Best bib and tucker on everyone, it's time for our glitzy annual awards. What, you forgot that this weekend of all weekends is the traditional time for the presentation of the LAMMY Awards ? Well, it matters not a jot. Let’s get on with the show – there’s a lot to get through.
1) The Award for The Best New Quiz Show of 2012
It’s been a bumper year for new shows, certainly in terms of quantity anyway. January brought us “A Question of Taste”. This food and drink themed quiz never seemed quite comfortable in its own skin, being presented by Kirsty Wark who has never done frivolous particularly well. In my opinion the show needed several tweaks. In the same month we also had Channel 4’s “The Bank Job “. This was a big, glitzy attempt to tap into the Big Brother generation, in much the same style as “Million Pound Drop”. Like the latter, it attracted criticism for the apparently very restricted age profile of its competitors. A fairly straightforward format, basically answering questions to find out how much cash was in a box was topped off with an endgame that owed much to the Share or Steal game from Golden Balls, and ultimately from the execrable Shafted. It ran for 2 short series in the early part of the year, and hasn’t been heard of since.
The beginning of March saw Sky Atlantic come up with a very interesting idea. This was “Cleverdicks”, a show specifically aimed towards very good, very serious quizzers. I don’t receive Sky Atlantic , so my comments and views have to be seen in the context of the one show that I actually saw. The quality of the contestants was excellent, the quality of Miss Widdecombe as a presenter was far less impressive. Later in March saw the first series of “Breakaway”. This was another BBC shot at the mid prize range teatime quiz game. I rather enjoyed this unpretentious little show, and it was back for another series before the end of the year. A series for which I had an audition, but didn’t get on the show. Still , we’ll try not to hold that against them too much.
The summer brought us “Tipping Point” , a quiz game based on perennial amusement arcade favorite Compton’s Penny Falls. If you haven’t seen it, I’m not making it up. Apparently the makers are working on developing another show called “Drying Paint”. If you wouldn’t watch someone playing it in an arcade, why would you want to watch someone playing it on your telly ? Answers on a postcard.
Finally we had Channel 4’s “1001 Things You Should Know”. This rather old fashioned Channel 4 offering was just far too easy , and far too slow, even if you’re a fan of Sandi Toksvig.
So, those are your runners and riders. Which ones were up for the big prize though ? Well, for me it came down to a straight two horse race. You had the potentially terrific idea not perfectly carried out in the shape of Cleverdicks on one hand, juxtaposed with the unambitious and unpretentious quiz game which had been pretty well executed in Breakaway. Which to go for ? After all, neither in my opinion is anything like as good as previous Lammy Winners “Only Connect “ and “The Chase” , or close runner up “Pointless”. Well, the fact is that I have to make a decision, and this is maybe unfair, but I only ever saw the one show of “Cleverdicks”, and I feel loathe to award the main prize on the basis of just one show. Therefore the award goes to
Breakaway.
2) – The Award for Best Quiz Performance of 2012
Again, a bumper year of nominees.After all, how can you choose between : -
Only Connect Series 6 Finalists – The Draughtsmen and the Scribes
Mastermind 2012 Champion – Gary Grant
Brain of Britain 2012 Champion – Ray Ward
University Challenge 2012 Champions – University of Manchester
Well, I asked the question – how can you choose between these great performances ? For me, it’s not difficult. The 2012 Award goes to my friend, and Only Connect Skipper
Gary Grant
Gary’s performance in the Grand final was outstanding and irresistible, and all the more impressive since he had to overcome our own Andy Tucker in the process. Andy is a member of the Draughtsmen, so who knows, he may well figure himself in our deliberations again next year .
3) The Award for the Best Performance in a Non-Broadcast Quiz
The nominations in this category are : -
The Old Castle , Bridgend
The Old Castle were the first team to defeat my team , the Llangewydd Arms , in the Bridgend Quiz League in the 2011/12 season. On the night they were too good – no excuses.
The Crown A – Maesteg
Not only did the Crown A also defeat us at home in the same season, but they won the Muriel Williams Quiz in September, beating not only us, the other teams in the League, but also the Rugby Boys – Only Connect 2nd series champions.
Ashford Road Social Club, Swindon
A team who have always been on the podium in the CIU finals, this year was their year, and they won narrowly from our friends in the Maesglas A team.
Obviously I’d like to include my boys from the Llangewydd Arms , since we completed our second consecutive League and Cup double in the 2011/12 season, but due to the presence of the LAMMY judging panel ( me ) within the team, they are sadly ineligible. Which means that the committee have no hesitation in awarding the prize to : -
Ashford Road Social Club
4 – The Award for the Most Enjoyable Event In Non Broadcast Quizzing
There are three nomnations this year. The nominations are : -
The Bridgend and District Quiz League
Yes, last year’s award winner is back on the list after another splendid year’s competition.
The GetConnected Charity Quiz Evening
Yes, the 2010 Award winner is also back in the running. A magical evening.
The Birmingham Mega Quiz
what a pleasure to see the Mega Quiz come galloping back into contention after last year’s lacklustre showing. All it had to do was just even up the rounds, junk the Birmingham round, and get the hell on with it. It did just that, and as a result it was the best one I’ve been to.
In another year the Mega Quiz might well have taken it, but nothing, I repeat nothing this year even came close to the winner : -
The GetConnected Charity Quiz Evening
What was so good about this evening ? Just read my post about it last month.
5 – Award for Best New Quiz based fan website
The Award this year, for the new fan/quiz website I have most enjoyed goes to : -
Rob Hannah’s Quizzlepuzzles
6 – The Host With The Most Award
You may remember that this was a new award last year, and our inaugural winner was Alexander Armstrong. You may be asking yourself – how can I decide between Victoria Coren – Jeremy Paxman – Russell Davies, my admiration for all of whom is a matter of public record. Well, like last year, I choose not to. This is my personal choice , and so once again I’m opting for a host whose show would, I think, possibly become a little tedious without him. So step forward : -
Nick Hancock
Yes, I think that one of the things which has made Breakaway as watchable as it is has been Nick’s presentation style. If you’re thinking to yourself that Nick had an unfair advantage in this category because I met him when he hosted the GetConnected Charity Quiz Evening, well, all I can say is it’s my blog, and my rules.
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Still, let’s not end this special evening on this note. There are often controversial decisions when awards are being handed out, and I’m sorry if your own favourites didn’t get their just rewards this time, but that’s how I saw the year. Roll on next year.
Sunday, 16 December 2012
Saturday, 15 December 2012
Double Bubble In The News
Yes, last week I spent the weekend in Worthing, giving my folks the joyous news that they are going to be great grandparents in the summer, and so I never managed to compile the news for that week. Never fear though - they are all here in one , bumper, fortnight's edition. Enjoy.
Week of 8th December
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news ?
1. Jatenderpaul Singh Bhullar
2. David Rawle
3. Mark Joyce
4. Keith Johnson
5. Elizabeth Price
6. Brett Straub
7. Owen Roberts
8. Peter Bowers
9. Ellen Gandy
10. John McAfee
11. Nancy Huston
12. Richard Neiuwenhuizen
13. Michael Christian and Kate Grieg
14. 2Day FM
15. Eldwick Primary School, Bingley
16. Bopha
In Other News
1. Who won “I’m A Celebrity “ ?
2. Which comic is only now available in an online version ?
3. The Louvre museum is to open a branch in which Northern French town ?
4. By which score did MK Dons beat AFC Wimbledon ?
5. By Which score did a magnificent England rugby team defeat New Zealand ?
6. What was the score in the Wales v. Australia test match ?
7. David Beckham played his last game for LA Galaxy in the MLS final against which team ?
8. Which fashion house founders are on trial for tax evasion ?
9. Author David Relin committed suicide. What is the title of his famous book ?
10. Name the other members of England’s Rugby World Cup Group ?
11. Which of the six nations is in the same group as Samoa and South Africa ?
12. Which of the six nations is in the same group as France and Italy ?
13. Which weapons have been deployed by NATO to protect Turkey from Syria ?
14. Who is the PGA Tour Player of the Year ?
15. Ronnie O’Sullivan is said to be negotiating his return to snooker for what ?
16. In his Autumn statement the Chancellor revealed that Austerity will continue until which year ?
17. Which former TV personality was detained by police in response to allegations of sexual assault ?
18. In 2013 which group will be performing gigs at the Tate Modern ?
19. Which jazz legend passed away ?
20. Skyfall is now the most successful film ever at the box office in the UK – which film has it knocked from the top slot ?
21. Netflix announced a deal to show the films of which studio ?
22. What penalty did Frankie receive for his drug offences ?
23. Alastair Cook took the record for hitting 23 test centuries for England. Who was the first English batsman to hit 22 ?
24. Which world leader recorded a spoof end of the world video ?
25. Which media figure was held by police on sex claims and then released ?
26. How much money are Starbucks volunteering to pay over 2 years ?
27. Name the architect who died at 104 ?
28. What was the score in the Varsity Rugby match ?
In the News – 15th December
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news ?
1. James Arthur
2. Mehr
3. Juan Manuel Marquez
4. Nicolas Maduro
5. Matthew Stott
6. The Snowman and the Snowdog
7. Impossible
8. Huw Lloyd Langton
9. Edward Devenny
10. Hannah Miley
11. The Tallow Candle
12. Wlodimierz Umaniec / Vladimir Umamets
13. Saser Muztagh
14. Adam Lanza
15. Joe Root
16. Norman Woodland
In Other News
1. Sir Patrick Moore passed away at which age ?
2. Which European PM resigned ?
3. Who scored the highest number of goals in a calendar year, and whose record did he beat ?
4. What was the score in Man Utd v. Man City ?
5. Who was hit by a coin thrown in that match ?
6. England won the 3rd Test by which margin ?
7. Gerard Depardieu was reported as moving into tax exile in which country ?
8. What was the top trending term on Twitter in 2012 ?
9. Who said that his daughter made him vote for Will Young on Pop Idol – which took place 2 years before she was born ?
10. Who reached an out of court settlement over sexual assault allegations ?
11. What was the most tweeted event of 2012 ?
12. What is the first African city to have its own version of Monopoly ?
13. Who will be joining the cast of “Waterloo Road” ?
14. What is the population of the UK according to the 2011 census ?
15. What is the title of the Spice Girls musical which opened this week ?
16. Who wrote it ?
17. Which team beat Arsenal on penalties in the Capital One cup ?
18. Which team beat Norwich 4 -1 in the same competition ?
19. Which Welsh rugby union player is out of the 6 nations due to the need for surgey on his Achilles tendon ?
20. Which controversial referee will take charge of England’s first 6 Nations match ?
21. Who claims that Max Clifford gave his personal details to the News of the World ?
22. Who made his first ever tweet on 12/12/12 ?
23. Which is the only British destination to make the Rough Guides’ Top 10 Must See destinations ?
24. Which country claimed that they launched their first satellite last week ?
25. Which famous world musician passed away last week ?
26. Liverpool FC apologized to Fulham FC for ‘tapping up’ which player ?
27. Who was banned for verbally abusing referee Mark Clattenburg ?
28. Who did Warren Gatland announce as his British and Irish Lions coaching team ?
29. who is the US Ryder Cup 2014 captain ?
30. Which team did Swansea City beat in their Capital One Cup ¼ final ?
31. Kauto Star will now begin to compete in which sport ?
32. Chelsea beat which team in the semi final of the world club challenge ?
33. Alexander Litvinenko was announced to have been a spy for whom ?
34. The technique of fracking, given a go ahed from the government last week, is specifically used in the UK for extracting what ?
35. What was the derisory amount of the fine given to the Serbian FA for the racism of its fan towards the England under 21 team ?
36. Which rugby player was banned for two weeks for stirking Rory Best ?
37. Who will captain England in the T20 matches against India ?
38. The BBC’s first visible newsreader died last week. Who was he ?
39. What punishment was handed out to former MP Margaret Moran last week ?
40. Where will the 2014 Tour de France begin ?
41. Which alleged hacker had charges against him dropped last week ?
42. In which state is the Sandy Hook Elementary School, where a terrible massacre took place last week ?
Week of 8th December
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news ?
1. Jatenderpaul Singh Bhullar
2. David Rawle
3. Mark Joyce
4. Keith Johnson
5. Elizabeth Price
6. Brett Straub
7. Owen Roberts
8. Peter Bowers
9. Ellen Gandy
10. John McAfee
11. Nancy Huston
12. Richard Neiuwenhuizen
13. Michael Christian and Kate Grieg
14. 2Day FM
15. Eldwick Primary School, Bingley
16. Bopha
In Other News
1. Who won “I’m A Celebrity “ ?
2. Which comic is only now available in an online version ?
3. The Louvre museum is to open a branch in which Northern French town ?
4. By which score did MK Dons beat AFC Wimbledon ?
5. By Which score did a magnificent England rugby team defeat New Zealand ?
6. What was the score in the Wales v. Australia test match ?
7. David Beckham played his last game for LA Galaxy in the MLS final against which team ?
8. Which fashion house founders are on trial for tax evasion ?
9. Author David Relin committed suicide. What is the title of his famous book ?
10. Name the other members of England’s Rugby World Cup Group ?
11. Which of the six nations is in the same group as Samoa and South Africa ?
12. Which of the six nations is in the same group as France and Italy ?
13. Which weapons have been deployed by NATO to protect Turkey from Syria ?
14. Who is the PGA Tour Player of the Year ?
15. Ronnie O’Sullivan is said to be negotiating his return to snooker for what ?
16. In his Autumn statement the Chancellor revealed that Austerity will continue until which year ?
17. Which former TV personality was detained by police in response to allegations of sexual assault ?
18. In 2013 which group will be performing gigs at the Tate Modern ?
19. Which jazz legend passed away ?
20. Skyfall is now the most successful film ever at the box office in the UK – which film has it knocked from the top slot ?
21. Netflix announced a deal to show the films of which studio ?
22. What penalty did Frankie receive for his drug offences ?
23. Alastair Cook took the record for hitting 23 test centuries for England. Who was the first English batsman to hit 22 ?
24. Which world leader recorded a spoof end of the world video ?
25. Which media figure was held by police on sex claims and then released ?
26. How much money are Starbucks volunteering to pay over 2 years ?
27. Name the architect who died at 104 ?
28. What was the score in the Varsity Rugby match ?
In the News – 15th December
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news ?
1. James Arthur
2. Mehr
3. Juan Manuel Marquez
4. Nicolas Maduro
5. Matthew Stott
6. The Snowman and the Snowdog
7. Impossible
8. Huw Lloyd Langton
9. Edward Devenny
10. Hannah Miley
11. The Tallow Candle
12. Wlodimierz Umaniec / Vladimir Umamets
13. Saser Muztagh
14. Adam Lanza
15. Joe Root
16. Norman Woodland
In Other News
1. Sir Patrick Moore passed away at which age ?
2. Which European PM resigned ?
3. Who scored the highest number of goals in a calendar year, and whose record did he beat ?
4. What was the score in Man Utd v. Man City ?
5. Who was hit by a coin thrown in that match ?
6. England won the 3rd Test by which margin ?
7. Gerard Depardieu was reported as moving into tax exile in which country ?
8. What was the top trending term on Twitter in 2012 ?
9. Who said that his daughter made him vote for Will Young on Pop Idol – which took place 2 years before she was born ?
10. Who reached an out of court settlement over sexual assault allegations ?
11. What was the most tweeted event of 2012 ?
12. What is the first African city to have its own version of Monopoly ?
13. Who will be joining the cast of “Waterloo Road” ?
14. What is the population of the UK according to the 2011 census ?
15. What is the title of the Spice Girls musical which opened this week ?
16. Who wrote it ?
17. Which team beat Arsenal on penalties in the Capital One cup ?
18. Which team beat Norwich 4 -1 in the same competition ?
19. Which Welsh rugby union player is out of the 6 nations due to the need for surgey on his Achilles tendon ?
20. Which controversial referee will take charge of England’s first 6 Nations match ?
21. Who claims that Max Clifford gave his personal details to the News of the World ?
22. Who made his first ever tweet on 12/12/12 ?
23. Which is the only British destination to make the Rough Guides’ Top 10 Must See destinations ?
24. Which country claimed that they launched their first satellite last week ?
25. Which famous world musician passed away last week ?
26. Liverpool FC apologized to Fulham FC for ‘tapping up’ which player ?
27. Who was banned for verbally abusing referee Mark Clattenburg ?
28. Who did Warren Gatland announce as his British and Irish Lions coaching team ?
29. who is the US Ryder Cup 2014 captain ?
30. Which team did Swansea City beat in their Capital One Cup ¼ final ?
31. Kauto Star will now begin to compete in which sport ?
32. Chelsea beat which team in the semi final of the world club challenge ?
33. Alexander Litvinenko was announced to have been a spy for whom ?
34. The technique of fracking, given a go ahed from the government last week, is specifically used in the UK for extracting what ?
35. What was the derisory amount of the fine given to the Serbian FA for the racism of its fan towards the England under 21 team ?
36. Which rugby player was banned for two weeks for stirking Rory Best ?
37. Who will captain England in the T20 matches against India ?
38. The BBC’s first visible newsreader died last week. Who was he ?
39. What punishment was handed out to former MP Margaret Moran last week ?
40. Where will the 2014 Tour de France begin ?
41. Which alleged hacker had charges against him dropped last week ?
42. In which state is the Sandy Hook Elementary School, where a terrible massacre took place last week ?
Brain of Britain - Round One - Heat 3
Third heat of the series, this one, and like the last couple of weeks none of the truly big names in this year’s series were yet to come out to play. This is not to do down
Rob Cruise
Chris Gould
Sarah Greenan
Alison Jacobs
who would go on to provide us with an interesting contest. First to go was Rob Cruise. He fielded four chestnuts, and in all honesty I was sure he was going to get a full set. Ah, but he didn’t know that Buck the dog was the hero of “The Call of The Wild”. For most of us mere mortals you won’t get many shots at a full set, and this was a definite chance gone begging. The bonus went to Alison Jacobs. Chris Gould didn’t know an ion for his first. Sarah Greenan did well to take her first two, but didn’t know that Buster Keaton was The Great Stoneface. This bonus went to Alison Jacobs. Her own set saw her fail to answer where Interpol was founded. The bonus for Vienna went begging. So despite missing what had looked like a great opportunity, Rob still led with 4, while Sarah and Alison had 2 apiece. As for Chris Gould, well, one of the vagaries of BoB is that it’s not uncommon on a show to see one poor devil get a set of really horrible starters, and as a result never really get into the contest. I hoped that this was not on the cards for Chris in this show.
Rob began the second round by dropping a gettable old chestnut with his first question. Alison knew that the name of the colour derived from a hindi word for dust coloured is khaki. Chris actually had a gettable starter himself, but nobody knew about the great Carwyn James, coach to the 1971 British and Irish Lions of blessed memory. I didn’t know that Armagh is the Orchard County, neither did anyone else. Alison took her first, but failed with Morpeth, which gave Chris his first point. Alison though had pulled up to equal Rob on 4 now.
Rob took his first, but had a nasty one for his second, about a posthumous patent by Marlon Brando. Unsurprisingly nobody had that one. Chris took 2, but that ole gibbous moon did for him. Rob had a bonus for that. Sarah didn’t know about places named after Nelson, which gave Alison a bonus. For her own question she was asked about Columbia Road Market. I’ve never heard of it any more than the brains had – it’s a flower market. Rob now had the lead again with 6 to Alison’s 5.
Rob didn’t know that ozone is O3. Sarah did for a bonus. Chris took his first , but didn’t know that the sorcerer in Swan Lake is Rothbart. A point for Alison there. Sarah answered her first 3 , but then the treaty of Calmar did for her and for the others. Alison then fell at the first, not knowing that the current king of Norway is Harald, which gave Rob a bonus. This was enough to ensure that he led by a point from Alison and Sarah. This was becoming a good show.
For the Beat the Brains interval a couple of quotations about musical works were far too obscure to allow generalists in, and they took neither of them. On with the show.
Rob , then, had the lead, but he hadn’t managed to break away from the chasing pack. He took his first two , but selenium , and the colour that it turns glass , foxed him. Nobody knew it turns glass red. Chris didn’t know about the wee frees, but Sarah did. For her own first she had the hovis music – which apparently was by a chap called Dvorak – but nobody knew that it was played on a cor anglais. Not easy, but still gettable. Alison took her first , and she took her second . She didn’t know the St. Scholastica’s massacre took place in Oxford, and neither did anyone else. So Rob preserved his one point lead with 9 to Alison’s 8.
Rob took his first two, but didn’t know about Geoffrey of Monmouth. Chris did, and went on to add another point of his own. He didn’t know that there are 24 members of the Order of Merit. Alison did. Sarah didn’t know that Arizona was added to the Union at the same time as New Mexico. Nobody else did. Alison didn’t know that Johnson’s VP was Hubert Humphrey – but Sarah did. Only at this point did Russell announce that his had actually been the final round. This meant that the final totals were
Chris Gould – 6
Sarah Greenan – 8
Alison Jacobs – 9
Rob Cruise – 11
SO well played Rob Cruise. Hard lines to the others, as I’m pretty sure that those scores won’t see them back. A good contest. All of the contestants came up with some very good answers, although none of them showed quite the breadth of knowledge you’d need to take you all the way in this show.
Rob Cruise
Chris Gould
Sarah Greenan
Alison Jacobs
who would go on to provide us with an interesting contest. First to go was Rob Cruise. He fielded four chestnuts, and in all honesty I was sure he was going to get a full set. Ah, but he didn’t know that Buck the dog was the hero of “The Call of The Wild”. For most of us mere mortals you won’t get many shots at a full set, and this was a definite chance gone begging. The bonus went to Alison Jacobs. Chris Gould didn’t know an ion for his first. Sarah Greenan did well to take her first two, but didn’t know that Buster Keaton was The Great Stoneface. This bonus went to Alison Jacobs. Her own set saw her fail to answer where Interpol was founded. The bonus for Vienna went begging. So despite missing what had looked like a great opportunity, Rob still led with 4, while Sarah and Alison had 2 apiece. As for Chris Gould, well, one of the vagaries of BoB is that it’s not uncommon on a show to see one poor devil get a set of really horrible starters, and as a result never really get into the contest. I hoped that this was not on the cards for Chris in this show.
Rob began the second round by dropping a gettable old chestnut with his first question. Alison knew that the name of the colour derived from a hindi word for dust coloured is khaki. Chris actually had a gettable starter himself, but nobody knew about the great Carwyn James, coach to the 1971 British and Irish Lions of blessed memory. I didn’t know that Armagh is the Orchard County, neither did anyone else. Alison took her first, but failed with Morpeth, which gave Chris his first point. Alison though had pulled up to equal Rob on 4 now.
Rob took his first, but had a nasty one for his second, about a posthumous patent by Marlon Brando. Unsurprisingly nobody had that one. Chris took 2, but that ole gibbous moon did for him. Rob had a bonus for that. Sarah didn’t know about places named after Nelson, which gave Alison a bonus. For her own question she was asked about Columbia Road Market. I’ve never heard of it any more than the brains had – it’s a flower market. Rob now had the lead again with 6 to Alison’s 5.
Rob didn’t know that ozone is O3. Sarah did for a bonus. Chris took his first , but didn’t know that the sorcerer in Swan Lake is Rothbart. A point for Alison there. Sarah answered her first 3 , but then the treaty of Calmar did for her and for the others. Alison then fell at the first, not knowing that the current king of Norway is Harald, which gave Rob a bonus. This was enough to ensure that he led by a point from Alison and Sarah. This was becoming a good show.
For the Beat the Brains interval a couple of quotations about musical works were far too obscure to allow generalists in, and they took neither of them. On with the show.
Rob , then, had the lead, but he hadn’t managed to break away from the chasing pack. He took his first two , but selenium , and the colour that it turns glass , foxed him. Nobody knew it turns glass red. Chris didn’t know about the wee frees, but Sarah did. For her own first she had the hovis music – which apparently was by a chap called Dvorak – but nobody knew that it was played on a cor anglais. Not easy, but still gettable. Alison took her first , and she took her second . She didn’t know the St. Scholastica’s massacre took place in Oxford, and neither did anyone else. So Rob preserved his one point lead with 9 to Alison’s 8.
Rob took his first two, but didn’t know about Geoffrey of Monmouth. Chris did, and went on to add another point of his own. He didn’t know that there are 24 members of the Order of Merit. Alison did. Sarah didn’t know that Arizona was added to the Union at the same time as New Mexico. Nobody else did. Alison didn’t know that Johnson’s VP was Hubert Humphrey – but Sarah did. Only at this point did Russell announce that his had actually been the final round. This meant that the final totals were
Chris Gould – 6
Sarah Greenan – 8
Alison Jacobs – 9
Rob Cruise – 11
SO well played Rob Cruise. Hard lines to the others, as I’m pretty sure that those scores won’t see them back. A good contest. All of the contestants came up with some very good answers, although none of them showed quite the breadth of knowledge you’d need to take you all the way in this show.
Friday, 14 December 2012
Whatever Happened to Dreadful Quizzes ?
Following last night’s quiz in the club I find myself asking this question – when was the last time I went to a truly awful quiz ? I have been to many average quizzes, many not very good quizzes even, but I can’t say hand on heart that I can precisely remember the last really dreadful quiz I played in. I was tempted at first to suggest the Birmingham Mega Quiz of 2011, but that wasn’t a bad quiz. It had one dreadful round in it, that was all, and a presenter who loved the sound of his own voice far too much. Well, most of us question masters could be accused of that shortcoming, but I digress. In fact I would be tempted to go back as far as February 2010 to a quiz in the rugby club where the QM of the evening instilled his quiz with what I consider to be five fatal flaws, any one of which on its own would have been enough to sink a normal quiz.
I asked myself the question because last night’s quiz, which I’ll say now was not awful or dreadful, was a little bit out there, and the kind of thing that I suppose I might well have called bad when I was young and stupid, or in my salad days as I prefer to think of it. I’ll try to explain.
You know me, when it comes to quizzes I’m a pretty straightforward kind of chap. Ask me about facts which it’s at least reasonable to expect that someone in one the teams knows all night, in a broad range of subjects, and I’m what the good Lord Sugar would call an ‘appy bunny. Last night was the first quiz to be presented by guest QM Dai Norwich since he turned fifty. So one of the things Dai did was to ask a question each round which was taken directly from one of his birthday cards. I’m guessing you’ll have seen the kind of thing – In 1962, the average weekly wage for women in the UK was £8. I quote this fact since it was the only answer to an In 1962 - question that we had right all night. Yes, do one of the damn things by all means, but one in each round ? Do me a favour. I really don’t like pure guessing games, I suppose. It wasn’t just those questions either. When he’s in the mood – which indeed he was last night – Dai has a habit of asking some blindingly obscure questions. He then compounds this by saying “ Nobody had this one right , and I didn’t think anyone was going to. “ Which leaves me to ask – sometimes audibly – “Why the hell did you want to ask it, then ? “
And yet. And yet I wouldn’t want you to think that I didn’t enjoy the quiz. It had several of the prime ingredients for an oven ready turkey, but it really wasn’t. I’ve no doubt that I’m biased about this, but there was quite a lot of 1970s and 1980s entertainment stuff which is my era and guaranteed to please me, although the , how shall I put it, more senior members of my team weren’t quite as happy. Still, any question about Magpie which sends you off into a reverie about Susan Stranks ( ahh ) or Jenny Hanley ( ahhh, ahhhh ! ) can’t be that bad.
Moving back to the original question, in the case of many of the quizzes that I haven’t really enjoyed over the last couple of years it’s often had little to do with the quiz itself. You can chalk quite a lot of the worse quizzing experiences down to phone cheating. Not the fault of the questions, although often the fault of the question master. Then there’s overly prolix question masters and/or ones who think they are comedians. ‘Bad’ questions actually come a little further down the list. Oh, don’t get me wrong, a succession of blatantly wrong’uns can absolutely ruin a quiz, but be honest, how many times have you been to a quiz where you’ve had more than two of three of these in an evening ? I bet you remember very well when you did. Long term readers may recall that I’ve made the observation that I’m not a huge fan of the quizzes produced by a large, successful and well known company ( other quiz companies are available ) , but even their quizzes are certainly not dreadful, awful, or even bad. I still reserve the right to say that I have tended to find them a little dull and unsatisfying, though.
I asked myself the question because last night’s quiz, which I’ll say now was not awful or dreadful, was a little bit out there, and the kind of thing that I suppose I might well have called bad when I was young and stupid, or in my salad days as I prefer to think of it. I’ll try to explain.
You know me, when it comes to quizzes I’m a pretty straightforward kind of chap. Ask me about facts which it’s at least reasonable to expect that someone in one the teams knows all night, in a broad range of subjects, and I’m what the good Lord Sugar would call an ‘appy bunny. Last night was the first quiz to be presented by guest QM Dai Norwich since he turned fifty. So one of the things Dai did was to ask a question each round which was taken directly from one of his birthday cards. I’m guessing you’ll have seen the kind of thing – In 1962, the average weekly wage for women in the UK was £8. I quote this fact since it was the only answer to an In 1962 - question that we had right all night. Yes, do one of the damn things by all means, but one in each round ? Do me a favour. I really don’t like pure guessing games, I suppose. It wasn’t just those questions either. When he’s in the mood – which indeed he was last night – Dai has a habit of asking some blindingly obscure questions. He then compounds this by saying “ Nobody had this one right , and I didn’t think anyone was going to. “ Which leaves me to ask – sometimes audibly – “Why the hell did you want to ask it, then ? “
And yet. And yet I wouldn’t want you to think that I didn’t enjoy the quiz. It had several of the prime ingredients for an oven ready turkey, but it really wasn’t. I’ve no doubt that I’m biased about this, but there was quite a lot of 1970s and 1980s entertainment stuff which is my era and guaranteed to please me, although the , how shall I put it, more senior members of my team weren’t quite as happy. Still, any question about Magpie which sends you off into a reverie about Susan Stranks ( ahh ) or Jenny Hanley ( ahhh, ahhhh ! ) can’t be that bad.
Moving back to the original question, in the case of many of the quizzes that I haven’t really enjoyed over the last couple of years it’s often had little to do with the quiz itself. You can chalk quite a lot of the worse quizzing experiences down to phone cheating. Not the fault of the questions, although often the fault of the question master. Then there’s overly prolix question masters and/or ones who think they are comedians. ‘Bad’ questions actually come a little further down the list. Oh, don’t get me wrong, a succession of blatantly wrong’uns can absolutely ruin a quiz, but be honest, how many times have you been to a quiz where you’ve had more than two of three of these in an evening ? I bet you remember very well when you did. Long term readers may recall that I’ve made the observation that I’m not a huge fan of the quizzes produced by a large, successful and well known company ( other quiz companies are available ) , but even their quizzes are certainly not dreadful, awful, or even bad. I still reserve the right to say that I have tended to find them a little dull and unsatisfying, though.
New Official Mastermind Phone App
I had an email today from a gentleman called Henry Bennett.
We have just produced an official Mastermind iPhone / iPad App under license from the BBC and we thought that you and your readers would be interested in taking a look.
The App is Free to download (this week) - please take a look and let me know what you think.
Link to download App here -Mastermind Official App
As the app would most likely appeal to your readers it would be great if you could link to the app or put on your newsletter.
I will admit that I thought twice about posting this. However the email did claim that he had been put onto me by Mark Helsby , current producer of Mastermind.
I stress now that I have not tried this app myself, so I am in no position to comment on it's quality one way or another. If I'm honest I don't possess a mobile phone, so I couldn't try it even if I wanted to . So I'm not in any way endorsing it - just putting it before you, and letting you make up your own minds about whether you want to check it out or not. I have not been offered anything for doing this ( shame ). If you do try it, and wanted to get back and let the rest of us know if it's any good or not, then feel free .
We have just produced an official Mastermind iPhone / iPad App under license from the BBC and we thought that you and your readers would be interested in taking a look.
The App is Free to download (this week) - please take a look and let me know what you think.
Link to download App here -Mastermind Official App
As the app would most likely appeal to your readers it would be great if you could link to the app or put on your newsletter.
I will admit that I thought twice about posting this. However the email did claim that he had been put onto me by Mark Helsby , current producer of Mastermind.
I stress now that I have not tried this app myself, so I am in no position to comment on it's quality one way or another. If I'm honest I don't possess a mobile phone, so I couldn't try it even if I wanted to . So I'm not in any way endorsing it - just putting it before you, and letting you make up your own minds about whether you want to check it out or not. I have not been offered anything for doing this ( shame ). If you do try it, and wanted to get back and let the rest of us know if it's any good or not, then feel free .
Mastermind - Round One - Heat 17
What a show.Can I strongly advise you, if you haven’t seen the show yet, stop reading this review, and go and watch it on the iplayer.
Jeff Lloyd, one of two Mastermind virgins tonight, was answering on British Number 1 singles , 1963 – 2000. You might recall in Nancy’s 2009 series that Howard Pizzey took a very similar subject, and it’s one of those popular culture subjects that is always guaranteed to play well with the viewers at home. This was by some distance my best subject tonight, and I surpised myself by taking 10 correct answers. Jeff did better, and with his 11 I confidently predicted that he wouldn’t be in 4th at the halfway stage.
The second of tonight’s newcomers, Kirsa Lommerud Olsen had a somewhat more highbrow although no less enjoyable popular culture subject, in the shape of Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads.I only ever saw two of these, so I was pretty pleased to get three of them. Kirsa did a lot better than this. If your general knowledge is good enough, then 14 will always give you a shot at a win, and that’s exactly the score that Kirsa achieved.
I was delighted to see the return of tonight’s third contender. This was none other than Roger Canwell. For those unfamiliar, Roger contested Nancy’s 2009 series, and went all the way to the Grand Final. I know from emails I exchanged with Roger at the time that he really enjoyed his 2009 experience, and so I’m pleased to see him back. As a point of interest, Roger is the only person to ever beat our own Gary Grant – champion in 2012 – in an edition of Mastermind . ( Sorry to mention that, Gary )British history has proved a happy hunting ground for Roger before, so I confidently expected Kett’s Rebellion to provide him with a good score, and to be fair I wasn’t disappointed. 15 and no passes well and truly laid the foundations for another semi final appearance. I have a feeling that my friend Les Morrell took Kett’s Rebellion in the first round in my 2007 series, but I might be mistaken.
Standing in the way , though, was another Mastermind semi finalist, Colin Daffern. Colin reached the semis in Geoff’s 2006 series ( which is more than I managed . ) He was offering the life and career of Michael Foot. He did so very well too , I might add. I was pleased with my 5, which took my aggregate total for all the specialist rounds tonight to 19. Colin’s score of 13 was very competitive, although it did leave him just a little behind Roger.
Well, the other contenders had made a mockery of my confident prediction that Jeff Lloyd wouldn’t be fourth at the halfway stage. That was history now , though, as a good GK round could change everything. Jeff produced quite a good GK round, as it happened. 13 is a decent performance for anyone’s money. Alright, it only set the target at 9 for leader on the road Roger , but it meant that nothing was a foregone conclusion anyway.
Mind you, Colin’s GK performance made that all academic anyway. Colin had snapped out crisp clear answers in his specialist round, and he continued to do this throughout his GK one too. The finest GK totals we’ve seen in this series have been 19, and that’s exactly what Colin produced here. Not only that, but he did so without any more passes either. So if either Kirsa or Roger were going to beat this total , they were going to have to go like the clappers, and remember not to pass. Colin, with this score, had pretty much guaranteed himself a semi final slot, even if the win wasn’t yet a certainty.
Kirsa gave it a lash, to be fair to her, but it was one of those rounds where you could see the contender doing their best, but falling inexorably behind the clock. She scored 11, to finish with 25. Thence to Roger’s round. Now, I’d like to think that I give every contender a fair crack of the whip, and I try to be quick to applaud what any contender can do. But I hope I can be forgive by saying that I really, really wanted Roger to achieve the huge score he needed to at least guarantee a semi final slot, and , hopefully, the win. It was never going to be an easy or a quick ask, but Roger kept the round going, and kept piling on the score. He was up to 31 – “Come on Roger !” I shouted, thus startling my daughter Jess who had wandered into the front room just at that second. He was on 32 - “Come on Roger !” I shouted again, and Jess, God bless her, joined in . He was on 33 “Yeessss !” I shouted. 33 was to be his final score, equaling one of the highest scores of the series so far, belonging to our own Rach Cherryade Neiman.
Commiserations to both Jeff and Kirsa, good contenders who were unfortunate to be matched against such formidable opposition. Commiserations too to Colin, but like Arnold Scwarzenegger he’ll be back . As for Roger – fantastic, I’m so pleased for you.
What a show.
The Details
Jeff Lloyd, one of two Mastermind virgins tonight, was answering on British Number 1 singles , 1963 – 2000. You might recall in Nancy’s 2009 series that Howard Pizzey took a very similar subject, and it’s one of those popular culture subjects that is always guaranteed to play well with the viewers at home. This was by some distance my best subject tonight, and I surpised myself by taking 10 correct answers. Jeff did better, and with his 11 I confidently predicted that he wouldn’t be in 4th at the halfway stage.
The second of tonight’s newcomers, Kirsa Lommerud Olsen had a somewhat more highbrow although no less enjoyable popular culture subject, in the shape of Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads.I only ever saw two of these, so I was pretty pleased to get three of them. Kirsa did a lot better than this. If your general knowledge is good enough, then 14 will always give you a shot at a win, and that’s exactly the score that Kirsa achieved.
I was delighted to see the return of tonight’s third contender. This was none other than Roger Canwell. For those unfamiliar, Roger contested Nancy’s 2009 series, and went all the way to the Grand Final. I know from emails I exchanged with Roger at the time that he really enjoyed his 2009 experience, and so I’m pleased to see him back. As a point of interest, Roger is the only person to ever beat our own Gary Grant – champion in 2012 – in an edition of Mastermind . ( Sorry to mention that, Gary )British history has proved a happy hunting ground for Roger before, so I confidently expected Kett’s Rebellion to provide him with a good score, and to be fair I wasn’t disappointed. 15 and no passes well and truly laid the foundations for another semi final appearance. I have a feeling that my friend Les Morrell took Kett’s Rebellion in the first round in my 2007 series, but I might be mistaken.
Standing in the way , though, was another Mastermind semi finalist, Colin Daffern. Colin reached the semis in Geoff’s 2006 series ( which is more than I managed . ) He was offering the life and career of Michael Foot. He did so very well too , I might add. I was pleased with my 5, which took my aggregate total for all the specialist rounds tonight to 19. Colin’s score of 13 was very competitive, although it did leave him just a little behind Roger.
Well, the other contenders had made a mockery of my confident prediction that Jeff Lloyd wouldn’t be fourth at the halfway stage. That was history now , though, as a good GK round could change everything. Jeff produced quite a good GK round, as it happened. 13 is a decent performance for anyone’s money. Alright, it only set the target at 9 for leader on the road Roger , but it meant that nothing was a foregone conclusion anyway.
Mind you, Colin’s GK performance made that all academic anyway. Colin had snapped out crisp clear answers in his specialist round, and he continued to do this throughout his GK one too. The finest GK totals we’ve seen in this series have been 19, and that’s exactly what Colin produced here. Not only that, but he did so without any more passes either. So if either Kirsa or Roger were going to beat this total , they were going to have to go like the clappers, and remember not to pass. Colin, with this score, had pretty much guaranteed himself a semi final slot, even if the win wasn’t yet a certainty.
Kirsa gave it a lash, to be fair to her, but it was one of those rounds where you could see the contender doing their best, but falling inexorably behind the clock. She scored 11, to finish with 25. Thence to Roger’s round. Now, I’d like to think that I give every contender a fair crack of the whip, and I try to be quick to applaud what any contender can do. But I hope I can be forgive by saying that I really, really wanted Roger to achieve the huge score he needed to at least guarantee a semi final slot, and , hopefully, the win. It was never going to be an easy or a quick ask, but Roger kept the round going, and kept piling on the score. He was up to 31 – “Come on Roger !” I shouted, thus startling my daughter Jess who had wandered into the front room just at that second. He was on 32 - “Come on Roger !” I shouted again, and Jess, God bless her, joined in . He was on 33 “Yeessss !” I shouted. 33 was to be his final score, equaling one of the highest scores of the series so far, belonging to our own Rach Cherryade Neiman.
Commiserations to both Jeff and Kirsa, good contenders who were unfortunate to be matched against such formidable opposition. Commiserations too to Colin, but like Arnold Scwarzenegger he’ll be back . As for Roger – fantastic, I’m so pleased for you.
What a show.
The Details
| Jeff Lloyd | British Number 1 singles 1963 - 2000 | 11 - 0 | 13 - 1 | 23 – 1 |
| Kirsa Lommerud Olsen | Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads | 14 - 2 | 11 - 6 | 25 – 8 |
| Roger Canwell | Kett’s Rebellion of 1549 | 15 - 0 | 18 - 2 | 33 – 2 |
| Colin Daffern | The Life and Career of Michael Foot | 13 - 1 | 19 – 0 | 32 – 1 |
Only Connect - 3rd Place Play Off
The Footballers v. The Wordsmiths
Two weeks ago we saw the Footballers, Barry Humphrey, Michael McPartland and captain Jamie Turner, lose out to the Draughtsmen in a fine first semi final. In order to get there they had already defeated both the Second Violinists and the Cinephiles. Their opponents in this bronze medal play off were the Wordsmiths. Brian Pendreigh, Chris Brewis and captain Dave Taylor had tough tussles with both the Educators and the Wintonians in order to win their way through to the semis where they lost out in another excellent contest to the Scribes. I didn’t want to call this one, and so I didn’t, and instead just let the whole thing unfold.
Round One – What’s the Connection ?
The Foots kicked off with a great answer. Given Jed Clampett : 9.5 – Artemis Fowl II : 13.5 They confidently supplied the correct answers that these were fictional characters and their worth in billions of dollars. Nice shooting there, boys. Eye of Horus gave the Smiths Combined English Universities – Westminster Abbey – Calais and Kensington and Chelsea. Now, I think it was the universities which gave me an inkling, and Kensington and Chelsea which confirmed it, but I had the feeling that these were defunct constituencies. Neither team had this. The Foots took Twisted Flax and the music. They took all four clues, and they knew that the last was “Children of the Revolution”. So which way do you go – children or revolution. They zigged with Revolution, but should have zagged with children, which brought a bonus point to the Smiths. They chanced their collective arm with two reeds. Bacon and egg icecream came up, and they went too soon off just one clue with Heston Blumenthal. Given Crepes suzette – Steak tartare – the original Caesar salad they didn’t know that these were all prepared at the table. Water brought the Foots a picture set, which they didn’t get. Barry was actually on the right lines, knowing it was to do with the names, but it took the smiths to take a bonus, knowing that venetian blinds, leghorn chickens and Florentine biscuits were all named after Italian cities. They finished off the round with Lion, and Derek McCulloch ( Uncle Mac ) – Federal Home Loan Mortgage Coporation ( Freddie Mac ) and that was enough to give them the answer – all being Macs. This was enough to ensure that they led by 5 to 3.
Round Two – What Comes Fourth ?
The Foots again kicked off, and took Lion themselves, and the pictures. The DVLA – A pig – and the Albion pub all rang a bell. That was because Victoria had said at the top of the show that she wasn’t allowed within 100yards of any of them – the last of the list being UC all-time great Alex Guttenplan.The eye of Horus revealed more resistant to scratching – Improved in Health – Having greater velocity , The Smiths offered at first – being taller than, which they modified to stronger. Unbeknownst to them this is from a Daft Punk song. Fair enough. Flax brought the foots octonion – quaternion – and they tried union. Made sense to me. Complex number was the third, and Dave surprised Victoria by giving the right answer of real number. Normed division algebras don’t you know. Well, I didn’t, anyway. Horned viper gave the Smiths 1924 Paris, and 1948 London. I had it at this clue. 1984 Los Angeles was the third, and I’m sorry, but they shouldn’t have made a mistake with this, going for 2013, London. The Foots knew that it was 2004 Athens – these being the successive second times these cities hosted the summer Olympics. Two reeds brought them Star = G – Are =P – High = V . They didn’t know, neither did the Smiths, and neither did I. It was fiendish and brilliant. In the alphabet version of Twinkle Twinkle little star, G takes the place of star – P takes the place of Are and so on. So the last would be Sky =z. Devilishly clever that. Finally the Smiths took Water, to find Woodrow Wilson – Calvin Coolidge - ah , thought I, alliterative presidents, and thought the Smiths took Herbert Hoover as well they made no mistake with Ronald Reagan. So that brought the round to an end, and they led by 10 to 6.
Round Three – The Connecting Walls
The Smiths took the water wall to start. They could see that there were scientific effects in there, but couldn’t untangle them. SO they settled for Laurence – Rhys – Jones - Ferguson – Middleton , all the names of people who have married into the Royal family. Fireflies – Domino – Wherever You Are – and Forget you were a selection of number 1 singles from 2010 onwards. Those pesky effects were still refusing to untangle, and the three tries couldn’t find them. When the wall untangled we saw Tyndall ( not Tindall ) – Doppler – Coriolis and Greenhouse were the effects, which left Butterfly – smoke – beauty and calico . Neither the Smiths nor I guessed that these are bushes – I’ve heard of the butterfly bush but that’s it.
The Foots were left to tackle the lion war. Dr. Who monsters beckoned invitingly , but they kicked off with metaphorical streets – Grub – Civvy – Easy – Queer. Then Macra – The Silence – Ood and Weeping Angels were untangled for the Dr. Who set. They knew that a set of larvae were there, but they just wouldn’t untangle for them. Still, once the wall was resolved they could see Smiler – Pethead – Little Monster – Maggot – and I guessed from the name Maggot these might be members of Goldie Looking Chain. Barry guessed the same, but it was not to be. They were all fans of musical artistes. I should really have had it from Little Monster. Finally the larvae were revealed as nymph – caterpillar – wriggler and tadpole. So the gap remained the same, and the Smiths still led with 15 to 11.
Round Four – Missing Vowels
So how would it pan out ? The Smiths have not been, by their own admission, at their best on the vowels, while the Foots have shown quite a nifty turn of speed in this round. 4 points was a significant gap , but not unbridgeable. Fictional languages fell to the Foots 2 – 0. Government information slogans fell 1 apiece. Films released with posthumous performances fell 2 – 1 to the Foots. Only one point difference now. However that was that, and not another one was solved. The gallant Footballers finished with 16, but the Smiths still had just a nose ahead, with 17. Well played both – congratulations on your efforts this series.
Two weeks ago we saw the Footballers, Barry Humphrey, Michael McPartland and captain Jamie Turner, lose out to the Draughtsmen in a fine first semi final. In order to get there they had already defeated both the Second Violinists and the Cinephiles. Their opponents in this bronze medal play off were the Wordsmiths. Brian Pendreigh, Chris Brewis and captain Dave Taylor had tough tussles with both the Educators and the Wintonians in order to win their way through to the semis where they lost out in another excellent contest to the Scribes. I didn’t want to call this one, and so I didn’t, and instead just let the whole thing unfold.
Round One – What’s the Connection ?
The Foots kicked off with a great answer. Given Jed Clampett : 9.5 – Artemis Fowl II : 13.5 They confidently supplied the correct answers that these were fictional characters and their worth in billions of dollars. Nice shooting there, boys. Eye of Horus gave the Smiths Combined English Universities – Westminster Abbey – Calais and Kensington and Chelsea. Now, I think it was the universities which gave me an inkling, and Kensington and Chelsea which confirmed it, but I had the feeling that these were defunct constituencies. Neither team had this. The Foots took Twisted Flax and the music. They took all four clues, and they knew that the last was “Children of the Revolution”. So which way do you go – children or revolution. They zigged with Revolution, but should have zagged with children, which brought a bonus point to the Smiths. They chanced their collective arm with two reeds. Bacon and egg icecream came up, and they went too soon off just one clue with Heston Blumenthal. Given Crepes suzette – Steak tartare – the original Caesar salad they didn’t know that these were all prepared at the table. Water brought the Foots a picture set, which they didn’t get. Barry was actually on the right lines, knowing it was to do with the names, but it took the smiths to take a bonus, knowing that venetian blinds, leghorn chickens and Florentine biscuits were all named after Italian cities. They finished off the round with Lion, and Derek McCulloch ( Uncle Mac ) – Federal Home Loan Mortgage Coporation ( Freddie Mac ) and that was enough to give them the answer – all being Macs. This was enough to ensure that they led by 5 to 3.
Round Two – What Comes Fourth ?
The Foots again kicked off, and took Lion themselves, and the pictures. The DVLA – A pig – and the Albion pub all rang a bell. That was because Victoria had said at the top of the show that she wasn’t allowed within 100yards of any of them – the last of the list being UC all-time great Alex Guttenplan.The eye of Horus revealed more resistant to scratching – Improved in Health – Having greater velocity , The Smiths offered at first – being taller than, which they modified to stronger. Unbeknownst to them this is from a Daft Punk song. Fair enough. Flax brought the foots octonion – quaternion – and they tried union. Made sense to me. Complex number was the third, and Dave surprised Victoria by giving the right answer of real number. Normed division algebras don’t you know. Well, I didn’t, anyway. Horned viper gave the Smiths 1924 Paris, and 1948 London. I had it at this clue. 1984 Los Angeles was the third, and I’m sorry, but they shouldn’t have made a mistake with this, going for 2013, London. The Foots knew that it was 2004 Athens – these being the successive second times these cities hosted the summer Olympics. Two reeds brought them Star = G – Are =P – High = V . They didn’t know, neither did the Smiths, and neither did I. It was fiendish and brilliant. In the alphabet version of Twinkle Twinkle little star, G takes the place of star – P takes the place of Are and so on. So the last would be Sky =z. Devilishly clever that. Finally the Smiths took Water, to find Woodrow Wilson – Calvin Coolidge - ah , thought I, alliterative presidents, and thought the Smiths took Herbert Hoover as well they made no mistake with Ronald Reagan. So that brought the round to an end, and they led by 10 to 6.
Round Three – The Connecting Walls
The Smiths took the water wall to start. They could see that there were scientific effects in there, but couldn’t untangle them. SO they settled for Laurence – Rhys – Jones - Ferguson – Middleton , all the names of people who have married into the Royal family. Fireflies – Domino – Wherever You Are – and Forget you were a selection of number 1 singles from 2010 onwards. Those pesky effects were still refusing to untangle, and the three tries couldn’t find them. When the wall untangled we saw Tyndall ( not Tindall ) – Doppler – Coriolis and Greenhouse were the effects, which left Butterfly – smoke – beauty and calico . Neither the Smiths nor I guessed that these are bushes – I’ve heard of the butterfly bush but that’s it.
The Foots were left to tackle the lion war. Dr. Who monsters beckoned invitingly , but they kicked off with metaphorical streets – Grub – Civvy – Easy – Queer. Then Macra – The Silence – Ood and Weeping Angels were untangled for the Dr. Who set. They knew that a set of larvae were there, but they just wouldn’t untangle for them. Still, once the wall was resolved they could see Smiler – Pethead – Little Monster – Maggot – and I guessed from the name Maggot these might be members of Goldie Looking Chain. Barry guessed the same, but it was not to be. They were all fans of musical artistes. I should really have had it from Little Monster. Finally the larvae were revealed as nymph – caterpillar – wriggler and tadpole. So the gap remained the same, and the Smiths still led with 15 to 11.
Round Four – Missing Vowels
So how would it pan out ? The Smiths have not been, by their own admission, at their best on the vowels, while the Foots have shown quite a nifty turn of speed in this round. 4 points was a significant gap , but not unbridgeable. Fictional languages fell to the Foots 2 – 0. Government information slogans fell 1 apiece. Films released with posthumous performances fell 2 – 1 to the Foots. Only one point difference now. However that was that, and not another one was solved. The gallant Footballers finished with 16, but the Smiths still had just a nose ahead, with 17. Well played both – congratulations on your efforts this series.
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