Countdown recap for Thursday 4 February 2010.
C1: Champion Jay Lopian (1 win, 101 points.) An Apterite from Manchester. He's an final-year accountancy degree student at Westminster University. He also likes scuba diving in Egypt & Mexico, skiing, football and golf. Jeff described him as an action man for doing all these things, but since when has golf been known as an "action sport"
(Probably when the person watching it on the telly uses his muscle action to pick up the remote and flip it over to another channel. 
) C2: Challenger Rosina Bellerby. From Middleton, near Manchester, but originally from Glasgow. She's a former primary school teacher. She is married and has 4 daughters, 9 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren and 2 more on the way. Her favourite place is London, mainly because of its history.
DC: Susie Dent and Kaye Adams.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: A W L D E I S R D
R02: P G S O I A R O T
R03: S V I E E N L P N
R04: S D G I U A S T E
R05: 50, 6, 6, 2, 10, 9. Target: 558.
TTT: LIKEALAN - "It's capable of turning yellow to blue"
R06: B R S O A E Y C D
R07: L B N I E I R J N
R08: R L E A V S I F M
R09: E O E G T U D L P
R10: 50, 1, 5, 3, 4, 10. Target: 974.
TTT: OPALSTAR - "Beethoven's 6th played out in the country"
R11: R D K S E U O N Y
R12: R S H A I A T Q E
R13: M T M E A O T N L
R14: 75, 3, 4, 2, 4, 10. Target: 983.
R15: P E T E R V I C E (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Enjoy the show.
Round 1: A W L D E I S R D
C1: DRAWLED (7)
C2: WADDLES (7)
DC: WADDLERS (8) SIDEWARD (8)
OT: DAWDLERS (8)
Score: 7–7 (max 8)
Ouch
If only Rosina had added the R, it would have given her an early lead.Round 2: P G S O I A R O T
C1: TROOPS (6)
C2: ROAST (5)
DC: PASTOR (6) SPIGOT (6)
OT: RAGTOPS (7)
Score: 13–7 (max 15)
And she's made to pay as Jay marches onto an early lead.
Round 3: S V I E E N L P N
C1: ENLIVENS (8)
C2: PENSIVE (7)
Score: 21–7 (max 23)
A very nice darren there by Jay.
Round 4: S D G I U A S T E
C1: DISGUST (7)
C2: GAUDIEST (8)
Score: 21–15 (max 31)
But Rosina comes back with a darren of her own.
Round 5: 50, 6, 6, 2, 10, 9. Target: 558.
C1: 558. ((50 + 6) x 10) - 2 (10)
C2: 558. Mistake in working.
Score: 31–15 (max 41)
Oh dear, Rosina's fatal slip means that Jay pulls away again.
Kaye tells of the time when she set a fire detector off in her house while making pancakes, forcing her to go outside in her dressing gown and furry slippers.
Teatime teaser: LIKEALAN -> ALKALINE
Round 6: B R S O A E Y C D
C1: BRACED (6)
C2: BOARDS (6)
DC: BROCADES (8)
Score: 37–21 (max 49)
Round 7: L B N I E I R J N
C1: binliner
C2: binner
DC: INLIER (6)
OT: BIRLINN (7)
Score: 37–21 (max 56)
Deary me! Both conestants declarations go straight to the rubbish bin.
Round 8: R L E A V S I F M
C1: MARVELS (7)
C2: MARVELS (7)
DC: REVISAL (7) FLAMERS (7)
OT: FLAMIER (7) MAILERS (7) REALISM (7)
Score: 44–28 (max 63)
Round 9: E O E G T U D L P
C1: POUTED (6)
C2: PLEDGE (6)
DC: EELPOUT (7)
OT: PLEDGET (7)
Score: 50–34 (max 70)
Again, if Rosina had added a letter on the end of her word, she'd have a very nice winning 7.
A PLEDGET is a small flat mass of lint.
Susie's Call My Bluff returns with Jeff in the hotseat.
Today's word is CARRYWITCHET. Is it:
a) A wide working space in an otherwise narrow coalmine.
b) A pun or conundrum, something to tease the brain.
c) An Aboriginal woven bag used for taking food with you on a long journey.
Jeff rushes in with a), which is wrong. Jeff was probably thinking of WITCHET, which the matches the description of a). The answer is b), the conundrum.
We might see a CARRYWITCHET later on.
Round 10: 50, 1, 5, 3, 4, 10. Target: 974.
C1: 980. ((3 - 1) x 50 x 10) - (5 x 4) (5)
C2: 982.
RR: 974. (((50 x 4) - 3) x 5) - 10 - 1 (10)
Score: 55–34 (max 80)
Teatime teaser: OPALSTAR -> PASTORAL
Round 11: R D K S E U O N Y
C1: DONKEYS (7)
C2: SOUNDER (7)
DC: DUNKERS (7)
OT: YOUNKERS (8)
Score: 62–41 (max 88)
A YOUNKER is perhaps, unsurprisingly, a name for a youngster.
Round 12: R S H A I A T Q E
C1: HEARTS (6)
C2: HASTIER (7)
DC: HETAIRAS (8)
Score: 62–48 (max 96)
Round 13: M T M E A O T N L
C1: MOMENT (6)
C2: MENTAL (6)
DC: OMENTAL (7) MATELOT (7)
OT: MAMELON (7) MANTLET (7) MOMENTA (7) TELAMON (7) TOMENTA (7)
Score: 68–54 (max 103)
Yet again, another 7 goes begging for Rosina, as she could've put the O before MENTAL to give her a winning 7, although Jay could've also added the A to the end of his for a 7.
A MAMELON is one of the three rounded protuberances on the cutting ridge of arecently erupted incisor tooth.
A MANTLET is a bulletproof screen or shield.
A TELAMON is an architectural term for a figure of a man used as a supporting pillar.
Round 14: 75, 3, 4, 2, 4, 10. Target: 983.
C1: 986. (((3 x 2 x 4) + 75) x 10) - 4 (7)
C2: 986. (((3 x 2 x 4) + 75) x 10) - 4 (7)
RR: 983. ((10 + 3) x 75) + 4 + 4 (10)
Score: 75–61 (max 113)
He may be doing an accountancy course, but Jay clearly doesn't know his 75 times table as an easy 10 points goes a begging, but luckily Rosina also gets 7 points, by using the very complex method to get 3 away.
So, Jay has won, as we head into the Countdown CARRYWITCHET
Round 15: P E T E R V I C E
C1 buzzes on 2.5 seconds to say RECEPTIVE which is correct.
Score: 85–61 (max 123)
Another good conundrum solve breaks the 4 day run of 1-day champions and sees Jay stay in the champions' chair for another day at least.
Can he push on further
Find out with Mike tomorrow, when work stops bombing him down.I'll be back next week. Bye for now.
Statistics Corner
Jay:
Total score - 85
Raw score - 98
Total % of max - 69
Raw % of max - 80
Total average score per round - 5.7
Raw average score per round - 6.5
Number of maxes - 4
Rosina:
Total score - 61
Raw score - 78
Total % of max - 50
Raw % of max - 63
Total average score per round - 4.1
Raw average score per round - 5.2
Number of maxes - 2
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=62