The Teams
UCL
Max Emmett
Alan Hughes
Eva West (Capt.)
Coirle Magee
Royal College of Art
Jack Merriman
Alex Hadyn-Williams
James Bown (Capt.)
Imaan Hyder
When the first starter asked for a novel, of which the
author said that when you’ve read it you should be in possession of a minimal
Russian vocabulary I immediately guessed A Clockwork Orange. Given the full
question James Bown opened the account for the newbies, the RCA. Artists who
have designed statuettes for the Brit Awards left me pointless – I haven’t been
able to watch the Brits since they were presented by Mick Fleetwood and
Samantha Fox. RCA managed 2. I’ll be honest, for the next starter I only got
the connecting word Goblin through Christina Rossetti and Spider-man. Alex
Hadyn-Williams did the same. This brought a set of bonuses on plays of Tom Stoppard,
and again, RCA took two of them. UCL took their first points with the next
starter which gave several scientific uses of the word cone. Max Emmett took
that one. I took my lap of honour while the going was good. We both managed two
correct answers on the anatomy of the ear. I didn’t recognise the badge of
Staffordshire County Cricket Club, while James Bown did, and they went on to
identify one other member of the former Minor Counties. Coirle Magee knew the
Sixth Generation film movement from China for the next starter. The title
figures of operas by Thea Musgrave brought a full house to UCL. The score at
the ten minute mark was 55-45 to RCA, which seemed to make light of my fears
for them. I always feel that specialist institutions, such as RCA, are in
danger of not having the coverage across a broad range of subjects, that other institutions
do. Having four team members all studying writing seemed likely to put them at
a disadvantage in the Sciences. Time would tell.
Alex Hadyn-Williams recognised references to Rachael Whiteread
for the next starter. Bonuses on the Bible and the scientific method – strange bedfellows,
I would have thought – brought one correct answer. Max Emmett came in early for
the next starter on Thomas More – why were they all Thomases in Henry VIIIs
reign? You’ve got yer More, your Wlsey, your Cromwell and your Cranmer. They
were all Francises by the time of Elizabeth I’s. The famous midfield trio of
Drake, Bacon and Walsingham. The Polish National Film School brought one bonus.
UCL captain Eva West knew the term plexus for the next starter. Indian sweets
brought two bonuses that put UCL into the lead for the first time. Max Emmett
recognised the intro to Soft Cell’s cover version of Tainted Love – lovely little
bit of early 80s, that – and for the bonuses that all sampled wee bits of
Northern soul tracks, UCL proved that they know as little about it as I do as the
only one we could manage was Fatboy Slim. Alex Hadyn-Williams correctly guessed
that it was Thomas Paine’s remains alluded to in the next starter.(see below) Terms
in Physics that share part of their names with animals showed that my fears for
RCA were not that ill-founded. Blank looks and a failure to add to the score
followed. Alan Hughes recognised various dromes – hippo- syn- and velo unless I’m
much mistaken – for the next starter. This took UCL into triple figures which
they compounded with a full house on actresses in history. Eva West knew that
Jericho was the first city attacked by the Israelites under Joshua. Literary
works with corvids in their titles brought another full house, which meant that
they led comfortably by 140 – 85 at the 20 minute mark. The match had been
competitive so far but that 50 point spurt in the last 2 minutes looked
decisive.
Nobody recognised the usually unmistakeable colours of
Gauguin for the second picture starter. Likewise nobody knew the author Henry
Miller – dirty boy. Position created by Charles II gave me Astronomer Royal,
and Eva West thought so too, given a little more of the question. More paintings
with geese in them for the picture bonuses brought a correct answer. Max Emmett recognised a description of Stockholm
for the next starter. Learning Spanish saw me get a few answers because of the
grounding in Latin grammar given to me in Elthorne High School by good old Mr.
Rose in the late 70s. Thanks Lionel. The term hyperpop, in the words of
Ultravox, means nothing to me but Alan Hughes knew it for the next starter. The
play Woyzeck and its adaptations seemed to have the same effect on UCL and they
failed to score. Max Emmett knew that the word Alligator derives from Spanish for
lizard for the next starter. There was a reprise of Ultravox’s Vienna for me
when the term ‘hauntology’ was introduced as the theme of the bonuses. However,
I did remember how Derrida has been a UC staple over the years and he brought
me a bonus. I’m a little bit surprised that, with at least one Welsh team contestant
nobody knew Hafren means the River Severn in Welsh but there you go. Alex
Hadyn-Williams recognised biographers of Stalin for the next. They got Science
bonuses for their pains, the number of hydrogen atoms in a molecule of blahblahblahrium
etc. They got more than I did with a correct guess. Jack Merriman knew the next
starter about a lockdown performance of Hamlet. World events and British
monarchs brought 2 bonuses. The contest was gonged while Amol was asking the
next starter. UCL won comfortably by 210 to 115.
I’m glad that RCA reached triple figures. Their BCR of
42.8% would probably have been a bit higher if they hadn’t had those Science
bonuses. Without a scientist somewhere in your team you are always at a
disadvantage. UCL achieved 60.6%, and look to be a pretty useful outfit, as you’d
expect from UCL.
Amol Watch
Maybe it was me but I did think Amol’s incredulity at UCL’s
answer of Salt N Pepa to the second music bonus to be a little bit feigned. We
know you are ‘down with da kids’ Amol, you don’t need to labour the point.
Interesting Fact That I Didn’t Already Know Of
The Week
Thomas Paine’s remains’ (that sounds like the start of a
nonsense poem.
Please don’t block my drains
With Thomas Paine’s remains)
whereabouts have been reported in places as far afield as
Manchester, France and Australia.
Baby Elephant Walk Moment
Penguin diagrams are a subtype of what family of diagrams
that represent contributions to particle interaction probabilities in quantum
field theory? This family of diagrams are named for the scientists who
introduced them in 1948. Dum de dumdum dum dum dum dum dumdum.
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