OK, time to see if I can get through Monday night's OC again, as I am pretty exhausted this evening. Playing on Monday were the Spaghetti Westerners, Neil Macaskill, Andrew Frazer and Paul Philpot, and the Railwaymen, David Smith, Bob Thompson and Sree Kanthamneni. The former narrowly defeated the Mixologists in their first match, the latter convincingly defeated the Collectors.
Round 1. The Railwaymen kicked off with Two Reeds, and got the music set straight away: they didn't get it, but their opponents noticed that all the songs shared their names with Shakespeare plays, and picked up a bonus. For their own first question, the Westerners chose Eye of Horus: 'Dolphin dissected by Newton and Halley', then 'Newspapers read by the poor', then 'Stocks and shares first freely traded', and finally 'Lloyds insurance market established'. They didn't quite get it, nor did their opponents. They are things that happened in coffeehouses. The Railwaymen chose Twisted Flax next: 'Coulomb, opposite the Military Academy', then 'Ampere, opposite the Trocadero', then 'Perrier, opposite Grenelle', and finally 'Daguerre, opposite the view of Paris'. Again, they didn't know, nor did their opponents. Their names are written on the Eiffel Tower, and the sides which they are written on. Too hard! The Westerners chose 'Horn-ed' Viper next, and got the picture set: we saw some weird image representing a plague of rats, them a woman falling backwards, then two men staring at each other, and finally a painting of, what looked like, someone carrying something. Again, neither team knew it. The images represent 'The Plague', 'The Fall', 'The Stranger' and 'The Myth of Sisyphus', so Albert Camus links the set. Again, too hard! The Railwaymen chose Lion next: 'Syzygy', then 'Sandown Park horse race in July', then 'Roman Abramovich's yacht', and finally 'Twilight 3'. Again, they didn't quite get it, opting for 'phases of the day'. Their opponents offered 'Eclipse', and picked up a bonus point. Better, but still pretty tough. Left with Water, the Westerners saw 'a set of decimal coins', then 'a set of badges', then 'a 1970 annual', and finally 'a photograph of Valerie Singleton'. At this point, I spotted that it was items that were buried in the Blue Peter time capsule. The Westerners didn't see it, their opponents did for a bonus. At the end of a very tough first round, the Westerners led 2-1.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Railwaymen kicked off with 'Horn-ed' Viper: 'Awaji Island', then 'Baden-Baden', and then 'Rustenberg'. Once again, neither side knew it. 'Rio de Janeiro' completes the set; they are England World Cup bases. The Westerners chose Twisted Flax: 'Sterlet', then 'Sevruga', and then 'Osetra'. They didn't see it, nor did their opponents. Sizes of caviar is the link, so 'Beluga' completes the set. Again, too hard. The Railwaymen chose Eye of Horus next, and got the picture set: first was Oona King, next was Harold Bishop from Neighbours, and next was Gladys Knight (as in the Pips). They offered 'Andrew Castle', which was acceptable. Chess pieces is the link. The Westerners chose Water next: 'a darling', then 'a cutie full of charms', and then 'so beautiful'. They spotted it to be lyrics to a song, but couldn't remember the song or what was next. Their opponents offered 'adorable', which was correct. The song was Peri Como's 'A You're Adorable'. For their final choice, the Railwaymen chose Lion: '14: Antares (1971)', then '13: Aquarius (1970)'; they offered '11: Eagle (1969)', and were absolutely right for three points, the link being lunar landing modules. Left with Two Reeds, the Westerners saw 'Radio: Susan Sheridan', then 'LP: Cindy Oswin', and then 'TV: Sandra Dickinson'. They spotted it to be the ladies who played Trillian in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', but didn't know who did it in the film. Nor did their opponents. It was Zooey Deschanel. At the end of the second round, the Railwaymen led 7-2.
On to the Walls. The Westerners chose to tackle the Lion wall. They soon had their first set unraveled: 'Greak auk', 'Dodo', 'Sabre-toothed tiger' and 'Quagga' are extinct animals. A second set followed: 'Giant', 'Mammoth', 'Titanic' and 'Jumbo' are word that mean big. The final sets slotted in pretty easily afterwards: 'Argo', 'Curry', 'Boot' and 'Waterstone' are high street chains minus an 'S', while 'Kong', 'The Wizard of Oz', 'The Power' and 'The Artist' are nicknames of darts players. Well worked out, so a full ten points.
The Railwaymen were left with the Water wall. After spotting, what they thought was, a set, they eventually gave up, and isolated a different set: 'Bridge', 'Fingerboard', 'Whammy Bar' and 'Pickup' are parts of an electric guitar. They soon had a second set solved as well: 'Fruit Salad', 'Fried Egg', 'Black Jack' and 'Drumstick' are chewy sweets. The final groups they solved, but didn't know the connection for either: 'Happy Families', 'Bouncers', 'Teechers' and Up 'n' Under' are plays by John Godber, while 'Solo', 'Bun lid', 'Red bagel' and 'Pairs' are anagrams of European capital cities. The link of card games they thought they saw was a superb red herring. Just six points there, meant their lead going into the final round was 13-12.
So, once again, Missing Vowels would decide the match. 'Basic vocabulary in English and Italian' went to the Railwaymen 3-1. 'Cheltenham Gold Cup winners' was another 3-1 win for the Railwaymen. 'Footballers and actors with overlapping names', such as 'JOHN TERRY THOMAS', was split 2-each. 'Free jazz acts' was announced, but time ran out before any questions could come. The Railwaymen won 21-16.
A tough match; good scores considering. Well done Railwaymen, and best of luck in the QFs! Unlucky Westerners, and best of luck in the play-offs!
Next week's match: the Wayfarers vs the String Section.
I'll be reviewing next week's match in two week's time, as I'm going away next week. And, yes, Series 1 will, eventually, be finished. But when, I still cannot say.
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