mostly david ephgrave

 I’d hate to speak too soon, but I think Parr-Reid has Monkman potential. I of course know he’ll never quite meet those dizzy heights, but there’s definitely something about him. It’s the sly look he gives the other contestants when they speak, or the emotionless face he wears every time he gets an answer right; it’s like his victory is par-for-the-course, and means nothing in the wider picture (as my tweets below suggest). Bristol Vs Trinity Oxford 919.222. 8:33PM: To my mind, Roger Tilling is the voice of God. 8:35PM: Hosegood, Hosegood...he's Sam Hosegood. 8:35PM: "Stone 'enge". 8:37PM: Pubey beard, Slicked-back hair, Curly tache. Bowes needs to decide on his look. 8:39PM: Parr-Reid has the shiftiness of a man with a terrible secret. 8:40PM: Parr-Reid has Monkman potential. 8:44PM: Parr-Reid has the air of a Chancellor-era Hitler, secretly planning his dictatorship. 8:48PM...

Clear the decks and ring the bell: Monkman’s back in da house. Apologies for briefly slipping into yoof speak (of the mid-Nineties), but my point still stands. When Wolfson’s finest is safely tucked away behind his University Challenge lightbox, you know the show's going to be a cracker. He is a man with exceptional comic value, even if it’s completely unintended; I’ve never seen anyone look so consistently manic and perplexed. See below for my Twitter commentary on tonight’s Monkman-filled episode;even if you didn’t watch it, you should be able to pick up the gist. Wolfson - Cambridge Vs. Balliol - Oxford (16.01.179 8:01pm: Paxman. So weary. 8:02pm: .....iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttttttt's MONKMAN. 8:02pm: Chaudhri's from near Cockermouth. Heh heh. 8:03pm: Cancel everything: Monkman's in town. 8:03pm: Well...Pope's got a centre-parting. 8:04pm: I'm absolutely completely in ...

I don’t know why tweeting along to University Challenge became a thing I do, but it certainly has. It’s got the point where, if I’m out when it’s on, I start to feel tetchy; “What am I not at home, when I could be being gently snarky about a socially challenged student I’ve never met?” This was nearly the case today, as I was meant to be gigging, but London's tube strike meant I had to forgo that, with the positive upshot that I could resume my usual Twitter antics. See below for today’s result: Peterhouse Cambridge Vs. Corpus Christi Oxford (09.01.17) 8:01pm: Paxman's eyebrows look darker. Discuss. 8:02pm: Levinson has so many names. So many many names. 8:02pm: I'm taking how Levinson says "Hello" as my own. 8:03pm: Sweetenham: pour honey on it. 8:07pm: The lenses of Oxford Fleet's glasses are as thick as Bowen's. 8:07pm: Sweetenham's thick luxuriant hair. ...