OK, back on track with OC now. I hope.
Playing on Monday were the Wanderers, John Payne, Richard Arthur and captain Sanjoy Sen, who got here directly by beating the Pedagogues and fellow quarter-finalists the Inquisitors, and the Vikings, Mark Oxley, John Wilson and captain Mick Lee, who also came straight here via victories over the Geocachers and the Parishioners.
Round 1. The Vikings kicked the show off with Horned Viper, and the picture set: we saw Robert De Niro, then Bela Lugosi as Dracula, then John Kettley the weatherman; they identified them famous people described in songs, and collected the first points of the night. The Wanderers opened their account with Eye of Horus, and the music set: we heard 'Elsa's Dream' from Lohengrin, then 'Apres un reve', then 'Once Upon a Dream' from Disney's Sleeping Beauty, and finally 'Sweet Dreams Are Made of This'. They spotted the link from the final two clues, and collected two points as well. The Vikings chose Lion next: 'Henry; Charlotte; Max', then 'James Joyce; Tristan Tzara; Lenin', then 'Septimus; Thomasina; Plautus the tortoise', and finally 'Rosencrantz; Guildenstern; Hamlet'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: they are characters in Tom Stoppard plays. The Wanderers chose Water next: 'Un petit d'un petit', then 'Et qui rit des cures d'Oc!' then 'Lille beau pipe'; they saw them to be nursery rhyme titles in French, but couldn't get precise enough for the points. Their opponents saw 'Pas de caique, pas de caique, becasse, mane', and offered that they are nonsensical French phrases that, if said out loud, sound rather like the English names of nursery rhymes! Brilliant question, pay rise to whoever came up with that! For their own question, the Vikings chose Two Reeds: 'Italian constitutional reform', then 'Hungarian EU migrant quotas', then 'Colombian peace deal with FARC'; they offered 'referendums that were rerun and had a different outcome', not right. Their opponents saw 'British EU membership', and identified them as referendums that took place in 2016 for a bonus. Left with Twisted Flax for their own question, the Wanderers saw 'Odyle', then 'Caloric', then 'Phlogiston'; they identified them as 'debunked scientific substances', and picked up two further points. At the end of the first round, the Wanderers led 4-3.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Vikings kicked this off with Eye of Horus: 'LPH', then 'BT'; they came in with 'DLT', and were right, the sequence being the first four Greek letters minus their vowels. The Wanderers chose 'Horn-ed' Viper next: '4th: Science', then '3rd: Fame', and then '2nd: Politics'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: they are comedy tours by Ricky Gervais, so '1st: Animals' would come fourth. The Vikings chose Water next: 'My Life', then 'Decision Points', and then 'The Audacity of Hope'; they saw them as books written by the most recent US presidents, so Mr Trump's 'The Art of the Deal' would be acceptable for the points. (Victoria then reeled off a list of some of his other works, which the teams found most amusing!) The Wanderers chose Lion next: 'The Mile Post', then 'Hammersmith Bridge'; they saw it to be timing points in the Boat Race, but their offer of 'Putney Bridge' was not correct. Their opponents saw 'Chiswick Steps', but their answer of 'The Finish Line' was also wrong; 'Barnes Bridge' would come fourth. For their final choice, the Vikings chose Twisted Flax: 'Luchsinger & Reiss 1956', then 'Band & Brown 1955', and then 'Compagnoni & Lacedelli 1954'; they offered 'Hillary & Tenzing 1953', and were correct, the sequence being, not the first four duos to climb Everest as they thought, but the first people to climb the four highest mountains. Left with Two Reeds, the Wanderers got the picture set, and saw a dog and a teddy bear next to a 'No' sign, then a monkey drinking from a wine bottle next to a 'No' sign, and then a lion devouring a zebra next to a 'No' sign. They could not come up with an acceptable answer, nor could their opponents: its the Seven Commandments of Animalism from Orwell's Animal Farm (one of my favourite books that I studied in secondary school English!), so a picture for 'All Animals are Equal', ie an elephant and a butterfly on a see-saw next to a 'No' sign would be an appropriate fourth picture. At the end of the second round, the Vikings led 10-4.
On to the Walls. The Wanderers went first this time, and chose to tackle the Lion wall. They pretty quickly isolated 'Acorn', 'Oric', 'Apricot' and 'Commodore', which are old computer brands, followed eventually by 'Shaw', 'Phillips', 'Bruce' and 'Apple', which are the surnames of famous women called Fiona. They couldn't untangle what was left in their three tries, and had to collect bonus points: 'Mango', 'Balsa', 'Hive' and 'Rambo' all become a dance when the first letter is changed, which they saw, while 'Lime', 'Avocado', 'Rifle' and 'Harlequin' are shades of green, which they also saw. Six points there.
The Vikings thus had a chance to realistically seal the game as they set to work on the Water wall. They too took a first set pretty quickly: 'Ponder', 'Brood', 'Woolgather' and 'Mull' are words meaning 'Think'. A second set, 'Shannon', 'Bailey', 'Lundy' and 'Fisher', which are shipping forecast areas (hope you were watching Cromarty(IV)!), followed, and the remaining sets also slotted in fairly comfortably: 'Read', 'John Quill', 'Rows' and 'Wight' are homophones of colours, while 'Jersey', 'Red Poll', 'Guernsey' and 'Angus' are breeds of cow. A full ten there, which gave them a 20-10 lead going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels to end the show, with the Wanderers needing a virtual shut-out. 'Words that start with a soft C' went to the Wanderers 4-0. 'Famous men with their wives' maiden names', such as 'WILLIAM MIDDLETON' and 'DENIS ROBERTS', went to the Vikings 3-1. 'Commonwealth countries and their largest cities' went to the Wanderers 3-1. 'Films featuring Marilyn Monroe' saw both teams take one clue, and that was all there was time for. The Vikings won 25-19.
A very enjoyable match, well played by both sides. Unlucky Wanderers, but a fine performance nonetheless, best of luck in the eliminator round. Well done Vikings though, and best of luck in the qualifier round!
Next week's match: the Detectives vs the Escapologists
Question re 'Un petit d'un petit' etc was my favourite OC of all time!
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