OK, so on to the second Only Connect qualification quarter-final. It's been an interesting series to be honest; I honestly think any of the teams still in the contest could ultimately win the series. BTW I'm keeping one eye on the Scotland game at the same time as I'm writing this, so sorry for any errors.
Playing last night were the Belgophiles, Helen Fasham, Phil Small and captain Ben Fasham, who have got here unbeaten via victories over the Lapsed Physicists, the Meeples and the Beaks, and the Escapologists, who lost to the Eco-Warriors in the first round, but have recovered well since with wins over the Cricketers, the Dandies and the Detectives.
Round 1. The Belgophiles kicked the show off with Eye of Horus, and the music question: we heard The Shins with 'New Slang', then 'Ooh La La' by Faces, then Heart with 'Alone', and finally Elbow's classic 'One Day Like This'. They didn't get it, their opponents did for a bonus. For their own first questions, the Escapologists chose Water, and got the picture set: we saw Alexandra Burke, then Sir Stanley Matthews, then Forest Whitaker, and finally Christina Ricci as Wednesday Addams. They saw that there forenames are all shared with British football teams, and picked up another point. The Belgophiles chose Lion next: 'Claude Shannon', then 'Ludwig Ritter von Kochel', then 'Kevin Bacon', and finally 'Amedeo Avogadro'. That gave it to them: they all have numbers named after them. The Escapologists chose Twisted Flax next: 'Sir George Stubbs and Italian Tourist in 'Dead Man's Folly'', then 'The White Stripes', then 'Tom and Gerry Jeffers in 'The Palm Beach Story'', and finally 'The Krankies'. They offering 'pretending to be siblings', not right; their opponents tried 'married couples', not precise enough: they are married couples who pretend they aren't. The Belgophiles chose Two Reeds: 'Ethel', then 'Yogh', then 'Thorn', and finally 'Long S'. They suggested them to be English letters that have fallen out of use, and picked up another point. Left with Horned Viper, the Escapologists saw 'Yttrobetafite', then 'Pyroxferroite', then 'Armalcolite', and finally 'Tranquillityite'. They suggested 'rocks found on the Moon', and were close enough for the points, 'minerals discovered on the Moon' being the precise link. At the end of the first round, the Escapologists led 3-2.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Belgophiles opened the round with Eye of Horus: 'Owner, 'Jurassic Park'', then 'Jeffrey, 'On the Wings of Love'', and then 'Wendy, 'Peter Pan''. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: they are people who share their surnames with Chancellors of the Exchequer, so someone called Brown, such as 'John, Abolitionist' as the show offered, would come fourth. The Escapologists chose Lion: 'Big Ben', then 'Great George', and then 'Great Paul'. Both teams saw it to be something to do with bells, neither knew precisely what: they are the four heaviest bells in Britain, so the 'Olympic Bell' would be fourth. The Belgophiles chose Water next: 'Kings Cross St Pancras Underground station', then 'A 'knock knock' joke'; they saw them to have six and five lines, so offered 'The Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn and The Equator' as three lines, and picked up three points. The Escapologists chose Two Reeds next, and got the picture set: we saw a Gurdwara, then a Mandir, and then a Mosque. They didn't see it, their opponents just about did: they are the houses of worship in the four most practiced religions in the UK, so a Church would be fourth. For their own final choice, the Belgophiles chose Twisted Flax, and got a music sequence: we heard 'Jesu, Joy of Man's Desire' by Bach, then Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, and then the Toreador song from Carmen. They didn't offer an acceptable answer, their opponents did: they are composed by Bach, Beethoven and Bizet, so something by Borodin would complete the set. (Victoria allowed the enforced sing-along to be Bob Marley instead due to no-one knowing any Borodin!) Left with Horned Viper again for their own question, the Escapologsts saw 'January 10th-25th', then 'February 6th-25th', and then 'March 13th-8th'. They got it at the same time I did: they are the letters that begin and end their names, so 'April 1st-12th' would be fourth. At the end of a good second round, the teams were tied on 6-each.
On to the Walls. The Escapologists took their turn to go first, and chose to tackle the Lion wall. A first set, 'Swanson', 'Gish', 'Pickford' and 'Bow', which are the surnames of silent movie actresses, was followed in short order by 'Hull', 'Stern', 'Cathead' and 'Tiller', which are parts of a boat. The final clues came in nicely after that, but they didn't know either connection: 'Irvine', 'Washington', 'Harlow' and 'Stevenage' are new towns, while 'Squiz', 'Garbo', 'Ocker' and 'Sanger' are Australian slang words. Six there then.
The Belgophiles could thus take the lead if they could better that on the Water wall. They also took a first set reasonably promptly: 'Nightingale', 'Houblon', 'Elgar' and 'Fry' are figures who have appeared on UK bank notes. A second set, 'Clare', 'Darwin', 'Jesus' and 'Emmanuel', which, as UC regular viewers will know, are Cambridge colleges, followed suite eventually. They couldn't unscramble what was left though, so had to collect bonuses: 'Matilda', 'Churchill', 'Little Willie' and 'Valentine' are tanks, which they got, while 'Sophie', 'Humpy-Rumpy', 'Willy Wonka' and 'Boggis' are Roald Dahl characters, which they also got. Another six there, which left the score at 12-each going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels would decide who went through where. 'Things named after two people', such as 'THE DUCKWORTH-LEWIS METHOD', went to the Belgophiles 2-1. 'Films with the number doubled', such as 'FOURTEEN SAMARI', was split 2-each. 'Things noted for being green' was split 1-each, and that was time. The Belgophiles had snuck home 17-16!
A very good close match, some good quizzing the hard questions. Unlucky Escapologists, best of luck in the play-offs, well done Belgophiles, very best of luck in the semis!
Next week's match: the Detectives vs the Vikings
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