OK, another prompt OC write-up this week! Not going to tempt fate and say I hope I'll always be able to do it this early from now on, but we'll play it by ear.
Playing last night's match were the Dandies, Oscar Powell, Lewis Barn and captain, and blog reader, Jack Bennett, who have beaten the Gaffers and the Arrowheads thus far, but lost to the Beaks, and the Escapologists, Frank Paul, Tom Rowell and captain Lydia Mizon, who lost their first match to the Eco-Warriors, but beat the Cricketers in their play-off. Winners would take the final place in the group stage.
Round 1. The Escapologists kicked the show off with Horned Viper: 'Moutza (Greece)', then 'Five fathers (Saudi Arabia)', then 'Idiota (Brazil)', and finally 'Quenelle (France)'. They saw them to be offensive gestures in those nations, and collected the first point of the night. The Dandies opened their account with Lion, and the picture set: we saw a map of Canada with Newfoundland highlighted, then a statue of St Peter, then Alcatraz, and finally Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. That gave it to them, and they offered them to all be 'The Rock' for a point. The Escapologists chose Eye of Horus next, and got the music question: we heard Ella Fitzgerald with 'Manhattan', then 'Black Velvet' by Alana Miles, then the Eagles with 'Tequila Sunrise', and finally 'Escape (The Pina Colada song)' by Rupert Holmes. They saw that they all share their names with cocktails, and picked up another point. The Dandies chose Water next, and got a second picture question: we saw a tombstone with 'Nurtured by Alison Phillips 29th February - 6th May 2016' on it, then one with 'Origin of Pass Notes 1989-90', then one with 'Pioneered with colour by Eddy Shah 1986-95'; they offered 'defunct newspapers and their runs of publication', which was close enough for the two points. The Escaplogists chose Twisted Flax next: 'Light kiss', then 'Snow leopard', then 'American garden', and finally 'A fastening with rope'. They didn't get this one, nor did their opponents: they are clues to names of imperial units. Left with Two Reeds, the Dandies saw ''The' 'Chronicles'', then ''Farm''; they tried 'words removed from original titles of TV shows', and collected three points. Well spotted that. At the end of the first round, the Dandies led 6-2.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Escapologists started the round with Lion: '25 Slovenia', then '26 Cyprus'; they tried '28 Croatia', thinking it to be EU member states in the order they joined, but were not correct. Their opponents saw '27 Luxembourg', but couldn't pick up the drop: its the smallest EU nations by land area, so '28 Malta' would complete the set. The Dandies chose Twisted Flax next, and got the picture set: we saw a window balcony, then two circles with an arrow pointing at one, and then six red dresses in a circle formation. They didn't get this, nor did their opponents: they are audience areas in a theatre going downwards, 'Balcony', 'Upper circle' and 'Dress circle', so something for 'Stalls' would come fourth. The Escapologists chose Two Reeds next: '1,2: O', then '2,3: T'; they offered '4,5: F', which was correct, the sequence being letters those numbers share in their names, so '3,4: R' would be third. The Dandies chose Water next: 'In Bognor theatre', then 'Between large asteroids', and then 'In a Swiss outhouse'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: they are phrases with the compass points hidden in them, ('In BogNOR THeatre', 'Between largE ASTeroids' and 'In a SwisS OUTHouse'), so 'Within CreWE STation' would be an acceptable fourth. For their final choice, the Escapologists chose Eye of Horus: 'Light', then 'Gleaming', and then 'Fight'. They saw it to be the final words of the verses of the Star Spangled Banner, but couldn't get what would be next. Nor could their opponents. 'Streaming' would complete the set. Left with Horned Viper, the Dandies got a music sequence: we heard Jack Johnson, then Queen Latifah, and then Nat King Cole with 'Unforgettable'. They didn't see it, their opponents did: a song by Ace of Base, the sequence being playing cards in order of rank. (Cue a sing-along) At the end of a tough second round, the teams were tied on 6-each.
On to the Walls. The Dandies went first, and chose to tackle the Lion wall. A tough wall it proved, they saw a few possible connections, but were unable to get anything isolated. So it would be bonus points to be had: 'Adlington', 'Bacup', 'Nelson' and 'Blackpool' are places in Lancashire, which they got, 'Gillingham', 'Goodhew', 'Tancock' and 'Carlin' are Olympic swimmers, which they also got, 'Headon', 'Judd', 'Fleetwood' and 'Bonham' are drummers in bands, which they didn't get in time, while 'The Fog', 'Moon', 'Ash' and 'Fluke' are James Herbert novels, which they did get. Three points there.
The Escapologists thus had a big chance if they could get a good result on the Water wall. After initially struggling, they did eventually isolate a set: 'Post', 'Hunting', 'French' and 'Fog' are types of horn. A second set, 'Kintyre', 'Greenwich', 'Gower' and 'Ards', which are UK peninsulas, slotted in with little time left. They tried quickly to isolate the final sets, but couldn't in their three tries: 'Manchester', 'Victoria', 'Kuala Lumpur' and 'Hamilton' are Commonwealth Games host cities, which they got, while 'Glasgow', 'Lizard', 'Eskimo' and 'Butterfly' are types of kiss, which they also got. Six there, which gave them a lead of 12-9 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels would decide the final place in the QFs. 'Events that take place in January' was split 2-each. 'Fictional characters and their musical instruments' was another 2-each split. 'Said by a crowd of people', such as 'HALLELUJAH' and 'ENCORE' went to the Dandies 3-1. 'Types of insurance' went to the Escapologists 2-1, and that was time. The Escapologists had snuck home, 19-17!
A good close match, with some hard questions in the first round and a great close finish. Unlucky Dandies, but nothing to be ashamed of there, thanks very much indeed for taking part. Well done Escapologists though, and best of luck in the QFs!
Next week: the quarter-finals begin with the Eco-Warriors vs the Inquisitors.
Tuesday 30 January 2018
Monday 29 January 2018
University Challenge 2017-18: Preliminary Quarter-Final 1: Bristol vs Newcastle
Evening all. So, we've made it to the ever popular quarter-final stage, dragged out to ten matches by giving all the teams two chances to both reach the semis and stay in after losing. Now in its ninth series, this format still has its detractors, and there are still plenty who don't entirely understand it, but it has stood the test of time, and will likely still be used for a few more series yet. Anyway, let's get on with this
Bristol got here with a comfortable victory over Trinity of Cambridge, 230-95, in the first round, before, according to the host, they were 'lucky' to defeat their Oxford namesakes 205-100, comments uncannily foreshadowing of those made by a Mr J. Mourinho of Manchester following a football match two days later! They were the same foursome as before:
Ollie Bowes, from Market Harborough, studying Music
Kirsty Biggs, from Southampton, studying Maths
Captain: Sam Hosegood, from Bedford, studying Chemical Physics
Dom Hewett, from Stroud, studying English
Newcastle started slowly with a low scoring 170-40 victory over Sheffield Hallam in the first round, before pulling off perhaps the surprise of the second by overcoming Southampton 215-130, via a strong bonus and buzzer performance. They were also unchanged from those occasions:
Jack Reynard, from Leeds, studying Medicine
Molly Nielsen, from London, studying Medicine
Captain: Jonathan Noble, from Newcastle, studying for a PGCE
Adam Lowery, from Sunderland, studying Chemistry
Off we set again then, and Mr Bowes got the ball, and the heads, rolling with the first starter, identifying a description of the guillotine; a full bonus set on the work of Sir Roald Dahl gave them a strong start to the match. It was compounded when Ms Nielsen misbuzzed on the next starter, giving the Avonsiders a second starter, though no bonuses came this time. I can't have been the only person to guess 'Hermione' when the next starter began asking for the origins of the name of a Harry Potter character; Mr Noble took that to take Newcastle back into positive figures, and they too kicked off with all three bonuses. Mr Reynard was next, and a second full house went the Tynesiders' way. The first picture round, on Roman Empire duchies in modern day Germany, went to Bristol, who took just the one bonus, giving them the lead back, 50-45.
Ms Nielsen made up for her early mishap with the next starter, though she was lucky to avoid a telling-off for a slight pause; the Tynesiders could only manage two bonuses this time, on insect classes. Mr Noble increased Newcastle's lead with the next starter, and his side took another two bonuses, on the work of Saul Bellow. A prompt buzz from Ms Nielsen took the Tynesiders within one bonus on triple figures, but they couldn't get that one correct bonus from the resulting set. Mr Bowes finally broke Bristol back into proceedings, but his side struggled with the bonuses, managing just the one correct.
The music round, on 20th century minimalist compositions, went to Bristol, who, again, only managed one correct bonus, nonetheless reducing their arrears to 95-80. Controversy then arose, as Mr Reynard buzzed wrongly and then corrected himself; rather than kill the question there, as he has done when this has happened before, Paxo threw it over to Bristol, who provided the corrected answer. The ensuing bonuses gave the Avonsiders two correct answers, with a near miss on the other, and the lead with it. A prompt buzz from Mr Hewett on 'The Four Quartets' upped it, and bonuses on isms provided Bristol with two more correct answers. Mr Reynard then atoned for his error by taking the next starter; the bonuses gave Newcastle ten more points, and a mention of 'polymorphs', nicely tying in with Friday's Mastermind, in which Red Dwarf was one of the subjects. Mr Bowes reincreased Bristol's lead, and bonuses on the English civil war provided just the one correct answer.
The second picture round, on paintings of Andromeda, went to Newcastle, who took one bonus, reducing the gap down to 135-130. Mr Hosegood then fell foul of a non-interruption that, for a moment, I thought might not have been given; Newcastle took the points, and all three bonuses that went with it gave them the advantage heading into the final straight.
A second starter in a row for Mr Reynard put the Tynesiders within sight of victory; bonuses on the work of HL Mencken, whose name I can't hear without thinking of the Family Guy weed song(!), gave them another two correct bonuses. And when Mr Noble identified wind as the weather feature that features in the translation of 'feng shui' (I knew that too, thanks to Millionaire), that was game over Bristol. Another two bonuses only added to Newcastle's score, as did the next correct starter, given by Mr Lowery and the two bonuses that came with it. There was just time for the Newcastle right winger to take the night's final starter too. At the gong, Newcastle won 225-130.
A good start to the quarter-finals, much closer than the final score suggests, and thankfully those two controversies proved immaterial to the outcome. Unlucky Bristol, who just fell away at the end, but are certainly not out of the running yet, best of luck to them in their eliminator. Well done Newcastle though, on another fine showing against proven strong opponents, and best of luck in the qualifiers!
The stats: Mr Bowes was the night's best buzzer, with five to his name at the gong, while Messrs Reynard and Noble were joint best for Newcastle with four each. On the bonuses, Bristol converted 11 out of 24, while Newcastle managed 22 out of 33, with both sides incurring one penalty; so that slightly better bonus rate, coupled with a slight advantage on the buzzer, was where the match was won.
Next week's match: Fitzwilliam vs Merton
Only Connect ended its play-off round tonight, with its QF stage starting next week; hopefully I can get my review done promptly again this week.
Bristol got here with a comfortable victory over Trinity of Cambridge, 230-95, in the first round, before, according to the host, they were 'lucky' to defeat their Oxford namesakes 205-100, comments uncannily foreshadowing of those made by a Mr J. Mourinho of Manchester following a football match two days later! They were the same foursome as before:
Ollie Bowes, from Market Harborough, studying Music
Kirsty Biggs, from Southampton, studying Maths
Captain: Sam Hosegood, from Bedford, studying Chemical Physics
Dom Hewett, from Stroud, studying English
Newcastle started slowly with a low scoring 170-40 victory over Sheffield Hallam in the first round, before pulling off perhaps the surprise of the second by overcoming Southampton 215-130, via a strong bonus and buzzer performance. They were also unchanged from those occasions:
Jack Reynard, from Leeds, studying Medicine
Molly Nielsen, from London, studying Medicine
Captain: Jonathan Noble, from Newcastle, studying for a PGCE
Adam Lowery, from Sunderland, studying Chemistry
Off we set again then, and Mr Bowes got the ball, and the heads, rolling with the first starter, identifying a description of the guillotine; a full bonus set on the work of Sir Roald Dahl gave them a strong start to the match. It was compounded when Ms Nielsen misbuzzed on the next starter, giving the Avonsiders a second starter, though no bonuses came this time. I can't have been the only person to guess 'Hermione' when the next starter began asking for the origins of the name of a Harry Potter character; Mr Noble took that to take Newcastle back into positive figures, and they too kicked off with all three bonuses. Mr Reynard was next, and a second full house went the Tynesiders' way. The first picture round, on Roman Empire duchies in modern day Germany, went to Bristol, who took just the one bonus, giving them the lead back, 50-45.
Ms Nielsen made up for her early mishap with the next starter, though she was lucky to avoid a telling-off for a slight pause; the Tynesiders could only manage two bonuses this time, on insect classes. Mr Noble increased Newcastle's lead with the next starter, and his side took another two bonuses, on the work of Saul Bellow. A prompt buzz from Ms Nielsen took the Tynesiders within one bonus on triple figures, but they couldn't get that one correct bonus from the resulting set. Mr Bowes finally broke Bristol back into proceedings, but his side struggled with the bonuses, managing just the one correct.
The music round, on 20th century minimalist compositions, went to Bristol, who, again, only managed one correct bonus, nonetheless reducing their arrears to 95-80. Controversy then arose, as Mr Reynard buzzed wrongly and then corrected himself; rather than kill the question there, as he has done when this has happened before, Paxo threw it over to Bristol, who provided the corrected answer. The ensuing bonuses gave the Avonsiders two correct answers, with a near miss on the other, and the lead with it. A prompt buzz from Mr Hewett on 'The Four Quartets' upped it, and bonuses on isms provided Bristol with two more correct answers. Mr Reynard then atoned for his error by taking the next starter; the bonuses gave Newcastle ten more points, and a mention of 'polymorphs', nicely tying in with Friday's Mastermind, in which Red Dwarf was one of the subjects. Mr Bowes reincreased Bristol's lead, and bonuses on the English civil war provided just the one correct answer.
The second picture round, on paintings of Andromeda, went to Newcastle, who took one bonus, reducing the gap down to 135-130. Mr Hosegood then fell foul of a non-interruption that, for a moment, I thought might not have been given; Newcastle took the points, and all three bonuses that went with it gave them the advantage heading into the final straight.
A second starter in a row for Mr Reynard put the Tynesiders within sight of victory; bonuses on the work of HL Mencken, whose name I can't hear without thinking of the Family Guy weed song(!), gave them another two correct bonuses. And when Mr Noble identified wind as the weather feature that features in the translation of 'feng shui' (I knew that too, thanks to Millionaire), that was game over Bristol. Another two bonuses only added to Newcastle's score, as did the next correct starter, given by Mr Lowery and the two bonuses that came with it. There was just time for the Newcastle right winger to take the night's final starter too. At the gong, Newcastle won 225-130.
A good start to the quarter-finals, much closer than the final score suggests, and thankfully those two controversies proved immaterial to the outcome. Unlucky Bristol, who just fell away at the end, but are certainly not out of the running yet, best of luck to them in their eliminator. Well done Newcastle though, on another fine showing against proven strong opponents, and best of luck in the qualifiers!
The stats: Mr Bowes was the night's best buzzer, with five to his name at the gong, while Messrs Reynard and Noble were joint best for Newcastle with four each. On the bonuses, Bristol converted 11 out of 24, while Newcastle managed 22 out of 33, with both sides incurring one penalty; so that slightly better bonus rate, coupled with a slight advantage on the buzzer, was where the match was won.
Next week's match: Fitzwilliam vs Merton
Only Connect ended its play-off round tonight, with its QF stage starting next week; hopefully I can get my review done promptly again this week.
Wednesday 24 January 2018
University Challenge 2017-18: Second Round Review and Quarter-Final Preview
OK, so after a rather patchy first round, this year's UC has sprung to life, as most of us expected it to, in the second round, with some great matches, including two I'd say would be excellent starters (no pun intended) for someone who wishes to take up watching the show, and Monday's show, as pointed out on Twitter afterwards, giving us the largest aggregate score in years.
So, who are the runners and riders who we'll be watching for the rest of the series? Well, here they are in order of qualification, along with their total and aggregate scores:
Well, Merton and St John's have both accumulated the same points total over two high scoring matches; both are strong on both the buzzer and bonus fronts, and have defeated decent teams in both rounds. On paper, you'd have to fancy both to progress to the semis, and you wouldn't be daft to bet on them being the two finalists, but anything can happen.
Of the remaining teams, Bristol and Fitzwilliam have been fairly consistent thus far, both scoring similar scores in both their matches, and overcoming decent opposition on all occasions, with all four players contributing as well. If odds were taken on who'd be the final four, you'd say these four would probably be the favourites.
Newcastle and Emmanuel have both won their matches largely on the buzzer, Emmanuel's matches having been decided on the final starter and in the opening minutes respectively, while Newcastle won both their matches comfortably, but with very different aggregate scores. Ulster came through the play-offs, narrowly losing to Edinburgh in the first round, then comfortably winning their play-off and narrowly winning a close second round match. So too did the Scots side, who also won their second match by just a point. Both have very similar aggregate scores, the two lowest of the group. These four will probably start as outsiders, but given the caliber of teams they've played thus far, shouldn't be written off totally.
So, we have two obvious favourites, two lukewarm favourites, and four pretty similar teams who are more than capable of springing a few surprises. It's going to be an interesting round, hopefully.
On the diversity front, I'm pleased to inform that only one all-male team (Fitzwilliam) are left in the contest, meaning we are guaranteed at least one woman in the final. And I mean one, as the other seven teams all have just one woman on them, and only one of those is a captain. So we're certainly more diverse on that front than in recent years, but there is still room for improvement.
In terms of regional representation, Cambridge have three teams through, Oxford have one, while Northern Ireland, Scotland and the North and South of England all have one team through. So while we don't have an even split, and the odds of an Oxbridge final are lower than the last three series, where we still ended up with one, the fact the two ante-post favourites are Cambridge and Oxford doesn't really help matters.
All I can hope is that the momentum of the second round carries on, and we can get some great matches in the group phase, and that, like last series, the series doesn't peter out like a lot of the series this decade and remains enthralling to the end.
I'll be back on Monday with my usual UC write-up; I'll see yous then then, I guess.
So, who are the runners and riders who we'll be watching for the rest of the series? Well, here they are in order of qualification, along with their total and aggregate scores:
- Emmanuel College Cambridge (340 over two matches, 170)
- St John's College Cambridge (540 over two matches, 270)
- Ulster (505 over three matches, 168.33)
- Edinburgh (335 over two matches, 167.5)
- Bristol (435 over two matches, 217.5)
- Newcastle (385 over two matches, 192.5)
- Fitzwilliam College Cambridge (400 over two matches, 200)
- Merton College Oxford (540 over two matches, 270)
Well, Merton and St John's have both accumulated the same points total over two high scoring matches; both are strong on both the buzzer and bonus fronts, and have defeated decent teams in both rounds. On paper, you'd have to fancy both to progress to the semis, and you wouldn't be daft to bet on them being the two finalists, but anything can happen.
Of the remaining teams, Bristol and Fitzwilliam have been fairly consistent thus far, both scoring similar scores in both their matches, and overcoming decent opposition on all occasions, with all four players contributing as well. If odds were taken on who'd be the final four, you'd say these four would probably be the favourites.
Newcastle and Emmanuel have both won their matches largely on the buzzer, Emmanuel's matches having been decided on the final starter and in the opening minutes respectively, while Newcastle won both their matches comfortably, but with very different aggregate scores. Ulster came through the play-offs, narrowly losing to Edinburgh in the first round, then comfortably winning their play-off and narrowly winning a close second round match. So too did the Scots side, who also won their second match by just a point. Both have very similar aggregate scores, the two lowest of the group. These four will probably start as outsiders, but given the caliber of teams they've played thus far, shouldn't be written off totally.
So, we have two obvious favourites, two lukewarm favourites, and four pretty similar teams who are more than capable of springing a few surprises. It's going to be an interesting round, hopefully.
On the diversity front, I'm pleased to inform that only one all-male team (Fitzwilliam) are left in the contest, meaning we are guaranteed at least one woman in the final. And I mean one, as the other seven teams all have just one woman on them, and only one of those is a captain. So we're certainly more diverse on that front than in recent years, but there is still room for improvement.
In terms of regional representation, Cambridge have three teams through, Oxford have one, while Northern Ireland, Scotland and the North and South of England all have one team through. So while we don't have an even split, and the odds of an Oxbridge final are lower than the last three series, where we still ended up with one, the fact the two ante-post favourites are Cambridge and Oxford doesn't really help matters.
All I can hope is that the momentum of the second round carries on, and we can get some great matches in the group phase, and that, like last series, the series doesn't peter out like a lot of the series this decade and remains enthralling to the end.
I'll be back on Monday with my usual UC write-up; I'll see yous then then, I guess.
Tuesday 23 January 2018
Only Connect Series 13: Play-Off Round 2: Match 1: Meeples vs Inquisitors
OK, early Only Connect write-up this week! Hopefully this will be more common in future weeks, but, as I say before, I guarantee nothing. I will do this at the earliest opportunity I get every week.
Anyway, on with yesterday's show, the first of two play-offs to determine who joins the six second round winners in the group stage. Playing were the Meeples, Tom West, Hugh Trimble and captain Gail Trimble, wife of Tom and sister of Hugh, who defeated the Tequila Slammers, then narrowly lost to the Belgophiles, but recovered by beating the Parishioners, and the Inquisitors, Luke Kelly, Rob Cumming and captain Julia Hobbs, who beat last week's runners-up the Cricketers first, then lost to the Wanderers, and then got here by beating the Snake Charmers.
Round 1. The Inquisitors kicked the match off with Lion: 'Ice Field', then 'Eton Rugby', then 'English Carom', and finally 'League Union'; they saw them to be different versions of the same sport, and collected the first point of the match. The Meeples opened their account with Twisted Flax, and the music set: we heard Austin Mahone and Pitbull with 'Mmm Yeah', then 'Things That Make You Go Hmmmm...' by C+C Music Factory, then Hanson with 'MMMBop', and finally 'Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm' by the Crash Test Dummies; they spotted the link, and collected a point. The Inquisitors chose Eye of Horus next: 'Cutter of mouse tails', then 'November birthstone', then 'Allison Williams in 'Girls'', and finally 'Stuart Pearce's autobiography'. They saw them to be the titles of Hitchcock films, and collected another point. The Meeples chose Two Reeds next: 'To help the Rothschilds stay ahead of the markets', then 'To demonstrate slow internet speeds in South Africa', then 'To communicate without breaking radio silence on D-Day', and finally 'To deliver mail in remote areas'. They saw them to be jobs of pigeons, and collected another sole point. The Inquisitors chose Horned Viper next: 'Thames to Greenwich', then 'Central London to Westminster'; they took a punt on what polytechnics changed their names to when they became universities, and picked up three good points. Left with Water, and the picture set, the Meeples saw the night skies of the Northern and Southern hemispheres, then some piano keys, then the late Two Fat Ladies; they saw the link to be '88', and collected two points. At the end of a steady first round, the Inquisitors led 5-4.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Inquisitors began with Lion again: '4th Spain', then '3rd Colombia', and then '2nd USA'. They offered '1st Mexico', correct, the sequence being the countries with the largest populations of Spanish speakers. The Meeples chose Two Reeds next: 'LTN', then 'STN'; they saw it to be UK airport abbreviations in order of size, so 'LHR' would come fourth, for three points. The Inquisitors chose Twisted Flax next, and got the picture set: we saw a man jumping off a building, then a man bungee jumping from an aerial, and then a man bungee jumping from a bridge. Neither team saw it: they are BASE jumping locations, so 'Building', 'Aerial' and 'Span', so something for 'Earth' jumping would come fourth. The Meeples chose Water next: 'Aeon', then 'Numb'; they saw them to be words with a silent A and B in them, so offered 'Djibouti' as a word with a silent D, for three points. For their final choice, the Inquisitors chose Eye of Horus: 'Rowan', then 'Dexter', and then 'Colby'; they saw it to be the surnames of Alexis' husbands in dynasty, so 'Carrington' would be fourth, for two points. Left with Horned Viper, the Meeples saw 'Pie', then 'dry', and then 'rye'; they saw it to be the final lines of lyrics of American Pie, and collected two points. (Cue an enforced sing-along!) At the end of the second round, the Meeples led 12-9.
On to the Walls. The Meeples took their turn to go first, and chose to tackle the Lion wall. They quickly isolated 'Maniple', 'Chimere', 'Surplice' and 'Cope', which are ecclesiastical garments, followed by 'Chausable', 'Worthing', 'Fairfax' and 'Prism', which are characters in The Importance of Being Earnest. The final clues slotted in similarly quickly: 'Battle', 'Tour', 'Festival' and 'Brain' can allow precede 'of Britain', while 'Gatwick', 'Hastings', 'Worth' and 'Hailsham' are places in Sussex. A quickly resolved full ten there.
The Inquisitors thus set to work on the Water wall needing a full set to stay in distance. They took a bit more time to get their first set, but did eventually isolate 'Heaven', 'Xoyo', 'Fabric' and 'Cargo', which are London nightclubs. A second set followed, 'Munchkin', 'Gravy ring', 'Berliner' and 'Yum Yum', which are dough based foods, and the final sets came in afterwards: 'Koko', 'Pattycake', 'Harambe' and 'Guy' are famous gorillas, while 'Peep-Bo', 'Katisha', 'Nanki-Poo' and 'Pish-Tush' are characters in The Mikado. Also a full ten there, which left the Meeples ahead 22-19 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels would decide who went through. 'Forms of punishment' saw an unfortunate slip of the tongue of 'HUNDRED LIONS' instead of 'HUNDRED LINES', and ended 1-each. 'Real people added to phrases', such as 'ONCE IN A BLUE KEITH MOON', went to the Inquisitors 4-0, giving them the lead. 'Financial terms usually abbreviated' went to the Inquisitors 3-1, and that was time. The Inquisitors won 27-24.
Another good close match with some good answering by both sides there. Unlucky Meeples, just pipped in the final round, but nothing to be ashamed of this series, thanks very much for playing. Well done Inquisitors though, and very best of luck in the group stage!
Next week's match: the Dandies vs the Escapologists for the final place in the QFs.
Anyway, on with yesterday's show, the first of two play-offs to determine who joins the six second round winners in the group stage. Playing were the Meeples, Tom West, Hugh Trimble and captain Gail Trimble, wife of Tom and sister of Hugh, who defeated the Tequila Slammers, then narrowly lost to the Belgophiles, but recovered by beating the Parishioners, and the Inquisitors, Luke Kelly, Rob Cumming and captain Julia Hobbs, who beat last week's runners-up the Cricketers first, then lost to the Wanderers, and then got here by beating the Snake Charmers.
Round 1. The Inquisitors kicked the match off with Lion: 'Ice Field', then 'Eton Rugby', then 'English Carom', and finally 'League Union'; they saw them to be different versions of the same sport, and collected the first point of the match. The Meeples opened their account with Twisted Flax, and the music set: we heard Austin Mahone and Pitbull with 'Mmm Yeah', then 'Things That Make You Go Hmmmm...' by C+C Music Factory, then Hanson with 'MMMBop', and finally 'Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm' by the Crash Test Dummies; they spotted the link, and collected a point. The Inquisitors chose Eye of Horus next: 'Cutter of mouse tails', then 'November birthstone', then 'Allison Williams in 'Girls'', and finally 'Stuart Pearce's autobiography'. They saw them to be the titles of Hitchcock films, and collected another point. The Meeples chose Two Reeds next: 'To help the Rothschilds stay ahead of the markets', then 'To demonstrate slow internet speeds in South Africa', then 'To communicate without breaking radio silence on D-Day', and finally 'To deliver mail in remote areas'. They saw them to be jobs of pigeons, and collected another sole point. The Inquisitors chose Horned Viper next: 'Thames to Greenwich', then 'Central London to Westminster'; they took a punt on what polytechnics changed their names to when they became universities, and picked up three good points. Left with Water, and the picture set, the Meeples saw the night skies of the Northern and Southern hemispheres, then some piano keys, then the late Two Fat Ladies; they saw the link to be '88', and collected two points. At the end of a steady first round, the Inquisitors led 5-4.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Inquisitors began with Lion again: '4th Spain', then '3rd Colombia', and then '2nd USA'. They offered '1st Mexico', correct, the sequence being the countries with the largest populations of Spanish speakers. The Meeples chose Two Reeds next: 'LTN', then 'STN'; they saw it to be UK airport abbreviations in order of size, so 'LHR' would come fourth, for three points. The Inquisitors chose Twisted Flax next, and got the picture set: we saw a man jumping off a building, then a man bungee jumping from an aerial, and then a man bungee jumping from a bridge. Neither team saw it: they are BASE jumping locations, so 'Building', 'Aerial' and 'Span', so something for 'Earth' jumping would come fourth. The Meeples chose Water next: 'Aeon', then 'Numb'; they saw them to be words with a silent A and B in them, so offered 'Djibouti' as a word with a silent D, for three points. For their final choice, the Inquisitors chose Eye of Horus: 'Rowan', then 'Dexter', and then 'Colby'; they saw it to be the surnames of Alexis' husbands in dynasty, so 'Carrington' would be fourth, for two points. Left with Horned Viper, the Meeples saw 'Pie', then 'dry', and then 'rye'; they saw it to be the final lines of lyrics of American Pie, and collected two points. (Cue an enforced sing-along!) At the end of the second round, the Meeples led 12-9.
On to the Walls. The Meeples took their turn to go first, and chose to tackle the Lion wall. They quickly isolated 'Maniple', 'Chimere', 'Surplice' and 'Cope', which are ecclesiastical garments, followed by 'Chausable', 'Worthing', 'Fairfax' and 'Prism', which are characters in The Importance of Being Earnest. The final clues slotted in similarly quickly: 'Battle', 'Tour', 'Festival' and 'Brain' can allow precede 'of Britain', while 'Gatwick', 'Hastings', 'Worth' and 'Hailsham' are places in Sussex. A quickly resolved full ten there.
The Inquisitors thus set to work on the Water wall needing a full set to stay in distance. They took a bit more time to get their first set, but did eventually isolate 'Heaven', 'Xoyo', 'Fabric' and 'Cargo', which are London nightclubs. A second set followed, 'Munchkin', 'Gravy ring', 'Berliner' and 'Yum Yum', which are dough based foods, and the final sets came in afterwards: 'Koko', 'Pattycake', 'Harambe' and 'Guy' are famous gorillas, while 'Peep-Bo', 'Katisha', 'Nanki-Poo' and 'Pish-Tush' are characters in The Mikado. Also a full ten there, which left the Meeples ahead 22-19 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels would decide who went through. 'Forms of punishment' saw an unfortunate slip of the tongue of 'HUNDRED LIONS' instead of 'HUNDRED LINES', and ended 1-each. 'Real people added to phrases', such as 'ONCE IN A BLUE KEITH MOON', went to the Inquisitors 4-0, giving them the lead. 'Financial terms usually abbreviated' went to the Inquisitors 3-1, and that was time. The Inquisitors won 27-24.
Another good close match with some good answering by both sides there. Unlucky Meeples, just pipped in the final round, but nothing to be ashamed of this series, thanks very much for playing. Well done Inquisitors though, and very best of luck in the group stage!
Next week's match: the Dandies vs the Escapologists for the final place in the QFs.
Monday 22 January 2018
University Challenge 2017-18: Round 2: Match 8: Oxford Brookes vs Merton
Evening all. So, the final second round match tonight, and the final place in the ground stage up for grabs. So, so far, Cambridge have three teams through to the QFs, all of them very decent outfits. Oxford have none through yet, but with two playing tonight, would be guaranteed one, but would it be a college team or a university team?
Oxford Brookes won a low scoring first round match over the Courtauld Institute, leading from the off and comfortably ahead at the gong 185-75. Hoping for similar fortune tonight were the unchanged line-up of:
Inigo Purcell, from Chiswick, studying English
Pat O'Shea, from Oxford, studying Film
Captain: Thomas De Bock, from Liege, studying Motorsport Engineering
Emma-Ben Lewis, from Woodford Green, studying Psychology
Merton College Oxford ran up the highest first round score, beating a promising King's College London side 285-110, also leading throughout. Also hoping for a similar outcome tonight were the also unchanged foursome of:
Edward Thomas, from Kent, studying Ancient and Modern History
Alex Peplow, from Amersham in Buckinghamshire, studying Medieval Studies
Captain: Leonie Woodland, from Cambridge, studying Physics
Akira Wiberg, from Sweden and Japan, studying Molecular and Cellular Medicine
Off we set again then, and Mr Peplow opened the night's scoring with 'Egypt'; his side carried on where they left off taking a full bonus set. An almost carbon copy followed, Mr Peplow taking the starter and all the bonuses, on classical music, going with it. Already looking on top form, Merton's score rose as Ms Woodland took the third starter, and only a slight chink was shown with two bonuses on protected animals. Mr Peplow was back on the next starter, and another bonuses went with it. The first picture round, on fictional family trees, allowed Oxford Brookes to set off the mark, and they took two of the bonuses, unlucky not to get the other; Merton still led 90-20.
The relentless Mr Peplow resumed regular service for Merton, bringing up his side's century already, and a further ten points came from the bonuses. Mr De Bock, Oxford Brookes' leading buzzer first time around, had a good quick buzz on the next starter, but just the one bonus came with it. Neither side could provide two correct US states for the next starter, and Oxford Brookes lost five as well. Back came Mr Peplow once more, and a full bonus set on overseas territories established a 100+ lead. It didn't last long though, as Ms O'Shea took the next starter, and her side took two bonuses.
The music round, on 'phantoms of the opera', or phantoms in opera to be more accurate, very quickly went to Merton, who took two of the bonuses, taking their lead to 155-50. Mr De Bock fought back though by identifying the station from where Tim Peake left for space; his side took all three bonuses on parts of the brain, one of which I knew thanks to an old CD game I'm sure I still have somewhere. The Oxford Brookes captain took a second starter in a row, and one bonus put his side within sight of three figures. Mr Wiberg was in first next though, adding another ten to Merton's score and ten more came from the bonuses. Mr Peplow, who'd gone somewhat quiet, reawoke on the next starter, and his side had a rare off bonus set, taking just one. Mr De Bock took the chance to take his side into three figures, and a full bonus set took them well over the mark.
The second picture round, on paintings depicting 'the erotic metamorphoses of Zeus' (sounds like something the Simpsons would watch!), went to Merton, who took another two bonuses, taking their lead to 210-115. Ms Purcell added her two cents to the score on the next starter, and also provided the one correct bonus that came with it. Another starter went Oxford Brookes' way with Mr De Bock, once again, doing the honours, and his side took all three bonuses on the work of Ken Loach. They were still just about in this match, but they'd need to run the show from here on in.
Ms O'Shea did her best, identifying Constable for the next starter, and the side took a further two bonuses. That was as close as they could get though, Ms Woodland confirming her side's victory with a very quick buzz of 'tin', and two bonuses only added to their score. Mr Peplow added the last two starters of the night to his haul, and one of the bonuses from the set there was time for went with them. At the gong, Merton won 255-175.
A high quality match, with both sides performing very well on the buzzer and the bonuses, well done to both of them. Unlucky Oxford Brookes, but a very decent performance that you can be pleased with, and thanks very much for playing. Well done Merton though, on a second impressive win over strong opponents, marks them down as one of the favourites to take the title; best of luck in the group stage!
The stats: Mr Peplow was the best buzzer of the night, with NINE(!) starters to his name, while Mr De Bock was, again, best for Oxford Brookes with six. On the bonuses, Oxford Brookes converted a decent 18 out of 27 (with the night's one penalty), while Merton managed a very good indeed 25 out of 36; great stuff that, well done both sides on a fine night's work!
Next week's match: the first preliminary quarter-final, Bristol vs Newcastle, followed, presumably, by Fitzwilliam vs Merton the week after.
Only Connect is nearly at its group stage too, with the first second round play-off tonight, which I will hopefully recap here before the working week is out.
Oxford Brookes won a low scoring first round match over the Courtauld Institute, leading from the off and comfortably ahead at the gong 185-75. Hoping for similar fortune tonight were the unchanged line-up of:
Inigo Purcell, from Chiswick, studying English
Pat O'Shea, from Oxford, studying Film
Captain: Thomas De Bock, from Liege, studying Motorsport Engineering
Emma-Ben Lewis, from Woodford Green, studying Psychology
Merton College Oxford ran up the highest first round score, beating a promising King's College London side 285-110, also leading throughout. Also hoping for a similar outcome tonight were the also unchanged foursome of:
Edward Thomas, from Kent, studying Ancient and Modern History
Alex Peplow, from Amersham in Buckinghamshire, studying Medieval Studies
Captain: Leonie Woodland, from Cambridge, studying Physics
Akira Wiberg, from Sweden and Japan, studying Molecular and Cellular Medicine
Off we set again then, and Mr Peplow opened the night's scoring with 'Egypt'; his side carried on where they left off taking a full bonus set. An almost carbon copy followed, Mr Peplow taking the starter and all the bonuses, on classical music, going with it. Already looking on top form, Merton's score rose as Ms Woodland took the third starter, and only a slight chink was shown with two bonuses on protected animals. Mr Peplow was back on the next starter, and another bonuses went with it. The first picture round, on fictional family trees, allowed Oxford Brookes to set off the mark, and they took two of the bonuses, unlucky not to get the other; Merton still led 90-20.
The relentless Mr Peplow resumed regular service for Merton, bringing up his side's century already, and a further ten points came from the bonuses. Mr De Bock, Oxford Brookes' leading buzzer first time around, had a good quick buzz on the next starter, but just the one bonus came with it. Neither side could provide two correct US states for the next starter, and Oxford Brookes lost five as well. Back came Mr Peplow once more, and a full bonus set on overseas territories established a 100+ lead. It didn't last long though, as Ms O'Shea took the next starter, and her side took two bonuses.
The music round, on 'phantoms of the opera', or phantoms in opera to be more accurate, very quickly went to Merton, who took two of the bonuses, taking their lead to 155-50. Mr De Bock fought back though by identifying the station from where Tim Peake left for space; his side took all three bonuses on parts of the brain, one of which I knew thanks to an old CD game I'm sure I still have somewhere. The Oxford Brookes captain took a second starter in a row, and one bonus put his side within sight of three figures. Mr Wiberg was in first next though, adding another ten to Merton's score and ten more came from the bonuses. Mr Peplow, who'd gone somewhat quiet, reawoke on the next starter, and his side had a rare off bonus set, taking just one. Mr De Bock took the chance to take his side into three figures, and a full bonus set took them well over the mark.
The second picture round, on paintings depicting 'the erotic metamorphoses of Zeus' (sounds like something the Simpsons would watch!), went to Merton, who took another two bonuses, taking their lead to 210-115. Ms Purcell added her two cents to the score on the next starter, and also provided the one correct bonus that came with it. Another starter went Oxford Brookes' way with Mr De Bock, once again, doing the honours, and his side took all three bonuses on the work of Ken Loach. They were still just about in this match, but they'd need to run the show from here on in.
Ms O'Shea did her best, identifying Constable for the next starter, and the side took a further two bonuses. That was as close as they could get though, Ms Woodland confirming her side's victory with a very quick buzz of 'tin', and two bonuses only added to their score. Mr Peplow added the last two starters of the night to his haul, and one of the bonuses from the set there was time for went with them. At the gong, Merton won 255-175.
A high quality match, with both sides performing very well on the buzzer and the bonuses, well done to both of them. Unlucky Oxford Brookes, but a very decent performance that you can be pleased with, and thanks very much for playing. Well done Merton though, on a second impressive win over strong opponents, marks them down as one of the favourites to take the title; best of luck in the group stage!
The stats: Mr Peplow was the best buzzer of the night, with NINE(!) starters to his name, while Mr De Bock was, again, best for Oxford Brookes with six. On the bonuses, Oxford Brookes converted a decent 18 out of 27 (with the night's one penalty), while Merton managed a very good indeed 25 out of 36; great stuff that, well done both sides on a fine night's work!
Next week's match: the first preliminary quarter-final, Bristol vs Newcastle, followed, presumably, by Fitzwilliam vs Merton the week after.
Only Connect is nearly at its group stage too, with the first second round play-off tonight, which I will hopefully recap here before the working week is out.
Thursday 18 January 2018
Only Connect Series 13: Play-Off Round 1: Match 4: Cricketers vs Escapologists
OK, here we are, with this week's Only Connect, the final match of the first round of the play-offs. Both of tonight's teams we haven't been for a long time; they lost their first match, and have survived as the two highest scoring such teams. For one of tonight's teams, just two matches is the lowest multi-match run a team can have.
Our two teams were the Cricketers, Andrew Burford, Simon Williams and captain Neil Clarke, who were beaten by the Inquisitors in the first round, and the Escapologists, Frank Paul, Tom Rowell and captain Lydia Mizon, who were narrowly pipped by the Eco-Warriors.
Round 1. The Escapologists kicked the match off with Twisted Flax: 'Robin Masters', then 'Madeline Magellan', then 'Temperance Brennan'; they offered 'sidekicks of Jonathan Creek', not right. Their opponents saw 'Jessica Fletcher', and offered 'fictional authors' for a bonus. For their own first question, the Cricketers chose Lion, and got the picture set: we saw an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus, then a deer, then three bags of blood, and finally a fox. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: they can all proceed 'hound'. (Pharaoh hound, deer hound, blood hound, fox hound) The Escapologists chose Water next: 'Hold in the belly', then 'Baptism of arms', then 'St Elmo's drill'; they saw them to be the beginning and end of phrases including 'fire' with that word removed and merged. Nice little cryptic one that. The Cricketers chose Two Reeds next: 'Meshrano Wolesi', then 'Rajya Lok', then 'Seanad Dail', and finally 'Bundesrat Bundestag'. They didn't quite get close enough to the right answer, their opponents did: they are the two houses of bicameral parliaments. For their own question, the Escapologists chose Eye of Horus, and got the music question: we heard 'Malibu' by Hole, then Judy Garland singing in the film 'San Francisco', then 'Drinking in LA' by Bran Van 3000, and finally 'Do You Know the Way to San Jose'. They didn't see it, their opponents did: they are places in Califonia. Left with Horned Viper for their own question, the Cricketers saw 'Our Town Story', then '14 zones', then 'Blackadder: Back & Forth', and finally 'Timekeepers of the Millennium'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: they are components of the Millennium Dome (or the 'portent', as Sir Stephen Fry once called it!) At the end of the first round, the Escapologists led 3-2.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Escapologists kicked off with Two Reeds: '16: Giver of Myrrh', then '8: 969 year olf man', and then '4: First King of the Northern Kingdom of Israel'; they saw it to be champagne bottle sizes, and offered '2: chocolate coated ice cream' for the points! Good question that! The Cricketers chose Lion next: 'Theatre', then 'Railway station', and then 'Concert hall'; they saw it to be the locations of US presidential assassinations, and offered 'In a car in Dallas', which was just about acceptable for the points. The Escapologists chose Eye of Horus next: '1 - Street', then '2 - North Dakota'; they saw offered '4 - Tower Hill', and collected three points, the sequence being places that can be abbreviated to that number's ordinal indicators. The Cricketers chose Twisted Flax next: 'The Wife of Bath', then 'Henry VIII', and then 'Jerry Lee Lewis'. They offered 'Elizabeth Taylor', which was accepted, the sequence being people who were married 5, 6, 7 and 8 times. (Of course, as per QI, some of Henry VIII's marriages might not legally count, but lets not get pedantic here) For their final choice, the Escapologists chose Water: 'Corporal O'Reilly', then 'Drama school of Gower Street', and then 'Symbol for unit of angular measure'. They saw them to be 'Radar', 'RADA' and 'Rad', so offered 'The Egyptian Sun God', as in 'Ra', for the points. Left with Horned Viper again, the Cricketers got the picture set, and saw Butch Dingle from Emmerdale, then David Cassidy; they quickly surmised the sequence to be 'Butch', 'Cassidy' and the 'Sundance' 'Kid', so offered a young goat for the three points. At the end of a good second round, the Escapologists led 10-9.
On to the Walls. The Cricketers took their turn to go first, and chose the Lion wall. They quickly saw a set of fictional streets, and isolated 'Jump', 'Pigeon', 'Coronation' and 'Ramsay', followed by 'Outlaw', 'Roux', 'Rhodes' and 'Kitchin', which are surnames of Michelin starred chefs. The final clues were in place not before long: 'Crook', 'Felon', 'Scofflaw' and 'Malefactor' are names for criminals, while 'Sesame', 'Palm', 'Sunflower' and 'Argan' are types of cooking oils. A well resolved full ten.
The Escapologists thus set to work on the Water wall. They too saw and isolated a set pretty quickly: 'Swinburn', 'Gropius', 'Matthau' and 'Scott' are surnames of famous men called Walter. ('Smith' not a clue there to the disappointment of Rangers fans everywhere) A second set followed suite: 'Varuna', 'Triton', 'Poseidon' and 'Njord' are sea deities. They came stuck trying to solve what was left though, and couldn't on their three tries. So, bonuses to get gathered: 'Sultan', 'Neptune', 'Rally' and 'Wildfire' are Royal Navy land establishments, which they didn't get, while 'Dane', 'Seal', 'Year' and 'Unwashed' can all follow 'Great'. Five for that, meaning they now trailed 19-15 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels would decide who went through and who went home. 'Items required when driving a UK car in France', such as 'GB STICKER', went to the Escapologists 4-0, so all level already. 'Musicals and their settings' was split 2-each. 'Phrases containing units of mass', such as 'LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED' went to the Escapologists 2-0, with a minus for a mistake right at the end, and that was time. The Escapologists won 23-21.
A great match, one of the best of the series, second round especially, well played both sides! Unlucky Cricketers, but nothing to be ashamed of there, thanks for playing. Well done Escapologists though, and very best of luck in your second play-off!
Next week's match: the Meeples vs the Inquisitors, followed, presumably, by the Dandies vs the Escapologists. Should be good matches we hope!
Our two teams were the Cricketers, Andrew Burford, Simon Williams and captain Neil Clarke, who were beaten by the Inquisitors in the first round, and the Escapologists, Frank Paul, Tom Rowell and captain Lydia Mizon, who were narrowly pipped by the Eco-Warriors.
Round 1. The Escapologists kicked the match off with Twisted Flax: 'Robin Masters', then 'Madeline Magellan', then 'Temperance Brennan'; they offered 'sidekicks of Jonathan Creek', not right. Their opponents saw 'Jessica Fletcher', and offered 'fictional authors' for a bonus. For their own first question, the Cricketers chose Lion, and got the picture set: we saw an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus, then a deer, then three bags of blood, and finally a fox. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: they can all proceed 'hound'. (Pharaoh hound, deer hound, blood hound, fox hound) The Escapologists chose Water next: 'Hold in the belly', then 'Baptism of arms', then 'St Elmo's drill'; they saw them to be the beginning and end of phrases including 'fire' with that word removed and merged. Nice little cryptic one that. The Cricketers chose Two Reeds next: 'Meshrano Wolesi', then 'Rajya Lok', then 'Seanad Dail', and finally 'Bundesrat Bundestag'. They didn't quite get close enough to the right answer, their opponents did: they are the two houses of bicameral parliaments. For their own question, the Escapologists chose Eye of Horus, and got the music question: we heard 'Malibu' by Hole, then Judy Garland singing in the film 'San Francisco', then 'Drinking in LA' by Bran Van 3000, and finally 'Do You Know the Way to San Jose'. They didn't see it, their opponents did: they are places in Califonia. Left with Horned Viper for their own question, the Cricketers saw 'Our Town Story', then '14 zones', then 'Blackadder: Back & Forth', and finally 'Timekeepers of the Millennium'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: they are components of the Millennium Dome (or the 'portent', as Sir Stephen Fry once called it!) At the end of the first round, the Escapologists led 3-2.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Escapologists kicked off with Two Reeds: '16: Giver of Myrrh', then '8: 969 year olf man', and then '4: First King of the Northern Kingdom of Israel'; they saw it to be champagne bottle sizes, and offered '2: chocolate coated ice cream' for the points! Good question that! The Cricketers chose Lion next: 'Theatre', then 'Railway station', and then 'Concert hall'; they saw it to be the locations of US presidential assassinations, and offered 'In a car in Dallas', which was just about acceptable for the points. The Escapologists chose Eye of Horus next: '1 - Street', then '2 - North Dakota'; they saw offered '4 - Tower Hill', and collected three points, the sequence being places that can be abbreviated to that number's ordinal indicators. The Cricketers chose Twisted Flax next: 'The Wife of Bath', then 'Henry VIII', and then 'Jerry Lee Lewis'. They offered 'Elizabeth Taylor', which was accepted, the sequence being people who were married 5, 6, 7 and 8 times. (Of course, as per QI, some of Henry VIII's marriages might not legally count, but lets not get pedantic here) For their final choice, the Escapologists chose Water: 'Corporal O'Reilly', then 'Drama school of Gower Street', and then 'Symbol for unit of angular measure'. They saw them to be 'Radar', 'RADA' and 'Rad', so offered 'The Egyptian Sun God', as in 'Ra', for the points. Left with Horned Viper again, the Cricketers got the picture set, and saw Butch Dingle from Emmerdale, then David Cassidy; they quickly surmised the sequence to be 'Butch', 'Cassidy' and the 'Sundance' 'Kid', so offered a young goat for the three points. At the end of a good second round, the Escapologists led 10-9.
On to the Walls. The Cricketers took their turn to go first, and chose the Lion wall. They quickly saw a set of fictional streets, and isolated 'Jump', 'Pigeon', 'Coronation' and 'Ramsay', followed by 'Outlaw', 'Roux', 'Rhodes' and 'Kitchin', which are surnames of Michelin starred chefs. The final clues were in place not before long: 'Crook', 'Felon', 'Scofflaw' and 'Malefactor' are names for criminals, while 'Sesame', 'Palm', 'Sunflower' and 'Argan' are types of cooking oils. A well resolved full ten.
The Escapologists thus set to work on the Water wall. They too saw and isolated a set pretty quickly: 'Swinburn', 'Gropius', 'Matthau' and 'Scott' are surnames of famous men called Walter. ('Smith' not a clue there to the disappointment of Rangers fans everywhere) A second set followed suite: 'Varuna', 'Triton', 'Poseidon' and 'Njord' are sea deities. They came stuck trying to solve what was left though, and couldn't on their three tries. So, bonuses to get gathered: 'Sultan', 'Neptune', 'Rally' and 'Wildfire' are Royal Navy land establishments, which they didn't get, while 'Dane', 'Seal', 'Year' and 'Unwashed' can all follow 'Great'. Five for that, meaning they now trailed 19-15 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels would decide who went through and who went home. 'Items required when driving a UK car in France', such as 'GB STICKER', went to the Escapologists 4-0, so all level already. 'Musicals and their settings' was split 2-each. 'Phrases containing units of mass', such as 'LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED' went to the Escapologists 2-0, with a minus for a mistake right at the end, and that was time. The Escapologists won 23-21.
A great match, one of the best of the series, second round especially, well played both sides! Unlucky Cricketers, but nothing to be ashamed of there, thanks for playing. Well done Escapologists though, and very best of luck in your second play-off!
Next week's match: the Meeples vs the Inquisitors, followed, presumably, by the Dandies vs the Escapologists. Should be good matches we hope!
Monday 15 January 2018
University Challenge 2017-18: Round 2: Match 7: Fitzwilliam vs Magdalen
Evening all. Feeling a bit more lively this week than last, no real idea why that is, maybe it's just the result of a good close contest. Both of tonight's teams looked reasonably impressive in their first round victories, both over teams who scored 105, but alas only one of them would reach the group stage and get the safety cushion of an affordable loss next time out.
Fitzwilliam College Cambridge won their first match over Leicester, winning 200-105, though a great deal of that lead was achieved in the final minutes. Hoping for more of the same tonight were the unchanged foursome of:
Theo Tindall, from Bristol, studying Russian and Arabic
Theo Howe, from Oxfordshire, studying Japanese Studies
Captain: Hugh Oxlade, from South Woodford in London, studying History
Jack Maloney, from Harpenden in Hertfordshire, studying Medicine
Magdalen College Oxford were on level pegging with St Edmund's College Cambridge in their first match, also winning with a late spurt, 185-105, and providing one of the first round highlights along the way. Also hoping to match or better that were the also unchanged quartet of:
Winston Wright, from Seattle, studying Computer Science
Christopher Stern, from Dulwich, studying Chemistry
Captain: Johnny Gibson, from Glasgow, studying History
Sarah Parkin, from Hinckley, studying English and French
Off we set again then, and Mr Oxlade opened the night's scoring with 'great'; his side took two of the bonus set on residences of dukes, unluckily missing the third. Mr Gibson very quickly got his side going too, but they managed just one of their first bonuses on agreements. 'Dogs' gave the Magdalen captain another starter, and his side the lead and a full bonus set. A penalty then allowed Fitzwilliam to take the initiative back, but they got nothing from the resultant bonuses. The first picture round, on European ports able to house megaships, went to Fitzwilliam, who took a full bonus set, and the lead 55-35.
A well anticipated buzz from Ms Parkin drew Magdalen back in again, and bonuses on dictatorships drew them level again. A second slip-up though then gave Fitzwilliam the lead back, giving Mr Maloney his third starter of the night, but his side could only manage one bonus. A good starter asked which two letters turn the name of Saturn's largest moon to that of Uranus' largest; 'ia', Titan to Titania. Mr Maloney knew that, and the bonuses provided some good humour as his side couldn't name one Israeli computer scientists, let alone two as requested! Another Magdalen penalty handed the Fitzwilliam right-winger another starter, and bonuses on 19th century English football gave them the same two correct answers as me.
The music round, on pop music that employs the Dembow rhythm, went to Fitzwilliam, who took two correct answers, including the first ever mention of Justin Bieber on UC! The Cambridge side now led 120-45, but Mr Gibson pulled one back for Magdalen; two bonuses followed, the other unluckily missed. Mr Howe increased his side's lead once again, and the side impressively wolfed up a tricky bonus set on African geography. Mr Gibson looked like he was guessing 'Scottish National Party' for the next starter, but he was right, though his side failed to capitalise on the bonuses. It seemed to wake the Magdalen skipper up though, as he took another starter, and bonuses on philosophy proved more to their liking, taking two this time. Fitzwilliam were then harshly fined five for cutting the end of the question wrongly; Mr Gibson took the points, but just the one bonus followed this time.
The second picture round, on paintings from the collection of Isabella Stewart Gardner, went to Magdalen, who took just one bonus, nonetheless cutting the gap to 140-125. A fifth starter in a row went Mr Gibson's way, and bonuses on places beginning 'Ul' gave his side the chance to take the lead; but they could only manage one. (I got 'Ulverston' as Stan Laurel's birthplace) Level pegging, but Mr Howe restored Fitzwilliam's lead, and one bonus was accompanied.
All to play for in the final stretch: Mr Maloney blinked first, quickly taking his first starter in a while, and his side took two of the bonuses that came with it. And when Mr Tindall took the next starter very promptly indeed, that might just have put the game to bed, even though the Cambridge side took just one bonus on royal births. Ms Parkin just about kept her side in the game with the next starter; realistically needing a full set to stay in the game, Magdalen could only manage one. That was game over, and just to be sure, Mr Tindall took a second starter. At the gong, Fitzwilliam won 200-155.
A very good quickly paced game, thoroughly enjoyed it, well done both sides. Unlucky Magdalen, but, as Paxo said, a very entertaining and respectable performance, and thanks very much for playing! Well done Fitzwilliam though, a second good win over decent opponents, and best of luck in the group stage!
The stats: Mr Gibson was the best buzzer of the night, with eight, while Mr Maloney was best for Fitzwilliam with six. On the bonuses, Fitzwilliam converted 17 out of 36 (with one pedantic penalty), while Magdalen managed 14 out of 30 (with three penalties), so it was on the buzzer that the match was narrowly decided, well played both sides.
Next week's match: Oxford Brookes vs Merton in the final second round match.
Only Connect was good tonight as well; fingers crossed I can get my review done quickly this week.
Fitzwilliam College Cambridge won their first match over Leicester, winning 200-105, though a great deal of that lead was achieved in the final minutes. Hoping for more of the same tonight were the unchanged foursome of:
Theo Tindall, from Bristol, studying Russian and Arabic
Theo Howe, from Oxfordshire, studying Japanese Studies
Captain: Hugh Oxlade, from South Woodford in London, studying History
Jack Maloney, from Harpenden in Hertfordshire, studying Medicine
Magdalen College Oxford were on level pegging with St Edmund's College Cambridge in their first match, also winning with a late spurt, 185-105, and providing one of the first round highlights along the way. Also hoping to match or better that were the also unchanged quartet of:
Winston Wright, from Seattle, studying Computer Science
Christopher Stern, from Dulwich, studying Chemistry
Captain: Johnny Gibson, from Glasgow, studying History
Sarah Parkin, from Hinckley, studying English and French
Off we set again then, and Mr Oxlade opened the night's scoring with 'great'; his side took two of the bonus set on residences of dukes, unluckily missing the third. Mr Gibson very quickly got his side going too, but they managed just one of their first bonuses on agreements. 'Dogs' gave the Magdalen captain another starter, and his side the lead and a full bonus set. A penalty then allowed Fitzwilliam to take the initiative back, but they got nothing from the resultant bonuses. The first picture round, on European ports able to house megaships, went to Fitzwilliam, who took a full bonus set, and the lead 55-35.
A well anticipated buzz from Ms Parkin drew Magdalen back in again, and bonuses on dictatorships drew them level again. A second slip-up though then gave Fitzwilliam the lead back, giving Mr Maloney his third starter of the night, but his side could only manage one bonus. A good starter asked which two letters turn the name of Saturn's largest moon to that of Uranus' largest; 'ia', Titan to Titania. Mr Maloney knew that, and the bonuses provided some good humour as his side couldn't name one Israeli computer scientists, let alone two as requested! Another Magdalen penalty handed the Fitzwilliam right-winger another starter, and bonuses on 19th century English football gave them the same two correct answers as me.
The music round, on pop music that employs the Dembow rhythm, went to Fitzwilliam, who took two correct answers, including the first ever mention of Justin Bieber on UC! The Cambridge side now led 120-45, but Mr Gibson pulled one back for Magdalen; two bonuses followed, the other unluckily missed. Mr Howe increased his side's lead once again, and the side impressively wolfed up a tricky bonus set on African geography. Mr Gibson looked like he was guessing 'Scottish National Party' for the next starter, but he was right, though his side failed to capitalise on the bonuses. It seemed to wake the Magdalen skipper up though, as he took another starter, and bonuses on philosophy proved more to their liking, taking two this time. Fitzwilliam were then harshly fined five for cutting the end of the question wrongly; Mr Gibson took the points, but just the one bonus followed this time.
The second picture round, on paintings from the collection of Isabella Stewart Gardner, went to Magdalen, who took just one bonus, nonetheless cutting the gap to 140-125. A fifth starter in a row went Mr Gibson's way, and bonuses on places beginning 'Ul' gave his side the chance to take the lead; but they could only manage one. (I got 'Ulverston' as Stan Laurel's birthplace) Level pegging, but Mr Howe restored Fitzwilliam's lead, and one bonus was accompanied.
All to play for in the final stretch: Mr Maloney blinked first, quickly taking his first starter in a while, and his side took two of the bonuses that came with it. And when Mr Tindall took the next starter very promptly indeed, that might just have put the game to bed, even though the Cambridge side took just one bonus on royal births. Ms Parkin just about kept her side in the game with the next starter; realistically needing a full set to stay in the game, Magdalen could only manage one. That was game over, and just to be sure, Mr Tindall took a second starter. At the gong, Fitzwilliam won 200-155.
A very good quickly paced game, thoroughly enjoyed it, well done both sides. Unlucky Magdalen, but, as Paxo said, a very entertaining and respectable performance, and thanks very much for playing! Well done Fitzwilliam though, a second good win over decent opponents, and best of luck in the group stage!
The stats: Mr Gibson was the best buzzer of the night, with eight, while Mr Maloney was best for Fitzwilliam with six. On the bonuses, Fitzwilliam converted 17 out of 36 (with one pedantic penalty), while Magdalen managed 14 out of 30 (with three penalties), so it was on the buzzer that the match was narrowly decided, well played both sides.
Next week's match: Oxford Brookes vs Merton in the final second round match.
Only Connect was good tonight as well; fingers crossed I can get my review done quickly this week.
Sunday 14 January 2018
Only Connect Series 13: Play-Off Round 1: Match 3: Dandies vs Arrowheads
OK, sorry for another long wait, but finally I can deal with last Monday's Only Connect. Hopefully from now on in, I won't be keeping you waiting as long.
Playing were the Dandies, Oscar Powell, Lewis Barn and captain, and blog reader, Jack Bennett, who beat the Gaffers but narrowly lost to the Beaks, and the Arrowheads, Sarah Lister, Hannah Hogben and captain Nick Lister, husband of Sarah, who overcame the Wombles but were narrowly pipped by the Detectives.
Round 1. The Dandies opened the show with Twisted Flax: 'David: Proctor', then 'Nicholas: Teaching assistant', then 'Oliver: Undertaking apprentice'; they, and I, saw them to be the occupations of Dickens title characters, and collected two points. The Arrowsmiths kicked their night off with Lion, and the picture set: we saw a crow, then the band Humble Pie , then a word cloud, and finally a trilby hat. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: they are things you figuratively eat when you admit to being wrong (ie, all those who thought Man City would go unbeaten this season!). The Dandies chose Water next: 'Stoner author', then 'The Deer Hunter guitarist'; they quickly saw them to be men called John Williams, and collected three good points! The Arrowheads chose Eye of Horus next, and got the music question: we heard the theme tune to Magnum PI, then a remix of the Father Ted theme tune, then the Balamory theme tune; they offered 'theme tunes to shows associated with Scotland', not right. Their opponents heard the Bergerac theme tune, and offered 'themes to shows set on islands' for a bonus. For their own question, the Dandies chose 'Horn-ed' Viper: 'Extra Special', then 'M Signature', then 'Finest'; they saw them to be premium brands for supermarkets, and picked up two more points. Left with Two Reeds, and in need of some points, the Arrowheads saw 'Where the distance judge sat', then 'The 1967 winner', then 'A horse that jumped it backwards', and finally 'Where Captain Martin Becher took shelter'; they identified them as fences at Aintree, and collected their first point of the match. At the end of the first round, the Dandies led 8-1.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Dandies kicked off with Lion: '4 Williams', then '3 Georges', and then '2 Andrews, Franklins, Thomases'; they offered '1 Barack', which was correct, the sequence being how many presidents of the US have had those forenames. The Arrowsmiths chose Water next: 'Friday, April 1st', then 'Monday, August 2nd', and then 'Saturday, December 3rd'; they offered 'Thursday, April 4th', not correct. Their opponents tried 'Wednesday, April 4th', also not right. This was a clever one: the days and months have been arranged into alphabetical order, so 'Sunday, February 4th' would complete the set. The Dandies chose Eye of Horus next, and got the picture set: we saw a minion, then Postman Pat, and then some random bloke. They couldn't offer anything, and their opponents were none the wiser: they are people/things with three, four and five fingers on each hand, so someone/thing with six fingers on one hand, such as Anne Boleyn (allegedly), would satisfy. The Arrowheads chose Twisted Flax next: '4th in world: Sri Lanka', then '3rd in world: Kenya', and then '2nd in world: India'. They tried '1st in world: China', and were right, the sequence being the countries that produce the most tea. For their final choice, the Dandies chose 'Horn-ed' Viper again: 'Mars: wine', then 'imp: ungulate', and then 'ko: marsupial'. They saw a sequence, but couldn't give an acceptable answer; nor could their opponents. It's things that can be formed by adding 'ala' to words of four, three and two letters, so 'G: bingo club' would be acceptable for the points. Left with Two Reeds again, the Arrowheads saw 'Vault', then 'Uneven bars', and then 'Balance Beam'; they saw it to be the routines in women's gymnastics, so 'Floor' would come fourth. At the end of the second round, the Dandies led 10-5.
On to the Walls. The Arrowheads went first this time, and chose to tackle the Water wall. They quickly saw a connection of famous Humphrys, and isolated 'Appleby', 'Burton', 'Downing Street cat' and 'Lyttelton'. A second set followed fairly quickly: 'Arc', 'Hurricane', 'Lava' and 'Table' are types of lamp. After carefully looking over the remainders, they had them sorted: 'Pearl', 'Plumage', 'Figurative' and 'Limerick' all begin with the names of fruits, which they saw, while 'Davy', 'Wren', 'Newton' and 'Pepys' are presidents of the Royal Society, which they didn't, thus dropping three. So seven points there.
The Dandies could thus put the match out of realistic reach if they could sweep the Lion wall clean. They made a good start, quickly isolating 'Thickett', 'Saxondale', 'Calf' and 'Ferrino', which are characters played by Steve Coogan, followed by 'Drummer', 'Partridge', 'Maid' and 'Swan', which are presents from the Twelve Days of Christmas. (Were it not for the footie breaks, that might've tied in nicely with the broadcast date!) After looking over the final sets, they solved it on their second try: 'Kneel', 'Dug', 'Fill' and 'Gym' are homophones of boys names, while 'Locked', 'Lord', 'Slide' and 'Scape' can all follow 'Land'. A full ten there, which gave them a lead of 20-12 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels to finish, with the Arrowheads needing a virtual shutout to stand a chance. 'Phrases including tennis terms', such as 'TEA SERVICE' and 'SMALL CLAIMS COURT', was splint 2-each. 'Disclaimers', such as 'TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY', went to the Arrowheads 3-1. 'Things that came to being in 1971' went to the Dandies 2-1. 'Awards for genre fiction' gave the Arrowheads one point, and the second got timed out. The Dandies won 25-19.
Another good match, both teams did well considering how tough some of those early questions were. Unlucky Arrowheads, but a perfectly respectable series of performances, thanks for playing. Well done Dandies though, and best of luck in your next match!
Tomorrow's match: the Cricketers vs the Escapologists, the two first round runners-up we expected we'd be seeing again, followed by the Meeples vs the Inquisitors the week after.
Back tomorrow with UC as usual, and hopefully I can get my OC blog done a lot earlier too, but I promise nothing.
Playing were the Dandies, Oscar Powell, Lewis Barn and captain, and blog reader, Jack Bennett, who beat the Gaffers but narrowly lost to the Beaks, and the Arrowheads, Sarah Lister, Hannah Hogben and captain Nick Lister, husband of Sarah, who overcame the Wombles but were narrowly pipped by the Detectives.
Round 1. The Dandies opened the show with Twisted Flax: 'David: Proctor', then 'Nicholas: Teaching assistant', then 'Oliver: Undertaking apprentice'; they, and I, saw them to be the occupations of Dickens title characters, and collected two points. The Arrowsmiths kicked their night off with Lion, and the picture set: we saw a crow, then the band Humble Pie , then a word cloud, and finally a trilby hat. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: they are things you figuratively eat when you admit to being wrong (ie, all those who thought Man City would go unbeaten this season!). The Dandies chose Water next: 'Stoner author', then 'The Deer Hunter guitarist'; they quickly saw them to be men called John Williams, and collected three good points! The Arrowheads chose Eye of Horus next, and got the music question: we heard the theme tune to Magnum PI, then a remix of the Father Ted theme tune, then the Balamory theme tune; they offered 'theme tunes to shows associated with Scotland', not right. Their opponents heard the Bergerac theme tune, and offered 'themes to shows set on islands' for a bonus. For their own question, the Dandies chose 'Horn-ed' Viper: 'Extra Special', then 'M Signature', then 'Finest'; they saw them to be premium brands for supermarkets, and picked up two more points. Left with Two Reeds, and in need of some points, the Arrowheads saw 'Where the distance judge sat', then 'The 1967 winner', then 'A horse that jumped it backwards', and finally 'Where Captain Martin Becher took shelter'; they identified them as fences at Aintree, and collected their first point of the match. At the end of the first round, the Dandies led 8-1.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Dandies kicked off with Lion: '4 Williams', then '3 Georges', and then '2 Andrews, Franklins, Thomases'; they offered '1 Barack', which was correct, the sequence being how many presidents of the US have had those forenames. The Arrowsmiths chose Water next: 'Friday, April 1st', then 'Monday, August 2nd', and then 'Saturday, December 3rd'; they offered 'Thursday, April 4th', not correct. Their opponents tried 'Wednesday, April 4th', also not right. This was a clever one: the days and months have been arranged into alphabetical order, so 'Sunday, February 4th' would complete the set. The Dandies chose Eye of Horus next, and got the picture set: we saw a minion, then Postman Pat, and then some random bloke. They couldn't offer anything, and their opponents were none the wiser: they are people/things with three, four and five fingers on each hand, so someone/thing with six fingers on one hand, such as Anne Boleyn (allegedly), would satisfy. The Arrowheads chose Twisted Flax next: '4th in world: Sri Lanka', then '3rd in world: Kenya', and then '2nd in world: India'. They tried '1st in world: China', and were right, the sequence being the countries that produce the most tea. For their final choice, the Dandies chose 'Horn-ed' Viper again: 'Mars: wine', then 'imp: ungulate', and then 'ko: marsupial'. They saw a sequence, but couldn't give an acceptable answer; nor could their opponents. It's things that can be formed by adding 'ala' to words of four, three and two letters, so 'G: bingo club' would be acceptable for the points. Left with Two Reeds again, the Arrowheads saw 'Vault', then 'Uneven bars', and then 'Balance Beam'; they saw it to be the routines in women's gymnastics, so 'Floor' would come fourth. At the end of the second round, the Dandies led 10-5.
On to the Walls. The Arrowheads went first this time, and chose to tackle the Water wall. They quickly saw a connection of famous Humphrys, and isolated 'Appleby', 'Burton', 'Downing Street cat' and 'Lyttelton'. A second set followed fairly quickly: 'Arc', 'Hurricane', 'Lava' and 'Table' are types of lamp. After carefully looking over the remainders, they had them sorted: 'Pearl', 'Plumage', 'Figurative' and 'Limerick' all begin with the names of fruits, which they saw, while 'Davy', 'Wren', 'Newton' and 'Pepys' are presidents of the Royal Society, which they didn't, thus dropping three. So seven points there.
The Dandies could thus put the match out of realistic reach if they could sweep the Lion wall clean. They made a good start, quickly isolating 'Thickett', 'Saxondale', 'Calf' and 'Ferrino', which are characters played by Steve Coogan, followed by 'Drummer', 'Partridge', 'Maid' and 'Swan', which are presents from the Twelve Days of Christmas. (Were it not for the footie breaks, that might've tied in nicely with the broadcast date!) After looking over the final sets, they solved it on their second try: 'Kneel', 'Dug', 'Fill' and 'Gym' are homophones of boys names, while 'Locked', 'Lord', 'Slide' and 'Scape' can all follow 'Land'. A full ten there, which gave them a lead of 20-12 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels to finish, with the Arrowheads needing a virtual shutout to stand a chance. 'Phrases including tennis terms', such as 'TEA SERVICE' and 'SMALL CLAIMS COURT', was splint 2-each. 'Disclaimers', such as 'TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY', went to the Arrowheads 3-1. 'Things that came to being in 1971' went to the Dandies 2-1. 'Awards for genre fiction' gave the Arrowheads one point, and the second got timed out. The Dandies won 25-19.
Another good match, both teams did well considering how tough some of those early questions were. Unlucky Arrowheads, but a perfectly respectable series of performances, thanks for playing. Well done Dandies though, and best of luck in your next match!
Tomorrow's match: the Cricketers vs the Escapologists, the two first round runners-up we expected we'd be seeing again, followed by the Meeples vs the Inquisitors the week after.
Back tomorrow with UC as usual, and hopefully I can get my OC blog done a lot earlier too, but I promise nothing.
Monday 8 January 2018
University Challenge 2017-18: Round 2: Match 6: Newcastle vs Southampton
Evening all. Apologies if my review is a bit rushed tonight, and for the rest of this run, but my routine has been thrown somewhat by the move to 8:30, with Only Connect at 8, and I'm trying to fit my evening routine in around it. Anyway, to recap where we were before the festive break, we'd played five second round matches, and we still have three more to go before the group stage. So lets do this.
Newcastle won a low scoring first round match against Sheffield Hallam 170-40, one of the lowest aggregate score of the BBC era, but still a fairly reasonable showing on the buzzer and the bonuses nonetheless. They were unchanged from that occasion:
Jack Reynard, from Leeds, studying Medicine
Molly Nielsen, from London, studying Medicine
Captain: Jonathan Noble, from Newcastle, studying for a PGCE
Adam Lowery, from Sunderland, studying Chemistry
Southampton also had a pretty easy first round victory, beating Cardiff 280-40, dominating the match of the buzzer til half-time and running up 200 before their opponents could get off the mark, ending with the second highest first round score. They were also the same as before:
Juan Paolo Ledesma, from Hampshire, studying Medicine
Andrew Knighton, from Fareham in Hampshire, studying Medicine
Captain: Lorna Frankel, from Wiltshire, studying Natural Sciences
Niall Jones, from Chalfont St Peter in Buckinghamshire, studying English
Off we set again then, and Mr Reynard, who has been very active on Twitter since we last saw him and his team, opened the night's scoring with the Bayeux Tapestry; bonuses on tea gave the Tynesiders two correct answers. A second starter went the Newcastle left-winger's way, and a full bonus set went with it this time, showing they were up for it. Mr Jones kicked Southampton off the mark, and they opened their account with two bonuses. The Soton right-winger then also took a second starter in a row, but just the one bonus came this time. The first picture round, on lists of chapters of non-fiction works, went to Newcastle, who also only managed just one bonus, giving them an early lead of 60-35.
Mr Reynard resumed his early buzzer run next with 'Nuremberg', and the bonuses saw the council area of Highland get missed for the second time this round! Another bonus was taken though. Mr Knighton brought his side back into the match, and they took two of the resultant bonuses. Back came Mr Noble for Newcastle though; no bonuses this time, but the way they'd been confidently buzzing, you fancied them to carry on for a minor giant killing (I say minor, nothing will top Forest beating the Gunners last night!).
Mind you, Ms Frankel was very quick to recognise Tschaikovski's Swan Lake for the music starter; the bonuses, on pieces mentioned by Susan Sontag in her 'Notes on Camp', gave Southampton just the one correct bonus, nonetheless cutting the gap to 90-70. Back came Mr Reynard to up Newcastle's lead again though, taking them into triple figures too; bonuses on US compromises saw them take two correct answers. A penalty gave Southampton a chance to pull back, but they couldn't take it. Mr Noble then began a run of three very quick buzzes; six out of nine bonuses from the resultant sets, including an impressive full set on pairs of words, including elements, differing by one word, gave them a good 95-point lead.
The second picture starter saw Mr Ledesma nicely compliment his 'Katy Perry' answer from the first round with 'Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit'! The bonuses, on stop-motion nominees for the Best Animated Feature Academy Award, gave Southampton two correct answers, the other an unlucky miss, but they still trailed 165-90. And when Mr Noble, eventually, took the next starter, and one bonus on George Eliot went with it, you fancied them to hold on for a famous victory.
Southampton gave it a good go though, Mr Jones took the next starter, but the bonuses failed to provide any further points. Another Southampton starter, taken by Ms Frankel, provided them with one correct bonus answer, and Mr Jones then took a third in a row, again, with just one bonus following. Mr Noble confirmed Newcastle's victory with 'sage', and two bonuses only served to increase their margin of victory. There was time for Mr Lowery to ensure all eight players ended with a starter to their name, and one bonus to go with it. At the gong, Newcastle won 215-130.
Another good match, decided on the buzzer, but well played both sides there. Unlucky Southampton, a good team unlucky not to make the group stage, but a respectable performance, thanks for playing. Very well done Newcastle though, a fine victory over good opponents, and good luck in the group stage!
Mr Noble was the best buzzer of the night, with six to his name, while Mr Jones was Southampton's best with four. On the bonuses, Newcastle converted a good 20 out of 36 (with the night's one penalty), while Southampton managed 10 out of 24.
Next week's match: Fitzwilliam vs Magdalen
Only Connect saw our old UC friends the Dandies return tonight, along with the Arrowheads; hopefully I'll be recapping their exploits before the week is out.
Newcastle won a low scoring first round match against Sheffield Hallam 170-40, one of the lowest aggregate score of the BBC era, but still a fairly reasonable showing on the buzzer and the bonuses nonetheless. They were unchanged from that occasion:
Jack Reynard, from Leeds, studying Medicine
Molly Nielsen, from London, studying Medicine
Captain: Jonathan Noble, from Newcastle, studying for a PGCE
Adam Lowery, from Sunderland, studying Chemistry
Southampton also had a pretty easy first round victory, beating Cardiff 280-40, dominating the match of the buzzer til half-time and running up 200 before their opponents could get off the mark, ending with the second highest first round score. They were also the same as before:
Juan Paolo Ledesma, from Hampshire, studying Medicine
Andrew Knighton, from Fareham in Hampshire, studying Medicine
Captain: Lorna Frankel, from Wiltshire, studying Natural Sciences
Niall Jones, from Chalfont St Peter in Buckinghamshire, studying English
Off we set again then, and Mr Reynard, who has been very active on Twitter since we last saw him and his team, opened the night's scoring with the Bayeux Tapestry; bonuses on tea gave the Tynesiders two correct answers. A second starter went the Newcastle left-winger's way, and a full bonus set went with it this time, showing they were up for it. Mr Jones kicked Southampton off the mark, and they opened their account with two bonuses. The Soton right-winger then also took a second starter in a row, but just the one bonus came this time. The first picture round, on lists of chapters of non-fiction works, went to Newcastle, who also only managed just one bonus, giving them an early lead of 60-35.
Mr Reynard resumed his early buzzer run next with 'Nuremberg', and the bonuses saw the council area of Highland get missed for the second time this round! Another bonus was taken though. Mr Knighton brought his side back into the match, and they took two of the resultant bonuses. Back came Mr Noble for Newcastle though; no bonuses this time, but the way they'd been confidently buzzing, you fancied them to carry on for a minor giant killing (I say minor, nothing will top Forest beating the Gunners last night!).
Mind you, Ms Frankel was very quick to recognise Tschaikovski's Swan Lake for the music starter; the bonuses, on pieces mentioned by Susan Sontag in her 'Notes on Camp', gave Southampton just the one correct bonus, nonetheless cutting the gap to 90-70. Back came Mr Reynard to up Newcastle's lead again though, taking them into triple figures too; bonuses on US compromises saw them take two correct answers. A penalty gave Southampton a chance to pull back, but they couldn't take it. Mr Noble then began a run of three very quick buzzes; six out of nine bonuses from the resultant sets, including an impressive full set on pairs of words, including elements, differing by one word, gave them a good 95-point lead.
The second picture starter saw Mr Ledesma nicely compliment his 'Katy Perry' answer from the first round with 'Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit'! The bonuses, on stop-motion nominees for the Best Animated Feature Academy Award, gave Southampton two correct answers, the other an unlucky miss, but they still trailed 165-90. And when Mr Noble, eventually, took the next starter, and one bonus on George Eliot went with it, you fancied them to hold on for a famous victory.
Southampton gave it a good go though, Mr Jones took the next starter, but the bonuses failed to provide any further points. Another Southampton starter, taken by Ms Frankel, provided them with one correct bonus answer, and Mr Jones then took a third in a row, again, with just one bonus following. Mr Noble confirmed Newcastle's victory with 'sage', and two bonuses only served to increase their margin of victory. There was time for Mr Lowery to ensure all eight players ended with a starter to their name, and one bonus to go with it. At the gong, Newcastle won 215-130.
Another good match, decided on the buzzer, but well played both sides there. Unlucky Southampton, a good team unlucky not to make the group stage, but a respectable performance, thanks for playing. Very well done Newcastle though, a fine victory over good opponents, and good luck in the group stage!
Mr Noble was the best buzzer of the night, with six to his name, while Mr Jones was Southampton's best with four. On the bonuses, Newcastle converted a good 20 out of 36 (with the night's one penalty), while Southampton managed 10 out of 24.
Next week's match: Fitzwilliam vs Magdalen
Only Connect saw our old UC friends the Dandies return tonight, along with the Arrowheads; hopefully I'll be recapping their exploits before the week is out.
Sunday 7 January 2018
Only Connect Series 13: Play-Off Round 1: Match 2: Snake Charmers vs Inquisitors
OK, finally we can get down to recapping Only Connect from last Monday; hopefully the wait won't be as long in future weeks, but I promise nothing. And Shunt's axe has just broken off on Robot Wars! Sorry, I'm watching the end of that while starting on this.
Anyway, playing the first match of 2018 were the Snake Charmers, Thomas Rychlik, Kate Pfeffer and captain John Howe, who beat the Extras in the first round but narrowly lost their second to the Eco-Warriors, and the Inquisitors, Luke Kelly, Rob Cumming and captain Julia Hobbs, who defeated the Cricketers in their first match but were beaten by the Wanderers in their second.
Round 1. The Inquisitors opened the year with Lion: 'Knatte (sv) = Small', then 'Muskel (de) = Strong'; they came in at this point with 'Mr Men in other languages', and collected a good three points! Good quizzing! The Charmers opened their account with Twisted Flax, and got the picture set: we saw the footballer Jeff Astle, then a handbag being stolen, then a Tesla car; they saw them to be anagrams of each other (ASTLE, STEAL AND TESLA, and SLATE would've been fourth), and collected two points. The Inquisitors chose Eye of Horus next: '1980s Portsmouth FC crest', then 'Birmingham silver', then 'Kuehne + Nagel', and finally 'Popeye's arm'; they offered 'anchors', and were correct for the point. The Charmers chose Water next: 'DiConcetto & Cruz', then 'Moore & Prater', then 'Green & Flynn', and finally 'Bono & Sarkisian'. They didn't get it, their opponents did: they are the surnames of musical duos. For their own question, the Inquisitors chose Horned Viper: 'Menagerie (1235-1835)', then 'Royal Mint (1279-1810)'; they saw them to be things found at the Tower of London between those dates, and collected another good three points. Left with Two Reeds, and the music question, the Charmers heard 'Seven Weeks' by InMe, then Youssou N'Door with 'Seven Seconds', then 'Seven Years' by Lukas Graham, and finally Craig David with 'Seven Days'. Only recognising the third, they offered 'Seven Years'; their opponents made no mistake and collected a bonus. At the end of the first round, the Inquisitors led 9-2.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Inquisitors kicked the round off with Eye of Horus, and the picture set: we saw a church, then a church steeple, and then someone peaking in a door. They didn't get it, their opponents did: it's the 'Here's the Church' nursery rhyme, so 'some people' would satisfy. For their own question, the Charmers chose Lion: 'The Big One', then 'A Clockwork', and then 'She Wore a Ribbon'; they saw it to be film titles with colours of the rainbow removed, so offered 'How Was My Valley?' for the two points. The Inquisitors chose Twisted Flax next: 'Mikhail Fradkov', then 'Viktor Zubkov', and then 'Vladimir Putin'; they saw it to be prime ministers of Russia, and so offered 'Dimitri Medvedev' for two points. The Charmers chose Water next: '4/7 Nick', then '5/7 Jo-Wilfried'; they saw them to be Andy Murray's vanquished opponents when he won Wimbledon 2016, and so offered '7/7 Milos' for three points. For their final choice, the Inquisitors chose Horned Viper: '8', then '61', and then '42'; they spotted it to be the 8 times table with the numbers reversed, offered '23' for the two points. Left with Two Reeds again, the Charmers saw 'Circle constructed for any given triangle', then 'Countdown Conundrum', and then 'Table tennis game winning total'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents; they are things worth 9, 10 and 11 points, so something for 12 points, such as 'Automatic UK driving disqualification', would satisfy. At the end of the second round, the Inquisitors led 13-8.
On to the Walls. The Charmers took their turn to go first, and chose the Water wall. After looking over the clues, and getting some early links, they eventually isolated 'Iron', 'Shower', 'Net' and 'Safety', which can all precede 'curtain'. They got a bit stuck after that though, but eventually isolated a second set: 'Mizz', 'Just Seventeen', 'Blue Jean's and 'Honey' are teen magazines. With little time left, they tried quickly to solve the wall, but couldn't in their three gos, so had to rummage for bonuses: 'Caroline', 'Jackie', 'London' and '270' are pirate radio stations, which they didn't get, while 'Sugar', 'Marvelous', 'Smokin'' and 'Bonecrusher' are the nicknames of boxers, which they also failed to spot. Four points there.
The Inquisitors could thus put the game out of realistic reach if they could sweep the Lion wall clean. They started well, isolating two groups very quickly indeed: 'Eye', 'View', 'Observe' and 'Rubberneck' are words meaning 'to look at', while 'Cruiser', 'Middle', 'Fly' and 'Light' are boxing weights. After that, though, they came unstuck, unable to untangle what was left. Unable to solve the wall in their three tries, they too had to search for bonuses: 'Money', 'Aces', 'Battleship' and 'Watch' can all follow 'pocket', which they failed to spot, while 'Destroyer', 'Galley', 'Monitor' and 'Corvette' are battleships, which they did see. Five points there, which upped their lead to 18-12 going into the final round.
So just about all still to play for in Missing Vowels. 'You are in trouble where you are...', such as 'BACKED INTO A CORNER' and 'IN OVER YOUR HEAD', went to the Charmers 3-1. 'Chemical elements and US states with the same abbreviation' was another 3-1 to the Charmers, so already closed up. 'Idiomatic animals', such as 'CASH COW' and 'ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM' went to the Inquisitors 3-1. 'Actors and their actor grandparents' only managed one clue, which was timed out. The Inquisitors won 23-19.
Another fine match, well quizzed by both teams. Unlucky Charmers, unlucky to be out at this stage, but nothing to be ashamed of across the series, and thanks for playing in it. Well done Inquisitors though, and good luck in the next round!
Tomorrow's match: the Dandies vs the Arrowheads. Don't forget, at 8, with UC on afterwards at 8:30; see you tomorrow with my usual write-up of that.
Anyway, playing the first match of 2018 were the Snake Charmers, Thomas Rychlik, Kate Pfeffer and captain John Howe, who beat the Extras in the first round but narrowly lost their second to the Eco-Warriors, and the Inquisitors, Luke Kelly, Rob Cumming and captain Julia Hobbs, who defeated the Cricketers in their first match but were beaten by the Wanderers in their second.
Round 1. The Inquisitors opened the year with Lion: 'Knatte (sv) = Small', then 'Muskel (de) = Strong'; they came in at this point with 'Mr Men in other languages', and collected a good three points! Good quizzing! The Charmers opened their account with Twisted Flax, and got the picture set: we saw the footballer Jeff Astle, then a handbag being stolen, then a Tesla car; they saw them to be anagrams of each other (ASTLE, STEAL AND TESLA, and SLATE would've been fourth), and collected two points. The Inquisitors chose Eye of Horus next: '1980s Portsmouth FC crest', then 'Birmingham silver', then 'Kuehne + Nagel', and finally 'Popeye's arm'; they offered 'anchors', and were correct for the point. The Charmers chose Water next: 'DiConcetto & Cruz', then 'Moore & Prater', then 'Green & Flynn', and finally 'Bono & Sarkisian'. They didn't get it, their opponents did: they are the surnames of musical duos. For their own question, the Inquisitors chose Horned Viper: 'Menagerie (1235-1835)', then 'Royal Mint (1279-1810)'; they saw them to be things found at the Tower of London between those dates, and collected another good three points. Left with Two Reeds, and the music question, the Charmers heard 'Seven Weeks' by InMe, then Youssou N'Door with 'Seven Seconds', then 'Seven Years' by Lukas Graham, and finally Craig David with 'Seven Days'. Only recognising the third, they offered 'Seven Years'; their opponents made no mistake and collected a bonus. At the end of the first round, the Inquisitors led 9-2.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Inquisitors kicked the round off with Eye of Horus, and the picture set: we saw a church, then a church steeple, and then someone peaking in a door. They didn't get it, their opponents did: it's the 'Here's the Church' nursery rhyme, so 'some people' would satisfy. For their own question, the Charmers chose Lion: 'The Big One', then 'A Clockwork', and then 'She Wore a Ribbon'; they saw it to be film titles with colours of the rainbow removed, so offered 'How Was My Valley?' for the two points. The Inquisitors chose Twisted Flax next: 'Mikhail Fradkov', then 'Viktor Zubkov', and then 'Vladimir Putin'; they saw it to be prime ministers of Russia, and so offered 'Dimitri Medvedev' for two points. The Charmers chose Water next: '4/7 Nick', then '5/7 Jo-Wilfried'; they saw them to be Andy Murray's vanquished opponents when he won Wimbledon 2016, and so offered '7/7 Milos' for three points. For their final choice, the Inquisitors chose Horned Viper: '8', then '61', and then '42'; they spotted it to be the 8 times table with the numbers reversed, offered '23' for the two points. Left with Two Reeds again, the Charmers saw 'Circle constructed for any given triangle', then 'Countdown Conundrum', and then 'Table tennis game winning total'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents; they are things worth 9, 10 and 11 points, so something for 12 points, such as 'Automatic UK driving disqualification', would satisfy. At the end of the second round, the Inquisitors led 13-8.
On to the Walls. The Charmers took their turn to go first, and chose the Water wall. After looking over the clues, and getting some early links, they eventually isolated 'Iron', 'Shower', 'Net' and 'Safety', which can all precede 'curtain'. They got a bit stuck after that though, but eventually isolated a second set: 'Mizz', 'Just Seventeen', 'Blue Jean's and 'Honey' are teen magazines. With little time left, they tried quickly to solve the wall, but couldn't in their three gos, so had to rummage for bonuses: 'Caroline', 'Jackie', 'London' and '270' are pirate radio stations, which they didn't get, while 'Sugar', 'Marvelous', 'Smokin'' and 'Bonecrusher' are the nicknames of boxers, which they also failed to spot. Four points there.
The Inquisitors could thus put the game out of realistic reach if they could sweep the Lion wall clean. They started well, isolating two groups very quickly indeed: 'Eye', 'View', 'Observe' and 'Rubberneck' are words meaning 'to look at', while 'Cruiser', 'Middle', 'Fly' and 'Light' are boxing weights. After that, though, they came unstuck, unable to untangle what was left. Unable to solve the wall in their three tries, they too had to search for bonuses: 'Money', 'Aces', 'Battleship' and 'Watch' can all follow 'pocket', which they failed to spot, while 'Destroyer', 'Galley', 'Monitor' and 'Corvette' are battleships, which they did see. Five points there, which upped their lead to 18-12 going into the final round.
So just about all still to play for in Missing Vowels. 'You are in trouble where you are...', such as 'BACKED INTO A CORNER' and 'IN OVER YOUR HEAD', went to the Charmers 3-1. 'Chemical elements and US states with the same abbreviation' was another 3-1 to the Charmers, so already closed up. 'Idiomatic animals', such as 'CASH COW' and 'ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM' went to the Inquisitors 3-1. 'Actors and their actor grandparents' only managed one clue, which was timed out. The Inquisitors won 23-19.
Another fine match, well quizzed by both teams. Unlucky Charmers, unlucky to be out at this stage, but nothing to be ashamed of across the series, and thanks for playing in it. Well done Inquisitors though, and good luck in the next round!
Tomorrow's match: the Dandies vs the Arrowheads. Don't forget, at 8, with UC on afterwards at 8:30; see you tomorrow with my usual write-up of that.
Saturday 6 January 2018
Christmas University Challenge 2017: Matches 6-10 (Monday 1st - Friday 5th)
OK all? Hope you all had, and are having, a safe New Year. Apologies that I haven't dealt with Monday's Only Connect yet, but I will definitely get it sorted tomorrow evening. I hope.
In the meantime, we still have the small matter of the remaining Christmas UC matches to deal with, so here's a look back at the second week's play.
Monday 1st: Queen Mary London vs Cardiff
Queen Mary: Marcus Chown, Bruce Dickinson, Adrian Chiles, Ching He Huang
Cardiff: Laura McAllister, Nicole Cooke, Laura Trevelyan, Rhys Jones
Another low scoring match that was decided on the bonuses; both teams answered just six starters each, with Mr Dickinson and Ms Trevelyan answering three each, but Queen Mary converted 10 bonuses out of 18 to Cardiff's just 1 out of 18. Queen Mary thus won 110-60, not enough to earn a semi-final place.
Tuesday 2nd: Brunel vs Reading
Brunel: Tony James, Iwan Thomas, Eni Aluko, Dr Shini Somara
Reading: Anna Machin, Martin Hughes-Games, Sophie Walker, Pippa Greenwood
Another one sided match to end the first round, with Reading taking an early lead off the marks, and never looking back. Brunel were limited to an admittedly decent run of three starters, including the music round, and Mr Thomas provided the comedy moment possibly of the series when, in a bonus set on types of deer, which the team were struggling on, he offered 'No-eye Deer'! Reading reasserted their authority after that though, Ms Machin ending the night the best buzzer with five, and the final starter of the night gave them the points to return, winning 155-45.
Wednesday 3rd: Keble vs St John's
Finally a good close match, as two good sides played out a close contest, with Keble taking an early lead, before St John's drew level, and took a steady lead just before the second picture round. Keble ran the show after that though, and saw it out winning 160-105. Mr Cottrell-Boyce once again proved the key player, with seven starters to his name.
Thursday 4th: U.C.L. vs Reading
This was probably the best match of the series, with two pretty evenly matched sides level for most of the night, with U.C.L. having a slight edge throughout. With only a couple of minutes to go, they led by about 40 points and looked home and dry. But then Reading pulled two successive starters and one complete bonus set out the bag to move within five. And then Ms Greenwood took the final starter of the match just in time for the gong, to give them the win, 130-125! Mr Hughes-Games was their best buzzer this time though, with three starters, same as Mr Baggini for U.C.L..
Friday 5th: Keble vs Reading
Keble took the lead early on, with Mr Cottrell-Boyce showing the same superb buzzer skill that had seen the team through the earlier rounds. By half time, they were over 100 ahead and surely already home and dry. Reading, well they did keep buzzing, which is good to see, but just couldn't get in, with Keble, Mr Cottrell-Boyce in particular, who ended the night with eight starters (for a series total of 21!), just being too quick. The final score, Keble won 240-0. Yes, 0. The first 0 in UC history (that we know of). Reading totally didn't deserve that at all; they were a good proven team who were just unlucky here. But no taking away from Keble, a deserved win after a strong series of performances.
Well done them, and thanks to all who took part in the series; as ever, a nice festive diversion from the regular series.
That regular series resumes on Monday, at the new later time of 8:30, with Newcastle vs Southampton.
Only Connect is now at 8pm it would seem; will be back tomorrow with my review of last Monday's edition.
In the meantime, we still have the small matter of the remaining Christmas UC matches to deal with, so here's a look back at the second week's play.
Monday 1st: Queen Mary London vs Cardiff
Queen Mary: Marcus Chown, Bruce Dickinson, Adrian Chiles, Ching He Huang
Cardiff: Laura McAllister, Nicole Cooke, Laura Trevelyan, Rhys Jones
Another low scoring match that was decided on the bonuses; both teams answered just six starters each, with Mr Dickinson and Ms Trevelyan answering three each, but Queen Mary converted 10 bonuses out of 18 to Cardiff's just 1 out of 18. Queen Mary thus won 110-60, not enough to earn a semi-final place.
Tuesday 2nd: Brunel vs Reading
Brunel: Tony James, Iwan Thomas, Eni Aluko, Dr Shini Somara
Reading: Anna Machin, Martin Hughes-Games, Sophie Walker, Pippa Greenwood
Another one sided match to end the first round, with Reading taking an early lead off the marks, and never looking back. Brunel were limited to an admittedly decent run of three starters, including the music round, and Mr Thomas provided the comedy moment possibly of the series when, in a bonus set on types of deer, which the team were struggling on, he offered 'No-eye Deer'! Reading reasserted their authority after that though, Ms Machin ending the night the best buzzer with five, and the final starter of the night gave them the points to return, winning 155-45.
Wednesday 3rd: Keble vs St John's
Finally a good close match, as two good sides played out a close contest, with Keble taking an early lead, before St John's drew level, and took a steady lead just before the second picture round. Keble ran the show after that though, and saw it out winning 160-105. Mr Cottrell-Boyce once again proved the key player, with seven starters to his name.
Thursday 4th: U.C.L. vs Reading
This was probably the best match of the series, with two pretty evenly matched sides level for most of the night, with U.C.L. having a slight edge throughout. With only a couple of minutes to go, they led by about 40 points and looked home and dry. But then Reading pulled two successive starters and one complete bonus set out the bag to move within five. And then Ms Greenwood took the final starter of the match just in time for the gong, to give them the win, 130-125! Mr Hughes-Games was their best buzzer this time though, with three starters, same as Mr Baggini for U.C.L..
Friday 5th: Keble vs Reading
Keble took the lead early on, with Mr Cottrell-Boyce showing the same superb buzzer skill that had seen the team through the earlier rounds. By half time, they were over 100 ahead and surely already home and dry. Reading, well they did keep buzzing, which is good to see, but just couldn't get in, with Keble, Mr Cottrell-Boyce in particular, who ended the night with eight starters (for a series total of 21!), just being too quick. The final score, Keble won 240-0. Yes, 0. The first 0 in UC history (that we know of). Reading totally didn't deserve that at all; they were a good proven team who were just unlucky here. But no taking away from Keble, a deserved win after a strong series of performances.
Well done them, and thanks to all who took part in the series; as ever, a nice festive diversion from the regular series.
That regular series resumes on Monday, at the new later time of 8:30, with Newcastle vs Southampton.
Only Connect is now at 8pm it would seem; will be back tomorrow with my review of last Monday's edition.
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