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Programme 7, 2015

Wales play Scotland in the game of lateral thinking and cryptic connections, with Tom Sutcliffe asking the questions.

(7/12)
Tom Sutcliffe chairs a contest between the Welsh and the Scots, in the first of this season's 'revenge' fixtures. Last time these teams met, Wales beat Scotland by a single point. Myfanwy Alexander and David Edwards are the Welsh team, while Scotland is represented by Val McDermid and Roddy Lumsden.

The challenge is thrown down from the off, as the teams are asked: 'Why could Philip Pirrip, a short high-pitched cry, and the Saint who decided how we should calculate Easter, all have been seen by our grandparents in the mirror?' Tom will be providing clues whenever the teams are getting too bogged down or pursuing false trails, but they'll have points deducted for every kindly nudge they need in the right direction.

As always, several of today's questions have been selected from the many ideas submitted by listeners over the past year or so.

Producer: Paul Bajoria.

28 minutes

Last on

Sat 5 Dec 2015 23:00

Last week's teaser question

Tom asked: If you subtract an Agatha Christie sleuth and a musical based on H.G. Wells from a Lancashire folk group, how much are you left with?

The sleuth is Tuppence, of Agatha Christie's husband-and-wife detective partnership Tommy & Tuppence Beresford whose adventures were recently dramatised by Â鶹Éç TV.

The musical Half A Sixpence, a vehicle for Tommy Steele and first performed in 1963, was based on the H.G. Wells novel Kipps.

These add up to fivepence. The Lancashire group, winners of New Faces, and subsequently prominent on the folk circuit and on TV variety shows in the 1970s, was Fivepenny Piece.

So the answer is that you're left with nothing.

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Questions in this programme

Q1 (from Kieran Sidley)Ìý Why could Philip Pirrip, a short high-pitched cry, and the saint who told us how we should calculate Easter, all have been seen by our grandparents in the mirror?

Q2 ÌýWhy would a wild dog, a game of numbers, a hillock in permafrost, a foreign language and a drummer form a sequence - and in which order should they come?

Q3Ìý (Music)Ìý Listen to these three songs: who is singing, who are they singing to, and which is - very subtly - the odd one out?

Q4Ìý Why could multiplying Kurt Vonnegut, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and J.R.R. Tolkien result in Jane Smiley?

Q5Ìý If you started your journey with a diesel engine on the island of Sodor, you might encounter along the way a politician with a wild hairstyle, an upper cut, and a no-good inhabitant of Llareggub - and end up with an idiot. How so?

Q6Ìý (Music)Ìý What might link these extracts with someone who never lived, but whose death was nevertheless reported by the New York Times?

Q7Ìý Why might you invoke Jefferson's disgraced Vice-President if you asked: 'Did you get the messages? Are you greeting? Do you want a piece?'

Q8Ìý (from Stephen Gore)Ìý In which apparently unproductive source might you look for novels by Evelyn Waugh and Iain M. Banks, and an orchestral work by George Benjamin?

Rankings before today's programme

The Round Britain Quiz league table at the half way stage in the series:

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=WalesÌý Played 2Ìý Won 2Ìý Drawn 0Ìý Lost 0Ìý Total points scored 38

=South of EnglandÌý P2Ìý W2Ìý D0Ìý L0Ìý Pts 38

MidlandsÌý P2Ìý W1Ìý D0Ìý L1Ìý Pts 41

ScotlandÌý P2Ìý W1Ìý D0Ìý L1Ìý Pts 29

North of EnglandÌý P2Ìý W0Ìý D0Ìý L2Ìý Pts 31

Northern IrelandÌý P2Ìý W0Ìý D0Ìý L2Ìý Pts 23

This week's teaser question

In which country of the world are Albert, George, Edward and Victoria all physical features - and what are they?

No need to contact us with the answer: it's just for fun, and Tom will explain all at the beginning of next week's edition.

Broadcasts

  • Mon 30 Nov 2015 15:00
  • Sat 5 Dec 2015 23:00

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