Well, for once I find myself saying that I find it difficult to predict just who is going to win University Challenge. Both teams have shown resilience, and skill during the competition. Both teams have fast buzzers . Manchester have the highest single score of the two teams, yet Manchester also lost in one of their quarter final matches. Pembroke are unbeaten. Manchester were beaten in their first quarter final match by UCL. UCL were beaten in the semi-final by Pembroke. So Pembroke should be the favourites then ? Well, actually, that’s not what the stats say.
There’s not a huge amount to choose between their average scores. Still, Manchester do have the higher average, with 251 to Pembroke’s 231. The average score of each team’s opponents is also interesting – Manchester concedes on average 127 points, while Pembroke concede 145. That’s more telling when you consider that Manchester also have a loss contributing to that stat. So does that mean that we should be banking on a narrow win for Manchester ? Well, not necessarily. We can’t ignore that loss to UCL, after all.
So how will the final match be decided ? I haven’t the foggiest. Manchester are usually very fast starters. So maybe they’ll have built up a head of steam by the ten minute mark, as they did in the semi, and not allow Pembroke to ever get on terms. On the other hand maybe Ben Pugh will have a stormer for Pembroke. When he’s on form he’s lightning on the buzzer.
Knowing that I won’t get away with sitting on the fence any more, I will make a prediction, but let me say that I have no faith in it whatsoever, and certainly would not be risking so much as a brass farthing – if I possessed such a thing – on the outcome. I just have this sneaking feeling that maybe Pembroke have only played as well as they have needed to in order to win all their matches so far, and they might just find another gear. Put me on the spot and insist on me calling a winner, I suppose I’d go for Pembroke. But then again . . . Good luck to both teams anyway. I’m really looking forward to it.
Friday, 16 March 2012
University Challenge - Second semi final
Pembroke College Cambridge v University College London
Pembroke College Cambridge are , JP delighted in telling us, the only team to get to the semis in this year’s series without losing a single match. They weren’t by any means all against easy opposition either. With big hitters Ben Pugh and skipper Bibek Mukherjee ably supported by Edward Bankes and Imogen Gold they had certainly been some people’s tip for the final ever since their first appearance against a good team from St. Anne’s. Nottingham, Balliol and Clare had all been beaten since. A formidable record to carry forward.
Not that UCL had any reason to go into the match as hugely unfancied underdogs themselves. The only blot on their escutcheon was a quarter final defeat by Worcester College, Oxford, themselves semi finalists in their own right. No shame there then. Skipper Jamie Karran has been hailed as one of the most interesting personalities of the whole series, however this shouldn’t detract from the fact that they have buzzers throughout the team in the shape of Hywel Carver, Patrick Cook and Tom Andrews– they all contribute to their success, and that’s all to the good where UC is concerned.
Patrick Cook took the Eiffel Tower for the first starter for UCL. The first set of bonuses were on red hair. One was taken. Tom Andrews took UCL’s second starter with the word Glee. Fact recall provided them with another five points. Did you know of the Ugly Sister effect ? Me neither, but now I’ve heard of it I know that I suffer from it often – especially during quizzes, worst luck. At this point Bibek Mukherjee decided that UCL had quite enough of a lead to be getting on with, and correctly identified a number of cities as having had former names derived from Stalin. This brought Pembroke a set of bonuses on Astronomy and Shakespeare. Weren’t they a progressive rock duo who used to play pubs in Greenford in the late 70’s ? I digress. Pembroke in turn took one bonus. Jamie Karran weighed in with histogram for the next starter. Bonuses on frequencies proved to be a little more to UCL’s liking as they managed a pair now. Onto the picture starter, showing a chess diagram. Ben Pugh was first in to identify Fool’s Mate. I was wondering when he’d make his mark in this contest, having been so much to the fore in earlier rounds. Pembroke’s bonuses were on a similar set of problems, giving them a series of three chessboards, from which they had to tell what the winning move would be. 1 was answered correctly. Patrick Cook knew that various counties took their titles from the roman Palatine Hill. Heroines from Greek drama gave UCL their first full set of bonuses. At the ten minute mark, had there been any time to do so UCL could have reflected on a job well done so far, as they led by 75 to 30.
The fightback began with the next starter. Ben Pugh recognized Coleridge’s description of Shakespeare, bringing up bonuses on the former East Germany, of which they managed all 3. Ed Bankes knew the term reification for the next starter – which is more than the BBC subtitler did, who rendered it as rarefication. Economics bonuses saw them take a full set to go into the lead with 80 points. Game on. Patrick Cook struck right back with the next starter, knowing that Lord Aberdeen, and the ‘hero’ of Khartoum shared the surname Gordon. Square number bonuses gave them opportunities for points, but they just missed out on any of them. The music starter gave two different excerpts for the composers to be identified – well , it is the semi final after all. Ben Pugh was equal to the task, and very impressed JP was as well. This gave rise to a UC special set on pairs of composers – the second being born in the same year that the first one died. I thought they did extremely well to get two of them. Imogen Gold buzzed in a little too early for taramasalata and galatasaray, losing five, and allowing Hywel Carver in. Science bonuses on meta materials brought them just the one. Neither team could get a reference to EM Forster’s epithet Only Connect, although Tom Andrews did buzz in too early and stun JP with “The Working class smell “. Not often I see him lost for words, there. All square, and Imogen Gold made up for earlier twitchiness by answering that a greek term denoted rule by the mob. Good shout. Bonuses on French cinema escaped them, but nonetheless they had a lead now at the twenty minute mark, with 105 to UCL’s 95.
Well, to use a time honoured cliché it was all going to come down to who wanted it more. Shown a picture of a biblical scene Tom Andrews offered “Water into Wine”, and as JP knew he obviously meant the wedding at Cana he accepted it. Quite right too. The bonuses were more depictions of the same by Italian Renaissance artists. They took the first, but that was it. Ben Pugh knew that the author of Rasselas, and of Not Waving but Drowning share surnames with former Home Secretaries. Again , a good shout. Bonuses on peaks which give their names to various science thingummybobs yielded nothing. Ben Pugh took a really good early buzz with Lammas – from Loaf Mass. Words from Arabic, used for parts of cities – souk, casbah etc. - , brought up 10 more points. Jamie Karran kept UCL in it with the term rarified. They needed all 3 bonuses on French scientists to draw level, but managed just one. Still, there was nothing in it. I was rather surprised that no one from either side knew that the Menai Straits were bridged first by Telford and then by Robert Stephenson. But then I do live in Wales, albeit right at the other end of the country. Ben Pugh again had a great early buzz for Seurat. They do say that who dares wins, and it was Ben Pugh who was daring to really go for it on the buzzer at this stage. People whose surnames began with Za gave a valuable 10 more points. Imogen Gold pushed Pembroke closer to the final by correctly supplying the answer binary star system for the next starter. Children’s Charities added 10 more points. Imogen Gold took her second in a row with Odeon, and Pembroke looked as good as there. Analysis of colour was the bonus topic, but there was only time for the one question before the gong. Pembroke had prevailed by 185 to 125. Very well played. As the only semi final team who had not sustained a loss earlier in the competition they had to be fancied to go all the way, but very well done to UCL, who have been one of the teams we’ll remember with affection from this year’s series. They pushed Pembroke all the way.
Jeremy Paxman Watch
Well, we’ve seen in the past how much JP enjoys working with this UCL team, hence his very restrained reply to Tom Andrews’ answer to the Only Connect question. Other than that there really didn’t seem anything of note in this show. We can only hope that he’s keeping his powder dry for Monday night’s final.
Interesting Fact Of The Week That I Didn’t Already Know
The Bader Meinhoff terrorist group gives its name to the internet meme and phenomenon in which having heard an obscure fact for the first time one encounters it repeatedly in other contexts.
Pembroke College Cambridge are , JP delighted in telling us, the only team to get to the semis in this year’s series without losing a single match. They weren’t by any means all against easy opposition either. With big hitters Ben Pugh and skipper Bibek Mukherjee ably supported by Edward Bankes and Imogen Gold they had certainly been some people’s tip for the final ever since their first appearance against a good team from St. Anne’s. Nottingham, Balliol and Clare had all been beaten since. A formidable record to carry forward.
Not that UCL had any reason to go into the match as hugely unfancied underdogs themselves. The only blot on their escutcheon was a quarter final defeat by Worcester College, Oxford, themselves semi finalists in their own right. No shame there then. Skipper Jamie Karran has been hailed as one of the most interesting personalities of the whole series, however this shouldn’t detract from the fact that they have buzzers throughout the team in the shape of Hywel Carver, Patrick Cook and Tom Andrews– they all contribute to their success, and that’s all to the good where UC is concerned.
Patrick Cook took the Eiffel Tower for the first starter for UCL. The first set of bonuses were on red hair. One was taken. Tom Andrews took UCL’s second starter with the word Glee. Fact recall provided them with another five points. Did you know of the Ugly Sister effect ? Me neither, but now I’ve heard of it I know that I suffer from it often – especially during quizzes, worst luck. At this point Bibek Mukherjee decided that UCL had quite enough of a lead to be getting on with, and correctly identified a number of cities as having had former names derived from Stalin. This brought Pembroke a set of bonuses on Astronomy and Shakespeare. Weren’t they a progressive rock duo who used to play pubs in Greenford in the late 70’s ? I digress. Pembroke in turn took one bonus. Jamie Karran weighed in with histogram for the next starter. Bonuses on frequencies proved to be a little more to UCL’s liking as they managed a pair now. Onto the picture starter, showing a chess diagram. Ben Pugh was first in to identify Fool’s Mate. I was wondering when he’d make his mark in this contest, having been so much to the fore in earlier rounds. Pembroke’s bonuses were on a similar set of problems, giving them a series of three chessboards, from which they had to tell what the winning move would be. 1 was answered correctly. Patrick Cook knew that various counties took their titles from the roman Palatine Hill. Heroines from Greek drama gave UCL their first full set of bonuses. At the ten minute mark, had there been any time to do so UCL could have reflected on a job well done so far, as they led by 75 to 30.
The fightback began with the next starter. Ben Pugh recognized Coleridge’s description of Shakespeare, bringing up bonuses on the former East Germany, of which they managed all 3. Ed Bankes knew the term reification for the next starter – which is more than the BBC subtitler did, who rendered it as rarefication. Economics bonuses saw them take a full set to go into the lead with 80 points. Game on. Patrick Cook struck right back with the next starter, knowing that Lord Aberdeen, and the ‘hero’ of Khartoum shared the surname Gordon. Square number bonuses gave them opportunities for points, but they just missed out on any of them. The music starter gave two different excerpts for the composers to be identified – well , it is the semi final after all. Ben Pugh was equal to the task, and very impressed JP was as well. This gave rise to a UC special set on pairs of composers – the second being born in the same year that the first one died. I thought they did extremely well to get two of them. Imogen Gold buzzed in a little too early for taramasalata and galatasaray, losing five, and allowing Hywel Carver in. Science bonuses on meta materials brought them just the one. Neither team could get a reference to EM Forster’s epithet Only Connect, although Tom Andrews did buzz in too early and stun JP with “The Working class smell “. Not often I see him lost for words, there. All square, and Imogen Gold made up for earlier twitchiness by answering that a greek term denoted rule by the mob. Good shout. Bonuses on French cinema escaped them, but nonetheless they had a lead now at the twenty minute mark, with 105 to UCL’s 95.
Well, to use a time honoured cliché it was all going to come down to who wanted it more. Shown a picture of a biblical scene Tom Andrews offered “Water into Wine”, and as JP knew he obviously meant the wedding at Cana he accepted it. Quite right too. The bonuses were more depictions of the same by Italian Renaissance artists. They took the first, but that was it. Ben Pugh knew that the author of Rasselas, and of Not Waving but Drowning share surnames with former Home Secretaries. Again , a good shout. Bonuses on peaks which give their names to various science thingummybobs yielded nothing. Ben Pugh took a really good early buzz with Lammas – from Loaf Mass. Words from Arabic, used for parts of cities – souk, casbah etc. - , brought up 10 more points. Jamie Karran kept UCL in it with the term rarified. They needed all 3 bonuses on French scientists to draw level, but managed just one. Still, there was nothing in it. I was rather surprised that no one from either side knew that the Menai Straits were bridged first by Telford and then by Robert Stephenson. But then I do live in Wales, albeit right at the other end of the country. Ben Pugh again had a great early buzz for Seurat. They do say that who dares wins, and it was Ben Pugh who was daring to really go for it on the buzzer at this stage. People whose surnames began with Za gave a valuable 10 more points. Imogen Gold pushed Pembroke closer to the final by correctly supplying the answer binary star system for the next starter. Children’s Charities added 10 more points. Imogen Gold took her second in a row with Odeon, and Pembroke looked as good as there. Analysis of colour was the bonus topic, but there was only time for the one question before the gong. Pembroke had prevailed by 185 to 125. Very well played. As the only semi final team who had not sustained a loss earlier in the competition they had to be fancied to go all the way, but very well done to UCL, who have been one of the teams we’ll remember with affection from this year’s series. They pushed Pembroke all the way.
Jeremy Paxman Watch
Well, we’ve seen in the past how much JP enjoys working with this UCL team, hence his very restrained reply to Tom Andrews’ answer to the Only Connect question. Other than that there really didn’t seem anything of note in this show. We can only hope that he’s keeping his powder dry for Monday night’s final.
Interesting Fact Of The Week That I Didn’t Already Know
The Bader Meinhoff terrorist group gives its name to the internet meme and phenomenon in which having heard an obscure fact for the first time one encounters it repeatedly in other contexts.
Monday, 12 March 2012
Breakaway
It’s funny how some years there’s almost no new quizzes – I think of 2010 particularly – and then other years they come thick and fast. Some are faster than others, and some of course are thicker. Here we are, not even one quarter of the way through the year, and we’ve already had enough new quizzes to have a wide selection to choose from for this year’s LAMMY for the best new quiz show of the year. Well, that’ s a long time away from us yet.
I finally sat down for a brief rest from my labours this afternoon at about 10 to 5, and came upon the BBC’s latest entry in the medium level prize, teatime quiz stakes. This is Breakaway, no less. Presenter Nick Hancock, fondly remembered for the early years of They Think It’s All Over, before it became a caricature of itself, earned his quiz spurs on the underrated ITV prime time show Duel. So we were in good safe hands there. As for the quiz itself, well, we were firmly in the land of the game show, but then there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with that, if it’s a good game. Now, you need to accept that the show had already been on for a while when I tuned in, so I didn’t see it from the start, and it’s not impossible that I might have got the wrong impression about some aspects of the show. Forgive my error if this is the case.
Basically it involves a team of players, standing on a walkway, graduated with 30 steps . To take a step forward, a question must be answered correctly by one of the team. If it is answered incorrectly, then they have to all take a step back, and the money is wiped off. At certain stages of the walkway, the players are offered the opportunity to breakaway. This means that they get the opportunity to go it alone, while the others have to wait for them to make a mistake. They can invite another player to join them. When they do make a mistake, then they lose a life, and can be sent home. The sections between the breakaway questions belong to different categories. For instance, in tonight’s show I saw categories of Inventions – Pot Luck – Football. Either one of the breakaways will work, or the team themselves will eventually get through the line. Whatever money they have managed to build up, that’s what gets shared by the first through the line – breakaway or team.
Maybe it sounds a little complicated, but it wasn’t really. What I liked about the questions was that they did seem to get a little harder as they progressed through each category. What a refreshing change to see that the contestants were actually required to come up with answers, rather than to choose between options as well – there’s far too much of that going on at the moment. Tonight’s show was won by a breakaway, and the lady who broke away had the sense to invite someone who actually knew something to come with her. Alright, questions like “How many presidents are carved on Mount Rushmore ? “ and “From which musical does the song – There is Nothing Like A Dame – come from ? “ are never going to give a proper quizzer sleepless nights, but how often do we see such innocuous stuff tripping up nice, decent members of the public on any numbers of shows ?
It’s early days, and it’s always best to give shows like this a bit of time to bed in before making hard and fast pronouncements on them. But I quite enjoyed this, and will watch it again. Which is pretty much the point, when you come to think about it.
I finally sat down for a brief rest from my labours this afternoon at about 10 to 5, and came upon the BBC’s latest entry in the medium level prize, teatime quiz stakes. This is Breakaway, no less. Presenter Nick Hancock, fondly remembered for the early years of They Think It’s All Over, before it became a caricature of itself, earned his quiz spurs on the underrated ITV prime time show Duel. So we were in good safe hands there. As for the quiz itself, well, we were firmly in the land of the game show, but then there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with that, if it’s a good game. Now, you need to accept that the show had already been on for a while when I tuned in, so I didn’t see it from the start, and it’s not impossible that I might have got the wrong impression about some aspects of the show. Forgive my error if this is the case.
Basically it involves a team of players, standing on a walkway, graduated with 30 steps . To take a step forward, a question must be answered correctly by one of the team. If it is answered incorrectly, then they have to all take a step back, and the money is wiped off. At certain stages of the walkway, the players are offered the opportunity to breakaway. This means that they get the opportunity to go it alone, while the others have to wait for them to make a mistake. They can invite another player to join them. When they do make a mistake, then they lose a life, and can be sent home. The sections between the breakaway questions belong to different categories. For instance, in tonight’s show I saw categories of Inventions – Pot Luck – Football. Either one of the breakaways will work, or the team themselves will eventually get through the line. Whatever money they have managed to build up, that’s what gets shared by the first through the line – breakaway or team.
Maybe it sounds a little complicated, but it wasn’t really. What I liked about the questions was that they did seem to get a little harder as they progressed through each category. What a refreshing change to see that the contestants were actually required to come up with answers, rather than to choose between options as well – there’s far too much of that going on at the moment. Tonight’s show was won by a breakaway, and the lady who broke away had the sense to invite someone who actually knew something to come with her. Alright, questions like “How many presidents are carved on Mount Rushmore ? “ and “From which musical does the song – There is Nothing Like A Dame – come from ? “ are never going to give a proper quizzer sleepless nights, but how often do we see such innocuous stuff tripping up nice, decent members of the public on any numbers of shows ?
It’s early days, and it’s always best to give shows like this a bit of time to bed in before making hard and fast pronouncements on them. But I quite enjoyed this, and will watch it again. Which is pretty much the point, when you come to think about it.
Sunday, 11 March 2012
Mastermind - Round One - Heat 21
Yes thanks, I had a lovely trip away with the school, thanks for asking. How nice, then to be able to watch this week’s Mastermind on demand as soon as I got home. In the show I recognised that the first of our contenders, Nick Duffy, has been this way before. It’s probably fair to say that Nick cut quite a dash as one of the more colourful contenders of the 2006 series, where he did better than I did by reaching the semi-finals. Soberly attired in this show, Nick got the show off to a good start with Peter Cook. No better place to start. He put on a good show, scoring 13 , and only missing out on a couple.
Second up was Chris Shepherd. His specialist subject might have given pause for thought. French Impressionists is certainly a narrower subject than European Paintings, which was the subject that caused Arfor Wyn Hughes to famously come a cropper a few years ago, but nonetheless it may well have been tempting fate. As it happened Chris didn’t do badly at the start, but then, call it a sudden attack of nerves, call it what you like, but the round ground to a halt. You could almost feel poor Chris’ frustration through the screen. He finished with 6.
You sensed that Michael Rogers subject had seen some hard bargaining, since Haydn in England only covered a few years of the composer’s life. Mind you, getting what looked to be a narrower subject can be a double edged sword . You can often find yourself having to deal with really intricate questions if you have such a relatively narrow subject. Whatever the case 10 was enough to put into contention for the win, if not for a runner up slot on the repechage board.
Bringing the round to a conclusion was Duncan Stephenson. I know some people who still misguidedly believe that you automatically receive an easier ride if you opt for a sporting subject, but this is simply not the case. Duncan struggled manfully with his round, but despite a lot of honest endeavor he just failed to get into double figures. 9 didn’t mean that he had no chance of winning, but it certainly made him a long shot.
Before he’d get the chance to show us what he could to, though, Chris Shepherd returned to the chair. I don’t know if it was a case of what had happened in the first round forcing him to go hell for leather, but it seemed to me that there were a number of questions he knew the answer to , where he blurted out the quick wrong answer just a fraction of a second before the correct right answer occured to him. Still, his 8 points was enough to give him a one point lead. Duncan Stephenson did rather better at picking off the ones that he knew. He might not have managed double figures in his SS round, but he managed it now. OK, 11 was not the highest score we’ve seen all season, but it wasn’t bad going, and put him into the 20s, albeit that it didn’t look as if the lead was going to last until the end of the show. Michael Rogers’ first answer did suggest that it was unlikely to be him who beat it, though. You have to get stuff like King Midas right if you’re going to give yourself a chance of winning. Michael steadied himself a little, but really there were just too many wrong answers to gettable questions, and in the end he leveled out at 8 correct answers for 18 points in total.
Now, as for Nick Duffy, well, in his 2 2006 performances Nick had scored a brace of 11s on GK. These were both 2 minute rounds. With 8 required for the win without recourse to countback, there seemed to be little or no chance that he wouldn’t win. It was reasonable to expect about 16 on this form in a 2 and a half minute round. Well, I think Nick has been working on his GK, because this was a highly impressive round indeed. Alright, he wasn’t necessarily under huge pressure, with such a modest total to beat, but nonetheless a score of 18 is a terrific performance, and this wasn’t a very easy GK set either. In the end Nick finished with 31, and has marked himself out as very much one to watch in the semis.
The Details
Second up was Chris Shepherd. His specialist subject might have given pause for thought. French Impressionists is certainly a narrower subject than European Paintings, which was the subject that caused Arfor Wyn Hughes to famously come a cropper a few years ago, but nonetheless it may well have been tempting fate. As it happened Chris didn’t do badly at the start, but then, call it a sudden attack of nerves, call it what you like, but the round ground to a halt. You could almost feel poor Chris’ frustration through the screen. He finished with 6.
You sensed that Michael Rogers subject had seen some hard bargaining, since Haydn in England only covered a few years of the composer’s life. Mind you, getting what looked to be a narrower subject can be a double edged sword . You can often find yourself having to deal with really intricate questions if you have such a relatively narrow subject. Whatever the case 10 was enough to put into contention for the win, if not for a runner up slot on the repechage board.
Bringing the round to a conclusion was Duncan Stephenson. I know some people who still misguidedly believe that you automatically receive an easier ride if you opt for a sporting subject, but this is simply not the case. Duncan struggled manfully with his round, but despite a lot of honest endeavor he just failed to get into double figures. 9 didn’t mean that he had no chance of winning, but it certainly made him a long shot.
Before he’d get the chance to show us what he could to, though, Chris Shepherd returned to the chair. I don’t know if it was a case of what had happened in the first round forcing him to go hell for leather, but it seemed to me that there were a number of questions he knew the answer to , where he blurted out the quick wrong answer just a fraction of a second before the correct right answer occured to him. Still, his 8 points was enough to give him a one point lead. Duncan Stephenson did rather better at picking off the ones that he knew. He might not have managed double figures in his SS round, but he managed it now. OK, 11 was not the highest score we’ve seen all season, but it wasn’t bad going, and put him into the 20s, albeit that it didn’t look as if the lead was going to last until the end of the show. Michael Rogers’ first answer did suggest that it was unlikely to be him who beat it, though. You have to get stuff like King Midas right if you’re going to give yourself a chance of winning. Michael steadied himself a little, but really there were just too many wrong answers to gettable questions, and in the end he leveled out at 8 correct answers for 18 points in total.
Now, as for Nick Duffy, well, in his 2 2006 performances Nick had scored a brace of 11s on GK. These were both 2 minute rounds. With 8 required for the win without recourse to countback, there seemed to be little or no chance that he wouldn’t win. It was reasonable to expect about 16 on this form in a 2 and a half minute round. Well, I think Nick has been working on his GK, because this was a highly impressive round indeed. Alright, he wasn’t necessarily under huge pressure, with such a modest total to beat, but nonetheless a score of 18 is a terrific performance, and this wasn’t a very easy GK set either. In the end Nick finished with 31, and has marked himself out as very much one to watch in the semis.
The Details
| Nick Duffy | Peter Cook | 13 - 0 | 18 - 0 | 31 – 0 |
| Chris Shepherd | French Impressionist Painters | 6 - 5 | 8 - 4 | 14 – 9 |
| Michael Rogers | Haydn in England | 10 - 4 | 8 - 8 | 18 – 12 |
| Duncan Stephenson | FC Barcelona | 9 - 2 | 11 - 3 | 20 – 5 |
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
University Challenge - Semi Final 1
Manchester v. Worcester, Oxford
Well, once again a mighty Manchester team have made it to the semis. They got over their loss to UCL in their first quarter final match, to win the finest match we’ve seen in this, or any other series for a long time, against Clare.
Worcester, on the other hand recorded their loss in the first round, in a tight match against Clare , Cambridge. Well, they had the last laugh, having progressed further than their conquerors did.
On with the show. Michael McKenna was first to recognise a description of the national flag of France. The first bonus set was on Anglo Saxon kings and the epithets associated with them. Last time out Manchester had an outstanding bonus conversion rate. They didn’t quite start off at the same blistering pace with these, taking one. Still, they were happy enough to pick up the second starter, when skipper Tristan Burke recognised a work by Wittgenstein. . Economic schools followed – well, all schools have to be economic with the credit crunch now – and they took two of these. Manchester took their third starter in a row with Neville Chamberlain. Luke Kelly, who was to have a fine evening, supplied that one. Bonuses on the Parthians proved elusive, and passed them by completely. Well for Worcester that they did, for Manchester were winning the buzzer race at a canter, as Paul Joyce took the next , to bring up an astronomical set, based on the premise that if the Earth was 1cm in diameter, then how far away - etc. etc. No, I wasn’t even close either. Amazingly Manchester still managed to get one of them. This brought us to the first picture starter. This was a fine UC special, with three consecutive dictionary definitions, and wasn’t easy, even though Paul Joyce made short work of it. Three more of the same were to follow, and none of them were to provide them with points. No matter. If you recall, Manchester had set a blistering pace at the start of their last match, and they’d done exactly the same in this one, completing a shutout for the first ten minutes of the show, to lead by 70.
More one way traffic followed, as Tristan Burke recognised a description of Pittsburgh. Bonuses on edit wars helped stretch the lead to 90. The Manchurian Candidate fell to Luke Kelly, and Manchester were into three figures. Quotations on books gave them another one correct answer. Luke Kelly knew the kulaks, and buzzed in early to say so. A set of equations forced the confession from Tristan Burke – “I don’t know what the question means !” I know the feeling. Not surprisingly, they didn’t get any of these. On to the music starter, looking for the name of the composer of an opera. A rare buzz came in from Worcester, but unfortunately not a correct one. Nobody recognised Gounod. Now, though, Worcester broke the duck. I couldn’t transcribe the answer that Jack Bramhill gave to a biology starter, but it was right, and Worcester were now in the game. They’d earned the music starters, a set of works based on the Faust legend. Unfortunately they didn’t manage any of them – zigging with Bartok rather than sagging with Liszt, for example. Poor Jack Bramhill knew the answer to the next starter, but only supplied the word ‘Joy’ when JP really wanted the three words ‘The Joy Of’. 5 of those hard earned points were thus lost. Hard lines, especially when Manchester took two of the bonuses on a UC special set of two word phrases, where the last two letters of the first word are also the first two letters of the second. For example transitive verb. Paul Joyce knew about the Dissolution of the Monasteries for the next starter. Philosophers’ works followed, and they managed one. Paul Joyce also knew that Spencer Tunick photographed groups of naked people in 2010 – beats working for a living, I suppose. Bonuses on artists took us up to the 20 minute mark, and I’m afraid the score was 170 to Manchester, to 0 for Worcester.
As an aside I had a little argument with work colleagues over this, who were scornful of the way that Worcester had lost the only points they’d earned so far. I pointed out that when you’re being beaten to the buzzer, as Worcester were, then you have a choice – either sit back and accept it, or go down all guns blazing by buzzing the second you have even so much as an inkling of what the answer might possibly be. If you do this, then it’s not going to come off all the time. It’s still better to go down having had a go. Full credit to Worcester for doing that.
Still with a few minutes to go, the questions remained – how close to 300 would Manchester get, and would Worcester break the psychologically important 100 point barrier ? Paul Joyce picked off lemmings for the next starter. The team weren’t that secure on US state capitals, but still managed one of them. The second picture starter passed both teams by. Jack Bramhill took his second starter, on something in a tomato, and this brought up a set of mosaics of Byzantine emperors. One of these was correctly answered. Dave Knapp, so effective on the buzzer in earlier contests finally elbowed his way into the contest, identifying Argentina as the first South American country to legalise gay marriage. Bonuses on the Periodic table proved to be much to their liking, and now their score was up to 40. Earning a heartfelt well done from JP as it happened. The log jam seemed clear now, as Jonathan Metzer took the next starter on coughing. Bonuses on scrofula didn’t yield much to them , but nonetheless the score was now up to 50. At the words ‘Dublin born painter’ Paul Joyce was straight in with “Francis Bacon “ - well it’s got to be a good shout, hasn’t it. It was right , anyway. Bonuses followed on national Parks raised the score to 200. Luke Kelly knew that Luxembourg shares its name with gardens in Paris. Two bonuses followed. “To thine own self be true. “ was the show’s tribute to Shakin’ Shakespeare. Tristan Burke knew it was Hamlet. Tributaries of the Thames followed. Jack Bramhill took his third starter on the german word wurst to lift the score to 60, to which one bonus was added. The gong then went, leaving Worcester on 65, to Manchester’s 240. Congratulations Manchester, first of this year’s finalists. Hard lines Worcester – it happens to all of us . Sometimes it just isn’t your night.
Jeremy Paxman Watch
A lovely little touch of disdain to start with, as he muttered “Of course. “ as Tristan Burke answered Wittgenstein. No of course about it, Jez, believe me. It was on the 13th minute mark that Worcester must have started to lose hope, because that was the precise moment that JP chose to say “Plenty of time left Worcester college , we’re not even half way yet. “ I know he was only trying to be encouraging, but whenever he says something like that you just KNOW that you’re having one of those nights. Has any team ever come back to win after JP saying something like this to them ? Answers on a postcard, if you please. He made up for it later. When Jack Bramhill scored his second starter to lift Worcester away from zero, for the second time in the match, JP muttered “There we are, you’re storming away now.” Sarky devil.
To be fair he did make amends somewhat by saying that although it’s hard to be beaten by such a wide margin, Worcester have been a terrific team this series, and put in some fine performances. Damn straight there, JP.
Interesting Fact Of The Week I Didn’t Already Know
In 2010 Argentina became the first country of South America to legalise gay marriage.
Well, once again a mighty Manchester team have made it to the semis. They got over their loss to UCL in their first quarter final match, to win the finest match we’ve seen in this, or any other series for a long time, against Clare.
Worcester, on the other hand recorded their loss in the first round, in a tight match against Clare , Cambridge. Well, they had the last laugh, having progressed further than their conquerors did.
On with the show. Michael McKenna was first to recognise a description of the national flag of France. The first bonus set was on Anglo Saxon kings and the epithets associated with them. Last time out Manchester had an outstanding bonus conversion rate. They didn’t quite start off at the same blistering pace with these, taking one. Still, they were happy enough to pick up the second starter, when skipper Tristan Burke recognised a work by Wittgenstein. . Economic schools followed – well, all schools have to be economic with the credit crunch now – and they took two of these. Manchester took their third starter in a row with Neville Chamberlain. Luke Kelly, who was to have a fine evening, supplied that one. Bonuses on the Parthians proved elusive, and passed them by completely. Well for Worcester that they did, for Manchester were winning the buzzer race at a canter, as Paul Joyce took the next , to bring up an astronomical set, based on the premise that if the Earth was 1cm in diameter, then how far away - etc. etc. No, I wasn’t even close either. Amazingly Manchester still managed to get one of them. This brought us to the first picture starter. This was a fine UC special, with three consecutive dictionary definitions, and wasn’t easy, even though Paul Joyce made short work of it. Three more of the same were to follow, and none of them were to provide them with points. No matter. If you recall, Manchester had set a blistering pace at the start of their last match, and they’d done exactly the same in this one, completing a shutout for the first ten minutes of the show, to lead by 70.
More one way traffic followed, as Tristan Burke recognised a description of Pittsburgh. Bonuses on edit wars helped stretch the lead to 90. The Manchurian Candidate fell to Luke Kelly, and Manchester were into three figures. Quotations on books gave them another one correct answer. Luke Kelly knew the kulaks, and buzzed in early to say so. A set of equations forced the confession from Tristan Burke – “I don’t know what the question means !” I know the feeling. Not surprisingly, they didn’t get any of these. On to the music starter, looking for the name of the composer of an opera. A rare buzz came in from Worcester, but unfortunately not a correct one. Nobody recognised Gounod. Now, though, Worcester broke the duck. I couldn’t transcribe the answer that Jack Bramhill gave to a biology starter, but it was right, and Worcester were now in the game. They’d earned the music starters, a set of works based on the Faust legend. Unfortunately they didn’t manage any of them – zigging with Bartok rather than sagging with Liszt, for example. Poor Jack Bramhill knew the answer to the next starter, but only supplied the word ‘Joy’ when JP really wanted the three words ‘The Joy Of’. 5 of those hard earned points were thus lost. Hard lines, especially when Manchester took two of the bonuses on a UC special set of two word phrases, where the last two letters of the first word are also the first two letters of the second. For example transitive verb. Paul Joyce knew about the Dissolution of the Monasteries for the next starter. Philosophers’ works followed, and they managed one. Paul Joyce also knew that Spencer Tunick photographed groups of naked people in 2010 – beats working for a living, I suppose. Bonuses on artists took us up to the 20 minute mark, and I’m afraid the score was 170 to Manchester, to 0 for Worcester.
As an aside I had a little argument with work colleagues over this, who were scornful of the way that Worcester had lost the only points they’d earned so far. I pointed out that when you’re being beaten to the buzzer, as Worcester were, then you have a choice – either sit back and accept it, or go down all guns blazing by buzzing the second you have even so much as an inkling of what the answer might possibly be. If you do this, then it’s not going to come off all the time. It’s still better to go down having had a go. Full credit to Worcester for doing that.
Still with a few minutes to go, the questions remained – how close to 300 would Manchester get, and would Worcester break the psychologically important 100 point barrier ? Paul Joyce picked off lemmings for the next starter. The team weren’t that secure on US state capitals, but still managed one of them. The second picture starter passed both teams by. Jack Bramhill took his second starter, on something in a tomato, and this brought up a set of mosaics of Byzantine emperors. One of these was correctly answered. Dave Knapp, so effective on the buzzer in earlier contests finally elbowed his way into the contest, identifying Argentina as the first South American country to legalise gay marriage. Bonuses on the Periodic table proved to be much to their liking, and now their score was up to 40. Earning a heartfelt well done from JP as it happened. The log jam seemed clear now, as Jonathan Metzer took the next starter on coughing. Bonuses on scrofula didn’t yield much to them , but nonetheless the score was now up to 50. At the words ‘Dublin born painter’ Paul Joyce was straight in with “Francis Bacon “ - well it’s got to be a good shout, hasn’t it. It was right , anyway. Bonuses followed on national Parks raised the score to 200. Luke Kelly knew that Luxembourg shares its name with gardens in Paris. Two bonuses followed. “To thine own self be true. “ was the show’s tribute to Shakin’ Shakespeare. Tristan Burke knew it was Hamlet. Tributaries of the Thames followed. Jack Bramhill took his third starter on the german word wurst to lift the score to 60, to which one bonus was added. The gong then went, leaving Worcester on 65, to Manchester’s 240. Congratulations Manchester, first of this year’s finalists. Hard lines Worcester – it happens to all of us . Sometimes it just isn’t your night.
Jeremy Paxman Watch
A lovely little touch of disdain to start with, as he muttered “Of course. “ as Tristan Burke answered Wittgenstein. No of course about it, Jez, believe me. It was on the 13th minute mark that Worcester must have started to lose hope, because that was the precise moment that JP chose to say “Plenty of time left Worcester college , we’re not even half way yet. “ I know he was only trying to be encouraging, but whenever he says something like that you just KNOW that you’re having one of those nights. Has any team ever come back to win after JP saying something like this to them ? Answers on a postcard, if you please. He made up for it later. When Jack Bramhill scored his second starter to lift Worcester away from zero, for the second time in the match, JP muttered “There we are, you’re storming away now.” Sarky devil.
To be fair he did make amends somewhat by saying that although it’s hard to be beaten by such a wide margin, Worcester have been a terrific team this series, and put in some fine performances. Damn straight there, JP.
Interesting Fact Of The Week I Didn’t Already Know
In 2010 Argentina became the first country of South America to legalise gay marriage.
It's a Dirty Job , But . . .
I will try to post a review of the first UC semi final before I go, but I just wanted to warn you that I'm off to Disneyland Paris tomorrow with the school. Oh, don't worry, I'll be back in LAM Towers by Sunday evening, but it does mean that I'll be a while catching up on this week.
Brain of Britain Grand Final
Well, the Grand Final came round at last. Ian, Rob, Rob and Ray battled it out to see who would win the salver. LAM reader Ian kicked off with two, but LAM reader Rob Milnes took a bonus, on the word karma. My good friend Rob Merrill began his assault on the title with a correct answer, but I can vouch for the fact that he was kicking himself for answering “Maldives” as the smallest African nation. He told me after the final that he’s either asked or answered it in the rugby club before now. Ray took the bonus. Rob Milnes had a great first answer with Kathleen Ferrier, and compounded this with another, but gave Rob Merrill a bonus with Urban II as the pope whose speech at the Council of Claremont inspired the first Crusade. Ray brought the round to a conclusion with 2 , but missed a gettable one with Weber, which let my mate Rob in. A very close round.
Ian took one, but got a nasty second which ray was more than equal to with Lyddite. Rob Merrill ( my Rob to avoid confusion ) missed out on Molesworth for his first – Ian took that one. Rob Milnes missed out on Ellen Ternan, which nobody knew . Ray missed out his first , a tricky little one on Deep Purple and Taliesin. One point separated all 4 at this stage.
Ian took his first, but perhaps a little surprisingly didn’t know that the dodo was actually a member of the pigeon family. Or maybe not surprisingly at all, it’s just that I’ve answered – and asked – this same question in quizzes on a few occasions myself. My Rob took it, anyway – I’m sure he will have had that correct when I asked it. As for his own questions, he managed to answer the first of these, but didn’t get the essayist Hazlitt. I wouldn’t have known that. Rob Milnes got a nasty one on alabaster, originally found in Egypt. My Rob took that , and Russell, rather cheekily, asked “Where did you get that from ? “ Well, the fact that he’s a great quizzer might have something to do with it, Russ. Ray had a nasty one about small mammals in Thailand – the bumblebee bat. Nobody had that . My Rob now led with 6. Go Neath ! Game on.
After three rounds we came to the Beat the Brains interval. In the time honoured fashion the final questions were set by the outgoing champion , Iwan Thomas. Asked about the mathematician who invented a bowling machine, they correctly answered Mr. Venn, who created the Venn diagram. Good question. The second question asked which unlikely organization was granted a 1973 UK patent for a nuclear powered flying saucer . Funnily enough they didn’t get the answer – British Rail ! Good fun question, but enough of such things. On with round four. Ian received a snatch of Wake Me Up Before You Go Go – they don’t write ‘em like that any more. Ian was asked for the names of both members of Wham, and popular culture did for him. Ray came in first for that bonus. My Rob missed out on the Knight’s Tale , which gave Rob Milnes a bonus. Rob himself didn’t know Jormungandr – the Midgard serpent – my Rob took that. Ray didn’t know the stocking frame – neither did anyone else. Rob now had a 2 point lead with 7.
Ian missed out his first – which was one of those good old sports trivia ones – requiring you to know that the Duke of York – later King George VI – took part in Wimbledon . I guess that the guys had never heard that one before. Which was probably more damaging to Ian’s chances than anyone else’s. My Rob was done by his first question, about John B. Watson. Nope, me neither. Rob Milnes got a nasty ‘brain ‘ question, about the pons. Nope, me neither neither. Ray got a nice one on HMS Amethyst to begin, but was done for by his second, which was about sharks. Ray had edged a point closer to Rob in this round.
Ian just didn’t know that the Italian equivalent of the Munich air crash involved players from Torino. Rob Milnes knew it, and kept his score bubbling along with it. My Rob got a tricky one about Eleanor crosses – asked for any of the three remaining crosses, he fell into the trap of saying Charing Cross. Alas, the one that’s there is a replica. Ray leapt in with Waltham Cross, which is the real McCoy. Rob Milnes got a nasty quotation, which allowed Ray to show his class by supplying the writer Alan Bennett. Ray took his first, but somewhat surprisingly missed the chestnutty meaning of the acronym USB. Maybe it’s a few years since that one really did the rounds, but time was you could hear that question being asked on a regular basis. Nobody took a bonus. All of which meant that Ray had leapfrogged my Rob into first place, leading with 9 from Rob’s 7, and with some of his fine answers in this round, you have to say he looked quite good value for it. Still, everything could change in the space of one round.
Ian got another horror to start with, on clams. My Rob took his first, but missed Alexander Hamilton, the other man apart from Benjamin Franklin never to be president to appear on regular denomination US Banknotes. Poor Rob got Alexander, but not Hamilton. On such small margins . . . Rob Milnes managed his own first question, but Camille Pissaro passed him by – as far as Ian, to be exact. Ray got a question which I liked very much – asking, not in so many words, which name links a character in Blazing Saddles, and a unit of Mongolian currency. Mongo . Great question. My Rob had pulled back a point on Ray , and was now on 8 to Ray’s 9. However it was Ian who’d made the great leap forward, and he was also on 8. Anybody’s game still.
The final round had come round. Ian got a physics question which did for him and all the others. Very hard luck that. My Rob didn’t know that Elvis’ first single was “That’s Alright Mama. “ Rob Milnes knew that, and it was his question now. His own first he couldn’t take. Ray could though, which answer effectively meant that he was champion. It’s just as well though, since he couldn’t get his own, on the colour turquoise. My goodness, but it was all close at the end. Rob Milnes ended with 7, one scant point behind both Ian and Rob Merrill, with Ray the worthy winner on 10 points. A small margin, perhaps, but enough, and that’s all that mattered.
Well played gentlemen all. That was a thoroughly entertaining and absorbing final, which any of you could have won right up to the last round. BoB being the kind of show that it is, the luck of the draw with the questions can make all the difference in a show where everyone is as evenly matched as the fine quizzers in this one were. A special word for my friend Rob Merrill as well. I know that before his heat Rob believed that he could get to the semis. Rob, you did so much better than that. We’re all very proud of your achievement.
Ian took one, but got a nasty second which ray was more than equal to with Lyddite. Rob Merrill ( my Rob to avoid confusion ) missed out on Molesworth for his first – Ian took that one. Rob Milnes missed out on Ellen Ternan, which nobody knew . Ray missed out his first , a tricky little one on Deep Purple and Taliesin. One point separated all 4 at this stage.
Ian took his first, but perhaps a little surprisingly didn’t know that the dodo was actually a member of the pigeon family. Or maybe not surprisingly at all, it’s just that I’ve answered – and asked – this same question in quizzes on a few occasions myself. My Rob took it, anyway – I’m sure he will have had that correct when I asked it. As for his own questions, he managed to answer the first of these, but didn’t get the essayist Hazlitt. I wouldn’t have known that. Rob Milnes got a nasty one on alabaster, originally found in Egypt. My Rob took that , and Russell, rather cheekily, asked “Where did you get that from ? “ Well, the fact that he’s a great quizzer might have something to do with it, Russ. Ray had a nasty one about small mammals in Thailand – the bumblebee bat. Nobody had that . My Rob now led with 6. Go Neath ! Game on.
After three rounds we came to the Beat the Brains interval. In the time honoured fashion the final questions were set by the outgoing champion , Iwan Thomas. Asked about the mathematician who invented a bowling machine, they correctly answered Mr. Venn, who created the Venn diagram. Good question. The second question asked which unlikely organization was granted a 1973 UK patent for a nuclear powered flying saucer . Funnily enough they didn’t get the answer – British Rail ! Good fun question, but enough of such things. On with round four. Ian received a snatch of Wake Me Up Before You Go Go – they don’t write ‘em like that any more. Ian was asked for the names of both members of Wham, and popular culture did for him. Ray came in first for that bonus. My Rob missed out on the Knight’s Tale , which gave Rob Milnes a bonus. Rob himself didn’t know Jormungandr – the Midgard serpent – my Rob took that. Ray didn’t know the stocking frame – neither did anyone else. Rob now had a 2 point lead with 7.
Ian missed out his first – which was one of those good old sports trivia ones – requiring you to know that the Duke of York – later King George VI – took part in Wimbledon . I guess that the guys had never heard that one before. Which was probably more damaging to Ian’s chances than anyone else’s. My Rob was done by his first question, about John B. Watson. Nope, me neither. Rob Milnes got a nasty ‘brain ‘ question, about the pons. Nope, me neither neither. Ray got a nice one on HMS Amethyst to begin, but was done for by his second, which was about sharks. Ray had edged a point closer to Rob in this round.
Ian just didn’t know that the Italian equivalent of the Munich air crash involved players from Torino. Rob Milnes knew it, and kept his score bubbling along with it. My Rob got a tricky one about Eleanor crosses – asked for any of the three remaining crosses, he fell into the trap of saying Charing Cross. Alas, the one that’s there is a replica. Ray leapt in with Waltham Cross, which is the real McCoy. Rob Milnes got a nasty quotation, which allowed Ray to show his class by supplying the writer Alan Bennett. Ray took his first, but somewhat surprisingly missed the chestnutty meaning of the acronym USB. Maybe it’s a few years since that one really did the rounds, but time was you could hear that question being asked on a regular basis. Nobody took a bonus. All of which meant that Ray had leapfrogged my Rob into first place, leading with 9 from Rob’s 7, and with some of his fine answers in this round, you have to say he looked quite good value for it. Still, everything could change in the space of one round.
Ian got another horror to start with, on clams. My Rob took his first, but missed Alexander Hamilton, the other man apart from Benjamin Franklin never to be president to appear on regular denomination US Banknotes. Poor Rob got Alexander, but not Hamilton. On such small margins . . . Rob Milnes managed his own first question, but Camille Pissaro passed him by – as far as Ian, to be exact. Ray got a question which I liked very much – asking, not in so many words, which name links a character in Blazing Saddles, and a unit of Mongolian currency. Mongo . Great question. My Rob had pulled back a point on Ray , and was now on 8 to Ray’s 9. However it was Ian who’d made the great leap forward, and he was also on 8. Anybody’s game still.
The final round had come round. Ian got a physics question which did for him and all the others. Very hard luck that. My Rob didn’t know that Elvis’ first single was “That’s Alright Mama. “ Rob Milnes knew that, and it was his question now. His own first he couldn’t take. Ray could though, which answer effectively meant that he was champion. It’s just as well though, since he couldn’t get his own, on the colour turquoise. My goodness, but it was all close at the end. Rob Milnes ended with 7, one scant point behind both Ian and Rob Merrill, with Ray the worthy winner on 10 points. A small margin, perhaps, but enough, and that’s all that mattered.
Well played gentlemen all. That was a thoroughly entertaining and absorbing final, which any of you could have won right up to the last round. BoB being the kind of show that it is, the luck of the draw with the questions can make all the difference in a show where everyone is as evenly matched as the fine quizzers in this one were. A special word for my friend Rob Merrill as well. I know that before his heat Rob believed that he could get to the semis. Rob, you did so much better than that. We’re all very proud of your achievement.
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