The plural of ‘trivium’ is ‘trivia’ – which are unimportant, trifling things or details; especially obscure and useless pieces of knowledge. I’m attracted by trivia. I don’t know why. Maybe I just happen to have the sort of brain that devours bits of useless information. Or maybe it’s the obscurity and uselessness per se that appeals to me – especially in this world beset by problems that are anything but trivial. But sometimes even trivia aren’t trivial. For example last Saturday night when Sweetheart Vivienne and I attended a trivia night – a fundraiser for the Deloraine Baptist Church, but that’s another story. I’ve been in a few previous trivia contests, including this recent one, when my trivial talent’s stood me in good stead. So last Saturday I was quietly confident. The six other members of Sweetheart Vivienne’s and my team – MCG, i.e. a contraction of ‘Mole Creek Gang’ – were much more trivia savvy than we were. As the photograph shows [click on it to enlarge it], there were 13 teams and 10 topic categories. And MCG won. By only one point, but win we did. We MCG eight shared the prize of a basket of smelly (aka scented) toiletries. We had such fun – not least because none of us was religious let alone Baptist. Trivia, and trivia nights, are ephemeral. But enjoying a good time with lovely people is enduring. It helps make life worthwhile. But if you simultaneously win the contest then so much the better.
