Driftage
Countdown Catch-Up:
Preparation for the show
Arriving in the studio
The first segment of the first episode
The second segment of the first episode
And finally to the third half.
Our first letters selection was as follows:
R I E A P D R A S
Solutions: I saw PRAISED first. I couldn't see anything else. I felt sure there was something better in there, and I had a suspicion some of my stems might be lurking (they weren't), but then at the last second I saw PARADISE. I was excited. Another 8-letter word! Maybe Shane hadn't seen it! And I really needed the points.
It was my turn to declare first, but suddenly I wasn't so sure. My brain was melting. I kept thinking, but if that's how you spell paradise, then how come it's pronounced "Paradice" and not "Paradize". It just seemed wrong, even though my spelling bones were telling me it was right. In the end I declared 8, but made it clear I was unsure about it. And Shane... declared 8 too. Confidently.
Of course we both had the same word, and Susie looked rather bemused by my hesitation - how could I have thought that PARADISE wasn't a word?
It's at this point that Shane leant over to show me PARADISE written on his piece of paper. The rule (which I did know) is that if there's any possibility of cheating, the contestants check each other's work. Because I had said PARADISE first, Shane could have just copied me. But by this time my head was so scrambled I just thought, "Oh no! I'm supposed to have been showing my paper!" So I showed him my piece of paper too. You show me yours, I'll show you mine. He looked thoroughly confused. I felt thoroughly confused.
The scores were 74 to Shane and 43 to me, and I think it was as we moved into the next round that I thought, oh help, I don't think I can catch up now. I've actually lost. I can't have done. It can't be over, surely?
There were four rounds left to go: Two letters, one numbers, and the final conundrum. It wasn't over in fact. I could still have won, for instance by getting a nine-letter word and beating Shane on both the numbers and the conundrum. But it was unlikely.
And so to the next letters:
T E G D A E R F I
Solutions: I spotted GRAFTED quite early on. And then I saw DRIFTAGE, but I wasn't sure it was a word. It was Shane's turn to declare first, and he said he had a risky 8. Maybe he had the same word. I wavered and havered for ages before finally declaring a "safe 7". I didn't think DRIFTAGE would be in the dictionary, and if he declared the same word and had it over-ruled then I would pick up 7 points.
In fact he declared FIDGETER. Susie wasn't sure about it. She looked it up... and... bother. It was there. She looked at me with such sympathy, bless her. I've always liked Susie. I think they were all assuming I had FIDGETER too. So Jeff asked me, and I told them about DRIFTAGE, which Susie looked up... and it wasn't there. So I wouldn't have got the points either way.
I've since looked up DRIFTAGE in Lexpert (a piece of software Scrabble players use), and it would be fine for Scrabble - whereas ironically FIDGETER wouldn't be. Doh.
The points were now 82 to Shane and 43 to me. You get 18 points for a nine-letter word. If I got a nine-letter word, hit the target on the numbers and was the first to guess the conundrum... and Shane didn't score at all... then I would still lose by one point.
My brain wasn't functioning well enough for me to do the detailed sums, but I could guess that it would be impossible to catch up now. But it couldn't be over, surely? All those weeks of obsessive practice, and not even a teapot?
Time for the final letters round:
N O P I R O S A L
Solutions: I couldn't get anything less than a 6, with PRISON. I was still trying as hard as I could, even though I knew I'd lost. Shane got 6 too, with APRONS. I did also see PRONAILS, but didn't declare it and was right not to - I've checked since, and it's not valid. Dictionary Corner spotted SOPRANO and PLOSION.
And so to the final numbers: Shane's turn to pick, and he went for 6 small again, giving us the following:
10, 3, 4, 5, 3 and 25, with a target of 424.
Solutions: I quickly saw that you could get 425 by doing (10 + 3 + 4) x 25. I then spent ages looking for a way of getting that extra 1, and it felt like a repeat of the previous two numbers games. When we declared, I was so sure Shane would say he had reached 424 - so it was comforting when he, like me, said 425. I think we both did it the same way. I can't remember whether Rachel managed to get 424 - I suspect I'd stopped paying much attention.
Only one round left: The conundrum. At home I'm able to get these about 50% of the time, but I'm never fast. I knew from seeing Shane's previous game, and from chatting to him (he said he either got them very fast or not at all) that he was much quicker than me. And sure enough he got this one, in about five seconds I think:
F R I E N D H U S
Solution: FURNISHED.
Blimey, I thought to myself. That's really it. Time to go home. I congratulated Shane on his victory and started folding my pieces of paper; getting ready to stuff them into my handbag, eager to make a quick escape. But suddenly Jeff was speaking to me. Oh no! The show wasn't over yet.
I tried to surreptitiously smooth the half-folded sheets of paper on the desk in front of me as Jeff asked me yet again about trapeze, which he was obviously intrigued by. People always are. If you want to get job interviews, put "trapeze" on your CV.
When I was first informed that I'd passed my Countdown audition, I was sent a questionnaire to fill in for the scriptwriters. They needed enough information to pad out the chat in a potential eight episodes (ha) of the show. They asked for an anecdote you'd be happy to relate on telly (Ally and I spent an evening in the pub trying out and then rejecting a whole series of unsuitable candidates, although I still think I could have got away with the one about kissing), your ambitions, three words to describe yourself, your favourite "pop group" (!) and what sporting team you supported. I'd filled in every part with gusto, but when it came to this last bit I balked. I'm afraid I do struggle with a sports presenter taking over my favourite quiz show. It's about words and numbers! It's nothing to do with football!
So on the form I put (rather snootily): "I'm sorry, but I really have no interest in sport." But it's my theory that trapeze was the closest Jeff could get, and that's why he asked about it twice.
Still, I'm being ungracious. It was actually rather nice, having that extended chat at the end of the show. He also asked me about my children, and maybe some other stuff too (again, I forget), and it helped to wind me down and pull me back from humiliation into a warm and friendly atmosphere. The final score was 105 to me, 56 to Shane. Ahem. Freudian slip. It was the other way round, of course. And as I ruefully noted at the time, my abysmal performance had allowed Shane to break his first century. Yay me.
But finally it was over, and Jeff was shaking my hand and giving me commiserations and telling me that I had played well and it was just my bad luck that Shane had got into the groove. This was Shane's third victory. Jeff was very nice about it. Everybody was. They kept telling me how well I'd played, and I didn't believe a word of it. As far as I was concerned I'd done really badly. If it wasn't for those two numbers rounds and that missed ISLANDER/ANEROIDS/AILERONS round, I might have been able to hold my head up - but as it was, I felt thoroughly ashamed. Ah well.
I told Shane he deserved to win, and I meant it. Even if I'd spotted ISLANDER and got those first two numbers rounds, I still wouldn't have won (although I think the final score would have been 84 - 98, which would have been much more respectable). He beat me fair and square.
It was time for me to leave the set. I plunged down into the audience, eager to reach my friends. Dudley, the warm-up guy, got everyone to give me an extra round of applause. "Did you enjoy it?" he said.
"I don't know!" I said.
And I didn't know. I hadn't a clue.
[read about the aftermath here, and a full post mortem here]
Preparation for the show
Arriving in the studio
The first segment of the first episode
The second segment of the first episode
And finally to the third half.
Our first letters selection was as follows:
R I E A P D R A S
Solutions: I saw PRAISED first. I couldn't see anything else. I felt sure there was something better in there, and I had a suspicion some of my stems might be lurking (they weren't), but then at the last second I saw PARADISE. I was excited. Another 8-letter word! Maybe Shane hadn't seen it! And I really needed the points.
It was my turn to declare first, but suddenly I wasn't so sure. My brain was melting. I kept thinking, but if that's how you spell paradise, then how come it's pronounced "Paradice" and not "Paradize". It just seemed wrong, even though my spelling bones were telling me it was right. In the end I declared 8, but made it clear I was unsure about it. And Shane... declared 8 too. Confidently.
Of course we both had the same word, and Susie looked rather bemused by my hesitation - how could I have thought that PARADISE wasn't a word?
It's at this point that Shane leant over to show me PARADISE written on his piece of paper. The rule (which I did know) is that if there's any possibility of cheating, the contestants check each other's work. Because I had said PARADISE first, Shane could have just copied me. But by this time my head was so scrambled I just thought, "Oh no! I'm supposed to have been showing my paper!" So I showed him my piece of paper too. You show me yours, I'll show you mine. He looked thoroughly confused. I felt thoroughly confused.
The scores were 74 to Shane and 43 to me, and I think it was as we moved into the next round that I thought, oh help, I don't think I can catch up now. I've actually lost. I can't have done. It can't be over, surely?
There were four rounds left to go: Two letters, one numbers, and the final conundrum. It wasn't over in fact. I could still have won, for instance by getting a nine-letter word and beating Shane on both the numbers and the conundrum. But it was unlikely.
And so to the next letters:
T E G D A E R F I
Solutions: I spotted GRAFTED quite early on. And then I saw DRIFTAGE, but I wasn't sure it was a word. It was Shane's turn to declare first, and he said he had a risky 8. Maybe he had the same word. I wavered and havered for ages before finally declaring a "safe 7". I didn't think DRIFTAGE would be in the dictionary, and if he declared the same word and had it over-ruled then I would pick up 7 points.
In fact he declared FIDGETER. Susie wasn't sure about it. She looked it up... and... bother. It was there. She looked at me with such sympathy, bless her. I've always liked Susie. I think they were all assuming I had FIDGETER too. So Jeff asked me, and I told them about DRIFTAGE, which Susie looked up... and it wasn't there. So I wouldn't have got the points either way.
I've since looked up DRIFTAGE in Lexpert (a piece of software Scrabble players use), and it would be fine for Scrabble - whereas ironically FIDGETER wouldn't be. Doh.
The points were now 82 to Shane and 43 to me. You get 18 points for a nine-letter word. If I got a nine-letter word, hit the target on the numbers and was the first to guess the conundrum... and Shane didn't score at all... then I would still lose by one point.
My brain wasn't functioning well enough for me to do the detailed sums, but I could guess that it would be impossible to catch up now. But it couldn't be over, surely? All those weeks of obsessive practice, and not even a teapot?
Time for the final letters round:
N O P I R O S A L
Solutions: I couldn't get anything less than a 6, with PRISON. I was still trying as hard as I could, even though I knew I'd lost. Shane got 6 too, with APRONS. I did also see PRONAILS, but didn't declare it and was right not to - I've checked since, and it's not valid. Dictionary Corner spotted SOPRANO and PLOSION.
And so to the final numbers: Shane's turn to pick, and he went for 6 small again, giving us the following:
10, 3, 4, 5, 3 and 25, with a target of 424.
Solutions: I quickly saw that you could get 425 by doing (10 + 3 + 4) x 25. I then spent ages looking for a way of getting that extra 1, and it felt like a repeat of the previous two numbers games. When we declared, I was so sure Shane would say he had reached 424 - so it was comforting when he, like me, said 425. I think we both did it the same way. I can't remember whether Rachel managed to get 424 - I suspect I'd stopped paying much attention.
Only one round left: The conundrum. At home I'm able to get these about 50% of the time, but I'm never fast. I knew from seeing Shane's previous game, and from chatting to him (he said he either got them very fast or not at all) that he was much quicker than me. And sure enough he got this one, in about five seconds I think:
F R I E N D H U S
Solution: FURNISHED.
Blimey, I thought to myself. That's really it. Time to go home. I congratulated Shane on his victory and started folding my pieces of paper; getting ready to stuff them into my handbag, eager to make a quick escape. But suddenly Jeff was speaking to me. Oh no! The show wasn't over yet.
I tried to surreptitiously smooth the half-folded sheets of paper on the desk in front of me as Jeff asked me yet again about trapeze, which he was obviously intrigued by. People always are. If you want to get job interviews, put "trapeze" on your CV.
When I was first informed that I'd passed my Countdown audition, I was sent a questionnaire to fill in for the scriptwriters. They needed enough information to pad out the chat in a potential eight episodes (ha) of the show. They asked for an anecdote you'd be happy to relate on telly (Ally and I spent an evening in the pub trying out and then rejecting a whole series of unsuitable candidates, although I still think I could have got away with the one about kissing), your ambitions, three words to describe yourself, your favourite "pop group" (!) and what sporting team you supported. I'd filled in every part with gusto, but when it came to this last bit I balked. I'm afraid I do struggle with a sports presenter taking over my favourite quiz show. It's about words and numbers! It's nothing to do with football!
So on the form I put (rather snootily): "I'm sorry, but I really have no interest in sport." But it's my theory that trapeze was the closest Jeff could get, and that's why he asked about it twice.
Still, I'm being ungracious. It was actually rather nice, having that extended chat at the end of the show. He also asked me about my children, and maybe some other stuff too (again, I forget), and it helped to wind me down and pull me back from humiliation into a warm and friendly atmosphere. The final score was 105 to me, 56 to Shane. Ahem. Freudian slip. It was the other way round, of course. And as I ruefully noted at the time, my abysmal performance had allowed Shane to break his first century. Yay me.
But finally it was over, and Jeff was shaking my hand and giving me commiserations and telling me that I had played well and it was just my bad luck that Shane had got into the groove. This was Shane's third victory. Jeff was very nice about it. Everybody was. They kept telling me how well I'd played, and I didn't believe a word of it. As far as I was concerned I'd done really badly. If it wasn't for those two numbers rounds and that missed ISLANDER/ANEROIDS/AILERONS round, I might have been able to hold my head up - but as it was, I felt thoroughly ashamed. Ah well.
I told Shane he deserved to win, and I meant it. Even if I'd spotted ISLANDER and got those first two numbers rounds, I still wouldn't have won (although I think the final score would have been 84 - 98, which would have been much more respectable). He beat me fair and square.
It was time for me to leave the set. I plunged down into the audience, eager to reach my friends. Dudley, the warm-up guy, got everyone to give me an extra round of applause. "Did you enjoy it?" he said.
"I don't know!" I said.
And I didn't know. I hadn't a clue.
[read about the aftermath here, and a full post mortem here]