Christmas University Challenge.
Asking the questions, Jeremy Paxman.
APPLAUSE
Hello. Tonight, it's the third match in our seasonal series
for alumni of some of the UK's universities,
and university colleges.
The two winning scores so far are Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford,
with 195 points, and Hull University with 205,
but as we'll be playing seven first round matches in total,
and only the four teams with the highest winning scores will
go through to the next stage of the contest,
you don't need a maths degree or even a maths GCSE
to see that nothing has been decided yet.
Tonight, aiming to demonstrate that King's College Cambridge
can bring more to Christmas than the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols,
four graduates including a man of the cloth and of the people.
He travelled to his own enthronement ceremony by tram.
And a journalist, broadcaster, UNICEF ambassador
and former independent MP.
Joining them is a writer and honorary professor,
specialising in decision making
which should be useful to her as captain tonight,
and with them is one of the world's leading composers.
Attentive viewers will of course recall his father Timothy
competing for Balliol College, Oxford in 1963.
Let's meet them.
I'm David Walker. I graduated in mathematics from King's in 1978,
took something of a career change,
and today, I'm the Church of England Bishop of Manchester.
I'm Martin Bell. I graduated from King's in English in 1962.
I'm a former war reporter and former independent MP,
now an author and lecturer.
And their captain.
I'm Noreena Hertz, I studied economics and management
for a PhD in the '90s, and I'm a writer, broadcaster and economist.
I'm Thomas Ades, I read music at King's between 1989 and 1992,
and I'm a composer, conductor and pianist.
APPLAUSE
Now, Royal Holloway is a constituent college of the University of London.
The graduates playing on its behalf tonight include two MPs.
One's a Lib Dem who recently resigned as Home Office minister,
possibly to devote more time to his burgeoning pop career,
the other is a lawyer, broadcaster, Labour MP
and a member of the House of Commons Health Select Committee.
Despite their captain's self-confessed resemblance
to Iain Duncan Smith, as a writer and broadcaster,
there's nothing he enjoys more than sticking pins into politicians.
And in 2007, their final member became
the then youngest British woman and the first the first Welsh woman
to climb to the summit of Mount Everest.
Let's meet the Royal Holloway team.
I'm Norman Baker.
I graduated from Royal Holloway in 1978 with a degree in German
and I'm the Lib Dem MP for Lewis.
I'm Valerie Vaz.
I read biochemistry at Bedford College,
which merged with Royal Holloway in 1985,
and I'm now the member of parliament for Walsall South.
And their captain.
I'm Francis Wheen.
I graduated from Royal Holloway in 1978 in English
and now, I'm an author and journalist on Private Eye magazine.
And I'm Tori James.
I graduated in 2003 with a degree in geography from Royal Holloway.
Now, I'm a speaker, business consultant and adventurer.
APPLAUSE
OK, you must all know the rules.
It's ten points for a starter question, solo effort,
and bonus questions are worth 15, they're team effort.
- So, fingers on the buzzers. 
- Here's your first starter for ten.
Winston Churchill, Rab Butler, Jim Callaghan
and Ted Heath were all holders of which title,
assumed after the 2010 General Election by Peter Tapsell.
BUZZER
Father of the House.
Correct, yes.
APPLAUSE
So you get the first set of bonuses then, Royal Holloway.
They're on a Christmas product.
Firstly, for five, in 1966, King Wenceslas by Tasveer Shemza
and Snowman by James Berry, both aged six, were the winning entries
in a competition to create the first designs for which festive product?
Stamps.
Christmas stamps is correct.
As Postmaster General, which politician made the decision
to introduce special stamps for Christmas?
He died in March, 2014.
- Tony Benn. 
- Correct.
The seven Christmas stamps issued in 2011
marked the 400th anniversary of which publication?
Lloyd's List.
No, it's the King James Bible, the authorised version.
Ten points for this.
Listen carefully, I want the name of a country here.
The three-letter word that precedes humbug
in Scrooge's notable remark...
BUZZER
Bahrain.
How on earth did you know that was going to be the question? Well done.
Yes, Bahrain or Bahamas is correct.
So, you get a set of bonuses, King's.
Your first on Europe in 1914. Firstly, for five points.
From early August 1914 until June 1916, what given name was shared
by the UK Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for War?
David.
No, it was Herbert. Asquith and Kitchener.
In 1914, HG or Herbert George Wells
published a book about the war and its causes.
Its title helped popularise an idealistic expression
about the war, now chiefly used in an ironic or disparaging manner.
Give me either the expression or the book's title.
They Only Serve.
No, it's The War To End Wars.
And finally, from 1914, Herbert Hoover,
the future US President was a leading figure in the CRB,
an organisation that provided food for which country?
Belgium.
Correct. The Commission for Relief in Belgium. Well Done.
Right, ten points for this.
Which decade of the 19th-century
saw the cover of the illustrated London News carry an engraving
of the royal family with their Christmas tree?
The same decade saw the UK's first commercial Christmas cards
and the publication of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.
BUZZER
1850s.
Anyone like to buzz from Royal Holloway?
BUZZER
1840s.
1840s is correct, yes.
APPLAUSE
These bonuses are on Christmas in space.
"A merry Christmas and God bless all of you.
"All of you on the good earth."
These words are from the first televised Christmas message
from space and were spoken by the commander of which Apollo mission?
Seven.
No, it was eight. Frank Borman on Apollo 8.
The Apollo 8 mission took place in December of which year?
- 1968. 
- Correct.
Apollo 8 and subsequent Apollo missions
used three-stage launch vehicles,
all bearing what name and numerical designation?
Numerical designation?
- Well, it was called The Eagle, but... 
- No, it wasn't.
It was called Saturn V.
Right, we're going to take a picture round now.
For your picture starter you're going to see an abridged scorecard
from the close of the first day's play of a Boxing Day Ashes
test match at the Melbourne cricket ground.
For ten points, I want you to give me
the year that the match took place.
As it's Christmas, you can have a year either way.
BUZZER
2013.
Anyone like to have a buzz from King's?
BUZZER
2011.
Yes, I'll accept that.
It was 2010, in fact, but I said you can have a year either way,
so you get the set of bonuses then, King's.
There are three more scorecards showing the score at the close
of the first day's play of a Boxing Day Ashes test.
I want you to give me the year in which each match took place.
Again, you can have a year either way. Firstly, for five.
2002.
Correct, yes.
Secondly.
'74.
Correct. Spot on. Well done. Your final scorecard here.
'96.
No, it was '86. 1986.
Right, ten points for this.
The Scottish pharmacologist James Black was awarded
the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1988 for developing propranolol,
the first clinically effective member of which class of drugs
that slow the heartbeat?
They're often known by an alliterative two word name.
BUZZER
Beta Blockers.
Correct.
APPLAUSE
King's, your bonuses this time are on actors who died in 2014.
In each case, name the person from the description.
Firstly, an English actor who starred in Mermaids,
Who Framed Roger Rabbit,
and Jimmy McGovern's drama series The Street.
Bob Hoskins.
Correct.
Secondly, a Hollywood star who rose to prominence in the 1944 film
To Have And To Have Not, her later films include The Big Sleep,
and How To Marry A Millionaire.
- Lauren Bacall. 
- Correct.
Finally, an English actor who appeared in The Great Escape,
10 Rillington Place, and Jurassic Park.
- Richard Attenborough. 
- Spot on.
Right, another starter question.
What specific connection links the emperor Charlemagne,
Anne Boleyn, Amelia Earhart, Felicity Kendall,
The Lady of Shallot and Alan Titchmarsh,
in a horticultural context?
BUZZER
They've all had roses named after them.
Correct.
APPLAUSE
So, a set of bonuses
on Rococo interiors in Britain for you, Royal Holloway.
Firstly, for five,
it's unusual interior sometimes described as Rococo Gothic,
the estate church of Shobdon lies between Leominster
and Presteigne in which English county?
- Herefordshire. 
- Correct.
Noted for its Rococo suite of rooms,
Claydon House was built by Ralph Verney to outshine nearby Stowe.
Both houses being in which English county?
- Worcestershire. 
- No, it's Buckinghamshire.
And finally, its grand staircase described
as one of the finest surviving examples of Rococo plasterwork,
Powderham Castle lies north of Dawlish Warren
in which English county?
- Devon. 
- That's correct. Ten points for this.
Addressing the man rumoured to be his illegitimate son,
whose last words, when translated into English,
are traditionally said to have been, "You too, my boy,"
although Shakespeare worded the scene differently.
BUZZER
- Julius Caesar. 
- Correct, yes.
APPLAUSE
These bonuses are on chemistry, Royal Holloway.
What is the term for forms of an element with atoms
or crystals in two or more different geometric arrangements,
such as diamond and graphite, both of which are forms of carbon?
- No, we don't know. Sorry. 
- Allotrope.
Which element occurs in two allotropes,
a grey form, stable below,
and a white form stable above 13.2 degrees Celsius, respectively?
- Magnesium. 
- No, it's tin.
How many carbon atoms make up a bucky-ball of Buckminsterfullerene?
A million.
No, it's 60.
Right, we're going to take a music round now,
and it's very, very level pegging right the way through so far,
so here's a starter question.
You're going to hear excerpts from two different
versions of a piece of popular music.
Ten points if you can give me the names of both the singers you hear.
# It's Christmas time
# There's no need to be afraid
# At Christmas time
# We let in light and we banish shade... #
# It's Christmas time
# There's no need to be afraid
# At Christmas time
# We let in light and we banish shade... #
BUZZER
Bono and Sting.
Nope. King's, one of you like to buzz?
OK, I'll tell you. They were Paul Young and Chris Martin.
So, music bonuses in a moment or two.
In the meantime, here's another starter question.
Fingers on the buzzers, please.
What two word name is that of a district of North London
that has numbered Charles Dickens, Alan Bennett
and Amy Winehouse among its residents.
BUZZER
Primrose Hill.
Nope. You lose five points.
BUZZER
- Camden Town. 
- Camden Town is correct, yes.
APPLAUSE
So, that means you get the music bonuses.
That phrase of music you heard earlier sung by Paul Young
and Chris Martin were the first lines from the original 1984 version
of Do They Know It's Christmas by Band Aid
and the 20th anniversary edition by Band Aid 20.
For each of your bonuses you'll again hear two excerpts.
One from the original and then the same line from the 2004 version.
For five points I need the name of the artists singing in each version.
Firstly....
# And in our world of plenty
# We can spread a smile of joy
# Throw your arms around the world at Christmas time... #
# And in our world of plenty
# We can spread a smile of joy
# Throw your arms around the world at Christmas time... #
Boy George was the first one, and Emeli Sande.
No. Boy George was the first one. The second one, though, was Dido.
Secondly.
# But say a prayer
# Pray for the other ones
# At Christmas time... #
# But say a prayer
# Pray for the other ones
# At Christmas time... #
- The first one's George Michael. 
- Yes. 
- And the second one is...
I'm waiting for the voice of youth to tell me
but the vice of youth is silent on this.
We haven't a clue.
The second one is Robbie Williams. And finally.
# Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you... #
# Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you... #
Well, I think it's the ubiquitous Bono in both songs.
You're quite right.
Well done.
OK, ten points for this starter question.
Answer as soon as your name is called.
Which is the only Arabic numeral
whose English name can be spelled out using only the initial letters
of the English names of Arabic numerals.
BUZZER
- One. 
- Correct.
APPLAUSE
Right, these bonuses are on a children's story, Royal Holloway.
With its story beginning on one bitter cold day near Christmas time,
which of the tales of Beatrix Potter is the only one
to have the name of an English city in its title?
- The Tailor Of Gloucester. 
- Correct.
The Tailor Of Gloucester has the epigraph,
"I'll be at charges for a looking glass
"and entertain a score or two of tailors."
In which of Shakespeare's history plays do these words appear?
- Henry IV Part One. 
- No, it's Richard III.
In the story, the tailor, aided by some mice,
is making a cherry coloured coat for the Christmas Day wedding
of which city official?
- The mayor. 
- Correct.
Ten points for this.
A confusion with the guinea fowl,
which was reintroduced to Europe via the eastern Mediterranean
in the 16th-century is thought to have led to which
geographically inaccurate name being given to the bird...
BUZZER
- Turkey. 
- Correct.
APPLAUSE
These bonuses are on three letter country codes
used by the Commonwealth Games federation.
Firstly, which country's three letter code
spells a German adjective meaning narrow?
ENGLAND, E-N-G, England.
Correct.
Which small African country's three letter code spells the plural form
of the definite article in French?
- Lesotho. 
- Correct.
Which Asian country's three letter code spells a common Spanish word
meaning more?
- Malaysia. 
- Correct.
Right. Ten points for this.
Meaning "little shreds" in Italian,
what name is given to a soup popular in Rome, consisting of...
BUZZER
Minestrone.
No, I'm afraid you're going to lose five points.
Consisting of a chicken broth with the addition of a mixture
of Parmesan cheese and beaten egg?
BUZZER
Is it Oligomino?
No, it's Stracciatella.
Another starter question now.
"NASA is so sure the world won't come to an end
"on December the 21st 2012,
"they've already released this news item for the day after."
This sentence refers to media stories derived from
a misunderstanding of the calendar of which Mesoamerican...
BUZZER
- The Mayan calendar. 
- Correct.
APPLAUSE
A set of bonuses for you now on Roman religion.
The god Saturn, firstly, for five points, who's festival of Saturnalia
was celebrated in December was the Roman equivalent of which Greek god?
Hephaestus.
No, it's Cronos.
Saturnalia is a work by which Roman author of the early 5th-century?
It's written in the form of dialogues
and discussions taking place before and during the festival.
Juvenal.
No, it's by Macrobius.
And finally, the subject of a cult in the later Roman Empire,
what name was given to the Persian god of light whose festival
was celebrated on the 25th of December?
Mithras.
Correct. We're going to take a second picture round now.
For your picture starter, you'll see a painting.
Ten points if you can give me the name of the figure
standing towards the prow of the boat.
BUZZER
Napoleon.
No, anyone like to buzz from King's?
BUZZER
George Washington.
It is George Washington crossing the Delaware, yes.
APPLAUSE
Get these bonuses, you will take the lead.
That was Leutze's depiction of George Washington
on Christmas Day, 1776 during the American Revolutionary War.
For your bonuses, three photographs of historical figures
involved in political watersheds on Christmas Day.
Firstly, can you name this figure, please?
Emperor Hirohito.
Indeed. He ascended to the throne on the 25th of December, 1926.
Secondly, I want the name of this dictator.
Ceausescu.
That is Ceausescu, executed on the 25th of December 1989.
Finally, this political leader.
Gorbachev.
It is Gorbachev, who resigned as President of the Soviet Union
in 1991 on Christmas Day.
Right, another starter question now.
Shortlisted for the Lost Booker prize in 2010
and described as a metaphysical shocker on its publication in 1970,
The Driver's Seat is a novel by which Scottish author?
BUZZER
- Muriel Spark. 
- Correct.
APPLAUSE
Your bonuses, King's, now are on Zoology,
specifically invertebrates whose common names end in the word "fish."
In each case, name the organism from the description.
Firstly, a marine cephalopod of the order Sepiida,
characterised by its thick internal calcified shell.
- Cuttlefish. 
- Correct.
Also known as a bristletail, a wingless, scaly insect
of the genus Lepisma, described in a 19th-century text as,
"the pest of all book lovers."
- Silverfish. 
- Correct.
And finally, a member of the class Scyphozoa,
its basic body form is known as a medusa.
- Jellyfish. 
- Correct.
There's about four and a half minutes to go
and ten points for this.
In the 2014 New Year's Honours list, Lino Carbosiero, whose clients
include Dustin Hoffman, Kylie Minogue and David Cameron,
was awarded an MBE...
BUZZER
- Hairdressing. 
- Correct.
APPLAUSE
Right, these bonuses are on French cheese then, Royal Holloway.
Chaumes is a mild cheese produced in which historical
region of France? Corresponding roughly to the Dordognes department,
it's also associated with truffles and fois gras.
Lot.
No, it's Perigord.
Reblochon is a soft cheese made principally in which
historical alpine region that became part of France in 1860?
- Savoy. 
- Correct.
Pont Levec and Camembert are cheeses from which historical region?
Its present day departments include Seine Maritime and Calvados.
- Normandy. 
- Correct. Three minutes to go, ten points for this.
Named after a German astronomer,
Kreutz Sungrazers are a group of what celestial objects?
BUZZER
- Asteroids. 
- No. Royal Holloway, one of you know?
BUZZER
- Comets. 
- Comets is correct, yes.
APPLAUSE
Right, these bonuses, Royal Holloway,
are on the G20 summit in November 2014.
In each case, name the following.
Firstly, the Prime Minister who chaired the summit
and the city in which it took place.
Tony Abbot, in... Which city?
- Come on. 
- Melbourne. 
- No, it was in Brisbane.
Secondly, the Japanese Prime Minister
who took part in the summit.
- No, sorry. 
- That was Shinzo Abe.
And finally, elected in May, 2014,
which Indian Prime Minister attended the summit?
- Narendra Modi. 
- Correct. Ten points for this starter question.
Born around 429 BC, which philosopher has given his name to
the concept of the non-physical manifestation of a thing,
apprehensible only through...
BUZZER
- Plato. 
- Plato is correct, yes.
APPLAUSE
These bonuses are on monarchs, King's.
500 years after the reign of Henry V of England,
who was on the throne of Great Britain?
Come on. Let's have an answer, please.
- George V. 
- Correct.
Take the reign of Robert the Bruce of Scotland
and go back in time 200 years.
Who's king of England then?
- William the Conqueror. 
- No, it's Henry I.
Finally, take the reign of William the Conqueror
and go forward 500 years.
Who's on the English throne?
- Elizabeth I. 
- Well done.
Ten points for this.
Born in London in 1938,
which playwright's work often centres on the themes
of sexual politics and the abuse of power
and includes Top Girls, Cloud Nine and...
BUZZER
- Caryl Churchill. 
- Correct.
These bonuses are on a shared name, Royal Holloway.
In a ruling of September 2012 by a US federal appeals court,
which French shoes designer was granted entitlement
to trademark the distinctive red soles of his products?
Come on.
- Jimmy Choo. 
- No, it's Christian Louboutin.
Christian Bale played the World War II internee Jim Graham
in Steven Spielberg's 1987 adaptation
of which novel by JG Ballard?
- Empire Of The Sun. 
- Correct.
Founder of the Oldenburg dynasty,
Christian I became king of which country in 1448?
END OF GAME GONG
And at the gong, Royal Holloway have 150
but King's College Cambridge have 160.
That last answer was Denmark.
You spent just too long conferring,
a pattern throughout the contest, I think.
But congratulations to you, King's, well done.
160 is a pretty good score.
You may come back as one of the four highest scoring winning teams.
Who knows? We'll have to wait and see how the other contests turn out,
but thank you very much for joining us too.
I hope you can join us next time for another attempt
to sieve out the glace cherries from the suet of the adult brain,
but until then, it's goodbye from Royal Holloway College London.
ALL: Goodbye.
It's goodbye from King's College Cambridge.
ALL: Goodbye.
And it's goodbye from me. Goodbye.
