OK, apologies in advance if I seem a bit hyper tonight, but EastEnders tonight was dramatic enough to make anyone hyper. Covering Only Connect probably won't be enough to calm me down, but I'll give it a go.
Playing on Friday night in the second preliminary were the Surrealists, Jeremy Partington, Chris James and captain Jonathan Carter, who defeated the Genealogists and the Part-Time Poets in their first two matches, and the Verbivores, Phyl Styles, blog reader Tom Cappleman and captain Graeme Cole, who lost their first match to the Psmiths but twice came from well behind to beat the Channel Islanders and the Taverners to make it though.
Round 1. The Surrealists went first, and kicked off the night with Twisted Flax: 'Gray', then 'Waltz', then 'Pleasence'; they quickly spotted the link to be surnames of actors who have played Blofeld in Bond films, and claimed two points. The Verbivores opened their account with Horned Viper, and the music set: we heard Ricky Nelson's 'Teenage Idol', then 'Teenage Dirtbag' by Wheatus, then Katy Perry's 'Teenage Dream'; they spotted the link, and too claimed two points. The Surrealists chose Eye of Horus next: 'In A Lovely Place', then 'Dank Passage', then 'The Big Sheep'. They had it at the second, but took the third to be sure: they are Humphrey Bogart films with one letter changed. The Verbivores chose Two Reeds next, and got the picture set: we saw a Rolls Royce, then , then the tomb of the unknown soldier, and finally a stamp featuring Her Majesty. Neither team had this: they are all missing identification (the car being one of the Queen's license plateless cars and the painting being that featured on a Led Zeppelin cover) The Surrealists chose Lion next: 'c = s', then 'p = r', then 'H = n'. They had it at this: they are Cyrillic letters and their Roman equivalents. (H is the closest I can get to the third on my laptop) Left with Water, the Verbivores saw 'James Watson's Nobel medal', then 'Holdings in Facebook', then 'Russian mines', and finally 'Shares in Arsenal'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: they have all been bought by Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov. At the end of the first round, the Surrealists led 6-2.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Surrealists began with Horned Viper: 'Jeannot Lapin', then 'Le tailleur de Gloucester', and then 'Noisette l'ecureuil'. It was Beatrix Potter books in French, but they didn't know the sequence. Their opponents did, offering 'Pierre Lapin' for a bonus, the sequence being in reverse order of publication. (The books are 'Benjamin Bunny', 'The Tailor of Gloucester', 'Squirrel Nutkin' and 'Peter Rabbit' respectively) For their own question, the Verbivores chose Eye of Horus: 'Going For A Song', then 'Nationwide', and then 'This Is Your Life'. Neither side knew this, though they did both identify Michael Aspel as host of This Is Your Life and worked around that. They are shows presented by successive presenters of the Antiques Roadshow (Arthur Negus, Hugh Scully and Michael Aspel), so something presented by Fiona Bruce, such as Hive Minds, would satisfy. The Surrealists chose Twisted Flax next: we saw Henry Kissinger, then Imogen Stubbs, and then Jake Gyllenhaal. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents. They are the names of UK storms, so any famous Katie, such as Ms Derham, would be correct. The Verbivores chose Lion next: 'Brown' (in green), then 'Green' (in yellow), and then 'Yellow' (in orange). They saw it to be snooker balls in reverse order in the colours of the rainbow in reverse order, so offered 'Red' (in red) for two points. For their final choice, the Surrealists chose Two Reeds: '1981 Louis Malle film', then 'No, No Nannette's duo song', and then 'Manet's 1862-63 picnic song'. They identified them as 'My Dinner With Andre', 'Tea for Two' and 'Luncheon on the Grass', so offered 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' for two points. Left with Water again, the Verbivores saw 'Summer', then 'Conference', and then 'November'. They identified it as parliamentary recesses, and offered 'Christmas' for two points. At the end of the second round, the Surrealists' lead had been cut to 8-7.
On to the Walls. The Verbivores went first with the Lion wall. A first group quickly slotted into place: 'Christabel', 'Emmeline', 'Emily' and 'Annie' are forenames of women's suffrage campaigners. Set number two came promptly too: 'Carrot', 'Dill', 'Cicely' and 'Angelica' are members of the parsley family, but their answer of 'herbs' was disallowed. They took their time with the final clues, and solved the wall on their second go: 'Paradise', 'Parsley', 'Errand' and 'Gold' can all follow 'Fool's', which they knew, while 'Riser', 'Tread', 'Nosing' and 'Cap' are parts of a staircase, which they didn't. Six points there then.
The Surrealists thus took to the Water wall. After looking over for connections, they eventually slotted in two groups: 'Flashing', 'Dormer', 'Gable' and 'Evans' are terms in roofing, while 'Howard', 'Leigh', 'de Havilland' and 'Rutherford' are surnames of actors from Gone with the Wind. They studied the final clues carefully, and soon had it all worked out: 'Hawker Siddeley', 'Bristol', 'Vickers-Armstrong' and 'Shorts' are UK aviation companies, while 'Warwick', 'Didcot', 'East Midlands' and 'Liverpool South' are parkway stations. A full ten, which gave them a lead of 18-13 going into the final round.
So, especially given these two teams' previous good Missing Vowels form, it was all up for grabs. 'Works of literary criticism', however, proved tough for both teams, the Verbivores taking it 2-0 with the only buzzes. 'A TV sports theme tune and its sport', such as 'SOUL LIMBO AND CRICKET', also proved a challenge for the teams, with the Surrealists taking it 2-1, with the bell going before anyone could answer the fourth. The Surrealists won 20-16.
A good close match between two good teams, with some excellent questions. Unlucky Verbivores, but your certainly not out of it yet, so best of luck in your eliminator match. Well done Surrealists though, and good luck in your qualifier!
This week's match: the Beekeepers vs the Cosmopolitans, at the earlier time of 7pm, so don't miss it. As if having it on a different day wasn't confusing enough already!
No comments:
Post a Comment