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University Challenged at Christmas (6) (25.12.16)


In my keenness to cover yesterday’s Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special on Twitter, I neglected to do the same with the same day’s Christmas University Challenge.

As with Friday’s show, which I missed when it went out and then covered in a iPlayer-and -smart-phone faux-Twitter simulation, I watched my forgotten episode today (see below). It seems my last blogs of 2016 will be mostly tweet summaries, which is a laidback way to round things off; next year, I’ll post just a single word here a day.

Magdalene - Cambridge Vs. St Hilda's - Oxford (25.12.16)
6:45pm If you’re lucky, I'll show you my distinguished alumni.

6:46pm: Note Paxman gave Patrick Moore the prefix 'popular’, while Brian May was just 'Queen guitarist'. 

6:47pm: Film producer Newell doesn't look very happy about it. 

6:47pm: "Clemency". Of course.

6:48pm: Imagine how high pitched a Jimmy Somerville college would be.

6:50pm Geras: member of a ‘local’ team for ‘local’ people. 

6:51pm: Caldicott's hair is like an unkempt Father Ted. 

6:54pm: Someone's been at that poem with Tipp-Ex. 

6:55pm: Paxman described the poem mash-up question in a similar way to Partridge’s World Cup draw system in The Day Today. 

6:56pm: Anna Karenina always sounds like an exclamation. 
6:57pm: Nick Hornby?

6:57pm. Not Nick Hornby. Bugger. 

6:58pm: Geras' necklace is made from humbugs.

7:00pm: The Gift of the Gorgon was by Peter Shaffer. I knew this. 

7:00pm: Black Comedy. I knew this too. 

7:00pm: Sleuth. I knew this too. I know my Peter Shaffer. 

7:01pm: Was it Little Wing? 

7:01pm. Not Little Wing. Shit. Seems I know my Shaffer better than my Hendrix. 

7:03pm: Gentleman Prefer Blondes. I know my Marilyn Monroe better than my Hendrix and nearly as well as my Peter Shaffer.

7:04pm: West Side Story. I forget the name of the actress. 

7:04pm: Newell should tell his face. 

7:05pm: Fairytale of New York. 

7:06pm: East 17: my favourite boy band / postcode. 

7:08pm: McDermid correcting Paxman. Few would dare. 

7:09pm: Which ruler? A metre ruler. 

7:10pm St Hilda's have 200 points. Wowser. 

7:12pm: Mark Gattis. 

7:12pm: Wolff looks like a Nazi war criminal. 

7:13pm: Well, now Newell’s all laidback.
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