MM Links Solutions November 2008 [Week 5]

[crofter]

During this fifth and final week in the reign of Sir Strix the Mongrel, the bountiful harvest of points came to an end and a great famine fell across AB-land. There was truly much Reeling About as contestants grappled with the following four chosen links:

Flying BUTRESS (very architectural)
Highland CATTLE (very horny)
Malt EXTRACT (as in "extracting the Michael")
Salmon ELLA (very Strixish)

I have been incommunicado for most of the day, otherwise I may have been tempted a bet on Salmonella for "double or quits"! However, �

NOW READ ON

[crofter]

This week, the on-rushing Shrubbery Squad were in for lean pickings as of the first dozen sets of predictions, only slaney was able to pick up on a possible architectural link with FLYING BUTRESS to score the first hit and TWO POINTS.

It took nearly 30 minutes and two canny lassies before judith bridgenut with HIGHLAND CATTLE followed immediately by kettledrum with MALT EXTRACT to re-open the scoring with their respective bonus points.

Before the hour was up, in came Entrant #23 in the form of wickedtongue (who else?) with Salmon ELLA to claim the final hit ~ and could have been my nemesis once again (had I been tempted).

Apart from these four stalwarts, only lysander & pauline picked up a point in a very tight game. Worthy of comment were Dustybun for Malt Whiasky and Elspeth for Sing;e Malt ~ already under the affluence of incohol!

[paulineward]

I was actually goingg to put Salmonella!!!...Honestly!!
But could not see Ella being used as a word...apart from a name!!
Drat!!!
I still was very bad at guessing Strix's links anyway!!
Thanks Crofter ..and Strix...I think!

[paulineward]

Or did Iput it...can't remember now...a bad month for me anyway!!! :-((

[crofter]

The November League Table after this final week shapes up as follows:

TEN POINTS: gen2 & ulysses100
NINE POINTS: Christiana
EIGHT POINTS: cliffyg, slaney & wickedtongue
SIX POINTS: centrino, forward, freebi 2 & teacher1
FOUR POINTS: Dinkypuzzled, Eiggam, Elspeth & pauline

I am aware that Sir Strix is somewhat dis-chuffed to end on such a quiet note (he doesn�t do quiet). What a character he is ~ and a delight to work with! Nevertheless the Table clearly indicates that of the top six scorers, five are former MM-Links Champions and so the setter for next month is self-selecting. I am delighted to nominate slaney as the new Champion to set the links in the run up to Christmas.

Next weekend will mark the end of 2008 but the beginning of a new reign in the continuing saga of MM Links. Until then, this is crofter signing off for another week. I am not yet clear exactly what will be happening next weekend, as I shall be celebrating the wedding of my son, Daniel, but something will be worked out!

Until then: HAPPY LINKING!

:o)

[ladyalex]

Nothing again this week. Sir Strix the Mongrel is well named, the devilish dog!
Thanks for an entertaining if low-scoring month, Strix.
Thanks too to crofter and all the best for the wedding.
Many congratulations to all the scorers and here's looking forward to slaney's links next month.

[ulysses100]

Nul points again this week, but still manage to stay top of the leader board ! All of these weekend games and I end up top two months running. 'Tis the honour of taking part. Well done Sir Strix in keeping us guessing right up to the end (and I was told that I was devious !). Congratulations too to all of the top runners, and well done to slaney as this month's champion. I hope that you get as much enjoyment out of it as the rest of us have. Again, as usual, many thanks to crofter for his mathematical skills, although the abacus did not get much use this weekend ! Let us see what the next few weekends bring............

[Elspeth]

Thank you Crofter for the kind mention; I promise I was absolutely sober but the fingers had a mind of their own!
Congratulations to Sir Strix for the challenging links and good luck to slaney for the coming month.

[x-ray]

Thanks crofter and sir strix.
No points for me again , it's been a poor month for me - one point only all month.
Just hope I have more luck with slaney next month.
Thanks anyway strix - I suppose I should have got the architectural flying butress - don't get so many of those these days

[evsajo]

Well done Slaney, and everyone else who scored points on Sat. (or in fact anytime in the last 5 weeks!!!!!!) I didn't manage one!!!!!
Thanks Strix for your lovely words, even if I never get them, and Crofter for scoring (or not, as the case may be)

[Strix]

From my point of view this month has been the greatest fun and crofter has been the most wonderful help in getting the Links set.

Pauline - I so very nearly put "maltworm" as one of my links but thought it one jump too far, sorry you didn't post your ELLA for salmon.

Kay, better luck with slaney over December.

I think I shall hide until everyone has forgotten about my hell-begotten links!

Strix

[Dustybun]

Gee thanks crofter!! I see I shall have to check my work more thoroughly in future and definitely no tipple before doing my links! Hope all goes smoothly next weekend.
Thanks to the Owlman for an 'interesting' five weeks. Well done all the high(?) scorers and good luck slaney. I dread to think what you've got up your sleeve! :0)

[twix123]

Thanks Crofter for your hard work, even though I hardly troubled your abacus this month, and a big thank you to Sir Strix the Obscure for a very entertaining month, and I thought you said the clues this week would not be miscegenated but in the end with your parentage they were!

[slaney]

What can I say...I'm truly amazed to have been on the same wavelength as Sir Strix who has provided us with a hugely entertaining month (forgetting for the moment that I've been scarred for life by that concrete poetry!)

And, as ever, thanks to the keeper of the sacred abacus crofter who keeps this particular show on the straight and narrow.

Now, where did I put my Hiberno-English dictionary?!

[gen2]

Thank you crofter and thank you Strix.

The fact that I was occasionally somewhat on Strix's wavelength was more down to luck than good judgement.

Particularly well done to those who matched this weeks fiendish links.

Oh well it's back to square 1 for all of us for the start of December. See you all then.