Septuple Negatives

November is National Novel Writing Month. Or at least it was, before the NaNoWriMo organisation crashed and burned at the altar of AI (everything is AI, these days). Instead, then I'm calling it LoMoWriNo.

Local Month of Writing a Novel.

LoMoWriNo works in much the same way as NaNoWriMo, with the aim being to complete a 50,000-word draft of a novel in November.

For possibly the fifth time in the ten years (ten years!) I've been doing this blog, I have decided to add to my writing workload by participating in LoMoWriMo. By accident, I have scheduled eight posts ahead of time for my other blog (about my Interrailing experience in April), but for this blog, I have been extremely foolish and failed to even complete the final review for October, which saw Sheffield face New, Oxford in the second repechage match.

I was also supposed to be making this post palatable to newcomers on Reddit, so that they might subscribe, but that's gone out the window pretty quickly. Shall I just get on with the match? Probably.

Sheffield have waited a long time for their comeback opportunity, having fallen 170 to 210 against Warwick in the series opener. It wasn't certain they'd be coming back, but with a score that high, it was very likely. New Ox, meanwhile, were narrowly beaten by Manchester a month later and faced a long, nervous wait to see if their score of 150 would be enough to make it through.

Here's your first starter for ten.

Crawley negs the opening question with Lost City, allowing Elsisi to hoover up the points with Lost World. As in Jurassic Park: The Lost World. They take a hat-trick on flags, before a second incorrect interruption from Crawley gifts the next starter to Dobbie. A single bonus on Marvel-ous filming locations puts them 50-points clear.

New finally manage a correct buzz, Stimpson stashing a starter with steady-state, before Poulard visited Naples on the picture round, closing the gap to 10. They took the lead when Dobbie buzzed with Edinburgh, which was wrong, allowing Poulard to take his second by following one of University Challenge's age-old rules - if the answer isn't Edinburgh, then its Glasgow.

A third consecutive buzz from Poulard extended New's lead, but he couldn't connect four, losing five points next time out. The fourth neg of the match. This time, Sheffield skipper Price collects the points. There is then a strange moment where Elsisi buzzes, but Price answers (though the camera shot remains on Elsisi, making it look like he's speaking without moving his lips). Who knows whether Elsisi would have been right, but Price is wrong, and they lose five points. The fifth neg!

Pete Seeger gives Stimpson the music starter, but New only recognise Woody Guthrie on the bonuses.

Elsisi buzzes again, and this time Price manages to keep his mouth shut. A bonus on Bluey brings them back within 30-points, before a starter on Gregorian chants gives Lewis his first of the match. Another for Elsisi ties the match, and one bonus on Dickens gives them the lead.

The second picture starter goes to Dobbie, who follows another cardinal rule - if the painting has a solid black background, then it's probably Caravaggio. I know nothing about art, but reliably pick up the Caravaggio questions, which feels like cheating.

Slovenian mountain ranges give Poulard another peak, and a bonus on pierogi puts them back in touch. Crawley, making up for her early negs, takes the starter which puts them in front in this ping pong encounter. The lead doesn't last long with Dobbie quickest on a starter about John Singer-Sargent - unlike me, she does know about art.

A neg from Stimpson opens the door for Price and can. Then it is Poulard's turn to get in on the act, but unfortunately for New, it is another incorrect interruption - the seventh of the match - and Elsisi can finally take Sheffield out of New's reach.

Sheffield 175 - 125 New, Ox

A fun match, that. New's tactic of being absolutely relentless on the buzzer may have been to their detriment, but had they managed to get one of the five negs right, the match would have been a lot closer. So you can't knock it too much as a plan.

We're now onto the second round proper, which starts tomorrow. I don't know who's playing, because they haven't told anyone yet.

If you've found this from Reddit, or indeed if you haven't, then please consider subscribing. I write this because I enjoy doing it, but its always nice to have more people reading it. See you next time :)