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00:31Good afternoon and welcome to the Countdown Studio.
00:34I know if you're wondering what to do for the weekend, just imagine you're an American.
00:37What would an American be doing in October?
00:41Why? He'd be roller skating. Why? Because it's National Roller Skating Month in America.
00:47Imagine that, whole month on wheels. Extraordinary thing.
00:50But what surprised me was that roller skates have been around for a very long time.
00:54In fact, since 1760, when a Belgian rejoicing in the name of John Joseph Merlin had ice skates
01:02and he took the sort of blade off and put wheels on and the roller skate was born.
01:07Of course, in the States, it's had a very exciting time.
01:10Back in the 50s, of course, we had drive-in, you know, movies.
01:15And people on roller skates used to whistle around and offer you Coca-Cola and French fries
01:19or perhaps Liberty chips through the window of your car.
01:22And so it went on and on and on.
01:24And then roller discos came.
01:26But, of course, when I was a kid, we had to make do with strap-ons, as we called them.
01:31Because only very rich people could afford the actual boot.
01:36And we had sort of straps that went over the toe and around the ankle.
01:39But nowadays, of course, everybody's got the proper, you know, roller blades with boots, as they are.
01:45But there we are.
01:46And that's what happened in the 50s.
01:48Do you like skating?
01:49I used to roller skate when I was younger.
01:51Yeah, there was a place called Roller City when I was growing up.
01:53Yeah.
01:53So there's loads of 90s tunes now.
01:55Whenever they come on, they remind me of Roller City and just going round and round and round,
01:59which was brilliant when you were 10.
02:00But it was good because you see them.
02:02I think American cops actually travel around on roller blades, don't they?
02:06Yeah, yeah, yeah.
02:07What are those things that, with two wheels, segues, you get cops in Miami?
02:12You've been there.
02:13You've seen them on the segues.
02:14But in some cities, they're on roller blades.
02:17Seriously.
02:17I've not seen that.
02:18You've not seen that?
02:19No, I'll have to Google that one.
02:21No, they can move very quickly through the sort of, you know, pedestrians and people like that.
02:24Now then, George Ford is back.
02:27Sixth-form student from Whittlesey, near Peterborough, who beat Johnny yesterday.
02:32Johnny Rye was a good contender.
02:34But you saw him off, actually, 102 in your first game.
02:38So, well done.
02:39You're joined today by John Payne, a bartender from Aldershot, who describes himself as a musicals geek.
02:46You love the musicals?
02:47I love, love musicals.
02:50And...
02:51Your favourite?
02:52Oh, do you know what, probably the best one I've seen in the theatre was one called Urinetown, recently.
02:58Urinetown?
02:59Urinetown.
03:00Oh, let's look out for that, Rachel.
03:02And you once spent ten days cycling with friends around the Netherlands without a route planned.
03:07We sort of made it up as we went along, and when we got to Rotterdam, my bike was stolen,
03:14which isn't great for a cycling holiday.
03:18And then a couple of us did, and we had to get the train for the rest of it, so
03:22it was a bit simpler.
03:24There we are.
03:25But a good place to cycle, because there's no hills.
03:27Oh, it was really easy.
03:29Yeah.
03:29Let's have a big round of applause for the cyclist, and George Ford from Whittlesea.
03:36And in the corner, Susie, you're a rower.
03:39Are you a cyclist, too?
03:40Yeah, if you live in Oxford, you cycle pretty much everywhere all the time.
03:43Oh, right.
03:44And, of course, you've got a biker here, but he's got an engine on his.
03:47I've got a push bike as well.
03:48Have you?
03:48Yeah, and I enjoy it, yeah.
03:50Brilliant.
03:51But now, let's not delay.
03:53Let's go on with Countdown.
03:54Come on, George, let us go in.
03:56Hi, Rachel, can I have a consonant, please?
03:58Thank you, George.
03:58Start today with L.
04:00And another.
04:03R.
04:04And the third.
04:06T.
04:07And a vowel, please.
04:10A.
04:11And a second.
04:13E.
04:14And a consonant, please.
04:16W.
04:18And a vowel.
04:21A.
04:22And another vowel.
04:25U.
04:26And a final consonant, please.
04:28And a final L.
04:30And here's the Countdown Clock.
04:32And a vowel.
04:49And a vowel.
04:50And a vowel.
04:50And a vowel.
04:50And a vowel.
04:51And a vowel.
04:51And a vowel.
04:51And a vowel.
04:51And a vowel.
04:52And a vowel.
04:52And a vowel.
05:02Well, George. A six. A six. How about you, John? Yeah, six for me as well. So, George. Wallet. And
05:08John. Wallet. Two wallets. Yeah. Very good. And in the corner, Dave and Susie. We've got a seven, lateral. Yeah,
05:17very good. Anything else? Yes, lateral thinking. We have a taller and laurel for a couple of sixes. All right.
05:24Thank you very much. Six apiece. So, John, let us go. Hi, Rachel. Hi, John. Can I have a consonant,
05:30please?
05:30Thank you. Start with N. And another one. T. And a third. D. Can I have a vowel, please? O.
05:45And another. E. And again. O. Can I have a consonant, please? Z. Can I have another consonant? M.
06:00And, uh, can I have another consonant, please? And the last one. D. Stand by.
06:06And, uh, can I have another consonant, please?
06:36Well, John? Um, six. A six. And George? Six. John? Mooted. Mooted and George? Mooned. Mooned. Mooned. Yes. Mooned. Yes.
06:48What else have we got in the corner there? Um, there's a seven. Um, oddment. An oddment? Yeah. Mm-hmm.
06:56Yes. Piece of spare cloth. Oddment's a fabric, exactly. Anything else? Um, zoomed for another alternative six. Zoomed and mooned.
07:03I do. Try and keep those apart, I would have thought. Twelve points apiece. Now then, numbers for George.
07:10Hi, Rachel. Can we have four from the top, please?
07:12You can, George. Thank you. Four large ones and two little ones to kick us off. And this first numbers
07:17game of the day is ten and five.
07:20This could be tricky. The large one. Seventy-five, one hundred, fifty and twenty-five.
07:26And the target? Four hundred and thirty-four.
07:28Four, three, four.
07:29Four, three, four.
07:31Four, four, five, twenty-five, twenty-five, twenty-five, twenty-five.
08:00Now and George.
08:01Yeah, 4, 3, 4.
08:02And John.
08:044, 3, 5.
08:054, 3, 5.
08:07Let's see how George got on first.
08:09So 50 times 10 is 500.
08:1150 times 10, 500.
08:13Take the 75 for 4, 2, 5.
08:15100 over 25 is 4.
08:18Yes.
08:19To the 5 is 9.
08:20Well done.
08:21Add it on.
08:21Perfect, 4, 3, 4.
08:23Well done.
08:24Well done, George.
08:28Well done.
08:29Early lead, but plenty of time.
08:3122 plays 12.
08:32So let's go into a tea time teaser, which is tonic, sir.
08:36And the clue, the youth is angry about pieces of fried bread.
08:40The youth is angry about pieces of fried bread.
08:58Welcome back.
08:59I left with the clue, the youth is angry about pieces of fried bread.
09:03Angry about crostini.
09:06Crostini.
09:07Susie Dent.
09:08Well, they are little pieces of fried bread and served, I'm sure Dave will know more about
09:12this, but with quite delicious toppings.
09:14So sometimes you have them as starters.
09:16Am I right?
09:17Yes.
09:18Yes.
09:18Yes.
09:18Yes.
09:18Just rub with garlic, drizzle of olive oil with some chopped tomatoes, like a bruschetta
09:22for a bit more delicate.
09:23Okay.
09:24Little mouthfuls.
09:25Very nice.
09:26A little crostini.
09:27Must be more than one.
09:28So crostino would be just one little piece.
09:30Yes.
09:31It comes from, exactly.
09:31It's a plural of crostino, which in Italian means little crust.
09:35There you go.
09:36Crostino.
09:3722 plays 12.
09:38George in the lead.
09:39John's on with the letters, Kim.
09:41John.
09:42Can I have a consonant, please, Rachel?
09:43Thank you, John.
09:44B.
09:46And another one, please.
09:48T.
09:49And a third, please.
09:51S.
09:53Can I have a vowel?
09:55I.
09:56Write these down.
09:58Can I have a vowel, please?
10:00A.
10:01Can I have another vowel, please?
10:03I.
10:05Can I have a consonant, please?
10:08K.
10:11Can I have a vowel, please?
10:14U.
10:16And can I have a consonant, please?
10:18And lastly, D.
10:20And here's the countdown clock.
10:53Yes, John?
10:55Erm, five, not written down.
10:59What about George?
11:00Six.
11:01Six.
11:02John?
11:02Bates.
11:04Now then, George.
11:05Audits.
11:07Ever the mathematician there, audits.
11:09And Dave?
11:11We had audits, we've got another six, tibias.
11:15Ah, yes, a little bone.
11:17Between the knee and the ankle, one of the two.
11:19Yeah, very good.
11:20Anything else?
11:21No, six was our best.
11:22Tibias, 28, plays 12.
11:24George, back you come.
11:26Letters.
11:27Can I have a consonant, please, Rachel?
11:29Thank you, George.
11:30R.
11:31And a second.
11:33L.
11:34And a third.
11:37R.
11:38And a fourth.
11:41B.
11:42And a vowel, please.
11:44A.
11:45And a second.
11:47E.
11:48And a third.
11:51O.
11:52And a consonant, please.
11:54C.
11:55And a final consonant.
11:57And a final R.
12:00Countdown.
12:01It's a very, you know, I don't think.
12:09I don't think so.
12:09Oh, yeah.
12:14I don't think so.
12:16I don't think so.
12:16Oh, yeah.
12:30I don't think so.
12:31I'm doing that.
12:31George. A six. A six. John. Six as well. So George. Aurora. Aurora. And John. Barrel. A barrel. Yes. Are
12:42you happy Susie? Yes happy. Sorry I'm madly trying to find something that will take us a little bit further
12:48but failing. Dave. Corral. Is it Corral for? Oh with the double R? Yeah with the double R. Oh well
12:54done. Corral. Good enough. Good enough. The Aurora. Very good.
12:5934 plays 18. So numbers John. There's Rachel waiting for you. Can I have six more please? You can. The
13:08other end of the spectrum. We've had four large. Now we are going for no large. Thank you John. Right
13:13these little ones are nine. Another nine. Four. Two. Seven. And one. And the target. 343. 343.
13:54Well John. I think I've got 343. What about George?
13:58Yeah 343. John. Nine times four is 36. Nine four is 36. Plus two is 38. 38. Times the other
14:09nine. Times by the other nine. Three four two. Three four two. Yes you're right. And plus one. You've got
14:15the one left over. Well done. Three four three. Well done. George. Same way. Yeah. Happy there. There you go
14:22John. Well done.
14:26Well done. Well done. So let's now turn to Dave. Dave. You've done some extraordinary things. You've started out as
14:34an art student. Then you took your masters. Then you went into the makeup business.
14:40And here you are being creative. Were you always creative. Oh yes. As a little lipper. When I was a
14:45kid. One of the worst things I ever did. We lived in a back to back. And the backyard walls
14:50are about six feet high. Two metres high.
14:53And there was one day. I must have been about seven years old. I built myself an aeroplane. And I
14:58was sure this would fly. It was a wooden box. I built the wings. I put a joystick on. I
15:04hoisted it up onto the backyard wall. And I sat in it.
15:07And I rocked backwards and forwards. And I had it all planned out. I knew that when I pulled back
15:12on my stick. This was going to fly Nick. Anyway. It was one of those moments where my mum just
15:19went. Stop. As I just went like that. Fell off the backyard wall and broke my thumbs.
15:25And it was about six months later when I got my thumbs out of plaster. My dad saw me going
15:31down the backyard with some wood and a hammer and some nails. He said. What are you doing? I'm building
15:36a boat.
15:37I said you're not getting. It's been like that ever since really. Brilliant. Isn't it lovely? How old were you?
15:43This sort of juvenile aviator. 38. I'd have put my strap on, roller skates on. I'd have had an undercarriage.
15:52Indeed you would have done.
15:55A lovely story. But now it's time for George to show us what he's going to do. Letters game.
16:00Rachel, can I have a consonant please? Thank you George. Q. And a second.
16:09A. And a third. I. And a fourth. E. And a consonant. R. And a second. F. And a final
16:28consonant please.
16:29And a final H. Stand by.
16:32A. And a fourth. E. And a third. E. And a third. E. And a third. E. And a third.
16:52E. And a third. E. And a third. E. And a third. E. And a third. E. And a third.
16:52E. And a third. E. And a third. E. And a third. E. And a third. E. And a third.
16:52E. And a third. E. And a third. E. And a third. E. And a third. E. And a third.
16:53E. And a third. E. And a third. E. And a third. E. And a third. E. And a third.
16:53E. And a third. E. And a third. E. And a third. E. And a third. E. And a third.
16:53E. And a third. E. And a third. E. And a third. E. And a third. E. And a third.
16:57E. And a third. E. And a third
17:02George just a four a four what about John I think you're six right so George
17:08just here John heifer heifer well done well done what else have you got in the
17:16corner there so just sixes six well done with the heifer anyway very good 34
17:21plays George's 44 and John's back with the letters game can I have a consonant
17:28please Rachel thank you John G and another one please teen and a third one
17:36please s and a vowel please a and another one e and another one oh and a
17:49consonant please D and another one ah and a vowel please and the last one I
18:00stand by
18:02so
18:30MUSIC CONTINUES
18:33Well, John?
18:34Eight.
18:34And eight, George?
18:36Yes, eight as well.
18:37So, John.
18:38Asteroid.
18:39Asteroid and...
18:40Gaudacious.
18:42Yes, Gaudacious, the plants.
18:43They're back again.
18:44The countdown plants.
18:45Yeah, indeed.
18:46We might have to ban that one day.
18:48Now, Dave.
18:50Well, there is one.
18:51It's a bit naughty, though.
18:52Careful.
18:55Todges.
18:57It's not a sausage, isn't it?
18:59It's a snadger.
19:00Huh?
19:01Snadger is a sausage.
19:02Sorry.
19:03My mistake.
19:04A todger.
19:05Is that suitable?
19:07Well, I...
19:08I raised it down in very small print and said to Dave,
19:10don't say that one.
19:12I couldn't resist it.
19:14But there's also stodgier for eight.
19:16Stodgy todge.
19:17There we go.
19:19We come in all shapes and sizes.
19:22What else have we got?
19:24That's it.
19:25I think that's it.
19:26Yeah.
19:26Yeah.
19:27Yeah.
19:27OK.
19:28All right.
19:2952 plays John's 42.
19:31Let's have a numbers game.
19:33George.
19:34Four from the top, please, Rachel.
19:35And I'll go back to all the large ones.
19:37Four large, two little.
19:39Thank you, George.
19:39And this time, the little ones are four and seven.
19:43And the large ones, 75, 50, 100, and 25.
19:48And the target, 427.
19:51Four to seven.
19:53Four to seven.
20:23Well, George.
20:24Yeah, 427.
20:25427, John?
20:26I think I might have it, but I haven't written it down.
20:28Let's hear from you, then.
20:307 times 75.
20:337 times 75, 525.
20:37Minus 100.
20:38Yep, 425.
20:40And 50 over 25.
20:41You do have it.
20:42Well done.
20:44427.
20:45Very good.
20:46And, George?
20:46Yeah, the same way.
20:47Same way, just have a little glance.
20:50Yeah.
20:51Are we happy?
20:52All right.
20:57Well done, John.
20:58Fill that 10-point difference as we go into a tea-time teaser,
21:01which is Camp Leaf.
21:03And the clue, the two body parts come together to show their dismay.
21:08The two body parts come together to show their dismay.
21:26And the answer is facepalm.
21:34Face palm?
21:35What's this facepalm?
21:37It's a gesture, Nick, in which the palm of your hand is brought to your face as an expression of
21:41dismay, exasperation, embarrassment, etc.
21:43It's a gesture we've been doing.
21:45It's called facepalm?
21:45Face palm, yeah.
21:45It's quite a recent name, but we've been doing the gesture for ages.
21:51Lovely.
21:51Now then, George on 62, John 52.
21:54Let's turn now to John.
21:56Back with you, John.
21:57Letters game.
21:58Can I have a consonant, please?
21:59Thank you, John.
22:01C.
22:03And a vowel.
22:05E.
22:07And a consonant.
22:10R.
22:11And a vowel.
22:13I.
22:14And a consonant.
22:16S.
22:18And a vowel.
22:20A.
22:22And a consonant.
22:24P.
22:24And a vowel.
22:29O.
22:32And a consonant, please.
22:35And lastly, N.
22:38Stand by.
22:38All right.
22:39All right.
23:06All right.
23:08Yes, John eight George and nine
23:13So then John canopies George um Caponia's
23:19Okay, how are you spelling that you're C.A.P. O.N. I.E.R.S
23:25Absolutely brilliant. They're covered passages across the ditch around a fort brilliant
23:38George, is that an inspired guess or had you some sort of inkling? No, I've seen it on here before
23:43I think
23:44Well remembered George, excellent stuff. Now then Dave, you're looking pleased. Yeah, we've got a belter for nine
23:49Yes, proscenia, the plural of proscenium as in a stage. Yes
23:54Pass the theatre in front of the curtain
23:56Very good, well done Dave
24:00Very good
24:02For senior, now George, you're back. Letters. Hi Reggie, can I have a consonant please? Thank you, George. Y
24:10And a second
24:13S
24:13And a third
24:16N
24:17And a vowel
24:19A
24:20And a second
24:22O
24:23And a third
24:25A
24:25A
24:26And a consonant
24:27G
24:28And another consonant
24:31S
24:33And a final vowel please
24:35And a final E
24:37Countdown
24:38Countdown
24:39T
24:39And a Wrestle
25:09Approach
25:09From
25:09For
25:09Well, George? A six. A six. And John? Eight. Eight, George? Season. John? Nosegays? Brilliant, John. Nosegays. Well spotted. Well
25:19done. Very good. Nosegays indeed. Now, the corner? Just nosegays. Yes. They were ours. The bunches of flowers worn as
25:31an ornament, usually. Very good. 80 plays, 60. But now, Susie, we're back with you and your nosegay.
25:37What have you got for us today and your wonderful origins of words?
25:41Well, I'm going to talk about the origin of two versions of the printed words. One is a round robin,
25:49and the second one is a rigmarole, which also goes back to a document I'll explain.
25:54But first of all, round robins. Most of us get round robins at Christmas time from a member of our
25:58family.
26:00Certainly a bit of tradition often give us a bit of a giggle. But they began as anything but.
26:05Because a round robin in the British Navy was once a letter where the responsibility for sending it was shared
26:11amongst everybody who signed it.
26:13So all the signatories had equal responsibility.
26:16And in France, the same tradition would call for all petitioners to sign their name on a ribbon.
26:22And the whole idea is that the top of the ribbon would be joined to the bottom.
26:25So it literally was round. It formed a circle.
26:28And there was a very good reason for doing this.
26:30It was to prevent a situation where the very first signatory in the list would be singled out for punishment.
26:36And obviously, sometimes the punishment was very, very harsh.
26:39So the term has nothing to do with the robin bird and everything to do with the French ruban, which
26:43was French for a ribbon.
26:44And that's how that started.
26:46And a similar idea, in fact, lies behind a rigmarole.
26:49And a rigmarole is a right fuss or palaver.
26:51And at the public record office in London, you'll still find the ragman roll.
26:56And that was a sequence of documents which were joined together to form a sheet that was some 40 feet
27:01or 12 meters long.
27:03It dates from 1296.
27:04And each document was a pledge of loyalty by a Scottish nobleman to King Edward I.
27:11As you can imagine, there were so many seals hanging from them.
27:13They had an incredibly ragged appearance.
27:15But not just that.
27:16As you can imagine, reading 100 or so rolls would have been long and very difficult reading,
27:21which is why ragman roll became rigmarole over time because of the way that we say it means something that's
27:27very laborious and long.
27:29Fantastic.
27:34Wonderful.
27:35Actually, I've forgotten it by the time I leave the studio, but I enjoyed it while I remember it.
27:40No, it's brilliant.
27:41A round robin, a round ribble.
27:4480 plays 60.
27:45Now, John, letters for you.
27:48Can I have a consonant, please?
27:50Thank you, John.
27:51N.
27:52And another one, please?
27:54T.
27:55And a third, please?
27:57L.
27:59Can I have a vowel, please?
28:01O.
28:02And another one, please?
28:04I.
28:05And another vowel, please?
28:08E.
28:09Can I have a consonant?
28:12N.
28:15Another consonant, please?
28:17F.
28:18Can I have a vowel, please?
28:20And the last one.
28:22O.
28:23And the clock starts now.
28:53The economy of this world.
28:55Well John eight and eight George risk an eight
29:01John oilstone George that the looniest
29:05You can certainly be the looniest and also is also great. It's fine-grained flat stone used with oil for
29:12sharpening chisels or planes
29:20What else have we got in the corner, and we've got another eight were insolent yes, and
29:28Seven lotions a lotion 88 plays 68 now then final letters game. It's what George's name on it
29:36Have a constant please Rachel. Thank you, George G and the second
29:42L and a third ah
29:47And a full
29:49P and a vowel
29:53you and a second I
29:56and a third oh
30:01And a consonant please
30:03X and a final
30:07Vowel please and a final a
30:12Don't I
30:13I
30:26I
30:27I
30:27I
30:30I
30:31I
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