bonely erect

Saying you watch Only Connect on BBC4 for the fiendishly entertaining quiz puzzles is a bit like saying you read Playboy for the articles: it may be true, but no-one will believe you. But, while I acknowledge that lovely foxy Vicky is a bonus (stop it), it really is true that the quiz element is brain-melting enough to pique my interest. And now you can play the wall bit from the middle of the show online - try it, it's quite good.

Just about the only other quiz show I think is tricky enough to be any good is University Challenge (Paxman's supercilious snortings at incorrect answers is an extra source of fun); I bemoan the demise of the excellent Fifteen-To-One on Channel 4 (which was axed back in 2003) which was just about the only other one worth watching in recent memory (though its late-afternoon time slot made it a bit tricky to catch regularly if you had an actual job). William G Stewart's rather humourless tone and constant banging on about the Elgin Marbles was a bit bizarre, though.

That said he was knobbing Laura the voice-over lady ("three down, twelve to go: Laura, please....") on the quiet throughout (eventually marrying her), so maybe he was a bit more animated offstage. Trousers down, pants to go: Laura, please....