University Challenge 2023 Grand Final - Durham v. Bristol

The Teams

Durham

Harry Scully

Chloe Margaux

Alex Radcliffe (capt.)

Bea Bennett

Bristol

Sam Kehler

Jacob McLaughlin

Tess Richardson (capt.)

Alejandro Ortega

JP, in this, his final introduction to a University Challenge match, paid tribute to the fact that the final brings us full circle. I don’t think it’s going too far to say that these two teams have proven to be the best in the competition, and promised an intriguing battle of the buzzers.

I surprised myself by getting a Science question right with the very first starter, knowing that the world’s first nuclear reactor was built on an unused tennis court in the University in Chicago. While I was setting off on my final lap of honour of the series Harry Scully won the first buzzer race to give the same answer. Very early examples of Science Fiction only provided one correct answer, but Durham were up and running. A sort of backhandedly complimentary description of Charles II gave Bea Bennett the next starter. The Turner Prize in 2021 promised little and delivered less for Durham. Encouraged by their buzzer success thus far, skipper Alex Radcliffe was in very early for the next starter, to which the answer was cat. To me, a family of proteins would be Mummy protein, Daddy protein and Baby protein, but funnily enough none of these were the answer to the bonuses. Durham managed the one. You could say that Bristol were fortunate that Durham were having little joy with the bonuses – despite having taken the first three starters consecutively they had only accrued 40 points. But this would be more than enough if Bristol could not challenge their dominance of the buzzer. For the picture starter we were shown a map with the site of a battle and its date. Sam Kehler broke Bristol’s duck by buzzing in to identify that the last Byzantine Emperor, Constantine XI had been killed in the battle. More battles and dead royals brought a full house, which meant that for all Durham’s good work the gap now stood at just fifteen points. The next starter was an example of one with a long preamble where the answer suddenly becomes clear, and as JP mentioned the titles of the movies Roma and Satyricon, Harry Scully won the buzzer race to answer Fellini. A good full house of bonuses on literary criticism followed, which meant that Durham led by forty again at the ten minute mark, by 65 – 25.

If Scully don’t get yer, Radcliffe will. I certainly seemed that way as the Durham skipper won the buzzer race to answer that several definitions given us by JP all referred to protocol. Only 1 bonus followed on the B-52’s – hardly surprising considering the youth of all the participants. Finally Jacob McLaughlin took his first starter, recognising several things all beginning with r-o-s-e-n. Triangular countries according to the calculations of Tom Alps were the subject of the next set of bonuses. No, I didn’t get it either. Bristol did, they took a full house to reduce the gap to thirty points. So to the music starter. A quick blast on an organ was enough to allow Alex Radcliffe in with Saint-Saens. More organ heavy works provided nowt for any of us. Still the Durham buzzer onslaught continued with the next starter. This time it was Harry Scully in with the word lumen. I didn’t really understand what the next set of bonuses meant, but they were all about notable American academics and their works. Durham took one, which took their lead to fifty five. Jacob McLaughlin took the next starter for Bristol with the Isle of Arran and Andorra. Effects in Physics yielded just one bonus, at a time when Bristol desperately needed another full house. Alex Radcliffe came in too early for he next starter and lost five, but none of us knew that MOBA stands for Museum of Bad Art. Sam Kehler recognised the colours and description of the flag of Belgium. Ignatius Sancho, an 18^th century man of letters, brought a further ten points. This mean that at the 20 minute mark the score stood at 100- 85. Durham led, but the gap was back down to 15.

So it was that Durham did what they’d done before when Bristol threatened- buzzed early and took the next starter, with Harry Scully identifying the work of Kandinsky for the second picture starter. Three more paintings of rowers yielded one bonus. Harry Scully struck again for the next starter, recognising parts of the eye. Durham then took two bonuses on, literally, rocket science. It was funny they knew Tsiolkovsky but not Goddard. So, with Durham now leading by 55, surely the title was in the bag? Nobody knew the work Learning from Las Vegas for the next starter. Sam Kehler knew that Hattusa was the capital of the Hittite Empire. Two bonuses on philosophy narrowed the gap to 35. Sam Kehler took a double knowing of an experiment that simulated a prison environment. Two bonuses on world events of the 1060s narrowed the gap to 15. With little time left, bearing in mind we needed a few minutes for the presentation formalities, suddenly the next starter became of paramount importance. Asked which distance was the race in the medal ceremony for which John Carlos, Peter Norman and Tommie Smith made one of the most famous Olympic photographs of all time, Sam Kehler won the buzzer race. But. He answered 400m, losing 5 and allowing Harry Scully to answer 200m. On such small margins, and his was cruel luck for Sam Kehler, whose buzzes had kept Bristol in the hunt. Here was time for one bonus on refrigerants before the gong. Durham won by 155 – 120.

I predicted that it would be a close contest, and it was, even though a times it really didn’t feel as close as it was. I can only apologise to Bristol for cursing them with the Clark tip. As JP said, they should take a great deal of pride from the way that they have played the series. So should Durham, who were presented with the trophy by Jung Chang – among other distinctions she is the author of the excellent Wild Swans, a book I can recommend. Worthy University Challenge champions, 2023.

A final word of thanks, though to Jeremy Paxman. Since 1994 he has made the show his own, so much so that it is difficult to envisage anyone else in the chair.

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

Sunday on the Pot With George is an exhibit in the Museum of Bad Art

University Challenge 2023: Grand Final Preview

I warn you now, I don’t have much conclusive to say in this preview. But let’s look forward to this, the last University Challenge  Grand Final of the Jeremy Paxman era, an era which began more than a quarter of a century ago.

The great irony of this 2023 season is that the Gand Final is a replay of the very first match of the series. Yes, Durham and Bristol met in the first match of the first round. What a match it was too, with Durham winning 195-185. So, it’s Durham to win again, is it? Well, hang on.

The first match came down to just one starter questions, which might have fallen either way,

Bristol have won every match since and won each of them comfortably.

Both teams have played 6 matches. Bristol have an average score of 197 per match. Durham have an average score of 170. Bristol have conceded an average of 114 points per match, and Durham have conceded an average of 117 points per match.

There are two teams that both finalists have played during the series. Let’s look at the two teams’ comparative performances against them:-

Comparative performances

 v. Southampton

Durham      165 - 135

Bristol         200 – 70

v. UCL

Durham      160 - 145

Bristol         205 – 70

So it is certainly not a foregone conclusion that Durham will beat Bristol again. They clearly had an easier time than Durham against both of these teams.

So what about a prediction, Dave? Well, I think it’s going to be very competitive. Looking at the strengths of both teams – Durham have good buzzing throughout the team, especially in the shape of Harry Scully and skipper Alex Radcliffe, who are well supported by Chloe Margaux and Bea Bennett. There doesn’t seem to be many gaps in heir knowledge. However they can be rattled. We saw this when the penalties for early incorrect interruptions mounted up in their losing match against Royal Holloway in their second quarter final. As for Bristol, well they have possibly the finest buzzer in the whole series in the shape of Jacob McLaughlin. Looking back, the lowest number of starters he has accrued in a single match was the 4 he took in the first round against Durham. Does this mean Durham are better buzzers, or does it mean that he has become better, more assured and quicker on the buzzer since a nervy first match? Personally, I think it’s the latter. Captain Tess Richardson always weighs in with a few starters, and Sam Kehler and Alejandro Ortega have also provided valuable contributions. They will probably hate me for saying this, but I’m tipping Bristol and lumbering them with the curse of the Clark tip. The statistics, as well as my own gut feeling, give them a slight edge, but as I say, I am expecting a close match.

Something in the Air

There was something in the air last Thursday evening and I’m not talking about the smell of the steelworks, either. To be fair it’s been quite a long time since the steelworks left the town smelling like an open sewer, however I digress, and back to the subject. It was my turn to be question master on Thursday evening. Actually that’s not true. I’d actually been asked to do it this coming Thursday, but Howard whose turn it was asked me to swap. I couldn’t think of a good reason why not – and believe me, I tried.

Now, up until last Thursday my team had never won one of my general knowledge quizzes, only my end of year quizzes. However, they’d been getting closer and closer each time. I haven’t been surprised about this. Dan, Jess and Adam all set quizzes for the club now and I’ve told you before how becoming a regular question master made me a much better quizzer. Now, maybe this is just hindsight talking, but I couldn’t help wondering on Thursday evening whether this was going to be the night.

It didn’t look more likely than normal in the start as they were a point or two behind. But then it turned out to be nip and tuck through the first half, and indeed here was never more than a few points between all four teams during the question rounds. My guys were ahead for much of he second half, and at the end they tied on the questions wih one of the other teams.

However.

That was before the handout scores were added on. Now the fact is that my guys are pretty mustard on handouts, and Thursday evening was no different. They comfortably won, giving them he overall win.

Somehow, I feel a little like a parent bird, watching my fledgelings flying for the first time.

University Challenge 2023 - Semi Final 2 - Bristol v. Southampton

The Teams

Bristol

Sam Kehler

Jacob McLaughlin

Tess Richardson (capt.)

Alejandro Ortega

Southampton

Ethan Lyon

Magda Steele

Dom Belcher (capt.)

Elliot Miles

Well, dearly beloved, just two more shows to go this season. Last week we saw Durham secure their place in the final. By a quirk of fate both of last night’s teams incurred their only loss to Durham. Also, JP pointed out that whichever of these teams won would be making their first appearance in the final. My gut feeling was that Bristol were the stronger team and the more likely finalists.

For the first starter Bristol’s superbuzzer, Jacob McLaughlin identified a couple of Hamiltons. Classical music and riots seemed an unusual subject for bonuses, and Bristol managed to answer one of them correctly. Ethan Lyon struck back for Southampton recognising several quotes all referring to Love. Literary terms with Greek origins brought a couple of bonuses and the lead. Jacob McLaughlin struck a second time, recognising quickly a series of words beginning with a-z. Now, if I said I had the tiniest understanding of any of the three bonuses on cell biology, you’d know I was lying, but as it happened Bristol didn’t manage to answer any of them either. Nobody identified the wheel of Dharma symbol for the picture starter. Jacob McLaughlin came in early for his third starter with the Sinatra Doctrine – which surely was make them an offer they can’t refuse, wasn’t it? Three more symbols from religions originating in India provided two correct answers. I can’t say that I really understood the next starter, but Ethan Lyon knew that the answer was Blast. The pioneering sculptor Edmonia Lewis provided a couple of bonuses which meant that the score at just past the ten minute mark stood at 45 – 35 to Bristol.

Tess Richardson opened her personal account with the next starter, with the Battle of Bosworth. A UC special set, on words whose first three letters are repeated, brought a useful full house. Jacob McLaughlin took his fourth starter, knowing that the capital city of Turkey ends in a-r-a. AT the risk of sounding like a stuck record, I did not understand any of the questions on Vector Geometry, but they brought Bristol a second consecutive full house. Asked for the two word name of a religious book, as soon as JP said Oppenheimer I said Bhagavad Gita, at the same time as Sam Kehler buzzed in with the same answer. This took Bristol into triple figures, and took Southampton into the doodoo. Horace’s Ars Poetica brought a single bonus. This then led to the music starter. None of us recognised Faure’s Pavane. Jacob McLaughlin took starter number  knowing of the travels of Ibn Battuta which brought Bristol the dubious benefit of the music bonuses. They took one. Jacob McLaughlin took his sixth starter by working out that Ajaz Patel of New Zealand became only the third cricketer to take ten wickets in an innings of a test match. English towns ending with -bury brought a single bonus. Sam Kehler came n too quickly for the next starter, allowing Elliot Miles to answer that the capital city taking its name from the Greek for wisdom is Sofia. Polish History provided Southampton with one bonus. This slightly ameliorated Southampton’s position, but they had a real mountain to climb, trailing 135 – 50.

Jacob McLaughlin took his 7tth starter, knowing that Guy de Maupassant was the ‘father of the short story’. Actresses of the silent film era whose surnames began with the letter B all passed Bristol by, but such was their lead that this was only a minor impediment to their progress. Nobody recognised a photograph of Andre Breton for the second picture starter. That man McLaughlin took an 8^th starter , on some Maths thing. This earned the picture bonuses on photo montages which brought two bonuses. Sam Kehler recognised the names of two of the ruling houses of Sparta. Two bonuses on the Africa Cup of Nations pushed them closer to 200. Elliot Miles knew that the year 1660 fell during the lifetime of Matsuo Basho. Works in French brought them a single bonus. Jacob McLaughlin earned a 9^th starter knowing that Margarita Cansino was better known as Rita Hayworth. The Nilotic Language Group of Eastern and Central Africa took the Bristol score to the magical 200. The next starter mentioned N People – search for the hero inside yourself? – and the answer, which Dom Belcher provided was 23. No, me neither. The International Space Hall of Fame brought no points and the contest was gonged. Bristol ran out comfortable winners by 200 – 70.

Hard lines to Southampton. Congratulations on reaching the semi final in a pretty competitive series, though. Many congratulations to Bristol. This gives us a final with Durham. Thus the last match of the series turns out to be a replay of the very first match of the series. That’s a pleasing irony. Will the result turn out to be the same? Well, it was a very close run thing first time round, and it will take a braver man than me to call a winner. I will post a few observations ahead of the final, though.

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

Ajaz Patel of New Zealand became only the third cricketer to take ten wickets in an innings of a test match.

So farewell, then The Tournament.

I’ve seen reports today that the BBC has pulled the plug on The Tournament. I’m sorry to hear this, although not necessarily all that surprised. I rather liked it although after the first series I made a number of suggestions for tweaks to improve the show. I’m sorry to say that none of these suggestions were incorporated into the second series. It’s not for me to say that this was the reason why the second series is the last, but you could be forgiven for reaching that conclusion for yourself. In all seriousness, though, it’s a shame that this is it for the show. Mind you, one thing I won’t miss is the cringe-making god-awful battle cries at the start of the show. It didn’t matter how many times Alex Scott said ‘Great battle cries guys!’ – I hated them.

University Challenge 2023 - Semi Final 1 - Royal Holloway v. Durham

The Teams

Royal Holloway

Joel Abramovitch

Joanna Brown

George Harvey (capt.)

Micka Clayton

Durham

Harry Scully

Chloe Margaux

Alex Radcliffe (capt.)

Bea Bennett

In his opening comment JP pointed out something I’ve already noted in this very blog – that only one team has made it through to the semi finals unbeaten. That team was the first of last night’s teams, Royal Holloway. Interestingly the way that the semi final draw worked out meant that their opponents were the team they defeated in their last match, Durham, whom they beat to secure their place in the semis. In that contest Durham had taken an early lead, but were pegged back in the second half of the contest. They hadn’t been helped by giving away five penalties. Take away those penalties and there was nothing to choose between the teams.

For the first starter Alex Radcliffe was the first to recognise a description of HMS Endeavour. Bonuses followed on popular Science books. If you’re like me, then you probably view popular science as an oxymoron. A couple of correct answers brought a reasonable return on this set. The Durham skipper struck again for the next starter, recognising a group of words that can all precede gaze. Bonuses on cow-connected films yielded nothing to any of us. Having failed to answer a single question correctly thus far I was relieved to hear the next starter ask about a nasty Shakespeare character who has more lines than the title character in the play in which he appears. I answered Iago, so did Bea Bennett and we were both right. Early 20^th century literature provided some bounty too, in the shape of a full house. So to the picture starter, where a photograph and a map helped George Harvey identify the ruins of Palmyra. 3 more endangered World Heritage sites brought just one correct answer, but at least Royal Holloway were on the move now. I didn’t get the reference to a sentence consisting of 8 iterations of the same word, but Alex Radcliffe knew that the word in question was buffalo. Bonuses on the Theory of Relativity brought two correct answers. I earned myself a lap of honour for guessing that time and space were two of the three possible answers for the third of these. It’s funny how things work out sometimes. Bearing in mind the way things worked out the last time these teams met, if anything Durham had made an even better start than last time, leading 75 – 15.

I might have taken another lap of honour for working out that France and cock combined led to Gallium in the periodic table. George Harvey took that one. Words and their origins in Indian states did not manage to provide further points. I don’t know the novelist Tokarczuk but Harry Scully did for the next starter. 2 bonuses on – flippin’ heck – protein analysis followed. One more correct answer and Durham would be in triple figures while Royal Holloway were only just out of the starting gate. So to the music starter where none of us could identify the work of Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry. Alex Radcliffe – who was playing a real captain’s innings last night – recognised a description of adjectives for the next starter. This earned the dubious reward of the music bonuses, of which I surprised myself by getting one for recognising the Clash. Durham failed to add to their score. By this time the last time these teams met Royal Holloway had started their charge. However Durham just kept on outbuzzing them last night, as Harry Scully recognised the equation of a plane – well, it was something like that. A single bonus on Swiss cantons followed. Then Alex Radcliffe struck again, knowing the term autarky. To add to Royal Holloway’s problems Durham took a full house on the painter Veronese. George Harvey finally managed to strike a blow for Royal Holloway knowing the story Flatland for the next starter. Optics provided nothing for the bonuses. At just past the 20 minute mark Durham led by 145 to 35. Last time out, Royal Holloway were just 25 behind at this stage.

Literature specialist Bea Bennett struck to identify a photograph of Truman Capote for the second picture starter. Other writers who had major non fiction works published in The New Yorker magazine brought two correct answers and seemed to pretty much seal the deal as far as the result of the match was concerned. Joel Abramovitch scored his first starter with the abbreviation PCR. Baroque composers added nothing to heir score. Joanna Brown, so often Royal Holloway’s star buzzer, took her only starter of the night with lavender. A brief history of metaphysics according to Existential Comics brought two bonuses and something I always like to see, a reference to Wittgenstein the beery swine. Chloe Margaux buzzed in and lost five for only giving us Stalin for a question that required the answers Stalin, stirling and starling. George Harvey took that one. Once again the bonuses, this time on Sociology, proved unforgiving towards RH. Some maths thing where he answer was 10 fell to Joel Abramovitch. Title characters of Phillipa Gregory novels yielded one bonus. The contest was gonged before JP had time to complete the next starter, bringing Durham a comfortable win by 160 – 90.

Some nights it’s just not your night. I’ll be honest, I struggled last night too. Bad luck Royal Holloway, that’s the way that it goes sometimes. Nothing to be ashamed of. As for Durham, a great performance to make them worthy finalists. Best of luck to you.

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

The temple from which we derive the word juggernaut is in the state of Orissa.

UC Semi Finals - You pays yer money . . .

By this stage of the game I’ve usually got a clearer idea of who the most likely winners of the series will be. Not this year. What makes this year so confusing? Well, a couple of factors:-

-        Three of the semi finalist teams have already lost in the competition. Bristol lost to Durham in the first round. Southampton lost to Durham in the first quarter final. Durham lost to Royal Holloway in their second quarter final.

-        If you look at the unbeaten team, Royal Holloway, their stats don’t look anything to write home about. Yet they have beaten Durham who beat the other two semi final teams. They keep on winning.

-        Although Bristol lost to Durham in the first round, it was in a very high scoring match and the gap was only 10 points. Their lowest score was 185, while Royal Holloway’s highest is 170.

-        I don’t know how hey are going to draw who plays who. My guess would be that the two teams who won straight through to the semis would be kept apart and play against the two teams who needed three matches. But I don’t know. My gut feeling is that of the three, Southampton look most like underdogs. But what do I know?

University Challenge Quarter Final Play Off - Newnham, Cambridge v. Southampton

The Teams

Newnham, Cambridge

Bethan Holloway-Strong

Hannah Bowen

Roma Ellis (Capt.)

Chen Zhiyu

Southampton

Ethan Lyon

Magda Steele

Dom Belcher (Capt.)

Elliot Miles

Well, how are you? It’s been a long time, waiting for the bloody snooker to finish. We find ourselves in the salubrious environs of the last chance saloon, and our drinking partners none other than Southampton and the ever-entertaining Newnham. Newnham had their best performance last time out, and if they could reproduce that form, then this could be a tough ask for Southampton.

First blood was taken by Newnham when Hannah Bowen supplied the term Sturm und Drang. Post War Europe, in particular that well known oxymoron the German Democratic Republic, brought 2 out of 3 bonuses. Various geographical locations in the UK linked by the word black brought Newnham’s star buzzer, skipper Roma Ellis into the game. Time travelling literature brought another two bonuses. So far, so good for Newnham. It’s a bit of a simplification to say that if a starter asks for a French philosopher, then it’s a straight choice between Descartes, Voltaire and Derrida, but there’s a grain of truth in it. Dom Belcher came in with Derrida for he next starter and he was right to do so. Southampton then faced bonuses on diseases and took a full house on them. Timely. Had Newnham taken a third consecutive starter without reply, it might well have changed the complexion of the whole contest. Chen Zhiyu made the mistake that many have made before of giving the country – Hungary in this case – when the capital had been asked for. This lost five points and allowed Dom Belcher a free shot, and he duly obliged with Budapest. Moral philosophical theory bonuses yielded nowt to any of us. The picture starter showed us script in a computer programming language. Look, if it ain’t BASIC I don’t know it. Dom Belcher identified it as C++. As an answer I would have given it at least an A-. They took two bonuses with other languages and my tactic of answering BASIC to each of them paid off with the third. Thus as we approached ten minutes Southampton had pulled into the lead with 55 – 35.

Don’t ask me about the question which led Magda Steele to answer with gene drive, but it was right, and continued the Southampton surge. Solar physics was beyond me and beyond Southampton too. No bonuses. Roma Ellis struck back for Newnham recognising a quote from Mary Wollstonecraft referring to imagination. There was me thinking it was by Belouis Some (a little 80s humour there for us oldies). Hindi and Urdu words used in English brought a couple of bonuses to keep the competition relatively tight. ‘Silent Prayer’ as the original title of a piece of music really suggested 4 33 to me, and to Roma Ellis as well. The Newnham skipper seemed to be warming up. Were Newnham about to become another team Roma Ellised out of the competition? Well, first there was a set of bonuses on birds of sub-Saharan Africa, which didn’t provide any more points. With the music starter, Ethan Lyon came in extremely swiftly to identify the work of Philip Glass. Other operas providing leading roles for countertenors provided just ne bonus. I got the same by the simple tactic of answering Benjamin Britten to each of them. I did know that Pan Paniscus is the bonobo, and that the only vowel in the word is o. So did Dom Belcher for the next starter. They didn’t manage any bonuses on the works of Linda Colley. So neither team seemed able to capitalise at the moment on good work on the buzzer. Hannah Bowen came in too early for the next starter on a French mathematician and lost five. Southampton could not provide the name Lissajous. 1873 – Russian – pianist – composer. Well, you would shout Rachmaninoff, wouldn’t you, because if it wasn’t right, it flipping well should be. It was right and Ethan Lyons had it. Some maths thing provided the bonuses of which Dom Belcher took the last. This meant that the score at the 20 minute mark stood at Southampton 100, Newnham 60. Still less than 2 full sets between both teams.

Again, Ethan Lyons buzzed in very quickly to identify Sisyphus as the figure from Greek mythology written about by Albert Camus. 20^th century American poets brough one bonus, but did mean that Newnham were going to need several unanswered trips to the table to overhaul Southampton. For the second picture starter nobody could identify the work of Giotto. Chen Zhiyu recognised references to the number five in Chinese history. This earned the picture bonuses and Newnham identified two other pictures making heavy use of gold leaf. Hannah Bowen knew the term Nakba to narrow the gap to 30. Sadly, artists yielded no bonuses, so the gap remained at 30. Dom Belcher struck back in timely fashion, identifying Winchester as one of three places beginning with W in the name of a treaty of 1153. Astronomy provided a gettable set of bonuses, but Southampton could only manage one. Nevertheless the clock was running down which was very much in their favour. Roma Ellis knew the term Single Transferable Vote for the next starter. Novels shortlisted for the Booker Prize since 2010 provided one correct answer, and the gap was back to 30. Hannah Bowen identified Mons as the first major battle involving British troops in world war one. The gap was now 20. One bonus brought it down to fifteen. Was there time for one more set? No. Southampton took the win with 135 – 120.

Hard lines Newnham, but a good, close match which is as it should be. Congratulations Southampton. A match won by a slightly better performance on the buzzer. Best of luck in the semis.

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

Edward Micthell-Page is reckoned to have been the first person to write a story involving a time travel device in the 1880s.

The Big D is back

 Apologies. I don't wish to upset anyone with this post. Basically, I had something of a breakdown in work on Thursday. Thankfully it wasn't in front of any of the children, but in the staff room. Things have been getting on top of me generally, not just in work but that's the most of it and the whole situation has been exacerbated by a sustained month or so of insomnia. So I made an appointment with the Doctor yesterday. To cut a long story short, I'm suffering from another bout of depression, probably brought on by a variety of different causes. He's changed my medication, and written me off work for a couple of weeks. 

I don't plan to stop doing the blog, but then I didn't plan to stop doing it last time, it just happened. Whatever the case, thanks for your support. It's meant a lot to me.