University Challenge 2023 - Round 2 - Robert Gordon University v. The Courtauld Institute of Art - London

The Teams

Robert Gordon

Samuel Fregene

Donald Anderson

Emily Cullen (Capt.)

Faye Cooke

Courtauld Institute of Art - London

Oliver White

Alice Dodds

Ryan McMeekin (Capt.)

Lizzie Mackarel

Shall we have a quick glance at the form book, dearly beloved? Robert Gordon gave a bit of a thrashing to Roehampton in the first round, winning 210 – 90. The Courtauld had a rather tougher struggle against Newnham, winning by 175 – 160. On the other hand, though, Newnham have proven good enough to beat Sheffield in the repechage, so this must be taken into account.

Off we go then. I’ll be honest, when JP said ‘electromagnetic radiation’ in the first starter I hadn’t really begun to even think about what this might mean by the time Donald Anderson took an early buzz and gave us the correct answer of X-Rays. Bonuses on Palladio’s Villa Rotunda and imitators were more like it. I took a full house – hey, come on, I was born in Chiswick – and Robert Gordon just the one. Now, I would giess that I’ve taught the novel “Of Mice and Men” for well over 30 of my nearly 36 years as an English teacher, so Soledad and Salinas for the next starter saw me shouting it with glee.  Ryan McMeeking took that one to open the Courtauld’s account. They rather drew the short straw with bonuses on chemistry. However, the last bonus asked for chemical bonds. COVALENT! I shouted. I have no idea what covalent bonds are, or whether they work the same way as premium bonds, bt whenever a chemistry question asks for bonds that’s what I answer. Yup – and a very slow lap of honour followed. It was worth waiting for a moment on the next starter. Yes, we wanted a Roman Emperor, but which. Weill, when Milvian Bridge was mentioned that meant that it was Constantine the Great. We had a few more details before Donald Anderson buzzed in for his second starter. Catherine of Siena - she of wheel fame – saw Robert Gordon miss the two easier bonuses yet take the harder third. This brought us to the picture starter. Shwon a map of Spain with the position of a city highlighted none of us could identify La Coruna. A poem inspired by a description of a gigantic stone statue could only be Ozymandias, and Alice Dodds buzzed in and earned the Courtauld the picture bonuses. Other locations with very old lighthouses brought a single bonus. Ricci flow meant nothing to me, but then neither did Russian Grigori Perelman which Donald Anderson gave as his 3^rd correct starter. Neither team was really sticking the landing with their bonuses and again Robert Gordon managed just the one on plants. This was enough to ensure that they led by 45 to 35 at the 10 minute mark.

Various clues were enough to lead Emily Cullen to the word steppe, after Courtauld incurred a five point deduction. The Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Company sounded up my street and indeed was, although Robert Gordon (say it quietly) only managed one bonus. Donald Anderson took starter number four by recognising several names who had been presidents of Liberia. Record Labels enabled Robert Gordon to take a good pair of bonuses on record labels. The gap had suddenly – so it seemed – widened to fifty. For the music starter we were given a bit of jazz, and I randomly picked Dave Brubeck. I’m not saying that Donald Anderson picked randomly but he picked the same answer for his fifth starter. More pieces of music written in the unusual signature of 5/4 brought two bonuses to widen the gap further. Various clues to the word border allowed Courtauld skipper Ryan McMeekin to get his team rolling again. Languages within the Indo-European family brought no joy, sadly. Now, for once Donald Anderson came in too early – it was obviously a quote from Rousseau – but did it want author or title? Donald Anderson zigged with author, allowing Lizzie Mackarel to zag with The Social Contract. Electronics were not to my liking and not to the Courtauld either and for the second time in a row they came away bonusless. A good early buzz from Emily Cullen identified the element Francium for the next starter. Speculative fiction provided just the one bonus. It didn’t matter though because Robert Gordon were winning by 110- 50 at the 20 minute mark and they had all the momentum.

Now, be fair, if the Courtauld can’t identify the painter of the second picture starter then it must be a bit difficult. I didn’t recognise the work of Gustave Courbet myself either. Faye Cooke knew that Bloodaxe Books specialise in Poetry. This earned Robert Gordon the picture bonuses – three more pictures of women with parrots. They didn’t get any of them. Emily Cullen was on a bit of a roll now, identifying the amino acid tyrosine. Gesundheit. Ships involved in Antarctic exploration brought two bonuses. Emily Cullen duly took her hattrick with the next starter, knowing that the Brecon Beacons is the National Park lying on a direct line between Swansea and Birmingham. And lovely to drive through, I can heartily recommend it. Short words with a K and an R brought a single bonus, but the gap was now over 100, and the game, with several minutes to go, was already over as a contest. Faye Cooke was fist in to say that lemurs are primates. The Science bonuses earned me a shot at another lap of honour. Didn’t take it, but I deserved it for chain molecules, I thought. Nobody knew geological periods for the next starter. Oliver White new that casus belli is a cause for war. I’ll be honest, unlike the Courtauld, to me, Brie Larsson means Captain Marvel and very little else. The Courtauld took two of these bonuses. A really good buzz saw Donald Anderson take his six starter using the clues to get the name of Britain’s assassinated PM, Spencer Percival – who lived in Ealing at one time. UNESCO World Heritage sites in the Arabian Peninsula were not an easy set at all, so no shame in not getting any of them for Robert Gordon. Donald Anderson incurred a penalty for the next starter allowing Ryan McMeekin to give the correct answer of clarinet. Insurgent movements in Latin America didn’t provide much before we were gonged. Robert Gordon were comfortable winners by 189 to 75.

Well, sometimes it happens that the questions don’t run for you and you end up second best and that’s what happened to the Courtauld. Robert Gordon took twice as many starters and both teams were rather profligate with the bonuses.

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

The Batman Bridge is in Tasmania. Lucky Tasmania, I say.