Although there are several pubs closer to us (which I have to admit we've never visited), The Lion is our pub of choice. Almost from our first day in the country, our neighbors, the Juggins, helped us to understand that not all pubs are "real pubs" anymore, and that The Lion is our closest "real pub."
[For the record, according to David Juggins, "real pubs" have locally brewed real ale (as opposed to international brand -- or worse, American -- lager), a friendly neighborhood atmosphere, and do not have video games, TVs (except during extremely important football matches), or recorded music played so loudly that people can't talk.]
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| The Lion public house (or "pub" for short) |
Quiz teams are formed around a table, and a team may have any number of players from two or three up to a dozen or so. There is no limit, just how many can fit around a table. Each player contributes one Pound (currently about $1.55) to play. The quizmaster collects and leaves one quiz sheet for the team plus a number of numbered tickets equal to the number of paying players.
"Our" team usually consists of David Juggins, Chris (a mate of Phillip's, about the same age), Richard (slightly older, a solicitor -- that is, a lawyer who works with contracts, and unlike a barrister, does not appear in court), sometimes another Chris (who is on the staff at "the Uni" -- that is, the University of Nottingham), and whatever friend, drop-in, or odd American happens to show up.
The quiz sheet is in two parts. "Round Two" consists of questions or puzzles to be solved at the team's leisure between the twenty questions of "Round One," which are read orally over a period of about an hour.
Last week's "Round Two," as an example, consisted of parallel lists of countries and their capital cities. Some capital cities appeared without countries, other countries appeared with a blank for the capital city. The task was to correctly fill in all of the blanks. Some were obscure -- the capital of Slovenia, for example (answer: Ljubljana).
"Round One" questions run the gamut from, "What actor played the role of 'Mickey O'Neil' in the movie 'Snatch'?" (answer: Brad Pitt) to "What English football team plays its home games at Keepmoat Stadium?" (answer: The Doncaster Rovers).
Obviously, I'm not much good with most of these questions. I can sometimes contribute an answer to some uniquely American question, such as "Which U.S. state has no border that is a straight line?" (answer: Hawaii -- but I got it wrong), or "Which American President was the first to survive being shot while in office?" (answer: Ronald Regan -- but I missed that one, too). When our students occasionally attend the quiz, they are similarly helpful.
The winning team receives a gallon of ale, one pint at a time, issued as winners' tokens that can be exchanged at the bar. An imperial gallon is 20% larger than a U.S. gallon, but the pints are 20% larger, as well. Obviously these eight pints go farther with a smaller team, so our English friends are gracious to allow us to participate.
8 comments:
On our first night in Nottingham, we all walked across the street to the Wheatsheaf, where I shared my first pint of Guinness with a flatmate. While not the first alcohol to have passed my innocent lips, it was the first "large" quantity of beer, and the experience seemed a bit scandalous!
On our second night in Nottingham, we received an education on traditional pub culture. Three of us squeezed into the back of David and Kate's car after dinner, and were transported across the bridge to the Lion. Here we learned of cask conditioned ales and how to quaff multiple pints in one sitting (certainly no sharing allowed). It was immediately our favorite pub. While I'm not sure we were there enough to be termed regulars, we went as often as we could afford, and always eagerly awaited the next opportunity for a walk up Nuthall, cutting over to Wilkinson to take the bridge over the old soap factory (which alternately reeked of raw materials or emanated a cool, clean scent of the final product), to arrive at the Lion thirsty for real ale and real conversation.
It's still the same, Ryan, only without the soap smell!
Yes, I was there with Ryan that same first night at the Lion. I didn't remember the street names, but i remember thinking to myself that a whole new world had just been opened. I don't remember a Quiz night, though--they must have added that later.
Chris
Ah Mark I am certain the American contribution last night was key to our score of 33/35! 94%
Besides it's great when the evening has an international feel to it - it means I have people to talk to whilst Rich and Dave answer all the questions! Great blog.
Perhaps we contributed a bit this week, Chris. But I know we don't always carry our share of the load, especially compared to the two star quizzers you mentioned!
By the way, Ryan, the Wheatsheaf now appears to be history. We noticed it hadn't been doing much business since we arrived last summer. As of last week, it is doing no business at all. Signs in the window say, "This pub is temporarily closed." I'm betting that "temporarily" will be a long time.
The Nags Head and the Whitemore continue, though the Whitemore is for sale (should you be looking for a business opportunity in Nottingham). I'm told that last year's students frequented the Nags Head, but our group tends to save their money for occasional weekend trips to the clubs downtown.
Interesting, Mark. The Nag's Head sounded familiar but I couldn't place it. I had to take a virtual stroll via Google Street View. I need some corroboration from my flatmates, but I believe it might have been closed in 97-98, because I have no memory of going in there.
Also, the Whitemoor operated under two different names while I was there. When it reopened in the spring, it had more of a sports bar atmosphere.
Well last years students went to the Nagshead AND the clubs downtown and to the Lion. Obviously they did not want anyone to feel left out. Aaron Schmultz even worked at Coco Tang downtown.
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