OK, here we go at the start of a marathon run of Only Connect bloggings that, if all goes to plan, should run end on Boxing Day, and the first of the FOUR Christmas specials we're having this year. And we start with, in all honesty, the one I was looking forward to most; I was kinda disappointed when they stopped doing Champion of Champions specials every two series, and I hope we see a few more at some point.
Anyway, onto Tuesday's match; playing were Series 9 champions the Europhiles, Douglas Thomson, Khuram Rashid and captain Mark Seager, and Series 11 winners the String Section, Tessa North, Pete Sorel-Cameron and captain Richard Aubrey.
Round 1. The String Section opened the show, as they did throughout their winning run, with Two Reeds: 'Yugoslavia: Imre Nagy', then 'Netherlands: Morgan Tsvangirai', then 'Vatican City: Manuel Noriega', and finally 'Ecuador: Julian Assange'. I had it at the second, the last one gave it to them: those people have taken refuge at those countries' embassies. The Europhiles started with Twisted Flax: 'Jasmine', then 'Car tyres', then 'Kashmir's capital', and finally 'Olympics'. They had nothing to offer, and their opponents were none the wiser: they all have summer and winter variants. The String Section chose Water next, and got the picture set: we saw the flags of Nicaragua and Guatemala, then those of Vietnam and Namibia; that was enough for them to see the link and claim three points. The Europhiles chose Lion next: '100m year old damselfly: Mesostica firstnamesurnamei', then 'Long-beaked echidna: Zaglossus Surnamei', then 'Cambridge biodiversity centre: The Firstname Surname Building', and finally 'Boaty McBoatface's mothership: RRS Sir Firstname Surname'. That gave it to them: they are all named after Sir David Attenborough. The String Section chose Eye of Horus next, and got the music question: we heard 'O Holy Night', then 'I Will Wait for You' from the Umbrellas of Cherbourg, then Scott Walker singing 'Jackie', and finally someone singing 'No Regrets', an English version of 'Non je ne regrette rien'. They didn't get it, their opponents did: they are English versions of French songs. Left with Horned Viper for their own question, the Europhiles saw 'Ownershup of Bayer Leverkusen', then 'Ice hockey helmet of (e.g.) Craig MacTavish', then 'Harry Truman's ability to run for a third term', and finally 'Roadworthiness of pre-1960s cars'. Neither team got this one: they all would've been not allowed according to rules that have since been introduced. At the end of the first round, the String Section led 4-2.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The String Section started, once again, with Two Reeds: 'Morning Glory', then 'Guess Who's Coming To Dinner', and then 'The Lion in Winter'; they saw it to be Katherine Hepburn's Oscar winning performances, and offered 'On Golden Pond' for the two points. The Europhiles chose Eye of Horus next: 'Magna Carta', then 'Sovereign Military Order of Malta passport', and then 'Alleles in humans'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: they are things there are four, three and two copies of, so something of which only one copy exists, such as the Wu-Tang Clan's album 'Once Upon a Time in Shaolin', would be fourth. The String Section chose 'Horn-ed' Viper next: '1: Jon Evans', then '2: Robert Wood', and then '3: Edith Reed'. Neither team saw this excellent cryptic sequence: the numbers one, two and three are hidden in those names (jON Evans', 'roberT WOod' and 'ediTH REEd'), so '4: Rodolfo Urquhart' (awesome name) would be fourth! The Europhiles chose Twisted Flax next, and got the picture set: we saw someone tapping ash into an ash tray, then a young lady holding up two fingers, and then someone playing a piano. They suggested that they are things that can be done with one, two and three fingers; a good but wrong guess. Their opponents offered 'hailing a taxi', correctly for the bonus, the sequence being things Alanis Morisette is doing in her song 'Hand in My Pocket'. For their own final choice, the String Section chose Lion: 'Aloha', then 'Bets'; they saw it to be Greek letters with one letter changed, and, eventually, offered 'Delts', which was sufficient for the points! Left with Water, the Europhiles saw 'Receive the National Living Wage', then 'Get NHS breast cancer screening', and then 'Receive free TV licence'. They didn't see it, their opponents did: they are things one can do age 25, 50 and 75, so 'Receive a birthday card from the Queen' as something that happens when one is 100 would be fourth. At the end of the second round, the String Section led 11-2.
On to the Walls. The Europhiles went first, and chose the Water wall. It proved a most difficult wall, which they had a great deal of trouble with. Eventually, they isolated 'Bullseye', 'Bob', 'Tanner' and 'Pony', which are UK slang words for money. That was all they could get though, so they had to try for bonuses: 'Faldo', 'Brown', 'Quinn' and 'Hussain' are the surnames of Great British Bake-Off winners, which they saw, 'Kimber', 'Browning', 'Baretta', 'Walther' are gun manufacturers, which they also got, while 'Colt', 'Rig', 'Gelding' and 'Stallion' are types of horse, which they also knew. Five for that then.
The String Section thus had a chance to put the game beyond realistic reach with a good result on the Lion wall. Their first set came somewhat quicker: 'Cato', 'Sulla', 'Agrippa' and 'Scipio' are Roman generals. A second set, 'Coriolanus', 'Peeta', 'Haymitch' and 'Katniss', which are characters in 'The Hunger Games', quickly followed. The final clues slotted in on their second try: 'Star', 'Primrose', 'Class' and 'Dress' can all follow 'Evening', while 'Fanion', 'Guidon', 'Standard' and 'Pennant' are types of flag, which they also saw. A full ten there, which meant they led 21-7 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels to finish with. 'Missing owls', such as 'THE AND THE PUSSYCAT', went to the String Section 2-1. 'Cluedo solutions', such as 'COLONEL MUSTARD IN THE CONSERVATORY WITH THE ROPE'(!) was an impressive 2-each split. 'Three words that can be pronounced the same', such as 'WRITE, RITE, RIGHT' saw the String Section get one right but one wrong. And that was time; the String Section won 25-10.
A good show, well played both teams, thanks very much for playing again! Hopefully we'll see some more Champion of Champions shows eventually.
Next special: from yesterday, the Footballers vs the Korfballers, review coming up on Sunday. See yous then I guess.
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