OK, time to catch up with last week's Only Connect. With the new format, it seems the show is going through the group play-offs first, and then move on to the second group next week. Playing the first play-off last week were the Bardophiles, Charlie Cook, Tim Hepworth and Sue Barnard, who were comfortably defeated by the Tubers in their first match, and the Taverners, Dean Reilly, Simon Gibbons and captain Mickey Alexander, who narrowly lost theirs to the Cosmopolitans.
Round 1. The Taverners went first, and chose to kick off with Two Reeds: '1/7 Iraq', then '2/7 Turkey', then '2/7 Egypt', and finally '2/7 Greece'. They didn't get it, their opponents did: they are where the Seven Wonders of the World are located. For their own first question, the Bardophiles chose Horned Viper: 'Barbed Wire: Lacrosse', then 'Dog Collar: Leeds Castle', then 'Lawnmower: Southport'; at this point, they offered locations of museums dedicated to the subject. Correct, for two points. The Taverners chose Twisted Flax next, and got the music question: we heard 'Let it Rock' by Chuck Berry, then 'Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow', then a cover of 'Let it Be', and finally 'Let it Go' from Frozen. Neither time spotted the link. The Bardophiles chose Eye of Horus next: 'Betjeman', then 'Alsatian', then 'Liberty cabbage', and finally 'Windsor'. They didn't spot it, their opponents did: they all had their names changed to avoid association with Germany after WWI. For their own question, the Taveners chose Water, and got the picture set: we saw Rodney from Fools and Horses, then Phil Tufnell, then Brian Johnston the cricket commentator, and finally Keith Chegwin, who they misidentified as Pat Sharp! Thus, they didn't get it; their opponents did though: they all have nicknames ending 'ers'. (Rodders, Tuffers, Johnners, Cheggers) Left with Lion for their own question, the Bardophiles saw 'Carl Reiner', then 'Griff Rhys Jones', then 'Sue Perkins', and finally 'Kim Appleby'. Again, neither time spotted it: they all form a double act with Mels. At the end of the first round, the Bardophiles led 4-2.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Taverners kicked the round off with Lion: 'The border district', then 'East Saxons', and then 'People of the South'; they spotted it to be the meanings of the names of English counties (Kent, Essex and Suffolk), so offered 'People of the North' for Norfolk, correctly for two points. The Bardophiles chose Water next: 'McLeish', then 'McConnell', and then 'Salmond'; they correctly offered 'Sturgeon' for two points, though they got the link wrong, offering SNP leaders instead of Scottish First Ministers, but they got the points anyway. The Taverners chose Eye of Horus next: 'Go for a run...', then 'Du: ...add some cycling...', and then 'Tri: ...add some swimming'. They spotted it to be what is added to the various 'athlons' to form the next event, but couldn't get the right answer. Nor could their opponents. 'Quadr: ...and add some kayaking' completes the set. The Bardophiles chose Horned Viper next: 'Republic of Zaire', then 'Democratic Republic of the Congo'; they spotted it to be the former names of the DRC, but offered 'Central African Republic'. Not right. Their opponents saw the third clue of 'Republic of the Congo', but couldn't get it either. 'Belgian Congo' completes the set, the link being the DRC's former names going backwards. For their final choice, the Taverners chose Twisted Flax: 'Zulu Uniform', then 'Mike Echo'; they spotted it to be the NATO alphabet, and that the third clue would be 'Oscar Romeo', and thus deduced that the fourth would be 'Oscar Romeo' too, for three points. Left with Two Reeds, the Bardophiles got the picture set, and saw some taramasalata, then the pop group Bananarama, and then the Maracana stadium. They spotted the link, but couldn't offer an acceptable answer; their opponents could, offering 'Banana' for two points. At the end of the second round, the Taverners led 8-6.
On to the Walls. The Bardophiles went first, and chose to tackle the Lion wall. They spotted some links, and quickly isolated 'Condensed milk', 'Honey', 'Piglet' and 'Hums', the link being Winnie the Pooh. After some unsuccessful attempts, they finally isolated a second group: 'Beer', 'White', 'French' and 'Dijon' are types of mustard. They couldn't resolve the rest within the allocated three gos, and thus had to pick up bonus group points: 'Flange', 'T-slot', 'Wing' and 'Acorn' are types of nut, which they didn't get, while 'Glasgow', 'Butterfly', 'Air' and 'Judas' are kisses, which they did get. Five points for that.
The Taverners thus were left with the Water wall. They also spotted some early links, and eventually isolated 'Davis', 'Freeman', 'Crook' and 'Gervais', which are surnames of actors in The Office, and then 'Blood', 'Bottle', 'Merchant' and 'Memory', which can all precede 'bank'. They spotted the final connections, and quickly sorted them: 'Ralph', 'Roger', 'Piggy' and 'Jack' are characters from Lord of the Flies, while 'Scarlet', 'Haddock', 'America' and 'Phoebus' are fictional captains. A full ten there, which gave them a lead of 18-11 going into the final round.
Still in the balance going into Missing Vowels then. 'Fictional bow-tie wearers' was split 1-each, with Bardophiles getting two right but one wrong. 'Films with body parts in the title', such as the old ISIHAC fave 'BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA', went to the Taverners 3-1. 'Football club mascots' went to the Bardophiles 3-(-1), and that was time. The Taverners won 21-16.
A good game well played by both. Unlucky Bardophiles, but thanks for taking part. Well done Taverners, and very best of luck in Round 2.
This week's match: the Verbivores vs the Channel Islanders. Coming up later this week.
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