Well, since I went on about my winning streak from mid January to March last year, it’s only fair that I mention it when things don’t go so well. As I said, at the moment Rob and the guys have the Indian sign over us at the club. Then last night, after 18 months and 32 games in the league and cup competitions in the Bridgend Quiz League, the wheels well and truly came off. It had to happen sooner or later, especially bearing in mind our close shave against the Nomads last week. Last night’s opposition were the Old Castle in Bridgend, 3rd place in the league last year, and no mugs at all.
The stupid thing was that the evening started so well. On the written questions we scored 29 out of 32 to their 21. We had a mare on the individual round, and they were only 2 points behind us after that. Then we kept on having a mare on the A and B team questions. The boys from the Old Castle played really well, we didn’t know a lot of the answers, and to cut a long story short they beat us by 50 points to 43. Very well played guys – it pains me to say it, but we can’t even put it down to a couple of lucky questions or anything like that. On the night they were simply just too good for us.
I have two nights to lick my metaphorical wounds, and then there’s quizzes on consecutive nights. At the moment my cumulative total for the year stands at 3 wins from 7 quizzes. Hopefully this won’t become 3 wins from 9 quizzes by the end of Friday evening. The way my own form is at the moment, though, I’m taking nothing for granted.
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
Monday, 23 January 2012
Brain of Britain - Round One - Heat 11
I don’t wish to say anything particularly mean or nasty, but having listened to today’s heat the phrase ‘after the Lord Mayor’s Show’ come irresistibly to mind. Is that mean ? Sorry if it is. Let’s get on with it , then. First to go was Paul Duke. He missed out on the first Pharoah of Egypt which gave a handy bonus to Toby O’Connor Morse. Alan Hay was second to go. He mercifully took his first, but didn’t get the Van Allen radiation belts. The fact that none of the other brains got them either led me to speculate that we were in for one of ‘those’ shows. Toby took his own first question, but didn’t know that Linus and Anacletus were the second and third popes. Again, nobody took the bonus. Finally William Thirsk – Gaskill missed out on his own first , that the New Party was formed by Oswald Moseley. Alan was happy to take a bonus for that. Paul took his first of the second round, but then missed out on a tricky one about saphrophytes – plants without chlorophyll that feed on decaying matter. Nobody knew Alan’s second, that Attila replaced his brother Bleda. ( Wasn’t that what Old Steptoe used to call Harold when he was annoyed ? I digress. ) Toby did not know that the actor from the film Two Way Stretch who has also been in Dr. Who within the last couple of years was Bernard Cribbens – Paul had that one. Finally William missed the extremely gettable Home Thoughts From Abroad by Robert Browning. Toby took that one. William had yet to score, the others were all on three.
To be fair to Paul he got a bit of a bouncer with his first question in Round Three. Nobody knew the term ‘jacquerie ‘ . Alan took one of his own, but alas I seem to have omitted the question which tripped him up. Toby took his first, then Alan took a good bonus on Ph values – I was nowhere near that one myself. William got himself off the mark with his first, but nobody knew that it was Sir William Chambers who designed amongst other things the pagoda in Kew Gardens. At one time there were quite a few other remarkable buildings there as well – all long gone now, sadly. Nobody took the bonus. Paul probably should have known that the Andeman Islands belong to India. Well, put it this way, to have a chance in BoB you need to know that sort of thing. Toby did. Surprisingly nobody recognised the chestnutty full name of Man Ray for Alan’s second. Toby took his first, then missed out on a tricky one involving the Arab name for the mount of Olives. Finally William didn’t see that the capitals of a number of US States were all named after presidents. I bet Alan couldn’t believe he got a chance at a bonus on a gentle lob like that one. At the Beat the Brains interval Alan led Toby by 7 points to 6.
The first Beat the Brains question concerned the taxonomic system from domains down to species – and asked what comes above a family but below a class ? How do we remember ? Altogether now – Kent Play Cricket On Fridays - Girls Spectate. I guess this was a new one on the brains , as they plumped for something other than order, the correct answer. To be fair to them they did know that a cyanometer is used to measure the blueness of the sky, which was the second question.
On with round 5. Paul again missed his first, being unable to define the phlegmatic personality. Alan was close enough with laid back. Alan was stopped by his own first. He was asked about which station on the DLR has the same name as a Commonwealth country. I won’t lie – I immediately thought of Canada Water, but this wasn’t accepted. Apparently there is a station just called Cyprus. I didn’t know that, so I’m glad that I tuned in now. Toby managed to miss the old chestnut about the meaning of the Sikh name Singh. William thus took his first bonus of the contest. He then went and blotted his copybook by not knowing that korfball takes its name from the dutch for basket. In a tit for tat exchange, Toby took that one. Paul at last managed to get another starter right, but his second, about transhumance , caught everyone else out as well. Alan didn’t know that James Alexander Gordon reads out the football results on Radio 5 Live – Toby took that, which took the edge a little off missing out his own first question, about Morse Code telegraphy. Nobody knew that one. William was asked which is the largest dwarf planet in the solar system, and I didn’t know it was Eris any more than the rest of the contenders did. With two rounds left Alan and Toby were tied, but anyone could still win if they pulled off a full set. That didn’t look likely, somehow.
Paul didn’t know that the Order of Merit was instituted by Edward VII, which gave Alan a bonus. Alan took his own first, but didn’t know that Strawweight – or mini flyweight – is the lightest professional boxing weight. Bonus for Paul. Toby missed his own first on the Battle of the Spurs. William managed to add another point to his total, but nobody knew that the painter Richard Dadd ended his days in Broadmoor. This left Alan with a two point lead, and frankly in this show that looked like it would be quite enough. Paul missed his first which asked for the three countries which share a land border with Cambodia. William took that one. Alan didn’t know the meaning of the full name of the SS when translated into English. Toby did. Another point would put him level , but he didn’t get it from his own first question, about a term which is used for objects which point in all directions. William was asked a question about which country has a mythology about giant lemurs. Frankly you’d have thought that lemurs would have been enough to give him a decent shout at an answer, but he didn’t get it. Paul won the buzzer race to offer Madagascar, and that was enough to ensure a 1 point win for Alan. Alan probably deserved it, on the balance of the whole show he was maybe just a shade better than Toby. But you have to feel for the three of last week’s brains who didn’t win, any one of whom might have fancied their chances in this particular heat. That’s what you call the luck of the draw.
The Details
Paul Duke – 7
Alan Hay – 10
Toby O’Connor Morse – 9
William Thirsk – Gaskill - 5
To be fair to Paul he got a bit of a bouncer with his first question in Round Three. Nobody knew the term ‘jacquerie ‘ . Alan took one of his own, but alas I seem to have omitted the question which tripped him up. Toby took his first, then Alan took a good bonus on Ph values – I was nowhere near that one myself. William got himself off the mark with his first, but nobody knew that it was Sir William Chambers who designed amongst other things the pagoda in Kew Gardens. At one time there were quite a few other remarkable buildings there as well – all long gone now, sadly. Nobody took the bonus. Paul probably should have known that the Andeman Islands belong to India. Well, put it this way, to have a chance in BoB you need to know that sort of thing. Toby did. Surprisingly nobody recognised the chestnutty full name of Man Ray for Alan’s second. Toby took his first, then missed out on a tricky one involving the Arab name for the mount of Olives. Finally William didn’t see that the capitals of a number of US States were all named after presidents. I bet Alan couldn’t believe he got a chance at a bonus on a gentle lob like that one. At the Beat the Brains interval Alan led Toby by 7 points to 6.
The first Beat the Brains question concerned the taxonomic system from domains down to species – and asked what comes above a family but below a class ? How do we remember ? Altogether now – Kent Play Cricket On Fridays - Girls Spectate. I guess this was a new one on the brains , as they plumped for something other than order, the correct answer. To be fair to them they did know that a cyanometer is used to measure the blueness of the sky, which was the second question.
On with round 5. Paul again missed his first, being unable to define the phlegmatic personality. Alan was close enough with laid back. Alan was stopped by his own first. He was asked about which station on the DLR has the same name as a Commonwealth country. I won’t lie – I immediately thought of Canada Water, but this wasn’t accepted. Apparently there is a station just called Cyprus. I didn’t know that, so I’m glad that I tuned in now. Toby managed to miss the old chestnut about the meaning of the Sikh name Singh. William thus took his first bonus of the contest. He then went and blotted his copybook by not knowing that korfball takes its name from the dutch for basket. In a tit for tat exchange, Toby took that one. Paul at last managed to get another starter right, but his second, about transhumance , caught everyone else out as well. Alan didn’t know that James Alexander Gordon reads out the football results on Radio 5 Live – Toby took that, which took the edge a little off missing out his own first question, about Morse Code telegraphy. Nobody knew that one. William was asked which is the largest dwarf planet in the solar system, and I didn’t know it was Eris any more than the rest of the contenders did. With two rounds left Alan and Toby were tied, but anyone could still win if they pulled off a full set. That didn’t look likely, somehow.
Paul didn’t know that the Order of Merit was instituted by Edward VII, which gave Alan a bonus. Alan took his own first, but didn’t know that Strawweight – or mini flyweight – is the lightest professional boxing weight. Bonus for Paul. Toby missed his own first on the Battle of the Spurs. William managed to add another point to his total, but nobody knew that the painter Richard Dadd ended his days in Broadmoor. This left Alan with a two point lead, and frankly in this show that looked like it would be quite enough. Paul missed his first which asked for the three countries which share a land border with Cambodia. William took that one. Alan didn’t know the meaning of the full name of the SS when translated into English. Toby did. Another point would put him level , but he didn’t get it from his own first question, about a term which is used for objects which point in all directions. William was asked a question about which country has a mythology about giant lemurs. Frankly you’d have thought that lemurs would have been enough to give him a decent shout at an answer, but he didn’t get it. Paul won the buzzer race to offer Madagascar, and that was enough to ensure a 1 point win for Alan. Alan probably deserved it, on the balance of the whole show he was maybe just a shade better than Toby. But you have to feel for the three of last week’s brains who didn’t win, any one of whom might have fancied their chances in this particular heat. That’s what you call the luck of the draw.
The Details
Paul Duke – 7
Alan Hay – 10
Toby O’Connor Morse – 9
William Thirsk – Gaskill - 5
Saturday, 21 January 2012
A close shave
Well, I’ve played in six quizzes this year so far, winning three and coming second in the other three, and I’m rapidly coming to the conclusion that Rob and the guys from Lemurs have got the Indian sign over me. I’ve lost twice to them in the rugby club, and once in the Dyffryn Arms. Alright, every time we’ve been beaten they’ve had a bigger team than ours, but the fact is that a loss is a loss. The only time I’ve beaten them this year was in the Rugby Club when Rob himself was asking the questions. At least it’s not a very big losing streak yet. We were well beaten on Thursday night for the rather obvious reason that we didn’t know anything like as many of the answers as they did. Galling. I believe that Rob, who is none other than Robert Merrill, is recording his Brain of Britain semi final this week. I sincerely wish him the very best of luck. Fingers crossed.
I have to say that we were pretty lucky on Monday night. It was the first match of the second half of this season’s Bridgend Quiz League. Our opponents were the Tyrisha Nomads, and if that name sounds familiar, well, they were one of the LAMMY Award nominees for 2011. They were runners up to us in the League last season, and comfortably beat us in the Muriel Williams Trophy, the season curtain raiser. I’ve probably already told you this before, but anyway, the format of the league quiz is that the first 32 questions are read out for both teams to answer in writing. These questions are worth just one point for a correct answer. We had a 2 point lead after this set. These are followed then by 8 individual questions – 4 for each team. One person on each team may answer two of these. Captains pick numbers from 1 to 8, and each will correspond to a particular question – it’s pot luck which . The Nomads answered all of theirs, but our third question was the only individual question that no member of either team could answer. That wiped out our lead, as each question in the individual section is worth 2 points, or 1 if passed over for a bonus.
The last section of the quiz comprises of A and B team questions. For the first 5 one team takes the As, and for the last 5 they take the Bs. Correct answers to your own questions are worth 2 points, and bonuses 1. So, as I say, it was all square going into the As and Bs. We just couldn’t get a lead, and it never felt like we were going to be able to either. Whatever we could answer, they could answer. In fact, the Nomads took the lead when they correctly identified Kavanagh QC, and then Ally McBeal for a bonus. Then we pulled ourselves back in by knowing that Tchaikovsky wrote Winter Daydreams, and getting a bonus for Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony. We both got the first three of the last 5. Neither of us got question 4. So we waited as the last category was announced – boxing. Ours was first – which boxer, who held world championships during his career, was defeated by Brit Kirkland Laing in 1982 ? Yes ! I knew that ! Roberto Duran ! We sat back, confident that the Nomads would get their answer correct as well, and so we had earned a draw. They were asked – which British and European Heavyweight champion lost his only world title fight in 1975 ? We immediately wrote down ‘Richard Dunn’. The Nomads gave their answer “Richard Dunn.” The QM replied – "Incorrect ."– and handed it across for a bonus. I was so dumbfounded that I blurted out Henry Cooper incorrectly, even knowing it was wrong. Of course, it was Joe Bugner. Talking with the Nomads afterwards, we both realized that we had made the same mistake – Bugner fought Ali twice, but the first time they fought, Ali wasn’t actually the champion. What can I say. The Nomads would have deserved the draw, and frankly, if the question had been the other way around they would maybe even have won. A great game – and very well played.
I have to say that we were pretty lucky on Monday night. It was the first match of the second half of this season’s Bridgend Quiz League. Our opponents were the Tyrisha Nomads, and if that name sounds familiar, well, they were one of the LAMMY Award nominees for 2011. They were runners up to us in the League last season, and comfortably beat us in the Muriel Williams Trophy, the season curtain raiser. I’ve probably already told you this before, but anyway, the format of the league quiz is that the first 32 questions are read out for both teams to answer in writing. These questions are worth just one point for a correct answer. We had a 2 point lead after this set. These are followed then by 8 individual questions – 4 for each team. One person on each team may answer two of these. Captains pick numbers from 1 to 8, and each will correspond to a particular question – it’s pot luck which . The Nomads answered all of theirs, but our third question was the only individual question that no member of either team could answer. That wiped out our lead, as each question in the individual section is worth 2 points, or 1 if passed over for a bonus.
The last section of the quiz comprises of A and B team questions. For the first 5 one team takes the As, and for the last 5 they take the Bs. Correct answers to your own questions are worth 2 points, and bonuses 1. So, as I say, it was all square going into the As and Bs. We just couldn’t get a lead, and it never felt like we were going to be able to either. Whatever we could answer, they could answer. In fact, the Nomads took the lead when they correctly identified Kavanagh QC, and then Ally McBeal for a bonus. Then we pulled ourselves back in by knowing that Tchaikovsky wrote Winter Daydreams, and getting a bonus for Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony. We both got the first three of the last 5. Neither of us got question 4. So we waited as the last category was announced – boxing. Ours was first – which boxer, who held world championships during his career, was defeated by Brit Kirkland Laing in 1982 ? Yes ! I knew that ! Roberto Duran ! We sat back, confident that the Nomads would get their answer correct as well, and so we had earned a draw. They were asked – which British and European Heavyweight champion lost his only world title fight in 1975 ? We immediately wrote down ‘Richard Dunn’. The Nomads gave their answer “Richard Dunn.” The QM replied – "Incorrect ."– and handed it across for a bonus. I was so dumbfounded that I blurted out Henry Cooper incorrectly, even knowing it was wrong. Of course, it was Joe Bugner. Talking with the Nomads afterwards, we both realized that we had made the same mistake – Bugner fought Ali twice, but the first time they fought, Ali wasn’t actually the champion. What can I say. The Nomads would have deserved the draw, and frankly, if the question had been the other way around they would maybe even have won. A great game – and very well played.
Mastermind - Heat 9
For once BBC2 Wales deigned to allow us to see Mastermind at the same time as everybody else, so I got to watch the show on the big telly downstairs last night. I was interested to see that last night’s first contender, Kate Foley , hails from Mid Glamorgan. That’s well within my local quiz range, but I can’t say that I recognised her from any quiz I’ve been to. Not that it signifies anything. Kate’s specialist subject was The Archers – 1980 to the present day – a frankly massive undertaking , I would have thought. No, I don’t listen to the Archers, and so I scored precisely zero. Kate did a bit better than this, with 7, but I have to say that I think she was found out by the sheer scale of the undertaking she had set herself.
Now, Paul Radford gave us the Apollo space programme. This is a subject which I liked the look of. I was an impressionable 5 years old when I was woken in the middle of the night to get up and watch the Apollo 11 moon landing on TV, and so it’s been something I’ve always had a little bit of an interest in. I got 6 of these questions, and I don’t think you could claim that the average person might have got them through general knowledge in this case. These were pretty testing , I thought, and Paul did well to get his 12.
Mark Wyatt was answering on the Life and Music of Nick Drake. I can only apologise to his fans that I am afraid that I knew nothing about him. So at least the fact that I couldn’t get any of these questions right shows that it probably wasn’t a round padded out with GK questions masquerading as specialists. Mark’s 18 from 18 was as fine a perfect display as we’ve seen all series. Unless final contender Chris Forse could manage a high score, then the show as a contest was already over.
The Cold War – 1946 – 64 – was our final subject. I haven’t studied this period specially, and it’s over 30 years since I read about a lot of these things in O level history. I still managed 11. I know that this is going to add fuel to the fire about the debate which has gone on in some recent posts and comments about the use of GK questions in specialist rounds, but I have to say that I thought that this round was a lot more accessible to the home viewer with a decent GK than any of the others. For which I don’t blame Chris Forse at all. His 15 was a fine performance – he can only answer the questions that he’s asked, after all. The fact that he did manage 15, as well, meant that at least the show would not be decided until Mark’s GK round.
Kate returned to the chair. I can only judge by facial expression and tone of voice, but it did seem like a number of Kate’s correct answers were not certain, only guesses. What she did well was in most cases, to go for the obvious, or the only thing you can think of – so who sulked in his tent in the Iliad – well you know Achilles was a greek hero, so go for him. It’s a perfectly valid tactic, and together with the answers she did know for certain, she put on a good score of 12 points. Her total of 19 meant that she did lead the contest, even though this was only going to be for a couple more minutes.
Paul Radford started his round confidently enough, but the passes and wrong answers started to set in after the first half a minute. I can’t say that I thought his questions were particularly harder than the other rounds – my lowest score was 15 out of 19 on Kate’s set. On Paul’s I managed 18 from 20. Paul answered 9 correctly, which gave him a total of 21, Which at least meant that he , too , would be in the lead for at least another two minutes.
Chris got through more questions in his round, but unfortunately this was because nerves seemed to get the better of him, and he fell into a nasty pass spiral. I made it that he was asked 22 questions, of which I answered 18. He managed double figures by the end of the round, but the 8 passes told their own story, I’m afraid. He finished with 26, and took the lead himself. With only 9 needed for an outright win, it seemed highly likely that Mark would overtake him.
Mark started impressively. The thing about Mastermind is that you get into a rhythm. If you answer quickly, then John askes quickly, and you can really build up ahead of steam. Granted Mark didn’t maintain this cracking pace throughout the whole of the round, but he’d already won by the time he began to slow down. For the record I had my best performance on Mark’s round with 21 from 23 questions. Mark himself managed 14, a good score by anyone’s reckoning.
So well done ! A performance which suggests that , should he get an equally good run at the specialist round in his semi, Mark can certainly get to the final.
The Details
Now, Paul Radford gave us the Apollo space programme. This is a subject which I liked the look of. I was an impressionable 5 years old when I was woken in the middle of the night to get up and watch the Apollo 11 moon landing on TV, and so it’s been something I’ve always had a little bit of an interest in. I got 6 of these questions, and I don’t think you could claim that the average person might have got them through general knowledge in this case. These were pretty testing , I thought, and Paul did well to get his 12.
Mark Wyatt was answering on the Life and Music of Nick Drake. I can only apologise to his fans that I am afraid that I knew nothing about him. So at least the fact that I couldn’t get any of these questions right shows that it probably wasn’t a round padded out with GK questions masquerading as specialists. Mark’s 18 from 18 was as fine a perfect display as we’ve seen all series. Unless final contender Chris Forse could manage a high score, then the show as a contest was already over.
The Cold War – 1946 – 64 – was our final subject. I haven’t studied this period specially, and it’s over 30 years since I read about a lot of these things in O level history. I still managed 11. I know that this is going to add fuel to the fire about the debate which has gone on in some recent posts and comments about the use of GK questions in specialist rounds, but I have to say that I thought that this round was a lot more accessible to the home viewer with a decent GK than any of the others. For which I don’t blame Chris Forse at all. His 15 was a fine performance – he can only answer the questions that he’s asked, after all. The fact that he did manage 15, as well, meant that at least the show would not be decided until Mark’s GK round.
Kate returned to the chair. I can only judge by facial expression and tone of voice, but it did seem like a number of Kate’s correct answers were not certain, only guesses. What she did well was in most cases, to go for the obvious, or the only thing you can think of – so who sulked in his tent in the Iliad – well you know Achilles was a greek hero, so go for him. It’s a perfectly valid tactic, and together with the answers she did know for certain, she put on a good score of 12 points. Her total of 19 meant that she did lead the contest, even though this was only going to be for a couple more minutes.
Paul Radford started his round confidently enough, but the passes and wrong answers started to set in after the first half a minute. I can’t say that I thought his questions were particularly harder than the other rounds – my lowest score was 15 out of 19 on Kate’s set. On Paul’s I managed 18 from 20. Paul answered 9 correctly, which gave him a total of 21, Which at least meant that he , too , would be in the lead for at least another two minutes.
Chris got through more questions in his round, but unfortunately this was because nerves seemed to get the better of him, and he fell into a nasty pass spiral. I made it that he was asked 22 questions, of which I answered 18. He managed double figures by the end of the round, but the 8 passes told their own story, I’m afraid. He finished with 26, and took the lead himself. With only 9 needed for an outright win, it seemed highly likely that Mark would overtake him.
Mark started impressively. The thing about Mastermind is that you get into a rhythm. If you answer quickly, then John askes quickly, and you can really build up ahead of steam. Granted Mark didn’t maintain this cracking pace throughout the whole of the round, but he’d already won by the time he began to slow down. For the record I had my best performance on Mark’s round with 21 from 23 questions. Mark himself managed 14, a good score by anyone’s reckoning.
So well done ! A performance which suggests that , should he get an equally good run at the specialist round in his semi, Mark can certainly get to the final.
The Details
| Kate Foley | The Archers 1980 – Present Day | 7 - 4 | 12 - 2 | 19 – 6 |
| Paul Radford | The Apollo Space Programme | 12 - 4 | 9 - 5 | 21 – 9 |
| Mark Wyatt | Life and Music of Nick Drake | 18 - 0 | 13 - 3 | 31 – 3 |
| Chris Forse | The Cold War 1946 - 64 | 15 - 0 | 11 - 8 | 26 – 8 |
University Challenge - Quarter Final Match 4
The last two teams to kick off their quarter final campaigns were Clare and Homerton, both of Cambridge University. Clare, who narrowly defeated Worcester, Oxford in the first round, were represented by Kris Cao, Daniel Janes, Jonathan Foxwell, and captain Jonathan Burley.They hit absolutely top form in the second round against Leeds, breaking the 300 barrier. Stern opposition for Homerton, then. Their team consisted of Jack Euesden, Frances Connor, Thomas Grinyer and skipper David Murray. Homerton had a difficult route to the second round, having actually narrowly lost their first match. Still, they made no mistake in their play-off against the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Flexing their muscles they disposed of high scoring Durham in the second round.
Straightaway Jack Euesden took a flier at the first starter, and lost 5 . Neither team knew that the series of clues given were all pointing towards the word blue. Thomas Grinyer took the first of what would prove to be a very impressive haul of starters, when he knew that Fianna Fail were the party who were relegated to third in an election in the Republic of Ireland. A full set of bonuses followed on World War II. Daniel Janes lost five for Clare on the next starter, and it was Thomas Grinyer who identified the king being referred to in the question as Henry VII. 2 bonuses followed on words meaning very big. Daniel Janes made up for his earlier mistake by winning the buzzer race to explain that Einstein won his Nobel Prize for his work on the Photoelectric Effect. Only one bonus followed on contemporary reviews of performances by the actor Edmund Keane. Frances Conner took the next starter, identifying Rousseau as the swiss born author quoted. Another full set followed on scientific diagrams. A great UC special followed for the next starter, where anagrams of the titles of a set of books by a particular author were shown. Thomas Grinyer knew that Mame gives you Emma, and that’s Jane Austen. Lovely question. More of the same followed, and they managed one of them. So at the ten minute mark you could only think that Homerton had made a very impressive start. They were clearly winning the buzzer race, and taking a pretty good proportion of the bonuses too. They looked good value for their 80 – 10 lead over Clare, and if things continued like this, then a comfortable win looked on the cards.
Well, things didn’t continue quite like this. Skipper David Murray lost 5 with an early buzz on Home Thoughts from Abroad – the impressively quick Daniel Janes knew it was Robert Browning. Only one of a nice set of bonuses on countries names which may be permissible in scrabble if the spelling is changed – cypress for example. Jonathan Foxwell knew Lamarck, and for the first time Clare had taken two starters in a row. 1 bonus on orchestral conductors was taken. Thomas Grinyer, the most impressive of the Homerton buzzers , hit right back with a set of clues to the number 38 – a fine shout that. One bonus followe don scientific apparatus. My Moment Of The Week came when I identified a little bit of Orpheus in the Underworld by Offenbach, which neither team could manage. Jonathan Foxwell earned that set of bonuses by supplying the name of Vitruvius, and the team managed 2 bonuses on other works based on the Orpheus legend. Thomas Grinyer was unlucky with his next buzz. He offered what sounded like ‘Blunty’ instead of Blighty – but could just have been a slight mispronunciation. Well, JP was having none of it, and 5 points were lost. Neither team got one of those If A is 1 and B is 2 – then what comes next in the sequence ? questions. All I can tell you is that it worked out to be a Fibonacci sequence. David Murray steadied the Homerton ship with the answer of satire for the next starter bringing a couple of bonuses on 17th century generals with it. However Thomas Grinyer again buzzed too early on provinces of Poland, allowing Chris Cao in. A tricky set on artists proved elusive, but nonetheless it had been a good ten minutes for Clare , who had narrowed Homerton’s lead, with the score now at 100 – 70.
Chris Cao made it two starters in a row when he knew that the roman numerals for 501 are an anagram for id. 2 bonuses on Victorian Clergymen were accessible to the team. The second picture starter showed paintings of two historical figures, and the teams had to identify their eldest son. Clare chanced their arm incorrectly, but Thomas Grinyer, back firing on all cylinders, supplied Louis XIV to earn more of the same. They took one of these bonuses. Daniel Janes recognised Recife and Belo Horizonte amongst others as cities in Brazil. With a full set of bonuses on chromosomes the teams were now level. What a good match this was. Daniel Janes took the next starter as well, on a set of people whose initials were G.G. – Gunter Grass being one of them . 2 bonuses followe don Lancaster. Neither team knew that the USA have hosted the Winter Olympics on the most occasions. Thomas Grinyer, again won the race to supply the answer of CAMRA to the next starter. They wanted a full set of bonuses, but could only take one on Booker prize winning novels and locations mentioned in their first sentences. I loved the way that Daniel Janes was so determined to win the buzzer race for the next starter that he almost thumped it through the table to answer the next. It worked, for he recognised a quote on Washington DC. 2 bonuses on chemistry looked a useful return at this stage of the game. Yet again Thomas Grinyer seemed incredibly quick with his buzz to answer that there are 91 days in the first three months of a leap year. 2 bonuses followed on welsh food – they missed bara brith, which is absolutely delicious by the way . There was still nothing in it. Poor Jack Euesden leapt in too quickly for the next starter and lost five, but Clare didn’t know that plasmodium is transferred by the bite of the female anopheles mosquito. I did. I won’t exactly say I did a lap of honour around the sofa at this point, but I don’t know if I’ve ever got a science starter that neither team knew before. How long was left ? It couldn’t be much, but Chris Cao snatched the next starter on Sikhism, and this was enough. At the gong, Clare had shaded a great contest by 170 to 145.
On reflection, I think that Clare probably deserved the win , if for no other reason that their main buzzer – Daniel Janes, had good support from Jonathan Foxwell and Cao, who made good buzzes at significant points of the match. Although all of the Homerton team buzzed in at one point or another, for them it really was all about Thomas Grinyer in this match.
Jeremy Paxman Watch
I didn’t expect a lot . JP is a Cambridge man himself, and I expected him to be rather more benign than usual with both. He was firm but fair with the Papua New Guinea/ Guinea answer. There was just one classic JP moment, though. When pressing one of the teams –
“Can we have an answer now please ? “ his request was met by silence.
“You never listen to me !” he responded, in the tone of a neglected spouse. Great.
Interesting Fact Of The Week That I Didn’t Already Know
The angle at which snow is most prone to avalanche is 38 degrees.
Straightaway Jack Euesden took a flier at the first starter, and lost 5 . Neither team knew that the series of clues given were all pointing towards the word blue. Thomas Grinyer took the first of what would prove to be a very impressive haul of starters, when he knew that Fianna Fail were the party who were relegated to third in an election in the Republic of Ireland. A full set of bonuses followed on World War II. Daniel Janes lost five for Clare on the next starter, and it was Thomas Grinyer who identified the king being referred to in the question as Henry VII. 2 bonuses followed on words meaning very big. Daniel Janes made up for his earlier mistake by winning the buzzer race to explain that Einstein won his Nobel Prize for his work on the Photoelectric Effect. Only one bonus followed on contemporary reviews of performances by the actor Edmund Keane. Frances Conner took the next starter, identifying Rousseau as the swiss born author quoted. Another full set followed on scientific diagrams. A great UC special followed for the next starter, where anagrams of the titles of a set of books by a particular author were shown. Thomas Grinyer knew that Mame gives you Emma, and that’s Jane Austen. Lovely question. More of the same followed, and they managed one of them. So at the ten minute mark you could only think that Homerton had made a very impressive start. They were clearly winning the buzzer race, and taking a pretty good proportion of the bonuses too. They looked good value for their 80 – 10 lead over Clare, and if things continued like this, then a comfortable win looked on the cards.
Well, things didn’t continue quite like this. Skipper David Murray lost 5 with an early buzz on Home Thoughts from Abroad – the impressively quick Daniel Janes knew it was Robert Browning. Only one of a nice set of bonuses on countries names which may be permissible in scrabble if the spelling is changed – cypress for example. Jonathan Foxwell knew Lamarck, and for the first time Clare had taken two starters in a row. 1 bonus on orchestral conductors was taken. Thomas Grinyer, the most impressive of the Homerton buzzers , hit right back with a set of clues to the number 38 – a fine shout that. One bonus followe don scientific apparatus. My Moment Of The Week came when I identified a little bit of Orpheus in the Underworld by Offenbach, which neither team could manage. Jonathan Foxwell earned that set of bonuses by supplying the name of Vitruvius, and the team managed 2 bonuses on other works based on the Orpheus legend. Thomas Grinyer was unlucky with his next buzz. He offered what sounded like ‘Blunty’ instead of Blighty – but could just have been a slight mispronunciation. Well, JP was having none of it, and 5 points were lost. Neither team got one of those If A is 1 and B is 2 – then what comes next in the sequence ? questions. All I can tell you is that it worked out to be a Fibonacci sequence. David Murray steadied the Homerton ship with the answer of satire for the next starter bringing a couple of bonuses on 17th century generals with it. However Thomas Grinyer again buzzed too early on provinces of Poland, allowing Chris Cao in. A tricky set on artists proved elusive, but nonetheless it had been a good ten minutes for Clare , who had narrowed Homerton’s lead, with the score now at 100 – 70.
Chris Cao made it two starters in a row when he knew that the roman numerals for 501 are an anagram for id. 2 bonuses on Victorian Clergymen were accessible to the team. The second picture starter showed paintings of two historical figures, and the teams had to identify their eldest son. Clare chanced their arm incorrectly, but Thomas Grinyer, back firing on all cylinders, supplied Louis XIV to earn more of the same. They took one of these bonuses. Daniel Janes recognised Recife and Belo Horizonte amongst others as cities in Brazil. With a full set of bonuses on chromosomes the teams were now level. What a good match this was. Daniel Janes took the next starter as well, on a set of people whose initials were G.G. – Gunter Grass being one of them . 2 bonuses followe don Lancaster. Neither team knew that the USA have hosted the Winter Olympics on the most occasions. Thomas Grinyer, again won the race to supply the answer of CAMRA to the next starter. They wanted a full set of bonuses, but could only take one on Booker prize winning novels and locations mentioned in their first sentences. I loved the way that Daniel Janes was so determined to win the buzzer race for the next starter that he almost thumped it through the table to answer the next. It worked, for he recognised a quote on Washington DC. 2 bonuses on chemistry looked a useful return at this stage of the game. Yet again Thomas Grinyer seemed incredibly quick with his buzz to answer that there are 91 days in the first three months of a leap year. 2 bonuses followed on welsh food – they missed bara brith, which is absolutely delicious by the way . There was still nothing in it. Poor Jack Euesden leapt in too quickly for the next starter and lost five, but Clare didn’t know that plasmodium is transferred by the bite of the female anopheles mosquito. I did. I won’t exactly say I did a lap of honour around the sofa at this point, but I don’t know if I’ve ever got a science starter that neither team knew before. How long was left ? It couldn’t be much, but Chris Cao snatched the next starter on Sikhism, and this was enough. At the gong, Clare had shaded a great contest by 170 to 145.
On reflection, I think that Clare probably deserved the win , if for no other reason that their main buzzer – Daniel Janes, had good support from Jonathan Foxwell and Cao, who made good buzzes at significant points of the match. Although all of the Homerton team buzzed in at one point or another, for them it really was all about Thomas Grinyer in this match.
Jeremy Paxman Watch
I didn’t expect a lot . JP is a Cambridge man himself, and I expected him to be rather more benign than usual with both. He was firm but fair with the Papua New Guinea/ Guinea answer. There was just one classic JP moment, though. When pressing one of the teams –
“Can we have an answer now please ? “ his request was met by silence.
“You never listen to me !” he responded, in the tone of a neglected spouse. Great.
Interesting Fact Of The Week That I Didn’t Already Know
The angle at which snow is most prone to avalanche is 38 degrees.
Brain of Britain - Round One - Heat 10
Where else should I begin this week’s round up, than with Brain of Britain ? Monday saw the appearance of our own Brian Pendreigh. Brian was also a member of The Tramlines, who defeated the Eggheads on Monday evening. Yes, you wait months for another Brian Pendreigh show to come along, and then two come along at once. On a much more serious note, I would like to extend my condolences to the family and friends of Max Thomson, of The Tramlines, who passed away this week. I never met Max myself, but everyone who did has commented on his skill and enthusiasm as a quizzer, and made a point of saying what a nice person he was.
Moving back to BoB then, Brian was alphabetically third on the list for the show. Roman Dubowski kicked off. He whacked in his first two, and then missed out on the margay – a type of wildcat. Tricky one that, and nobody took a bonus. Brendan O’Connor took his first, but didn’t know that peg and baulk line are terms in croquet. Brian took his own first, but then got a nasty one on trees. I didn’t know that the genus franginus are ash trees, but Roman did. Bringing the round to a close Stever Terry took his first , but didn’t know that Fig Sunday was Palm Sunday. I guess that there was a buzzer race for the bonus, and it was won by Roman – who led with 4 from Brian’s 2. So from the first round we lear5ned that Brian had some serious opposition, and all four of the contestants had answered at least one good question – which is something we haven’t been able to say in every heat this year. Roman again whacked in two answers, but failed on the Sabin vaccine. Again, nobody could take a bonus on the one he dropped. Brendan took his own first, then Brian got caught out with one which he later told me he knew he should have had. Which is the only substance which has a different name for each of it’s forms – solid – liquid – gas. The answer is water, and it gave a bonus to Roman – who looked sharpest on the buzzer at this stage. Steve took a good couple, but missed out on finnock. Brian nearly had a bonus, identifying it as a fish, but not being able to supply sea trout he was denied. Round three saw Roman, who had been eating up the bonuses up to this point, miss out on his own first. He gave Brian a bonus, when Brian knew that Nude Descending a Staircase was by Marcel Duchamp. Brendan took his own first, but gave a music bonus to Roman. Brian took his first, but missed out on martyr John Fisher, and this one was a bonus for Brendan. Finally Steve Terry couldn’t get the Klein Bottle – another bonus to Roman. It was the end of Round Three, and already Roman looked good for the semis having made 10 points before the Beat The Brains interval.
Well, if Roman looked good for the win before round four, he looked a cast iron certainty after it. Five in a row , and a huge lead. Brendan didn’t know that the welsh rider who took a bronze medal in the 1960 Rome Olympics was David Broome – Steve Terry had that one. Brian missed out on Gulliver being the famous passenger on the Antelope- and this one was taken by Roman. Steve Terry didn’t know that Mary Queen of Scots was born in Linlithgow Palace, and this went to Brian. So at this point Brian led the other 2 by 5 to 4 each, but Roman was gone, with 17.
The questions for the Beat the Brains Interval were supplied by former champion Leslie Duncalf . The first – Planet Earth is sometime described as an oblate spheroid – what is the corresponding term for a reverse planet was ungettable for the brains, and also for me at home. It is a prolate spheroid. Whatever you say. For the second - In George Orwell’s 1984 three slogans are written on the Ministry of Truth – 2 were given – what was the third ? Ignorance is strength was the answer, and no, I didn’t know it either.
As for the contest, Roman missed on his own first question, which allowed Brendan in. Brendan took a couple of his own, but inevitably it was Roman who took a bonus on the Bruce clan. Brain missed out on a question on goitre, which gave Steve a bonus. Steve hadn’t had the benefit of seeing last week’s Crossworder’s v. Masterminders Only Connect when the show was recorded, otherwise he’d probably have known that the people of Snotta gave their name to Nottingham. As it was Brendan nipped in for the bonus. Which put him clearly into second with 8, and maybe just gave him the hint of a chance of a run for a repechage place. Roman, possibly in cruise control at this stage, didn’t know the singer Noel Harrison. Steve snapped that one up, thank you very much. Brendan took his first, but Roman nipped in for a bonus. Brian took his first, but his second was the only question I answered which none of the Brains could answer in the show – knowing that another name for a halo in art is a nimbus. Steve Terry missed out on Gorky, and the indefatigable Roman nipped in for it.
Only two rounds remained. Roman took his first, but didn’t know that Willie John McBride was actually christened William James McBride. Steve Terry had that bonus. Brendan took a good three, but I was a bit surprised that he missed out on the chestnutty zygomatic bone – the cheek bone. Roman made no mistake. Brian got an absolutely horrible question about the highest mountain on the border between Macedonia and Albania – unsurprisingly nobody had it. Steve missed out on his own first , and going into the last round, Roman had 24, Brendan had a chance at a repechage place with 12, Steve had 7, and Brian 6. It wasn’t a very high scoring round. Roman , his job well and truly done, took one, but missed out on Richard Rieti. Brendan didn’t know that the cuckoo pint is also called Lords and Ladies. Brian didn’t get that the vacuum cleaner was invented by Mr. Booth – he again knew the answer, but it just didn’t come on the day. Steve took that to cement third place. He missed his own, not knowing that Procyon is the brightest star in Canis Minor. Inevitably it was Roman who took the bonus.
So very well done, Roman Dubowski. He impressed me a s a competitor who certainly has a good chance of contesting the final. If nothing else his buzzer speed will always give him a good chance – Brian himself told me that he felt on several occasions that he must have buzzed more quickly than anyone else, only to find that Roman had beaten him to it.
As for Brian – well, Brian has nothing to prove to anyone. He is an Eggheads winner, a Postcode Challenge winner, and a Mastermind semi finalist who set a massive score in the first round last series. Sometimes on a quiz show things just run against you. It happens to most of us at one time or another. Don’t let it get you down.
The Details
Roman Dubowski – 24
Brendan O’Connor – 12
Brian Pendreigh – 6
Steve Terry - 8
Moving back to BoB then, Brian was alphabetically third on the list for the show. Roman Dubowski kicked off. He whacked in his first two, and then missed out on the margay – a type of wildcat. Tricky one that, and nobody took a bonus. Brendan O’Connor took his first, but didn’t know that peg and baulk line are terms in croquet. Brian took his own first, but then got a nasty one on trees. I didn’t know that the genus franginus are ash trees, but Roman did. Bringing the round to a close Stever Terry took his first , but didn’t know that Fig Sunday was Palm Sunday. I guess that there was a buzzer race for the bonus, and it was won by Roman – who led with 4 from Brian’s 2. So from the first round we lear5ned that Brian had some serious opposition, and all four of the contestants had answered at least one good question – which is something we haven’t been able to say in every heat this year. Roman again whacked in two answers, but failed on the Sabin vaccine. Again, nobody could take a bonus on the one he dropped. Brendan took his own first, then Brian got caught out with one which he later told me he knew he should have had. Which is the only substance which has a different name for each of it’s forms – solid – liquid – gas. The answer is water, and it gave a bonus to Roman – who looked sharpest on the buzzer at this stage. Steve took a good couple, but missed out on finnock. Brian nearly had a bonus, identifying it as a fish, but not being able to supply sea trout he was denied. Round three saw Roman, who had been eating up the bonuses up to this point, miss out on his own first. He gave Brian a bonus, when Brian knew that Nude Descending a Staircase was by Marcel Duchamp. Brendan took his own first, but gave a music bonus to Roman. Brian took his first, but missed out on martyr John Fisher, and this one was a bonus for Brendan. Finally Steve Terry couldn’t get the Klein Bottle – another bonus to Roman. It was the end of Round Three, and already Roman looked good for the semis having made 10 points before the Beat The Brains interval.
Well, if Roman looked good for the win before round four, he looked a cast iron certainty after it. Five in a row , and a huge lead. Brendan didn’t know that the welsh rider who took a bronze medal in the 1960 Rome Olympics was David Broome – Steve Terry had that one. Brian missed out on Gulliver being the famous passenger on the Antelope- and this one was taken by Roman. Steve Terry didn’t know that Mary Queen of Scots was born in Linlithgow Palace, and this went to Brian. So at this point Brian led the other 2 by 5 to 4 each, but Roman was gone, with 17.
The questions for the Beat the Brains Interval were supplied by former champion Leslie Duncalf . The first – Planet Earth is sometime described as an oblate spheroid – what is the corresponding term for a reverse planet was ungettable for the brains, and also for me at home. It is a prolate spheroid. Whatever you say. For the second - In George Orwell’s 1984 three slogans are written on the Ministry of Truth – 2 were given – what was the third ? Ignorance is strength was the answer, and no, I didn’t know it either.
As for the contest, Roman missed on his own first question, which allowed Brendan in. Brendan took a couple of his own, but inevitably it was Roman who took a bonus on the Bruce clan. Brain missed out on a question on goitre, which gave Steve a bonus. Steve hadn’t had the benefit of seeing last week’s Crossworder’s v. Masterminders Only Connect when the show was recorded, otherwise he’d probably have known that the people of Snotta gave their name to Nottingham. As it was Brendan nipped in for the bonus. Which put him clearly into second with 8, and maybe just gave him the hint of a chance of a run for a repechage place. Roman, possibly in cruise control at this stage, didn’t know the singer Noel Harrison. Steve snapped that one up, thank you very much. Brendan took his first, but Roman nipped in for a bonus. Brian took his first, but his second was the only question I answered which none of the Brains could answer in the show – knowing that another name for a halo in art is a nimbus. Steve Terry missed out on Gorky, and the indefatigable Roman nipped in for it.
Only two rounds remained. Roman took his first, but didn’t know that Willie John McBride was actually christened William James McBride. Steve Terry had that bonus. Brendan took a good three, but I was a bit surprised that he missed out on the chestnutty zygomatic bone – the cheek bone. Roman made no mistake. Brian got an absolutely horrible question about the highest mountain on the border between Macedonia and Albania – unsurprisingly nobody had it. Steve missed out on his own first , and going into the last round, Roman had 24, Brendan had a chance at a repechage place with 12, Steve had 7, and Brian 6. It wasn’t a very high scoring round. Roman , his job well and truly done, took one, but missed out on Richard Rieti. Brendan didn’t know that the cuckoo pint is also called Lords and Ladies. Brian didn’t get that the vacuum cleaner was invented by Mr. Booth – he again knew the answer, but it just didn’t come on the day. Steve took that to cement third place. He missed his own, not knowing that Procyon is the brightest star in Canis Minor. Inevitably it was Roman who took the bonus.
So very well done, Roman Dubowski. He impressed me a s a competitor who certainly has a good chance of contesting the final. If nothing else his buzzer speed will always give him a good chance – Brian himself told me that he felt on several occasions that he must have buzzed more quickly than anyone else, only to find that Roman had beaten him to it.
As for Brian – well, Brian has nothing to prove to anyone. He is an Eggheads winner, a Postcode Challenge winner, and a Mastermind semi finalist who set a massive score in the first round last series. Sometimes on a quiz show things just run against you. It happens to most of us at one time or another. Don’t let it get you down.
The Details
Roman Dubowski – 24
Brendan O’Connor – 12
Brian Pendreigh – 6
Steve Terry - 8
In the News Questions
Here we are – it’s back – the weekly trawl of the news. Answers in a week or so – email me if you can’t wait.
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news ?
1. Francesco Schettino
2. Jon Huntsman
3. Yousuf Gilani
4. Carole Kolar
5. John Burnside
6. Tom Harris
7. Mildred Pierce
8. Abu Qatada
9. Kerry-Jo Te Huia
10. Saeed Ajmal
11. Kim Jong Nam
12. Boris Island
13. Rande Gerber
14. Elly Nowell
15. Godshifteh Farahani
16. Rick Perry
17. Dominica Cemorton
18. Beck Laxton
19. Brian Shivers
20. Gary Streeter
21. Pseudomonas
22. PressTV
In Other News
1. The ferry Costa Concordia was wrecked just off which island ?
2. Which website underwent a voluntary blackout in protest against the anti piracy bill ?
3. On which day did Muhammad Ali turn 70 ?
4. Why has a new species of horsefly been named after Beyonce ?
5. Which car has been recalled due to fire hazard ?
6. Who won an apology from The Sun which wrongly claimed that he had groped a shop girl ?
7. How many of the 6 British singles players lost on the first day of the Australian Open ?
8. Which MP was wrongly accused of leaking Michael Gove’s letter concerning the possibility of a new royal yacht ?
9. Which of the Edinburgh pandas suffered from a bout of colic last week ?
10. Bruno Senna has joined which F1 team ?
11. A vaccine has been developed for the B strain of which disease ?
12. BBC have refused to apologise for Top Gear offending which country ?
13. Who was nominated as the BAFTA Best Actor for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy ?
14. Which two coins are to be made slightly thicker ?
15. In new rules what have been banned form the Royal Enclosure at Ascot ?
16. Which National Park announced that it will be introducing parking charges ?
17. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s next talent searching TV series will be on ITV, and it will seek a star for which musical ?
18. Doubts were raised last week over the effectiveness of which drug ?
19. Which country last week saw it’s urban population exceed its rural population for the first time ever ?
20. Which are the three brands most highly rated by British consumers ?
21. It was revealed that last year London police spend £35,000 on what ?
22. Which respected broadcaster was told that she was ‘too posh’ for the BBC ?
23. Who is the only British player in the UEFA Team of 2011 ?
24. Which large US company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy ?
25. Which player has made a surprise return to the Welsh rugby squad for the 6 Nations ?
26. Which England player looks set to quit Northampton Saints RFC ?
27. How many hacking lawsuits were settled by News International last week ?
28. Who announced that he will be making an album about the Titanic ?
29. 2nd class stamps will be rising to which price ?
30. Who is Britain’s new unofficial trade envoy ?
31. Which TV series has been accused of damaging Ilkley Moor ?
32. Which singer died aged 73 ?
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news ?
1. Francesco Schettino
2. Jon Huntsman
3. Yousuf Gilani
4. Carole Kolar
5. John Burnside
6. Tom Harris
7. Mildred Pierce
8. Abu Qatada
9. Kerry-Jo Te Huia
10. Saeed Ajmal
11. Kim Jong Nam
12. Boris Island
13. Rande Gerber
14. Elly Nowell
15. Godshifteh Farahani
16. Rick Perry
17. Dominica Cemorton
18. Beck Laxton
19. Brian Shivers
20. Gary Streeter
21. Pseudomonas
22. PressTV
In Other News
1. The ferry Costa Concordia was wrecked just off which island ?
2. Which website underwent a voluntary blackout in protest against the anti piracy bill ?
3. On which day did Muhammad Ali turn 70 ?
4. Why has a new species of horsefly been named after Beyonce ?
5. Which car has been recalled due to fire hazard ?
6. Who won an apology from The Sun which wrongly claimed that he had groped a shop girl ?
7. How many of the 6 British singles players lost on the first day of the Australian Open ?
8. Which MP was wrongly accused of leaking Michael Gove’s letter concerning the possibility of a new royal yacht ?
9. Which of the Edinburgh pandas suffered from a bout of colic last week ?
10. Bruno Senna has joined which F1 team ?
11. A vaccine has been developed for the B strain of which disease ?
12. BBC have refused to apologise for Top Gear offending which country ?
13. Who was nominated as the BAFTA Best Actor for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy ?
14. Which two coins are to be made slightly thicker ?
15. In new rules what have been banned form the Royal Enclosure at Ascot ?
16. Which National Park announced that it will be introducing parking charges ?
17. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s next talent searching TV series will be on ITV, and it will seek a star for which musical ?
18. Doubts were raised last week over the effectiveness of which drug ?
19. Which country last week saw it’s urban population exceed its rural population for the first time ever ?
20. Which are the three brands most highly rated by British consumers ?
21. It was revealed that last year London police spend £35,000 on what ?
22. Which respected broadcaster was told that she was ‘too posh’ for the BBC ?
23. Who is the only British player in the UEFA Team of 2011 ?
24. Which large US company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy ?
25. Which player has made a surprise return to the Welsh rugby squad for the 6 Nations ?
26. Which England player looks set to quit Northampton Saints RFC ?
27. How many hacking lawsuits were settled by News International last week ?
28. Who announced that he will be making an album about the Titanic ?
29. 2nd class stamps will be rising to which price ?
30. Who is Britain’s new unofficial trade envoy ?
31. Which TV series has been accused of damaging Ilkley Moor ?
32. Which singer died aged 73 ?
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