OK, back to Tuesdays this week, and should hopefully continue this way for the rest of the year, except maybe one week in a couple of weeks' time, though I will of course let yous know for sure nearer the time.
Anyway, playing last night were the Shutterbugs, Jasmine Leonard, Adam Ardron and captain Jenny Skene, who narrowly beat the Highgates last time out, and the Korfballers, Taissa Csaky, Niall Sheekey and captain Michael Jelley, who beat the Channel Islanders in their first outing.
Round 1. The Shutterbugs kicked off procedings with Two Reeds: 'Carucage', then 'Tallage', then 'Scot', and finally 'Danegeld'. They suspected it at the second, but the final confirmed it for them: they are former British taxes. The Korfballers began their account with Twisted Flax, and the picture set: we saw two beaters, of the sort seen in Gladiators, then a goalkeeper; this was enough for them to get it, they are positions in Quidditch! Victoria seemed most amused by this! The Shutterbugs chose Water next, and got the music set: we heard Michael Bolton, then George Formby singing When I'm Cleaning Windows; now, they offered, at this point, places in Lancashire, which Victoria accepted, even though the unheard clues would've been Dionne Warwick and Belinda Carlisle. Fair enough call IMO, they offered the key word, and thus were right to get the three points. The Korfballers chose Lion next: 'AUGUST 7', then 'APOLLO 8', then 'EXODUS 14', and finally 'QUIZ 22'. The final clue gave it to them: they are words and their Scrabble scores. The Shutterbugs chose Horned Viper next: 'British monarch: James II', then 'UK prime minister: Duke of Newcastle', then 'World triathlon champion: Jonny Brownlee', and finally 'Cuban president: Raul Castro'. They didn't get it, their opponents, and I, did: they all succeeded their brothers in that position. Left with Eye of Horus for their own final question, the Korfballers saw 'Fear does stimulate the vagus nerve', then 'Pectin does lower blood pressure', then 'Omega-3 does reduce natural inflammation', and finally 'A red sunset does mean high pressure moving from west'. Again, they had it from the final clue: they are scientific evidence for old wives tales. At the end of the first round, the Korfballers led 6-4.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Shutterbugs kicked the round off with Lion, and the picture set: we saw a lotus flower, then Malcolm McLaren, and then Serena Williams. They didn't get it, their opponents did: something representing 'Ferrari' would suffice, the sequence being winners of the F1 Constructors Championship in order of how many wins. For their own question, the Korfballers chose Two Reeds: 'John Houblon' (scored out), then 'Michael Faraday' (ditto), and then 'Florence Nightingale' (likewise). They spotted it to be people who have been withdraw from being on £50, £20, £10 and £5 banknotes, but couldn't get the right answer. Their opponents offered Elizabeth Fry; now, at the time of recording, she hadn't been withdrawn from the fiver, she has now, but Victoria let them have the bonus nonetheless. For their own question, the Shutterbugs chose Twisted Flax: 'Secretary of State', then 'President pro tempore of the Senate', and then 'Speaker of the House'; they knew it was the line of succession to the US Presidency, and offered 'Vice President' for two points. The Korfballers chose Horned Viper next: '1936 - Wallis Simpson', then '1952 - Queen Elizabeth II', and then '1986 - Cory Aquino'. Neither team got this one; they are women who have been TIME magazine's Person of the Year, so '2015 - Angela Merkel' would be fourth. For their final choice, the Shutterbugs chose Water: '1st: MAX GROSS', then '2nd: TARE', and then '3rd: PAYLOAD'. They had nothing to offer, and their opponents didn't have it. '4th: CU CAPACITY' would be fourth, the sequence being labels on shipping containers. Ironically, the Shutterbugs claimed in their intro to have been looking at some being offloaded while on walkabout in Cardiff! Left with Eye of Horus again, the Korfballers saw '2013: Cold Trends (Search)', then '2014: Pokemon Challenge (Maps)', and then '2015: ChromoSelfie (Chrome)'. They knew it to be stunts pulled by Google on April Fools Day, but couldn't get the fourth. Their opponents could: '2016: Minion dropping mic (GMail)' would satisfactorily complete the set. At the end of the second round, the Shutterbugs led 8-7.
On to the Walls. The Korfballers went first, and chose the Water wall to play with. After looking over and trying some sets with little success, they eventually isolated 'Horne', 'Hancock', 'Dale' and 'Clitheroe', which are surnames of BBC Radio comedians. After spending some time trying to isolate a group of words for valleys, they eventually had 'Vale', 'Ria', 'Glen' and 'Gulch'. They tried quickly to solve the remaining clues, and got it at the last try: 'Magdalene', 'Blew', 'Lowe' and 'Grimm' are homophones of words meaning 'miserable', while 'Barton', 'Stuart', 'Berry' and 'Beard' are surnames of famous Marys. A much needed full ten points.
The Shutterbugs were thus under pressure to perform well on the Lion wall. They quickly spotted some links, and eventually isolated 'Myrrh', 'Maple syrup', 'Turpentine' and 'Cork', which are products obtained from trees. Looking over the rest, they spotted a link of words that can precede 'duck', and quickly isolated 'Lame', 'Sitting', 'Rubber' and 'Peking'. Looking over the remaining clues, they worked out the links, and soon had things wrapped up: 'Christiania', 'Edo', 'Angora' and 'Hanyang' are former names of capital cities (they offered 'erstwhile capitals', and were just about given it), while 'Cashmere', 'Vicuna', 'Qiviut' and 'Alpace' are types of wool. Another full ten, which gave them a slender lead of 18-17 going into the final round.
So, once again, Missing Vowels would be the decider. 'Things you might regret the next day', such as 'ONE-NIGHT STAND' and 'BOOZE-UP'(!), went to the Korfballers 2-0. 'Films with US state capitals in the title', such as 'THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX', went to the Korfballers 2-1. 'Noted mnemonics' was split 1-each, and time expired on the third clue. The Korfballers won 22-20.
Another good close contest. Unlucky Shutterbugs, but nothing to be ashamed of at all once again, so thanks for taking part. Well done Korfballers though, and good luck in the group phase.
Next week's match: the Verbivores vs the Taverners
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