Tuesday 4th May 2010 (Series 62, Prelim 77)

[Ryan Taylor]

C1: Champion Lee Graham (2 wins, 162 points.) Outgoing Lee, the magazine and book editor from Highgate, London, once climbed Sydney Harbour Bridge and recites the time that he went scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef and had his photo taken with a fish that was trained to pose with divers. Our champion Lee cruised to victory yesterday over Nick Singh but will today go swimming-lee?
C2: Challenger Chris Bell. Our challenger today was at mine and Craig Chittenden's audition in Leeds back in July 2009. He comes from Selby, Yorkshire and is a big Leeds United fan describing Elland Road as his favourite place. He enjoys playing Scrabble which should be handy as well as dabbling in poker and snooker. Chris, standing at 6' 4" tells of his dangerous times as a miner in the Riccall mines which are now closed down.
DC: Susie Dent and Kate Humble.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

R01: E E A L G M G R G
R02: R N V Q U U E A P
R03: H T N E I S A K C
R04: S V N E A G L P O
R05: 100, 9, 1, 6, 6, 9. Target: 105.
TTT: BEANLEAF - "This makes the little ones take a running jump."
R06: J S L A E C D I E
R07: O I A D T S O T D
R08: H F R B E O I W U
R09: P C T A E F T A N
R10: 10, 3, 3, 2, 4, 6. Target: 756.
TTT: DINERFLY - "My dear chum the results not really important."
R11: D T R D A O E R S
R12: S T X P E O E S A
R13: M D R E U E R B L
R14: 25, 1, 1, 4, 5, 8. Target: 566.
R15: H E L P F A N N Y (conundrum)


And now a brief interlude before our main feature:

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Enjoy the show.

Round 1: E E A L G M G R G

C1: MEAGRE (6)
C2: GAGGLE (6)
DC: GARGLE (6)
OT: GALERE (6) REGALE (6) GAMGEE (6) LAGGER (6) LEGGER (6) REGGAE (6)
Score: 6–6 (max 6)

Both players get off to a good start hitting the max. Chris nicely uses all 3 G's in his word.

A GAGGLE is both the sound of geese and the collective noun for them. Although when in flight a group of geese can be called a skein.

Round 2: R N V Q U U E A P

C1: PURE (4)
C2: QUAVER (6)
DC: PARVENU (7)
Score: 6–12 (max 13)

And it's Chris who draws first blood with an excellent 6 using the Q whilst the champ can only offer a 4. DC trump them both with an excellent spot.

A PARVENU is a person who has suddenly risen to a higher economic status but has not gained social acceptance of others in that class (apaprently).

Round 3: H T N E I S A K C

C1: THICKENS (8)
C2: hackiest
DC: KITCHENS (8)
OT: ASTHENIC (8) CHANTIES (8)
Score: 14–12 (max 21)

Chris' lead doesn't last long as he offers an invalid whilst Lee snatches the lead with a great 8.

Round 4: S V N E A G L P O

C1: SPANGLE (7)
C2: GLOVES (6)
OT: LOVAGES (7) NOPALES (7) PONGALS (7)
Score: 21–12 (max 28)

Lee finds his 3rd max out of 4 to increase his lead over Chris.

Round 5: 100, 9, 1, 6, 6, 9. Target: 105.

C1: 105. 100+6-1 (10)
C2: 105. 100+6-1 (10)
Score: 31–22 (max 38)

An outrageously easy numbers game draws groans and a lot of thumb twiddling, but it's 10 points to both men so they don't complain.

Kat Humble talks about her time lambing in January and how a little black lamb that she delivered herself is named after her. Unfortunately when Kate went back to visit the lamb it was unwell and they discovered that Humble the Lamb didn't like milk but loved TURNIPS! Sounds more like Baldrick the Lamb if you ask me! Jeff then brings up the matter of tickling a rams testicles. *Ahem* Moving swiftly on...

Teatime teaser: BEANLEAF -> FLEABANE

Fleabane, as Susie points out, is a herb reputed to drive away fleas.

Round 6: J S L A E C D I E

C1: LADIES (6)
C2: SLICED (6)
DC: DESCALE (7)
OT: AEDILES (7) DECILES (7)
Score: 37–28 (max 45)

Honours even as both come up with solid sixes.

Round 7: O I A D T S O T D

C1: taoist
C2: TOADS (5)
DC: DITTOS (6)
OT: TOSTADO (7)
Score: 37–33 (max 52)

Lee feels the need to gamble with a risky 6 but it doesn't pay off as Chris closes the gap. Everybody misses the darrenic TOSTADO which is a South American term for a chestnut horse with darker points. Interesting.

Round 8: H F R B E O I W U

C1: BRIEF (5)
C2: BRIEF (5)
OT: BOWER (5) BOWIE (5) FIBRE (5) BURFI (5) FIBRO (5) HOURI (5) WHORE (5)
Score: 42–38 (max 57)

A rotten bunch of letters just spits out fives, which both contestants competently find.

Round 9: P C T A E F T A N

C1: PANCETTA (8)
C2: peace
Score: 50–38 (max 65)

Bang! A moment of magic from Lee with a superb spot to establish a 12 point lead over the shell shocked Chris. Impressive stuff from the champ.

It's over to DC now with the origin of words. Today Susie explains how "cheers" in medieval times used to just mean "face" or "your face" and so if someone was feeling down they could be described as having a "sorrowful cheer" or "heavy cheer". Susie also mentions that "hey" dates back to the 13th century whilst "hi" was first used in the AMerican prairies recorded in the 1860's. Interestingly the word "hello" goes as far back as the 11th century and was derived from a German word that was used to hail a ferryman. Fascinating! I always thought "hello" was specifically coined as a word to say when answering a telephone. Although this is probably because some stand up comedian brainwashed me with this thought.

Round 10: 10, 3, 3, 2, 4, 6. Target: 756.

C1: 734.
C2: 730.
RR: 756. (4*10+2)*3*6 (10)
Score: 50–38 (max 75)

Chris tries a tactical 6 small numbers to get back into the game but the traget eludes both players as Ms. Riley shows them how it could be done. Great solve.

Teatime teaser: DINERFLY -> FRIENDLY

Round 11: D T R D A O E R S

C1: ROADSTER (8)
C2: RETARDS (7)
Score: 58–38 (max 83)

What's this? ROADSTER in round 11 again! Coincidence? Nevermind, Lee sweeps up the darren to boost his lead to a handsome looking 20 points.

Round 12: S T X P E O E S A

C1: EXPOSES (7)
C2: EXPOSES (7)
DC: SEXPOTS (7)
OT: PESETAS (7) POETESS (7)
Score: 65–45 (max 90)

Good sevens from Lee and Chris boosts both scores but the rounds are running out for Chris. Kate Humble cheekily points out how they both could have had SEXPOTS as an alternative.

Round 13: M D R E U E R B L

C1: RUMBLED (7)
C2: RUMBLER (7)
DC: LUMBERED (8)
OT: LUMBERER (8)
Score: 72–52 (max 98)

A chance for Chris here as the selection throws up two 8's but Lee matches Chris to maintain his advantage. Chris now needs a spot on numbers solution without Lee getting it AND the ocnundrum to take it to a tie breaker. Can it be done?

Round 14: 25, 1, 1, 4, 5, 8. Target: 566.

C1: -
C2: 566. Mistake in working.
OT: ((5+1)*4-1) × 25 − 8=567
Score: 72–52 (max 98)

Unfortunately for Chris, CECIL spits out a horrid target which Rachel says is impossible. And it is.

Round 15: H E L P F A N N Y

C1 buzzes on 21 seconds to say HALFPENNY which is correct.
Score: 82–52 (max 108)

Lee manages to solve a tricky conundrum to take his final total to 82.

A good match with decent spots from both players. Unlucky for our Leeds United fan Chris who will no doubt be at Elland Road on Saturday when Leeds take on Bristol Rovers hoping to gain promotion. 3rd place Millwall take on Swindon and James' Huddersfield stand an outside chance of automatic promotion too! It's going to be a cracking end to League One but we have 3 more episodes of Countdown to look forward to until then. Will Lee reach his fourth win tomorrow? He's certainly looking in good form and is a very likable contestant.

That's all from me *refrains from May 4th joke*

Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=62

[James Robinson]

A good match with decent spots from both players. Unlucky for our Leeds United fan Chris who will no doubt be at Elland Road on Saturday when Leeds take on Bristol Rovers hoping to gain promotion. 3rd place Millwall take on Swindon and James' Huddersfield stand an outside chance of automatic promotion too!

Indeed they do, the mighty Terriers Unfortunately, I'm not off to St. James' Park, to see them pull of the miracle of miracles this season. Many say Fulham's heroics in the Europa League is the story of the season, but Huddersfield getting automatic promotion will be the biggest one by far.

And if not, there's always Wembley.

Nice recap again, Ryan. Like the boldness at the start. I might nick that idea for my recap tonight.