They’ve continued the habit from previous seasons of writing out fan favourite characters such as Tonga or Wales before the finale, and have decided that the season finale would be a rematch of the one from season one. So what have they added that’s new?

Well, in terms of character development, previous seasons have hinted towards France’s mental instability but this season the writers flirted with pushing them over the edge into insanity. But then the went and bottled it and failed to follow through on this development in the finale itself.

Deciding the make the England character the focus of multi-media spin-offs rather than a core part of the series itself was an odd way to treat a character with such a large fan base and which had been such an integral part of previous seasons.

The running gag about New Zealand fly halves is in rather poor taste and is just ripping off Spinal Tap anyway. And the gag about no one at all being able to kick straight is rather clumsy attempt on the writers’ part to counter criticism of too much kicking in previous seasons.

The finale itself was a rather scrappy affair, almost as if there wasn’t enough budget left for any spectacular special effects sequences. I can’t tell whether having the teams play in black and white was supposed to be some sort of post-modernist statement or not.

All in all not a classic season, but I kept on watching anyway so they must have done something right. I just hope the writing team has some fresh ideas for Season 8.

That tackle was dangerous, it deserved a penalty. And it likely deserved a yellow card. But a red card? No *%!$ing way!

Wales scored the only try and ended up losing by just one point after playing three quarters of the game with only 14 men – they were the better, braver side.

Wales have been playing well this tournament, a close loss against South Africa and then four good wins. France have taken their customary unpredictableness to a level that somtimes approaches insanity. If we get the France that lost against Tonga then we should win easily. If we get the France that beat England then it will be a close match.

Wales have only made the semi-Finals once before and have never been in a Final. Forty minutes to go until kick off. Fingers crossed.

Um. Let’s start that again.

Do you like gorillas?

Then check out my idiot colleague good friend Chris who is running in this year’s Great Gorilla Run and sponsor him

[1] Though if you do, Chris would probably like to hear from you and an introduction could be arranged.

People on facebook and twitter said that they wanted to see the quiz, so here goes.

Remember that this was set in June 1997 – Tony Blair has just won a landslide victory, Katrina and the Waves had just won the Eurovision song contest, Deep Blue had just beaten Gary Kasparov, Princess Diana and Mother Teresa were still alive, Google was being born and Wikipedia didn’t exist.

Music

1. What is Ludwig von Köchel’s claim to fame?
2. Which instrument did jazz musician Bix Biederbecke play?
3. “Killing Me Softly”, covered by The Fugees, was written about whom?
4. Which actress has recently released a single entitled “Extremis”?
5. What is the combined age of The Spice Girls?

Literature

6. What hobby did Sherlock Holmes take up when he retired?
7. What is the name of G.K. Chesterton’s clerical sleuth?
8. Whose 1991 novel tells the story of a man who lives his life backwards?
9. Which poet’s works include “The Wreck of the Hesperus” and “The Courtship of Miles Standish”?
10. Captain Absolute, Sir Lucius O’Trigger and Bob Acres are the title characters in which play?

Television and Cinema

11. In which cult TV series would you encounter the saying “Be seeing you” complete with accompanying salute?
12. What’s the name of the man who in 1980 was voted worst director of all time and was played by Johnny Depp in a 1995 film?
13. Which 1985 film was directed by Steven Spielberg and featured Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey?
14. Name the two actors who played Scott Robinson in Neighbours?
15. What is the name of Postman Pat’s cat?

Science

16. Which of the following is not a measure of radiation: Gray, Weber, Sievert, Curie, Bequerel?
17. How is the drug in everyday use Acetaminophen better known?
18. Which internal organ do most snakes lack?
19. Which computing pioneer was tried and convicted because of his homosexuality?
20. Which chemical element is named after a Norse god?

History

21. Leonidas led which side at the battle of Thermopylae
22. Which English king was imprisoned in Durenstein castle by Leopold of Austria?
23. The “Defenestration of Prague” started which war?
24. How old was Queen Victoria at the time of her ascension to the throne?
25. Where in 1946 would you have found British, French and Japanese troops fighting on the same side?

Geography

26. Which African country takes its name from some ancient ruins?
27. What is the biblically inspired name of the islands in the South Pacific discovered in 1568 by the Alvaro de Mendana de Neyra?
28. Which country is jointly ruled by the President of France and the Bishop of Urgel?
29. St Mary’s, St Martin’s and Tresco are members of which island group?
30. Which is the smallest of the United States?

Current Affairs – Remember, it’s 1997

31. How many women are there in the new cabinet?
32. How is Daniel Hooper better known?
33. A great-nephew of which socialist hero was revealed as a “Tory Boy” during the election campaign?
34. What is the quorum for the House of Commons?
35. Why are Deborah Parry and Lucille McLauchlan in big trouble?

Sport

36. Who, last year, won a fourth consecutive Olympic gold in a track and field event?
37. Who were the last nation to win football’s world cup in their own country?
38. Harold Larwood and Douglas Jardine were involved in which cricketing controversy?
39. Which four tournaments make up tennis’s Grand Slam?
40. What is the official name of rugby’s British Lions?

Trivia

41. Thomas Watson who in 1943 said, “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers” was chairman of which company?
42. In 1975, Elizabeth Seton, became the first American to do what?
43. Who said of the press barons, “Power without responsibility, the privilege of the harlot throughout the ages.”?
44. What were P.G. Wodehouse’s first names?
45. Which day of the week will the next century begin on?

Oxford

46. In which year was OUSU formed?
47. Who first said that Balliol students had “the tranquil air of the effortlessly superior”?
48. Which is the tallest college?
49. Baillie College occasionally featured in which BBC TV series?
50. Inspector Morse attended which college as an undergraduate? (Two possible answers as books and TV differ.)

My prediction before the tournament started was that it would be scrappy with no grand slam. Scrappy it certainly is, as for the rest? We’ll see.

Very True Mood:  pleased

No one had him on their lists for this year’s Deadpool game.

This morning we launched a revised version of the Visit London home page. Along with a tie up with Trip Advisor, a new Japanese site and a site for the China in London season, as well as lots of behind the scenes improvements, it’s been a really packed January.

One thing that crosses over from behind the scenes to public is the addition of microformats to the site. hCard, hCalendar and hReview are all in use. Whilst hCard was straightforward to implement I found the hCalendar and hReview formats a little tricky to apply to our data. Anyway, install Operator and take Firefox for a whirl on the site and see what you find.

Rugby tomorrow. Oh yes, it’s Six Nations time again.

Very True Mood:  accomplished