The Teams
Christ’s Cambridge
Anniko Firman
Brenda Bethlehem
Oscar Despard (cap.)
Linus Luu
Warwick
Ananya Govindarajan
Thomas Hart
Oscar Siddle (Capt)
Benjamin Watson
Well, you read my preview (I hope) so let’s get on with it.
With the first starter it seemed as if all concerned had read the script. Brendan
Bethlehem beat the buzzers of Warwick to give the answer of Sardinia in a
starter about gawd knows what. Alright, it was about the Nuragic Civilization.
Still none the wiser. Bonuses on Watling Street provided a full house and the
Christ’s juggernaut seemed to be on the move. Now the thing about Warwick is
that while the sheer volume and seeming theatricality of Thomas Hart’s buzzing
catches the eye, Benjamin Watson, while not taking as many starters as his team
mate, tends to get them at important times, and it was he who took Warwick’s
first starter with Milk being in the title of the 2018 Booker Prize winner. John
Akomfrah provided Warwick with a full house. Great start to the contest. Not so
great was both team’s failure to get Diesel from the next starter. My
grandfather was a diesel fitter in a knicker factory. He’d pick up a pair from
time to time and say ‘de’se’ll fit ‘er’. Thomas Hart opened his account with
Chantal Akerman. The bonuses on the solution of Laplace’s equation promised
some baby elephant walk moments and indeed delivered them too. By the time I
could zone in again Warwick had answered two of them correctly. So to the
picture starter. The flag we saw looked a bit like the Czech flag – right shape,
right colours but wrong order. Phillippines, I said. So did Thomas Hart and
this earned more flag bonuses and Warwick took two of them. Thomas Hart recognised
a quote from Karl ‘Party’ Popper, to earn a set on Ancient Greek language. It’s
always nice to see Linear B getting a name check. Another two bonuses were
correctly answered. Oscar Siddle knew that Silas Marner was a weaver. A lovely
set on the holy trinity of Middle English poetry – Chaucer, the Gawain poet and
Langland, brought a full house. So, at 10 and a half minutes in, Warwick were
leading by 105 - 25, while Christ’s were
looking as uncomfortable as they had ever been in any stage of this year’s
competition.
Now, even though the next starter didn’t mention the
original series of Star Trek, I’m pretty sure that Oscar Despard’s answer. Introns,
were a race of aliens responsible for the increasing rattiness of William
Shatner’s hairpiece in the third series. Bonuses on Chinese cities only yielded
one correct answer. Before Christ’s could build any momentum Benjamin Watson
took the next starter, recognising a description of the flag of Saint Pierre
and Miquelon. Bonuses on John ‘Percy’ Dalton brought me a lap of honour for
knowing the question about sunspots. Warwick missed that one but took the other
two. For the music starter it sounded, thought I, a bit like Mozart. Bloomin’
was too. Brendan Bethlehem took that. Other flute works used as test pieces
nowadays gave Christ’s a bit of a mare, and they didn’t trouble the scorer. Still,
the Bethlehem buzzer seemed to have freed up a little as he took the next
starter with sprechstimme. Gesundheit. Modern Art movements in Russia yielded
two bonuses. Benjamin Watson knew that the figure from Greek mythology who is a
minor character in Macbeth is Hecate. Utopian fiction yielded just one bonus.
Linus Luu knew the mathematical term focus. With American composers the Christ’s
run of bad luck with the bonuses continued as they managed just one. Brendan
Bethlehem knew that Mongol Kahnate of Chagadai for the next starter. 2 science
bonuses took Christ’s into triple figures. Back came Warwick as Oscar Siddle
recognised the work of Edward ‘Grass’ Hopper for the second picture starter. 3
more American paintings produced since the Wall Street Crash yielded just one
bonus. So at the 20 minute mark Warwick still led, by 155 to 105.Christ’s were
coming back, but quickly enough?
Brendan Bethlehem ate further into the lead knowing Shi (
who may be the face I can’t forget) for the next starter. The history of the
USA saw Christ’s score 3 near misses and no points. Well, if you’re going to do
that then do it quickly, and they did. Key figures in the art of Brazil fell to
Benjamin Watson, simultaneously widening the gap and running down the clock.
The Olorun religion delivered two correct answers – if you had to bet on either
team at this point you’d most likely have backed Warwick. The German chemist
Nernst fell to Oscar Despard. Capitals of Brazilian states yielded nowt. Christ’s
were still two full houses behind. The gap narrowed by five when Oscar Siddle
came in too early for the next starter. Brendan Bethlehem came close but didn’t
quite get Botero. I got Botero once, but a couple of Imodium cleared that up
for me. He got the next one knowing that it was Pope Alexander who blessed
William the Conqueror’s invasion. Maria Casares didn’t help. Nobody knew the
battle of the glorious first of June. Oscar Despard knew the SI unit the Sievert.
Two bonuses on lentils narrowed the gap to a mere 10 points. Hardly any time
remained. If Warwick could take the starter, the title would surely be theirs.
It was Anniko Firman who took the next starter, the most important question she
- or anyone - answered in the whole
series. She knew Agamemnon. All square. There was just time for two bouses.
They missed the second, but knew that George II’s oldest son was Frederick. That
answer, that one answer, gave Christ’s the lead. The gong gave them the win.
If you read my preview you’ll know that Christ’s were
remarkably consistent in their BCR around the 60 mark throughout the series.
Last night they only managed a rather nervy 41. Warwick on the other hand
achieved an excellent 67, which explains why they came so close, so close. My
congratulations to both teams, who put on a splendid show for us, not just last
night but throughout the series. Roll on UC 2026!
Amol Watch
I call it as I see it and to me Amol was pitch perfect last
night. He built up momentum and speed with the questions as the finish line
approached and seemed to know that the last starter would settle the series
title. A great showing from a question master who seemed to be enjoying the
contest as much as everyone at home. Full marks, Mr. Rajan.
Interesting Fact That I Didn’t Already Know Of
The Week
Les Enfants du Paradis is a title that is taken from a term
referring to a theatre’s upper galleries – Children of Paradise.
Baby Elephant Walk Moment
The solution of Laplace’s equation in two-dimensional
Cartesian coordinates involves the product of trigonometric functions in one
variable, with what type of function in the second?
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