I ADMIRE anyone who can go onto a quiz show like Mastermind and keep smiling.
It's bad enough being tested on your general knowledge without it happening in front of a couple of hundred spectators, TV cameras, a watching audience of millions and three other people who are keen to outpoint you – and that's without mentioning John Humphrys, the daunting inquisitor from the Today programme, sitting behind a desk and firing questions at you as the clock ticks inexorably down.
Years ago, I vaguely knew someone – the colleague of a friend of a friend – who went onto the programme. As far as I can remember he did reasonably well, but he found the experience an intimidating one.
He came to mind last week as I read about John Savage, from Stirlingshire, who went onto Mastermind and won, getting 11 answers right out of 14 on his specialist subject, Celtic FC. He also did pretty well on the general knowledge questions, finishing on 25 points. His rivals' specialist subjects were Ian Dury, the Red Army 1941-1945, and the life and work of Gerald Durrell.
While too much of an active coward to even consider going on the show, I did a straw poll yesterday to find out what colleagues' specialist subjects would be. They give an interesting insight into their intellectual interests. Elton John, said one, before changing his mind and opting for Stanley Baxter. Doctor Who, volunteered a second. Modern Scottish football. The films of Quentin Tarantino. Sex and the City. The Drones Club stories by PG Wodehouse. Newcastle, said one colleague. The football club, I asked, seeking clarification? The city, he said.
Other subjects: the recorded output of ZTT Records, 1983-1986. The Dark Souls computer game. The Ryder Cup. Rangers in the 1970s. The music of Frank Zappa. Bismarck and the German Empire, 1871-1914. Early Bob Dylan. The world's capitals. Several people looked nonplussed and said they couldn't think of a specialist subject. One pondered for a few seconds and said her subject would be naughtiness, upon which she tantalisingly declined to elaborate. The best suggestion came from a colleague who said food and agricultural production in the Soviet Union and Russia. For good measure he authoritatively added 1986 to 1999. He seemed so knowledgeable I have no doubt he'd win Mastermind. If only we can get him on it.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article