Well, I will, for just getting out bed, after being laid low since coming back from Edinburgh with head and earaches, but hey-ho, it's not gonna keep me down from doing a recap 
So, enjoy.
Countdown recap for Wednesday 5 November 2014.
C1: Champion Gweni Sorokin (1 win, 62 points.) A housewife from Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. She had previously been a contestant in Series 24, losing 55-31 to Norman Christian (who would be the #1 seed for the final, and have the unique distinction of losing to someone in the finals, who didn't even participate in the said series
).C2: Challenger Jamie Jardine. A customer team member from Preston, Lancashire. He has ran over 125 races, including 8 Great North Runs (his PB being 1 hour, 46 minutes).
DC: Susie Dent and Sian Williams.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: T G R E I A B L E
R02: O I R M R U A G T
R03: 75, 8, 1, 2, 7, 3. Target: 592.
TTT: FINECARS - "It's not fine cars they love, it's fine birds"
R04: I E O V N S F A R
R05: Y D L E A D S E T
R06: 75, 10, 1, 4, 3, 7. Target: 646.
R07: L F E I S T A C E
R08: U E A Z T N D I S
R09: 25, 5, 9, 1, 8, 6. Target: 842.
TTT: GEENIGEL - "Gee Nigel, take it off, you look ridiculous"
R10: U A L V D O E T S
R11: C H W O U I G P E
R12: A I E K N J P A M
R13: G N O M E Q N U A
R14: 50, 3, 10, 10, 4, 9. Target: 743.
R15: W A Y H E D O E S (conundrum)
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Round 1: T G R E I A B L E
Gweni: TRIBAL (6)
Jamie: BLEATER (7)
DC: GREAT (5) LITREAGE (8)
OT: LIBERATE (8)
Score: 0–7 (max 8)
Jamie takes an early lead with his BLEATER, but there are a pair of 8's around.
Round 2: O I R M R U A G T
Gweni: ARMOUR (6)
Jamie: tumour
DC: MIGRATOR (8) GUITAR (6) GOURAMI (7)
Score: 6–7 (max 16)
Bad luck for Jamie, as he sees a 2nd U that isn't there, but DC get another 8 under their belt with MIGRATOR.
Round 3: 75, 8, 1, 2, 7, 3. Target: 592.
Gweni: 592. Mistake in working.
Jamie: 592. (75 x 8) - 7 - 1 (10)
Score: 6–17 (max 26)
Oh dear, oh dear, after scoring zero in the numbers yesterday, it seems like a simple start for Gweni, but unfortunately, she mistakenly thinks that 9 x 75 = 600..........
Teatime teaser: FINECARS -> FANCIERS
Round 4: I E O V N S F A R
Gweni: RAVENS (6)
Jamie: VARIES (6)
DC: OVARIES (7) AVERSION (8) INSOFAR (7)
Score: 12–23 (max 34)
A pair of 6's from the contestants, although Jamie could've stuck the O in front of his for a 7, but DC do get the darrenic 8 once more.
Round 5: Y D L E A D S E T
Gweni: SALTED (6)
Jamie: STEADY (6)
DC: deadset DELAYED (7) SEDATELY (8)
OT: DESALTED (8)
Score: 18–29 (max 42)
Another pair of 6's from the contestants, although if Gweni had stuck the DE before SALTED, she'd have had a great 8.....
Round 6: 75, 10, 1, 4, 3, 7. Target: 646.
Gweni: 647.
Jamie: 646. ((75 - 10) x (7 + 3)) - 4 (10)
Score: 18–39 (max 52)
It's the same old story for Gweni, with yet another blank in the points column, and Jamie gets another 10 to pull further ahead.
Sian talks about doing her Masters degree in Stress, which included a statistics exam, which she never did growing up
Round 7: L F E I S T A C E
Gweni: LEAFIEST (8)
Jamie: ELASTIC (7)
DC: SELFIE (6)
OT: LIFECAST (8)
Score: 26–39 (max 60)
Well, she might not be scoring in the numbers games, but if she keeps pulling out great words like these, she might still pull the win yet........
A LIFECAST is a three-dimensional representation of a subject created from a mould of their living body.
Round 8: U E A Z T N D I S
Gweni: UNDIES (6)
Jamie: STAINED (7)
DC: ZANIEST (7)
OT: DEUTZIAS (8)
Score: 26–46 (max 68)
Well, Jamie gets back immediateky, even if we have the unfortunate situation of the contestants declaring STAINED UNDIES......
A DEUTZIA is an ornamental shrub with white or pinkish flowers, native to Asia and Central America. (Genus Deutzia, family Hydrangeaceae)
Round 9: 25, 5, 9, 1, 8, 6. Target: 842.
Gweni: -
Jamie: 842. (((8 x 5) - 6) x 25) - (9 - 1) (10)
Score: 26–56 (max 78)
Well, the numbers games fortunes aren't changing any time shortly. This game is surely Jamie's now, unless some good 9's appear to save Gweni......
Teatime teaser: GEENIGEL -> NEGLIGEE
Round 10: U A L V D O E T S
Gweni: VAULTED (7)
Jamie: LASTED (6)
DC: OVULATED (8) OVATES (6)
OT: OVULATES (8) SOLVATED (8)
Score: 33–56 (max 86)
Well, Gweni is still crawling back in, but is it too little, too late............
SOLVATED is an adjective relating to SOLVATE, when a solvent enters into reversible a chemical combination with a dissolved molecule, ion, etc.
Round 11: C H W O U I G P E
Gweni: POUCH (5)
Jamie: POUCH (5)
DC: COUGH (5) OUCH (4)
OT: CHIGOE (6)
Score: 38–61 (max 92)
A pair of 5's from the contestants, but there is an unusual 6 lurking there..... (This is also the first letters round today where 8 wasn't the max
)A CHIGOE (or CHIGGER/JIGGER) is a tropical flea, the female of which burrows and lays eggs beneath the host’s skin, causing painful sores. (Tunga penetrans, family Tungidae)
Susie's Origins of Words talks about the origins of the phrase "warm the cockles of your heart".
Round 12: A I E K N J P A M
Gweni: PAIN (4)
Jamie: MAKE (4)
DC: JAPAN (5) PIEMAN (6)
OT: PIKEMAN (7)
Score: 42–65 (max 99)
After a pair of 5's in the last round, it's now a pair of 4's in this one
Even more bizarrely, DC get PIEMAN, but miss out on the darrenic PIKEMAN, despite having got its plural just yesterday Historically, a PIKEMAN was the keeper of a turnpike.
Round 13: G N O M E Q N U A
Gweni: QUANGO (6)
Jamie: GNOME (5)
DC: GUENON (6)
OT: AGNOMEN (7) NOUMENA (7)
Score: 48–65 (max 106)
An AGNOMEN is a fourth name occasionally given as an honour to an ancient Roman citizen.
In Kantian philosophy, a NOUMENON (plural NOUMENA) is a thing as it is in itself, as distinct from a thing as it is knowable by the senses through phenomenal attributes.
Well, Gweni has kept the game alive still, but with a gap of 17 points to catch up on, she needs to get at least 7 points from this numbers game.........
Round 14: 50, 3, 10, 10, 4, 9. Target: 743.
Gweni: -
Jamie: 736. Mistake in working.
RR: 743. ((9 - 4 + 10) x 50) - 10 + 3 (10)
Score: 48–65 (max 116)
Oh dear, nothing once more from Gweni, which leaves her with probably the worst numbers record of all time on the show.........
But, on the plus side, even messing up his 7 away, Jamie has wrapped up the game with a round to spare.
Round 15: W A Y H E D O E S
No one buzzes. The answer was EYESHADOW.
Final Score: 48–65 (max 126)
But, like yesterday, the conundrum remains unanswered, and so it goes to some woman in the audience. But wait, that's no ordinary woman, it's our very own Tracey Mills once again
(And you can see Tracey on the show soon, as she is recording in the early heats of Series 72, so she'll probably be on screen around mid-January. )But, back to today, and Jamie is our new champion, mainly due to the fact that playing someone who can't get any points in numbers games will give you a big advantage.
Can he continue tomorrow when new Apterite Laurence Killen pulls up in the challengers' chair
Join me for that later. So, till then, bye for now.
Statistics Corner
Gweni:
Total score - 48
Raw score - 67
Total % of max - 38
Raw % of max - 53
Total average score per round - 3.2
Raw average score per round - 4.5
Number of maxes - 1
Jamie:
Total score - 65
Raw score - 83
Total % of max - 52
Raw % of max - 66
Total average score per round - 4.3
Raw average score per round - 5.7
Number of maxes - 3
Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=71