OK, moving on to Only Connect now, and the final preliminary quarter-final of that tournament. Winners go on to the qualifying round, the runners-up return in two weeks to face the Beekeepers in the elimination round. If UC kept the two phases together like this, instead of alternating, I reckon a lot more people would be able to understand the format and not get muddled all the time.
Anyway, the final two teams to enter the group phase, on Friday night, were the Psmiths, Mark Smith, Nick Holland and captain Nick Reed, who got this far by beating fellow quarter-finalists the Verbivores and the Networkers, and the Oscar Men, Howard Freedman, Adrian Knott and captain Michael Slowey, who lost to the Part-Time Poets but bounced back by beating the Maltsters and the Genealogists.
Round 1. The Psmiths kicked off the match, chose to do with Two Reeds, saw 'NBA', and then Mr Reed leaned forward and buzzed by mistake! Forced to give an answer, their guess of 'North American sporting associations' was not correct. Their opponents saw 'DreamWorks', 'Dr. Oetker' and 'Kappa', but couldn't capitalise: they all contains silhouettes in their logos. The Men chose Eye of Horus for their first question, and got the picture set: we saw the SNP's Pete Wishart, then the Rev Richard Coles, then Prof. Brian Cox; that gave it to them, they are all former keyboard players in bands. The Psmiths chose Lion next: 'Svein Grondalen: encounter with a moose', 'Alex Stepney: shouting at defenders'; that was enough for them to offer 'unusual injuries to footballers', for three points. (The unneeded clues were 'David Batty: run over by a child's tricycle' and 'Steve Morrow: dropped by Tony Adams'!) The Men chose Horned Viper next: 'It's Not Unusual (1964)', then 'Mull of Kintyre (1929)', then 'Martha's Harbour (1951)'; their answer at this point of 'films that share names with No 1 songs' was not correct. Their opponents saw 'If You Leave Me Now (2003)', but couldn't improve: the performers share their names with the Best Picture winner of the same year. Nasty! The Psmiths chose Twisted Flax next: 'Sunderland v. Derby County, 1894', then 'Eton school year', then 'Recommended daily beer intake for men', and finally '1.5'. They got it in the nick of time: they are all three halves. (The first half of the football match was played twice, with the same outcome, as the ref missed it first time after missing his train!) Left with Water, the Men got the music question, and heard Heidenroslein by Schubert, then Honeysuckle Rose, then The White Rose of Athens, and finally Kiss From a Rose. They didn't see it, their opponents did for a bonus. At the end of the first round, the Psmiths led 5-2.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Psmiths opened the round with Two Reeds, and got a music sequence: we heard Eurythmics and Aretha Franklin with Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves, then Franklin singing with the late George Michael, and then Michael singing with Elton John. They saw the link, and offered Elton John's duet of 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart' with Kiki Dee for two points. (Cue the enforced sing-along!) The Men chose Twisted Flax, and got the picture set: we saw a zero, then what looked like a squashed D, and then an odd looking Q; they saw it to be the inside of the letters O, P and Q, so the inside of an R would be the same as the P, as they offered for two points. (Hope that made sense) The Psmiths chose Water next: 'Cup', then 'Plate', and then 'Bowl'. They offered 'Trophy', not right; their opponents tried 'Masters', also not right. 'Shield' completes the set, the sequence being Rugby Sevens tournaments going down the table. The Men chose Lion next: 'Pnictogens', then 'Chalcogens', and then 'Halogens'; they offered 'Noble gases', which was correct for two points, the sequence being the Periodic Table sections 15, 16, 17 and 18. For their final choice, the Psmiths chose Eye of Horus: '4th of 5 significa 'or'', then '3rd of 5 significa 'the (masc pl)'', and then '2nd of 5 significa 'and''. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents; the sequence is what the vowels represent in Italian, so '1st of 5 significa 'to'' would be acceptable. Tricky stuff tonight! Left with Horned Viper, the Men saw 'Sophia Dorothea of Celle', then 'Caroline of Ansback', and then 'Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz'; they saw it to be wives of King Georges, but didn't know George IV's wife. Their opponents did, offering 'Caroline of Brunswick' for a bonus. At the end of the second round, the Psmiths led 8-6.
On to the Walls. The Men went first, and went with the Lion wall. After spending about half the time trying unsuccessfully, they isolated 'Ras', 'Prince', 'Mirza' and 'Infante', which are terms for junior royality. A second set, 'Wilson', 'Dunlop', 'Babolat' and 'Head', which are makers of tennis rackets, slotted in with not much time left. They tried to solve the final groups, but failed in their three gos. Thus they had top pick up bonus connection points: 'Bill', 'Ness', 'Point' and 'Cape' are promontories, which they didn't get close to enough for a point, while 'Flower', 'Number', 'Sin' and 'Beetle' can all follow 'Cardinal'. Four points for that then.
The Psmiths thus tackled the Water wall. They too had little success, ultimately failing to get anything from the walls in normal time. Luckily, they got all the groups for bonus points: 'Windermere', 'Hunstanton', 'Bracknell' and 'Chiltern' are aristocrats in Oscar Wilde, 'Malvern', 'Quantock', 'Galloway' and 'Preseli' are hill ranges, 'Cheviot', 'Rambouillet', 'Ile de France' and 'Corriedale' are breeds of sheep, while 'Martinique', 'Reunion', 'Mayotte' and 'Brittany' are regions of France. Another four there, which meant they led 12-10 going into the crucial final round.
So, Missing Vowels would be the decider. 'Phrases expressing happiness' went to the Men 2-1. 'Women and their fathers' went to the Men 1-0, with the Psmiths getting one right but one wrong. 'Scout activity badges' went to the Psmiths 1-(-1), and that was time. The Psmiths had snuck home 14-12.
A very hard set of questions, both teams did well considering. Unlucky Men, but nothing wrong with that performance considering, so good luck next time. Well done Psmiths though, on another good effort, and best of luck in your next match as well!
Next week's match: the first elimination match, between the Fire-Eaters and the Verbivores
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