Mastermind 2023: First round heat 16

Look, I know you’re probably desperate to know how the wiki challenge went for me, aren’t you? After all, it’s the first time I’ve every wikied all four specialist in a single show. So, did it make a difference to my usually unimpressive specialist aggregate? All will be revealed.

First up was Holly Parkinson. Holly was answering on Stephen Hawking. Answering very well, too, although she did drop just a couple along the way. It turned out that either from the questions I had culled from the Wikipedia page or from reading other information on the page, I answered no fewer than 8 of these questions. I think I can confidently say that I might have had just one of these otherwise. So that’s a big score for the wiki challenge on this subject. Maybe it’s because the pithy short stuff you can cull from Wikipedia lends itself to more snappy questions than a lot of the abstruse scientific stuff you might otherwise have asked. Holly did better, mind. She scored 9.

Ishmel Silverstro was answering on the Radiohead questions. I got the feeling as we went on that it was the music specifically and the songs and lyrics that he was expecting, since he didn’t find this the easiest of rounds to negotiate. Oh, don’t get me wrong, he did better than I did. Ishmael scored 6, a fairly decent result, but it had already put him 3 points off the lead with 2 contenders still to play. As for me, I managed five, none of which I would have been able to answer without the wiki. That gave me 13, which was already better than most of the shows this series.

My original choice when I was only going to wiki one subject was Theda Bara. So theoretically it looks as if I expected to do better than the other subjects. That didn’t work for me. It workd for William Andrews, though. Not a perfect round, but a pretty good one which saw him attain a double figure score  and I would have said that he was worth every point of the 10 that he accrued. Me? Well, I’ll be honest with you, I only managed four from this round. Nonetheless, it meant that I had an aggregate of 17, and it looked possible that I might even get 20, which would be a remarkably good aggregate for me.

The splendidly named Boakesey Boakes took her seat in the black chair for our final specialist on the Richard Sharpe Novels of Bernard Cornwell. I know just from culling a set of questions from some very brief Wikipedia synopses that this round must have been a hell of an undertaking. Boakesey’s score of 8 looks respectable but middling, but trust me, to get a score of 8 she had to really know her stuff on this set of questions. And to be fair, only being two points off the lead it had at least given her the chance of carrying all before her in the GK. Me? Oh, I got three, which gave me an aggregate of 20. I reckon I might have had as many as five or 6 without having done the challenge.  

Enough about me (I can’t believe I just said that!) First back into the chair was Ishmael. All he could do was give it the best go he could and hope to hang on. He certainly started brightly enough. Sadly though, as we’ve seen so many times before, he ran out of steam and correct answers in the middle of his round, and had to battle through the rest of the round to post a respectable 8 for 14.

Boakesey needed 7 to overhaul Ishmael’s total. That was what she achieved too, but after the first four or five questions it was pretty heavy going for her. You know how it is, sometimes the questions fall for you and sometimes they just don’t and I’d dare to say that this was the latter for Boakesey. Again, 15 didn’t look like it was going to provide her with a winning total, but it was at least enough to give her the lead for now.

I was pretty sure that Holly would score the 7 she needed to take the lead, and even more sure after the first half minute or so of her round. She slowed down a bit during the round, although she took the lead with a bit of time to spare. Indeed she went on to equal her specialist score of 9  for a total of 18. That’s been a competitive score in recent heats, and at least William would have to traverse the corridor to doubt in order to win.

Let’s not beat about the bush, William crossed said corridor with no fuss or bother at all. After the previous three general knowledge round you were waiting for the mid round stumble, but this never happened. Yeah, okay, he missed a couple, but there weren’t many, and his round was one of the better GK rounds that we’ve seen during this series. Yes, he’ll maybe want to get a couple more points on specialist, but if he can handle a GK round like that, then he’s certainly got a chance in the semis. Best of luck to you sir.

The Details

Holly Parkinson	Stephen Hawking	9	0	9	2	18	2
Ishmael Silvestro	The Music of Radiohead	6	0	8	1	14	1
William Andrews	Theda Bara	10	0	14	0	24	0
Boakesey Boakes	The Richard Sharpe Novels of Bernard Cornwell	8	0	7	3	15	3

Wiki Challenge: The Richard Sharpe Novels of Bernard Cornwell

Ah, the appliance of Science. I went back to the official BBC Mastermind website, clicked where it said -more – and found out that the other specialist for the coming show on Monday is the Richard Sharpe Novels of Bernard Cornwell. Now, I was faced with a dilemma. I could have possible gone to the wiki pages for each of the novels and short stories. However, I’ve decided to stck with just the overall Wikipedia page – partly because that’s the spirit of the challenge, but mostly because that would be too much like hard work. So, in my pathetic quest to get a decent aggregate on the specialists, here’s the questions I’ve come up with:-

Which was the first Sharpe novel to be published, which is actually 8^th in chronological order of Sharpe’s Career? – Sharpe’s Eagle

In order of Sharpe’s career, which novel is chronologically 1^st? – Sharpe’s Tiger

What is Sharpe’s rank at the time of his retirement from the army? – Lieutenant – colonel

In which battle did Sharpe save the life of Arthur Wellesley – later the Duke of Wellington – Assaye

Why was Sharpe demoted from corporal to privte? – Passing wind on parade

When Sharpe was three years old his mother was killed in which historical event? – Gordon Riots

Who is the bar owner in the rookery of St. Giles who becomes Sharpe’s first lover? – Maggie Joyce

To avoid arrest over the killing of the landlord of a tavern, Sharpes takes the King’s Shilling and joins which regiment – 33^rd Foot

Who is the recruiting sergeant who persuades Sharpe to join the 33^rd Foot – Obadiah Hakeswill

Sharpe first sees action in which battle in the Netherlands? – Boxtel

In Sharpe’s Tiger, Sharpe receives a sentence of how many lashes for striking sergeant Hakeswill? – 2000 reduced to 200

What is the name of the head of the British East India Company’s intelligence service whom Sharpe is sent to rescue along with William Lawford in Sharpe’s Tiger – Colonel Hector McCandless

In Sharpe’s Triumph, what is the name of the traitor who carries out the massacre of the small for in which Sharpe is in command? – William Dodd

When Wellesley gives Sharpe a battlefield commission as Ensign he is assigned to which regiment? – 74^th

On Sharpe’s journey home to join the newly formed 95^th Rifles,Sharpe falls in love with the wife of which officer? – Lord William Hale

Grace dies with the birth of Sharpe’s child after they have set up home where? – Shorncliffe

Sharpe is recruited by General Baird to protect whom? – John Lavisser

In Sharpe’s Prey Sharpe wants to settle down with whom, but is unable to do so when her father forbids it? – Astrid Skovgaard

In the retreat from Corunna, who gives Sharpe his sword, used in all subsequent adventures? – Captain Murray

In Sharpe’s Rifles, whom does Sharpe unwillingly help to seixe control of Santiago de Compostela? – Major Blas Vivar

After Sharpe and his surviving 30 riflemen make their way to Portugal and fight in the Battle of the Douro they are attached to the Light Company of which fictional regiment – South Essex Regiment

What specifically does Sharpe become the first British soldier to capture in the Battle of Talavera? – French Imperial Eagle

What is the name of the French spymaster who conspires against Sharpe on several different occasions? – Pierre Ducos

Where does Sharpe meet the Emperor Napoleon? – St. Helena

In Sharpe’s Tiger Sharpe asks for permission to marry whom – she leaves him – Mary Bickerstaff

In Sharpe’s Company, who bears Sharpe a daughter, Antonia? – Teresa Moreno

What is the occupation of Sarah Fry with whom Sharpe has an affair in Sharpe’s Escape? – Governess

Who becomes Sharpe’s second wife? – Jane Gibbons

Which Sharp short story of 1994 is set in Normandy after the end of the Napoleonic Wars? – Sharpe’s Ransom

The 2021 Sharpe’s Devil is largely set in which South American country? – Chile

 

Wiki Challenge - The Music of Radiohead

 Okay – so I have given myself a good talking to. If I’m serious about using the wiki challenge to try to boost my specialist aggregate for the coming Mastermind heat – and I am – then the fact that I think the Music of Radiohead will be a more difficult subject to do the wiki challenge with isn’t a good enough excuse for not trying. So I’ve put together this set – all of these questions are culled from the information given on the Radiohead Wikipedia page, and any mistakes in them are (probably) mine.

Now all I need is to find out what the fourth subject is - it didn't say when I looked on the official Mastermind website.

Radiohead were formed where in 1985 – Abingdon

Name their original studio albums in order of release –

Pablo Honey 1991

The Bends 1995

OK Computer 1997

Kid A 2000

Amnesiac 2001

Hail to the Thief 2003 (last EMI album)

In Rainbows 2007 – download – customers set their own price

King of Limbs 2011

A Moon shaped Pool 2016

 

Name their 7 UK top 10 singles

Creep 1992

Street Spirit (Fade Out) 1996

Paranoid Android 1997

Karma Police 1997

No Surprises 1998

Pyramid Song 2001

There There 2003

In which album did lyrics address the war on terror? – Hail to the Thief

Which album prominently featured Johnny Greenwood’s orchestral arrangements – A Moon Shaped Pool

What was the band’s original name – On A Friday

Which record label offered On a Friday a ecoring deal but were turned down because the band members thought that they weren’t ready and they wanted to go to university? – Island Records.

In which venue in Oxford did the band play their first gig? – Jericho Tavern

Thom Yorke performed songs later used by Radiohead when performing with which band at the University of Exeter? – Headless Chickens

While at the University of Exeter Tom Yorke met which artist who went on to design album covers for Radiohead? – Stanley Donwood

In 1991 who became On a Friday’s first managers? Chris Hufford and Bryce Edge

What was the title of the demo the band passed onto EMI A and R man Keith Wozencroft? – Manic Hedgehog EP

The band’s name Radiohead was taken from a song on which Talking Heads album? – True Stories

Where did Radiohead record their debut EP Drill? – Courtyard Studios

Paul Kolderlie and who else were brought in by EMI to produce the band’s first album? – Sean Slade

A review of debut single Creep in which paper described Radiohead as a lily livered excuse for a rock band? – NME

Creep first became a hit in Israel, after which DJ played it frequently on Israeli radio? Yoav Kutner

In their first US tour Radohead supported two acts – who were they? – Belly and PJ Harvey

In their first European tour Radiohead supported which act? – James

Which of their future producers first worked with the band on their second album as an audio engineer? – Nigel Godrich

In 1995 following the release of The Bends, Radiohead toured America supporting which act? – REM

Where did Yorke and Johnny greenwood play an acoustic set on the 1995 tour after their van was stolen with all of their equipment? – Denver Colorado.

In late 199 Radiohead recorded which song as a single to help promote the War Child charity’s The Help Album? – Lucky

Which 1996 B side featured in Baz Luhrman’s 1996 film of Romeo and Juliet? – Talk Show Host

What was the name of the converted apple shed near Didcot where Radiohead recorded several songs in 1996? – Canned Applause

What was the name of the mansion near Bath where Radiohead also recorded some of the songs on OK Computer? – St. Catherine’s court

OK Computer won Radiohead’s first Grammy in which category? – Best Alternative Album

Radiohead made their first headlining Glastonbury appearance during which tour? – Against Demons world tour

Who directed the video for No Surprises and also the 1999 documentary Meeting People is Easy– Grant Gee

Which song did the band record for the 1998 film “The Avengers” although it was never released – Man of War

Which early electronic musical instrument did Radiohead use for the first time in the recording of the album Kid A? – The ondes Martenot

Radiohead’s 2000 tour in a custom made tent free of advertising was inspired by whose book No Logo? – Naomi Klein

Which track on Amnesiac, originally recorded in the KidA session featured the Humphrey Lyttelton Band? – Life in a glasshouse

In the 2001 live album I might be wrong, which unreleased track is performed? – True Love waits

Radiohead wrote music for which dance piece performed by the Merce Cunningham Dance Company in the Brooklyn Academy or Music – Split Sides

In 2004 Radiohead finished their world tour at which festival in California – Coachella

Whom did Radiohead initially bring in as producer for In Rainbows, although the collaboration was unsuccessful? – Spike Stent

Who released the retail version of In Rainbows in December 2007 – XL Recordings (USA – TBD records)

In the 2009 Grammy Awards, Yorke and Johnny greenwood performed which song with the University of Southern California Marching Band? – 15 Steps

Which single from In Rainbows was the first to enter the US Top 40 since Creep? – Nude

In April 2008 Radiohead launched which social networking service for fans? – W.A.S.T.E.

What was the title of Radiohead’s 2009 tribute to the last surviving British soldier to have fought in World War One? – Harry Patch (In Memory Of) – proceeds to the British Legion

Following the release of their 8^th album King of Limbs Radiohead released a double A side of two songs not on the album for Record Store Day – which two songs? – Supercollider and The Butcher

Which drummer who had worked with Portishead did Radiohead recruit for live performances of King of Limbs? – Clive Dreamer

During their US tour in 2012 Radiohead recorded material at which studios which was later discarded? – Jack White’s Third Man Records

At which Toronto venue did the roof collapse half an hour before their last concert, injuring several crew members and resulting in the death of drum technician Scott Johnson – Downsview Park

In 2015 work on Radiohead’s 9^th album was delayed when they were commissioned to write the theme song for which film – the song was subsequently rejected and not used in the film. – Spectre

On A Moon Shaped Pool, choral vocals and strings were performed by whom? – London Contemporary Orchestra

In 2017 Radiohead performed in which city, earning criticism from Roger Waters and Ken Loach for breaking an international cultural boycott – Tel Aviv

A new version of the track Bloom created by Hans Zimmer was featured in which BBC documentary series of 2017? – Blue Planet II

If you say the word and which other song were previously unreleased songs which feature on 2021’s Kid A Mnesia? – Follow Me Around

Wiki Challenge - Stephen Hawking

Alright, I admit it. I’m trying to get a high specialist aggregate in next Monday’s Mastermind. That’s why I’ve done a second wiki challenge with Stephen Hawking. He turns out to be a hell of a subject. Here’s what I’ve culled thus far from the Wikipedia page

At the time of his death, Stephen Hawking was the director of research where? – Centre for theoretical Cosmology, Cambridge University.

Which post did Hawking hold for 30 years from 1979? – Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, Cambridge

Where did Hawking study for his first degree? – University College, Oxford

Where was Hawking studying when he received his PhD in applied mathematics and Theoretical Physics? – Trinity Hall, Cambridge

With whom did Hawking collaborate on gravitational singularity theorems? – Roger Penrose

In 2005 in which position did Hawking feature in the BBC poll of the Hundred Greatest Britons – 25th

Both of Hawking’s parents attended Oxford University. Which subject did his father Frank study? – Medicine

What subject did his mother Isobel (nee Walker) study? – PPE

The family moved to St. Albans when Frank Hawking became head of the parasitology department of which research organisation? – National Institute for Medical Research.

Which unusual method of transport did the family use during Stephen’s childhood – black taxicab

During Hawking’s childhood while his father was working in Africa, the family stayed for four months on Mallorca with whom? – Robert Graves

Which school in Highgate was the first attended by Hawking, whose progressive methods Hawking blamed for his failure to learn to read? – Byron House School

Which school did Hawking attend in September 1952 having passe the 11 plus exam a year early? – St. Albans School

Hawking was sick on the day of the entrance examination to which school his father wanted him to attend? – Westminster school

Which teacher at St. Albans helped Hawking and a group of friends assemble a home made computer? – Dikran Tahta

Who was Hawking’s physics tutor at University College – Robert Berman

Which eccentric decision probably led to Hawking being on the borderline between a first and an upper second for his BA, necessitating a viva voce exam? – Only answering the questions on theoretical physics

Which country did Hawking visit between completing his BA and starting to study for his PhD? – Iran

In his PhD studies Hawking was initially disappointed that Dennis William Sciama was appointed his tutor – he had hoped it would be whom? – Fred Hoyle

Which student of Hoyle did Hawking criticise in a lecture in 1964? – Jayant Narlikar

In which college did hawking receive a research fellowship? – Gonville and Caius, Cambridge

Which prize did Hawking’s essay Singularities and the Geometry of Space-Time share with an essay by Penrose in 1966 – the Adams Prize

Which fellowship was specially created for Hawking in 1969 so that he could remain at Caius? – Distinction in Science

With which two scientists did Hawking propose four laws of black hole mechanics – James Bardeen and Brandon Carter

Which essay by Hawking won the Gravity Research Foundation Award in 1971? – Black Holes

What was the title of Hawking’s first book, published in 1973 – The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time

Hawking moved into research quantum gravity and quantum mechanics following a visit to which city ? - Moscow

A few weeks after the announcement of Hawking radiation, Hawking became a fellow of which organisation? – The Royal Society

In 1974 Hawking was appointed to the Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Visiting Professorship in which establishment, that he would continue to visit for most of the rest of his life? (Cal Tech)

Hawking’s academic disagreement with Susskind and T’Hooft is known by which nickname – The Black Hole War

Hawking once told Kip Thorne – I would rather be right than – what? – Rigorous

With which publishing company did Hawking sogn the contract to write A Brief History of Time?

When he appeared on the cover of Newsweek Magazine, which four word epithet did it use to describe him? – Master of the Universe

In the 1989 Birthday Honours list which appointment did Hawking receive? (Companion of Honour)

Who collaborated with Hawking on A Briefer History of Time? – Leonard Mlodinow

In January 2014, what did Hawking describe as his biggest blunder? _ his views on alleged loss of information in Black Holes

What is the title of the 2007 Children’s book written by Hawking and daughter Lucy – George’s Secret Kay to the Universe

To whom did Hawking get married in 1965? – Jane Wilde

Name the student who lived with the Hawing family during his 1974 appointment at Caltech, the first to fulfil this role? – Bernard Carr

Name the nurse who became Hawking’s second wife in 1995 – Elaine Mason

What was the title of Jane Hawking’s 1999 memoir describing her marriage to Hawking and its breakdown? – Music to Move the Stars

As a result of visiting which research facility Hawking developed near fatal pneumonia in 1985? – CERN

Hawking provided narration for which segment of the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 London Paralympic Games – Enlightenment

Published in 2018, what was the title of Hawking’s last book? – Brief Answers to the Big Questions

A commemorative edition of which demonination of British coin was struck in 2019 in honour of Hawking? – 50p

In 1993 Hawking appeared as himself in which episode of Star Trek : The Next Generation? – Descent

Hawking voiced himself in 4 separate episodes of which animated series? – The Simpsons

 

 

The Wiki Challenge - Mastermind 2023 Heat 16

I rather sprang the resurrection of the wiki challenge on you last week, didn’t I? We didn't have much time to prepare, did we? So this week I’ve decided to allow both you and me a little more time. On the Mastermind website it gives three specialist subjects for heat 16 – Stephen Hawking – The Music of Radiohead – Theda Bara. I’d argue that the Music of Radiohead doesn’t really lend itself to the wiki challenge in the way that biographical subjects do, but if you want to have a go at that then don’t let me stop you. I’ve mentally flipped a coin and it’s come up with Thea Bara. Now, I haven’t wikied her yet, and the only ready fact about her that I have to hand is that the studio supposedly coined her stage name as an anagram of Arab Death.

-----

Okay then – here’s the questions based on her Wikipedia page:-

What was Theda Bara’s real name? – Theodosia Burr Goodman

Bara was named Theodosia after the daughter of which US Vice President? – Aaron Burr

Bara’s father Bernard had emigrated to the USA from which country? – Poland

Bara’s father followed which profession – tailor

In which country was Bara’s mother Pauline born? – Switzerland

Which of Bara’s two younger sisters also became a screen actress under the stage name Lori Bara – Esther

Which school did Bara attend before spending two years at the University of Cincinatti – Walnut Hills High School

In 1908 Bara made her stage debut in which play on Broadway? The Devil

Most of Bara’s early films were shot in the Fox studios in which east coast town? – Fort Lee New Jersey

What was the title of the first film that Bara made in Los Angeles – Cleopatra

What was the title of the last film Bara made for Fox in 1919 before her five year contract expired? – The Lure of Ambition

In 1925 Bara made her first film since the ending of her contract with Fox, called The Unchastened Woman – for which film company? –  Chadwick Pictures

Which actor directed her last film, the short comedy Madame Mystery, in 1926? – Stan Laurel (for Hal Roach)

Her seductive roles earned her which screen nickname – The Vamp

Studio promotion claimed Theda Bara was Egyptian. Where was she really born – Avondale, Cincinatti Ohio

Many of Bara’s films were lost in a fire which happened where in 1937? – The Fox Vault

In 1921 whom did Bara marry? – Charles Brabin

According to some sources, which director is credited with coining the name Theda Bara – Frank Powell

What name did Bara and Brabin give to their summer home on Nova Scotia in Harbourville overlooking the bay of Fundy  - Baranook

In 1936 Bara acted in a Lux Radio Theatre production based on which film? – The Thin Man

In which hospital did Bara pass away from stomach cancer in 1955 – California Lutheran Hospital

Where is her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? – 6307 Hollywood Boulevard

Although she made over forty films, of how of her many films do complete prints exist? – 6

Who designed the image of Bara used on a 1994 US postage stamp? – Al Hirschfield

Which underground newspaper, founded in London in 1966, used an image of Bara for its logo? – International Times

There you go – twenty five questions all culled from Theda Bara’s Wikipedia page. So – in the last show Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Wikipedia page provided me with 6 correct answers, so he target to beat with these is 6.

University Challenge 2023: Round 2 - St. Andrews v. Royal Holloway

The Teams

St. Andrews

Alec Csukai

Sam Hickford

Joseph Cryan (Capt.)

Sofya Anisimova

Royal Holloway

Joel Abramovitch

Joanna Brown

George Harvey (Capt.)

Micka Clayton

It’s really not fair. I’ve been ill every day of 2023 so far. I’ve got a heavy cold, or maybe a touch of flu. I’ve stopped aching and shivering today, but it’s gone to my chest a bit. Being ill during the holidays is every teacher’s worst nightmare – as we say in the profession it’s a waste of a bloody good illness. And all of that preamble is by way of being my explanation for why I really didn’t do very well with last night’s questions. Speaking of which . . .

Various clues led Joanna Brown to the correct answer of Art for the first starter. Film adaptations of Jane Austen’s Emma brought a full house. Joanna Brown made it a double, being the first to see that several clues were all pointing irresistibly towards the word hull. A set on railway junctions really weren’t easy. I guessed Crewe for the first but was out with the washing with the next two, while Holloway only managed Peterborough. I’m not very familiar with Hannah Arendt’s work -she’s probably not familiar with mine, so fair’s fair - but Sonya Anisimova was, and took the next starter to open St. Andrews’ account. Scientists who give their names to research institutions in Germany brought 2 correct answers and 10 points. It also reminded me that here, in this show, we had a brace of teams who didn’t half like to chew the fat over their questions. The indications were that we were going to have a low scoring match, and that had nothing to do with both teams’ ability. I enjoyed George Harvey’s response to the Fraunhofer Institute – ‘never heard of him.’ I’ve used that one a few times myself – even if it did earn him a JP wigging. I excused myself from lap of honour duties for the show due to illness, but frankly I thought that I earned one for recognising a diagram of a Newtonian Reflecting telescope for the next starter. Anagrams of optical let Sam Hickford in with capitol. He seemed very pleased with this, and quite rightly since he was the reserve brought in to replace Mr. Gibbons from the first round who was unable to play this time. This earned the picture bonuses – more telescopes – and earned just five more points. This meant that as we hit the ten minute mark Royal Holloway led by 35 to 40.

A lovely UC starter revealed that the tolerance bands on a particular type of resistor – you lost yet? I was – are the same colours as the tricolour flag of Bulgaria. Alec Csukai took that one, giving St. Andrews the lead for the first time. They managed just the one on Lady Charlotte ‘Be My” Guest. Sam Hickford took a second starter knowing all about the word haggard. European countries whose names in English have a different first letter from their names in Spanish, as identified from the names of three of each country’s cities brought one bonus, after they misheard Assen as Essen. Joanna Brown, who’d been beaten to the buzzer for several minutes now, won the buzzer race to take her third starter, identifying the word smash from various clues. Mathematics bonuses promised but little, yet we both had the one about the number of lines and edges in a Mobius Strip. For the music starter Joanna Brown took her fourth starter by identifying a piece of jazz by Herbie Hancock. I’ll be honest, the jazz bonuses that followed only served to make me think of the Fast Show’s Jazz Club – nice – and fair play to Holloway, they took one bonus on three jazz musicians I’ve never heard of (and to be fair, there are a great many of these.)Now, following my own aphorism that when in doubt on a UC maths question you should answer 1, that’s exactly what I did with the next starter. So did Alec Csukai, and we were both right to do so. Glacial landforms didn’t do a lot for St. Andrews who managed just the one. I have to be honest, the way that the starters and bonuses in this were falling largely on subjects in which I have no interest, no knowledge, or neither of the above, made me consider paraphrasing Vyvyan in the Young Ones shouting “Give us some easy ones Bambi, you big bottom burp!” Mind you, I was very pleased with myself for working out CPR for the next starter just from the first one – a work by Immanuel Kant – the work in question being Critique of Pure Reason. Canadian Pacific Railway gave it to Joseph Cryan as well. Imperial Empires in Science Fiction yielded just the one bonus. This meant that by just past the 20 minute mark St. Andrews led by 95 to 70.

Joanna Brown took her fifth starter knowing that the word collage comes from the French for glue. Holloway failed to take any of the bonuses available for them on opera. For the second picture starter Joanna Brown took her sixth starter by recognising a photograph of Susan Sontag. 2 picture bonuses took them into triple figures and the lead. George Harvey took his first starter recognising a description of Edouard Manet’s painting of the execution of Maximilian by firing squad. Which brought us – gulp – more flippin’ Science bonuses. Holloway managed 1, which was 1 more than I did. The next starter rewarded those with the patience to wait for the word Bockhampton. Joanna Brown sounded most sceptical as she answered with Thomas Hardy, but it brought her a seventh correct starter. 1 bonus followed on banknotes. Didn’t matter – Holloway were home and dry by now. Oh happy day – another Science starter. Nobody knew null-geodesic. Joanna Brown took her 8^th starter with the word medulla. Natural world bonuses gave us three definitions to words ending in – ock. Behave yourself, that wasn’t one of them. One bonus was taken and then the contest was gonged halfway through the next starter. Royal Holloway ran out comfortable winners in the end by 145 – 90.

You could look at the bonus conversion rates of both teams – 38 percent for St. Andrews and 40.7 for Royal Holloway and say that these weren’t particularly good. However, before you criticise, look how hard the question sets were. I thought that they were, anyway. But it does point out that one team – well, let’s be honest, one player – was quite a bit better on the buzzer. I’m presuming that Royal Holloway will have assigned bodyguards to Joanna Brown to prevent anything stopping her from playing in the quarter finals.

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

The word Haggard originally meant a type of hawk.

Mastermind 2023: First Round Heat Fifteen

Welcome back Mastermind, and it’s nice to see the 2023 series actually being in 2023 now.

So, let’s start, shall we? Chidi Ngwaba’s subject – The British Industrial Revolution – struck me as one of those specialists that probably should come with a government health warning. After all, it’s just so wide, isn’t it. When I was thinking about the Wiki Challenge, this really wasn’t in the running. Which actually is rather ironic since it provided me with one of my better specialist scores with five. Chidi, I’m afraid, didn’t have a great round at all. He finished with 3 points.

Now I’m afraid that my knowledge of the films of Christopher Guest begins with This is Spinal Tap, which is also coincidentally where it ends. So it didn’t really come as a great surprise to me that the two points I managed on the round both came from questions about it. Rebecca Lodge Birkebaek started very well. Rebecca also finished very well. However she did become a little bit becalmed in the middle of her round, and this is why she finished with a respectable 7, but not more.

It was Ann Mayner who was answering on our wiki challenge subject, Charles Rennie Mackintosh. I’ll come to the challenge shortly. Let’s talk about Ann, though. It wasn’t quite a perfect round that she produced, but it was a very good one. 11 put her four point ahead with just one more contender to go before half time. As for me – well, I had 6 on the round. If I hadn’t done the wiki work yesterday I would have had one. There’s no reason why anyone should do this, but if you checked on the questions I wrote yesterday, five of them would have brought you points, and I also noticed the Helensburgh one as well though I didn’t write it down.

So, with points in all 3 specialist rounds thus far, was I going to manage a full house? In a word, no. Well I’ve never watched an episode of the TV series Succession, even though I like the actor Brian Cox very much, and he’s from the city of Dundee, from which my Clark family originated. Robin Geddes obviously knew his stuff, but not having watched the show I can’t say how fleeting or obscure were the details that he missed. In the end he managed 8, which to my reckoning meant that essentially Ann was the overwhelming favourite to take the place in the semi-finals.

Chidi was first to return to the chair. He made a good start too, taking what looked like the first half dozen or so on the bounce. This didn’t quite last though, and it was only towards the end of the round that he managed to get some momentum going again. In the end he finished with a decent 8 to set the target at 11.

I’d noticed Rebecca moving her fingers a lot during her specialist, and this continued throughout her GK round. It doesn’t mean that she was definitely nervous, but bearing in mind the circumstances it’s a decent enough bet. Having managed 7 in specialist she repeated this score in GK and raised the bar to 14.

I’ll be honest, in my own Mastermind shows I always felt a little more comfortable being the setter rather than the chaser – or to put it another way, going before the final contender and letting them chase my total. In real terms it doesn’t make a lot of difference – you have to go like the clappers and get as many of them right as possible whether you go first or last. Still, it meant that Robin had to try to at least score enough to make the corrido of doubt that Ann would have to pass through as long as possible. To be fair he gave it a decent lash as well. 10 is a good performance on a GK round, but it did mean that 8 would be enough for Ann. In my heart of hearts I felt it was maybe 2 points short of a winning score.

Not that Ann found it easy. Her way of listening carefully to each question and weighing up the answer before giving it had paid dividends in the specialist round. However it meant that she was well into her GK round before she started to close in on Robin’s target. She equalled the total. Then she took the single point she needed to win. But that was it. In the end it was a lot closer than you’d have thought that it was going to be.

So congratulations, and as always, best of luck to you in the semi-finals.

The Details

Chidi Ngwaba	The British Industrial Revolution	3	3	8	5	11	8
Rebecca Lodge Birkebaek	The Films of Christopher Guest	7	0	7	0	14	0
Ann Mayner	Charles Rennie Mackintosh	11	0	8	2	19	2
Robin Geddes	The TV series Succession	8	0	10	0	18	0