George Michael born as Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou he was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He is regarded as a cultural icon who was a creative force in songrwiting vocal performances and stunning visuals. He rose to fame in 1981 when he formed Wham ! with his partner Andrew Ridgeley they took part on the 1984 smash hit Do They Know It's Christmas that was the Christmas No 1 in 1984 stopping their smash hit Last Christmas from reaching the top in the same year, they performed at 1985's Live Aid. His group Wham ! was one of the most successful acts of the 1980s selling over 30M records before disbanding in 1986. George Michael embarked on a solo career in 1987 that was a huge success as well as his sell out tours, he sold over 115 million records in his career and was an active fundraiser for HIV/AIDS charities following the death of his friend Freddie Mercury in 1991 he was an active campaigner for the LGBT community he sadly passed away in 2016 leaving a wonderful legacy.
George Clooney is an American actor and philapthropist, his breakthrough came in 1994 where he played Dr Doug Ross in the highly successful medical drama ER that ran for 15 seasons and transmitted 331 episodes. In 1997 he starred as Batman/Bruce Wayne in the 1997 flick Batman and Robin which was a moderate success, he starred in a number of successful blockbusters such as The Perfect Storm and the Ocean's Trilogy. He won an best supporting actor Oscar for his role in the thriller Syriana.
George Washington was a Founding Father and the first president of the United States, He is commonly known as the Father of His Country for his role in bringing about American independence. You can see images of George Washinghton on American Banknotes Mount Rushmore and The Washington Memorial named in his honour.
Last but not least an honourable mention goes to George Armstrong aka Geohag who is one of the most popular members of the countdown community and our focal president..............FOCAL is an organisation where Countdown events are played across the UK they are enjoyable and it is great place to mingle and socialise with your friends.............just have fun and don't take it too seriously !
Just for fun Today's challenger is Anthony Endsor who supports some silly team called Man City and is well known for getting lost when he plays Co:events..............let's hope that Anthony has found his way to the Countdown studios............and not the Crimewatch Studios or the Emptihad...........aka The Etihad Stadium
C1: Champion Rhys Jones (5 wins, 494 points.)
C2: Challenger Anthony Endsor.
DC: Susie Dent and Tanni Grey Thompson.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: I E O L R T D P U
R02: S E H G U L R E I
R03: 1, 2, 5, 9, 3, 3. Target: 660.
TTT: SEESCAPE - "The consonants in the word 'skip' have skipped"
R04: N G O E S T A G N
R05: E U O V W K D L N
R06: 50, 75, 25, 100, 1, 4. Target: 246.
R07: A E O M B S T N I
R08: T S U E B T F I N
R09: 7, 10, 1, 10, 8, 6, . Target: 256.
TTT: ICONRIFT - "The rift between the two icons caused this"
R10: S N A E R Y I L R
R11: E I A M D R P M T
R12: W P O I O R N Z G
R13: E A U C D R S D I
R14: 75, 50, 100, 25, 3, 1. Target: 261.
R15: I N S E R T G U M (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Enjoy the show.
Round 1: I E O L R T D P U
Rhys: PERIDOT (7)
Anthony: OUTLIER (7)
DC: TRIPLED (7) POLITER (7)
OT: DILUTER (7) DIOPTRE (7) DROPLET (7) EUPLOID (7) OUTRIDE (7) PILOTED (7) PLOUTER (7) POUTIER (7)
Score: 7–7 (max 7)
Sevens all round.............nothing worth arguing over...........but no extra points if you spot them all
Round 2: S E H G U L R E I
Rhys: GUSHIER (7)
Anthony: GUSHIER (7)
DC: LEISURE (7)
Score: 14–14 (max 14)
Sevens all round.............let's move on shall we !
Round 3: 1, 2, 5, 9, 3, 3. Target: 660.
C1: -
C2: -
RR: 660. ((3 + 1) × 3 × 5) × (9 + 2) (10)
Score: 14–14 (max 24)
Both our champion and challenger miss this rather difficult 6S allowing Rachel to produce a perfect 10...............but if you pay attention to your 3 times table which was the solve of our recap writer
3+2=5
9*5=45
45-1=44
44*5=220
220*3=660
Teatime teaser: SEESCAPE -> ESCAPEES
Round 4: N G O E S T A G N
Rhys: GEOTAGS (7)
Anthony: NONAGES (7)
DC: TONNAGES (8)
Score: 21–21 (max 32)
Sevens all round from Anthony and Rhys
Over in DC they get to show off with their eight Tonnages which was the spot of our recap writer !
Round 5: E U O V W K D L N
Rhys: NODULE (6)
Anthony: UNLOVED (7)
DC: UNLOVED (7)
Score: 21–28 (max 39)
Deadlock broken................Our challenger Anthony takes a brief but narrow lead with his 7 Unloved.........so no comment !
Round 6: 50, 75, 25, 100, 1, 4. Target: 246.
C1: 246. ((75 − 1) × 4) − 50 (10)
C2: 246. 100 + 75 + 25 + 50 − 4 (10)
Score: 31–38 (max 49)
Nice and straightforward..............not too taxing this bags Rhys and Anthony 10 points each...............I like Anthony's method where he adds up all the numbers and subtracts 4 to get the correct answer............this was my method !
Round 7: A E O M B S T N I
Rhys: MOANIEST (8)
Anthony: MOANIEST (8)
DC: BOTANISE (8)
OT: AMNIOTES (8) OBEISANT (8)
Score: 39–46 (max 57)
Eights all round from everybody...........need I say more................lets move on for now.............nothing worth arguing over !
Round 8: T S U E B T F I N
Rhys: BUTTIES (7)
Anthony: BUTTIES (7)
DC: BUTTIES (7)
Score: 46–53 (max 64)
A rather good foodie type 7 from our champion and challenger..................A bacon butty with some tomato sauce or brown sauce is a nice bit of scran !
Round 9: 7, 10, 1, 10, 8, 6. Target: 256.
C1: 256. ((7 × 6) − 10) × 8 (10)
C2: 256. ((8 + 7 + 10) × 10) + 6 (10)
Score: 56–63 (max 74)
Plenty of ways to solve this straightforward numbers puzzle that is not too taxing................this bags our champion and challenger 10 points each..........I found a different way of getting there
8*6=48
48-10=38
38*7=266
266-10=256
Teatime teaser: ICONRIFT -> FRICTION
Round 10: S N A E R Y I L R
Rhys: SNARLIER (8)
Anthony: ALIENS (6)
DC: INLAYERS (8)
Score: 64–63 (max 82)
Our Champion Rhys hits back straight away with his 8 Snarlier that gives him a narrow lead.................our challenger has lost this round and found himself on a spaceship as his 6 is Aliens......... over in DC they aren't getting angry just yet with their eight Inlayers ! Just for you Anthony as you support a rather silly football team called Manchester City............here is Moonbeam and Moonchester all in their glory !
Round 11: E I A M D R P M T
Rhys: IMPARTED (8)
Anthony: IMPARTED (8)
DC: TRAMPED (7) PRIMATE (7)
Score: 72–71 (max 90)
Another fine round from our champion and challenger..............let's move on from this..........the gap still remains tight
Round 12: W P O I O R N Z G
Rhys: ROWING (6)
Anthony: ROPING (6)
DC: WOOING (6)
OT: OOZING (6) POOING (6) PORING (6)
Score: 78–77 (max 96)
Sixes all round from our champion and challenger................nothing worth arguing over...........so let's play nicely now !
Round 13: E A U C D R S D I
Rhys: CADDIES (7)
Anthony: CRUISED (7)
DC: CRUSADED (8) CARDIES (7) SIDECAR (7)
OT: RADIUSED (8)
Score: 85–84 (max 104)
Sevens all round from our champion and challenger nothing worth arguing over................Anthony must be kicking himself not risking his eight Crusaded which was valid.........we are still in Crucial Conundrum Territory
Round 14: 75, 50, 100, 25, 3, 1. Target: 261.
C1: 262. ((100 + 3 + 1) × (75 ÷ 25)) − 50 (7)
C2: 260. Mistake in working.
RR: 261. ((100 ÷ 25) × (75 + 3)) − 50 − 1 (10)
Score: 92–84 (max 114)
Not the easiest of 4 Larges...............Anthony messes it up by not writing it down............but Rhys takes full advantage by bagging himself 7 points and a crucial conundrum................Rachel seizes the opportunity and produces a perfect 10
So good luck to Rhys and Anthony............now question is who will buzz first ?
Round 15: I N S E R T G U M
C1 buzzes on 1.75 seconds to say MUSTERING which is correct
Final Score: 102–84 (max 124)
What a fantastic contest this has been firstly congratulations to Rhys on another good performance, secondly commiserations to Anthony he was pipped at the post but gave as good as he got but sadly that is luck of the draw.............hopefully Rhys can be the third octo-champ of this series and may be the top seed which depends on score that he gets.................you can join me for any recaps in the future.............. in the meantime that's a wrap folks !
