June 30, 2026

Hello, and welcome to another edition of my blog.

Colin, Rachel, Susie and Jon start by mentioning that the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was released on this day in 1971.  Rachel says that her kids' gateway to Roald Dahl books was The BFG.  Then they branched out, read Willy Wonka and eventually saw the movie.  They say the kids weren't allowed to see the chocolate room until they were filming.  Jon says that Mr. Bain, his English teacher at the time, let him watch the movie at the end of his school day.  Susie said that the chocolate in the movie was actually brown water that they put cream in to make it look more appetizing, but it was not and smelled terrible. 

Karen Pearson is back today after securing a come-from-behind victory in the last third of the game yesterday.  Trying to stop her is Alan Chambers from Stevenage but now living in Cambridgeshire, a retired criminal investigator for HMRC, which is the UK's tax, payment and customs authority office.  He is missing his daughter, Sally's 43rd birthday today.  He says he gave her a present, sent her a message and kept a receipt.  Colin jokingly said that Rachel, Karen and Alan will be checking their receipts between the three of them today, and they will definitely add up, and Colin says, as usual, that they will enjoy today, whether Alan or Karen is the winner.

Let's get on with the game!

Karen's first letters selection is MGTEAEAKN

Alan declares MAGENTA, while Karen declares TANKAGE, which is the storage plasty of a tank.  Dictionary corner had MAGNATE, MANATEE and GATEMAN

Alan's first letters selection is GTPUEOVRE

Alan declares VETOER, while Karen declares POUTER.  Dictionary Corner had TOUPEE.

Karen's first numbers selection is 75, 5, 7, 2, 1 and 3, and the target is 450.

Karen's method is 5 + 1 = 6 x 75 = 450

Alan had the same method.  Very easy one!

The first Teatime Teaser is SAFERBRO, and the clue is "Sounds like extra trouble for Goldilocks, but she shows restraint," The solution is FORBEARS.

Alan's next letters selection is NRTIOEDWI

Alan has WINTER, while Alan has DOWNIER.

DC had RETINOID, which is one of many compounds similar to Vitamin A on the body.

Karen's next letters selection is SNCTEOEIS

Karen and Alan both have SECTIONS.  I did too!

DC had SECTIONES and SEICENTO, which is the style of art and literature in Italy in the 17th century.

Alan wants an inverted T for his first numbers selection, and it is 50, 3, 6, 9, 2 and 3, and the target is 252

Alan declares 251, and Karen says 252

Karen's method is 3 + 2 = 5 x 50 = 250 + 6/3 = 2

Jon does a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne by impersonating him.  He was lucky enough to work with him on a number of occasions.  One of them was in a margarine commercial A family rented out their home in Buckinghamshire, and many animals would walk through The Osbournes' kitchen and emulate their pets.  But they weren't told that a prize-winning cow would go in their kitchen and they objected to it.  The commercial almost got canceled, but there was a hurried negotiation to air it.  The Osbournes eventually agree to have a cow in their kitchen, provided that it was clean.  So, a very benevolent cowkeeper gets a bucket of lukewarm water, a soft brush and some herbal shampoo.  He gives the cow a good wash, and Jon was dressed as Ozzy.  The real Ozzy was at Jon's side.  All of a sudden, Ozzy goes "Is that bloke over there washing a cow?" He would walk out of his hallway in his house, and all the dogs would part like the waters of the Red Sea, and there he would be like this misiyanic rock and roll star.

Karen's next letters selection is BZNPTAEOA.

Karen says BATON, and Alan says BENZOA, which is not in.

DC had APNOEA, which is the British spelling of APNEA.

Alan's next letters selection is GNCEOATLR.

Karen has TANGELO, while Alan had TANGLER, which is again not in.

DC has CORNEAL, which presumably means relating to the cornea ibn the eye. 

Karen's next numbers solution is 25, 75, 4, 2, 9 and 3, and the target is 787.

Karen declares 786

"Karen did 75 + 25 = 100 - 2 = 98 x 4 + 3 = 686, which is way too far away.

The next Teatime Teaser is RUNSTIME, and the clue is, "The bus runs on time, and gets here promptly."

The answer is TERMINUS

Alan's next letters selection is NSDIEUSTA

Alan declares AUNTIES, and Karen declares SUSTAINED.

Karen's next letters selection is GFHROIOAL

Karen has FLOOR, and Alan has FOLIAR. which means relating to leaves.

DC offered HIROLA, which is an antelope.

For Origins of Words, Jim Etty from Devon who was following the World Snooker Championships earlier this year.  On at least four occasions, the commentators say, "He's missed that by a long chalk."  This refers to keeping score, particularly in pubs or taverns. It seems like a British expression, but the quote's records were in the US before it came over to British jargon.  It refers to the practice of using chalk to tally points scored in a game.  In this case, chalk marks would be showing on a board or slate, and a long chalk line would mean a big lead.  The earliest documentation of the phrase came from an American newspaper in 1833.  When it came to British jargon, it refers to dominoes, where it was originally played to 21 chalks, and scores were tallied chalk by chalk.  People would have been very familiar with this, as it was very similar to a tab, and games in taverns, for example.  A short chalk mark means a very close game, while a long chalk meant a big difference in the scores.  The word score comes from etching on a piece of wood, while the word tally got its meaning from tally sticks, which itself comes from the French word meaning to score in a stick.

Alan's next letters selection is HRDIUETNO

Alan says HOUNDER, while Karen says ROUTINED.  HOUNDER is unfortunately not in.

DC had UNDERHIT.

Karen's last letters selection is MCWLUEIAD

Karen declared WAILED, while Alan appropriately declared CLAIMED

DC came up with MEDICAL and DECIMAL.

Alan's final numbers selection is 25m 100, 75, 6, 1 and 7, and the target is 822.

Karen and Akan both got to 825.  Alan's method is 8 x 100 + 25.  Easy.  Alan had the same method.

The conundrum is REGIFIIFTH, and Karen buzzes in to say FIREFIGHT.  That solution is correct.

Honestly, I knew it was over for Alan as soon as Karen got that 9.  But Alan still got 51, which is a great score against Karen.  Karen has now scored 3 centuries in a row, and she still doesn't believe she can become an Octochamp.  I'm surprised she hasn't fainted after getting that 3rd century! She will be back tomorrow to face another opponent standing in her way, but we hope she can win 2 more games.  Until the next one, so long.