Trivial Pursuits

The pub quiz is something of an institution in Kampala town. Once a fortnight (that's every two weeks if you're from North America) a selection of Kampala's finest long term residents and short term volunteers, who are taking a break from saving the world, gather to put their trivia knowledge to the test. The prize for winning such a contest is the honour of setting the next quiz and if you tie in a round there is the notorious 'drink-off'' where you are forced to down a pint or knock back a noxious and cheap spirit. The winners are generally the team with the most Blackberries and fastest Internet connections. The quiz master is typically the member of the team with the least grasp of the English language, the female with the shriekiest voice or the American with the most drawling accent. The questions range from the sublime to the ridiculous. Tonight was no exception. Since we were unable to name any famous field hockey players from the Netherlands (I was told that writing down the name of a former colleague didn't count), nor did we know the name of the leader of the Ugandan sports press leader, we decided to quit while we were behind and made an early exit. We started to compose a few questions of our own, in the unlikely event that we should ever get the opportunity to host the quiz. Here are a few of our questions, deliberately chosen for their obscurity and their irrelevance to anybody else's lives:

1. Sports round - How many runs did South Shore cricket team score in 1982 throughout the course of the year?
2. Food and drink - What is the most popular dessert on a Hungarian menu?
3. Commerce - In which Bogota shopping centre did the first branch of Zara clothing shop open?
4. Education - What was the name of my maths teacher when I was in Year 9?
5. Music - Sing the third verse of the Ugandan National Anthem, then translate into Luganda

Seriously, I know that people need an excuse to go to the pub on a Thursday night, but this is painful. Rain check for another six months!