As a child I used to like the Eurovision Song Contest. As an adult, having lost some of the childish wonder, I moved away from it. A few years ago I watched it, endured the music and the hype and saw the voting patterns develop as small countries with alliances to make, controlled much of the voting. There was nothing there to interest me and I never returned. It’s a popular event, it presumably makes decent money for the TV companies, but it’snot my cup of tea. Julia, for some reason, decided to watch some of it tonight. I endured one and a half songs and left. I have better things to do. It’s like bungee jumping, marrying your cousin and being cheerful. I won’t stop you doing it if that’s what you want to do, but I’m not going to pretend it’s for me. That’s why I’m sitting in the dining room typing. That and the lion question.

Did you know there are lions in India? I didn’t until I saw a quiz show tonight. It’s known as the Asiatic or Persian Lion. I said Iran, because I somehow always associate lions with Persia/Iran. They are linked in history, but there are none there today, unless you count one specimen in the zoo, which is part of  project to reintroduce the species. I can’t find any up to date information, and am not sure if any progress has been made, but, at the risk of being flippant about a noble beast, they are going to need a lady lion if they want to make the project a success.

For the record – when I said “Iran.” Julia said “India.” and I made the additional error of correcting her before the answer was announced. That’s the other reason I’m typing in the dining room – not only can I avoid Eurovision, but I can avoid further discussions about my lack of knowledge of the lion population of India.

I’m deficient in photos of both Eurovision and Asian Lions so the photograph is likely to be an approximation to one or the other.