Skip to main content

University Challenged: Volume Twenty-Eight (27.03.17)


They say the show ain’t over until the fat lady sings, but in the case of this series of University Challenge, it ain’t over until another team winds up facing the wrath of Wolfson Cambridge, AKA Team Monkman.

It’s well known how much humour the man can inject into such a potentially dry and joyless show; every small utterance is delivered with comedic gusto, except you know that no writing was involved. He’s an natural in his unnaturalness and a human antidepressant; I laughed nearly every time he spoke.

See below for my mostly Monk-themed tweets; there’ll only be more to follow when he returns next week.

Emmanuel Cambridge Vs. Wolfson Cambridge (27.03.17)

8:03pm: Monkman: a God Amongst Monkmen.
`
8:04pm: Monkman's made special effort tonight with his hastily scissored fringe.

8:05pm: Monkman has the look of a man who's delighted to be sitting on his spike.

8:07pm: Thomas Moore Moore Moore...how do you like it? How do you like it?

8:07pm: Has Monkman worn the same outfit for every show?

8:07pm: I'm gay for Monkman.

8:09pm: Hill's back with his Joe Brown hair.

8:15pm: Imagine sitting next to Monkman. Imagine being in the same room as him. Imagine his voice vibrating your eardrums.

8:17pm: I have to say @Bobby_Seagull's looking particularly dapper this evening.

8:19pm: My nan used to have a Barton-Singer in her sewing room.

8:19pm: Cosgrove can be found in the dictionary, under 'nonchalant'.

8:20pm: Monkman favours a fake collar over an actual shirt.

8:22pm: Monkman has the face of a man who regrets sucking that lemon.

8:24pm: Chaudhri has the expression of a man who's smug about the poo he secretly hid in Paxman's fridge.

8:27pm: Chaudhri reminds me of Doug.


8:28pm: Monkman is my religion.

8:30pm: Sad at the loss of Seagull. Delighted at the promise of more Monkman. Bittersweet.

Popular posts from this blog

Not The Bayeux One.

The Carole King album Tapestry has been my 'getting-ready-in-the-morning' soundtrack for the past few weeks.  It's been a favourite album ever since I was a student, which makes for a pleasantly gentle way to usher in the start of a day. I've always been a fan of a well-crafted song, which is something of a Carole King hallmark, ever since she started writing with her first husband in the early Sixties. Tapestry may be an unimaginative choice for a favourite LP, as it suggests I haven't delved that far into her career, but it's still an undoubted classic; anything with '(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman', 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?' and 'You've Got A Friend' on it can't really fail; if nothing else, it proves she likes writing songs with long titles.  Next month, she's set to perform the album live in its entirety for the first time at a gig in Hyde Park, which I would have loved to have gone to, if it weren...

Hitchin is Mine.

As of six o’clock tonight, I take over the Hitchin is Yours Twitter account for a week; a stewardship I’m anxious to get right. I’m proud of my hometown. It’s a great place to live, with so much going for it. I've always sold it to my non-Hitchinite friends; so much so, that a lot have gone on to move here. Any town expansion plans are partly my fault. Feel free to picket outside my house. I love its history and architecture. Take St Mary’s Church, for example. The building is beautiful inside and out, and huge for a town of our size. There has been a place of worship on site since the 7 th Century. Much of the present building dates from the 1300s. You wouldn't get that in America. (Don't forget the British Schools Museum too.)  Hitchin is a hive for creative people and a hub for the arts. It boast two theatres, two comedy clubs, a couple of art galleries, a festival for world music and a thriving music scene. This drew...

'Turn off your mind, relax and float downstream..."

While I’ve been practising meditation for quite some time now, I’ve recently taken to using the mindfulness app 'Headspace' . If you’ve never meditated before, or you’re an old hand at it, it’s a great resource, offering daily ten-minute guided meditations that create a sense of progress, rather than stagnating and going through the same process every day. Until I started using the app, I’d often listen to a handful of audio guided meditations I have on my phone in case of a brain emergency. If you see me with my eyes closed and my earphones in on public transport, I’m probably doing this (unless I’m sleeping and using this blog as an elaborate alibi). While the tracks on my phone are great, they can get a little repetitive as I become too familiar with them and start to anticipate everything the person on the recording will say. This is where Headspace is great, as it offers you a daily course with a different focus each day, as well as pl...