Only Connect Series 11: Quarter-Final 4: Wayfarers vs Bookworms

OK, time to play catch up with Only Connect once more. Playing last week were the Wayfarers, Barbara Thompson, Gerard Mackay and Matt Beatson, and the Bookworms, Katy Bateman, Dave Knapp and Tristram 'viking o'neil' Cole. Now, you might be thinking 'hang on, they've already played each other'; you'd be right. They met in the first round, with the Wayfarers winning; since then, they lost to the String Section but defeated the Builders, while the Bookworms took down the Headliners and then the Athenians. Why they had to meet again when it was perfectly avoidable, I've no idea, but I'm sure TPTB have their reasons. Anyway, on with the show.

Round 1. The Wayfarers went first, and kicked the match off with Two Reeds: 'The music question is the twisted flax', then 'By changing nothing, nothing changes. Right?', then 'I hate to see the ev'nin' sun go down', and finally 'If music be the food of love, play on'. Neither team knew it, and I'm not surprised: they are all written in iambic pentameter. Putting the first clue to the test, the Bookworms chose Twisted Flax, and got, not the music question, but the picture question: we saw an equals sign in a circle, then a male representation in a circle, then a circular arrow in a circle, and finally a dollar sign in a circle crossed out. Again, neither side knew it. They are signs signifying a Creative Commons license, ie you don't have complete copyright over something. (Hope that makes sense) The Wayfarers chose 'Horn-ed' Viper next, and this time we got the music question: didn't recognise the first, the second was 'Keep On Running' by the Spencer Davis Group, the third was 'Smooth' by Santana (from the awesome album Supernatural); at this point, after some leniently deliberation, they offered that they are all by bands named after the guitarist, which was correct. (The first song was by the J Geils Band, and Van Halen would've been the fourth track). The Bookworms chose Lion next: 'General Tom Thumb', then ''Sonny' Liston', then 'Chuck Berry', and finally 'Lewis Carroll'. The final clue gave to them: their real first names were all Charles. The Wayfarers chose Eye of Horus next: 'Ind ia', then 'S udan', then 'Mal i', and finally 'Aust ia'; they worked out that you can put extra letters in the gaps to create another country's name. Good one! Left with Water, the Bookworms saw 'Pig', then 'Deer', then 'Adult sheep', and finally 'Adult and young cow'. Neither team knew it. They all have specific names when turned into processed meat (pork, venison, mutton, beef and veal respectively). At the end of a tough first round, the Wayfarers led 3-1.

Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Wayfarers went first again, chose Water, and got a music question: we first head 'Walking on Sunshine', then Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, and then 'Good Times' by Chic; they offered something with 'Boogie' in the title, which was right! It's Michael Jackson's Blame It On The Boogie. Awesome question, and yet another enforced sing-along! The Bookworms chose Two Reeds: '1 of 4: Wings (d. Wellman)', then '2 of 4: Grand Hotel (d. Goulding)', and then '3 of 4: Driving Miss Daisy (d. Beresford)'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents. '4 of 4: Argo (d. Affleck) completes the set; they are Best Picture winners whose director wasn't nominated for Best Director. The Wayfarers chose Twisted Flax next, and got the picture set: we saw a red outlined triangle, then Aristotle Onassis and Nana Mouskouri, and then a compass; they offered something representing 'gifts', which was correct. 'Beware', 'Greeks', 'bearing', 'gifts'! Another good one! The Bookworms chose Eye of Horus next: '1: Field forces, wounded and sick', then '2: Sea forces, wounded, sick and shipwrecked', and then '3: Prisoners of war'. Again, neither side knew it. They are subjects covered by the Geneva conventions, so '4: Wartime civilians' would come fourth. For their final choice, the Wayfarers chose Lion: 'M13', then 'M12', and then 'M10 (since 2009)'; they offered 'M7', which was correct. They are motorways that do not exist. Left with 'Snake'(!), the Bookworms saw 'Corrachadh Mor', then 'Dunnet Head'; at this point, they offered 'Lizard Point', which was correct. They are the furthest extremities of mainland Britain working clockwise from West. At the end of the second round, the Wayfarers led 9-4.

On to the Walls then. The Bookworms went first, and chose to tackle the Water wall. They spotted a group of ducks, and eventually isolated 'Pintail', 'Muscovy', 'Pochard' and 'Mandarin'. They then isolated a second group: 'Kumquat', 'Tangelo', 'Minneola' and 'Clementine' are all citrus fruits, but they dropped the point by suggesting them to be crossbreeds, which not all of them are. Harsh, but fair. They did soon had the remaining groups fixed: 'Satsuma', 'Sunny', 'Wonga' and 'Uncle Buck' are pay-day loan companies, while 'Note', 'Micra', 'Cube' and 'Atlas' are Nissan cars. Just the one mistake, so seven points.

The Wayfarers thus had the Lion wall to contend with. After some early incorrect guesses, they isolated 'Sad', 'Kiss', 'Blush' and 'Smile', which are emoticons. After spending a great deal of time studying what was left, they isolated a second group: 'Thinker', 'Gates of Hell', 'Martyr' and 'Walking Man' are sculptures by Rodin. After that was sorted, they immediately solved what was left: 'Wink', 'Bomb', 'Squidger' and 'Tiddlies' are terms used in the game of tiddlywinks, while 'PerkStreet', 'First Direct', 'Cahoot' and 'Ally' are online banks. A full ten there meant they led 19-11 going into the final round.

So, the Bookworms would need to sweep the board on Missing Vowels to catch up. 'Pre-fame game show appearances', including 'OLLY MURS ON DEAL OR NO DEAL', went to the Wayfarers 2-1. 'Book titles increased by one', such as 'FOUR MEN IN A BOAT', went to the Bookworms 3-1. 'Traditional nicknames with their associated surname' went to the Wayfarers 3-0, and that was time. The Wayfarers won 25-15.

Another excellent match with some great questions. Unlucky Bookworms, but well played over the series. Well done Wayfarers, and best of luck in the SFs!

Monday's match: the Cluesmiths vs the String Section in the first semi-final.

I'll get on to that tomorrow, and hopefully get it done before EastEnders starts so I don't have to try and multi-watch.