tubechallenge.com

if anyone needs a hint for number 1 well....

Okay, time to make these answers public. Not too difficult, most of them, I think. I’ll explain any hints as I go.

• Best1: Yes, I guess no hint was really needed for Berney Arms, was it?
• Best2: Where are James Bond films currently made? At Shepperton Studios, are they not? [Correction - see a later post!]
• Best3: The unique feature here at Halesworth is the old level crossing, in that the gates were moveable parts of the platforms. Even though no longer used as a crossing, the moveable platform sections can still be seen on my photo in the distance.
• Best4: ‘Ruglatch?’ Rug=Mat, Latch=Lock. So it’s Matlock. (Obvious, I know….) But note the building in the far distance. This is Riber Castle. You may not have heard of it, but the word ‘Riber’ has been in my own vocabulary since the 1990s. You’ll find it in Douglas Adams and John Lloyd’s book The Meaning of Liff, where ‘things that should have words’ are matched with various place names across the world. I was delighted when I finally found out where Riber was, as it was one of my favourite entries in the book. Search the web for what Adams and Lloyds’ interpretation of ‘Riber’ is – maybe you’ll add it to your own vocabulary too! (Also see their interpretation of ‘Glenwhilly’ – this was inspiration for my bonus question to Southminster….)
• Best5: The only remaining intact 8-sailed windmill in the UK is near Heckington station.
• Best6: One thing you may expect to find near the sea is air which is salty. But Saltaire station is very far inland.

Well done to Steeevooo and trains500, who both (eventually) got 6 out of 6. That’s all the entries I got!

So, I’ll answer that bonus in a couple of days, when I have time to write up the explanation for the answer. I guess there’s no rush – I hear there's something happening tonight which may be taking a lot of folks’ attention…. In the meantime, feel free to submit a bonus answer, if your brain works in the strange way mine does.... (Remember to ask a musical friend for help if necessary...)

RobbieM wrote: ↑11 Jul 2021, 15:50 • Best2: Where are James Bond films currently made? At Shepperton Studios, are they not?

No, Pinewood!

nobody is going to get that bonus

michael_churchill wrote: ↑12 Jul 2021, 10:48

RobbieM wrote: ↑11 Jul 2021, 15:50 • Best2: Where are James Bond films currently made? At Shepperton Studios, are they not?

No, Pinewood!

In which case, the answer to my hint question was "No! He's about ten miles away!"

My apologies, I got the impression that Pinewood and Shepperton worked together these days, and that some (not all) James Bond filming was at Shepperton. But I must have been mistaken. That's what comes of trying to write hints in a hurry.

I won't do it again!

RobbieM wrote: ↑12 Jul 2021, 11:25

michael_churchill wrote: ↑12 Jul 2021, 10:48

RobbieM wrote: ↑11 Jul 2021, 15:50 • Best2: Where are James Bond films currently made? At Shepperton Studios, are they not?

No, Pinewood!

In which case, the answer to my hint question was "No! He's about ten miles away!"

My apologies, I got the impression that Pinewood and Shepperton worked together these days, and that some (not all) James Bond filming was at Shepperton. But I must have been mistaken. That's what comes of trying to write hints in a hurry.

I won't do it again!

Well, I wouldn't claim to be an expert, but the Wikipedia page on Shepperton Studios makes no mention of James Bond in the list of credits!

I believe the production of GoldenEye prompted the conversion of the Rolls Royce factory at Leavesden to a film studio, but then it was taken over by Harry Potter and Bond moved back to Pinewood.

michael_churchill wrote: ↑12 Jul 2021, 12:32 Well, I wouldn't claim to be an expert, but the Wikipedia page on Shepperton Studios makes no mention of James Bond in the list of credits!

I believe the production of GoldenEye prompted the conversion of the Rolls Royce factory at Leavesden to a film studio, but then it was taken over by Harry Potter and Bond moved back to Pinewood.

Well, I definitely stand corrected. But I suppose it gives me an opportunity for another lesson to teach the class...

...never be afraid to admit your mistakes!

trains 500 wrote: ↑12 Jul 2021, 11:00 nobody is going to get that bonus

You wouldn't believe how many correct answers I've already had! (Actually, you probably would... )

It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Eagerly. Haven’t you? Have you? Oh well, whatever. Here we go:

So, Crow’s travelled around, whistling a tune. What tune? Did you ‘take note’ and ‘follow the stations to the letter’, whilst noting Crow’s ‘sharp’ dash to Southminster?

You may have spotted that all the places he visited were within the first seven stations of the competition. That is, stations with the letters ‘A’ to ‘G’, which also happen to be the notes of the musical scale. When ‘F’ appears, we need to turn it into an ‘F sharp’ (F#), hence the ‘sharp’ dash to Southminster. What about how many nights he spends in each destination? These correspond to the length of each note. When you put these notes in order (with the correct length for each), you get something like this:

G……_……_……A……B……_……A……_……

C……_……B……_……A……F#…G……_……

This is where some musical knowledge is needed (possibly from a friend if you don’t happen to be a musician yourself). What is that tune? I said that you may have recently heard it on TV or on radio, for two completely different reasons. Let’s start with the radio appearance:

At the time of writing, Radio 4 is broadcasting the latest series of everyone’s favourite antidote to panel games – I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue. For the uninformed, this show contains the game Mornington Crescent (the closest many folks will ever get to a Tube Challenge….) But what about the show’s opening theme music? If you listen to the first five seconds of it, you’ll hear Crow’s tune! (It’s transposed into B flat, but it’s the same ditty….) All well and good – you may recognise the tune, but still not know what it is. So where did you probably hear it on TV recently?

I guess most of us watched a certain football match on Tuesday 29th June. Not long before kick-off, Crow’s tune echoed round Wembley Stadium. It wasn’t God Save the Queen, so I think you may have sussed it by now. Yes, this melody is the opening line of Deutschlandlied, otherwise known as the German national anthem!

As Crow flies back to Saundersfoot after his holiday, the tune he has been whistling is stuck in his head. (Perhaps he’s eaten an earworm on his travels….) As he sings it to himself, over and over, he is taken by the idea of having his next holiday in Germany!

So, now you know. And here’s a full list of entries that got it right: _________

And here’s a full list of entries that didn’t get it right: _________

Hmmm. It seems no class member will be selected for Oxbridge, or put on the fast-track to working for GCHQ.

By the way, there’s another possible answer to this riddle. The German national anthem is also known by the name Austria. So I would have accepted that, had anyone submitted it. (Oh, and also incidentally, the tune of the English national anthem is also known by the name America. Honest!)

So, class, how did you enjoy the bonus? Do you feel educated, entertained, or what?

Class: “Please Sir, just give us more nice-looking stations, so that we can guess where they are!”

Harumph. Oh well, then. Back to the grindstone. Coming up in the next day or few. I need to go and lie down in a camera oscura… (As well as using one to get more station piccies....)

RobbieM wrote: ↑14 Jul 2021, 17:54
At the time of writing, Radio 4 is broadcasting the latest series of everyone’s favourite antidote to panel games – I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue. For the uninformed, this show contains the game Mornington Crescent (the closest many folks will ever get to a Tube Challenge….) But what about the show’s opening theme music? If you listen to the first five seconds of it, you’ll hear Crow’s tune! (It’s transposed into B flat, but it’s the same ditty….) All well and good – you may recognise the tune, but still not know what it is. So where did you probably hear it on TV recently?

I guess most of us watched a certain football match on Tuesday 29th June. Not long before kick-off, Crow’s tune echoed round Wembley Stadium. It wasn’t God Save the Queen, so I think you may have sussed it by now. Yes, this melody is the opening line of Deutschlandlied, otherwise known as the German national anthem!

The ISIHAC arrangement of the tune was originally used to introduce the 'German' competitors in the film 'Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines', and later re-used for ISIHAC.

Right – the alphabet is running short of characters now, not too long before I reach ‘Z’. I might retire from teaching then, so in case I do, let’s make the best of what remains. I understand one of the top students from the class may be on holiday at the moment, so I’ll set an easy one for now.

You must have heard the familiar saying “Everyone loves a good station roof!” I’m not sure who said it (maybe Shakespeare? But it could have been Aristotle). Anyway, there’s a wide range of glorious architecture in these lids on the top of UK stations, and their unique character may help identify the station concerned. Bearing that it in mind, have a look at Station S.

An easy one? Surely! So:

• Name Station S.

Bonus question:

• Assuming you’ve found this easy, why should you have found it especially easy?

PM those answery-wanswery-woodles towards me!

It's really too hot to be bothered with a little photo-guessing competition. And who needs a hint for Station 'S' anyway?

But if you want one - just widen your vision slightly and you'll hopefully see the bigger picture.

On the assumption were reducing the regulatory of these challenges (I hope they don't stop! Lets just make it once every month maybe). Hence i wanted to get this one in just in case it does stop at station Z. So here is Station T https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAIS-FG0mSQ

This is a challenge one, is very difficult and I suggesting looking at the background more than the foreground. I want the nearest station to this image as it isn't actually taken at or from the station but only a few hundred yards from it.
Good luck, brownie points if you get this one correct.

(internet failure in the middle of typing argh)

I don't expect any answers yet due to the difficulty and the heat combined.