mostly david ephgrave

I was delighted to see the proper series of University Challenge return to our screens tonight, as it’s much more fun to bully its contestants (indirectly on Twitter of course) than those in the Christmas specials. Siantonas is a case in point, as he's University Challenge Gold; if I were to expect a man with his choice in facial hair to crop up anywhere on the planet, it would be behind a desk with his name on a lightbox, being grilled by Paxman. His is an extraordinary look, the like of which has been seldom seen since the glory days of Prog Rock in the mid-to-late 1970s; chances are he owns a special limited edition version of Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells. He wasn’t the only source of amusement tonight. See below for my related Twitter posts:   Bristol Vs. Oriel Oxford (02.01.17) 8:03pm: Siantonas is a pastiche of himself. 8:05pm: Siantonas was played by John Thomson in The Fast Show. 8:06pm: I got the Joh...

Don’t let the fact I’m taking part in the biggest arts festival in the world make you think I’ve lost sight of my priorities; if there’s an episode of University Challenge airing, I’ll always do my best to live-tweet it. …and what a cracker it was tonight, with a hairy / bearded man of dubious style and questionable fashion choices on each team. I know I shouldn’t be so unkind when I watch it, but as I’ve said before, this meanness stems entirely from jealousy; if not for the students’ look, then for their obvious intelligence. At their age, I could barely even remember my own name. Oriel Oxford Vs. Manchester (08.08.16) 7:31pm: Paxman's hair, channeling John Craven. 7:32pm: Tobias? TOBIAS? 7:32pm: "I'm Joseph Bath and I NEED A BATH.” 7:33pm: Siantonas, son of John Cleese's mountain-exploding character in The Holy Grail. 7:34pm: Bath thinks he's in Bon Jovi. 7:34pm: There's no subs...