I was delighted to see that instead of designing a toilet this year, the contestants had to design a fountain based around an animal.
The problem with the toilet challenge was that it really was difficult from an engineering point of view which put some contestants at a great disadvantage as the engineering challenge was quite simply beyond them. The animal fountain did present an engineering challenge but not on the same scale, and interestingly the engineer of the group, Peter, didn't fare that well in it. It simply allowed for more creativity which is of course a key component of the whole programme.
Straight off I would like to say that I think the judges got it spot on. Jodie's howling wolf was beautiful, functional and met the brief. Alon's okapi I imagine was a close second as it too was well conceived and well executed, though not perhaps just as lovely.
And Henry, well it was time he went, nice chap though he is, you can't keep messing up and getting away with it. His strawberry pot was the best, which goes to show what I have always maintained that the spot tests count for nothing, but are just a bit of entertaining fun.
Throwing 10 kilos of clay must be a nightmare, an entire bag of clay is only 12 kilos! I couldn't help but notice that Adam had particular difficulty with centring his lump of clay, you could see it winding in a big spiral which means that instead of centring he was actually introducing a twist into it which would make the throwing harder. Easy to criticise when you are just an observer. I have never thrown more than 2 kilos which always seems like a pretty big lump of clay to me . . . maybe it is time I had a go with 3 or 4 kilos and work my way up gradually.
Poor Hannah, she really did suffer didn't she, makes you wonder why people put themselves through it. But a bit like Strictly, people seem to love something of the camaraderie of it, and the challenge.
Finally, I am wondering if will we have an extra person in the final, as we have kept an extra person earlier on. And who will be in the final? Personally I would like to see a final of: Sal, Jodie, Alon and Adam . . but que sera sera.
