A sparkling birch tree and a question of ethics

Happy Nature Friday friends! 

This week's offering is the birch tree we pass on the way to Duthie Park each day. It has just burst into leaf and in the early morning, if the skies are clear and a breeze blowing, the leaves sparkle and dance in the sunlight, a quietly lovely spectacle set against the austere grey of the granite buildings.

You might be interested to know that the building just beyond the tree is the 'Inn at the Park', the place where Gail and I attend the fortnightly pub quiz, along with our friends Kirsty and Cathy (aka 'Team Indecisives').

I appreciate this off topic for the LLB Gang's Nature Friday blog hop, but I want to talk to you today about an ethical dilemma prompted by one of the quiz questions this week.

You will remember that my role in the quiz team is as their much-valued mascot.

And you will know that, obviously, consulting eternal sources of information such as Google and Wikipedia is strictly forbidden during a pub quiz.

So what do you think about this? When asked "how many teeth does a dog have?", Gail decided to try and open my mouth to check that her team had the right answer.

Yes, I know, shocking behaviour, utterly shocking. 

Rest assured friends, I was resolved to protect the integrity of the competition and totally refused to unclench my jaw (even when offered a treat). It is surely incumbent upon any respectable mascot to ensure his team does not cheat, don't you agree?

I am relieved to tell you that 'Team Indecisives' answered correctly - us dogs do have 42 teeth. It would have been embarrassing for them to get this one wrong, as Kirsty is a vet.

Now veering even further off topic, Gail is insisting I tell everyone how her team of three late middle aged(?) ladies scored a record breaking (for them) 8/10 on the sports round on Wednesday, helped by Gail knowing that renowned 1970s and 80s football manager Brian Clough played for both Middlesborough and Sunderland in his professional career before he became a coach.

And no, I have no idea either why Gail seems so ridiculously proud of knowing this piece of esoteric sports trivia.

Sometimes one just has to humour one's humans, I find....

Pub quiz victory!

I have a question for you regarding fairness. 

When one is a hard-working team mascot at a fortnightly pub quiz, and one's four-woman team takes first prize and collects a grand total of £26, is it not fair that some of the prize money should be reserved for special treats in recognition of one's services?

You would have thought the answer obvious, so I hate to tell you that when Gail's team, 'The Indecisives', won the 'Inn at the Park' quiz on Wednesday night, they put all the cash in a special little purse, apparently reserved for buying drinks next time around, and not one penny was placed aside for yours truly...

As for the quiz, let's see how it went:

What did the Team Indecisives know?

• That Sally Wainwright wrote the TV Series 'Happy Valley'
• That Chloe Kelly scored the winning goal in the Euro 2022 final.
• That the author of the play 'The Inspector Calls' was J B Priestley.
• That Beijing is on the Yellow River

What did Team Indecisives not know?

• That Eddie Murphy's breakthrough film was 'Coming to America'
• That there have been 24 Winter Olympics
• That it was Amy Winehouse who sang 'Stronger Than Me' and not Celine Dion...

You know what? When I heard the ladies agonising about the 'Stronger than Me' answer, I tried so hard to intervene and indicate they should go with Ms Winehouse, but was brusquely pushed away.

Despite this snub, I was a Good Boy throughout, and after enjoying a wee blether with Westie Ollie at the adjacent table ("I'm fifteen you know, but still in good nick, don't you think?" etc.) I settled down quietly at Gail's feet.

Thankfully this week's contest was not decided by a single point (it sometimes is). The team seemed particularly thrilled that they won even though there were no rounds on 'Science and Nature' or 'History', these topics being their strong suits.

Gail was so happy at the result she even allowed me onto her lap for a special victory cuddle.

photo by Kirsty

A suggestion for the pub quiz

Have you ever been to a pub quiz?

Gail says that readers outside the UK might not be familiar with this popular British pastime, generally a weekly event held at a local hostelry, where teams compete against each other answering questions on a range of topics such as films, history, food and drink, science, music, geography, sport etc. The winning team typically collects a small cash prize. 

The good thing about our local quiz at the Inn at the Park is that dogs are allowed, so I get to attend along with Gail and her three friends, although I have learned through experience that chewing the carpet and the pub furniture is not tolerated.

You can discover interesting things about your human at these events. I now know that Gail's command of music trivia is arbitrary and limited, but she has in depth and useful (although perhaps only in the context of a pub quiz) knowledge regarding the names of English football stadiums. Likewise, Oscar winners might pass her by, but she can tell you where the first British Labour Prime Minister was born. Overall, she is relatively strong on science and politics, but weak on Mariah Carey. 

I do believe Gail's four-woman team, 'The Indecisives', benefit from my presence. They even win from time to time, although I would note that they have yet to spend any of their winnings on treats for me.... 

I would like to pass one small comment on to the otherwise excellent and immensely likeable quizmaster Ally. I have noticed that he never features rounds titled 'dogs' or, 'pets', or even 'animals'. I am thinking he might in future include questions along the lines of the following (answers in brackets):

• What are the two most distinctive traits of a fox terrier, according to Wikipedia? (energy and intelligence)
• How many wire fox terriers, to the nearest hundred, were registered by the Kennel Club in the UK in 2021? (600 - the exact number is 623) 
• Name three famous fox terriers from film or literature (Snowy from Tintin, Asta from The Thin Man, Montmorency from The Men in a Boat)
• Which dog breed has won the Westminster Dog Show more than any other? (the wire-haired fox terrier) 
• If the team mascot is a wire-haired fox terrier, what proportion of the winnings, in 'treat equivalents' should the mascot be awarded? (90%)

Nobby the Pub Quiz Team Mascot

Yes that's right! I have a new role. 

I'd noticed how, from time to time Gail disappears down the road to a mystery destination for a couple of hours in the evening, leaving me home alone. 

She tends to come back muttering things like "if only we'd known that Richard was the older of the Carpenter twins, we might have won..."

This week the mystery was revealed and Gail took me along with her to the pub quiz, which takes place every other Tuesday evening just a five minute walk away at the 'Inn at the Park'. It turns out she is a (not very valuable) member of 'Team Indecisives', the others being local friends Kirsty, Monica and Cathy. 

I soon learned that her team is aptly named. You won't believe how long they spent debating who was the longest serving British Prime Minister, or which of the Spice Girls was first to release a solo album.

But guess what? This week, obviously only BECAUSE I WAS PRESENT, they actually won! 

Oh and did I mention I behaved impeccably throughout?

So where are my treats? In Cathy's bag perhaps...