I remember now.
I was penny-ed at formal hall last friday.
Penny-ing takes place during the meal, where a person drops a penny (1 pence coin) into another person's wine glass (full). When that happens, the penny-ed would have to down the entire glass in 1 go, and retrieve the penny. Back-pennying is disallowed. The penny-ed can then go on and look for other targets and be the penny-er.
Right. That might account for the general malaise on saturday.