OK, so now we know exactly what's happened with Only Connect. Remember a few weeks ago when the Forrests had to withdraw, but Victoria claimed the Dragons had had to pull out? Well, this week, the Dragons actually have had to withdraw, but Victoria claimed in her intro it was the Forrests who'd had to! Hope someone got fired for that script blunder. Anyway, that did mean another team would get a reprieve, and given that they were playing the other reprieved team, whoever won would reach the knockouts with only one win to their names!
Playing were the Hotpots, Paul Jackson, Jo Beattie and captain Paul Richardson, who were eliminated after losses to the Poptimists and the Durhamites, but have been reprieved by the Dragons' withdrawal, and the Brews, Andy Christley, James Buchanan and captain Daniel Foskett, who went out after losing to the Forrests and the Birdwatchers, but were asked back to take their first opponents' place in the qualifiers, where they lost to the Dicers. And I thought the return to the old format would make these previous form summaries easier to write!
Round 1. The Hotpots opened the show with Eye of Horus, and got the music set instantly: we heard the Spinning Chorus from Wagner's Flying Dutchman, then Schubert's 'Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel', then George Michael with 'Spinning the Wheel', and finally Kylie with 'Spinning Around'. They didn't get a buzz in in time, allowing their opponents to offer the correct link for the bonus. (Surprised the Spinning Song by Mendelssohn wasn't one of them) For their own first question, the Brews chose Two Reeds: 'Thomas Jackson - Allied interception of blockade runners', then 'Steven Frayne - Dunkirk evacuation', then 'Frederick I - Nazi invasion of Soviet Union', and finally 'Erwin Rommel - US bombing of Iraq in 1998'. Neither side got this: those operations' military codenames are also those peoples' nicknames (Stonewall, Dynamo, Barbarossa and Desert Fox). The Hotpots chose Lion next, and got the picture set: we saw Fernando Torres, then singer Donald Glover, then Baby from Dirty Dancing, and finally Robert Redford as the Sundance Kid. They suggested 'Kid', which was close enough for the points; they are people with childish nicknames (Torres was 'El Nino' and Mr Glover is 'Childish Gambino'). The Brews chose Horned Viper next: 'H.G. Wells', then 'Beethoven', then 'Cujo'; they spotted them to be St Bernard dogs, and collected two points. The Hotpots chose Twisted Flax next: 'The Sleeping Gypsy (full)', then 'Fishermen At Sea (full)', then 'The Sheepfold (waning)'; they came it at this point, but their offer of 'phases of the Moon in the Southern Hemisphere' was not correct. Their opponents saw 'Starry Night (crescent)', and offered them as paintings in which the Moon appears in those phases, and collected a bonus. Left with Water for their own question, the Brews saw 'Big bad wolf (x)', then 'Bad big wolf ([a tick])', then 'Australian red wine (x)', and finally 'Lovely little old rectangular green French silver whittling knife ([a tick])'. Neither team got this: it is the Royal Order of Adjectives, and examples of what is right and what is wrong according to it. At the end of the first round, the Brews led 4-1.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Hotpots started with Two Reeds, and got the picture set: we saw a white car, then a handbag, and then a television. Neither side got this: it is the old piracy ad that used to be on every DVD that went 'You wouldn't steal a car', and so on, so something representing 'a movie' would be fourth. (Ed Byrne did a brilliant send up of that ad on Mock the Week once!) The Brews chose Horned Viper next: 'In 4th: (e.g.) Macquarie', then 'In 3rd: (e.g.) Mauritius', and finally 'In 2nd: (e.g.) Ascension'. They tried 'In 1st: Fiji', which was acceptable, the sequence being islands in the oceans in descending size. The Hotpots chose Water next: 'Left harbour', then 'Maestros take one at the front', and then 'Celestial object before governing body is right'. They saw what was going on, and offered 'An angry person behind a vessel', which was good enough for the points, the sequence being crossword style clues to nautical directions. The Brews chose Lion next: 'Stiff Kittens', then 'Warsaw', and then 'Joy Division'. They didn't see it, their opponents did: they are successive incarnations of the same band, so 'New Order' would complete the set. For their own final choice, the Hotpots chose Eye of Horus: 'Eating a surfeit of lampreys', then 'Shot with an arrow while hunting'; they saw it to be deaths of English kings, but their offer at this point of 'Died in his bed at Westminster' was not correct. Their opponents saw 'Thrown against the pommel of his saddle', and offered 'Arrow in the eye' for the bonus. Left with Twisted Flax for their own final question, the Brews saw '15101051' at the bottom of the box, then '14641' a bit further up, and then '1331' a bit further still. They suggested '121' at the top, and were correct, albeit for the wrong reason: they are rows of Pascal's triangle. At the end of the second round, the Brews led 9-4.
On to the Walls. The Brews went first, and chose the Water wall. They quickly got a bit stuck, eventually managing one set: 'Steel', 'Pepper', 'Pebble' and 'Paper' are types of mill. That was all they could get though, so they had to try for bonuses: 'Cotton', 'Silvester', 'Heath' and 'Loss' are surnames of band leaders, which they didn't get, 'Tote', 'Duffel', 'Dorothy' and 'Gladstone' are types of bag, which they did get, while 'Asquith', 'Lloyd George', 'Thorpe' and 'Grimond' are surnames of leaders of the Liberal Party, which they also got. Four there then.
The Hotpots could thus make up lost ground with a better result on the Lion wall. In contrast, they had a set in the bag straight away: 'Shuttlecock', 'Quill', 'Duvet' and 'Boa' are products with feathers in/on them. A second set, 'Winder', 'Butter', 'Thirl' and 'Gras', which can all have 'mere' added to them to give the names of lakes, followed promptly, and they soon had things sorted on their second attempt: 'Rattle', 'Corn', 'Garter' and 'Coral' are snakes, while 'Hogwood', 'Abbado', 'Alsop' and 'Solti' are surnames of conductors. A full ten there, which meant they now led 14-13 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels to decide who took the penultimate knockout round place. 'Types of dating', such as 'CARBON DATING' and 'SPEED DATING', went to the Brews 3-1. 'Phrases containing furniture', such as 'WARDROBE MALFUNCTION', was another 3-1 to the Brews. 'Dinosaurs', such as 'BARNEY'(!) and 'STEGOSAURUS', went to the Brews 2-0, and that was time. The Brews won 21-16.
Another good contest, well done both teams. Unlucky Hotpots, but a fair performance to go out on again, thanks for playing! Well done Brews though, and best of luck in the knockouts!
Next week's match: the Birdwatchers vs the Westenders
Wednesday, 27 February 2019
Monday, 25 February 2019
University Challenge 2018-19: Qualification Quarter-Final 1: Durham vs Edinburgh
Evening all. So, we've arrived at the business end of the quarter-final process; after tonight's match, we'd know the first of our semi-finalists. One team started the process as favourites, the others are dark horses, so a good contest was hopefully in the offering. A bit of a contest in my parents' household too: my Mum's alma mater vs my Dad's alma mater!
Durham breezed through their first match against Strathclyde, breaking all sorts of records in a 360-55 win, before dispatching Keble of Oxford only slightly less imperiously in the second round by 200-100, and then winning a good contest in their first quarter-final against Glasgow by 170-110. Hoping to continue this form and reach the semis for the fifth time under Paxo were:
Sian Round, from the Wirral, studying English
Cameron Yule, from Harrow in London, studying English
Captain: Matthew Toynbee, from South Derbyshire, studying Maths
Ben Murray, from Davenham in Cheshire, studying Chemistry
Edinburgh comfortably saw off Sidney Sussex of Cambridge in their first match by 210-75, before edging a great second round match against U.C.L. 180-160, and then, in the Tuesday match of two weeks ago, they beat Manchester in their first quarter-final by 170-130. Also hoping to continue in this vein and reach their third semis in a row were:
Matt Booth, from Bristol, studying Maths
Marco Malusa, from Italy, studying Economics and Politics
Captain: Max Fitz-James, from Burgundy, studying Cell Biology
Robbie Campbell Hewson, from Edinburgh, studying Maths
Off we set again then, and Mr Fitz-James, his side's MVP this far, opened the scoring by recognising the chapters of Hawking's 'A Brief History of Time'; two bonuses on limestone accompanied. A very prompt buzz from Mr Toynbee set Durham off in quick pursuit, and a bonus set on knots ("I can not knot." "Not knot?!" "Who's there?" "Pooh!" "Pooh who?") also provided two correct answers. A slip-up from Edinburgh gave the Wearsiders the lead, and they pressed home the advantage with a pickup and another pair of bonuses, from a classic UC set on French cities spelled using chemical symbols. Mr Murray gave a third starter to Durham, and the bonuses provided, yep, another two correct. The first picture round, on diagrams showing the relationships between characters in plays, saw that record end, as Durham drew a blank with the bonuses; but they still led 70-15.
Mr Murray was unlucky to lose five on the next starter, forgetting he'd been asked for a four word phrase rather than a single word; Mr Fitz-James took the points, and the Scots side took yet another pair of bonuses, unlucky to miss the other. Mr Yule correctly identified William Haslett, who seems to have been popping up a lot lately, for the next starter, and his side pressed home the first full set of the night. Mr Toynbee took the Wearsiders into triple figures with the next starters, but, in a reversal of fortune, no bonuses followed (pretty sure Martha Lane Fox has appeared in this series already too).
The Buggles' 'Video Killed the Radio Star' provided the music starter; Mr Fitz-James shot wide with 'Aqua', and Paxo was very harsh to disallow Mr Murray's offer of 'The Bugles', given that he's accepted that in a previous episode when a team were unsure of the correct pronunciation. The bonuses, on Oscar winning composers in bands, went to Edinburgh, who took two correct again, reducing the gap to 100-55. Mr Yule won the race to the buzzer to offer 'Gustave Dore' for the next starter, but just the one bonus went with it this time. Another five points then fell aside from Edinburgh's score, but Durham didn't capitalise; Mr Yule took the next starter though, and the side pushed forward with a full house of bonuses. Mr Campbell Hewson reawoke his side with 'Trieste', and fictional composers gave his side just a single bonus this time.
The first picture round, on women who had obituaries published in the New York Times' 'Overlooked' series, went to Edinburgh, who took another sole bonuses, which left the gap at 140-80. Still just about closeable, but when Mr Yule took his latest starter, and one bonus followed, the Scots side's task became a lot more of an ask.
They gave it a shot, Mr Booth taking the next starter, but only a single bonus on oxymorons in Shakespeare meant they were pretty much out of it now. Mr Fitz-James deservedly took them into triple figures, and another sole bonus, on English locales known as 'The Isle of (something)', gave them another single bonus. Mr Murray took the last starter of the game, but his side took neither of the bonuses there was time for. At the gong, Durham won 165-110.
Another good contest well played by two very good teams, well done both. Unlucky Edinburgh, but still a fair effort, very best of luck in the play-offs. Well done Durham though, deserved semi-finalists, and very very best of luck in them!
The stats: Mr Yule was, narrowly, the best buzzer of the night, with five starters to Mr Fitz-James' four. On the bonuses, Durham converted 14 out of 30 (with one penalty), while Edinburgh managed 10 out of 21 (with two penalties).
Next week's match: Glasgow vs Manchester in the first eliminator match.
Only Connect had its penultimate group stage match tonight, with, as we figured, another withdrawal, and a clear-up to the confusion the first caused. Review on Wednesday I hope.
Durham breezed through their first match against Strathclyde, breaking all sorts of records in a 360-55 win, before dispatching Keble of Oxford only slightly less imperiously in the second round by 200-100, and then winning a good contest in their first quarter-final against Glasgow by 170-110. Hoping to continue this form and reach the semis for the fifth time under Paxo were:
Sian Round, from the Wirral, studying English
Cameron Yule, from Harrow in London, studying English
Captain: Matthew Toynbee, from South Derbyshire, studying Maths
Ben Murray, from Davenham in Cheshire, studying Chemistry
Edinburgh comfortably saw off Sidney Sussex of Cambridge in their first match by 210-75, before edging a great second round match against U.C.L. 180-160, and then, in the Tuesday match of two weeks ago, they beat Manchester in their first quarter-final by 170-130. Also hoping to continue in this vein and reach their third semis in a row were:
Matt Booth, from Bristol, studying Maths
Marco Malusa, from Italy, studying Economics and Politics
Captain: Max Fitz-James, from Burgundy, studying Cell Biology
Robbie Campbell Hewson, from Edinburgh, studying Maths
Off we set again then, and Mr Fitz-James, his side's MVP this far, opened the scoring by recognising the chapters of Hawking's 'A Brief History of Time'; two bonuses on limestone accompanied. A very prompt buzz from Mr Toynbee set Durham off in quick pursuit, and a bonus set on knots ("I can not knot." "Not knot?!" "Who's there?" "Pooh!" "Pooh who?") also provided two correct answers. A slip-up from Edinburgh gave the Wearsiders the lead, and they pressed home the advantage with a pickup and another pair of bonuses, from a classic UC set on French cities spelled using chemical symbols. Mr Murray gave a third starter to Durham, and the bonuses provided, yep, another two correct. The first picture round, on diagrams showing the relationships between characters in plays, saw that record end, as Durham drew a blank with the bonuses; but they still led 70-15.
Mr Murray was unlucky to lose five on the next starter, forgetting he'd been asked for a four word phrase rather than a single word; Mr Fitz-James took the points, and the Scots side took yet another pair of bonuses, unlucky to miss the other. Mr Yule correctly identified William Haslett, who seems to have been popping up a lot lately, for the next starter, and his side pressed home the first full set of the night. Mr Toynbee took the Wearsiders into triple figures with the next starters, but, in a reversal of fortune, no bonuses followed (pretty sure Martha Lane Fox has appeared in this series already too).
The Buggles' 'Video Killed the Radio Star' provided the music starter; Mr Fitz-James shot wide with 'Aqua', and Paxo was very harsh to disallow Mr Murray's offer of 'The Bugles', given that he's accepted that in a previous episode when a team were unsure of the correct pronunciation. The bonuses, on Oscar winning composers in bands, went to Edinburgh, who took two correct again, reducing the gap to 100-55. Mr Yule won the race to the buzzer to offer 'Gustave Dore' for the next starter, but just the one bonus went with it this time. Another five points then fell aside from Edinburgh's score, but Durham didn't capitalise; Mr Yule took the next starter though, and the side pushed forward with a full house of bonuses. Mr Campbell Hewson reawoke his side with 'Trieste', and fictional composers gave his side just a single bonus this time.
The first picture round, on women who had obituaries published in the New York Times' 'Overlooked' series, went to Edinburgh, who took another sole bonuses, which left the gap at 140-80. Still just about closeable, but when Mr Yule took his latest starter, and one bonus followed, the Scots side's task became a lot more of an ask.
They gave it a shot, Mr Booth taking the next starter, but only a single bonus on oxymorons in Shakespeare meant they were pretty much out of it now. Mr Fitz-James deservedly took them into triple figures, and another sole bonus, on English locales known as 'The Isle of (something)', gave them another single bonus. Mr Murray took the last starter of the game, but his side took neither of the bonuses there was time for. At the gong, Durham won 165-110.
Another good contest well played by two very good teams, well done both. Unlucky Edinburgh, but still a fair effort, very best of luck in the play-offs. Well done Durham though, deserved semi-finalists, and very very best of luck in them!
The stats: Mr Yule was, narrowly, the best buzzer of the night, with five starters to Mr Fitz-James' four. On the bonuses, Durham converted 14 out of 30 (with one penalty), while Edinburgh managed 10 out of 21 (with two penalties).
Next week's match: Glasgow vs Manchester in the first eliminator match.
Only Connect had its penultimate group stage match tonight, with, as we figured, another withdrawal, and a clear-up to the confusion the first caused. Review on Wednesday I hope.
Thursday, 21 February 2019
Only Connect Series 14: Play-Off 2: Durhamites vs Pyromaniacs
OK, here we finally go with this week's Only Connect, and a match I've been waiting for since before the series began. Before the series began, my Grandfather mailed me an article about the show from the Radio Times, and a picture accompanying it depicted the studio with this game about to be filmed. I considered writing an email to them admonishing them for revealing a non first round fixture, but ultimately didn't, even if it did mean the results of two matches earlier in the series were inadvertently spoiled.
Anyway, playing this long awaited match were the Durhamites, Adam Robertson, James France and captain George Twigg, who lost to the LARPers but recovered with a victory over the Hotpots, and the Pyromaniacs, Suzy Turner, her brother Jeremy Turner and captain Dave Ryan, who started with a win over the Cartoonists but were then overcome by the Time Ladies.
Round 1. The Pyromaniacs started the show with Lion: 'Cyrus and James: rugs and slippers', then 'John: herbal medicines', then 'William: newspapers', and finally 'Michael and Thomas: a range of goods for one penny each'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: they are the forenames of the founders of shops selling those things (Clarks, Boots, WH Smiths and M&S respectively). The Durhamites opened their show with Water: 'Poisoned pen', then 'Fungus filled diving suit'; they identified them as attempted assassinations of Fidel Castro by the CIA, and collected three points. (That stage step he fell off did a better job of trying to assassinate him than the CIA ever did!) The Pyromaniacs chose Twisted Flax next: 'Steinhauer', then 'Trotsky', then 'Musk'; they saw them to be surnames of famous men called 'Olen', 'Leon' and 'Elon', and duly collected the two points for the link. (The last one would've been 'Edmonds', of course) The Durhamites chose 'Horn-ed' Viper next: 'Bourbon restoration', then 'Fair jump', then 'Dido hit'; they spotted them to things associated with or indicated by white flags, and collected another two points there. The Pyromaniacs chose Two Reeds next, and got the picture set: we saw some catnip flowers, then some cowslip flowers, then a spider plant, and finally some foxgloves. They didn't recognise the first two, but did the second two, and duly spotted the link for the point. Left with Eye of Horus, and the music set, the Durhamites heard Wagner's 'The Flying Dutchman', then 'Dignity' by Deacon Blue, then Tina Turner with 'Proud Mary', and finally the Beach Boys with 'Sloop John B'. They didn't see the link, nor did their opponents: they are songs about and named after ships or boats. At the end of the first round, the Durhamites led 5-3.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Pyromaniacs started with Horned Viper: 'Klingon opera', then 'Tony Harrison's class epic', and then 'Stone's presidential biopic'. They didn't get it, their opponents did: they are 'U', 'V' and 'W', so offered 'The code for a surprise appearance at a Japanese wrestling event' as 'X' for the bonus! For their own question, the Durhamites chose Water, and got the picture set: we saw a '7' in a green square, then a '12' in an amber square; they saw them to be PEGI ratings for video games, so offered an '18' in a red square for the three points. The Pyromaniacs chose Lion next: 'TEN' (with each letter in different colours), then 'FORTY' (ditto), and then 'FORTY-SIX' (ditto). Neither team got this: they are numbers with no repeated letters in their names (hence the coloured letters), so 'SIXTY' would be fourth. The Durhamites chose Eye of Horus next: '4th Nicholas Patrick', then '3rd Piers Sellers', and then '2nd Michael Foale'. They knew Mr Foale to be an astronaut, so ventured an educated guess of '1st Helen Sharman', and were correct for the points, the sequence being the first four British people in space. For their final choice, the Pyromaniacs chose Twisted Flax: '2028 Washington DC', then '2016 Brasilia', and then '2000 Canberra'. They saw it to be something to do with the Olympics, and offered '1996 Washington DC', correctly for the two points, the sequence being years when the Olympics were not held in a capital city, and the capitals of the countries that hosted. Left with Two Reeds, the Durhamites saw 'Aussie Rules field umpire: "game over"', then 'Mo Farah: "I've won"', and then 'Semaphore: "X"'. They saw them to be hand actions that resemble 'Y', 'M' and 'C', so suggested, and demonstrated(!), 'miming a church' for 'A' for the two points. At the end of the second round, the Durhamites led 13-5.
On to the Walls. The Durhamites went first, and chose the Water wall. They spotted some possible connections immediately, and had a first set done pretty quickly: 'Grays', 'Basildon', 'Maldon' and 'Colchester' are places in Essex. They quickly had a second set done too, 'Junk', 'Debris', 'Trash' and 'Litter' are synonyms of 'rubbish', and in no time at all had the wall solved: 'Waste', 'Tow', 'Mussel' and 'Hart' are homophones of body parts, while 'Bail', 'Basildon', 'Covalent' and 'Premium' can all precede 'Bond'. A very quick full ten there.
The Pyromaniacs thus set to work on the Lion wall. It proved somewhat harder than their opponents' wall, but they were soon on their way with two sets in quick succession: 'Botting', 'Brazier', 'Ridge' and 'Murnaghan' are surnames of newsreaders on Sky, while 'Boulton', 'Hide', 'Berry' and 'Sail' are homphones of places in Greater Manchester. The final clues slotted in nicely after that: 'Egg', 'Pimples', 'Barnacle' and 'Step' can all follow 'Goose', while 'Stove', 'Samovar', 'Etna' and 'Furnace' are heating devices. Another full ten there, so as you were, the Durhamites led 23-15.
So, Missing Vowels to finish off, with the Pyromaniacs needing a shutout to stand a chance. 'Angelic phrases', such as 'GUARDIAN ANGEL' and 'ANGELS ON HORSEBACK', went to the Pyromaniacs 2-0. 'Devlish phrases', such as 'THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAIL' and 'BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW', was split 2-each. 'Darts players from Stoke' went to the Durhamites 2-0, and that was time. The Durhamites won 27-19.
Another good game with two good teams quizzing well, well played both. Unlucky Pyromaniacs, but a respectable series of performances, thanks very much for playing! Well done Durhamites though, and best of luck in the quarter-finals!
Next week's match: the Hotpots vs the Brews. Looks like there has been another withdrawal, so another team has been reprieved.
Anyway, playing this long awaited match were the Durhamites, Adam Robertson, James France and captain George Twigg, who lost to the LARPers but recovered with a victory over the Hotpots, and the Pyromaniacs, Suzy Turner, her brother Jeremy Turner and captain Dave Ryan, who started with a win over the Cartoonists but were then overcome by the Time Ladies.
Round 1. The Pyromaniacs started the show with Lion: 'Cyrus and James: rugs and slippers', then 'John: herbal medicines', then 'William: newspapers', and finally 'Michael and Thomas: a range of goods for one penny each'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: they are the forenames of the founders of shops selling those things (Clarks, Boots, WH Smiths and M&S respectively). The Durhamites opened their show with Water: 'Poisoned pen', then 'Fungus filled diving suit'; they identified them as attempted assassinations of Fidel Castro by the CIA, and collected three points. (That stage step he fell off did a better job of trying to assassinate him than the CIA ever did!) The Pyromaniacs chose Twisted Flax next: 'Steinhauer', then 'Trotsky', then 'Musk'; they saw them to be surnames of famous men called 'Olen', 'Leon' and 'Elon', and duly collected the two points for the link. (The last one would've been 'Edmonds', of course) The Durhamites chose 'Horn-ed' Viper next: 'Bourbon restoration', then 'Fair jump', then 'Dido hit'; they spotted them to things associated with or indicated by white flags, and collected another two points there. The Pyromaniacs chose Two Reeds next, and got the picture set: we saw some catnip flowers, then some cowslip flowers, then a spider plant, and finally some foxgloves. They didn't recognise the first two, but did the second two, and duly spotted the link for the point. Left with Eye of Horus, and the music set, the Durhamites heard Wagner's 'The Flying Dutchman', then 'Dignity' by Deacon Blue, then Tina Turner with 'Proud Mary', and finally the Beach Boys with 'Sloop John B'. They didn't see the link, nor did their opponents: they are songs about and named after ships or boats. At the end of the first round, the Durhamites led 5-3.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Pyromaniacs started with Horned Viper: 'Klingon opera', then 'Tony Harrison's class epic', and then 'Stone's presidential biopic'. They didn't get it, their opponents did: they are 'U', 'V' and 'W', so offered 'The code for a surprise appearance at a Japanese wrestling event' as 'X' for the bonus! For their own question, the Durhamites chose Water, and got the picture set: we saw a '7' in a green square, then a '12' in an amber square; they saw them to be PEGI ratings for video games, so offered an '18' in a red square for the three points. The Pyromaniacs chose Lion next: 'TEN' (with each letter in different colours), then 'FORTY' (ditto), and then 'FORTY-SIX' (ditto). Neither team got this: they are numbers with no repeated letters in their names (hence the coloured letters), so 'SIXTY' would be fourth. The Durhamites chose Eye of Horus next: '4th Nicholas Patrick', then '3rd Piers Sellers', and then '2nd Michael Foale'. They knew Mr Foale to be an astronaut, so ventured an educated guess of '1st Helen Sharman', and were correct for the points, the sequence being the first four British people in space. For their final choice, the Pyromaniacs chose Twisted Flax: '2028 Washington DC', then '2016 Brasilia', and then '2000 Canberra'. They saw it to be something to do with the Olympics, and offered '1996 Washington DC', correctly for the two points, the sequence being years when the Olympics were not held in a capital city, and the capitals of the countries that hosted. Left with Two Reeds, the Durhamites saw 'Aussie Rules field umpire: "game over"', then 'Mo Farah: "I've won"', and then 'Semaphore: "X"'. They saw them to be hand actions that resemble 'Y', 'M' and 'C', so suggested, and demonstrated(!), 'miming a church' for 'A' for the two points. At the end of the second round, the Durhamites led 13-5.
On to the Walls. The Durhamites went first, and chose the Water wall. They spotted some possible connections immediately, and had a first set done pretty quickly: 'Grays', 'Basildon', 'Maldon' and 'Colchester' are places in Essex. They quickly had a second set done too, 'Junk', 'Debris', 'Trash' and 'Litter' are synonyms of 'rubbish', and in no time at all had the wall solved: 'Waste', 'Tow', 'Mussel' and 'Hart' are homophones of body parts, while 'Bail', 'Basildon', 'Covalent' and 'Premium' can all precede 'Bond'. A very quick full ten there.
The Pyromaniacs thus set to work on the Lion wall. It proved somewhat harder than their opponents' wall, but they were soon on their way with two sets in quick succession: 'Botting', 'Brazier', 'Ridge' and 'Murnaghan' are surnames of newsreaders on Sky, while 'Boulton', 'Hide', 'Berry' and 'Sail' are homphones of places in Greater Manchester. The final clues slotted in nicely after that: 'Egg', 'Pimples', 'Barnacle' and 'Step' can all follow 'Goose', while 'Stove', 'Samovar', 'Etna' and 'Furnace' are heating devices. Another full ten there, so as you were, the Durhamites led 23-15.
So, Missing Vowels to finish off, with the Pyromaniacs needing a shutout to stand a chance. 'Angelic phrases', such as 'GUARDIAN ANGEL' and 'ANGELS ON HORSEBACK', went to the Pyromaniacs 2-0. 'Devlish phrases', such as 'THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAIL' and 'BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW', was split 2-each. 'Darts players from Stoke' went to the Durhamites 2-0, and that was time. The Durhamites won 27-19.
Another good game with two good teams quizzing well, well played both. Unlucky Pyromaniacs, but a respectable series of performances, thanks very much for playing! Well done Durhamites though, and best of luck in the quarter-finals!
Next week's match: the Hotpots vs the Brews. Looks like there has been another withdrawal, so another team has been reprieved.
Monday, 18 February 2019
University Challenge 2018-19: Preliminary Quarter-Final 4: Emmanuel vs St Edmund Hall
Evening all. So Quizzy Mondays is back to normal service here in Scotland this week after last week's interlude. And it likely won't happen again, as BBC2 Scotland came off the air last night; the new BBC Scotland channel, launching on Sunday, will pick up most of the Scotland only programming, rendering it somewhat redundant. Hopefully this will also be the end of having to wait until after Newsnight for QI as well! Anyway, on with tonight's contest.
Emmanuel College Cambridge lost their first round match 200-175 to fellow QFers Glasgow, but survived to the play-offs, where they easily defeated King's of London 235-140, before reaching the group stage with a 195-120 win over St Peter's of Oxford. Hoping to carry on this revival tonight were the unchanged foursome of:
Connor MacDonald, from New Brunswick, Canada, studying Politics
Vedanth Nair, from Kings Lynn, studying Economics
Captain: Dani Cugini, from Warwick, studying English
Ben Harris, from Bath, studying Geology
St Edmund Hall Oxford took the direct route through the knockout rounds, dispatching York 240-105 in the first round, and then Clare of Cambridge 245-105 in an almost identical manner in the second, their captain leading the charge on the buzzer on both occasions. Hoping to carry on this momentum tonight were the also unchanged quartet of:
Agastya Pisharody, from India and Basel, studying Material Science
Marceline Bresson, from the Netherlands, studying Economics and Management
Captain: Freddie Leo, from Berlin, studying History
Lizzie Fry, from Worcestershire, studying Geography
Off we set again then, and Mr Nair opened the ball rolling for the night by identifying a list of people involved in the founding of the modern Olympic Games, Baron de Coubertin being the giveaway; the Cambridge side opened the night with a full bonus set on Stockholm, including a welcome mention of the Moomins! Mr Leo, by far and away his side's leading player thus far, got his side moving with the next starter, picking up a slip-up from their opponents; the Oxonians also set their feet firmly down, with a full bonus set. A rare error from the St Edmund Hall captain allowed his opposite number Ms Cugini to take 'cowpox' on the next starter, but just the one bonus fell for them this time. Mr Leo resumed his form on the next starter, and his side also took just a single bonus on physicist Lise Meitner. The first picture round, on the names of English works translated into Spanish, went to St Edmund Hall, who took a full set, and the lead, 60-35.
And up it went again as Mr Leo once again was first in on the next starter; bonuses on coalition governments gave the Oxonians, again, just a single correct bonus. Neither side knew 'mondegreen' as the correct term for a misheard song lyric, though Paxo and myself both rather liked Ms Cugini's guess of 'lyripropism'! The Emmanuel captain dragged her side back into the game on the next starter, but they also managed just a single bonus on multiples of 10,000, including a rare mention of Celtic Park on the show! Those five points then were lost to a slip-up, allowing Mr Leo to resume his buzzer control; St Edmund Hall took two of the resultant bonuses.
The music round, on classical pieces written after their composer had lost their hearing, went to St Edmund Hall; just the one correct bonuses came again, but it gave them a lead of 110-45. It increased when Emmanuel dropped a further five, and Mr Leo swooped in with the pickup; bonuses on actors who played Emily Bronte's Heathcliff gave them just the one correct answer again. Two starters in a row were then dropped, with St Edmund Hall dropping five in the process, before Mr MacDonald reawoke his side with 'Arizona', but his side drew a blank on the resulting bonuses.
The second picture round, on Orientalism in art, went to St Edmund Hall, who took two bonuses, which took their lead to 140-50. And when Mr Leo took his latest starter, and the lead to 100 points, that was game over; two bonuses on physics confirmed this.
A penalty was pretty much immaterial at this point, though Mr Nair was unlucky not to pick up the drop, offering 'Alpha Centauri' instead of 'Centaurus'. Another starter was dropped, and five lost, this time by Emmanuel, before Mr Leo identified Mary Queen of Scots as the last Stuart monarch to only reign in Scotland (unless you count James VI only reigning in Scotland before he became King of England too); one bonus followed, the St Edmund Hall captain instantly recognising the Philharmonic Orchestra of his own home city! And the next starter related to his homeland too; he duly snapped it up, and another two bonuses only served to increase their score and lead. Emmanuel did take the final starter, thus avoiding joining the Sub-50 Club, but there was no time for any bonuses. At the gong, St Edmund Hall won 190-55.
A rather one sided match, but a very lively and strong one all the same. Unlucky Emmanuel, simply outplayed on the buzzer, no shame in that though at this stage, best of luck in the eliminator round. Well done St Edmund Hall though, another impressive showing against strong opponents, and best of luck in the qualifying rounds!
The stats: Mr Leo was, once again, the best buzzer of the night, taking all ELEVEN(!) of his side's correct starters, while Ms Cugini was Emmanuel's best with two. On the bonuses, Emmanuel converted 5 out of 12 (with four penalties), while St Edmund Hall managed 19 out of 33 (with three penalties).
Next week's match: the first qualifying match. Don't know who's playing yet, my guess would be Durham vs Bristol.
Only Connect returned to its usual time this week too, with the match I knew of prior to this series starting thanks to that Radio Times article I've mentioned many times before; review of that hopefully coming up on Thursday.
Emmanuel College Cambridge lost their first round match 200-175 to fellow QFers Glasgow, but survived to the play-offs, where they easily defeated King's of London 235-140, before reaching the group stage with a 195-120 win over St Peter's of Oxford. Hoping to carry on this revival tonight were the unchanged foursome of:
Connor MacDonald, from New Brunswick, Canada, studying Politics
Vedanth Nair, from Kings Lynn, studying Economics
Captain: Dani Cugini, from Warwick, studying English
Ben Harris, from Bath, studying Geology
St Edmund Hall Oxford took the direct route through the knockout rounds, dispatching York 240-105 in the first round, and then Clare of Cambridge 245-105 in an almost identical manner in the second, their captain leading the charge on the buzzer on both occasions. Hoping to carry on this momentum tonight were the also unchanged quartet of:
Agastya Pisharody, from India and Basel, studying Material Science
Marceline Bresson, from the Netherlands, studying Economics and Management
Captain: Freddie Leo, from Berlin, studying History
Lizzie Fry, from Worcestershire, studying Geography
Off we set again then, and Mr Nair opened the ball rolling for the night by identifying a list of people involved in the founding of the modern Olympic Games, Baron de Coubertin being the giveaway; the Cambridge side opened the night with a full bonus set on Stockholm, including a welcome mention of the Moomins! Mr Leo, by far and away his side's leading player thus far, got his side moving with the next starter, picking up a slip-up from their opponents; the Oxonians also set their feet firmly down, with a full bonus set. A rare error from the St Edmund Hall captain allowed his opposite number Ms Cugini to take 'cowpox' on the next starter, but just the one bonus fell for them this time. Mr Leo resumed his form on the next starter, and his side also took just a single bonus on physicist Lise Meitner. The first picture round, on the names of English works translated into Spanish, went to St Edmund Hall, who took a full set, and the lead, 60-35.
And up it went again as Mr Leo once again was first in on the next starter; bonuses on coalition governments gave the Oxonians, again, just a single correct bonus. Neither side knew 'mondegreen' as the correct term for a misheard song lyric, though Paxo and myself both rather liked Ms Cugini's guess of 'lyripropism'! The Emmanuel captain dragged her side back into the game on the next starter, but they also managed just a single bonus on multiples of 10,000, including a rare mention of Celtic Park on the show! Those five points then were lost to a slip-up, allowing Mr Leo to resume his buzzer control; St Edmund Hall took two of the resultant bonuses.
The music round, on classical pieces written after their composer had lost their hearing, went to St Edmund Hall; just the one correct bonuses came again, but it gave them a lead of 110-45. It increased when Emmanuel dropped a further five, and Mr Leo swooped in with the pickup; bonuses on actors who played Emily Bronte's Heathcliff gave them just the one correct answer again. Two starters in a row were then dropped, with St Edmund Hall dropping five in the process, before Mr MacDonald reawoke his side with 'Arizona', but his side drew a blank on the resulting bonuses.
The second picture round, on Orientalism in art, went to St Edmund Hall, who took two bonuses, which took their lead to 140-50. And when Mr Leo took his latest starter, and the lead to 100 points, that was game over; two bonuses on physics confirmed this.
A penalty was pretty much immaterial at this point, though Mr Nair was unlucky not to pick up the drop, offering 'Alpha Centauri' instead of 'Centaurus'. Another starter was dropped, and five lost, this time by Emmanuel, before Mr Leo identified Mary Queen of Scots as the last Stuart monarch to only reign in Scotland (unless you count James VI only reigning in Scotland before he became King of England too); one bonus followed, the St Edmund Hall captain instantly recognising the Philharmonic Orchestra of his own home city! And the next starter related to his homeland too; he duly snapped it up, and another two bonuses only served to increase their score and lead. Emmanuel did take the final starter, thus avoiding joining the Sub-50 Club, but there was no time for any bonuses. At the gong, St Edmund Hall won 190-55.
A rather one sided match, but a very lively and strong one all the same. Unlucky Emmanuel, simply outplayed on the buzzer, no shame in that though at this stage, best of luck in the eliminator round. Well done St Edmund Hall though, another impressive showing against strong opponents, and best of luck in the qualifying rounds!
The stats: Mr Leo was, once again, the best buzzer of the night, taking all ELEVEN(!) of his side's correct starters, while Ms Cugini was Emmanuel's best with two. On the bonuses, Emmanuel converted 5 out of 12 (with four penalties), while St Edmund Hall managed 19 out of 33 (with three penalties).
Next week's match: the first qualifying match. Don't know who's playing yet, my guess would be Durham vs Bristol.
Only Connect returned to its usual time this week too, with the match I knew of prior to this series starting thanks to that Radio Times article I've mentioned many times before; review of that hopefully coming up on Thursday.
Wednesday, 13 February 2019
Only Connect Series 14: Play-Off 1: Motorheads vs LARPers
OK, on with Only Connect, and the first play-off to decide who joins the four qualifier winners in the quarter-finals. A good series so far, great questions and high quality play, and hopefully the remainder of the series will keep this up.
Playing on Monday night were the Motorheads, Brian Shaw, Thomas De Bock and captain Stanley Wang, who narrowly lost to the Times Ladies but narrowly beat the Cartoonists, and the LARPers, Martel Reynolds, Kiwi Tokoeka and captain Ronny Jackson, who defeated the Durhamites but were defeated by the Poptimists.
Round 1. The Motorheads opened the contest with Twisted Flax: 'The Ambassadors (Hans Holbein the Younger)', then 'Alexander McQueen scarf', then 'Poisonous substance'; they suggested 'skulls' as the link, and collected two points to be started with. The LARPers began their night with 'Horn-ed' Viper: 'The Alamo (1836)', then 'Liverpool Football Club (1998)', then 'England, Scotland and Ireland (1689-1694)', and finally 'UK Green Party (2016-?)'. The last one gave it to them: they all had joint leaders between those dates. The Motorheads chose Water next, and got the music set: we heard the Stylistics with 'Sing Baby Sing', then 'Run Baby Run' by the Newbeats, then 'Burn Baby Burn' by Ash, and finally 'Come Baby Come' by K7. Neither side spotted the connection there. The LARPers chose Eye of Horus next, and got the picture set: we saw some cookies, then a bookmark, and that was enough for them to suggest 'Internet browser terms' for the three points. The Motorheads chose Two Reeds next: 'Thundera: Sword of Plun-Darr', then 'Gallifrey: The Moment (apparently)', then 'Krypton: nearby supernova or unstable radioactive core'; they came in here and suggested 'how planets were formed', not correct. Their opponents saw 'Alderaan: Death Star 1', and suggested the exact opposite, 'how planets were destroyed', for the bonus. Left with Lion for their own question, the LARPers saw 'Signal port', then 'Blessing gods', then 'Attach app', and finally 'Myth leg'. In the nick of time, they spotted it: attaching 'end' to the second letter gives a synonym of the first word. At the end of the first round, the LARPers led 6-2.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Motorheads started the round with Lion: 'Hebridean Island', then 'Electrically charged atom'; they saw them to be 'Iona' and 'Ion', so came in and offered 'The first person singular', as in 'I', for the three points. The LARPers chose Two Reeds next, and got the pictures again: we saw Jack Charlton, then Stan Laurel (and Oliver Hardy), and then Roy Orbison. They didn't get it, neither did their opponents: they are names mentioned in the lyrics of '50 Ways to Leave Your Lover', so someone called Gus, such as the tragic astronaunt Gus Grissom, would suffice. The Motorheads chose Eye of Horus next: 'All the milk', then 'All the orange juice', and then 'All Daddy's beer'. They guessed 'All the water', and were correct enough for the points; 'All the water in the tap' was the precise answer, the sequence being what 'The Tiger Who Come to Tea' is said to have drunk. The LARPers chose Twisted Flax next: 'A, B, C', then 'B, C, E', and then 'C, E, H'; they saw it to be the Fibonacci sequence using letters, and offered 'E, H, M' for the two points. For their final choice, the Motorheads chose Horned Viper: 'Alan Williams', then 'Peter Tapsell', and then 'Gerald Kaufman'. They didn't get this, nor did their opponents: they are Fathers of the House of Commons, so 'Ken Clarke' would complete the sequence. Left with Water, the LARPers saw '4th Junior police officer', then '3rd Educator', and then '2nd Healthcare professional'. They didn't get it, their opponents did with '1st Soldier', though they didn't know the sequence, the first four Carry On films. At the end of the second round, the teams were tied on 8-each. (I do believe that may be the first time the first round scores have been exactly flipped in the second)
On to the Walls. The LARPers went first, and chose the Water wall. They quickly isolated 'Fellow', 'Bursar', 'Reader' and 'Porter', which are jobs at a university, followed fairly soon afterwards by 'Plump', 'Fubsy', 'Portly' and 'Corpulent', which are synonyms of each other. The final clues didn't take long to sort out after that: 'Stout', 'Bock', 'Bitter' and 'Mild' are types of beer, while 'Meade', 'Grant', 'Sherman' and 'Beauregard' are US Civil War generals, their suggestion of 'American generals' close enough there. A full ten.
The Motorheads thus set to work on the Lion wall. They also had a set done pretty quickly: 'Kilt', 'Dhoti', 'Fustanella' and 'Sarong' are skirt like garments. They got a bit stuck after that though; eventually, with time running out, they had a second set: 'Meadow', 'Rump', 'Ginger' and 'Porterhouse' all start with the names of alcoholic drinks. They quickly tried to solve what was left, but couldn't in their three goes, and thus had to go for bonuses: 'Sirloin', 'Skirt', 'T Bone' and 'Picanha' are types of steak, which they got, while 'Algy', 'Tug', 'Bertie' and 'Angus' are characters from the Biggles stories, which they didn't get. Five there, which meant the LARPers now led 18-13 going into the final round.
So, still just about all the play for in Missing Vowels. 'Phrases with Christmas replaced by Easter', such as 'EASTER CRACKER' and the double bluff of 'EASTER ISLAND', went to the Motorheads 3-1. 'Words which roughly mean "tirelessness"', such as 'PERSISTENCE' and 'DETERMINATION', was a clean 4-0 to the LARPers. 'Things that appear on a $1 bill' went to the LARPers 2-1. 'Artists and their art form' gave one clue to the Motorheads, and the second was timed out. The LARPers won 25-18.
Another fine contest, well played by both teams. Unlucky Motorheads, but a respectable series of performances, thanks very much indeed for playing! Well done LARPers though, and very best of luck in the quarter-finals!
Next week's match: the Durhamites vs the Pyromaniacs (or 'the match from the Radio Times' as I know it)
Playing on Monday night were the Motorheads, Brian Shaw, Thomas De Bock and captain Stanley Wang, who narrowly lost to the Times Ladies but narrowly beat the Cartoonists, and the LARPers, Martel Reynolds, Kiwi Tokoeka and captain Ronny Jackson, who defeated the Durhamites but were defeated by the Poptimists.
Round 1. The Motorheads opened the contest with Twisted Flax: 'The Ambassadors (Hans Holbein the Younger)', then 'Alexander McQueen scarf', then 'Poisonous substance'; they suggested 'skulls' as the link, and collected two points to be started with. The LARPers began their night with 'Horn-ed' Viper: 'The Alamo (1836)', then 'Liverpool Football Club (1998)', then 'England, Scotland and Ireland (1689-1694)', and finally 'UK Green Party (2016-?)'. The last one gave it to them: they all had joint leaders between those dates. The Motorheads chose Water next, and got the music set: we heard the Stylistics with 'Sing Baby Sing', then 'Run Baby Run' by the Newbeats, then 'Burn Baby Burn' by Ash, and finally 'Come Baby Come' by K7. Neither side spotted the connection there. The LARPers chose Eye of Horus next, and got the picture set: we saw some cookies, then a bookmark, and that was enough for them to suggest 'Internet browser terms' for the three points. The Motorheads chose Two Reeds next: 'Thundera: Sword of Plun-Darr', then 'Gallifrey: The Moment (apparently)', then 'Krypton: nearby supernova or unstable radioactive core'; they came in here and suggested 'how planets were formed', not correct. Their opponents saw 'Alderaan: Death Star 1', and suggested the exact opposite, 'how planets were destroyed', for the bonus. Left with Lion for their own question, the LARPers saw 'Signal port', then 'Blessing gods', then 'Attach app', and finally 'Myth leg'. In the nick of time, they spotted it: attaching 'end' to the second letter gives a synonym of the first word. At the end of the first round, the LARPers led 6-2.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Motorheads started the round with Lion: 'Hebridean Island', then 'Electrically charged atom'; they saw them to be 'Iona' and 'Ion', so came in and offered 'The first person singular', as in 'I', for the three points. The LARPers chose Two Reeds next, and got the pictures again: we saw Jack Charlton, then Stan Laurel (and Oliver Hardy), and then Roy Orbison. They didn't get it, neither did their opponents: they are names mentioned in the lyrics of '50 Ways to Leave Your Lover', so someone called Gus, such as the tragic astronaunt Gus Grissom, would suffice. The Motorheads chose Eye of Horus next: 'All the milk', then 'All the orange juice', and then 'All Daddy's beer'. They guessed 'All the water', and were correct enough for the points; 'All the water in the tap' was the precise answer, the sequence being what 'The Tiger Who Come to Tea' is said to have drunk. The LARPers chose Twisted Flax next: 'A, B, C', then 'B, C, E', and then 'C, E, H'; they saw it to be the Fibonacci sequence using letters, and offered 'E, H, M' for the two points. For their final choice, the Motorheads chose Horned Viper: 'Alan Williams', then 'Peter Tapsell', and then 'Gerald Kaufman'. They didn't get this, nor did their opponents: they are Fathers of the House of Commons, so 'Ken Clarke' would complete the sequence. Left with Water, the LARPers saw '4th Junior police officer', then '3rd Educator', and then '2nd Healthcare professional'. They didn't get it, their opponents did with '1st Soldier', though they didn't know the sequence, the first four Carry On films. At the end of the second round, the teams were tied on 8-each. (I do believe that may be the first time the first round scores have been exactly flipped in the second)
On to the Walls. The LARPers went first, and chose the Water wall. They quickly isolated 'Fellow', 'Bursar', 'Reader' and 'Porter', which are jobs at a university, followed fairly soon afterwards by 'Plump', 'Fubsy', 'Portly' and 'Corpulent', which are synonyms of each other. The final clues didn't take long to sort out after that: 'Stout', 'Bock', 'Bitter' and 'Mild' are types of beer, while 'Meade', 'Grant', 'Sherman' and 'Beauregard' are US Civil War generals, their suggestion of 'American generals' close enough there. A full ten.
The Motorheads thus set to work on the Lion wall. They also had a set done pretty quickly: 'Kilt', 'Dhoti', 'Fustanella' and 'Sarong' are skirt like garments. They got a bit stuck after that though; eventually, with time running out, they had a second set: 'Meadow', 'Rump', 'Ginger' and 'Porterhouse' all start with the names of alcoholic drinks. They quickly tried to solve what was left, but couldn't in their three goes, and thus had to go for bonuses: 'Sirloin', 'Skirt', 'T Bone' and 'Picanha' are types of steak, which they got, while 'Algy', 'Tug', 'Bertie' and 'Angus' are characters from the Biggles stories, which they didn't get. Five there, which meant the LARPers now led 18-13 going into the final round.
So, still just about all the play for in Missing Vowels. 'Phrases with Christmas replaced by Easter', such as 'EASTER CRACKER' and the double bluff of 'EASTER ISLAND', went to the Motorheads 3-1. 'Words which roughly mean "tirelessness"', such as 'PERSISTENCE' and 'DETERMINATION', was a clean 4-0 to the LARPers. 'Things that appear on a $1 bill' went to the LARPers 2-1. 'Artists and their art form' gave one clue to the Motorheads, and the second was timed out. The LARPers won 25-18.
Another fine contest, well played by both teams. Unlucky Motorheads, but a respectable series of performances, thanks very much indeed for playing! Well done LARPers though, and very best of luck in the quarter-finals!
Next week's match: the Durhamites vs the Pyromaniacs (or 'the match from the Radio Times' as I know it)
Tuesday, 12 February 2019
University Challenge 2018-19: Preliminary Quarter-Final 3: Manchester vs Edinburgh
Evening all. So, here we go, 23 hours later than usual, with this weeks UC, which has just finished being shown in Scotland as I sit writing this. Thankfully, A, the football match shown in its place yesterday was a good one worth showing, and B, it was a good contest worth the extra wait. Two teams with similar UC experiences so far faced off, one would need one more win to go through, the other two, and they couldn't afford another defeat.
Manchester, appearing in the quarter-finals for the first time in five years, reached the stage after a narrow 155-135 victory over East London in the first round, then a decent 185-115 win over Hertford of Oxford in the second. Hoping to carry on this form were the unchanged four of:
Alexander Antao, from Chingford in London, studying Mathematical Logic
Georgia Lynott, from Burnley, studying Applied Maths
Captain: James Ross, from Coventry, studying Classics and Ancient History
Joe Hanson, from Gravesend, studying Data Intensive Science
Edinburgh, appearing in the quarter-finals for the third year running, started with a comfortable 210-75 win over Sidney Sussex of Cambridge in the first round, and then won a cracking second round contest against U.C.L. on the final starter of the game, triumphing 180-160 that time around. Also hoping for more of the same were the also unchanged four of:
Matt Booth, from Bristol, studying Maths
Marco Malusa, from Italy, studying Economics and Politics
Captain: Max Fitz-James, from Burgundy, studying Cell Biology
Robbie Campbell Hewson, from Edinburgh, studying Maths
Off we set again then, and Mr Campbell Hewson got the first starter of the night with 'Victoria'; a full set of bonuses on Baghdad showed that the Scots side meant business tonight/last night. A very prompt buzz from Mr Fitz-James added to this early scoring, and another full house, on Ladybird books, went Edinburgh's way. A penalty undid some of that good work, but Manchester had nothing to offer to pick up. Mr Hanson soon got them going though, and they too set the ground running nicely with two bonuses. The next two starters were then missed by both sides, with Manchester losing one on them. Mr Campbell Hewson stopped this rot by identifying a list of MPs elected in Cumbria in 2017 (I got that too), but, in a reversal of fortune, Edinburgh got nothing from the bonuses. The first picture round, on cities known as 'the Venice of the North', went to Edinburgh; two bonuses came this time, giving them a lead of 75-15.
A quick buzz from Mr Ross set Manchester off in the hunt, and a set of bonuses on Schopenhauer provided them with, again, two correct bonuses. Director Mary Harron provided the subject of Manchester's next bonuses of which just the one was converted this time. The momentum seemed to be with them now though, as Ms Lynott took a second starter in a row, and a full house put them on level pegging. And then into the lead, as Mr Fitz-James came in too early on the next starter, dropping five, and Mr Antao took the pick-up; bonuses on multiple gold medalists in the Rio Olympics gave them no correct answers, though they were unlucky to offer 'Beale' instead of 'Simone Biles'.
The music round, on pop songs played by the US Army to try and flush Manuel Noriega out of hiding, went to Edinburgh, who took two correct bonuses (including one song its nice to finally put a band to having heard it many times at Pittodrie!), and retook the lead 90-85. A complicated maths starter came next; Mr Antao buzzed first, but didn't quite make it, Mr Campbell Hewson did for the points, and bonuses on Anish Kapoor gave the Scots side a full house. Mr Ross reawoke his side by knowing Laertes to be the last character to die before Hamlet in that play; bonuses on binary notation made for some amusing conferring, but Manchester failed to add to their score with them. A nice starter asked what word the first letters of the names of the four US states that border Mexico spell out; Mr Booth had it first with 'CANT', thus ensuring all eight players had a starter to their names. Two bonuses followed.
The second picture round, on US historical figures depicted on postage stamps, went to Edinburgh, who failed to add to their score, but now had a lead of 145-95. Mr Antao kept his side in the game with a very quick buzz on the Vietnam War; bonuses on volcanic activity in the Solar System gave them one correct answer, and thus, with not much time to go, it was still either team's game.
Two starters in a row were then dropped by both sides, but when Mr Fitz-James stopped the run with 'Rashomon', and a full bonus set on Nazi Germany went with it, that was game over. Mr Antao took the final starter of the game by identifying the origins of the word 'refugee', and his side took one of the two bonuses there was time for. At the gong, Edinburgh won 170-130.
A good contest that, well played in good spirits by both sides, well played both and good on yous for clapping each other before and after the game. Unlucky Manchester, but a respectable performance still, best of luck in the elimination round. Well played Edinburgh though, another good showing against good opponents, best of luck in the qualifiers!
The stats: Messrs Antao, Fitz-James and Campbell Hewson were joint best buzzers of the night, with three each for their respective teams. On the bonuses, Manchester converted 11 out of 23 (with one penalty), while Edinburgh managed 18 out of 27 (with two penalties), and, for the first time in the quarter-finals, all eight players answered at least one starters.
Next week's match: Emmanuel vs St Edmund Hall, back to the normal day and time in Scotland thankfully
Only Connect last night was also a good contest between two decent teams, review of that hopefully tomorrow, and Sunday if not.
Manchester, appearing in the quarter-finals for the first time in five years, reached the stage after a narrow 155-135 victory over East London in the first round, then a decent 185-115 win over Hertford of Oxford in the second. Hoping to carry on this form were the unchanged four of:
Alexander Antao, from Chingford in London, studying Mathematical Logic
Georgia Lynott, from Burnley, studying Applied Maths
Captain: James Ross, from Coventry, studying Classics and Ancient History
Joe Hanson, from Gravesend, studying Data Intensive Science
Edinburgh, appearing in the quarter-finals for the third year running, started with a comfortable 210-75 win over Sidney Sussex of Cambridge in the first round, and then won a cracking second round contest against U.C.L. on the final starter of the game, triumphing 180-160 that time around. Also hoping for more of the same were the also unchanged four of:
Matt Booth, from Bristol, studying Maths
Marco Malusa, from Italy, studying Economics and Politics
Captain: Max Fitz-James, from Burgundy, studying Cell Biology
Robbie Campbell Hewson, from Edinburgh, studying Maths
Off we set again then, and Mr Campbell Hewson got the first starter of the night with 'Victoria'; a full set of bonuses on Baghdad showed that the Scots side meant business tonight/last night. A very prompt buzz from Mr Fitz-James added to this early scoring, and another full house, on Ladybird books, went Edinburgh's way. A penalty undid some of that good work, but Manchester had nothing to offer to pick up. Mr Hanson soon got them going though, and they too set the ground running nicely with two bonuses. The next two starters were then missed by both sides, with Manchester losing one on them. Mr Campbell Hewson stopped this rot by identifying a list of MPs elected in Cumbria in 2017 (I got that too), but, in a reversal of fortune, Edinburgh got nothing from the bonuses. The first picture round, on cities known as 'the Venice of the North', went to Edinburgh; two bonuses came this time, giving them a lead of 75-15.
A quick buzz from Mr Ross set Manchester off in the hunt, and a set of bonuses on Schopenhauer provided them with, again, two correct bonuses. Director Mary Harron provided the subject of Manchester's next bonuses of which just the one was converted this time. The momentum seemed to be with them now though, as Ms Lynott took a second starter in a row, and a full house put them on level pegging. And then into the lead, as Mr Fitz-James came in too early on the next starter, dropping five, and Mr Antao took the pick-up; bonuses on multiple gold medalists in the Rio Olympics gave them no correct answers, though they were unlucky to offer 'Beale' instead of 'Simone Biles'.
The music round, on pop songs played by the US Army to try and flush Manuel Noriega out of hiding, went to Edinburgh, who took two correct bonuses (including one song its nice to finally put a band to having heard it many times at Pittodrie!), and retook the lead 90-85. A complicated maths starter came next; Mr Antao buzzed first, but didn't quite make it, Mr Campbell Hewson did for the points, and bonuses on Anish Kapoor gave the Scots side a full house. Mr Ross reawoke his side by knowing Laertes to be the last character to die before Hamlet in that play; bonuses on binary notation made for some amusing conferring, but Manchester failed to add to their score with them. A nice starter asked what word the first letters of the names of the four US states that border Mexico spell out; Mr Booth had it first with 'CANT', thus ensuring all eight players had a starter to their names. Two bonuses followed.
The second picture round, on US historical figures depicted on postage stamps, went to Edinburgh, who failed to add to their score, but now had a lead of 145-95. Mr Antao kept his side in the game with a very quick buzz on the Vietnam War; bonuses on volcanic activity in the Solar System gave them one correct answer, and thus, with not much time to go, it was still either team's game.
Two starters in a row were then dropped by both sides, but when Mr Fitz-James stopped the run with 'Rashomon', and a full bonus set on Nazi Germany went with it, that was game over. Mr Antao took the final starter of the game by identifying the origins of the word 'refugee', and his side took one of the two bonuses there was time for. At the gong, Edinburgh won 170-130.
A good contest that, well played in good spirits by both sides, well played both and good on yous for clapping each other before and after the game. Unlucky Manchester, but a respectable performance still, best of luck in the elimination round. Well played Edinburgh though, another good showing against good opponents, best of luck in the qualifiers!
The stats: Messrs Antao, Fitz-James and Campbell Hewson were joint best buzzers of the night, with three each for their respective teams. On the bonuses, Manchester converted 11 out of 23 (with one penalty), while Edinburgh managed 18 out of 27 (with two penalties), and, for the first time in the quarter-finals, all eight players answered at least one starters.
Next week's match: Emmanuel vs St Edmund Hall, back to the normal day and time in Scotland thankfully
Only Connect last night was also a good contest between two decent teams, review of that hopefully tomorrow, and Sunday if not.
Wednesday, 6 February 2019
Only Connect Series 14: Qualification Round: Match 4: Ancient Alumni vs Westenders
OK, forget what I said on Monday about next week's Only Connect being on Tuesday in Scotland; it is actually on Monday, just at the later time of 9:30, after the Cold Firm derby. Hope that's cleared that up. Anyway, on with this Monday's show and the final qualification match. Apologies for any errors, as I'm watching a(nother) football match at the same time I'm writing this.
Playing were the Ancient Alumni, Lindsay McBryan, Ailsa Watson and captain Dave McBryan, husband of Lindsay, who very easily defeated the Three Peaks in their first match, and the Westenders, Tom Chisholm, Abbas Panjwani and captain Megan Stodel, who won a closer first round match against the Dragons.
Round 1. The Alumni opened the show with Two Reeds: 'White -> Orange', then 'Orange -> Blonde'; they quickly saw them to be who shoots whom in Reservoir Dogs, and collected three points to start the ground running. The Westenders started their match with Water: 'Infant', then '100m hurdles', then ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', and finally 'Great Pyramid of Giza'. They spotted them to be the first of a series of seven things, and picked up a point. The Alumni chose Lion next, and got the picture set: we saw a black horse, then a lion roaring, then a pair of taps, and finally a firework explosion. They didn't see it, neither did their opponents: they are songs by Katy Perry. ('Dark Horse', 'Roar', 'Hot N Cold' and 'Firework') The Westenders chose Twisted Flax next, and got the music question: we heard Bing Crosby with 'I Kiss Your Hand Madam', then 'Che Gelida Manina' from La Boheme, then Reef's 'Place Your Hands', and finally Max Bygraves with 'You Need Hands'. They didn't see the link, their opponents did for the bonus. For their own question, the Alumni chose Eye of Horus: 'Alexander Gardens, Moscow', then 'Arc de Triomph, Paris'; they saw them to be locations of tombs of 'Unkown Soldiers', and collected another three points. Left with Horned Viper, the Westenders saw 'Ingredients raw when assembled', then 'Minimum 12.5% meat and 25% vegetable', then 'Savoury pastry', and finally 'Crimped towards one side'. They saw them to be requirements of proper Cornish pasties, and picked up another sole point. At the end of the first round, the Alumni led 7-2.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Alumni started with Two Reeds again: '60', then '60-10', and then '4-20s'. They didn't get it, their opponents did: they are literal translations of the French words for 60, 70 and 80, so '40-20-10' for 90 would be fourth. For their own question, the Westenders chose Lion: 'Greb-Tunney', then 'Pacquiao-Marquez', and then 'Ali-Frazier'. Neither team got this: they are pairs of boxers who fought each other five, four and three times professionally, so 'Eubank-Benn' would be an acceptable fourth answer. The Alumni chose Eye of Horus next: '1. Christian, 2. (blank), 3. (blank), 4. (blank)' (with one clue in each corner)', then '1. Christian, 2. Muslim, 3. (blank), 4. (blank)'. They suggested '1. Christian, 2. Muslim, 3. Hindu, 4. Buddhist', but were not correct. Their opponents saw '1. Christian, 2. Muslim, 3. Armenian, 4. (blank)', but were none the wiser. The clues being in corners was the clue: they are the four quarters of Old Jerusalem, so '1. Christian, 2. Muslim, 3. Armenian, 4. Jewish', would be the answer. The Westenders chose Twisted Flax next, and got the picture set: we saw a Granny Smith apple, then a weather vane depicting Father Time, and then the band Sister Sledge. They didn't get it, their opponents did, and offered serial killer David Berkowitz, or 'Son of Sam', for the bonus. For their own final choice, the Alumni chose Water: 'H....', then 'S...'; they instantly saw it to be morse code, and offered 'E.' for the three points. Left with Horned Viper, the Westenders saw 'Derek Jameson', then 'Brian Hayes', and then 'Terry Wogan'. They didn't get it, their opponents did: they are hosts of the Radio 2 Breakfast Show, so 'Chris Evans' would be fourth. At the end of a somewhat one-sided second round, the Alumni led 12-3.
On to the Walls. The Westenders went first, needing a good score, and chose the Water wall. They fairly quickly isolated 'Varnish', 'Kenny', 'Froome' and 'Cavendish', which are surnames of British cyclists, followed by 'Buffer', 'Pumice', 'Emery Board' and 'Orange Stick', which are manicure equipment, which they didn't quite get. After taking their time with the final clues, they had the final sets sorted: 'Cosy', 'Dance', 'Clipper' and 'Break' can all follow 'Tea', which they knew, while 'Street', 'Chard', 'Wellington' and 'Cheddar' are places in Somerset, which they didn't. Six there then.
The Alumni could thus put the game beyond realistic reach with a similar or better score on the Lion wall. They almost immediately had two sets in the bag: 'Agile', 'Deft', 'Nimble' and 'Brisk' are synonyms of 'fleet', while 'Bow', 'Coventry', 'Oxford' and 'Vine' are streets in Monopoly. They got a bit stuck with what was left though, and failed to resolve them in their three goes. They thus had to go for bonuses: 'Hook', 'Basingstoke', 'Alton' and 'Fleet' are places in Hampshire, which they got, while 'Fish', 'Manager', 'Fleming' and 'Winchester' are characters in 'The Fast Show', which they didn't get. Five there, which slightly cut their lead to 17-9 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels to finish with, with the Westenders needing a shutout to stand a chance. 'Things associated with caves', such as 'STALACTITES' and 'CAPTAIN CAVEMAN', was split 2-each. 'Re-arranged titles from Shakespeare', such as 'THE VERONA OF TWO GENTLEMEN' and 'NOTHING ADO ABOUT MUCH', was a clean sweep to the Westenders, 4-0. 'Idioms describing health', such as 'FIT AS A FIDDLE' was another 2-each split. 'Mountain ranges' had one to the Westenders before being timed out. The Alumni won 21-18.
Another good game, well played by both sides there. Unlucky Westenders, best of luck in the play-offs. Well done Alumni though, and best of luck in the quarter-finals!
Next week's match: the first play off between the Motorheads and the LARPers. Remember, 9:30 in Scotland.
Playing were the Ancient Alumni, Lindsay McBryan, Ailsa Watson and captain Dave McBryan, husband of Lindsay, who very easily defeated the Three Peaks in their first match, and the Westenders, Tom Chisholm, Abbas Panjwani and captain Megan Stodel, who won a closer first round match against the Dragons.
Round 1. The Alumni opened the show with Two Reeds: 'White -> Orange', then 'Orange -> Blonde'; they quickly saw them to be who shoots whom in Reservoir Dogs, and collected three points to start the ground running. The Westenders started their match with Water: 'Infant', then '100m hurdles', then ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', and finally 'Great Pyramid of Giza'. They spotted them to be the first of a series of seven things, and picked up a point. The Alumni chose Lion next, and got the picture set: we saw a black horse, then a lion roaring, then a pair of taps, and finally a firework explosion. They didn't see it, neither did their opponents: they are songs by Katy Perry. ('Dark Horse', 'Roar', 'Hot N Cold' and 'Firework') The Westenders chose Twisted Flax next, and got the music question: we heard Bing Crosby with 'I Kiss Your Hand Madam', then 'Che Gelida Manina' from La Boheme, then Reef's 'Place Your Hands', and finally Max Bygraves with 'You Need Hands'. They didn't see the link, their opponents did for the bonus. For their own question, the Alumni chose Eye of Horus: 'Alexander Gardens, Moscow', then 'Arc de Triomph, Paris'; they saw them to be locations of tombs of 'Unkown Soldiers', and collected another three points. Left with Horned Viper, the Westenders saw 'Ingredients raw when assembled', then 'Minimum 12.5% meat and 25% vegetable', then 'Savoury pastry', and finally 'Crimped towards one side'. They saw them to be requirements of proper Cornish pasties, and picked up another sole point. At the end of the first round, the Alumni led 7-2.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Alumni started with Two Reeds again: '60', then '60-10', and then '4-20s'. They didn't get it, their opponents did: they are literal translations of the French words for 60, 70 and 80, so '40-20-10' for 90 would be fourth. For their own question, the Westenders chose Lion: 'Greb-Tunney', then 'Pacquiao-Marquez', and then 'Ali-Frazier'. Neither team got this: they are pairs of boxers who fought each other five, four and three times professionally, so 'Eubank-Benn' would be an acceptable fourth answer. The Alumni chose Eye of Horus next: '1. Christian, 2. (blank), 3. (blank), 4. (blank)' (with one clue in each corner)', then '1. Christian, 2. Muslim, 3. (blank), 4. (blank)'. They suggested '1. Christian, 2. Muslim, 3. Hindu, 4. Buddhist', but were not correct. Their opponents saw '1. Christian, 2. Muslim, 3. Armenian, 4. (blank)', but were none the wiser. The clues being in corners was the clue: they are the four quarters of Old Jerusalem, so '1. Christian, 2. Muslim, 3. Armenian, 4. Jewish', would be the answer. The Westenders chose Twisted Flax next, and got the picture set: we saw a Granny Smith apple, then a weather vane depicting Father Time, and then the band Sister Sledge. They didn't get it, their opponents did, and offered serial killer David Berkowitz, or 'Son of Sam', for the bonus. For their own final choice, the Alumni chose Water: 'H....', then 'S...'; they instantly saw it to be morse code, and offered 'E.' for the three points. Left with Horned Viper, the Westenders saw 'Derek Jameson', then 'Brian Hayes', and then 'Terry Wogan'. They didn't get it, their opponents did: they are hosts of the Radio 2 Breakfast Show, so 'Chris Evans' would be fourth. At the end of a somewhat one-sided second round, the Alumni led 12-3.
On to the Walls. The Westenders went first, needing a good score, and chose the Water wall. They fairly quickly isolated 'Varnish', 'Kenny', 'Froome' and 'Cavendish', which are surnames of British cyclists, followed by 'Buffer', 'Pumice', 'Emery Board' and 'Orange Stick', which are manicure equipment, which they didn't quite get. After taking their time with the final clues, they had the final sets sorted: 'Cosy', 'Dance', 'Clipper' and 'Break' can all follow 'Tea', which they knew, while 'Street', 'Chard', 'Wellington' and 'Cheddar' are places in Somerset, which they didn't. Six there then.
The Alumni could thus put the game beyond realistic reach with a similar or better score on the Lion wall. They almost immediately had two sets in the bag: 'Agile', 'Deft', 'Nimble' and 'Brisk' are synonyms of 'fleet', while 'Bow', 'Coventry', 'Oxford' and 'Vine' are streets in Monopoly. They got a bit stuck with what was left though, and failed to resolve them in their three goes. They thus had to go for bonuses: 'Hook', 'Basingstoke', 'Alton' and 'Fleet' are places in Hampshire, which they got, while 'Fish', 'Manager', 'Fleming' and 'Winchester' are characters in 'The Fast Show', which they didn't get. Five there, which slightly cut their lead to 17-9 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels to finish with, with the Westenders needing a shutout to stand a chance. 'Things associated with caves', such as 'STALACTITES' and 'CAPTAIN CAVEMAN', was split 2-each. 'Re-arranged titles from Shakespeare', such as 'THE VERONA OF TWO GENTLEMEN' and 'NOTHING ADO ABOUT MUCH', was a clean sweep to the Westenders, 4-0. 'Idioms describing health', such as 'FIT AS A FIDDLE' was another 2-each split. 'Mountain ranges' had one to the Westenders before being timed out. The Alumni won 21-18.
Another good game, well played by both sides there. Unlucky Westenders, best of luck in the play-offs. Well done Alumni though, and best of luck in the quarter-finals!
Next week's match: the first play off between the Motorheads and the LARPers. Remember, 9:30 in Scotland.
Monday, 4 February 2019
University Challenge 2018-19: Preliminary Quarter-Final 2: Darwin vs Bristol
Evening all. On to the second quarter-final contest tonight, with the winners needing just one more win to progress to the semis and the runners-up needing two. Apologies if this blog is a bit disjointed; have not been well since yesterday morning. Tonight's fixture on paper would look a tad one-sided, but matches are not played on paper; otherwise, one of tonight's teams wouldn't even be here.
Darwin College Cambridge comfortably won their first match dispatching SOAS of London 260-90, before winning a good Cambridge derby against Downing in the second round 205-120 thanks to a late run. Hoping for more of the same tonight were the unchanged foursome of:
Stuart MacPherson, from Bothwell in South Lanarkshire, studying Physics
Chris Davis, from London (originally California), studying Plant Sciences
Captain: Jason Golfinos, from New York City, studying Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
Guy Mulley, from Loughton in Essex, studying Law
Bristol came here via two closer contests, firstly a 140-110 victory over Queen's of Belfast in the first round, before a 190-125 victory over Warwick in the second round, again, thanks to a late spurt. Hoping to continue that momentum into tonight were the also unchanged quartet of:
George Sumner, from South London, studying Physics
Owen Iredale, from Hadleigh in Suffolk, studying Biology
Captain: Anne Le Maistre, from Adelaide, studying History
Pushan Basu, from Newcastle, studying English Literature
Off we set again then, and Mr Iredale opened the scoring for the night with 'Monet'; bonuses on the work of WH Auden gave the Avonsiders two correct bonuses to start with. Darwin replied in kind, with Mr Golfinos, best buzzer of the series thus far by some margin, taking 'Brutalism' and two bonuses on British artists following. Mr Mulley moved Darwin ahead with the third starter, but the bonuses didn't go for them, none taken. The first picture round, on charges which, when removed from national flags, give another country's flag, went to Darwin, who, again, drew a blank on the bonuses, but still led 40-20.
A penalty then decreased that advantage, but Bristol couldn't take advantage. The Avonsiders then slipped up, and Darwin did take advantage; bonuses on countries that are prolific producers of cocoa beans and their national football teams (had this already last series, didn't we?) gave them a solitary correct answer (I got one of the others, Ghana). A second starter in a row went to the Darwin captain, and, again, a single bonus accompanied it.
The music round, on classical works referenced in Oliver Sacks' 'Musicophilia', went to Bristol; none of the bonuses were taken, though they were unfortunate to offer 'Hammerstein' instead of 'Rodgers' for the Sound of Music excerpt. Darwin still led 70-25, but Mr Iredale reduced the gap some more when he took the next starter; a classic UC bonus set on pairs of verbs linked by an 'and' provided them with a full set to bring them well back into contention. A third starter in a row to Bristol, a pair of bonuses, and suddenly the sides were level. And then the Avonsiders took the lead as Darwin lost five, but couldn't push the advantage home. A very quick buzz from Mr Golfinos gave the Cambridge side the lead back, but kings of Scotland offered them no correct bonuses (answering James I to all three wasn't daft though, James is by far the most famous and common Scottish regnal name)
The second picture round, on paintings of mythical women by Gentileschi, went to Bristol, who took a solitary bonus, giving them back the lead 90-75. It increased when Darwin lost five on the next starter, but they promptly took the points back thanks to Mr Golfinos taking the next starter; bonuses on 'emirp' primes (prime numbers whose reverses are also primes) gave them a solitary correct answer again.
And when Mr Iredale took the next starter, and two bonuses on African currencies went with it, you'd say it was now their game to lose. Darwin weren't finished yet though, Mr Golfinos taking the next starter, and two bonuses putting them within five points. The gap disappeared when Mr Sumner lost five on the next starter... and that was the gong! A 105-each tie!
So, for the first time in quite a while, a tie-breaker. Mr Golfinos was first to buzz, but didn't answer quick enough, and was wrong anyway. So was Mr Iredale. Another was asked; same buzzers, same outcome! Take three: this time Mr Basu buzzed, and was wrong, and Mr Golfinos mistakenly offered the same answer! Take four: Mr Davis buzzed wrongly, and Bristol didn't even try! Take five: Mr Basu offered 'The End of the Affair'... RIIIIIIIIIIGHT!
Well, that certainly livened up what was otherwise a slow and low scoring match, but still a closely fought one well played by both teams. Unlucky Darwin, best of luck in the eliminators. Well done Bristol though, and best of luck in the qualifiers!
The stats: Mr Golfinos was, again, the best buzzer of the night, with six starters, while Mr Iredale wasn't far behind with five for Bristol. On the bonuses, Darwin converted just 8 out of 24 (with three penalties), while Bristol managed 11 out of 18 (with two penalties), so, for the second week in a row, the bonuses played just as big a role, if not a bigger one, as the buzzers.
Next week's match: Edinburgh vs Manchester. Advanced warning: it is on a day later in Scotland, at 7:30 on Tuesday, so my coverage on here and on Twitter will be a day later than usual.
Only Connect will be on on Tuesday in Scotland next week too. Usual time and day for this week's final qualifier match though; blog hopefully coming up on Wednesday.
Darwin College Cambridge comfortably won their first match dispatching SOAS of London 260-90, before winning a good Cambridge derby against Downing in the second round 205-120 thanks to a late run. Hoping for more of the same tonight were the unchanged foursome of:
Stuart MacPherson, from Bothwell in South Lanarkshire, studying Physics
Chris Davis, from London (originally California), studying Plant Sciences
Captain: Jason Golfinos, from New York City, studying Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
Guy Mulley, from Loughton in Essex, studying Law
Bristol came here via two closer contests, firstly a 140-110 victory over Queen's of Belfast in the first round, before a 190-125 victory over Warwick in the second round, again, thanks to a late spurt. Hoping to continue that momentum into tonight were the also unchanged quartet of:
George Sumner, from South London, studying Physics
Owen Iredale, from Hadleigh in Suffolk, studying Biology
Captain: Anne Le Maistre, from Adelaide, studying History
Pushan Basu, from Newcastle, studying English Literature
Off we set again then, and Mr Iredale opened the scoring for the night with 'Monet'; bonuses on the work of WH Auden gave the Avonsiders two correct bonuses to start with. Darwin replied in kind, with Mr Golfinos, best buzzer of the series thus far by some margin, taking 'Brutalism' and two bonuses on British artists following. Mr Mulley moved Darwin ahead with the third starter, but the bonuses didn't go for them, none taken. The first picture round, on charges which, when removed from national flags, give another country's flag, went to Darwin, who, again, drew a blank on the bonuses, but still led 40-20.
A penalty then decreased that advantage, but Bristol couldn't take advantage. The Avonsiders then slipped up, and Darwin did take advantage; bonuses on countries that are prolific producers of cocoa beans and their national football teams (had this already last series, didn't we?) gave them a solitary correct answer (I got one of the others, Ghana). A second starter in a row went to the Darwin captain, and, again, a single bonus accompanied it.
The music round, on classical works referenced in Oliver Sacks' 'Musicophilia', went to Bristol; none of the bonuses were taken, though they were unfortunate to offer 'Hammerstein' instead of 'Rodgers' for the Sound of Music excerpt. Darwin still led 70-25, but Mr Iredale reduced the gap some more when he took the next starter; a classic UC bonus set on pairs of verbs linked by an 'and' provided them with a full set to bring them well back into contention. A third starter in a row to Bristol, a pair of bonuses, and suddenly the sides were level. And then the Avonsiders took the lead as Darwin lost five, but couldn't push the advantage home. A very quick buzz from Mr Golfinos gave the Cambridge side the lead back, but kings of Scotland offered them no correct bonuses (answering James I to all three wasn't daft though, James is by far the most famous and common Scottish regnal name)
The second picture round, on paintings of mythical women by Gentileschi, went to Bristol, who took a solitary bonus, giving them back the lead 90-75. It increased when Darwin lost five on the next starter, but they promptly took the points back thanks to Mr Golfinos taking the next starter; bonuses on 'emirp' primes (prime numbers whose reverses are also primes) gave them a solitary correct answer again.
And when Mr Iredale took the next starter, and two bonuses on African currencies went with it, you'd say it was now their game to lose. Darwin weren't finished yet though, Mr Golfinos taking the next starter, and two bonuses putting them within five points. The gap disappeared when Mr Sumner lost five on the next starter... and that was the gong! A 105-each tie!
So, for the first time in quite a while, a tie-breaker. Mr Golfinos was first to buzz, but didn't answer quick enough, and was wrong anyway. So was Mr Iredale. Another was asked; same buzzers, same outcome! Take three: this time Mr Basu buzzed, and was wrong, and Mr Golfinos mistakenly offered the same answer! Take four: Mr Davis buzzed wrongly, and Bristol didn't even try! Take five: Mr Basu offered 'The End of the Affair'... RIIIIIIIIIIGHT!
Well, that certainly livened up what was otherwise a slow and low scoring match, but still a closely fought one well played by both teams. Unlucky Darwin, best of luck in the eliminators. Well done Bristol though, and best of luck in the qualifiers!
The stats: Mr Golfinos was, again, the best buzzer of the night, with six starters, while Mr Iredale wasn't far behind with five for Bristol. On the bonuses, Darwin converted just 8 out of 24 (with three penalties), while Bristol managed 11 out of 18 (with two penalties), so, for the second week in a row, the bonuses played just as big a role, if not a bigger one, as the buzzers.
Next week's match: Edinburgh vs Manchester. Advanced warning: it is on a day later in Scotland, at 7:30 on Tuesday, so my coverage on here and on Twitter will be a day later than usual.
Only Connect will be on on Tuesday in Scotland next week too. Usual time and day for this week's final qualifier match though; blog hopefully coming up on Wednesday.
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