University Challenge Semi Final - Emmanuel Cambridge v. Wolfson Cambridge

I think that it’s probably fair to say that this was the most highly anticipated match of the series so far. The excitement on social media about a match many people billed as Seagull v. Monkman was palpable in the days leading up to Monday’s semi. That billing is a little unfair – after all as well as LAM reader captain Bobby, Emmanuel could boast the talents of Tom Hill, Leah Ward and Bruno Barton-Singer. On the other side, as well as their iconic captain, Wolfson’s Justin Yang, Ben Chaudri and Paul Cosgrove should never be underestimated.

It looked good for Emma at the start as Bruno Barton-Singer was quick to recognise an example of deus ex machina for the first starter. Bonuses on the German born art historian Erwin Panofsky sounded tricky, but we both managed the second and third. Now, I’m sorry, but you can’t sit and wait when you hear the name Robert Catesby. Both teams let the name sink in for a second before Eric Monkman buzzed in with his first answer of the night – the gunpowder plot. It wouldn’t be his last. This brought up bonuses on property  of which they managed one. Ben Chaudri recognised that the two probes NASA sent off on their merry way in 1977 were called Voyager. Their bonuses were all terms beginning with ‘apo’, and they managed 2. Tom Hill buzzed in with the term Naturalistic fallacy for the next starter. No, me neither. Davis Cup tennis provided them with a timely full house, a fact which seemed to surprise Bobby a little – in a good way, of course. A starter about a French physicist caused Eric Monkman to buzz in with “De Broglie”. Gesundheit! – I shouted at the telly, but he was right. This brought Wolfson a set of bonuses on scientific units used to measure constants. How many of these do you think I got right? How dare you? You’re right, mind you, I didn’t get any of them, but Wolfson managed a full house. A nice picture starter showed us two cities marked off a map showing Africa and South America. The South American one was Bolivia, so presumably La Paz. Asked which name element they have in common, I went for peace – guessing that Dar Es Salaam was the other. Eric Monkman buzzed in with the same suggestion, and we were both right. The picture bonuses showed more of the same and after confusion with the first they failed to take any of the bonuses. So, at some way past the ten minute mark, Wolfson just looked to be establishing control of the contest with a lead of 70 – 45.

You had to wait and wait and wait with the next starter, and then as soon as you heard ‘designed for world fair in Brussels’ slap that buzzer through the desk. Justin Yang won that buzzer race with “The Atomium”. A set of bonuses on stained glass in North West England promised but little, but general history knowledge enabled both of us to take a full house. Leah Ward struck back, recognising three titles of novels by Georgette Heyer. Be honest, ‘Lady of Quality’, ‘Venetia’ and ‘Regency Buck’ could have been anything – fishing flies, roses – marital aids . . . apologies. Bonuses on silent comedy saw Emma drop two out of a gettable set, and for the first time I started to worry about their chances of pulling this one off. Mind you, Bruno Barton-Singer had a fantastic early buzz on the next starter to identify the super-continent Pangaea. Criticisms of Marxism were not easy – I only had Bakunin, and Emma failed to add to their score. Now, for the music starter, when I’m asked for a modern British composer I usually plump for Benjamin Britten. Nobody was buzzing in, so Bruno Barton-Singer used the same tactic, and with success. More Britten songs, setting poems to music followed, and Emma identified Donne and Blake, but missed out on Wilfred Owen, which they probably should have had. Harsh, but this was a very tight match, where only 5 points separated the teams at this stage. Every answer counted. The speed of Eric Monkman, recognising a definition of the DMZ – Demilitarised Zone – was apparent when he won the buzzer race for the next starter. Early Nobel Laureates provided a further 10 to stretch the lead to a full set. I know nowt about C. elegans but it brought another starter to Justin Yang. Mathematics brought me nothing, but took Wolfson to 130 against Emmanuel’s 90. Still all to play for, considering how we’d seen Emma powering to the line in previous matches.

Another great buzz from Eric Monkman saw him identify the word ‘zany’ from Love’s Labour’s Lost. Hill forts escaped them completely. For the second picture starter I had a feeling that we were looking at the work of Franz Hals, but neither team had it. Tom Hill won the buzzer race to spell the capitals of firstly Senegal and then Bangladesh. The picture bonuses showed more works which featured in Proust’s A La Recherche du Temps Perdu, of which Emmanuel identified 2, to narrow the gap to 30. I thought Hilbert was a cartoon character, but apparently he was a german mathematician. Eric Monkman knew him anyway. Contemporary figures who appeared in Byron’s Don Juan only provided a single bonus. Eric Monkman made a rare miscue for the next starter, and I thought that it was a bit of a harsh adjudication when JP would not allow Bruno Barton-Singer apposite for apposition – they’ve often accepted answers this close in the past. Nobody knew Derek Parfit for the next starter. Some maths thing escaped both teams but then Tom Hill recognised a series of caves and stuff in the Yorkshire Dales. Galilean Moons of Jupiter gave me a full house, and when I completed my lap of honour I saw that 2 correct answers had put Emmanuel just 15 points adrift. The Wolfson skipper immediately stretched that lead again, knowing the Rashomon effect. Impressive shout. Latin terms including verbs in the present subjunctive were a bit of a gift, and they duly accepted that windfall to take th lead up to 40 points. Again, Emmanuel, through Tom Hill, came back, knowing that Monet painted more than 30 views of Rouen Cathedral. Had he never heard of postcards? The second South African War – with answers commonly found in UK street names, was a great little UC set, but the gong sounded after the first. Wolfson had won by 170 - 140

It had promised to be a terrific match, and it was. Not quite the closest we’ve seen this series, for once Wolfson got ahead they always seemed to have that tiny bit more in the tank. These two teams know each other well, and the congratulations from the Emmanuel team were genuine, and I have no doubt they’ll be cheering on their fellow Cambridge team in the final. Indeed, both Bobby and Eric made it clear that they’re mates in their appearance on Tuesday’s One Show. Congratulations to Wolfson, and best of luck in the final.

Jeremy Paxman Watch

Rather a forebearing JP again tonight. When asked for the picture bonuses, Eric Monkman got rather the wrong end of the stick, offering up “Vladivostock” rather than a name element. All JP said was, “That isn’t what I asked you for, “ and repeated the question. Mind you, that did enable him to refuse to accept the right answer when they gave it, since they’d already given a wrong un.

I think Jez, a Cambridge man, was a little bit emotional by the end of this all Cambridge semi, for I don’t recall him ever saying anything like his final oration to both teams in this show, “Well, I will say that all of you guys, of whatever gender, you’re very very clever.”

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

Belgrade translates into English as White City.

University Challenge - Sudden Death Quarter Final - Corpus Christi v. Balliol

Corpus Christi, Oxford v. Balliol, Oxford

Yes, dearly beloved, we have reached the last of the quarter final matches, the last round of drinks in the last chance saloon if you like. Tom Fleet, Emma Johnson, Adam Wright and skipper Nikhil Venkatesh had impressed for Corpus Christi throughout all of their matches until their second QF, where they were outbuzzed by Emmanuel. Opponents Balliol, represented by Freddy Potts, Jacob Lloyd, Ben Pope and captain Joey Goldman were beaten by last week’s qualifiers Wolfson in their first QF, but slaughtered Birmingham in their sudden death match. Who would win this one? Well, it’s been an unpredictable series, with a good half a dozen strong teams in the quarters, and as we all know 6 into 4 doesn’t go. Something’s gotta give. We’d soon find out just who.

If you’re asked for a King of Bavaria, Ludwig is always going to be a decent shout. It worked out that way for both me and Joey Goldman on the first starter. Chatham House earned them one bonus – the only one I knew was that Pitt the Elder was given the title of the Earl of Chatham. Respect for Jacob Lloyd for ascribing the Shakespeare quote about imagining death by drowning to Richard III – wouldn’t have been my first – or second, or third – choice, that one. Bonuses on squandering saw Balliol take their first full house, and these were by no means all easy either. The term Eutrophic gave Balliol their third successive starter and Ben Pope his first. Pairs of Scientific terms differing by only one letter were a good old UC special set, and Balliol took two. According to Harold Macmllan no sensible man challenges The Brigade of Guards – and two other bodies. I guessed the Church – it turned out to be the Catholic church,  and the other was the National Union of Mineworkers. Neither team had that one. The next was a real UC special. Concatenate the regnal numbers of all the monarchs of the UK since Victoria and the resulting 5 digit number is closest to the area of which country of the UK? It was crying out for a contestant to hit the buzzer and hope, and Joey Goldman was rewarded for bravery when his guess of Scotland turned out to be correct. Questions on Mary of Guise brought 2 more correct answers to Balliol, and my first full house of the night. A flag picture starter! I love a flag picture starter, and knew straightaway that this was Greenland’s. So did Adam Wright, who put Corpus Christi’s score into the black, and earned bonuses on flags of indigenous peoples that have co official status. The only one I knew was the Aboriginal flag from Australia, but Corpus managed two of them. Nikhil Venkatesh won the buzzer race to answer Marie Stopes for the next starter, and they correctly answered two of a set on panopticons. Incidentally this set disgracefully ignored the fact that the Panopticon is probably the most important building on Gallifrey, the Doctor’s home planet. So this rally meant that the score just after the 10 minute mark was 80 – 35 to Balliol.

Right, the next question asked for shared values of something or other, and I did what I always do when asked for a value I haven’t got a clue about. I answered 0. Not for the first time, it was right. Ben Pope had that one as well. Mesons, leptons, muons and the like gave me nowt for the bonuses, but Balliol lapped them up like cream, gaining a full house. Emma Johnson buzzed early to supply the words mediate and meditate for the next starter. This gave Corpus a set on South Korean cinema. Respect to the whole team for not one of them saying “What the . . . “ Despite never having knowingly watched a South Korean movie, I took a full house, and Corpus took two bonuses of their own. Really and truly these were GK questions – and nowt wrong with that either. Freddy Potts knew the Gini index. Pun overload warning. A fantastic UC special set followed on sets of books in which the shorter title was also the beginning of the longer title, eg Cormac McCarthy and George Orwell giving us The Road – To Wigan Pier. Alright, it was easy to get a full house on these which Balliol duly did, but that wasn’t the point. These were fun, and kudos to the setter. Adam Wright recognised candidates for the southernmost of the Pillars of Hercules, and earned Corpus a set on South America. They took a couple, but at this stage they really needed full houses to start closing that gap on Balliol. Now, I have a tactic for answering who composed American operas for the music starter. If it sounds like music I say Copland. If it doesn’t, I say Glass. This time I went for Glass, as did Joey Goldman and we were both correct. Bonuses on other composers who had day jobs only provided any of us with one, the old chestnut Borodin who was a chemist, although presumably not as in Boots the. Emma Johnson buzzed in with the next starter with the answer of Blastocyst. Gesundheit, I thought, but it was right, anyway. Rapidly orbiting moons, being about my only area of any scientific knowledge – astronomy – promised my best chance of a lap of honour in this show. I actually had two, which meant the lap of honour followed by the Mexican Wave. It was the same two that Corpus managed. The first and greatest masterpiece of modern art could only be Les Desmoiselles d’Avignon, but it took a while before Joey Goldman buzzed in, earning bonuses on writer’s block. The two that Balliol managed meant that the score was 160 – 95 in their favour on the cusp of the 20 minute mark. Game over? No not yet, but it would need an almighty effort from Corpus Christi.

Emma Johnson knew Force Majeure, and obscurely named administrative districts of England gave one bonus which reduced the gap to 50. Now, for the second picture starter I immediately recognised the original costume design for L’Apres Midi d’Un Faun, since exactly the same picture is in the Chronicle of the 20^th Century. Emma Johnson, a star player for Corpus at this stage of the game, knew it too. More original designs for ballets failed to add to their score. Joey Goldman stretched the lead back out, knowing the sign for a glottal stop. I gave myself a small round of applause for knowing that atropine comes from deadly nightshade for the first of a set of bonuses – alright, I only had one on this set, but it was one more than Balliol managed. I didn’t know that Clara Wieck married Schumann, but Jacob Lloyd did. Postwar works on the shortlist of academic books that changed the world offered me but little and indeed delivered me nothing, while Balliol had a full house. Don’t care – I knew atropine. I loved the next starter – three European capital cities gave their names to elements of the periodic table – name two. Paris – Lutetium, Stockholm – Holmium, Copenhagen – Hafnium – I answered. Some time later once again it was the Balliol skipper who had the guts to buzz in, and bravery was rewarded as he gave the 2 Scandinavian capitals. This took them through the 200 points barrier, and the Danish Colonial Empire brought them to 215 and a 95 point lead. With the clock running down, Balliol were now as good as through. I think that Ben Pope probably knew that the closest national capital to Vienna is Bratislava, and he supplied its first three letters for the next starter. Here’s one of those annoying things. If you go to a pub quiz, and the question master asks which two European capital cities lie closest together, if you answer – Rome and the Vatican – you will be told you are being silly. If you answer Bratislava and Vienna you will be told it’s Rome and the Vatican. Anyway, this brought bonuses on the name Angel. A lovely set, Balliol were never going to pass up a full house on these. Fair play to Nikhil Venkatesh, the Corpus skipper must have known that they were out, but he still buzzed in with the Paradox of Hedonism for the next starter. Again, this brought up a great UC special set. Given words which appeared alongside their dictionary definition, the team had to identify capital cities – for example – airlift and wall give Berlin. Great set, and Corpus took a full house. Adam Wright knew the newly discovered moon Nix of Pluto. Sadly there was only time for one correct bonus on English and Sanskrit. At the gong, Balliol had won by 160 – 240.

I’m sure that it’s scant consolation, Corpus Christi, but there’s absolutely no shame in reaching the quarters of such a competitive series of UC – in other years I fancy you would have been semi-finalists. Many congratulations to Balliol, an impressive performance against a very good team. Best of luck in your semi.

Jeremy Paxman Watch

On the Henry VIII question about Mary of Guise, JP observed “He was a real charmer, wasn’t he?” Dare I say it, takes one to know one?

Oh, Jez, you do like your little joke don’t you? Pronouncing glottal stop as glo’al stop – a little obvious, don’t you think, though?

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

Greenland’s flag is called “Erfalasorput” which translates as ‘Our Flag’ – love it, does exactly what it says on the tin.

University Challenge - Sudden Death Quarter Final - Warwick v. Wolfson, Cambridge

By the time we get to this stage, the sudden death quarter final, the chances are that we’re going to lose a good team, with maybe one of the stars of the series so far. Which brings us to Warwick v. Wolfson, Cambridge. Both Sophie Rudd of Warwick, and Eric Monkman of Wolfson could claim to be amongst the best buzzers of the series so far, but the reality of the situation was that we were going to be losing one of them – but which one? Warwick were represented by Jamie Keschner -Lycett, the reserve player, in for Sophie Hobbs,and regulars Sophie Rudd, Thomas Van and skipper Giles Hutchings. As for Wolfson, they fielded an unchanged team in Justin Yang, Ben Chaudri, Paul Cosgrove and their irrepressible skipper Eric Monkman.

Given a quote from Queen Victoria about an author, Thomas Van came in too early, ad even as he offered the answer of Disraeli he was apologising, knowing it was wrong. Given the detail that he died in 1870, Eric Monkman took the points by suggesting Charles Dickens. If you’re asked about a Victorian author and you don’t know the answer, then Dickens is the equivalent of backing the favourite in a greyhound race. You won’t always get your money back, but you’ll do so far more often than if you back the outsider. This brought up a set of bonuses on railway architecture. Yum yum, thought I. Full house to me – 2 to Wolfson. We were then asked for the Italian title of a painting which was described by JP. First in was Justin Yang with Primavera. The words of William Hazlitt describing the Romantic poets brought us both a full house, and gave Wolfson an early lead of 50 points. Sophie Rudd might not have been feeling stress and strain, but she gave them as the correct answer to the next starter. Some physics thing I think. 2 bonuses on China served to reduce the gap somewhat. Eric Monkman knew that petition principia equates to the English phrase – begging the question. Good shout, that one. Physics and astronomy terms containing the word black brought neither of us any points. For the picture starter we saw a latin phrase – num custos fratris mei sum? – which even my latin O Level was enough tell me meant – am I my brother’s keeper? Eric Monkman took starter number 3 with that one. More quotations brought a full house for both of us. Sophie Rudd managed her second starter, and was in very quickly for a set of words whose only consonants were c and d – as in cad. Here’s a question - How often do we see UC teams undone by relatively easy sports questions? This is what happened to Warwick, as a relatively gentle set of tennis questions beat them in straight sets. At just past the 10 minute mark Wolfson led 85 – 25, and Eric Monkman was having the better of his buzzer arm wrestle with Sophie Rudd.

I was surprised that neither of such able teams knew that Sir John Vanburgh designed both Castle Howard and Blenheim Palace. I’ve never heard of the Narrow Road to the Deep North but Giles Hutchings had which brought him the next starter. Two timely bonuses on sea birds followed. Now, when you hear ‘dancer’ and ‘choreographer’ and any reference to America, you’ll not go far wrong by throwing caution to the wind and buzzing in with Isadora Duncan. That’s exactly what Justin Yang did to win the next starter. A difficult set on Celtic kingdoms brought just the one bonus, enough to bring up a triple figure score. Lord John Russell’s definition of a proverb brought Eric Monkman starter number 4. A full set on psychology meant that the gap between the teams had stretched to 80, and was looking ominous. Now, coming to the music starter, I do wonder if Wolfson had agreed before hand that if they got an opera, one of them would hit and hope with Carmen. Hat’s what Ben Chaudri did. Poor old Giles Hutchings knew it was Verdi, and knew it was a famous chorus, but zigged with Nabucco, while it was clearly the Anvil Chorus from Il Trovatore. The next starter was a gentle Geography question about the straits formerly known as the Hellespont. Eric Monkman won his 5^th starter with that unconsidered trifle. This earned the music bonuses on operatic choruses. They made short work of these. For the next starter Sophie Rudd knew that pebbles fitted into the classification of grain sizes, and this gave Warwick 2 bonuses on Nobel Peace Prizes. Asked for an American poet usually known by his initials and his surname, Eric Monkman’s answer of T.S.Eliot sounds a decent shout. Not when JP finished the question, though, with the details that these are usually represented in lower case. Jamie Keschner -Lycett accepted that windfall. River gorges in France provided just the one correct answer, but at least Warwick were now within striking distance of triple figures. VICE magazine brought Eric Monkman starter number 6. Battles of the Wars of the Roses saw Wolfson only score the one correct answer, in a very gettable set. Nonetheless it restored an 80 point lead of 160 – 80 as we rounded upon the 20 minute mark.

Now, I knew that Delbert Mann directed Marty, so all of the films given by JP for the next starter were directed by men with that surname. Nobody knew that one. The Rhani of Jhansi was remarkably enough to give Eric Monkman his seventh starter with the Indian Mutiny. A full set on the Emperor Trajan brought a triple figure lead. Starter 8 for Eric Monkman followed swiftly as he identified a portrait of the young Napoleon Bonaparte for the second picture starter. For bonuses Wolfson were asked to identify the painters of three other portraits of Old Boney. They answered Jacques Louis David for the first two – which weren’t – and Delacroix for the third – which was David. C’est la vie. Eric Monkman wasn’t in particularly fast for the next starter, knowing that Jimmy Carter was president at the time of the three Mile Island accident, but he was still faster than any of the Warwick team and claimed starter number 8. They took the same bonus on currency crises that I took, with Zimbabwe. Didn’t matter that they only got the one – that lead was growing, and the clock was ticking down. Nobody knew a series of towers in Moscow. I got a bit frustrated when the words history of the French Revolution were given in the next starter, and nobody buzzed for ages. Almost reluctantly, it seemed, Thomas Van gave us Carlyle – eventually. Physical Chemistry provided one bonus, which was one more than I managed. Sophie Rudd now won a buzzer race, knowing that the South American River upon whose banks are two capital cities is the River Plate – Rio del Plata. Ages – mulitples of 13 – of political figures brought a timely full house, but by this time the game was over as a contest. Nonetheless Thomas Van took the next starter on Hemingway. Bonuses on taxonomic ranks in zoology brought 2 bonuses. Nobody knew the next starter about the atlas bone. It seemed that perhaps the Mighty Monkman had decided to take a breather at thus tail end of the match, because now it was Giles Hutchings who won the buzzer race to identify Richard Strauss. Bonuses on astronomy had the effect of reducing the gap to 50 – two full houses. Was there time? Well, there was time for Wolfson to lose 5 for an incorrect interruption, and time for Sophie Rudd to identify the Dukedom held by the eldest son of the reigning monarch as Cornwall. There was time enough for one bonus on Prime Ministers. That was it, though. Wolfson had won by 205 – 175. That sounds relatively close, but this was due to a splendid belated fightback, and was not really a reflection of the dominance of Wolfson, and Eric Monkman, for much of the contest. Hard lines Warwick, but well done for what you’ve achieved in this series.

Jeremy Paxman Watch

Getting into the spirit of the thing, Eric Monkman offered a very dramatic reading of the quotation – He who lives by the sword shall perish by the sword -. In years gone by JP might well have slapped him down verbally for such a performance, but in this show he merely chuckled and observed that Mr. M. would have made an excellent revivalist preacher. You’re becoming positively avuncular, Jez.

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

In China the festival called Tomb Sweeping Day is celebrated in April.

University Challenge - Elimination Match - Birmingham v. Balliol, Oxford

Birmingham v. Balliol, Oxford

Yes, dearly beloved, last Monday was a visit to the last chance saloon. Drinking for Birmingham were Elliot Jan-Smith, Fraser Sutherland, Chris Rouse and skipper George Greenlees, while the drinks for Balliol were on Freddie Potts, Jacob Lloyd, Ben Pope and captain Joey Goldman.

Now, if you hear “town” and “shares its name with an 18^th century painter” then don’t hesitate – it’s Gainsborough. Joey Goldman won that buzzer race, and this brought Balliol a couple of bonuses on places with similar names to Westeros. I’ll be honest, I interrupted incorrectly with Herodotus for the Greek historian required for the next starter, as did Freddie Potts. The answer, supplied by Chris Rouse, being Thucydides. Bonuses on world History proved elusive, but Birmingham managed one of them. Joey Goldman was very quickly in with the term Anthropocene for the next starter. Mendelian genetics frankly did not seem very promising, and indeed I managed narry a one. Balliol took none of them either. SKY is an acronym named for the top universities in South Korea – as Joey Goldman knew for the next starter. Ida Lupino only provided a single bonus, and this brought us up to the first picture starter. Being a massive Beatles fan of course I recognised Komm, gib mir diene hand – and – Sie Liebt dich as I wanna Hold Your Hand and She Loves You. The Beatles did actually record these German versions of their own songs. Poor old Freddie Potts gave us I wanna Hold Your Hand, but then offered is – She Loves Me , adding a hopeful yeah-yeah – yeah. No, no no, to coin a phrase. This allowed Chris Rouse in to steal. The titles of three more tracks rerecorded by 60s artists for release in Europe. Brimingham only took the one, although they were only just outside the bullseye with both of the other two. This meant that the score at the ten minute mark stood at 40 – 25 to Balliol. On the surface there didn’t seem to be much in it. However both of Birmingham’s starters had come from incorrect Balliol interruptions. Early indications were that Balliol was winning the buzzer race hands down.

Perhaps self-employed taxi driver was the biggest clue to Noddy for the next starter, but neither team managed it. Fr the next starter Jacob Lloyd finished off a great quote from Ronald Hutton about the English Civil War. This earned Balliol a set of bonuses on Australian Deserts. I knew the Simpson, so I had one, but Balliol didn’t. For the next starter, it was one of those long winded things which suddenly becomes clear, and when it became obvious that the words ‘pathetic fallacy’ were what the question was driving at I saw at least four hands fly to the buzzers. It was Jacob Lloyd who got there first, though. My heart sank as JP announced physics as the subject – still, my policy of always answering neutrino to any question about a particle paid dividends with the first bonus. Yes of course I did a lap of honour . That was me done for this set, but it brought a full house to Balliol. A cantata from Prokofiev went begging for the music starter, and so the bonuses rolled over.  I don’t blame George Greenlees for flying into the next starter, but sadly Esperanto is not the only constructed language, and this starter wanted the lesser known Volapuk. Balliol couldn’t capitalise. Nothing daunted, George Greenlees knew that the word Gloria usually precedes In Excelsis Deo – while deo itself usually precedes daylight com and me wanna go home. Sorry. This earned music bonuses for Birmingham in the shape of three more excerpts from scores by composers known for their association with a particular film director. They took the one I knew as well, Ennio Morricone and Sergio Leone. The next starter was about the physicist Stokes, and the impressive Joey Goldman added to his starter tally with that one. Now, when you hear English poet and Catholic convert, it doesn’t necessarily mean Gerard Manley Hopkins – but you can bet your life that will be the answer. Bonuses on him brought a full house to Balliol. It seemed inevitable that it was skipper Goldman who won the buzzer race to answer the next question about Lady Hamilton. The solar system brought another couple of bonuses, and Birmingham were, frankly, looking down the barrel of a gun. Freddie Potts guessed that a series of periods in a specific country’s history belonged to Brazil. A lovely UC set on palindromic surnames gave Balliol a lead of 140 – 30 just after the 20 minute mark.  The game wasn’t necessarily over, but the engine was already on Birmingham’s minibus of despair.

I didn’t know Giorgio di Chiricho for the second picture starter, but the irrepressible Balliol skipper was in like a whippet for it. 3 more examples of architectural capricci brought another full house. George Greenlees managed to get a toe in the door by knowing that melatonin is secreted by the pineal gland. Psychology bonuses added a much needed 10 points. Freddie Potts knew the Germa poet Heinrich Heine for the next starter after an incorrect Birmingham interruption. A UC special set on pairs of words where a few letters have to be added to the first to make the second brought an easy full house to the Balliol juggernaut. Nobody knew a set of different types of hedgerow for the next starter. For the next starter Joey Goldman knew that Citizen’s Broom toppled the leader of Burkina Faso. French ministers of finance gave me nowt, but Balliol took 2 to take them through the 200 point barrier. Let’s be honest, if you’re asked about an architectural historian – it is going to be Pevsner, isn’t it? Certainly Joey Goldman thought so with a very early and correct interruption. Verb moods brought a full house in very short order. I was surprised how long the teams took to get feldspar from the next starter, but eventually it was George Greenlees who snapped up that unconsidered trifle. Geography bonuses pushed them a little further onwards, but triple figures still looked like something of a tall order. Unstoppable, Joey Goldman added to his set of impressively early buzzes knowing the story of an horu had something to do with Chopin. Pharmacology only brought the one bonus, but that was of no significance. Now, I don’t know how I knew that Gibraltar Point is in Lincolnshire, but I did. Joey Godlman looked as if he was guessing, but his answer was right. Pairs of people and the full decade in which they were both alive brought up the 200 point lead for Balliol, at which point the gong brought the contest to a conclusion. Balliol won by 265 to 65. Hard lines Birmingham – beaten by consistently superb buzzing, and there’s nothing you can do when that happens. This sets up a fascinating shoot out for Balliol.

Jeremy Paxman Watch

Here’s a funny thing – Jez can’t pronounce ‘nomenclature’, Seriously – he says it about 6 and a half minutes into the show, and he tries to say the first couple of syllables missing out the vowels – nmnclature. Most bizarre.

When the Balliol team failed to answer any questions about Australian deserts an exasperated JP expostulated “What is the point of having an Australian if you can’t answer things like that?” Well – at least Ben Pope can probably pronounce nomenclature properly, Jez.

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

Quickset, Devon and Cornish are all different types of hedgerow

University Challenge - Qualification Match - Edinburgh v. Wolfson Cambridge

Qualification Match – Edinburgh v. Wolfson, Cambridge

Yes, we’re getting through the quarter final stage at affair old rate of knots now. This was our second match with automatic qualification the prize for the winners. Edinburgh, represented by Luke Dale, Euan Smith, Emily Goddard and their captain, Joe Boyle saw off Birmingham in their first quarter final match, while Wolfson College Cambridge, represented by Justin Yang, Ben Chaudri, Paul Cosgrove and their skipper Eric Monkman, defeated Balliol, Oxford in their first quarter. An interesting match on paper, this one. In previous matches both teams had demonstrated buzzing throughout the team, and in Messrs Smith and Monkman, two of the most impressive performers on the buzzer of the whole series so far.

Eric Monkman showed an impressive turn of speed on the buzzer for the first starter, but didn’t quite get the right definition of HDI and lost 5. Small margins can make a difference. Euan Smith came in with Human Development Index to earn the first points and a set of bonuses on Thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment. I would have answered David Hume to all three until it was right, but it was right on the first and that was me done. Edinburgh took two. Nothing daunted by the first question, Eric Monkman came in to answer that Geoffrey of Monmouth had written that Stonehenge had been brought to Britain from Ireland by Merlin. Wonder what he was on when he wrote that? Bonuses on French territories were not easy and both of us only managed the one. I love Angela Carter’s definition of comedy as “tragedy that happens to other people”, and that one went to Mr. Monkman’s able buzz lieutenant, Ben Chaudri. Astronomy yielded just one correct answer, but you could see there were a couple where had they zigged rather than zagged they’d have had them. Now, had you asked me what P-value was I’m afraid my answer would have shown nothing other than my penchant for schoolboy humour. Joe Boyle knew it though, and earned bonuses on the architectural style known as Brick Gothic or Hanseatic. Didn’t sound that promising , but it yielded a full house. The picture starter showed a map of India , with a state highlighted, and basically shading to indicate the highest proportion of speakers of a given language. Phew. Nobody – apart from me – had it. A good shout from Paul Cosgrove saw him identify an alloy of platinum and iridium as making up the international standard kilogram. This brought up the picture bonuses – more Indian states and languages, and 2 correct answers meant that both teams were dead level on the cusp of the 10 minute mark, having scored 45. This was looking as good a contest as we had expected it to be.

The next starter was a cryptic refence to Washington Crossing the Delaware. Didn’t faze Euan Smith at all, and this earned a set on matrices. When I switched my mind back on again, Edinburgh hadn’t added to their score. I knew who founded the Boys Brigade, as did Emily Goddard. Florentine Churches seemed to be to Edinburgh’s liking, and they took a full set. A UC special on words followed – basically you had to quickly figure out which two consonants produce words which have specific different meanings if you stick each vowel in turn between them. Winner of that particular buzzer race was Emily Goddard with a superfast answer of S and T. The astronomer Lassell provided Edinburgh with a further 2 correct answers. Now, you had to wait and wait and wait with the next question, then as soon as JP uttered the words ‘Russia’s best loved writer’ go like Billy-o for the buzzer. That’s what Euan Smith did with Pushkin, and he was right to do so. Pushkin once wrote a poem about my great, great, great, great uncle. True story. Bonuses on Western Europe  as defined by the US  statistics office brought them another full house. Dearly beloved, we have noted in the past that in a University Challenge match both teams will have their periods of ascendancy, their purple patches, if you like. It’s imperative to make the most of it while it’s happening, and Edinburgh were certainly making hay while the sun was shining on them, having by now powered through the triple figure barrier and put on 80 unanswered points. The music starter saw a rare wrong buzz from Euan Smith, allowing Eric Monkman to identify the Danse Macabre of Saint-Saens. Three more dances of death all escaped them, but at least their score was climbing again now after the Edinburgh blitz. I’ll be honest, ignoring all of the stuff about the periodic table for the next starter, after I heard ‘Latin subjunctive form’ I went for fiat, being about the only one I can remember. When, goaded by JP, Ben Chaudri offered the same, it proved to be right too. Susan Sontag promised me but little, and delivered me but the one bonus, as it did for Wolfson. I think I watched a TV show at least part of which was dedicated to Dorothy Hodgkin, as she gave me my first – and only – Science starter for the week. As I set off on the lap of honour Eric Monkman too supplied the correct answer.  The human skeleton provided a couple of bonuses. That Wolfson fightback, led by the efforts of their inspirational skipper meant that Wolfson had reduced arrears somewhat, and coming up towards the 20 minute mark the score stood at 125 – 90 in Edinburgh’s favour.

Mind you, Edinburgh’s own skipper was leading from the front as well. Joe Boyle buzzed in early to identify panther onca as the jaguar. Film titles including the name of a food grain did nowt for me, but Edinburgh managed one. For the next starter about an African river, Ben Chaudri zigged with Congo, allowing Euan Smith to zag with Niger. South America brought them two more correct answers. I was impressed with the speed with which Eric Monkman identified Mendeleev for the second picture starter. 3 more scientists with chemical elements named after them brought a much needed and well deserved full house. I thought both teams sat on the buzzer a little bit after the words – awakenings – and  - neurologist – were spoken in the next question, but Ben Chaudri chanced his arm with Oliver Sacks and was right to do so. Oh great – thought I – chemistry bonuses now. When I came out of my chemistry induced catatonia, Wolfson had narrowed the gap to 30 points. 10 points of which were immediately knocked off by Eric Monkman, knowing that the Crito de Delores was the starting point for the Mexican Revolution. Books about language reduced it by a further 10 points. Less than 4 minutes to go, and all that separated the teams was a single starter. Nobody knew that Edward VIII abdicated in December 1936. Ben Chaudri was the first in with the term larvae for the stage in many insects which comes immediately after egg. We had a tied game. Words ending in the letters za provided 5 points, but all three were, I thought gettable. Would they regret dropping those couple? Maybe, but on the other hand maybe not. They had retaken the lead, and it was now down to Edinburgh to play catch up. This they did as Euan Smith knew that the novel The Betrothed was originally written in Italian. A gift of a set on English counties saw them gain a full set at top speed. Syrinx could possibly have given Eric Monkman the idea of a flute – unluckily he plumped for clarinet, allowing Euan Smith to claim a vital starter for Edinburgh. Medical conditions affecting the spine brought nowt, but crucially Edinburgh led by 30. One visit to the table would not be enough for Wolfson now. It was so unlucky for Eric Monkman that he knew the right answer to the next starter, but blurted out the wrong answer having brilliantly recognised the answer to a question which had only started to be asked. He said ‘sand’ knowing that the place name component wich refers to the production of salt. Well, that one couldn’t go across, but he lost five, such a shame considering he had played so well all match. It wouldn’t have made a difference. We were gonged straight afterwards, giving Edinburgh a 195 – 160 victory.

Huge congratulations to Edinburgh – best of luck in the semis. As for Wolfson, well, whoever faces them in the last chance saloon will have a hell of a job on their hands. Very well played as well.

Jeremy Paxman Watch

I think that the Paxman tongue was firmly in cheek when he remarked that both teams’ reluctance to engage with a latin subjunctive form was “getting embarrassing”. Still, that’s a step in the right direction Jez – give us as much of that as you like. Warmed up he went on to mock Susan Sontag’s description of watching TV as a creative pursuit. When Edinburgh identified Peru and Bolivia as the countries sharing Lake Titicaca they chuckled and immediately the great man took them to task – “Why is it so funny?” Oh, come on, Jez – it’s maybe a long time since you were a school boy, but Titicaca is just a funny word. End of. Then finally there was poor Eric Monkman blurting out ‘sand’ – and then correcting himself with the correct answer of salt. JP was not pleased because it denied Edinburgh a run at the question, and rather took him to task. Not quite the vintage Paxman of a few years ago, but definitely more entertaining than in most of this series. Well done sir.

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

The suffix – wich – in place names denotes the production of salt.

University Challenge Quarter Final Elimination Match: Warwick v. Bristol

Warwick v. Bristol

What an unpredictable series this has been. Be honest, looking at first and second round form, how many of us would have put money on the first elimination match featuring these two teams? For, as JP’s memorable metaphor at the top of the show stated, one of them would be taking the minibus of broken dreams immediately afterwards.

Warwick, collectively Sophie Hobbs, Sophie Rudd, Thomas Van and skipper Giles Hutchings, had looked very sharp until their encounter with Emmanuel in their first quarter match, when they were comprehensively outbuzzed. For Bristol, represented by Joe Rolleston, Claire Jackson, Michael Tomsett and skipper Alice Clarke, it was a similar story. Amongst the teams with the best records in the first two rounds, they were outplayed by Corpus Christi. Indications? Well, last week we saw Emmanuel beat Corpus, so did that point to a Warwick victory?

I enjoyed the way that several definitions of the word howler for the first starter provoked no reaction, but the moment that the words “Harry Potter” passed JP’s lips a buzzer race ensued, won by Joe Rolleston. Bristol took two bonuses on landmarks featured in films, but should really have had a full house, since they knew the right answer to the middle question, but didn’t say it. Ouch. I have no idea why I guessed Kant in answer to the next starter, but it was right, both for me and for Sophie Rudd. This gave Warwick bonuses on Dorothy L. Sayers, of which they took the one. Sophie Rudd took her second consecutive starter, knowing about sticky wickets in cricket. A UC special set followed, in which the question defined two people, the surname of one being the given name of the other – the linked name being the answer to the question. I particularly liked Max Ernst and Ernst Mach – kudos to the setter of that one. Warwick took two of these. For the picture starter we were shown the locations of two battles in England. Respect to Joe Rolleston for knowing not just that these were Stamford Bridge and Battle (as in – of Hastings) and for saying that Harold II (and not just King Harold) was the royal figure who commanded armies in both. More of the same provided two correct answers, and I’ll be honest, I didn’t have the one they missed either. Now, I’m very sorry, but when you hear ‘published in 1915’ and ‘theory’ you slam the buzzer through the desk and answer General Relativity, whether you know it or not. For some reason both teams showed a reluctance to go for the buzzer, and it fell to Claire Jackson to give the answer. Bonuses on ancient philosophy were enough to give Bristol a lead of 60 – 35 at the ten minute mark. To be fair, both teams seemed more lively than in their previous appearance, and this looked as if it could be a very good contest.

The next question was one of those which seems very difficult, until the key detail slaps you in the face. So it was about an island – and nothing occurred until the words South Africa were mentioned. Boom – has to be Robben Island. That’s what Joe Rolleston thought, and he was right. 1 bonus followed on sugars, and I got one as well, by waiting to see which ones came up in the first two, and guessing from what was left. Once I’d completed my lap of honour, JP was asking the next question. If you’re asked a question which involves French porcelain there’s normally only two answers to choose from – Sevres and Limoges. This one even helpfully asked for a city, so obviously Limoges. Neither team had it. The next one was quite long and involved, but even if you didn’t know ectomorph you had a halfway decent chance of getting it from the fact that we were told it comes from the Greek for outside form. Sophie Rudd zigged with Endomorph, but that’s inside form, I think. Joe Rolleston had the correct answer. Now, you can see the setters of the next set of bonuses rubbing their hands together by giving them something which had a decent chance of making the average armchair viewer feel superior to the contestants – three dart checkouts in darts. Bristol managed to take a long time to get the first wrong, but then redeemed themselves with the next two. Sophie Rudd came in too early for the next starter, and Joe Rolleston, revelling in his ‘sweeper’ role in this contest, came in to give us Cyrus the great. Bristol gave one correct answer on pairs of literary mothers and daughters, but this was a very gettable set, and in a tight match you have to maximise your points when you’re in the ascendancy, as Bristol were at this point. As it was, the six minute shutout we’d just seen had increased the Bristol lead to 80 points. For the next starter we heard a lot of “Virginia Plain” by Roxy Music, but had to wait what seemed like ages until we heard the second excerpt which we had been told was coming. It was clearly Talking Heads.Still, both teams are probably too young to be that familiar with Roxy Music, and neither could identify them. It was that man Rolleston who took the next starter, knowing Caen and Cannes from the descriptions and spelling both of them correctly. This earned Bristol the dubious honour of the music bonuses. Basically in each one a performer on the first track was the producer of the second. Clever, that. Two of the three bonuses gave them a lead of 100, and completed a ten minute shutout, during which Warwick’s score had actually fallen to 30.

So, an easy win in the end for Bristol, then? Not necessarily. If you watch a lot of UC – and if not, then why not? – you’ll know that in many matches both teams will have their periods of ascendancy. You’ll also know that JP noticeably speeds up his delivery of the questions in this last period of the contest. There was hope for Warwick in this. But you have to say that if there ever was such a thing as on course bookies in UC – perish the thought – then you could probably have named your own odds on Warwick at this stage.

The fightback began with a great buzz from the previously subdued Giles Hutchings, who knew the German mathematician Gauss. 2 bonuses on duels reduced the deficit by 20. Now, I know why Michael Tomsett interrupted so quickly after he heard the name “Simon Sudbury” with the incorrect answer of Wat Tyler. For Simon Sudbury was indeed killed under the orders of the leader of the Peasants’ Revolt – they nailed his bishop’s mitre to his disembodied head and stuck it on a pole on the drawbridge gate on London Bridge, I believe. But it was too early to be certain that this was where the question was going – which it wasn’t. Five points of the lead gone. I’ve no doubt that Michael Tomsett knew that he was an Archbishop of Canterbury, which Warwick didn’t – and so that really was an opportunity missed, I’m afraid. Did that take the wind out of Bristol’s sails a little? Maybe. The next one was the old chestnut about the African capital city whose name translates as Elephant’s trunk – and if that wasn’t enough to give you Khartoum, then the bit about being at the confluence of Blue and White Niles should have been. Sophie Rudd took that, seemingly energised by having her answer for the Archbishop question taken out of the equation by her skipper. I knew the same two of their anatomy bonuses as Warwick did, and that was another 20 point bite out of the lead. No need for Bristol to panic yet, but with a good five minutes to go Warwick were back in the contest. Right, now, even if JP had not shown the actual painting for the 2^nd picture starter, as soon as he said “painting inspired by a 19^th century poem” you knew, just KNEW it was going to be “The Lady of Shallot”. Thomas Van won that buzzer race. More pictures by the same artist depicting women from literature only added 5 points, but the gap of 40 points meant they just needed the next two starters. Sophie Rudd, the light of battle in her eyes, suffered a rush of blood to the head and came in too early for the next question. However Bristol could not dredge up the term psephology for the study of elections. Nobody knew Brecht and Weill’s city of Mahagonny or the next starter. Again, Michael Tomsett was definitely thinking on the right lines when he came in early for the next starter, but again was not quite on the money, and lost five. This allowed Sophie Rudd in with the Thames Valley. Castles on Scottish islands yielded nowt. Two and half minutes to go, and Bristol still led by 30 points. One full house would not be enough. There might just be time for two sets – no more. Claire Jackson was very unlucky to lose five points in a question that seemed finished when she answered. Nobody could dredge up buntings. Thomas Van took a cracker, knowing some of the aboriginal languages of Australia. Sophie Rudd crossed fingers on both hands as bonuses on church architecture needed to yield at least one bonus to reduce the gap to a single starter. They missed the first two, but crucially took the third. Nobody knew that Ecclesiastes comes between Proverbs and the Song of Songs. Oh, how ironic that the moment which it transpired would put Warwick in with a chance of winning should come from Joe Rolleston, easily Bristol’s star player of the contest. He buzzed in early and identified Henry V as the play during a performance of which the Globe burned down. Right name, wrong number – it was Henry VIII. No gong yet. Essentially, if Warwick took the next starter, they would win. If Bristol took it, or even if neither team answered, then Bristol would hold on – it was that simple. The question – Which Austrian film director’s first sound film was entitled M – the winner of the buzzer race, Sophie Rudd. “FRITZ LANG!” she shouted, understandably excited by one of the greatest comebacks since Lazarus. The gong didn’t sound immediately, but surely there would not be time for bonuses and another starter? Indeed not. One bonus gave Warwick a win by 120 to 110.

It will be little consolation to Bristol, I’m sure, but that was a great match in which both teams showed the best of themselves. This is just my opinion, and feel free to disagree, but I think Bristol actually had the right tactics – if you think you know the answer you can’t afford to hang around, and you have to go for it. Had any of those interruptions paid off, then they would have won. Many congratulations to Warwick, and best of luck in your next match.

Jeremy Paxman Watch

We’ve seen in the past how JP can be susceptible to the charms of the opposite sex, and this for me was demonstrated when Alice Clarke offered the word gluctose instead of glucose. He couldn’t have accepted it, but felt the need to sweeten the pill saying, “Clearly just a slip of the tongue”. It’s not exactly Alexander Armstrong calling members of the 200 club ‘brilliant contestants’, but it’s a step on that slippery path, surely.

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

Dorothy L. Sayers coined the phrase “It pays to advertise”

University Challenge Quarter Final Qualification Match - Emmanuel Cambridge v. Corpus Christi, Oxford

Emmanuel, Cambridge v. Corpus Christi, Oxford

Doesn’t time fly? Here we are already at our first quarter final qualification match. This was an Oxbridge affair. The team from Emmanuel, as ever represented by Tom Hill, Leah Ward, Bruno Barton-Singer and skipper and perennial LAM favourite, Bobby Seagull had defeated the much-fancied Warwick team in their previous match in the quarters. Corpus Christi, collectively Tom Fleet, Emma Johnson, Adam Wright and skipper Nikhil Venkatesh, also pulled off something of a giant killing by seeing off the impressive Bristol team in their first quarter. On paper, this looked a good match. Bobby, the Emmanuel skipper, told me, “I had seen Corpus defeat one of the best Cambridge teams and the way they demolished Bristol on the buzzer, both live in the studios. I was really impressed with Corpus, being the highest cumulative scorers so far, and they are such a balanced team (and one that seems to enjoy being on the show). So to be completely honest, my team were expecting to lose but we went in relaxed as well.” And if that doesn’t whet your appetite for the competition, then nothing will, and so, without further ado –

It seemed to me that both teams slept a little on the buzzer for the first starter. It had become obvious that the answer was India a couple of seconds before Nikhil Venkatesh buzzed in. Bonuses on the Odyssey were a nice set of chestnuts, of which Corpus Christi took a couple. Bobby opened his team’s account when he knew that William Golding wrote, amongst other novels “Pincher Martin”. Films by the British director Gurinder Chadha brought the teams level on the scoreboard. Now, time was that you needed to know the order of the Plagues of Egypt in the Book of Exodus, because they would come up in quizzes on a regular basis. They seem to have dropped out of fashion of recent years. Still, they are stuck enough in my memory that I knew that 2 was frogs. Bruno Barton-Singer was first to chance his arm, and fortune favoured the brave as he gave the right answer. The number 12 did nowt for me, but it gave Emma another 5. I thought it was a bit mean having another mathsy thing for the picture starter where we were shown a roulette curve and asked for its name. I suggested Nigel, facetiously, but Bruno Barton-Singer put me in my place by giving the correct answer – cycloid. Three more of the same switched me off for a minute or so, by the end of which Emma had added 5 more points to their score. Now, I was pretty pleased with myself that I knew Alexander I the Fierce of Scotland before JP started bringing other Alexanders into it. Actually my great great great great uncle was court portrait painter to Tsar Alexander I for a while, but that’s another story. Tom Hill took that one. Queen Zenobia of Syria offered one gettable chance with Palmyra, but Emma couldn’t convert. Didn’t matter. At the ten minute mark they were well on top, even if the scoreboard only showed a lead of 60 – 20. The next ten minutes would show a lot about Corpus Christi, I felt, since they had never quite been under such a buzzer cosh as this before.

Nobody knew about the term notifiable diseases – it’s just one of those things you either know or you don’t, I’d say. You could see Nikhil Venkatesh tensing up ready to strike on the next starter about a gender equality charter in universities, and strike he did, correctly giving the answer – swan. This brought Corpus Christi a set of bonuses on psychology. Where on Earth I dredged up the term Nominative Determinism from I don’t know, but that had to be worth a lap of honour round the living room. This was a great, fun set for those of us with a schoolboy sense of humour, and brought a full house to Corpus. Nobody knew the Meselson and Stahl experiment for the next starter – even though they gave their name to apparently the most beautiful experiment in biology. Did it have much competition, one wonders. Now, I didn’t know that Caernarfon was the runner up in the 1954 Wales’s Got Capitals’ competition, but I did know that randy old Dai Lloyd George represented it in parliament. Adam Wright, normally so reliable on the starters, zigged with Pembroke, while Tom Hill zagged with the right answer – Prince Charles’ 1969 investiture as the Prince of Wales was the big clue. International Organisations gave Emmanuel a couple, and brought us to the music round. I think that Emma were doing so well on the buzzer that Bobby had already made up his mind when JP said “Austrian composer” to buzz in with Shoenberg, since we heard about half a bar before he did. To be honest, it sounded to me a little reminiscent of the Peter Ustinov skit whereby his superannuated operatic diva sings about Das Heilbutt (the halibut), but no, it was Kathleen Ferrier singing one of Mahler’s back catalogue. Nothing doing for either team with that. Emma Johnson came in just too early on the next question. When you’re told - 16 line poem – and – train journey – given half a moment’s reflection you’ll probably correctly think Adlestrop, but she concentrated on the periphery of the question about the First World War and gave In Flanders Fields. Bobby raised a finger to his colleagues urging the moment’s caution to which they were entitled. A wise tactic, for it allowed Bruno Barton-Singer in with the correct answer. This earned the music bonuses. Three more recordings of Kathleen Ferrier brought 5 more points. It was proving to be a tough show. For all of their dominance on the buzzer, Emma were only extending their lead relatively slowly. Right brace yourselves. I got a maths starter right. Along with Nikhil Venkatesh I worked out the answer to a sum as 5/7. Woohoo. Fiction bonuses showed that for Corpus there was no balm in Gilead, as they failed to add to their score. Tom Hill was in like lightning to identify the figure of Piers Gaveston from “Edward II”. This took Emma through the 100 barrier, although bonuses on political history did not help extend the lead. This stood at 105 – 50 at the 20 minute mark. Let’s note two things here. Emmanuel were still dominant on the buzzer, yet for all this, the gap had grown slowly, and if Corpus Christi took two full houses on the next two sets, then it would be reduced to 5 points.

Now, I had the answer ‘solar wind’ even before Bruno Barton-Singer buzzed in. Poor old Corpus Christi just looked a little shell shocked by this point of the competition. A UC special Geography set on largest countries whose names begin with a specific letter provided fun, and also 2 correct answers. One had the sense that the elastic connecting the two teams was about to snap, especially when Bobby identified the picture starter as the work of Vermeer in pretty short order. Three more paintings of atelier scenes brought a rare full house, and suddenly they had a lead of 100. Fair play to Nikhil Venkatesh, the Corpus Christi skipper hadn’t given up, but he sadly came in too early on the next starter. Nobody recognised works by Hazlitt. Still, at least this seemed to free up the Corpus skipper, and he came in very early to identify the Bodyline Series in cricket from the two skippers. Contemporary African American literature did not, if I’m honest, promise a great deal. The only one I knew was Toni Morrison and Corpus failed to add to their score. Bobby Seagull was happy to take a guess with the next starter, about words linked by the first 4 letters filo, and he was right to do so. The solar system brought a further ten points, and it was just starting to look possible that Emmanuel could pass the 200 barrier. However the gong would have something to say about that. Nobody recognised the names of provinces of Iran, and that was that. Emmanuel won by 170 – 55, and claim the first spot in the semis, and you have to say that they looked pretty good value for it. Well played. As for Corpus Christi – this was an uncharacteristically subdued display, but all is not lost for them. Would I put money against them winning their next match? No. However this is such an unpredictable series, I wouldn’t put money on them either. Anything can happen.

Jeremy Paxman Watch

Oh dear. Asked for three members of the EU that are not members of NATO, Emma offered 2. Back in the day JP would have cut them to shreds verbally for their effrontery. Now, he just yawned – no, I asked you for three of them. Look, Jez, I know that nobody wants to see you being nasty for the sake of nastiness, but a little sarcasm, a leavening of irony, that’s not too much to ask, is it?

Maybe I just detected a little spark when he gave Emma the music bonuses – “Now, for the music starter (dramatic pause for effect) which nobody GOT. . . “

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

Caernarfon came second to Cardiff in the competition to decide the capital city of Wales.

University Challenge Quarter Final Match: Edinburgh v. Birmingham

Edinburgh v. Birmingham

Already we’re on to the third of these quarter final matches. Edinburgh, represented by Luke Dale, Euan Smith, Emily Goddard and their captain, Joe Boyle, had shipped the highest aggregate of points of all of our quarter finalists in their first two matches, and shown great nerve in coming through a second round tie break against the Open University. Opponents Birmingham represented by Elliot Jan-Smith, Fraser Sutherland, Chris Rouse and skipper George Greenlees had scored the lowest aggregate of any of the quarter finalists. Tricky to pick a winner here, but for both teams it represented an excellent chance of getting one foot into the semis. 

Now, as it happened I did know that Ottawa was once called Bytown, but once JP mentioned the St. Lawrence river then it was a straight buzzer race, which was won by George Geenless. This brought up a set of bonuses on British Prime Ministers, of which they answered two. English philosopher – 1789 – sounds like Bentham, thought I. Chris Rouse thought the same for the second starter, and we were both right. Bonuses on the late Johan Cruyff brought another two correct answers, and pretty much a dream start for Birmingham. It was a start which became slightly less good as Frazer Sutherland interrupted incorrectly over the cause of death of various fictional characters. I had it from Mimi and Smike, and given a free run at the question Emily Goddard correctly supplied tuberculosis. 2 correct answers on the Mohs scale of hardness followed. Luke Dale knew that the Kroll process is used in the manufacture of titanium. Countries and their relative sizes produced a good and surprisingly gettable UC special set – guessable, but not for Edinburgh. No matter. So to the picture starter, which showed us the flag of the Basque country. More flags of autonomous Spanish regions provided five more points, and that was enough to give Birmingham a lead of 45 – 30 at the ten minute mark.  

The actor who played Thorin Oakenshield and Guy of Gisborne, Richard Armitage, gave Euan Smith his first starter. Now, for some reason I really enjoy the way that Euan Smith waggles his head from side to side and leans into the microphone when he answers a starter. Languages of the People’s Republic of China didn’t provide any help in the way of bonuses. George Greenlees knew that the German city which gives its name to a typed of defence against allegations is the Nuremberg – or orders are orders – defence. Methods in statistics meant nowt to me, but Birmingham managed to get 5 points from them. Now, I’ll be honest, I was surprised that the first two words of the next starter- prairie style – weren’t enough by themselves to give the teams the answer Frank Lloyd Wright. A moment or two later though I was delighted to see Euan Lloyd buzz in with the correct answer. The following bonuses were on Ruth Ozeki (yes, alright, Ruth Who?) and proved surprisingly guessable, enough to take Edinburgh into the lead. So to the music starter, and Euan Smith won the buzzer race to identify the not exactly dulcet tones of groany old Bruce Springsteen. In the music bonuses I rather enjoyed Edinburgh’s misidentification of Tina Turner as the late Bon Scott of AC/DC. Still, for all that they weren’t exactly despatching the bonuses to the boundary, you felt that Edinburgh were definitely starting to get the upper hand on the buzzer, and at the end of the day that is often decisive. George Greenlees threw caution to the wind on the starter which followed, asking for a Scottish philosopher, and paid 5 points for the privilege. This allowed Euan Smith in with his namesake Adam. Diaresis (gesundheit) brought just the one bonus. A UC special set on chemicals led to Emily Goddard supplying the correct answer of table salt. The human muscular system mightn’t have provided a lot in terms of points, but the lead was growing. Admittedly, not growing very quickly, but there was an air of inevitability about it. It seemed like a long time since Birmingham had managed to answer a starter, so it was something of a relief when Elliot Jan-Smith correctly identified words linked by a grave accent. A full house on words derived from the Aztec Nahautl language significantly narrowed the gap, and despite Edinburgh’s superiority on the buzzer they only led by 110 – 80 at the 20 minute mark.  

For the second picture starter both Fraser Sutherland and I identified a Caravaggio painting of Bacchus, God of wine (and not Toe-Bacchus, god of nicotine. Thank Mr. Browning, my A Level English teacher for that one.) They took a great full house of bonuses on more paintings of bacchanalia, and were right back in the competition, only 5 points behind. A great UC special starter saw Euan Smith correctly answered that two artists with names which were latin words for he remains and he advises were Manet and Monet, or perhaps vice versa. Works with titles that contain a member of the corvidae, or crow family were not, frankly, the hardest set of bonuses we’ll ever hear, and at last Edinburgh managed to post a full house. Asked for a specific type of sedimentary rock, George Greenlees supplied the correct answer of sandstone. They couldn’t manage a full house on mountains, but it narrowed the gape to less than a full house. Which lengthened as Euan Smith answered the next starter about a Robert Graves novel about Milton’s wife. No bonuses were taken on electronics. Mr. Smith’s superiority on the buzzer was underlined when he came in very early to identify Henry V for the next starter. A couple of bonuses on the Adriatic stretched the lead to 35 points. Luke Dale pretty much sealed the win with the term ‘placental mammals’ . Animals whose names contained repeated letter sequences provided much hilarity for Edinburgh, but not a lot of points. Of course it was that man Smith who supplied the answer to the next starter – Beaudrillard. A full house on pastries and pastry took them through the 200 mark and there was still time for a UC special, asking for the 1913 stage work whose protagonist has a surname rhyming with that of the winner of the 2012 Tour de France. Euan Smith worked it out extremely quickly – Wiggins – Higgins – Pygmalion. There was time for them to take one bonus on History, and then that was it, a win by 220 – 125. My gut feeling is that both teams will need to do better to reach the semis – Edinburgh in their bonus conversion rate, and Birmingham in their buzzer work. Time will tell.  

Jeremy Paxman Watch

When Edinburgh found they knew the corvidae bonuses they cut JP off halfway through the questions, and he whined at the injustice – You might at least have let me finish.  

Jez, please try a little harder, mate, for I’m seriously thinking about dropping this section of the reviews for good.  

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

Strudel is actually the German for whirlpool.

University Challenge Quarter Final match: Warwick v. Emmanuel, Cambridge

The form book, prior to the start of this contest, suggested a win for Warwick over the hardened battlers of Emmanuel. The Warwick team of Sophie Hobbs, Sophie Rudd, Thomas Van and skipper, former Countdown champion Giles Hutchings had looked to be one of the most impressive while climbing the foothills of the competition, while Emmanuel’s team of Tom Hill, Leah Ward, Bruno Barton-Singer and their irrepressible captain Bobby Seagull had taken a rather more difficult route. Yet Emma had already shown that they could cope well with being underdogs against SOAS in their previous contest, and only last week we saw one much fancied team beaten by a team with a less impressive record. What price lightning striking twice?

For the first question both teams demonstrated their nerve by holding off the buzzers until it became obvious, when it asked which coin replaced the old shilling. Sophie Rudd, very much Warwick’s star player in previous performances, won the buzzer race to supply the answer – 5 pence. This brought up a set of bonuses on tall structures on the UNESCO World Heritage List. 2 were taken. Thomas Van recognised a quote describing Montesquieu, earning bonuses on trees and shrubs. On these they failed to add to their score. Thomas Van took his second starter in a row, knowing that Johannes Brahms was the composer once called the ‘soul of Vienna’. Mountains in Hinduism made up for the previous set of bonuses and returned a full house. We’d reached the first picture starter, and so far Emma had been outbuzzed by Warwick. Early days yet, of course, but their fingers must have been twitching to get into the action at this stage. A real UC special came up. We saw the word Soome. When JP said that this was the name of an EU member country, well, I worked out that it must be Finland. However, this was not written in Finnish, and I hadn’t a Scooby in which language it was written. It was Sophie Rudd who did, suggesting that it was written in Estonian. Maybe it was my imagination, but there seemed to be a touch of disbelief in JP’s voice as he confirmed her answer was correct. More of the same provided no more correct answers for the bonuses. Now, off the top of my head I couldn’t give the symbols of elements 18 and 19, but as soon as JP said that they make up the name of an object constructed in the Book of Genesis I’d have been straight in with Ark. Sometimes an answer is so overwhelmingly likely that even though you don’t know it for certain you just have to take a flyer on it. Sophie Hobbs was first in, but didn’t get it, allowing Bruno Barton-Singer to break Emma’s duck. Science in the 17^th century surprised me by giving me two correct Science answers. Emmanuel managed a full house. This made some impression on Warwick’s lead, but the 10 minute mark saw the score at 65 – 25, which was some indication of Warwick’s domination of the buzzer to this point.

A great interruption from Leah Ward to identify Asquith as the Prime Minister when “Sons and Lovers” was published kept Emmanuel moving forward. The 1922 General Election provided a difficult set of bonuses. I only managed the Moseley question, to which Bobby used the good old quizzer’s tactic of answering Smith, in the grounds that it will be right a little more often than ‘I don’t know’ . On the next question Tom Hill got his buzzing tactics absolutely right, coming in the moment that the answer, India, became clear. The Solar System saw them take two, but there was a definite chance of a full house there. Never mind, they were now just a couple of answers away from taking the lead. I understood the words – which Greek letter – and hardly any of the others in the next question, but Bruno Barton-Singer knew it was eta. The greek dramatist Aeschylus provided a rather gentle set, all of which Emmanuel grabbed with both hands, as they forged ahead, establishing a lead of 15. The pendulum, it seemed, had well and truly swung. And then proceded to swing back as a rush of blood to the head saw Bobby buzz in very early on the music starter, misidentifying the work of Delibes as that of Tchaikovsky. This allowed his opposite number Giles Hutchings in. More pizzicato interludes filed to provide any more points, but the Emmanuel lead had been cut to five. Bobby came in too early on the next question, sacrificing that lead, while Sophie Rudd gave the correct answer of Halstad. No, me neither. A set of bonuses of pairs of place names of which the final letters of the first place make the first letters of the name of the second required a knowledge of the states of India which neither of us possessed. Sophie Rudd returned the favour to Emmanuel by coming in too early on the next question, which wanted part of the name of the third son of Adam and Eve. She offered – eth – Tom Hill offered just -th -, and that took the points. Emmanuel were back in the lead which they increased by answering a bonus on the French thinker Lacan. I love watching Bobby waiting for the starters. His arm and hand hover over the buzzer, waiting to slam it through the desk at the slightest provocation, and he did just this when he recognised a definition of GDP. This took Emmanuel into triple figures, but some medical thingummy bonuses provided no more points. All of which meant that Emmanuel had extended the lead to 20 points by the 20 minute mark. What a good contest.

In both their previous matches Emmanuel had pulled away in the back straight of the final lap. Would they manage to make it three from three by doing the same? It looked a distinct possibility when Bruno Barton-Singer identified the second picture starter as a still from The West Wing, and gave the name of its creator, Aaron Sorkin. Three more of the same saw Bobby change his default ‘not a scooby’ answer to Jones, then take 5 points for knowing the creator and showrunner of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In all fairness, it was a great early buzz from Bobby that identified James Clark Maxwell as the author of an 1865 work on electromagnetic theory. You had the sense that the familiar scent of victory was in Emmanuel’s collective nostrils by this point. Bobby certainly seemed very pleased with the answer himself, and even JP seemed a little amused by his extrovert joy. FA Cup venues added a further 10 points, and gave Emmanuel the cushion of a 55 point lead. Game over? No, not necessarily, but the elastic binding the teams together was showing the strain. Both teams seemed reluctant to guess the third novel of Kazuo Ishiguro, and so it was Tom Hill who came in with the percentage answer of Remains of the Day, which was correct. Oh good, thought I – more Science bonuses. Actually to be fair all the Vs did give me viscous and valency, but not vacuole. Emmanuel now had precisely twice as many points as Warwick, and the elastic had snapped. Another Greek letter used to denote something or other in Science (change the record for gawd’s sake!) gave Bruno Barton-Singer the chance to give the correct answer – tau. Artistic depictions of Saint Sebastian saw Emmanuel take two bonuses to increase the lead to 100. Poor old Warwick were out on their feet at this stage of the contest. There was an inevitability to the way that Bobby came in early to correctly answer that the architectural feature linking a number of buildings is a dome. The Holy Roman Empire and its Electors gave 2 bonuses which brought up Emmanuel’s 200. Warwick avoided a shut out for the crucial last period of the contest when Sophie Rudd came in with an interruption to say that the longest nerve in the leg is the sciatic. Sisters in 20^th century literature might well have taken them into triple figures, but the gong denied them that crumb of comfort. In the end Emmanuel were the emphatic winners by 200 – 90. Hard lines Warwick, but that last lap finishing kick by Emmanuel is proving harder and harder for opposing teams to cope with. Well played Emmanuel – who proved they need fear no one in their next match.

Jeremy Paxman Watch

Nothing to see here. Go back to your lives, citizens.

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

Salvadra persica is otherwise known as the toothbrush tree

University Challenge: Quarter Final Stage: match 2 Bristol v. Corpus Christi, Oxford

Bristol v. Corpus Christi, Oxford

Here we are then, peeps, Bristol v. Corpus Christi. There were a couple of ways of looking at this one prior to the match starting. On the one hand you might have said that Bristol looked one of the most impressive teams in the first two rounds of the competition, while Corpus Christi had faced stiff challenges in both rounds, which had both gone right to the wire. Advantage Bristol? Well, maybe. On the other hand, you could say that after their first two matches Corpus Christi were battle hardened, while we did not yet know whether Bristol could guts out a win if need be. Advantage Corpus Christi? Time would tell.

Bristol, then, were represented by Joe Rolleston, Claire Jackson, Michael Tomsett and skipper Alice Clarke, and Corpus Christi by Tom Fleet, Emma Johnson, Adam Wright and skipper Nikhil Venkatesh.

I’ll admit, it took me a long time, as it did both teams, to work out a long definition in the first starter was actually looking for the term yoga. Nikhil Venkatesh had that one. Shakespeare and World War I brought one bonus, and to be fair this was a tricky set. Neither team knew that the Investiture Controversy with the papacy transpired during the 11^th century. Claire Jackson broke the Bristol duck knowing that the largest methane sea on Saturn’s moon, Titan is named after the kraken. Now, be honest, how many of you, when JP announced that the next set of bonuses were all on pirates, went “Aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!”? Oh, just me then. Two bonuses gave Bristol the lead. Alice Clarke was rather unlucky to lose five points for macaroni verse rather than macaronic verse, but Corpus Christi couldn’t capitalise. (Alliteration thrown in for free, all part of the service today). The next starter saw the first real buzzer race, which was clearly won by Nikhil Venkatesh who identified Porfirio Diaz as a former president of Mexico. Bonuses on pairs of anagrams brought them two more correct answers. Bristol’s star buzzer of earlier rounds, Michael Tomsett, was first to win the buzzer race for the picture starter which showed us a Maltese Cross. (How do you make a Maltese cross? Well, first you make an arrowhead shape pointing from South to North, and use a chevron for its base, then you make three more of the same shape, one for each main point of the compass. Or you could just make stupid jokes about how you make a Maltese person angry.) More crosses provided just one correct answer. Nikhil Venkatesh, who was having a very successful match so far, correctly guessed that Jonathan Swift coined the term ‘sweetness and light’ for the next starter, and 2 bonuses on the ill fated League of Nations brought them up to 55 at the ten minute mark, 25 points ahead of Bristol.

For the next starter on anatomy Adam Wright knew his left atrium from his right ventricle and vice versa, and this brought up bonuses on the Old Testament. A full house was taken, I think for the first time in the match. Claire Jackson won the buzzer race for the next starter about an 1857 novel in which a doctor’s wife has a disastrous affair, sadly, though she provided an incorrect answer. It fell to Emma Johnson to correctly answer Madame Bovary. A couple of bonuses on diseases brought them to triple figures. Undaunted by the previous question, Claire Jackson buzzed in successfully to give the answer limestone to a WH Auden definition of a type of rock. They managed to answer two bonuses on short stories. Unsurprisingly neither team recognised Engelbert Humperdick – no jokes please – for the music starter. Michael Tomsett and I both knew that Dresden in the capital of Saxony, and this earned the music bonuses. Three examples of women posing as men in opera brought another 5 much needed points. Emma Johnson knew that Housekeeping was the first novel of Marilynne Robinson. I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from saying ‘Mrs. Beeton’. European royalty brought nothing more to their score. Synchrotron radiation meant nowt to me, but it was meat and drink to Adam Wright. The bonuses which followed, on Geometry, were good for another ten points, and by this time there was a real sense that Corpus Christi were stretching the elastic which bound them to Bristol to breaking point. Now, there’s 2 countries on the island of New Guinea – obviously Papua New Guinea, but also the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya. So if you’re asked – which country on the island of New Guinea you go for Indonesia, and 90 times out of 100 you’ll be right. Adam Wright was. The cashew family brought, almost inevitably, 2 correct answers and this meant that Corpus Christi led by 150 – 60. Not quite an unassailable lead, but Bristol would need to rediscover their form to make any impression now.

Tom Fleet was the first to recognise a photograph of Alfred, Lord Tennyson. More 9^th century portrait photographs weren’t all easy, and like me they only managed to find a trollop. Sorry, I’ll read that again. They only managed to find A. Trollope. Corpus Christi were carrying all before them at this stage, and Tom Fleet took his second consecutive starter, being very quickly in with Studio Ghibli. Nope, me neither. A nice UC special set followed, with two works with (vaguely) similar titles and their authors being asked for – eg Roxana and Romola. They failed on the bonuses – which gave me a rare full house in this contest – but provided amusement when they mulled over just giving ‘Bronte’ for the author of Shirley, at which the skipper scoffed – well he’s not going to accept just Bronte, is he? – No, I dare say he wouldn’t have. Nothing daunted, Emma Johnson took the next literary starter, recognising the last words of the play “King Lear”. Poor old Bristol at this stage seemed to have just been completely battered into submission. Provinces of Argentina only provided a single bonus, but it was all academic by now, despite there still being 3 and a half minutes to go. Emma Johnson took a second consecutive starter, knowing Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton are alter egos of Avengers – Black Widow and Hawkeye respectively. With two out of three bonuses on international law, Corpus Christi passed through the 200 barrier, while Bristol were becalmed some distance the wrong side of the 100 barrier. Now look, you know I don’t have a clue about what a vacuole is, but Adam Wright did and that’s good enough for me. Two bonuses on definitions of a metre followed. A UC special defined the words – us – and  - her – and then dared the teams to put them together to make a word. Adam Wright gave us usher. Men born in 1916 brought Corpus Christi – wait for it – 10 points. Claire Jackson stopped the rot, knowing all about recessive genes. You sensed this would be too little too late to give Bristol the chance of reaching triple figures and indeed, that was it as the gong sounded at that point.

Corpus Christi scored an emphatic victory by 250 – 70. They must now be taken very seriously indeed. As for Bristol, well, there’s still everything to play for. They were comprehensively outbuzzed in this contest, but whether is just a one off bad night at the office, or whether they flattered to deceive in earlier rounds remains to be seen.

Jeremy Paxman Watch

We had a promising start from the great man, when he smilingly told Nikhil Venkatesh that he looked astonished that the answer yoga could be so easy. I tried yoga once, and easy it was not. His genial manner continued when the team suggested Rosalind for one of the Shakespeare answers as the name of a city which featured in a world war I battle. He laughed, then gently chided “You been there?”

Interesting Fact That I Didn’t Already Know of the Week

An operatic role in which a female character poses as a male is known as a ‘breeches role’

University Challenge: Quarter Final Stage: Match 1 - Wolfson, Cambridge v. Balliol, Oxford

Here we are then, friends, into the quarter final stage. First into the lists were Wolfson, Cambridge, and Balliol, Oxford. Wolfson featured the talents of Justin Yang, Ben Chaudri, Paul Cosgrove and their skipper Eric Monkman, while Balliol gave third appearances to Freddy Potts, Jacob Lloyd, Ben Pope and captain Joey Goldman. The form book pointed to Balliol being slightly more impressive in the first two rounds than Wolfson, however neither of their opponents had been able to make much of an impression on them. Whether this would continue to be the case against Wolfson, who represented a rather more substantial challenge than either of their previous opponents remained to be seen.

Jacob Lloyd came in far too early for the first question, on what was only ever going to be a hit and hope punt from deep. The quotation being given referred specifically to poetry, as Eric Monkman guessed. Wolfson’s first bonuses were on given names, and they managed 2. I knew that Shakespeare died in the 1610s, and Eric Monkman was a tad unlucky to lose five for answering 1600s – I thought that the question had finished when he buzzed as well. Joey Goldman was in for that immediately. Balliol’s bonuses on terms containing the word – Factor – brought them 5 more points. I was really rather surprised when Joey Goldman came in too early and gave a wrong answer to question which, even to a layman such as myself, seemed to beg the answers apogee and perigee. There was no way that Eric Monkman was going to turn his nose up at that windfall. Artistic depictions of Hell provided a rather gentle full house for both of us. I had no idea about the derivation of the word quandary, but Justin Yang was in there very quickly. Parallels which end in a zero were guessable but by no means easy, and Wolfson managed the first two. The first picture starter showed an outline map with a Swiss city highlighted. Freddy Potts correctly identified Basel – good shout, that. More maps showing inland commercial ports brought 10 more points. It couldn’t disguise the fact, though, as we approached the 10 minute mark, that Wolfson had made the better start, leading by 60 to 25.

I think that you could actually see Joey Goldman holding himself back for a moment before buzzing to link “The Mersault Investigation” with Albert Camus’ “L’Étranger”. The film director Jane Campion brought another 10 points, and Balliol certainly weren’t wasting any time agonising over their answers. Now, I know bugger all about archea and eukaryote, although I’m reliably informed that they are not Greece’s premier cabaret act, but they were enough to bring Ben Chaudri the next starter. Old Kingdoms stubbornly refused to yield any points. There was mild amusement in LAM Towers when Freddy Potts gave JP the correct answer ‘tit’ to a UC special for the next starter. 2 bonuses on French painters followed. In short order Balliol had reduced the deficit to 5 points. Which soon doubled as Joey Goldman, knowing he was hearing the summary of an American novel, came in with “The Age of Innocence”, when the rest of the question made it clear we were being asked for “The Ambassadors”. Eric Monkman inevitably took that one. Medicine poleaxed all of us, as no further points were scored. This brought us the music starter. Eric Monkman and I both went for Schubert, correctly. Three more pieces inspired by Goethe followed. Neither of us had either of the first two, but Wolfson really should have known that Dukas composed the Sorceror’s Apprentice – from Fantasia if for no other reason. Oh, those costly Balliol interruptions. Jacob Lloyd was the trigger happy buzzer on the next starter, and again, if he’d waited a little longer, it would have been obvious that we were being treated to a quotation by the Duke of Wellington. Erik Monkman, secure in his role of the snapper up of unconsidered trifles took that one as well. Sorrow in Shakespeare yielded only 1 bonus. With kinder sets of bonuses, Wolfson could by now have be approaching the event horizon. Eric Monkman himself was the next to suffer a rush of blood to the head. He came in far too early, giving us the name Schumpeter, which was the name of the economist who wrote them. However that wasn’t what the question wanted. It wanted the word capitalism, which Joey Goldman duly supplied. MacArthurs provided Balliol with a timely full house. Freddy Potts looked as if he’d never heard of the heraldic Yale, but still got it from the Ivy League University and the locksmith. Civil wars brought a second consecutive full house, and amazingly Balliol had edged into the lead. On the cusp of the 20 minute mark they had 105 to Wolfson’s 100.

How was either side going to win this, then? Well, Wolfson needed to improve their conversion rate, while Balliol had to stop shooting themselves in the foot, while at the same time winning the buzzer race on their fair share of starters. Freddy Potts was very unlucky on the next starter. His answer of myths for a specific type of narrative was not close enough to be correct, but probably close enough to help Wolfson, in the shape of Justin Yang, to get the correct answer of fairy tales. Football in the 19^th century did not promise to help them improve their conversion rate, and to be fair, it didn’t. So to the picture starter. Joey Goldman recognised the work of Caspar David Friedrich, and more pictures provided another full house. They know their painters these boys. Boccioni? Impressed. Some Science thing I didn’t understand followed. Nobody had it. Joey Goldman just couldn’t resist throwing a little more buzzer at the next question, and losing five points as he offered Theatre of the Absurd, while Theatre of Cruelty was required. Wolfson couldn’t get that one. Now, if you know what Sternuatation is, then you’ll know the one of the 7 dwarves called Sternuens in latin is Sneezy. I just love UC – where else would you get a question about that asked? Eric Monkman won the buzzer race for that one. Chemistry bonuses still only yielded the one. Nobody identified the Gospel of Matthew as the source of a quotation. Eric Monkman was having pretty much his own way with the buzzer race by this time, and was quickly in to identify Pauli as the man behind the Exclusion Principle. After their struggles with bonuses to this point, when JP announced that the next set was on World Heritage sites in China I wouldn’t have blamed them for asking him “You’re havin’ a laugh, aintcher?” He wasn’t. Actually, though they managed two from this set. Poor old Baliol, I’m sure that the succession of penalties had sapped their ability or their will to compete on the buzzer at this stage. It was all too easy for Eric Monkman to process 1798 – writer – sister Cassandra – and come up with the answer Jane Austen before they could buzz. Insect life cycles brought two more bonuses, and a lead of 45. Surely that was the game? Not necessarily. Joey Goldman came in like a lion to take a correct interruption with Jomo Kenyatta. If they could get a full set on place names . . . well, no. There just wasn’t time. The gong went after they had taken their score to 135, 30 points adrift of Wolfson. Hard lines Balliol – but at least they still have another chance. Well played Wolfson.  

Jeremy Paxman Watch

Freddy Potts looked JP straight in the eye. “Tit.” he said. There was a wry look on JP’s face as he sized up his antagonist, and for the briefest of micropauses I did hope he was going to respond with a bad Robert de Niro impression, “You talkin’ to me?” . Sadly not.

We might not get any of the sparkling acid drops of previous years now, but at least we still get the odd wry observation from Jez. Asked for one team which won the football league in the 1890s, Wolfson supplied two. “You were asked for one,” JP replied, lowering his eyes and pausing for comic effect before adding “Well, you didn’t get either.”

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

The word quandary is derived from the latin for when, and a French phrase meaning – shall I say it?.