Bristol v Nottingham University Challenge

APPLAUSE

Christmas University Challenge.

Asking the questions - Jeremy Paxman.

Hello. We already know that the University of Kent,

St Anne's College, Oxford and St Hilda's College, Oxford

are through to the semifinal stage

of this short and festive contest for distinguished alumni

of 14 of the UK's universities and university colleges.

Leeds University will go through, as well,

unless tonight's winners can beat their score of 175

and take their place.

Now, the University of Bristol is represented first

by a television presenter who describes herself

as a complete and utter water baby. A qualified scuba diver,

she's made a number of diving-related TV programmes,

as well as presenting Channel 4's Wreck Detectives

and appearing on Coast and The One Show for the BBC.

She's also president of the RSPB.

Her colleague got her first job as a TV reporter

while still a student at Bristol,

nipping out between history lecturers

to shoot a film about Bristol Rovers.

She later became one of Channel 4's youngest commissioning editors,

but now concentrates on presenting programmes for the channel,

such as Food Unwrapped.

Their captain began his career in the City

before becoming economics correspondent for Newsnight.

He was editor in chief of The Observer,

for which he still writes a regular column,

and is the author of several books including The State We're In.

He's been a government adviser

and has chaired a number of policy commissions,

including the Independent Commission on Fees,

a subject no doubt of acute interest

to many a parent, and, indeed, student.

Finally, the author of nine novels and three volumes of non-fiction,

whose work has also been dramatised on Radio 4.

She's been a critic, notably on the former Newsnight Review,

and a columnist for The Guardian, the FT and The New York Times.

Let's meet the Bristol team.

Hello, I'm Miranda Krestovnikoff.

I graduated from Bristol in 1994 in zoology,

and I currently present wildlife programmes on television and radio.

Hello, I'm Kate Quilton.

I graduated in history from Bristol University in 2006.

I'm a journalist and a TV presenter and I make programmes for Channel 4.

-And here's their captain.

-Hello, I'm Will Hutton.

I graduated from Bristol in 1971 in economics and sociology.

I'm currently principal of Hertford College, Oxford,

I co-chair the Big Innovation Centre,

and I write a regular column for The Observer.

Hello, I'm Julie Myerson.

I graduated in English from Bristol in 1982,

and I'm now a novelist.

APPLAUSE

Nottingham University are fielding an athlete who says

the main reason he applied to study there

was because it's the home of the National Water Sports Centre.

Perhaps a wise choice as he's won silver medals in his sport

in the last three Olympics.

His colleague, as a boy, made his own weather symbols

to stick on his father's road maps

while doing an impression of Michael Fish -

behaviour likely to induce anxiety

in even the most open-minded parents, you might think.

He's been a news reporter and weather anchor in Montana,

and as part of his current role,

he can be seen taking part in Springwatch and Autumnwatch.

Their captain presents the early breakfast show on BBC 6 Music

and can also sometimes be heard on Radio 2 and Radio 5 live

with occasional appearances on BBC breakfast TV.

He blogs for the BBC website

and has written for The Huffington Post and Music Week.

Their fourth member is an art historian,

critic and biographer

with a particular interest in 20th-century British art.

She's written on Roger Fry, Vanessa Bell and John Piper,

as well as the poet Stevie Smith.

Her book British Art Since 1900

is a familiar textbook in schools and universities,

and in 2005, she was awarded a CBE for services to literature.

Let's meet the Nottingham team.

Hi, I'm David Florence.

I graduated in mathematical physics in 2005,

and I am now a canoeist.

Hello, I'm Nick Miller.

I received a degree in history and politics from Nottingham in 1992,

and now I'm a BBC weather presenter.

And this is their captain.

Hello, I'm Chris Hawkins

and I graduated from Nottingham in 1997

with a degree in American studies,

which I'm not sure really qualifies me to be here,

and I'm a presenter on BBC Radio 6 Music.

Hello, I'm Frances Spalding.

I graduated from Nottingham in 1972,

and I'm still an art historian and biographer,

and I'm currently a fellow of Clare Hall in Cambridge.

APPLAUSE

Right, the rules are the same as ever.

Ten points for starter questions, which are solo efforts,

and bonuses are team collaborations.

They're worth 15 points.

Fingers on the buzzers. Here's your first starter for ten.

In Chambers Dictionary, meanings of what five-letter word include

"An empty case or lifeless relic",

"any frail structure",

"a type of light racing boat", "a light coffin",

"a conch trumpet" and a..."

A wreck.

No, you lose five points.

-You can hear the rest of it if you want to.

-Yeah.

-You can buzz in now if you wish.

-No, I'll hear the rest of it. Why not?

..and "an explosive projectile shot from a cannon"?

-It's a shell.

-It is a shell, you're right.

APPLAUSE

You get a set of bonuses, then, Bristol, on cold weather

in the openings of 19th-century novels.

In each case, I need the title of the novel

from which the following lines are taken, and the author.

Firstly, from a work published in 1847,

"Pure bracing ventilation they must have up there at all times.

"Indeed, one may guess the power of the north wind blowing over the edge

"by the excessive slant of a few stunted firs

"at the end of the house."

-Bronte?

-Bronte?

-Wuthering Heights?

-Wuthering Heights?

-I'm not sure, but...

-Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte.

-Correct.

Published in 1818, secondly, "I am already far north of London,

"and as I walk in the streets of Petersburg,

"I feel a cold northern breeze play upon my cheeks."

Petersburg?

-Tolstoy?

-I don't think it's Tolstoy. Could it be Dostoevsky?

-No, no, no, that's far too early. Not Dostoevsky.

-OK.

-Right.

-Might be.

-Mm. Just...

OK, is Tolstoy in the first person? That's what I'm wondering.

-No, Tolstoy's later in the century, isn't he?

-OK.

-Come on.

-Have we got a guess?

-No.

-I haven't got a guess.

Going to have a guess? Can I guess?

I'd say The Idiot, Dostoevsky, but you don't think so.

-No, OK, you guess something.

-Dostoevsky's much, much later.

-OK, you guess what you think.

-Well, we'll go with...

The Idiot, Dostoevsky.

No, it's Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

LAUGHTER Finally...

-OK, that was seriously wrong.

-Yeah, it was.

Published in 1868 now,

"It's going to be a hard winter for everyone,

"and Mother thinks we ought not to spend money for pleasure

"when our men are suffering so in the army."

-Little...?

-Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

-Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

-Correct.

APPLAUSE Ten points for this.

"Clearly, an impregnable masterpiece",

said Martin Amis of which early novel,

noting that it suffered from one fairly serious flaw -

that of outright unreadability.

Its author's death is recorded as having taken place in Madrid

on the same date as that of Shakespeare -

April the 23rd, 1616.

-Is this for us? This is for us?

-No, it's a starter question!

Try and keep up. LAUGHTER

One of you buzzes in if you know the answer to this.

THEY WHISPER You may not confer!

It's a solo effort.

Do you know the rules at all?

-We've learned them now.

-LAUGHTER

Right, none of you buzz in. I'll tell you, it's Don Quixote.

Ten points for this.

Inspiring a musical theatre production first seen in 2013,

developed in conjunction with the Dundee publisher DC Thomson,

which magazine for teenage girls ran from 1964 to 1993 and featured...?

-Jackie.

-Yes!

APPLAUSE

-What a surprising area of knowledge.

-Two younger sisters.

Here are your bonuses. They're on astronomy in 2016, Nottingham.

In August, 2016,

astronomers announced the discovery of an exoplanet

in the habitable zone of which specific star?

It's the closest star to Earth and is part of a triple star system.

-Could it be Mars or Pluto?

-Mars or Pluto?

Mars or Pluto, we're thinking.

Triple system - what does that mean?

-That's not my...

-It's not...

-Let's have an answer.

Is it Venus? I don't know. I just don't know.

-HE STUTTERS

-Pluto's not a star. It's a planet.

Pluto.

Pluto? No, it's Proxima or Proxima Centauri.

Secondly, the distance from the Earth to Neptune

is about 30 astronomical units, or AU.

What is the distance to Proxima Centauri?

You can have 20,000 AU either way. CHUCKLING

We'll just have to come up with a number, won't we?

-Just pick a number.

-150,000 or something like that.

-150,000?

-That's just a number.

150,000.

No, that's not close enough. It's 271,000.

And finally, the exoplanet in question

is much closer to its star than Earth is to the sun,

but it's still in its habitable zone.

This is because Proxima Centauri is what kind of cooler star?

Don't know, no.

I'm thinking of a shooting star. That can't be right, can it?

-Shooting star?

-I'm thinking red dwarf or something like that.

-Red dwarf?

-Yeah.

-Red dwarf.

-It is a red dwarf, yes.

APPLAUSE

We're going to take a picture round now.

For your picture starter, you will see the track list

from a pop album.

Ten points if you can

identify the album.

The title track has,

of course, been omitted.

Pet Sounds.

Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys is correct, yes.

APPLAUSE

That was released 50 years ago this year.

For your bonuses, you'll see the track lists

of three more albums released in 1966.

Five points for each album you can identify,

along with the artist or band who made the album.

Firstly...

Bob Dylan, and it's...

-No idea.

-It's Dylan.

And it's...

HE SIGHS

-It's Bob Dylan.

-Yes. Which one?

Ah...!

-No, I can't give it to you.

-I've gone blank, sorry.

-It's Blonde On Blonde.

-Course it is.

Secondly, this five-word album title, please.

-Simon and Garfunkel, isn't it?

-Mm-hm.

-Five-word?

-Shameful.

It's Simon and Garfunkel and...

It is, but I need the album title, too.

-It's Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme.

-Of course.

Finally...

-It's The Beatles, so...

-The Beatles, yeah.

These should be mine, shouldn't they?

Can't help you on that one, Chris.

-Beatles, Hard Day's Night.

-No.

-It is The Beatles, but it's Revolver.

-Course it is.

Right, ten points for this.

What single-digit number

links the fourth root of 1,296,

the planet Saturn's position from the sun

and the chemical element carbon?

-Six.

-Six is correct, yes.

APPLAUSE

Your bonuses are on Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire.

Firstly, for five points,

Face The Music And Dance is a song from which film?

Astaire plays a sailor on shore leave

who tries to rekindle a romance

with his former dancing partner, played by Rogers.

Face The Music And Dance.

-I can't think of any movies by them.

-A sailor?

-I'm not old enough.

I don't know.

-I'm going to guess.

-Guess.

-Top Hat And White Tie?

-No, Top Hat And Tails.

-No, no, no.

-No, what's it called?

Just think of any title.

-OK, Top Hat.

-No, it's Follow The Fleet.

-Ah.

Secondly, what is the surname...

Don't go, "Oh, yes, of course it is."

-No, the other one I knew, you know.

-LAUGHTER

Secondly, what is the surname

of the influential husband and wife ballroom dance partners

who were portrayed by Rogers and Astaire

in a biographical film of 1939?

-No.

-I don't know.

-You don't know?

-I don't know.

-1939 film?

-We should just say pass.

-Pass.

It's Castle. Vernon and Irene Castle.

And finally, in which film does Jerry,

played by Astaire, fall for Dale, played by Rogers?

They meet in London, but she flees to Venice,

thinking he is already married.

The film features the song Cheek To Cheek.

-Dancing Cheek To Cheek.

-Yeah.

It's something like Top Hat And Tails.

What is the one...?

Dancing Cheek To Cheek, is it Top Hat And Tails? Let's try that.

-Top Hat And Tails.

-No.

-Top Hat!

It's just called Top Hat, and I've got to accept your first answer.

-You said Top Hat And Tails, which was incorrect.

-Oh, no!

That's not fair! That's not fair.

Oh, stop whining. LAUGHTER

Ten points for this starter question.

The Meaning Of Night in 1927, Golconda in 1953

and The Mysteries Of The Horizon in 1955

are artworks thematically linked by male figures in bowler hats

by which Belgian-born surrealist?

-Magritte.

-Magritte is right, of course.

APPLAUSE

A gift for an art historian.

Three questions on seasonal paintings,

you'll be pleased to hear.

During the 1840s, Theodore Rousseau,

a leading figure of the Barbizon school,

painted The Forest In Winter At Sunset,

believed to depict a scene in which forest near Paris?

-You don't need to buzz. You can just...

-Sorry. Barbizon.

-No, it's not. It's Fontainebleau.

-Fontainebleau. Sorry, yes.

-OK.

Secondly, The Boulevard Montmartre On A Winter Morning

is a work of 1897 by which painter

whose output included several versions of the scene?

He was the only painter to show work in all eight

of the impressionist exhibitions.

Must be Monet, I think.

Or Pissarro. Oh, Pissarro...

Going for that?

-Monet or Pissarro.

-Which?

Well, try Monet...or Pissarro.

Monet or Pissarro - which?

-Flip a coin in your head.

-Monet.

Monet.

No, it's Pissarro. Bad luck.

Which impressionist's numerous snowscapes

include the 1875 work Snow Scene At Argenteuil,

now on display at the National Gallery?

His ability is reputed to have prompted Manet

to abandon his own attempts in the genre.

I think that must be Monet. Er...

-Let's do it, then.

-Shall we go with Monet?

I'm afraid it'll be wrong. Yes, OK.

-Monet.

-It was Monet, yes. APPLAUSE

We're going to take a music round now.

For your music starter, you'll hear the title music

of a well-known television series.

I want the title of the series for ten points, please.

ORCHESTRAL MILITARY MUSIC PLAYS

Is that Thunderbirds?

-It is Thunderbirds, yes.

-Yay!

-APPLAUSE

2017 will mark the 60th anniversary

of the first television production of Gerry Anderson,

whose extensive credits, of course, included the Thunderbirds.

For your bonuses, three more pieces of music

associated with his Supermarionation output,

all composed by Barry Grey.

Firstly, for five points,

for which title character was this the theme music?

FAST MUSIC PLAYS

-Johnny.

-Johnny something. Johnny... What's the one?

The one that had the Angels in it.

Oh! No, could be Captain Scarlet, or it could be the Johnny one.

I mean, if none of you know, let's say Captain Scarlet.

-Captain Scarlet.

-No, that was Joe 90.

Oh, that's what I meant!

Second, for which vehicle was this the theme music?

UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS

-Which vehicle?

-Sorry?

-Which vehicle was that?

-Don't know.

Any vehicle? A vehicle?

-A car?

-Was that the car?

# But though I'm not a spaceman Famous and renowned... #

We just have to pass.

That's Fireball XL5.

And finally, this is the opening theme of which series?

OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYS

-Captain Scarlet.

-Captain Scarlet.

That is correct, yes. LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE

Ten points for this.

The works of which Italian film director and screenwriter

include The Great Beauty,

which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2014,

and the 2016 series The Young Pope?

THEY WHISPER You may not confer.

One of you can buzz.

It's something like Paolo Bussolini.

-But it's not that, is it?

-LAUGHTER

Not close enough, certainly.

Anyone like to buzz? It's Paolo Sorrentino.

-Bad luck.

-Nearly there.

-Not nearly there at all!

It was miles away! LAUGHTER

-I mean, how much do you want?

-Paolo was right.

Right, ten points for this.

In the northern hemisphere, what two-word term

derives in part from the Latin meaning "sun stopped"

and denotes the day when the South Pole is inclined

about 23.4 degrees towards the sun?

-Solstice.

-Two-word term, I asked for.

-Oh. Sol...

-Come on. Anyone want to buzz from Nottingham?

-Solar solstice.

-No, it's the winter solstice. Bad luck.

And you get a five-point fine for incorrect interruption.

-I clearly said two-word term.

-You did.

Right, so, ten points at stake for this.

Which political thinker and historian is this?

Born in Paris in 1805,

his enduring ideas include soft despotism

and the atomisation of society,

and were expressed in works such as The Old Regime And The Revolution

and Democracy In America.

-Alexis de Tocqueville.

-Yes.

APPLAUSE

Right, Bristol, your bonuses are on periods of the Mesozoic Era.

Extending from 201 to 145 million years ago,

which period takes its name

from a range of mountains in France and Switzerland?

-Takes the names from the Alps?

-Alpine?

-No, no, no.

-Could it be Jurassic?

-Pyrenees?

-Why not Jurassic?

-Switzerland...

-It's not Jurassic?

-Jura. Jura.

-Jurassic.

-Jurassic.

-Jurassic is correct, yes.

Secondly, extending from approximately

252 to 201 million years ago, which period takes its name

from a sequence of rock strata in Central Germany?

Central Germany. Westphalia.

Ruhr. Ruhr. Come on, name some...

-Rock strata?

-Rock strata in Central Germany.

The Ruhr Valley. Come on, let's think about Central Germany.

-What?

-I'm thinking of the periods of time rather than...

-Just say any period.

-Any period.

-Say a period.

-Cretaceous.

-No.

-No?

-Cretaceous.

-No, it's Triassic. The Trias.

-Oh.

And extending from approximately 145 to 66 million years ago,

which period takes its name from the Latin for chalk?

-Latin for chalk.

-Could it be Cretaceous?

-What?

Could it be Cretaceous? I don't know.

-You say if you know better, but that's my guess.

-Cretaceous.

-Is Cretaceous from chalk? Chalk - Cretaceous?

-Could be.

-Chalk.

-Possibly.

-It could be.

If you don't know the answer...

Illuminating light of knowledge, let's try Cretaceous.

Cretaceous is correct. Well done. Ten points for this.

APPLAUSE He claimed that,

to obtain harmonic perfection,

art should be freed from any representation of nature

and be created from wholly abstract, geometrical elements.

-Mondrian.

-Mondrian is correct, yes.

APPLAUSE

These bonuses are on marzipan, Nottingham.

17km south of Madrid, which city claims that,

following a famine in the early 13th century,

local nuns invented marzipan using sugar and almonds,

being the only ingredients readily available.

-South of Madrid.

-What's 70km south of Madrid?

South of Madrid, is it?

-South of Madrid.

-70km south of Madrid.

-Seville?

Seville's down there.

-It's down in the south.

-Shall we try Seville?

-Seville?

-Come on.

-Seville.

No, it's Toledo.

Which port on the Baltic Sea in Northern Germany

is home to a marzipan museum, whose origins lie in a shop

opened in 1806 by the confectioner Johann Niederegger?

It's a former capital of the Hanseatic League.

-No.

-Has no-one taken the ferry to Northern Germany before?

-Not recently enough to be able to remember.

-A cruise, maybe.

-Don't know.

-No?

-Neither do I, no.

-Pass.

-We've got no idea.

-It's Lubeck.

And finally, since the Middle Ages, a marzipan recipe

with supposed healing properties

has been made in one of Europe's oldest pharmacies.

In which Baltic capital on the Gulf of Finland is it?

Riga is one. Tallinn.

Tallinn?

-Yes.

-Tallinn?

-Sure.

-Tallinn?

-Sure.

A not-very-convincing, unanimous Tallinn.

Well done. It was a good guess. APPLAUSE

We're going to take a picture round now.

For your picture starter,

I want you to give me the name of the building recreated here in ice.

The Vatican.

No. Anyone like to buzz from Nottingham?

Palace of Versailles.

No, it's St Paul's Cathedral.

So, picture bonuses in a moment or two.

Another starter question in the meantime. Ten points for this.

Answer promptly.

Name either of the two sea areas of the shipping forecast

that share names with towns or cities in England.

-Dover.

-Well done, yes.

APPLAUSE The other one is Plymouth.

OK, we saw that picture starter -

St Paul's Cathedral rendered in ice

and exhibited at the Sapporo Winter Festival in Japan.

For your bonuses, three more pictures

of notable winter festivals and celebrations from around the world.

Five points if you can name the city in which each is being held.

Here's the first.

-FRANCES SPALDING:

-Is it Edinburgh? It's Edinburgh.

-Is it?

-Yes.

-Is it?

Edinburgh?

-NICK MILLER:

-I mean, what building is that?

-Liverpool?

-I'm going to go with Edinburgh just because...

-Edinburgh.

-Edinburgh?! Doesn't look in the slightest bit like Edinburgh.

-No, it's Ottawa.

-The snow.

-That's clearly the Canadian Parliament building.

-Of course.

Secondly, which city is this?

Well, it's got a major river going through it.

-There's a big bridge.

-There are bridges.

-Rome?

-Rome?

Paris? Rome?

-Rome.

-No, that's Lyon.

That's Lyon Cathedral in the bottom right.

And finally, which city is this?

I think that's Edinburgh.

No, I'm not so sure it is, though.

Try... Is it St Petersburg?

Go on, then.

I really don't think it is.

-Which...?

-Paris?

-If in doubt, say Paris.

-Paris?

-Paris.

-No, it's Edinburgh.

-Oh!

LAUGHTER Ten points for this.

With approximately 50,000 native speakers

and dialects including Sursilvan,

which language is spoken predominantly

in the Swiss canton of Grisons?

It's one of the four national languages of Switzerland.

-Romansch.

-Romansch is correct, yes.

APPLAUSE

You take the lead, and your bonuses are on

recent novels based on Shakespeare plays.

Firstly, Anne Tyler's retelling of which Shakespeare play

concerns Kate Battista, her eccentric scientist father

and her uppity, pretty younger sister Bunny?

I have no idea.

-Try The Tempest.

-The Tempest?

-That's fine. I have no idea.

-The Tempest.

-No, that's The Taming Of The Shrew.

Secondly, concerning the hedge fund manager Leo,

his French wife MiMi and Leo's best friend Xeno,

Jeanette Winterson describes her novel The Gap Of Time

as a response to which play?

-The Winter's Tale.

-Winter's Tale?

-It's definitely The Winter's Tale.

-The Winter's Tale.

-Correct.

Finally, with characters including the reality TV star Plurabelle

and the art collector Simon Strulovitch,

which play is reimagined by Howard Jacobson

and set mainly in Cheshire?

Othello?

Let's have it, please.

-Go on.

-I don't know.

-Othello.

-No, it's The Merchant Of Venice.

Ten points for this.

Oglu in Turkish, Ides in Greek,

Escu in Romanian and Enko in Ukrainian

all have what meaning when suffixed to family names?

Their meaning is shared by the British prefixes Fitz and Mac.

-Son.

-"Son of" is correct, yes. APPLAUSE

So, you get a set of bonuses now

on the England cricket team in India, Bristol.

The first two English batsmen to score a double hundred

in a test in India did so in the same innings

of the fourth test at Madras in 1985.

-Name either of them.

-Do you know?

Um, David Gower, I would say.

-Go on. Say it.

-David Gower.

No, it was Graham Fowler and Mike Gatting.

Secondly, which Indian spinner took eight for 55

in England's first innings at Madras in 1952?

He also gives his name to a form of dismissal

in which the non-striking batsman

is run out before the ball has been bowled.

-Ooh.

-Is it Googly? It's not Googly?

-No, no. That's, um...

Who was a spinner at that time?

What was the name of the...?

-Oh, gosh.

-What was the name of the...?

I'm just thinking of English spinners.

-Come on. Let's have it, please.

-No, we can't. We don't know.

It's Mankad. Vinoo Mankad.

Who recorded match figures of...? GONG

And at the gong, Bristol University have 70,

Nottingham have 75.

APPLAUSE

Well, it wasn't a particularly high scoring game, I have to say!

And you seemed to have some difficulty with the rules,

I must say.

And you spent an awful lot of time conferring, Nottingham.

Anyway, it was good fun. Thank you very much for joining us.

We shall have to say goodbye to both of you, I fear.

Thank you very much for playing. You didn't have to. Thank you.

I hope you can join us next time because we now know the teams

in the semifinal stage of the competition.

They will be the University of Kent, St Anne's College, Oxford,

St Hilda's College, Oxford, and Leeds University.

I hope you can join me for the first of the semifinals next time.

-Until then, though, it's goodbye from Bristol University. ALL:

-Bye.

-It's goodbye from Nottingham University. ALL:

-Goodbye.

And it's goodbye from me. Goodbye.

APPLAUSE