Tuesday, 23 March 2021
Round 7 of iSpysolation proved to be the closest contest so far. This round we had a new entrant, Angela W, joining past entrants John J, Julia & Florian, Chris & Ruth and Eva & Jim.
Everyone was able to find all twelve clues, so the contest is obviously getting far too easy, or the contestants are getting better and more determined at finding things. Here are the clues:
John J impressed the judges with the pun-tastic Packed Munch street food stall:
Chris and Ruth shared a story about the theft of the lead roof at Whaddon church, and the ensuing need for scaffolding: "Shamefully the lead was stolen from the church roof in June 2019 and the scaffolding heralds the start of the re-roofing project. Phase 1 is mainly funded via a generous £25,000 grant from the Governments Cultural Regeneration Fund via Historic England and comprises the re-roofing of the North Aisle. The Amey Community Fund has awarded £23,000 towards the cost of Phase 2 of the project, which is to re-roof the Nave and South Aisle. This grant aid, together with a grant of £4,000 from Cambridgeshire Historic Churches Trust and the very generous donations from the local community will enable the roof to be completely re-covered, though not in lead this time to deter future thefts." John J ably demonstrated the suitability of his bus shelter for sleeping in. Four entries featured VR letter boxes, so well done for finding these! After consulting the online Cambridge English Dictionary, a harsh approach was taken over the swing clue. The definition there is "a seat joined by two ropes or chains to a metal bar or a tree, on which you can sit and move backwards and forwards". Only one entry featured a seat with two ropes, while another looked more like the scene of a hanging than a swing. Only Julia and Florian managed to find a swing that was actually over some water. Julia and Florian's blocked windows clue came with information about the former Hopbine pub in Cambridge: Interesting detail about Cambridge Community Kitchen: this is a food solidarity collective dedicated to making sure no one goes hungry in Cambridge this winter. They provide hot, hearty, vegan meals for anyone who needs one, while aiming to strengthen the community and building new systems for mutual care. They are based at the Lockon, a legal squat in the former Hopbine pub. Everyone found a visible bell without any issues. Three entries – Julia and Florian, Chris and Ruth and Eva and Jim featured images of a library with a book that had been taken out. There were several red phone boxes with defibrillators and books in, together with one which was being used as a greenhouse. Chris and Ruth deserve a special mention for their Haslingfield red phone box, which contains a defibrillator as well as some books that can be borrowed. After all the bonuses and deductions were taken into account, everyone ended up with pretty much the same score. In a penalty shoot-out, two winners emerged, for finding places where they could see multiple clues in the same place, so I am pleased to announce that Chris & Ruth, and Angela W are joint winners of this round. Well done to everyone who entered this round and past rounds over the recent period of lockdown. The next round will take us up to the hoped-for resumption of group riding, but of anyone else wants to continue the contest with some new questions, please let us know. John S