Procol HarumBeyond
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This section looks a bit long, but it will all be fine if you
just 'keep a clear eye and a steady head'. And that's not a clue, by the way: it's
just intended to be helpful.
First of all, here's the British standard alphabet, each letter shewn with its
corresponding number. You'll need this for what follows below ...
| a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | i | j | k | l | m | n | o | p | q | r | s | t | u | v | w | x | y | z |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
[There are other alphabets, of course, every bit as good and fit for purpose. It just happens that the one above is what you'll need to make any headway towards your choice of the twelve handsome prizes]
And now here is a 'worked example', as we call it in the teaching trade, which – although it's not part of the BtP 2012 Christmas puzzles – will show you exactly what to do with your answers to the real questions.
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Example 1 |
Which two initials signify the director of a musical ensemble? |
1 |
M D |
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2 |
BBC | ||
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3 |
ZX81 | ||
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Example 2 |
How did the 1970s' FLY reissues of Procol's early albums sound? |
4 |
Same as the Chrysalis ones |
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5 |
Same as the Regal Zonophone ones | ||
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6 |
Same as The Well's on Fire | ||
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Example 3 |
Insert the missing word from Keith Reid's lyric: 'The eye of the ________, the loss of the thread' |
7 |
needle |
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8 |
weasel | ||
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9 |
quantity surveyor | ||
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Example 4 |
To whom do the words of A Salty Dog signify the most? |
10 |
to tearful navigators |
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11 |
to postal workers in the former Soviet Republic | ||
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12 |
to lactose-intolerant Jezebels | ||
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Example 5 |
Where will Procol Harum play in early April 2013? |
13 |
on a submarine (and to an audience of lobsters) |
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14 |
in Nagasaki (and with a chorus of Trappist nuns) | ||
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15 |
in Wuppertal (and in symphonic style) | ||
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Example 6 |
Excluding 'Beyond the Pale', of course, what's the top published source of Procol information? |
16 |
Encyclopaedia Britannica |
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17 |
the 'Biog', by Henry Scott-Irvine | ||
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18 |
Smash Hits annual, 1967 |
It's not hard to solve those questions – using the BtP search engine, searching 'Beyond the Pale' on Google, etc. Here they are again with only the correct answers remaining:
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Example 1 |
Which two initials signify the director of a musical ensemble? | 1 | M D |
|
Example 2 |
How did the 1970s' FLY reissues of Procol's early albums sound? |
5 | Same as the Regal Zonophone ones |
|
Example 3 |
Insert the missing word from Keith Reid's lyric: 'The eye of the ________, the loss of the thread' | 7 | needle |
|
Example 4 |
To whom do the words of A Salty Dog signify the most? |
10 | to tearful navigators |
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Example 5 |
Where will Procol Harum play in early April 2013? |
15 | in Wuppertal (and in symphonic style) |
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Example 6 |
Excluding 'Beyond the Pale', of course, what is the most useful source of Procol information? | 17 | the 'Biog', by Henry Scott-Irvine |
And now let us show you how to 'process' them.
First, look at the answer to Example 1. MD contains just two
letters, M and D, and to move forward you're going to have to make a choice. Say you pick
M first. Find a piece of paper, and make a note of
M !
M is the thirteenth letter
of the alphabet (use the little table at the top of this page to help you). So, proceed to find the thirteenth letter of the next
answer.
SameastheRegalZonophoneones
Just count along, and you'll find it's
A (don't count the spaces). Make a note of
A
!
That A, being the first
letter of the alphabet, tells you to select the first letter of the
answer to Example Question 2: that will be N.
needle
Make a note of N on your scrap of paper!
N is the fourteenth letter of the alphabet. So, proceed to find the fourteenth letter of the next answer. Just count along, and you'll find it's G .
totearfulnavigators
Make a note of G too, on your slip of paper!
That G, being the seventh letter of the alphabet, invites you to select the seventh letter of the next answer: that will be E .
inWuppertalandinsymphonicstyle
Make a note of E on your piece of paper!
E is the fifth letter of the alphabet. So, proceed to find the fifth letter of the next and final answer. Just count along, and you'll find it's I (don't count the speech-marks).
theBiogbyHenryScottIrvine
Make a note of I ...
So what have you found and written on your piece of paper? M + A + N + G + E + I
In the real puzzle, of course, it will be twelve letters, not
six as here: but the principle is the same.
Now find an anagram of your letters ... mix them up to find a real, single word.
There will be a clue to help you, such as 'Another word for a puzzle'.
Yes, M + A + N + G + E + I re-arranges to make 'ENIGMA'
So ... 'ENIGMA' might be the password to the next step in this 'worked example' ... but you're also going to need a username!
You arbitrarily started with the
M in the first correct answer. But
what would the result have been had you started, instead, with the other
letter,
D ?
Go through the same, logical process, counting carefully as before. First, make
a note of D
!
D is the fourth letter of the alphabet. So, proceed to find the fourth letter of the next answer. Just count along, and you'll find it's E (again, don't bother to count the spaces):
SameastheRegalZonophoneones
Make a note of E
!
That E, being the fifth
letter of the alphabet, prompts you to select the fifth letter of the next
answer: that will be
L
needle
: make a note of
L on your scrap of paper.
L is the twelfth letter of the alphabet. So, proceed to find the twelfth letter of the next answer.
totearfulnavigators
Just count along, and you'll find it's V : make a note of V on your shred of parchment.
That V, being the twenty-second letter of the alphabet, tells you to select the twenty-second letter of the next answer: that will be O (don't count the brackets or parentheses): make a note of O !
inWuppertalandinsymphonicstyle
O is the fifteenth letter of the alphabet. So, proceed to find the fifteenth letter of the next and final answer.
theBiogbyHenryScottIrvine
Just count along, and you'll find it's S (don't count the speech-marks or hyphen): make a note of S !
So what have you found? D + E + L + V + O + S
In the real puzzle, of course, again, it will be twelve letters, not six: but the principle is the same.
Now find an anagram of your letters ... as before, mix them up to find a real, single word.
There will be a clue to help you, such as 'Description of the present state of this puzzle'.
It is not hard to spot that D + E + L + V + O + S rearranges to make the word 'SOLVED'
Hurrah ... thus far you've got two solutions, 'Enigma' and
'Solved'. From there on it's plain sailing, relatively speaking.
Back on the real final puzzle page,
near the bottom of the text, there is
a link to click on, which will bring up a little password dialogue.
Here's how to get your password and username, or username and password.
Add '12' to the two solution words and write them in lower-case letters: they become enigma12 and solved12
One of these solution words/numbers, derived from your puzzle answers, is your username; the other one is your password.
Trial and error might be a helpful way of figuring out which is which.
Of course these are only examples so they don't work as
passwords when you
click on the link on this page
But once the actual username and password are correctly entered (they'll
be twelve letters each, plus the number 12), you'll be able to reach a new page
where you may read a
final instruction.
Follow that, and you'll be able to send us the brief answer
we need (along with your twelve selections, in order, so that we know which of
our fab prizes to send to you).
Hope you're enjoying this as much as we are!
In the unlikely event of there being fewer
winners than prizes this year, early claimants will get more than their fair
share!
Prizes will of course be awarded at the absolute discretion of
Roland and Jens, who run 'Beyond the Pale', and whose decision will be final;
their families are not eligible to enter.
Many thanks to Jane Clare from Perth, WA, for
working through all this to verify its intelligibility.
| 2012 puzzle
prizes | How to play |
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