Time for the first Worsley Recap of Series 67 and today we have our first apterite in the champion’s chair of the series.
C1: Champion Paul James (1 win, 105 points.) An apterite from Cumbria, he has been Santa Clause twice and once split his trousers on the job!
He made an impressive debut on Friday, defeating the tricky champion Baljeet with a century to boot. 
C2: Challenger Andrew Koffman. A solicitor from Manchester, he is a big Manchester City fan, much to Rachel’s delight. He has also run five London Marathons, and he doesn’t even know why.
DC: Susie Dent and Jo Brand.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: Y G V C A U E A T
R02: L T P E I A R G E
R03: S N W D A U E I N
R04: S T N P A E A I S
R05: 75, 50, 100, 25, 2, 10. Target: 746.
TTT: THECLASS - "Everyone in the class was carrying these"
R06: O E U L B J R S D
R07: C T N R E I E O N
R08: M F R E I O M D T
R09: N R G T I E A E M
R10: 50, 8, 1, 10, 7, 9. Target: 831.
TTT: BADCRABS - "It's the ideal place to put your sword"
R11: X L N S A O A I H
R12: B T Z S O E U I L
R13: R M R V E A E A S
R14: 25, 100, 10, 2, 7, 1. Target: 744.
R15: B R A N D S W I T (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Enjoy the show.
Round 1: Y G V C A U E A T
C1: CAVEAT (6)
C2: VACATE (6)
DC: cateau vateau
OT: GATEAU (6)
Score: 6–6 (max 6)
A nice even start, with Jo making up two words that rhyme with each other
, while the only other valid six also happens to rhyme with them.Round 2: L T P E I A R G E
C1: REPTILE (7)
C2: REPEAT (6)
DC: petliar LITREAGE (8)
OT: PEARLITE (8)
Score: 13–6 (max 14)
Paul takes the lead with his REPTILE, with Jo making up another word (the sign of things to come?) and Susie finding one of two eights hidden in the selection.
PEARLITE is a finely laminated mixture of ferrite and cementite, which can be found in cast iron.
Round 3: S N W D A U E I N
C1: UNWINDS (7)
C2: DUNNIES (7)
DC: wundies
OT: DUENNAS (7) INDUNAS (7) SWANNED (7) UNDINES (7)
Score: 20–13 (max 21)
Andrew is uncertain about his offering of DUNNIES but it’s fine and he remains in touch.
A DUENNA is an older woman acting as a governess, particularly in Spanish families.
An INDUNA is a South African term for a tribal councillor or headman.
An UNDINE is a female spirit or nymph imagined as inhabiting water
Round 4: S T N P A E A I S
C1: PANTIES (7)
C2: PASTIES (7)
DC: seapants PEASANTS (8)
OT: SAPIENTS (8) SATANISE (8)
Score: 27–20 (max 29)
Another ambitious attempt by Jo, although I somehow thought this one sounded slightly plausible. Still only seven points between the contestants.
Round 5: 75, 50, 100, 25, 2, 10. Target: 746.
C1: 746. 75 x 10 - (100/25) (10)
C2: 746. 75 x 10 - (50/25) - 2 (10)
Score: 37–30 (max 39)
Paul tries four large (my sort of player) but it’s probably more straight forward than he was hoping for. Both players cruise to ten points.
Jo talks about words and phrases that annoy her, particularly the CHAV and TOWIE.
Teatime teaser: THECLASS -> SATCHELS
Round 6: O E U L B J R S D
C1: BOULDERS (8)
C2: BOULDERS (8)
DC: jobules DOUBLERS (8)
Score: 45–38 (max 47)
More good stuff from Paul and Andrew as this game continues to produce a good standard.
Round 7: C T N R E I E O N
C1: ERECTION (8)
C2: ERECTION (8)
DC: ENTERIC (7)
OT: CRETONNE (8) INCENTRE (8) NEOTENIC (8) NEOTERIC (8)
Score: 53–46 (max 55)
The gap is still stuck at seven points, thanks to both players spotting ERECTION (make your own joke
). More shockingly, Jo manages to offer a valid word for once.CRETONNE is a heavy cotton fabric.
Round 8: M F R E I O M D T
C1: FORMED (6)
C2: TRIMMED (7)
DC: momfire
OT: MIDTERM (7)
Score: 53–53 (max 62)
Andrew levels the scores up as Paul misses a reasonably simple seven. How will he respond?
Round 9: N R G T I E A E M
C1: GERMINATE (18)
C2: TEAMING (7)
Score: 71–53 (max 80)
That’s the way to do it! A great spot by Paul gives him an 18 point advantage and he can breathe a little easier now.
OoW: Susie talks about the word BAFFLEGAB.
Round 10: 50, 8, 1, 10, 7, 9. Target: 831.
C1: 834. (50 + 1) x (9 + 7) + 10 + 8 (7)
C2: 826.
RR: 831. ((8 - 1) x 10 + 50) x 7 - 9 (10)
Score: 78–53 (max 90)
Not an easy numbers game but Paul gets closer than Andrew to see his lead shoot up to 25.
Teatime teaser: BADCRABS -> SCABBARD
Round 11: X L N S A O A I H
C1: ANOXIA (6)
C2: HALONS (6)
DC: xl OXALIS (6)
OT: ALOHAS (6) AXIONS (6) AXONAL (6) LANAIS (6) LIANAS (6) SALINA (6)
Score: 84–59 (max 96)
Two good sixes from a tricky selection.
ALOHA is a Hawaiian greeting.
A LIANA is a woody plant that hangs from trees, particularly in tropical rainforests.
A SALINA is a salt pan, salt marsh or salt lake, chiefly in the Caribbean.
Round 12: B T Z S O E U I L
C1: BOULES (6)
C2: SUBTLE (6)
DC: bisto
OT: BLITZES (7) BOLETUS (7) OUTSIZE (7) ZLOTIES (7)
Score: 90–65 (max 103)
A few sevens missed by the entire studio here. The DC max game is off but Paul will seal his second victory if he can equal or better Andrew in the next round.
A BOLETUS is a toadstool with pores rather than gills on the underside of the cap, normally with a thick stem.
A ZLOTY (plural same, zlotys or ZLOTIES) is the basic monetary unit of Poland.
Round 13: R M R V E A E A S
C1: SEAMER (6)
C2: RAVERS (6)
DC: marerave
OT: REAMERS (7) REAVERS (7) SMEARER (7)
Score: 96–71 (max 110)
And he can. Again, DC miss the sevens, with Jo trying an eight, although she could have got a nine by adding the S.
Round 14: 25, 100, 10, 2, 7, 1. Target: 744.
C1: 743.
C2: 744. (100 + 10) x 7 - 25 - 1 (10)
Score: 96–81 (max 120)
Too little too late for Andrew but a good solve nonetheless to cut the gap to 15.
Round 15: B R A N D S W I T
C1 buzzes on 2.5 seconds to say WRISTBAND which is correct.
Final Score: 106–81 (max 130)
Paul gets his second century thanks to another quick conundrum solve to cap another commanding performance. Credit to Andrew who was certainly a worthy opponent for giving Paul a good game but the nine came at a great time for the champ, who always looked in control after that.
Join me in two weeks for the next edition of the Worsley Recap and join Kieran tomorrow when Paul goes for his hattrick. Until then, cheerio.
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=67