Bonnyrigg and Lasswade pubs come together for charity

The gloves are off - Landlords from around Midlothian get together to raise money for charity by taking each other on in a pub quiz. L - R Carole Steel Louis Steel Donna Brown Kirsty Wilson Andy Gourlay Kenneth Ferguson Michael Dickson Lisa Murray

The Polton Inn, the Laird and Dog, the Chase, the Royal Oak and the Calderwood Inn are planning to have a pub versus pub quiz night every month, starting this week. Each team has to donate an item to a local foodbank, with the winning team giving the prize money to a charity of their choice. With raffles and auctions also raising money for good causes.

Donna Brown, bar and events supervisor at the Polton Inn, came up with the idea.

She said: “We are looking to bring the community together. Social media is a big thing these days. But older folk don’t necessarily use that. So we want to get the word out there about these nights and bring local people together.

“On the last night we are hoping to hold a special charity night with prizes etc.

“The pub trade is a dying business. Nobody really comes together in pubs anymore like they used to. There is nothing for anybody to do in Bonnyrigg really. We had a bingo night recently which was really busy, then a quiz night which was also very busy.

“So this is a great way to bring the community together. As well as doing that we hope to get more charities involved. Whichever pub teams wins, it gets to choose which charity takes the winnings.

“All the raffles will go to charity as well. We are playing for Children 1st, I don’t know about the other pubs. At the end of the day though, we just want to bring people together and have a laugh.”

The first pub versus pub quiz takes place at The Royal Oak on Thursday, April 4. It costs £10 per team, of two to five players. Entry forms available in all participating pubs.