a million teams, from Kenya to Canada, New Zealand to the Ukraine. This was to be the start of a global online quiz sensation, earning more than 1 million for charity and Jay an MBE, as well as his own slot on Zoe Ball’s BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show. It was all the more incredible because, as a lost and troubled young man, Jay had spent two years homeless, sleeping on a bench on the Embankment in London, almost taking his own life. Rescued by a homeless charity, he’d learnt how a simple community can save lives. It proved a priceless lesson. Now, in his inspiring memoir, Jay shows how, sometimes, you can find the answers you’re seeking in the most unexpected places.
