Keep taking the tablets - Part 2: the parent's revenge.....

The laughter did not end there though..... a little later, my eldest came in to see if I could help her with some prep for her new job which she starts on Monday. It is with an insurance company, and they had sent her a whole load of reading material and a quick quiz, to do before her first day. Bless, her, she had worked really hard to read all through this, but she had to do a few questions putting ticks against places to demonstrate she knew in which world zone they were located, so that she would sell the right insurance cover.....

First few questions, easy enough.... A few places in the UK, Dublin, some places in the States. Then Moscow.... I thought Europe or perhaps Worldwide, excluding Australia, USA and Canada. But that we had better check on the net. So I typed in "Moxcow". And as she laughed at that, I protested, "Don't worry, it is my spelling, not my typing". When in fact, I meant, of course, "it is my typing, not my spelling..." Cue more teasing of dad... (The answer - it turns out Moscow is in Europe.... being located west of the Urals... so now you know - may come in handy at one of those quiz nights).

And then, Estonia..... "Europe", she said, confidently.... Me - "How do you know that?" Her reply, "They won a lot of points one year at the Eurovision Song Contest". Ah well, when the traditional forms of education such as geography fail, there is always the world of light entertainment.... I did point out that Israel and Turkey are also in the Eurovision, but the first would qualify in her insurance quiz as Worldwide, excluding Australia, USA and Canada, and the second technically falls into both Europe and Worldwide (excl... blah blah blah) as it spans the 2 continents of Europe and Asia, but she is right, as Estonia is part of the EU.

And the final question.... "Dad, where are the 'He brids'?" Smiling, I asked where, and she showed me the word. "Oh, you mean the 'He brides'?" "Yes, sorry, that is what I meant.... Geography was never my strong subject," she said, demonstrating that very point. I smiled.... But I did correct the pronunciation to the Hebbbbrides, and showed her that they were part of the UK, as I was not so keen to have some measure of revenge that she and her sister had been laughing at me, that I wanted her to show herself up with her pronunciation the following day.

I am a loving dad, first and foremost. And that often means having to be able to share in your kids' joy, even if it it is sometimes at your own expense.....