Only Connect - Round One - Match 8

Rock and Rollers v. Trade Unionists

Well, I think I’m right in saying that this was probably the last match of the first round. Up tonight were the Rock and Rollers, consisting of David Paul, Kirsty Johnson, and captain Paul Johnson. The Trade Unionists, their opposition, are friends of LAM regular, and OC 3 semi finalist Andrew Bull. They are Colin Whorlow, Nick Atty, and captain James Hastie. Andrew’s revelation was enough to earn them support from the Clark sofa – were they enough of a team to beat it, though ?

Round One – What’s the Connection ?

The Rollers kicked off with horned viper. Usedom didn’t mean a lot to me, I confess. However when New Guinea came up I put two and two together. I turned to my daughter Zara and explained that it meant the whole island , which was why it said “New Guinea” and not “Papua New Guinea. “ She told me to shut up and stop showing off. Charming. Well, my suspicions were confirmed when Hispaniola turned up next, and I earned even more opprobrium from Zara for correctly predicting that Ireland would come next. The Rollers took all 4 clues to be certain, but they knew that these were all islands with parts of two countries. The TUs took water, not literally, and found biography – world affairs – drama – general fiction. Neither team could quite work it out. I was doing a lap of honour round the living room at this stage, having gambled that these were penguin book classifications. The key was the colour of the words. The Rollers found a terrific set behind twisted flax. Isabelle Dinoire preceded Tycho Brahe – which gave the clue – then The Maid in The Garden – then the Sphinx. The Rollers knew that these all lost their noses. Tycho Brahe had a silver one, I think. Gave him something to talk about at parties, I suppose. The TUs found music behind two reeds, and quickly worked out that they all had years in them – 1812, 1973, 63 etc. The rollers went too specific with vector – dynamic ribbon – swoosh and golden arches. They weren’t sportswear lgos – not all of them – just very well known corporate logos. Sometimes you’re better off taking all 4 clues to get the point. The TUs finished the round with pictures of antlers, ration books, and railway points, and knew well that all of these have points.
At the end of the round the TUs had a curse-defying 4 to the Rollers’ 2

Round Two – What Comes Fourth ?

Rollers found what looked easy behind water. Five alive, followed by ten again. Too easy , as it happened. Both teams were on the right lines, but neither got the fact that it was supposed to be the two rhyming words from the nursery rhyme , which would lead to Go – So, and finally Bite – Right. TUs got a gentle shout with Nock – Fletch – Shaft, and knew that the next would be head, or arrowhead. A tricky set of pictures lurked behind two reeds for the Rollers. Ralph Little – a diamond ring and a piano key proved too tricky for both teams. The key was Middle C – which gave you little finger – ring finger etc. So the answer needed was index. TUs kept their nerve with the next , and given system – organ – tissue , realized that these are all biological sub-divisions ( or something like that )and gave the right answer – cell. The Eye of Horus stumped both teams, with Columbia – Challenger – Discovery. Well, you either knew the names of the 5 shuttles, or you didn’t. If you did, then you’d have a fifty fifty between Endeavour and Atlantis. It was Atlantis – the last to make its maiden flight. A smashing set waited behind Lion for the TUS – 3:Man – 4:Protocol was enough, and the TUs had it. These were film titles, so we wanted a film with the word Sixth in the title – the Sixth Sense fitting the bill very well. An unlucky round for the Rollers, but a great round for the TUs, who now led by 11 to 2.

Round Three – The Connecting Walls

The TUs took the Water wall, and unraveled all 4 sets. They knew that Blue – Marsh – Willow and Bearded are all tits. Except that, as Victoria explained, the Bearded Tit isn’t – a tit , that is. Fair enough. Alexander – Wesley – Watts and Newton they did uncover, but for the wrong reason. They were not all christened Isaac, but they all were hymn writers. Krakow – Tara – Scone and Reims had two acceptable answers – either that they were all former capitals – or all places where coronations used to happen. Finally the team knew that Buffy – Liz – Elspeth and Betty are all alternatives to the name Elizabeth.

So there was just a tiny hope for the Rollers that they could close a little of the gap. They didn’t know this at the time , of course. They uncovered two sets – Packet – Ship – Engine and Iron, all being linked by steam, and Boot , Jonathan, James and Owens, all being famous people called Jesse. What, no Honey ? Top hat – Gel – Barn Door and Gobo foxed me every bit as much as it stumped the Rollers. They are all theatrical lights. Finally Cattle – Car – Golf Ball and Stake, all of which can be driven. So the round had at least improved their score to 6, but the TUs were well ahead in the distance on 18.

Round Four – Missing Vowels

The TUs showed a real touch of class in this last round. They took three of the first set, food named after places, to none for the Rollers. They took three on bodily fluids, and three on things collected in Blue Peter Appeals, although the Rollers also managed one in both of these and also in the final category , Major League Baseball teams. The TUs took two of these, and by the end had compiled a fine score , with 29 to 9 for the Rollers.

Well played Trade Unionists. It’s a pleasure to see a team take the curse by the scruff of the neck, throw it contemptuously to the floor, and grind it into the dust. Hard lines Rollers. A tough round two has been the graveyard of teams in the past, and that really was for me the story tonight.