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00:31Well, good afternoon and welcome to The Countdown Studio.
00:35The art market, Rachel, the art market, is manipulated very often by these hidden persuaders.
00:42For instance, I'm not saying that Monet isn't one of the greatest artists ever,
00:46but did he know all those years ago that one of his Haystack series would sell in New York last
00:51week or the other week for $110 million?
00:55$30 million more than it was expected. It's amazing, isn't it?
00:59How much money did you ever spend in the shortest possible time, as it were?
01:04It's always the charity auction, isn't it?
01:05We went to the Tusk Ball a couple of years ago and one bid and we bought a trip to
01:11the Maldives.
01:13Well done.
01:13After a few glasses of wine. I said, that looks nice.
01:16Pasha went, yeah, and then we'd won it.
01:19I did.
01:19One bid, a few seconds.
01:20I did exactly the same. It was a charity thing. I'm a patron of a charity and up came this
01:26week in skiing.
01:27I'm not skiing, really. Anyway, I bought it.
01:32Madness. But the charity benefited. So good enough.
01:36Exactly.
01:36Good enough.
01:37They're happy.
01:37All right. Brilliant stuff.
01:39Now, Rachel, who have we got? We've got that David Law back again. How are you, David?
01:44Yeah, I'm very well, thank you.
01:45Retired bank official from Morton in the Wirral with three wins neatly stacked in your safe. Excellent stuff.
01:51And who are you joined by? Martin Garrett, retired from Wembley. Never stops running. How many clubs do you run
01:58with?
01:59Three, Nick. It's Serpentine, Subricourt, and Veterans AC. They all fill a different need.
02:07For instance? Distances or...?
02:10Distances to keep fit in general. So the older you get, the more exercise you need to do, I think,
02:16really.
02:17You're talking to somebody who's seriously contemplating actually buying one of those mountain climbing machines.
02:24Do you know what I mean with the pedals?
02:26Great idea.
02:27I've climbed about eight feet. Brilliant.
02:30That's good. Anyway, listen, have a lot of fun, both of you. Big round of applause for David and Martin.
02:40And Susie's over there in the corner, looking after our Dictionary Corner guest. Welcome back. Fine art and antiques expert,
02:48the great Raj Beersham.
02:49Raj, can you spot a competitive couple of bidders in an audience in your auction house?
02:54Yes. Without a doubt. I mean, what you should always do, Nick, when you go to an auction, is to
03:00set your price, and that is it. I mean, you can always go 10% above that, but it's very,
03:06very easy when you go to an auction to get carried away.
03:08You're talking to somebody with no self-control whatsoever.
03:11Fantastic. Come to our auction.
03:14All right, David. Off we go. Let us go.
03:16Good afternoon, Rachel.
03:18Good afternoon, David.
03:18Start with a consonant, please.
03:20Thank you. Start today with S.
03:23And another, please.
03:24W.
03:26And a vowel, please.
03:28E.
03:29And another.
03:31I.
03:32And a consonant, please.
03:35R.
03:36And another consonant.
03:39N.
03:40And a vowel.
03:43A.
03:44And a consonant.
03:46L.
03:48And another consonant, please.
03:50And lastly, G.
03:52And here's the countdown clock.
03:54And here's the countdown clock.
04:24Well, David.
04:26I've got an eight.
04:28Martin.
04:29An eight.
04:30Now, David.
04:32Swearing.
04:33And?
04:34Wrangles.
04:35Wrangles.
04:36Very nice.
04:37Good word.
04:41What about Raj and Susie?
04:43Raj?
04:43I've got swearing.
04:45Great.
04:45Well done.
04:46No nine.
04:47Real lines is another eight.
04:49Real lines.
04:50Yeah.
04:50Eights all round.
04:51Not bad.
04:52Not bad to start that way.
04:54Now, Martin.
04:55Your letters go.
04:56Afternoon, Rachel.
04:57Afternoon, Martin.
04:58Can I start with a consonant, please?
05:00Start with R.
05:02Another.
05:04Eight.
05:05A third.
05:07T.
05:08A vowel.
05:10U.
05:11A second.
05:12E.
05:13A consonant.
05:16G.
05:18Another vowel.
05:20I.
05:24Another vowel.
05:26O.
05:27And a final consonant, please.
05:30And a final B.
05:32Stand by.
05:33A meaningful mientras.
05:33T
05:34B.
05:39A
05:40R
05:40A
05:40B.
05:53A
05:54A
05:54A
05:55B.
05:56A
05:57A
05:57A
06:01B.
06:01A
06:02B.
06:02A
06:02B.
06:04Well, Martin.
06:05Seven.
06:06Now, David, another seven.
06:09Martin?
06:10Brought.
06:11Yes, same word, brought.
06:14Brought.
06:15Raj?
06:16Rebought?
06:17Yes, you can rebuy something if you buy it back,
06:20or indeed buy it again, so that's a really good eight.
06:23And we have Ruffy as well, hooligan for seven.
06:26Ruffy?
06:27Ruffy.
06:29Fifteen apiece?
06:30Now, it's a numbers game for the retired banker, David.
06:36Oh, yeah, just one large and five small, please, Rachel.
06:38Thank you, David.
06:39One from the top and five little coming up.
06:42And the first one of the day is one, three, one, ten, seven,
06:48and a large one, 25.
06:50And a target, 496.
06:53Four nine six.
07:25Well, David, I've got 498.
07:27And Martin?
07:29Uh, four nine nine.
07:30Four nine nine.
07:31So we're with, uh...
07:32We're with you, David.
07:34Ten.
07:35So one plus one times two is 20.
07:39One plus one is two.
07:41Two.
07:41Times ten.
07:42Times ten is 20.
07:43Times 25.
07:45Times 25, 500.
07:48And I should have three and one left to take away.
07:50I'm afraid you've used both ones.
07:52I don't think.
07:52Sorry.
07:53I'm sorry, David.
07:55In you leap, Martin.
07:57Yeah, pretty similar.
07:58Um, it was, uh, three minus one for the two,
08:03multiplied by the ten,
08:06then multiplied by 25,
08:08then take off the other one.
08:10Yes.
08:11Four nine nine.
08:12Well done.
08:13But, Rachel, is it so tricky?
08:15There were a couple of ways,
08:17but if you take David's method,
08:18you have a seven minus three left over for four.
08:21You can take that away for four nine six.
08:23Ah, well done.
08:24Excellent.
08:25As always.
08:28So that's the way to do it.
08:30Now it's time for our tea time teaser,
08:32which is not liable.
08:33And the clue?
08:34She's not liable to eat this any time soon.
08:37She's a vegetarian.
08:38She's not liable to eat this any time soon.
08:41She's a vegetarian.
08:59Welcome back.
09:00I left with the clue.
09:02She's not liable to eat this any time soon.
09:04She's a vegetarian.
09:05And she's not going to eat that ballateen.
09:10Ballateen.
09:11Help me out here.
09:12It's from the French,
09:14meaning a package of goods,
09:16because essentially it's roasted meat,
09:17which has been boned and stuffed
09:19and then folded or rolled.
09:22Yes.
09:22I think I get that.
09:24A ballateen.
09:2522 plays 15.
09:27Martin in the lead,
09:28and it's Martin's Letters game.
09:31Yes, sir.
09:31Yes.
09:32Can I start with a consonant, please?
09:34Thank you, Arton.
09:35N.
09:36And another.
09:38F.
09:39A third.
09:41N.
09:42A vowel.
09:44A vowel.
09:45Another vowel.
09:47A.
09:48A third vowel.
09:51I.
09:52A consonant.
09:54P.
09:55Another consonant.
09:58S.
10:00And a final consonant, please.
10:03A final L.
10:04Stand by.
10:37Martin.
10:39I'll try a seven.
10:41David, six.
10:42And your six is?
10:44Planes.
10:46And?
10:47Unslain.
10:49Ooh, I like that.
10:51Um, but it's not fair, I'm afraid.
10:55A good try.
10:56What about the corner?
10:59I haven't got anything this time.
11:01Um, well, unplane is in there.
11:03Um, not plain, um, ornate, elaborate, um, that kind of thing.
11:07And unnails is also in there.
11:10Um, so both of those will give you, that gives you seven, actually, unnails.
11:14Well done.
11:14Yeah.
11:14Okay.
11:15So, one point in it.
11:17Martin's still just one point in the lead.
11:19David, let us go.
11:22Uh, consonant, please, Rachel.
11:24Thank you, David.
11:25D.
11:26And another.
11:26And the last one, E.
11:55Stand by.
11:57Stand by.
12:27Yes, David.
12:29Eight.
12:30And eight, Martin?
12:31I need a seven.
12:33And that seven is?
12:34Trained.
12:35Trained.
12:36Trained, yeah.
12:37David?
12:38Remained.
12:39And remained.
12:41Very nice.
12:41Well done.
12:46So, David, back in the lead there by seven points, 29 to 22, whilst over in the corner.
12:52Now then.
12:53An eight-letter one, diameter.
12:55Very good.
12:57And Susie?
12:57At the very, very last minute, nine is there, in fact.
13:01If something has a minaret, a slender tower, which you might find as part of a mosque, it
13:05is said to be minareted.
13:08Minareted.
13:10Special.
13:15Minareted, indeed.
13:1629 to 22, as I say.
13:18David back in the lead.
13:19And it's Martin's numbers game.
13:22Martin.
13:22Could I have one large and five small, please, Rachel?
13:25You can, indeed.
13:26Thank you, Martin.
13:26One from the top and five little coming up.
13:29And this time they are eight.
13:31One.
13:32Six.
13:33Eight.
13:34Seven.
13:35And the large one, 25 again.
13:37And this target, 832.
13:39Eight, three, two.
13:42.
14:12Martin?
14:13No, I lost that completely, I'm afraid.
14:15And David?
14:16No, sorry.
14:17Rachel, this is obviously hard, if not impossible.
14:21What do you think?
14:21Yeah, leave it with me a second, Nick.
14:23Certainly I will.
14:24Certainly I will.
14:25So, 29 to 22, Raj.
14:29You've got some amazing things coming across the desk in your auction room.
14:33A story about a bottle of wine.
14:35Well, actually it's not from my auction room, but...
14:39Do you like a glass of red, Nick?
14:40Absolutely, every evening.
14:42Really?
14:43Yeah, absolutely.
14:43Well, you won't like this story then.
14:45Go on.
14:46This is about a very famous wine dealer in New York in 1989 called William Socklin.
14:53It was very, very famous and dealt in exquisite wines.
14:57Well, he was asked to sell a bottle of Chateau Margot, which I'm sure you'll have heard of.
15:02But this particular bottle of wine was dated 1787.
15:06And it actually came from Thomas Jefferson, who was the third president of America.
15:12And he valued it at $200,000.
15:15A lot of money for a bottle of wine.
15:17And he was about to start to market it, but he had seen something of Thomas Jefferson go at auction,
15:25and it had made a hell of a lot of money.
15:27So he decided to up what this bottle of wine was worth.
15:31And he upped it to $500,000, half a million dollars, which obviously gained him a lot of publicity.
15:38And what he decided to do was, it was a black tie do in New York, and it was to
15:44celebrate the new release of Bordeaux wines.
15:47So he thought, as a marketing idea, he'd take this bottle of 1787 Margot and show it around, basically.
15:55So he did.
15:56And he started going around the table, showing off the wine.
16:00But what happened was he slipped.
16:02And he fell into one of the food trolleys.
16:07And the bottle hit the top and broke, and literally landed on the floor, and all the wine started to
16:15seep out of it.
16:16Well, he just looked down, apparently, and he said, I've committed murder.
16:21And off he went home.
16:23And that's what happened.
16:25But what he decided to do was to claim on the insurance.
16:29And because he was selling it for half a million dollars, he claimed half a million dollars.
16:34But the insurers were a little bit suspect about the whole thing.
16:38And so they decided to pay him out what he had valued it initially.
16:43So they paid him out $200,000.
16:46And I guess the moral to this story is that if you do buy an expensive bottle of wine,
16:51it's to decant it as soon as possible and then drink it.
16:56All right.
16:57Absolutely.
16:58A good story.
17:00All right.
17:02Now, Rachel.
17:03You've done it, haven't you?
17:05Yes.
17:05Lots of dead ends, but as soon as you ignore the 25 and say 7 plus 6 is 13,
17:11times 8 is 104, and you can times that by the other 8 for 8, 3, 2.
17:16Perfect.
17:16Perfect.
17:20There we go.
17:21That's the way, gentlemen.
17:23And now, David, your letters came.
17:26Consonant, please.
17:27Rachel.
17:28Thank you, David.
17:29D.
17:30And another.
17:32T.
17:33A vowel, please.
17:34O.
17:35And another.
17:37E.
17:38And another.
17:39I.
17:41Consonants.
17:42M.
17:43And another.
17:45N.
17:46And another.
17:48S.
17:50And a vowel, please.
17:52And the last one.
17:53O.
17:54Stand by.
17:56OK.
17:57A vowel.
17:59And a vowel, please.
17:59And a vowel, please.
18:27David?
18:29I think an eight.
18:33Martin?
18:33I'll stick with a seven.
18:35And your seven, Martin?
18:36Emotions.
18:38Yes.
18:39David?
18:40Dominoes with an E towards the end.
18:43Yes, that is plural with the E.
18:46That's very good indeed.
18:47Well done.
18:48Well done.
18:49Can we match that, Raj?
18:50I had an eight.
18:52Emotions.
18:52Yes.
18:53I think Susie can better that.
18:55Well, you've got a D left, so you can put a D in front of it for D motions, which
18:58will
18:58give you a nine.
18:59Nine.
19:00Excellent.
19:00Well done.
19:05Emotions.
19:06Mm.
19:07Very good.
19:0837 plays, 22.
19:10Martin, off we go.
19:11Letters game.
19:13Right.
19:14Consonant, please.
19:15Thank you, Martin.
19:16R.
19:17Another.
19:19T.
19:20A third.
19:22Z.
19:24A vowel.
19:26U.
19:27Another vowel.
19:29I.
19:31A third vowel.
19:33E.
19:35A consonant.
19:37P.
19:39Another consonant.
19:42T.
19:45And a final vowel, please.
19:48A final O.
19:50And it's countdown.
19:52A third vowel.
19:54I.
20:21I.
20:21I.
20:22Martin. A six next. A six and? Seven. Martin. True. Now, David. Pottier. And Pottier. Yes, very nice. It can
20:34be Pottier than the next person. And the corner? Pottier for seven. Oh, very good. Susie? That was best for
20:41us, seven. Pottier. Yeah. And Pottier. 44 to 22. David. David, it's your numbers game.
20:49Yeah, just one large and five small again, please, Rachel. Same again. Thank you, David. One from the top row.
20:55Five not. And this time around, we have nine, four, eight, six, four, and 75. And the target, 842. 842.
21:41David. 840. Two away, Martin. I think I've got eight, four, or two. Let's try.
21:4775 plus nine. Yep. 84. Six plus four is 10. Here it is. Multiply. 840. 8 divided by four is
21:59two, and add it on. Perfect. Very well done.
22:02Well done. Well done. Well done.
22:06Page up to 32 to David's 44. As we turn to our second tea time teaser, which is Kent Oda.
22:14And the clue, he committed himself to passing the car on the inside. He committed himself to passing the car
22:21on the inside.
22:40Welcome back. I left with the clue. He committed himself to passing the car on the inside.
22:46He undertook. He undertook. I wish people would not undertake. Have you noticed on the motorways now? People shooting through
22:53on the inside. People should stop it. 44 plays 32. David on 44. Martin, your letters go.
22:58Right. Could I start with a consonant, please? Thank you, Martin. S. Another. G. Third. Y. Vowel. A. Another vowel.
23:16E. Consonant. H. Another consonant. S.
23:27A vowel. O. And a final consonant, please. And a final M. Stand by.
24:09Martin. A seven. A seven and? Just a six. Your six is? Mashes. Now then, Martin.
24:17Uh, homages. Yes, it's a mass noun in terms of paying homage to someone. But if you talk about, um,
24:24say, films being a homage to someone, different films, different homages, that's absolutely fine.
24:28Well done. Now, Roush and Susie? I can't bet a homages. Susie?
24:33No, that was our best for seven. Lots of six is otherwise. Well done.
24:36Mashes, moshes. Well done. 39 now to, uh, 44. David on 44. David?
24:41Good. Your letters, Ken. Uh, consonant, please, Rachel. Thank you, David. D. And another.
24:51S. And a third. L. And a vowel. U. And another. I. And a third. A. And a consonant.
25:04Once. R. And another. T. And a vowel, please. And lastly, E.
25:15Stand by.
25:15T. And a vowel, please.
25:18T. And a vowel.
25:47Well, David?
25:49Seven.
25:50Seven.
25:51And seven from Martin.
25:53David?
25:54Trailed.
25:55Martin?
25:56Retails.
25:57And retails, yeah.
25:59Yes.
26:00Very nice.
26:01Can we match or beat it in the corner there?
26:03Raj?
26:04I've got an eight.
26:05Residual.
26:06Very good.
26:07Very good.
26:11Well done, individual.
26:12Susie?
26:13A stride, otherwise, for another seven.
26:1751 to 46.
26:18Susie, let's give them a rest.
26:21Wants you to live your wonderful origins of words.
26:23What have you for us today?
26:25I have an email from George Gibson, who says,
26:28after using the expression, a bit of skullduggery going on there,
26:31I was wondering where the expression comes from.
26:34And it's a good one, because a lot of people assume
26:36that skullduggery is all about grave robbing.
26:40And you're forgiven for thinking that,
26:41because it was coined in around the 18th century.
26:43And the practice then of grave robbing
26:47was so profound and so prolific, really,
26:50that a device called the mort-safe was devised.
26:53Now, a mort-safe was a sort of iron cage
26:55that surrounded a coffin,
26:56and it prevented abduction of the occupant.
27:00So you'd be forgiven for thinking that this kind of skullduggery
27:03and the sort of underhand carryings on,
27:06they all originated from those times.
27:08But, in fact, if you look at the spelling,
27:10you'll see that there's something slightly awry here,
27:13because skullduggery is only spelt with one L.
27:16And it has nothing to do with skulls
27:18and nothing to do with digging or duggery in that sense, either.
27:23The story is really obscure.
27:25It's really hard to get to the bottom of it.
27:26We know it's American,
27:27and it first appeared in print in around sort of mid-1800s,
27:32when it was all about the misappropriation of funds.
27:35So skullduggery was originally committing fraud.
27:38But if you go back a little bit further,
27:40you'll find its origins, like, in Scotland,
27:42when it was skulldudgery,
27:44and it meant lewd and basically unchaste behaviour.
27:48So that kind of devious behaviour, I guess.
27:50And that, in turn, might be based on a Scottish word, dud,
27:54which was the sackcloth of repentance in the Scottish church.
27:58Beyond that, we know nothing, sadly.
28:01And it would be lovely if it was all about...
28:03Well, not lovely, but it would be interesting
28:05if it was all about digging up skulls.
28:07But, as I say, they have absolutely nothing to do with it,
28:09and it was all about repenting
28:10for those devious machinations that you might engage in.
28:13Well, I never...
28:20Well done. Thank you, Susie.
28:22Excellent. 51 to 46, David on 51.
28:25Martin, off we go.
28:27Letters go.
28:28A consonant, please.
28:29Thank you, Martin.
28:31M.
28:31And another.
28:33N.
28:34And a third.
28:35R.
28:37A vowel.
28:38I.
28:40Another vowel.
28:41O.
28:43A third vowel.
28:45A.
28:47A consonant.
28:50L.
28:51Another consonant.
28:53S.
28:55And a final vowel.
28:58And a final E.
29:00Stand by.
29:02A consonant.
29:05A consonant.
29:16A consonant.
29:18A consonant.
29:18A consonant.
29:18A consonant.
29:19A consonant.
29:19A consonant.
29:19A consonant.
29:19A consonant.
29:33Martin.
29:35I'll try a nine.
29:37David?
29:38Yeah, I've also got a nine, but I haven't written it down.
29:40So, David?
29:42Normalise.
29:43Normalise?
29:44Normalise.
29:46OK.
29:47Well done.
29:51Well done.
29:54And over in the corner there, Raj.
29:56Got normalise for nine.
29:58Well done.
29:59Susie, anything else?
30:00Well, almanis are there for eight, the givers of alms,
30:03and they might reside in an almanri, a place where alms are distributed,
30:07and the plural of that is almanri, so that will give you another nine.
30:10Excellent.
30:13Almanri.
30:1769, please, 64.
30:19Final letters game, David.
30:21Constant, please.
30:22Thank you, David.
30:23X.
30:24And another.
30:26B.
30:27And a third.
30:30K.
30:31Vowel, please.
30:33A.
30:34And another.
30:36I.
30:38And a third.
30:39O.
30:41And a fourth.
30:43U.
30:46Consonant, please.
30:48R.
30:49And another consonant.
30:51And the last one, D.
30:53Stand by.
30:54J.
30:56Yes.
30:56I.
31:05I?
31:07I.
31:23I.
31:23I.
31:24I.
31:24well David just five similarly just five five for Martin to David proud yes
31:32both proud anybody else proud rush yeah I've got proud Susie and I have a the
31:40browsing mammal of the giraffe family lives in the rainforest that's an okapi
31:44yes and it's just five really tricky thank you thank you 69 to 74 about five
31:51in it in we go to the final numbers game Martin no change Rachel we'll go for
31:57one large and five small please one large five small and hopefully a crucial
32:01conundrum coming up let's see final numbers of the day are one five ten six
32:08four and a large one 25 and the target 357 357
32:45well Martin
32:50360 360 and David 357 well done off we go ten plus four equals 14 it does times
33:0125 350 plus six plus one and that secures the win well
33:05well done 357 well done David broke away just in time 84 to Martin 69 so it's a conundrum but
33:18not a crucial one
33:19gentlemen fingers on buzzers let's roll today's countdown conundrum
33:31Martin
33:31abolition abolition let's see whether you're right here we go abolition
33:44well done Martin just pipped to a crucial conundrum but you got the conundrum which is that makes it all
33:50okay
33:51it's a bonus really take this goody bag back to Wembley with our very best wishes
33:56good player good player David whoa narrow squeak very narrow and you've got four
34:02wins and still haven't got a conundrum yet give it time but you know not too
34:07much time we'll see you tomorrow okay we'll see you tomorrow Raj coming
34:10tomorrow looking forward to it and Susie too both of you look forward to that and
34:14Rachel too of course see you tomorrow and I look forward to every single
34:17charity inviting you to their charity auction loose hand hewer no no they tie my hands behind my back
34:24we'll see you tomorrow see you then join us tomorrow same time same place you be sure of it
34:28a very good afternoon you can contact the program by email at countdown at channel 4.com
34:34by twitter at c4 countdown or write to us at countdown leads ls3 1js
34:40you can also find our webpage at channel 4.com forward slash countdown
35:10we'll see you then