OK, on with Only Connect. A most curious fixture tonight; we were supposed to be seeing the Forrests tonight ostensibly, but they were not present, and appeared to have been replaced by the team they defeated in the first round (who have since been eliminated). Curiously, though, Victoria claimed in her intro that it was the Dragons, already through to the play-offs via the eliminator bracket, who'd pulled out. Shome mishtake shurely? All will become clear in time I suppose.
Anyway, playing on Monday were the Brews, Andy Christley, James Buchanan and captain Daniel Foskett, who were beaten by the Forrests in the first round and by the Birdwatchers in the eliminators, but have been granted a reprieve thanks to whoever pulled out pulling out, and the Dicers, George Corfield, Joey Goldman and captain Hugh Binnie, who, ironically, defeated the Birdwatchers in their first match! It all comes around in the end!
Round 1. The Brews chose to open the game with Horned Viper: 'Palamon and Arcite', then 'Antonio', then 'Alice Ford and Margaret Page', and finally 'Valentine and Proteus'. They suggested 'merchants', not right; their opponents suggested 'title characters of Shakespeare plays', correct for the bonus. (The plays being The Two Nobel Kinsmen, the Merchant of Venice, the Merry Wives of Windsor and the Two Gentlemen of Verena respectively) For their own first question, the Dicers chose Eye of Horus: 'Royal Institute of Oil Painters', then 'International Organisation for Standardisation', then 'The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence', and finally 'World Wife Fund For Nature'. They didn't quite get it, nor did their opponents: they are organisations whose common abbreviations don't correspond to their actual initials. The Brews chose Lion next: 'Scorpions lead singer', then 'Waldo in 'Twin Peaks'', then 'Person not allowed to but alchohol, fireworks or tobacco', and finally 'Bevin Boy'. They didn't quite see it, their opponents did: they are 'Meine', 'Mynah', 'Minor' and 'Miner' respectively, so all homophones. For their own question, the Dicers chose Twisted Flax, and got the picture set: we saw Ronald Reagan and some cowboys, then Dwight Eisenhower and a golf scorecard, then Richard Nixon and a flashlight, and finally Bill Clinton and a bald eagle. They saw them to be Secret Service codenames of those presidents, and collected the point. (The cowboys for Reagen being 'Rawhide' and Nixon 'Searchlight'). The Brews chose Two Reeds next: 'Batman Avenue, VIC 3121', then 'Avenue Gordon Bennett, 75016 PARIS', then 'Corona Park, NY 11368', and finally 'Church Road, SW19 5AE'. That gave it to them, they are the addresses of the locations of the four Tennis Grand Slam tournaments. Left with Water, and the music set, the Dicers heard the Super Furry Animals with '(Drawing) Rings Around the World', then a piece of music from the Lord of the Rings soundtrack, then Anita Ward with 'Ring My Bell', and finally Johnny Cash's immortal 'Ring of Fire'. They saw the link, and collected the point. At the end of the first round, the Dicers led 4-1.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Brews kicked things off with Lion: 'Ancestral', then 'Oryk'; they saw it to be anagrams of successive royal houses, and, unable to come up with one for 'Stuart', simply offering 'Straut', which was sufficient for the three points! The Dicers chose Eye of Horus next: 'Like a sausage', then 'Soft blobs with clear edges'; they saw it to be the Bristol stool scale, and thus suggested 'Entirely liquid' for the three points! (Cue much hilarity!) The Brews chose Twisted Flax next: 'Street (e.g. Liverpool)', then 'Green (e.g. Willesden)'. Now, they came it at this point and suggested 'Bec (e.g. Tooting)', reasoning that they are second words of London tube stations going down by a letter each time. For the third time this series, the answer and seqeunce wasn't what TPTB had in mind, but it did fit the available clues (and still would've with the third clue, 'Road (e.g. Gloucester)'), so they were allowed the three points. The model sequence was the most common tube station name endings, and 'Park (e.g. Belsize)' the answer. The Dicers chose Horned Viper next: 'A-D: 1332', then 'E-H: 1424'; they saw it to be the values of those letters in Scrabble, and promptly offered 'M-P: 3113' for ANOTHER three points! For their final choice, the Brews chose Two Reeds, and got a music question: we heard Miley Cyrus with 'Party in the USA', then Ella Fitzgerald with 'Slow Boat to China', and then the 'Blame Canada' song from South Park. They didn't see it, their opponents did, and suggested a piece of music with 'Russia' in the name for the bonus. (Cue Mr Foskett offering us one verse of 'From Russia With Love'!) Left with Water for their own question, the Dicers got the picture set, and saw Bob Marley, then the music score for 'The Holly and the Ivy', and then Ted from the Seth MacFarlane film of the same name. Neither team got this: someone called Alice would complete the set, the sequence being the film 'Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice'. At the end of a high scoring second round, the Dicers led 11-7.
On to the Walls. The Dicers went first, and chose to tackle the Lion wall. They quickly isolated 'Yukatan', 'Chihuahua', 'Tabasco' and 'Sonora', which are states of Mexico, followed fairly soon after by 'XO', 'Piri-piri', 'Sriracha' and 'Chipotle', which are spicy sauces. After taking their time with what was left, they solved it on their first try: 'Hidalgo', 'Blanc', 'Deschamps' and 'Houllier' are managers of the French national football team, while 'Beagle', 'Havanese', 'Saluki' and 'Basenji' are breeds of dog. A full ten there.
The Brews thus set to work on the Water wall. They too had a set in the bag fairly quickly: 'Lima', 'Paramaribo', 'Asuncion' and 'Quito' are South American capitals. After a few false efforts, they had a second: 'Jalapeno', 'Pimiento', 'Peter' and 'Bird's eye' are types of chilli pepper. With time running out, the final sets were sorted on their final attempt: 'Cayenne', 'Panamera', 'Cayman' and 'Boxster' are cars made by Porsche, while 'Vervet', 'Woolly', 'Spider' and 'Proboscis' are types of monkey. Another full ten, so as you were, the Dicers led 21-17 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels would decide who went where. 'Soups and their main ingredient' was split 2-each. 'Inappropriate things to play football in', such as 'SLIPPERS' and 'STILETTOS' was another 2-each. 'Full names of cable TV channels' went to the Brews 2-1. 'Old Testament miracles' only had time for one clue, which neither team got. The Dicers won 26-23.
Another good high scoring contest, some great answering especially in the second round, well played both times! Unlucky Brews, best of luck in the play-offs. Well done Dicers though, and best of luck in the quarter-finals!
Next week's match: the Ancient Alumni vs the Westenders
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