Only Connect - Semi Final 1 – The Epicureans v. The Wrights
I must apologise. I haven’t previewed the semis at all, and its not just because my team, the Radio Addicts, are playing in the second. In all honesty I’ve been pushed for blogging time this week, and just not managed to find the time to do it. Sorry everyone.
Still, lets get on with this intriguing semi. Yes, of course I knew who won and who lost before I saw it, but I didn’t know the ins and outs of it. And there was much to enjoy in this show as well.
Round One – What’s the Connection?
The Eps won the toss, but decided to give first bite of the cherry to the Wrights. The family team of Dad Pete, daughter Rosa and Mum Liz, the skipper, had already accounted for the Urban Walkers, and the Bloggers in the first and second round. They kicked off with Water. Dubrovnik – Kaliningrad – Cabinda and Alaska followed. This was a pretty straightforward set in OC terms, but the Wrights just didn’t know it. The Epicureans though did know that they are all Exclaves. I’ll be honest; it was Kaliningrad which made me think along those lines. I didn’t know Cabinda, but Alaska confirmed it.
The Epicureans – David Brewis, LAM reader Aaron Bell and Captain Katie Bramall-Stainer – knocked out the excellent Courtiers in the first round, and the distinctly useful Bridge Players in the second round. On paper their scores had been higher than the Wrights in both rounds so far. They had more difficulty with their first pick, Eye of Horus. Larousse’s Dictionary – Madame Bovary – Justine and Casanova’s Memoirs lacked any other link so it seemed other than the obvious, they were all books. Neither Eps nor Wrights knew that they were all banned by the Catholic Church at one time or another.
The Wrights had a punt at Horned Viper. Zeus – Tutankhamen – Cronus – Cain and Seth lured behind. I just about got this one, but its nasty really. In more ways than one, come to think of it. Neither knew that they all married their sisters. Eps looked behind the flax, and got a terrific connection with Aguila o sol – cara o cruz – kopf oder zahl and pile ou face . The last gave it to me, but I should have had it from kopf – german for head. The Eps knew that these were all foreign equivalents to heads or tails. Good shout that. Behind Lion the Wrights found some pictures. Works by Donatello – Raphael – Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo – oh dear. They didn’t know , but the Eps did that these were our old friends the Ninja/Hero turtles. Eps could only have the music left, and indeed they did. –That’s Princess Leia’s Theme ! – I shouted at the first. This was followed by Dr. Zhivago. Huh ? D’Oh – of course it’s called Lara’s theme. Yes, I remember it now. The Eps had it from the third – Lola’s theme. So at the end they had a commanding lead of 5 – 0.
Round Two – What Comes Third ?
Wrights took the viper by the horns and began with Angelotti – Scarpia – Cavaradossi. Neither team knew these were deaths in Tosca. You either like your opera or you don’t. The Eps took on Water. 89 was followed by 55, and Aaron knew it . This was a fibonacci sequence, and so it stood to reason that the answer working backwards would be 21. Quite right, and a damn good shout. The Wrights took Horus, and received 1950:soap – 1952 : tea – 1953 : cream eggs , sweets and sugar . They were close with meat, but the Eps knew that this was 1954 – everything – for this was when things ceased to be rationed. Eps took two reeds, and got 1 stone=Tom Snout – 2 stones=Simpkins Owner , 3 – stones = Richard Sharpe. Only on Only do you get a set like this ! Snout is a tinker – Simpkins Owner a tailor – Sharpe a soldier – so the last would be 4 stones and a sailor ! It’s to do with counting cherry stones ! Neither team got it, and neither did I. Great set, though. Wrights took Lion , finding– Marathi – Telegu – Bengali, and knowing these were languages of the sub continent, plumped for Hindi as being most widely spoken. Yes ! They were off the mark. The Eps finished with Flax – and a great set with 2401 kittens – 343 cats – 49 sacks. It was a great shout to work out that this was the old – As I was going to St. Ives riddle ! So at the end of the round the lead had stretched further, and the Eps were well ahead with 11 to 2.
Round Three – The Connecting Wall.
Who would have thought that the Eps would have had such difficulties with their wall tonight ? They found Gardens – Oval – Gore and (Olympia) which can all be preceded by Kensington, then Pear – Emerald – Brilliant and Baguette which are all cuts of gemstones. The others escaped them . They couldn’t untangle a set of Swan Lake characters from a set of Defensive Lines. When the grid was resolved they confused Swan Lake with Wagner, and didn’t say the word Defensive for the Lines. 4 points scored.
The Wrights didn’t know at this point that the Eps had given them an opportunity to get back in the game. They untangled a set of Raws – Deal – Meat – Data and Sewage, then some course – Induction – Sandwich – Foundation and Refresher. They resolved the wall just in time, but didn’t see Watson – Bunter – Lewis and Burden as detective sidekicks. They did know that Hastings – Dover – New Romney and Hythe are all cinque ports. The Eps still had a useful lead, but somehow from the Wrights’ position 15 – 9 must have sounded a hell of a lot more healthy.
Round Four – Missing Vowels
Both teams had used a lot of time on the walls, so there wouldn’t be that long a last round, it seemed. The Eps had shown themselves to be superb at this game, yet the Wrights themselves were no slouches in their first two matches either. The first set were all Buildings destroyed in the Blitz. The Eps, replying in triplicate more than once, took this 3 – 1. Pairs of homophones followed, falling to the Wrights 3 – 1. Astronomers saw a pair of mistake by the Eps. The remainder fell one apiece. Songs that refer to Marilyn Monroe went 2 – 1 to the Eps, and that was that. In the end the score was 15 to the Wrights, 20 to the Epicureans.
Great match. Well done to the Epicureans. They had always looked a very good bet for the final since their record breaking first round match. But many congratulations to the Wrights. This team have really been this season’s surprise package, and their knowledge, resilience and good humour have made a real impression, I think.
As for next week – well I’m afraid it’s us Radio Addicts again, versus the brilliant Alesmen. Don’t miss it !
Tuesday, 7 December 2010
TV Watch - University Challenge
University Challenge – Round Two – Match 6 – Downing, Cambridge v. Magdalen, Oxford
Ah, an Oxbridge tussle! This much-anticipated match pitted underdogs Downing of Cambridge against the highest scoring team of the first round, Magdalen of Oxford.
In a low scoring first round match Downing accounted for another Oxford college, St. Edmund Hall. Will Winzor, Gareth Haslam, Owen Carter, and captain Stefan Liberadzki scored 160 to Teddy Hall’s 95.
Magdalen carried much of the hopes of Oxford into the match tonight, and they certainly had a team capable of bearing that load, in the shape of James McComish, Kyle Haddad-Fonda, Will Cudmore and captain Matthew Chan. The team had put in one of the finest first round performances for many a long year when they beat Durham by 340 to 120.
On with the show. First to show a touch of class this evening was Will Cudmore. He buzzed in quickly to take a starter on Holy Roman Emperor’s called Fred. The Magdalen mean machine gobbled up 3 starters on Rudolfs. Obviously this was going to be a night when gambling on the buzzer was going to be necessary, so I don’t blame Gareth Haslam for his miscue on Conurbation. However it did mean that Downing were stuck on minus 5 for some time. Will Cudmore took it, which netted 3 more bonuses, and then he took the next starter identifying king Priam. Only a few minutes gone, but already with three starters to his name, this was impressive quizzing from Mr. C. Slipping a little Magdalen could only supply 2 out of 3 correct answers on grandfathers and grandsons. Kyle Haddad-Fonda, whose reputation seems to have preceded him judging by some of the comments after his first round match, took the next starter, identifying a definition of parthenogenesis. No bonuses followed. However Gareth Haslam put Downing into the match by taking the next starter on Uncle Vanya. One bonus fell to Downing on animal migration. Will Cudmore added another starter to his growing hoard by taking the first picture starter, identifying an Italian inscription as being written by Dante and recycled by TS Eliot. Good shout that one. Neither team managed the next starter, but Owen Carter brought a whirlwind first10 minute to a close by taking the next. So at the 10-minute mark Downing had obviously been shaken to the core by Magdalen’s – and particularly Will Cudmore’s – lightning start, but were still standing, and edging their way back into the match. Magdalen led by 100 to 20.
Will Winzor pegged back the gap a little by taking the next starter on the morpheme – lest. One bonus on architects followed. Then Stefan Liberadzki did what all good captains must do, and led by example, knowing his Mensheviks from his Bolsheviks. This led to a good 2 bonuses on Scottish mountains. Then, unaccountably, two starters passed untaken. Shame on neither team recognising Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. It really is a jungle, sometimes, and it does make me wonder how I keep from going under. Please yourselves. Owen Carter was the next to score, anyway, but recognising the name of the skin test for TB. This earned them the hip-hop bonuses, of which they took a pair. Kyle Haddad-Fonda miscued on the next starter losing five, but when asked for a particular word containing – ptc – Downing knew that bankruptcy was the order of the day. The gap was virtually closed, and when Matthew Chan lost 5 points on the next starter, this pulled them level. Great fightback. Will Cudmore steadied the ship with the next starter on the Argonautica, and then James McComish took his first of the night on paper. At the 20-minute mark Magdalen led by 120 to 80, but the second period had definitely been Downing’s.
The last period saw James McComish playing more and more of the anchor man’s role for Magdalen. He took the next starter recognising a self-portrait of Delacroix. Then, after an incorrect early buzz from Gareth Haslam he took the next, recognising terms equivalent to our own PLC. Time was not now on Downing’s side, even though they were still full of fight. They took the next couple of starters, and in particular, this little beauty of a question – the name of which English county can be made from two foreign words, both of them meaning of or from. Stefan Liberadzki knew it was De – Von . You only get questions like this on UC, folks. However it fell to Kyle Haddad-Fonda to apply the coup de grace, and he took the last two starters. In the end Magdalen won with daylight between themselves and Downing by 190 to 125, but make no mistake, they knew they’d been a fight afterwards. JP said to Downing words to the effect of they’d done well early on, but tailed off. Not the way I saw it, JP. The huge difference between the two sides had been Magdalen’s blitzkrieg start. Like Sheffield last week Magdalen’s second round was considerably harder than their first, but they’ll be all the stronger and better for it.
Jeremy Paxman Watch
I rather enjoyed hearing JP make a bit of a meal of the word ‘hiphop’ this week. There was one other comment of note too. With one bonus question on which Downing were struggling he chortled,
“I love the fact that you can’t think of anything – it’s so wonderfully dismissive.”
Interesting Fact Of The Week I Didn’t Already Know
The word widdershins is actually originally a Scottish dialect word.
Ah, an Oxbridge tussle! This much-anticipated match pitted underdogs Downing of Cambridge against the highest scoring team of the first round, Magdalen of Oxford.
In a low scoring first round match Downing accounted for another Oxford college, St. Edmund Hall. Will Winzor, Gareth Haslam, Owen Carter, and captain Stefan Liberadzki scored 160 to Teddy Hall’s 95.
Magdalen carried much of the hopes of Oxford into the match tonight, and they certainly had a team capable of bearing that load, in the shape of James McComish, Kyle Haddad-Fonda, Will Cudmore and captain Matthew Chan. The team had put in one of the finest first round performances for many a long year when they beat Durham by 340 to 120.
On with the show. First to show a touch of class this evening was Will Cudmore. He buzzed in quickly to take a starter on Holy Roman Emperor’s called Fred. The Magdalen mean machine gobbled up 3 starters on Rudolfs. Obviously this was going to be a night when gambling on the buzzer was going to be necessary, so I don’t blame Gareth Haslam for his miscue on Conurbation. However it did mean that Downing were stuck on minus 5 for some time. Will Cudmore took it, which netted 3 more bonuses, and then he took the next starter identifying king Priam. Only a few minutes gone, but already with three starters to his name, this was impressive quizzing from Mr. C. Slipping a little Magdalen could only supply 2 out of 3 correct answers on grandfathers and grandsons. Kyle Haddad-Fonda, whose reputation seems to have preceded him judging by some of the comments after his first round match, took the next starter, identifying a definition of parthenogenesis. No bonuses followed. However Gareth Haslam put Downing into the match by taking the next starter on Uncle Vanya. One bonus fell to Downing on animal migration. Will Cudmore added another starter to his growing hoard by taking the first picture starter, identifying an Italian inscription as being written by Dante and recycled by TS Eliot. Good shout that one. Neither team managed the next starter, but Owen Carter brought a whirlwind first10 minute to a close by taking the next. So at the 10-minute mark Downing had obviously been shaken to the core by Magdalen’s – and particularly Will Cudmore’s – lightning start, but were still standing, and edging their way back into the match. Magdalen led by 100 to 20.
Will Winzor pegged back the gap a little by taking the next starter on the morpheme – lest. One bonus on architects followed. Then Stefan Liberadzki did what all good captains must do, and led by example, knowing his Mensheviks from his Bolsheviks. This led to a good 2 bonuses on Scottish mountains. Then, unaccountably, two starters passed untaken. Shame on neither team recognising Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. It really is a jungle, sometimes, and it does make me wonder how I keep from going under. Please yourselves. Owen Carter was the next to score, anyway, but recognising the name of the skin test for TB. This earned them the hip-hop bonuses, of which they took a pair. Kyle Haddad-Fonda miscued on the next starter losing five, but when asked for a particular word containing – ptc – Downing knew that bankruptcy was the order of the day. The gap was virtually closed, and when Matthew Chan lost 5 points on the next starter, this pulled them level. Great fightback. Will Cudmore steadied the ship with the next starter on the Argonautica, and then James McComish took his first of the night on paper. At the 20-minute mark Magdalen led by 120 to 80, but the second period had definitely been Downing’s.
The last period saw James McComish playing more and more of the anchor man’s role for Magdalen. He took the next starter recognising a self-portrait of Delacroix. Then, after an incorrect early buzz from Gareth Haslam he took the next, recognising terms equivalent to our own PLC. Time was not now on Downing’s side, even though they were still full of fight. They took the next couple of starters, and in particular, this little beauty of a question – the name of which English county can be made from two foreign words, both of them meaning of or from. Stefan Liberadzki knew it was De – Von . You only get questions like this on UC, folks. However it fell to Kyle Haddad-Fonda to apply the coup de grace, and he took the last two starters. In the end Magdalen won with daylight between themselves and Downing by 190 to 125, but make no mistake, they knew they’d been a fight afterwards. JP said to Downing words to the effect of they’d done well early on, but tailed off. Not the way I saw it, JP. The huge difference between the two sides had been Magdalen’s blitzkrieg start. Like Sheffield last week Magdalen’s second round was considerably harder than their first, but they’ll be all the stronger and better for it.
Jeremy Paxman Watch
I rather enjoyed hearing JP make a bit of a meal of the word ‘hiphop’ this week. There was one other comment of note too. With one bonus question on which Downing were struggling he chortled,
“I love the fact that you can’t think of anything – it’s so wonderfully dismissive.”
Interesting Fact Of The Week I Didn’t Already Know
The word widdershins is actually originally a Scottish dialect word.
Monday, 6 December 2010
Brain of Britain
Brain Of Britain – First Round – Heat 7
We’re back in London this week for the latest heat of Brain of Britain. What could be better to warm the cockles of your heart on a bitter Monday lunchtime ? Kicking off was Richard Hedges. Asked which political movement started in 1811 largely as a result of unemployment he zigged with Chartists, when Andy Tucker correctly zagged with Luddites. Tony Marcovecchio took one, but didn’t know that Lotta Lenya was Bertold Brecht’s wife. Andy did. Chloe Stone – incidentally a Mastermind semi finalist last year - took one of her own, and then Andy Tucker took one of his own, but just failed to get the name of the sweetener Aspartane out. That gave him 3 to everyone else’s one.
All the contenders were caught out by phosphorescence in the next question. Tony then took his first , but ramiform shapes caught all of the contenders again. It means branchlike. Chloe didn’t know the old chestnut about Croesus – well , none of them did. He was king of Lydia – which incidentally was also the name of the tattooed lady that Groucho Marx, and my friend Neville, used to sing about.( Lydia, o Lydia, that Encyclopiddia etc. ) However, I digress. Andy Tucker got a nice slow ball about Methuselah, which enabled him to increase his lead. At the end of round two he led by 5 to Tony’s 3. In round 3 Richard failed on his second , not knowing dysphagia meant trouble in swallowing. Tony failed on his first, then Chloe did the same, giving Andy another bonus. Andy himself got another nice starter with the Battle of Jutland, which was followed by another, and then the third, a music question with the theme of Going for a Song. Three in a row. He failed on the fourth, but the fact is that this gave him a lead of 11 to Tony’s 4.
Today’s listener’s questions were these. In which well known band was Billy Shears the singer ? – and that was despatched to the boundaries fairly swiftly – then this old trick question followed - what is Paul McCartney’s Middle name ? Its Paul ! His first name is James. The contenders had obviously heard of this, but thought that James was in fact the middle name rather than the first.
Back to the game. Richard finally kickstarted his game, and took a well deserved couple. Tony Marcovecchio couldn’t answer who coined the term radical chic – it was Tom Wolfe. Chloe, considering her Mastermind exploits last year, seemed rather off form today. Last year she scored a good 12 in a 2 minute GK round. Today, though, she struggled for answers, and in this round she didn’t know that a shark’s skeleton is made of cartilage. Andy took only one of his own. Still with 12 points he had double that of Richard, who had moved into second. Richard got another nasty old first question about Interferon ( – didn’t he have a hit with Dancing Tight in 1983 ? ) Tony couldn’t answer his first either about Invercargill. Chloe couldn’t dredge up the name of Hannibal’s brother – Hasdrubal. So back to Andy – and he took his first. However it was Richard who knew Andy’s second, that Fittipaldi won the F1 championship in 72 and 74.
Richard must have thought - here we go again - as he got another nasty first question asking him the celtic for long stone applied to a standing stone. Nobody knew it was menhir. Tony and Chloe couldn’t make much of their sets again, and that left Andy. Inevitably he took his first , which was followed by a music question . We listened to John Lennon singing a song from Double Fantasy, which title was required for the answer, and supplied as a bonus by Tony. Andy led by 14 to 7, and looked good for the win at this stage. Richard didn’t know Enke’s Comet – and yet again what he got wrong, so did everyone else. When they don’t run for you they really don’t run for you. In fact the same could be said for Tony and Chloe. Still, Andy sailed on, always picking up one or two from each set. It was the same story pretty much in the next round too, as Richard’s and Tony’s first questions both stopped them . Chloe possibly should have known manatees or dugongs as sea cows, but didn’t. Andy Tucker showed a little class by knowing the French for pigeon racing.
Going into the last round, Andy had a 7 point lead. He could be caught, but it would take something special. He didn’t get his first question, and that was that. Tony failed his first, Chloe failed hers, not knowing the gingko tree, and this left Andy to finish the contest. He took his first , as always, and failed the second. Aqua fortis , as Richard knew, was nitric. A good win then for Andy Tucker, and a win he deserved. However I did feel a little for Richard Hedges considering that he didn’t really get one gimme to start off any of his sets. That’s the way the cookie crumbles, I suppose.
The Details
Richard Hedges 11
Tony Marcovecchio 5
Chloe Stone 2
Andy Tucker 17
We’re back in London this week for the latest heat of Brain of Britain. What could be better to warm the cockles of your heart on a bitter Monday lunchtime ? Kicking off was Richard Hedges. Asked which political movement started in 1811 largely as a result of unemployment he zigged with Chartists, when Andy Tucker correctly zagged with Luddites. Tony Marcovecchio took one, but didn’t know that Lotta Lenya was Bertold Brecht’s wife. Andy did. Chloe Stone – incidentally a Mastermind semi finalist last year - took one of her own, and then Andy Tucker took one of his own, but just failed to get the name of the sweetener Aspartane out. That gave him 3 to everyone else’s one.
All the contenders were caught out by phosphorescence in the next question. Tony then took his first , but ramiform shapes caught all of the contenders again. It means branchlike. Chloe didn’t know the old chestnut about Croesus – well , none of them did. He was king of Lydia – which incidentally was also the name of the tattooed lady that Groucho Marx, and my friend Neville, used to sing about.( Lydia, o Lydia, that Encyclopiddia etc. ) However, I digress. Andy Tucker got a nice slow ball about Methuselah, which enabled him to increase his lead. At the end of round two he led by 5 to Tony’s 3. In round 3 Richard failed on his second , not knowing dysphagia meant trouble in swallowing. Tony failed on his first, then Chloe did the same, giving Andy another bonus. Andy himself got another nice starter with the Battle of Jutland, which was followed by another, and then the third, a music question with the theme of Going for a Song. Three in a row. He failed on the fourth, but the fact is that this gave him a lead of 11 to Tony’s 4.
Today’s listener’s questions were these. In which well known band was Billy Shears the singer ? – and that was despatched to the boundaries fairly swiftly – then this old trick question followed - what is Paul McCartney’s Middle name ? Its Paul ! His first name is James. The contenders had obviously heard of this, but thought that James was in fact the middle name rather than the first.
Back to the game. Richard finally kickstarted his game, and took a well deserved couple. Tony Marcovecchio couldn’t answer who coined the term radical chic – it was Tom Wolfe. Chloe, considering her Mastermind exploits last year, seemed rather off form today. Last year she scored a good 12 in a 2 minute GK round. Today, though, she struggled for answers, and in this round she didn’t know that a shark’s skeleton is made of cartilage. Andy took only one of his own. Still with 12 points he had double that of Richard, who had moved into second. Richard got another nasty old first question about Interferon ( – didn’t he have a hit with Dancing Tight in 1983 ? ) Tony couldn’t answer his first either about Invercargill. Chloe couldn’t dredge up the name of Hannibal’s brother – Hasdrubal. So back to Andy – and he took his first. However it was Richard who knew Andy’s second, that Fittipaldi won the F1 championship in 72 and 74.
Richard must have thought - here we go again - as he got another nasty first question asking him the celtic for long stone applied to a standing stone. Nobody knew it was menhir. Tony and Chloe couldn’t make much of their sets again, and that left Andy. Inevitably he took his first , which was followed by a music question . We listened to John Lennon singing a song from Double Fantasy, which title was required for the answer, and supplied as a bonus by Tony. Andy led by 14 to 7, and looked good for the win at this stage. Richard didn’t know Enke’s Comet – and yet again what he got wrong, so did everyone else. When they don’t run for you they really don’t run for you. In fact the same could be said for Tony and Chloe. Still, Andy sailed on, always picking up one or two from each set. It was the same story pretty much in the next round too, as Richard’s and Tony’s first questions both stopped them . Chloe possibly should have known manatees or dugongs as sea cows, but didn’t. Andy Tucker showed a little class by knowing the French for pigeon racing.
Going into the last round, Andy had a 7 point lead. He could be caught, but it would take something special. He didn’t get his first question, and that was that. Tony failed his first, Chloe failed hers, not knowing the gingko tree, and this left Andy to finish the contest. He took his first , as always, and failed the second. Aqua fortis , as Richard knew, was nitric. A good win then for Andy Tucker, and a win he deserved. However I did feel a little for Richard Hedges considering that he didn’t really get one gimme to start off any of his sets. That’s the way the cookie crumbles, I suppose.
The Details
Richard Hedges 11
Tony Marcovecchio 5
Chloe Stone 2
Andy Tucker 17
Sunday, 5 December 2010
Dear Santa - about those resolutions . . .
Dear Santa,
As you know its become traditional at this time of year for me to let you know how well I’ve done at keeping this year’s resolutions. Well, I say traditional. I’ve done it once before in the blog, which pretty much counts as a tradition in these parts. I digress. Lets have a look whether I’ve been naughty or nice.
You’ll remember I began with two which I had carried over because I had failed to keep them in 2009 : -
I resolve to stop moaning about handicaps in Newport. If they get on my nerves I shall bear it with a cheery grin, and if it gets up my nose that much I shall just not go.
Actually I have done better with this one. I haven’t been since the League season started in Bridgend this Autumn, but I rather think I’ve pretty much got this monkey off my back now. I don't think I moaned at all throughout Spring and part of summer when I was going as much as I could.
Verdict - nice
· I resolve to stop saying that any team who beat us in a straight pub quiz must have cheated, even when they have actually been using their phones in front of us.
Oh dear. A failure again. The occasion which really sticks out is when we were playing in a pub in Cardiff, when the top prize was £100. The team in front of us had their phones out for the whole of he first half. When I pointed it out to the question master, he pointed to a member of our team who was playing games on the phone. It didn’t matter that no answers had come from the phone – the ground was cut from under my feet, and a huge helping of scrambled was all over my face. Must do better next year.
Verdict - naughty
So at least, Santa, I’ve got one of them cleared now. As for the new ones
· I resolve to apply to other quiz shows in the coming year. A similar resolution made for 2009 has brought me a lot of fun in the past 12 months.
Series 4 of Only Connect is currently showing, and I had a tremendous amount of fun playing in that. So definitely resolution kept. However at the moment I am at a real loss as to whether I should apply to any more shows now, and if so, which ?
Verdict - Nice
· I resolve to try to become a better quizzer, and to work a bit more on my weak areas, rather than just always trusting to luck.
Well, I have actually been doing this, but not to fulfil the resolution, as it happens. I’m so enjoying playing in the Bridgend League at the moment, and the league is that competitive in terms of the ability of the teams, that I am working a bit every week to try to plug some of my multitudinous gaps. Has it worked for the League ? Not that much, actually. Out of the hundreds of things I have tried to learn, they have so far supplied the answers to a grand total of 2 questions. On the other hand though, in every quiz I go to apart from the league, something I’ve recently learned DOES come up – it happens all the time !
Verdict - Nice
I resolve to try to be a little more positive when I’m quizzing, and look for the positives in a quiz BEFORE I start going on about the negatives.
Oh, I try to do this, I really do. There are hardly any quizzes I ever go to that are totally lacking in redeeming features, but even so, I’m still pretty quick to pinpoint the flaws – to my way of thinking – in quizzes I play in. In all honesty at the very best this one is a score draw.
Verdict – not very nice at all
· I resolve to try to get involved in a quiz league – it’s a good few years since I played regularly in one, and I loved it when I did.
There are five stand-out quiz experiences for me this year. Firstly, playing in the Brain of Britain Grand Final in January. Yes, its true that Ian thrashed me, but Grand finals are great events that don’t come along all that often. You have to enjoy them, and I did. Secondly, getting to play in the Mastermind Champion of Champions series in May. Thirdly, playing in the current series of Only Connect, which is the most fun TV team quiz I could possibly imagine. Fourthly, playing in the GetConnected Charity quiz in Floridita in London, which was just the most wonderful evening. Last but not least, joining the Llangewydd Arms team in the Bridgend and District Quiz League. I knew that I missed playing in a league, but I didn’t know just how much I missed it.
Verdict – Very nice indeed
· I resolve above all else to enjoy my quizzing throughout the next year.
No year is perfect ( although the 2007 SOBM came close ! ) This has been a year that marked the passing of a dear quiz friend of mine, and has seen another pretty much withdraw from quizzing. However the quizzing year has been another good one to me, and so I think I can safely say that the verdict to this one is a resounding Nice.
I make that 4 nices to 2 naughties, which isn’t bad going, and I was going to ask for some nice presents as a reward now, Santa, but reading that last resolution, to be honest, more of the same will do just fine for me.
Dave
As you know its become traditional at this time of year for me to let you know how well I’ve done at keeping this year’s resolutions. Well, I say traditional. I’ve done it once before in the blog, which pretty much counts as a tradition in these parts. I digress. Lets have a look whether I’ve been naughty or nice.
You’ll remember I began with two which I had carried over because I had failed to keep them in 2009 : -
I resolve to stop moaning about handicaps in Newport. If they get on my nerves I shall bear it with a cheery grin, and if it gets up my nose that much I shall just not go.
Actually I have done better with this one. I haven’t been since the League season started in Bridgend this Autumn, but I rather think I’ve pretty much got this monkey off my back now. I don't think I moaned at all throughout Spring and part of summer when I was going as much as I could.
Verdict - nice
· I resolve to stop saying that any team who beat us in a straight pub quiz must have cheated, even when they have actually been using their phones in front of us.
Oh dear. A failure again. The occasion which really sticks out is when we were playing in a pub in Cardiff, when the top prize was £100. The team in front of us had their phones out for the whole of he first half. When I pointed it out to the question master, he pointed to a member of our team who was playing games on the phone. It didn’t matter that no answers had come from the phone – the ground was cut from under my feet, and a huge helping of scrambled was all over my face. Must do better next year.
Verdict - naughty
So at least, Santa, I’ve got one of them cleared now. As for the new ones
· I resolve to apply to other quiz shows in the coming year. A similar resolution made for 2009 has brought me a lot of fun in the past 12 months.
Series 4 of Only Connect is currently showing, and I had a tremendous amount of fun playing in that. So definitely resolution kept. However at the moment I am at a real loss as to whether I should apply to any more shows now, and if so, which ?
Verdict - Nice
· I resolve to try to become a better quizzer, and to work a bit more on my weak areas, rather than just always trusting to luck.
Well, I have actually been doing this, but not to fulfil the resolution, as it happens. I’m so enjoying playing in the Bridgend League at the moment, and the league is that competitive in terms of the ability of the teams, that I am working a bit every week to try to plug some of my multitudinous gaps. Has it worked for the League ? Not that much, actually. Out of the hundreds of things I have tried to learn, they have so far supplied the answers to a grand total of 2 questions. On the other hand though, in every quiz I go to apart from the league, something I’ve recently learned DOES come up – it happens all the time !
Verdict - Nice
I resolve to try to be a little more positive when I’m quizzing, and look for the positives in a quiz BEFORE I start going on about the negatives.
Oh, I try to do this, I really do. There are hardly any quizzes I ever go to that are totally lacking in redeeming features, but even so, I’m still pretty quick to pinpoint the flaws – to my way of thinking – in quizzes I play in. In all honesty at the very best this one is a score draw.
Verdict – not very nice at all
· I resolve to try to get involved in a quiz league – it’s a good few years since I played regularly in one, and I loved it when I did.
There are five stand-out quiz experiences for me this year. Firstly, playing in the Brain of Britain Grand Final in January. Yes, its true that Ian thrashed me, but Grand finals are great events that don’t come along all that often. You have to enjoy them, and I did. Secondly, getting to play in the Mastermind Champion of Champions series in May. Thirdly, playing in the current series of Only Connect, which is the most fun TV team quiz I could possibly imagine. Fourthly, playing in the GetConnected Charity quiz in Floridita in London, which was just the most wonderful evening. Last but not least, joining the Llangewydd Arms team in the Bridgend and District Quiz League. I knew that I missed playing in a league, but I didn’t know just how much I missed it.
Verdict – Very nice indeed
· I resolve above all else to enjoy my quizzing throughout the next year.
No year is perfect ( although the 2007 SOBM came close ! ) This has been a year that marked the passing of a dear quiz friend of mine, and has seen another pretty much withdraw from quizzing. However the quizzing year has been another good one to me, and so I think I can safely say that the verdict to this one is a resounding Nice.
I make that 4 nices to 2 naughties, which isn’t bad going, and I was going to ask for some nice presents as a reward now, Santa, but reading that last resolution, to be honest, more of the same will do just fine for me.
Dave
To Christmas it up , or not ?
Reading through last year’s posts I see that the first full-on Christmas themed quiz I took part in last year was actually at the end of November. Here we are , well into the first week of the month, and not only have I not been to any Christmas themed quiz yet, I haven’t even been asked any Christmas themed questions in any of the other quizzes I’ve been to. Not that I’m complaining about this, you understand, but it does lead me to wonder just when the first Christmas question of the year will rear its frost-encrusted head.
It can do funny things to question masters can the incipient arrival of the Festive Season. For three or four weeks you start to find that picture rounds positively abound with photos which have been doctored to hide celebrities’ faces behind jolly Santa hats and wigs, or anagrams of well known Christmas Carols and many other variations on the theme. This week is actually my turn to write the quiz for the rugby club. I’ve already written the questions – not a Christmas one amongst them, I’m afraid – but I was thinking about the handout, and idly toying with the idea of using photos, whose combined name makes a Christmas phrase of some kind. So , for example you get this set : -
1) - An Ena HARKness Rose - 2) A Triumph HERALD - 3) Charlie’s ANGELS 4) Vijay SINGh
Which combined give you – well, I won’t insult your intelligence, you get the drift, I’m sure. Trouble is, it took me ages to come up with just that one, so I probably won’t bother for Thursday. If I can think of at least a couple more, then I might do it for my last one before Christmas. Meanwhile, you can groan along with this one if you like
1) OAKHAM 2) Edmund HALLEY 3) Marianne FAITHFULL (OAKHAM- HALLEY – FAITHFULL - say it quickly. Oh, alright, please yourselves.)
Early compliments of the season to you.
It can do funny things to question masters can the incipient arrival of the Festive Season. For three or four weeks you start to find that picture rounds positively abound with photos which have been doctored to hide celebrities’ faces behind jolly Santa hats and wigs, or anagrams of well known Christmas Carols and many other variations on the theme. This week is actually my turn to write the quiz for the rugby club. I’ve already written the questions – not a Christmas one amongst them, I’m afraid – but I was thinking about the handout, and idly toying with the idea of using photos, whose combined name makes a Christmas phrase of some kind. So , for example you get this set : -
1) - An Ena HARKness Rose - 2) A Triumph HERALD - 3) Charlie’s ANGELS 4) Vijay SINGh
Which combined give you – well, I won’t insult your intelligence, you get the drift, I’m sure. Trouble is, it took me ages to come up with just that one, so I probably won’t bother for Thursday. If I can think of at least a couple more, then I might do it for my last one before Christmas. Meanwhile, you can groan along with this one if you like
1) OAKHAM 2) Edmund HALLEY 3) Marianne FAITHFULL (OAKHAM- HALLEY – FAITHFULL - say it quickly. Oh, alright, please yourselves.)
Early compliments of the season to you.
Saturday, 4 December 2010
Mastermind - First Round - Heat 15/24
I wonder if this is the last one before BBC subject us all to the now traditional Mastermind December break ? I hope not.
I love seeing people I know, or I’ve met having a go on Mastermind, and I love seeing people come back for another crack at the black chair. Still, sometimes its nice to see four people you know nothing about , who have never been on the show before giving it a go. Such a show was last night’s. To the best of my knowledge none of the four contenders had any previous form on the show.
Tony O’Brien kicked off on one of my comedy heroes, Spike Milligan, or to be more precise, his war memoirs. I loved the first questions which needed Tony to answer that the first book kicked off with Spike and his father watching his mother digging a trench for their air raid shelter. Tony knew this one, and another 10 as well. As we always say, anything in double figures is a good score, especially in a two minute round, but Tony didn’t look best pleased with himself as he returned to his seat.
The classic old style Mastermind subject of the week was indeed classical, as Peter Watkins gave us The Life and Times of Mark Antony. Big subject, I thought, and a very interesting one. Respect to you, sir , for giving Antony’s titles in the original latin when John would have been quite happy with the modern English translations. A good round this, and well worth the 13 points that Peter scored.
There are usually only a couple of facts that you need to know about Lillie Langtry for most quizzes – that she was nicknamed The Jersey Lily – that she was the mistress of the Prince of Wales who later became King Edward VII . Well, Fiona Cowie, third into the chair in last night's show, knew quite a bit more than this. She seemed a little nervous, but nonetheless managed to score 9 correct answers.
Finally Christopher Anton, and the only one of tonight’s subjects which gave me absolutely no chance of answering any of the specialist questions. He was answering questions on The Henley Royal Regatta. In what was the pick of the specialist rounds tonight he answered really well, putting a very good fifteen points in the bank by the end of the round. Now that’s a good performance, and you have to say, even with two and half minutes for general knowledge it pretty much put Fiona and Tony out of the running at the halfway stage.
Fiona at least had a smile on her face, and looked as if she was enjoying her Mastermind experience. Good on you ! She answered her GK questions pretty well, too. Memory failed her on a couple, and then to add insult to injury popped the answer into her head at the end of the round. Still she managed double figures and took her score up to 19. This gave her the lead, and it was a lead that she still enjoyed by the time Tony had finished his round. He got himself a bit stuck in the middle of the round and never managed to establish any momentum. He finished the round with an overall total of 18.
It was down to Peter then to set the target , and see if Christopher Anton could overhaul it. Personally whenever I was in the chair I always preferred setting a total, rather than chasing one, but that’s just me. Peter’s was the pick of the GK rounds tonight. Tactically he did exactly the right thing, answering what he knew, guessing what he didn’t, quickly passing what he couldn’t guess. Text book stuff really, and it brought him a good total of 15. Food for thought for Christopher, certainly, and I don’t know whether it played on his mind a bit, but Christopher did hesitate quite a lot during his round. By the two minute stage he was too far away from the finishing post to make it, and in the end he levelled out at 10 points to take his total to 25. A decent performance, but not one that will take him onto the repechage board. No such worries for Peter Watkins, and he takes a well earned place in the semis.
The Details
Highest Scoring Runners Up
Current Highest Scoring Runners-Up
Nick Mills – 34 – 4
Hamish Cameron – 30 – 2
Anne Skillen - 30 -7
James Collenette - 29 – 2
Duncan Byrne – 27 - 2
Ian Packham - 27 – 7
I love seeing people I know, or I’ve met having a go on Mastermind, and I love seeing people come back for another crack at the black chair. Still, sometimes its nice to see four people you know nothing about , who have never been on the show before giving it a go. Such a show was last night’s. To the best of my knowledge none of the four contenders had any previous form on the show.
Tony O’Brien kicked off on one of my comedy heroes, Spike Milligan, or to be more precise, his war memoirs. I loved the first questions which needed Tony to answer that the first book kicked off with Spike and his father watching his mother digging a trench for their air raid shelter. Tony knew this one, and another 10 as well. As we always say, anything in double figures is a good score, especially in a two minute round, but Tony didn’t look best pleased with himself as he returned to his seat.
The classic old style Mastermind subject of the week was indeed classical, as Peter Watkins gave us The Life and Times of Mark Antony. Big subject, I thought, and a very interesting one. Respect to you, sir , for giving Antony’s titles in the original latin when John would have been quite happy with the modern English translations. A good round this, and well worth the 13 points that Peter scored.
There are usually only a couple of facts that you need to know about Lillie Langtry for most quizzes – that she was nicknamed The Jersey Lily – that she was the mistress of the Prince of Wales who later became King Edward VII . Well, Fiona Cowie, third into the chair in last night's show, knew quite a bit more than this. She seemed a little nervous, but nonetheless managed to score 9 correct answers.
Finally Christopher Anton, and the only one of tonight’s subjects which gave me absolutely no chance of answering any of the specialist questions. He was answering questions on The Henley Royal Regatta. In what was the pick of the specialist rounds tonight he answered really well, putting a very good fifteen points in the bank by the end of the round. Now that’s a good performance, and you have to say, even with two and half minutes for general knowledge it pretty much put Fiona and Tony out of the running at the halfway stage.
Fiona at least had a smile on her face, and looked as if she was enjoying her Mastermind experience. Good on you ! She answered her GK questions pretty well, too. Memory failed her on a couple, and then to add insult to injury popped the answer into her head at the end of the round. Still she managed double figures and took her score up to 19. This gave her the lead, and it was a lead that she still enjoyed by the time Tony had finished his round. He got himself a bit stuck in the middle of the round and never managed to establish any momentum. He finished the round with an overall total of 18.
It was down to Peter then to set the target , and see if Christopher Anton could overhaul it. Personally whenever I was in the chair I always preferred setting a total, rather than chasing one, but that’s just me. Peter’s was the pick of the GK rounds tonight. Tactically he did exactly the right thing, answering what he knew, guessing what he didn’t, quickly passing what he couldn’t guess. Text book stuff really, and it brought him a good total of 15. Food for thought for Christopher, certainly, and I don’t know whether it played on his mind a bit, but Christopher did hesitate quite a lot during his round. By the two minute stage he was too far away from the finishing post to make it, and in the end he levelled out at 10 points to take his total to 25. A decent performance, but not one that will take him onto the repechage board. No such worries for Peter Watkins, and he takes a well earned place in the semis.
The Details
| Tony O’Brien | The War Memoirs of Spike Milligan | 11 – 1 | 7 - 5 | 18 – 6 |
| Peter Watkins | The Life and Times of Mark Antony | 13 - 2 | 15 - 3 | 28 – 5 |
| Fiona Cowie | The Life of Lillie Langtry | 9-3 | 10 - 5 | 19 – 8 |
| Christopher Anton | Henley Royal Regatta | 15 - 1 | 10 - 5 | 25 – 6 |
Highest Scoring Runners Up
Current Highest Scoring Runners-Up
Nick Mills – 34 – 4
Hamish Cameron – 30 – 2
Anne Skillen - 30 -7
James Collenette - 29 – 2
Duncan Byrne – 27 - 2
Ian Packham - 27 – 7
Friday, 3 December 2010
Prepare yourselves for Only Connect Series 5
Great news this week from Only Connect . The lovely Jenny has emailed me to say that the two semis of series 4 are going to be broadcast back to back on Christmas Day ! I've never made the small screen on the greatday before.
Equally as momentous is the news that the show has been commissioned for a 5th series. The call hasn't yet gone out for teams, but if you haven't applied before, then can I recommend the experience to you, and suggest that now would be a good time to start thinking about getting teams together, deciding on team names and connections.
As soon as the call goes out for contestants to start applying I will let you know. Watch this space for further details as and when.
Equally as momentous is the news that the show has been commissioned for a 5th series. The call hasn't yet gone out for teams, but if you haven't applied before, then can I recommend the experience to you, and suggest that now would be a good time to start thinking about getting teams together, deciding on team names and connections.
As soon as the call goes out for contestants to start applying I will let you know. Watch this space for further details as and when.
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