University Challenge - First Round - Newnham, Cambridge v. Courtauld Institute of Art

The Teams

Newnham, Cambridge

Bethan Holloway-Strong

Hannah Bowen

Roma Ellis (Capt)

Chen Zhou

Courtauld Institute of Art

Oliver White

Alice Dodds

Ryan McMeekin (Capt.)

Lizzie Mackarel

Hello, and welcome to the review of the first Monday UC for some time. Getting serious now folks – JP made a point of telling both teams that 135 was the magic number to guarantee a repechage slot. Mind you, it always makes more sense to win the show if you can.

The first question asked which queen is commemorated by statues, and gave two locations. Colchester screamed out Boudicca to me, and to Lizzie Mackarel as well. I’m pretty sure that Lizzie is a Masterminder, having played in a first round heat which screened as recently as February of this year. Bonuses on the Voyager 1 spacecraft brought 2 correct answers. I did consider taking a lap of honour for knowing Carl Sagan but decided to let it ride. The next starter was about one of my favourite TV shows of last year – Squid Game. Ryan McMeekin took that one. Places associated with Catherine of Aragon yielded just the one correct answer on what was a pretty gettable set. Various clues pointed captain Roma Ellis to the word neutral for the next starter. This earned a good UC special set of pairs of words whereby adding a letter c to the first gave you the second. Newnham managed an ouple - sorry, a couple – again I thought they might have had all three of them. The picture starter showed a national flag of the only country whose name can be answered with ‘it’s up the stairs and second on the left’. Tuvalu? Ouch. Even the late Ted Rodgers would have given that one a wide berth. Ryan McMeekin recognised that one. Now, I usually likes me flag bonuses, but I’m better on countries than subnational entities, so I only managed the Isle of Wight, as did Courtauld. Roma Ellis won the buzzer race to say that James Lind used oranges and lemons to prevent scurvy. Science bonuses brought 1 correct answer to Newnham, and a lap of honour for me. I knew that Avogadro’s Constant – which I have only ever heard of on this very show – would come in handy one of these days. So after a pretty bright and brisk opening 10 minutes, the score stood at 35 -50.

Another flags starter saw Bethan Holloway-Strong identify the eagle as the creature featured on given flags. Bonuses on paintings featuring children brought 10 more points and the lead to Newnham. So, following bonuses on paintings on painters we had a starter on a painter. Hmm – that’s a bit of a coincidence bearing in mind that the Courtauld were one of the teams, don’tcha think? Alice Dodds recognised a reference to Camille Pissaro. This won a set of bonuses on US first ladiy Eleanor Roosevelt.For the next starter Alice Dodds knew that the Communist Manifesto was published in the 1840s. Films by the studio Cartoon Saloon brought 10 points and meant that Courtauld were a starter away from triple figures. Once again Alice Dodds struck for the next starter, recognising a definition of the word warp. Common wildflowers which have names containing the names of animals brought a further ten points, and at the very least Courtauld looked highly likely to get a repechage place score. Bethan Holloway-Strong was in very early to identify Twelfth Night as the other play apart from the Tempest where a character called Sebastian survives a shipwreck. The Nobel Prize for Literature only yielded the one bonus, but at least the scoreline was moving again for Newnham. So, to the Music starter, and Alice Dodds took a very fast buzz to identify a song from the Baz Luhrman film version of Moulin Rouge. Original versions of songs used in the movie brought two correct answers and meant that Courtauld were only five points adrift of a guaranteed reappearance. Captain Roma Ellis insured that Newnham were still in a chance by recognising the names of two BMX racers from team GB in the Tokyo Olympics. A full house on Philosophy proved most timely and put Newnham just five points from their own triple figure score. Bethan Holloway-Strong got her Ophelias mixed up with her Ladies of Shallot for the next starter, allowing Alice Dodds to take another starter. Medical terms beginning with M yielded a brace of bonuses. For the next starter Lizzie Mackarel identified a description of the poster for the film Belfast. The theatre in 1921 yielded nowt, but nonetheless Courtauld led by 160 – 90 on the 20-minute mark.

Like me, Bethan Holloway-Strong probably linked the musical term arco to archery and came up with played by a bow and was right to do so. Science bonuses yielded just the one correct answer. The next starter saw probably the most ironic wrong answer of the night, as Lizie Mackarel identified Frances Shand-Kydd as the mother of the now Queen Consort Camilla. Understandable bearing in mind that Camilla’s maiden name was Shand. It’s ironic because she was actually the mother of Diana, Princess of Wales. Roma Ellis knocked that one into the wide-open goal. Provinces and Territories of Canada yielded just the one correct answer. Nonetheless, Newnham were drawing inexorably closer to Courtauld. I don’t know the TV drama Pose, but Alice Dodds did. She was having a most successful evening, with 6 starters. 2 more of the same took Courtauld to the lofty heights of a score of 175. Yet still Newnham weren’t done. Roma Ellis knew Mauritius for the next starter, and two bonuses on fictional newspapers guaranteed Newnham a repechage slot at least. But a win would be better. . . Chen Zhou worked out that the answer to the sum asked in the starter would have 3 digits. Bonuses on tautological place names put them a mere full house behind. Throwing caution to the wind now, Hannah Bowen buzzed early identifying films based on the novels of Jane Austen. Three bonuses, and the best comeback since Lazarus would be complete. Only if the answers were correct, though. Sadly, they only took the one. Still, if there was time for one more starter- well there was, but Chen Zhou accidentally set her buzzer off and lost five points. That was it. The contest was gonged, with Courtauld winning by 175 – 160.

This was a terrific contest, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Both teams had the same number of bonuses to answer, and Courtauld did slightly better, which is why they won. You have to fancy Newnham’s chances in their repechage, especially if they start the contest buzzing like they ended this one. Yet the spoils go to Courtauld, who won’t be easily beaten whoever they face in round two.

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

Carl Sagan’s sequel to his superb ‘Cosmos’ was called “Pale Blue Dot”