OK all? Hope everyone had a good Christmas. I had the same quiet Christmas I've been used to over the past few years, mostly spent watching endless animated films and festive TV specials (mostly repeats), and punctuated last Saturday when I went to Pittodrie to watch Aberdeen play Kilmarnock; we won 1-0, so it was worth it!
So, on to Xmas UC. As we've become used to, we've had a sneak preview of minor set adjustments for the next series; the 'UC' logo on our left of the desks and the scores on our right have changed font, but, other than that, it's basically the same. In a slight change from previous years, photos of the graduates as students come up during their intros rather than over the credits, and the regular theme tune is used over the credits rather a festive classical piece.
Saturday 20th: Lady Margaret Hall Oxford vs Warwick
Lady Margaret Hall: Michelle Paver, Philip Hensher, Cathy Newman, Samuel West
Warwick: Bob Kerslake, Jonathan Coe, Simon Calder, Simon Bailey
A pretty one sided match thanks to Mr Hensher, who almost single handedly ran up Lady Margaret Hall's score by taking most of the starters. Warwick just couldn't get in, though they did come close on a couple of early occasions. Eventually, after the music round, Warwick got off the mark, by which time Lady Margaret Hall were out of sight on 125. It finished 195-45 in Lady Margaret Hall's favour; Mr Hensher took eight starters, and his side converted 17 bonuses out of 36 (with two penalties). Warwick finished with 3 out of 7.
Tuesday 23rd: Hull vs Newcastle
Hull: Rosie Millard, Malcolm Sinclair, Jenni Murray, Stan Cullimore
Newcastle: John Yorke, Giles Fraser, Kate Adie, Alistair Reynolds
It started close, with Newcastle starting first, followed by Hull. Hull then pulled away, though they understandably felt hard done by when Paxo refused them an answer they didn't answer fully! Hull's advantage on the buzzer remained throughout most of the rest of the match. Late on, Newcastle tried valiantly to break back in, but this only resulted in their score collapsing through three consecutive penalties. The match finished 205-25, which is totally unfair on Newcastle who did enough to do better than that. Hull converted 18 bonuses out of 34 (with one penalty) and Newcastle 2 out of 9 (with three penalties).
Wednesday 24th: King's Cambridge vs Royal Holloway
King's: David Walker, Martin Bell, Noreena Hertz, Thomas Ades
Royal Holloway: Norman Baker MP, Valerie Vaz MP, Francis Wheen, Tori James
A good close match this. Francis Wheen almost single handedly kept Royal Holloway in the match, while Thomas Ades seemed to do most of the work for King's. The Cambridge side's better bonus rate seemed to be keeping them ahead most of the time. The key moment came when Mr Ades took a crucial late starter with not much time left, upping his team's lead from 5 to 25. Royal Holloway pushed hard, but couldn't quite catch up; the final score was 160-150 to King's. King's converted 18 bonuses out of 24 (with two penalties) and Royal Holloway just 12 out of 27, which is where the match was lost.
Thursday 25th: Edinburgh vs Leeds
Edinburgh: Judith Miller, Alan Little, Philippa Gregory, Quentin Cooper
Leeds: David Baulcombe, Jacqui Oatley, James Mates, Julian Dutton
This was a pretty one sided match, with Edinburgh generally being quicker on the buzzer, especially Alan Little, who made some very quick buzzes, as did all the team members at least once. Leeds couldn't find much in the way of traction, and they two fell foul of numerous slip-ups, including one on the first starter which saw them fall to (-5). Edinburgh won 235-45 in the end; they converted 21 bonuses out of 39 and Leeds 4 out of 12 (with three penalties).
Friday 26th: Trinity Hall Cambridge vs Balliol Oxford
Trinity Hall: Tom James, Emma Pooley, Adam Mars-Jones, Dan Starkey
Balliol: Euan Birney, Charlotte Higgins, Alan Beith MP, Roger Cohen
This was probably the best match of the week, played superbly by both teams throughout. Trinity Hall's better bonus rate was probably the only real seperation factor of the two. It wasn't until the Cambridge side began a late surge on the buzzer that they truely began to pull away into a comfortable lead. An amusing moment in the second picture round saw them asked for the figure on Jesus' right in the Last Supper painting, and get confused about A) what was meant by Jesus' right, and B) which one was Jesus! Despite this, they emerged winners 195-120; they converted 21 bonuses out of 29 (with two penalties) while Balliol managed 11 out of 21 (with one penalty).
So, at the end of the first week's play, Edinburgh and Hull are safely through. I imagine at least one of Trinity Hall and Lady Margaret Hall will go through too; in the event of a tie, I'd suspect Trinity Hall will go through due to achieving their score with fewer starters.
I'll be back with a write-up of next week's play sometime next weekend. Since this may be my final post of the year, have a safe New Year, and thank you all readers and contributors for support throughout the year.
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