University Challenge Eilmination Qualification Match - Reading v. St. John's , Cambridge

The Teams

Reading

Sylvian Jesudoss

Margaret Ounsley

Michael Hutchinson (capt.)

Kira Bishop

St. John’s, Cambridge

Thomas Clark

Louis George

Jonathan Chan (capt.)

Kyanna Ouyang

Howdy there pardners, and thanks for joining me here in the last chance saloon. Incidentally, Jeremy P. called it that in his own introduction. Hmm, we might have a copyright issue here. Is he, by any chance, a closet LAM reader? I’d like to think so. So here we had two teams that I’ve enjoyed watching this year, and I was going to be sorry to see one of them go. Difficult to pick a winner here. Reading had Michael Hutchinson, one of the best buzzers in this series, whose buzzing has really impressed when he’s been on song. Would he be the winning difference between the teams?

Well, it was certainly in evidence with the first starter. We were both in very early to take the adjective ‘white’ from Jack London’s Fang of that ilk. Bonuses linked by the name Eustace brought two correct answers. Michael Hutchinson took his double by buzzing in to identify serendipity as a word coined by Walpole. Incidentally, when the Reading skipper announced at the start that he’s just finished his PGCE and become a teacher I was moved to shout “DON’T DO IT!” at the screen – but then when people said as much to me in 1987 I ignored them too. See where that got me. With the plant bonuses that followed I was tempted to take a lap of honour for knowing angiosperm but spurned it on the off chance I might get something physicsy or chemistry-y later. Then I got cotyledon and thought- bugger it- and set off. Reading took a full house on that set. Sylvian Jesudoss just didn’t quite get the whole of the next question, and lost  by answering Buddhism instead of Buddha, when he clearly knew that correct answer. This allowed in Louis George to open the account for St. John’s. German terms in academic discussion didn’t exactly sound full of eastern promise as a set of bonuses brought 10 points. Neither team picked up the starter defining the very similar words palpitation and palpation. Michel Hutchinson did exactly what I did with the next starter. Being asked for a mountain which shares its name with the country in which it is located we both leapt in with Mount Kenya. No, no no. The rest of the question identified it as a volcano in West Africa. Nobody knew Mount Cameroon. Doubtless Margaret Ounsley recalled Keats’ “Ode to a Nightingale” which begins “My heart aches/and a drowsy numbness pains my sense as though of hemlock I had drunk- “ as she correctly identified hemlock. None of us could do anything with some chemical stuff about DNA and what have you – stop me if I’m getting too technical. Just approaching the ten minute mark, the score stood at Reading 45 - St. John’s 20.

Nobody knew the Great Basin of America’s south west for the picture starter. Now, I’m sorry to brag, but when asked for the SI units of resistance, capacitance and inductance, neither team managed my answer of Ohm, Farad and Henry. Now, theoretically I’m against taking two laps of honour in one show, but I’m afraid that nothing less for me would do. Margaret Ounsley knew that Chipping in English place names means market. This earned the picture bonuses, and Reading identified two out of three more basins. The nest starter asked for the last alphabetically of the first magnitude stars, and Michael Hutchinson took a punt with Vega. Paris of films, where the last letters of the title of the first are the first letters of the title of the second brought a timely full house to put Reading within touching distance of the triple figure barrier. Neither team knew Miyamoto for the next starter. Thomas Clark took a punt that a list of novels including Vernon God Little (possibly my least favourite Booker winner) were all set in Texas. The painter Gentileschi provided them with one bonus. The music starter followed, but neither team recognised the work of the man with the ever expanding cheeks, Dizzy Gillespie. Margaret Ounsley knew that the art installation Speedwell marking the 400^th anniversary of the Voyage of the Mayflower took place in Plymouth, which earned the jazz bonuses, three more contrafacts – gesundheit – of I Got Rhythm. No more points accrued. That man Hutchinson, playing his customary captain’s innings, buzzed in with the information that it was Murray Gell-Mann who introduced the term strangeness into physics. Horrible maths bonuses sprinkled liberally with xs and equalses and other gibberish did nowt for me. They did nothing for Reading either, other than run down the clock, since it was past the 20 minute mark now, and they led by 105-35.

Redemption was still theoretically possible for St. John’s, but they needed buzzes and they needed them now. Skipper Jonathan Chan provided one, knowing or correctly guessing that the Kemijoki is the longest river of Finland. Words from James Mill’s glossary of terms used in British India in the early 19^th century brought just the one bonus, although the two that were wrong were both plausible. Michael Hutchinson won the buzzer race to answer the next starter, the sculptor Oldenburg. It was hard work for them, but Reading managed a full house on diaries and diarists. For the second picture starter Jonathan Chan recognised the work of Titian. Three other depictions of the myth of Callisto brought a well earned ten points. Thomas Clark was in early for the next starter, but sadly just didn’t connect Eos and Aurora with the dawn. Margaret Ounsley did. Questions about Russian history to which the answers began with P provided two correct answers, and extinguished St. John’s faint hopes. Some nonsense about logarithms followed, but nobody knew the answer which was 2.5. Yawn. Jonathan Chan identified several varieties of kale for the next starter. That was as far as we could go though, since the gong duly gonged before the completion of the first bonus.

Reading won by 145 to 70, and deserved to go through to the semis. Bad luck St. John’s, but as I said earlier, you have been a pleasure to watch.

Interesting Fact That I Didn’t Already Know Of The Week

The Kemijoki is the longest river of Finland.