mc5 - AVMA Take 2

s/us/is

Is this associated with a particular part of the world?

Does it at ground level?

Is the abstractness anything to do with literature?

[Irouléguy] Yes. *applause*
[Inkspot] Does it what at ground level?
[Raak] No - not a human creation.

The global conveyer

(it is associated with a particular part of the world, albeit a very large part)

Is it seasonal?

[rab]That's what happens from simulposting the same thing then trying to think of something else, all before the first cup of tea of the morning.

Is it in the northern hemisphere?

El Niño?

The monsoon?

[Raak] Certainly associated with the northern hemisphere, but not sure if it's confined to it.

[Rosie] I wouldn't be that pedantic (see CdM's last guess).

[Ir] Nope.

The doldrums?

Is it a specific named wind like the monsoon?

Trade Winds?

Trans-Atlantic Drift?

Low Bailey 986 expected South Utsire 971 by this time tomorrow?

Is the wind associated with this phenomenon always from a particular direction, more or less?

(rab) Sorry, didn't see CdM's El Nino. I'm sure he pronounced it right, though.

[Inkspot] Not the doldrums.
[Irouléguy] The least misleading answer is probably 'no'. I'll elucidate further later if need be.
[irach] Not trade winds.
[Chalky] Nor a Trans-Atlantic Drift, although one or two audience members have woken up.
[Rosie] Low Bailey... 'fraid not.
[Rosie] Again not sure, but with 95% certainty I would say YES!

(that last to Rosie's direction question, and a different one-or-two audience members are starting to look agitated)

Does the answer on the card contain a geographical reference?

[Rab] You didn't answer a couple of earlier questions - 'Is it seasonal?' and 'The global conveyor?'

[ImNotJohn] YES! *applause*
Whoops - seasonal yeah, global conveyor no.

The Azores High?

Nope.

Equinoctial gales?

The Gulf Stream?

[Rosie, Raak] No.

Is it a hot desert wind of North Africa?

[irach] *Considerable peals of laughter, hooting, rolling about and slapping of thighs from the audience* No.

Okay, then. Is it an Arctic Express wind blast?t

That's good enough for me - it was Arctic Blast that was on the card.

This one is ANIMAL and VEGETABLE with a dash of MINERAL as well.

A tequila shot?

[Raak] After the day I've had, I wish it was a tequila shot. But 'no" is the answer to your "shot in the dark".

Is it something you eat or drink?

Is it larger than a washing machine? (an average sized british one).

[Iroleguy] Yes.

[Lib] No.

Is it a sandwich?

Smoky bacon crsisps?

Does fluid account for more than 50% of its volume?

[Kim] Not generally a "sandwich", although in one incarnation it may be so.
[Raak] Yummy!! But no.
[rab] This one is a little tricky... It is made up mostly of fluids, but it shouldn't be fluid when bought, or presented for consumption

Is rab's question easier to answer if you leave it at room temperature for a while?

[CdM] It cerainly is, in the affirmative.

Is Ice Cream involved?

[rab] Yes! "Ice cream" are the exact words on the card. (although at minus 17 degrees Celsius room tempaerature, and a minus 30 degree windchill here in suburban Boston, I'm not sure I want any just now. Over to you.

Whoops

Sorry, it's me again. MINERAL

Man-made?

Metallic?

[Rosie] No.

[irach] No.

A geographical feature?

Liquid?

Is there just one of these?

[Rosie] No.
[Raak] No.
[Irouléguy] It describes a class of things.

Is the mineral rock?

A geological term?

[irach] No.
[Rosie] No.

plastic?

Terrestrial?

IINJ] No.
[irach] No.

Sea salt?

Metal?

Is this found in the atmosphere?

Asteroids?

[irach] No.
[Raak] No.
[Chalky] Possibly (and that goes for terrestrial too, actually).
[Rosie] No.

A gas?

[Rosie] More gassy than anything else I would have thought.

To do with volcanoes?

A "greenhouse" gas?

A plasma, e.g. on the sun?

[Raak] No
[irach] No
[Rosie] No - but getting warmer (and not because you mentioned the sun).

Cosmic rays>

The solar wind?

Still mentioning the sun. :-)

Aurora borealis?

[Raak] I don't think cosmic rays are completely disconnected from what's written on the card.
[Rosie] Nope.
[irach] No.

Is it found in interstellar space?

[Raak] I believe so.

Is it found within our solar system?

Hydrogen?

[Inkspot] It might be.
[Rosie] No.

Is it made of subatomic particles (not assembled into nuclei)?

A particular element?

[Raak] Probably, yes.
[Irouléguy] No.

Dark matter?

If that isn't the answer, it should be.

YES! - Dark Matter it is.

Coo - I got a science one. OK, our next is quite different - ANIMAL and VEGETABLE (and ABSTRACT insofaras the answer's a concept, rather than a straighforward description).

Edible?

Raak] Edible? Yes

Meat and potatoes?

A particular dish?

A vegetarian diet?

Associated with a particular geographic area?

A Stew?

Raak] Meat and potatoes? Both could be included
Darren - A particular dish? Ye..es
Rosie - A vegetarian diet? *laughter rings round the audience* No
ImNotJohn - Associated with a particular geographic area? *applause* YES
irach - A Stew? No

A soup?

Is it a recipe?

A Cornish pasty?

Is the name of the geographic area on the card?

Somewhere in the UK?

Darren

Some sort of curry?

irach] A soup? No
Kim] Is it a recipe? No
Raak] A Cornish pasty? No
ImNotJohn] Is the name of the geographic area on the card? A derivative of the name is.
rab] Somewhere in the UK? *applause* Yes
Darren] Some sort of curry? Naan

England?

Scotch broth?

That was gonna be my next guess...

Fish pie?

rab] England? *applause* Yes
Raak - Scotch broth? Nae chance
Inkspot - Fish pie? No

Sweet (as opposed to savoury)?

ImNotJohn] Sweet (as opposed to savoury)? No

Is the place name a town?

Raak] Is the place name a town? No
If the audience had been more awake, they'd have cheered rab's last guess much more loudly.

Is the place name component "English"?

Not that I can think of a di...sh called English anything.

A Sunday Roast?

Scrub that, how about A Full English Breakfast?

An English muffin?

YES! Lurking pays off! A full English it is.

Oh dear. For once I don't have a topic in store. *sound of thinkage*...

Let's have this MINERAL

An artefact?

Solid?

[INJ] Artefact? YES
[Raak] Solid? YES

Unique?

Mainly or entirely metal?

A work of art?

...that is, something made just to be appreciated rather than to be used.

[Rosie] Unique? NO
[INJ] Mainly metal? YES
[Ig] Work of art? NO

Did these exist before the 20th century?

[Raak] Pre-1901? YES

Eating implement?

Fighting implement?

Food or fighting? NO

Larger than a breadbin?

[INJ] > breadbin? YES

Any connection to transport?

Is it connected with agriculture?

Is it connected with building?

Transport? NO
Agriculture? NO
Building? NO

Does it essentially have moving parts?

Essential moving parts? YES

Is it a piece of industrial equipment?

Larger than a telephone box?

Industrial eq.? NO
Smaller than a telephone box.

A household item?

Household item? *some laughter* NO, not in the generic sense.

Does it use fuel?

No fuel (like, say, an old fuel).

Used in a typical workplace?

Is it clockwork?

Powered by human effort?

Typical workplace? NO
Clockwork? NO
Human effort? YES *applause*

A trombone?

Normally used outdoors?

[Raak] Come on, we've already been told it isn't a fighting implement.

A trombone? NO *significant and sustained applause*
Normally used outdoors? YES and NO (strictly NO)

A musical instrument?

Musical instrument? YES! *applause*

Is there a part for it in any of the Beethoven symphonies?

French horn?

Is it a percussion instrument?

Did Beethoven write for it? NO
French Horn? NO
Percussion? NO

A tuba?

Tuba? YES, but that's not the answer. *much applause and cheering*

Some member of the tuba family?

A sousaphone?

A member of the tuba family? YES!
Sousaphone? YES! Ig takes it by a short head from Raak.
According to various googleable sources, the first Sousaphones (not in their current forward-facing configuration) turned up in the 1890s, although a specific date is tricky to track down.

A short note on the use of the trombone as a fighting implement:- Only attack music stands. 100% success guaranteed.

Trivia note - one of the first John Coltrane records I ever bought was him playing with a tuba player called Ray Draper. It's not great jazz, though Coltrane is pretty good on it.
*pause for what passes for thought* OK, our next is ANIMAL and ABSTRACT.

Begins with P?

Blimey, haven't looked at this game for a while.

Fictional?

Character of myth or legend?

Begins with E?

Unicorn?

Tuj] Begins with P? Probably not (and welcome back!)
Raak] Fictional? Yes
Kim] Character of myth or legend? No
Projoy - Begins with E? Equally unlikely
irach - Unicorn? No

A specific animal character in fiction, e.g. the White Rabbit in "Alice in Wonderland"?

An alien being??

irach - A specific animal character in fiction, e.g. the White Rabbit in "Alice in Wonderland"? *applause* YES
Inkspot - An alien being?? *giggles from sections of the audience* Probably not

Does the character normally go on two legs?

Created in the twentieth century?

Is the character in the title of the book, film, play etc?

Is the animal non-human?

Raak] Does the character normally go on two legs? Yes
Projoy] Created in the twentieth century? Yes
Rosie - Is the character in the title of the book, film, play etc? No
irach - Is the animal non-human? Hmmm...I think it's mean to be sort of human

Is its first appearance in a TV programme?

rab] Is its first appearance in a TV programme? *CANNED APPLAUSE* Yes
Thinking about irach's question, a better answer would be that you probably wouldn't think of it as a human character (though it might be).

Cat from Red Dwarf ?

A cartoon character?

Is the genre science fiction?

American TV programme?

Inkspot] Cat from Red Dwarf ? No
Raak - A cartoon character? No
Kim - Is the genre science fiction? No
Projoy - American TV programme? Yes

An alien?

Oh, you already answered that. How about A TV programme from after 1980?

Projoy] - A TV programme from after 1980? No

Howdy Doody?

Sesame Street character?

irach - Howdy Doody? Nope
Inkspot - Sesame Street character? *some applause* No

A puppet?

The Banana Splits?

Miss Piggy?

Projoy - A puppet? *the audience wave their hands appreciatively* YES!
Raak - The Banana Splits? Worst. Children's. Programme. Ever? No
irach - Miss Piggy? *collective cry of "Moi?" from the audience* Very close!

Waldorf?

Actually, forget that. Too obviously human. How about Beaker?

Animal?

Ha-ha.

Kermit?

*throws drumsticks at Tuj* AARGH! TUJ! LURKER! WINNER!

While attempting to google for information on Animal's supposed species, I found this lovely quote from the show:

Kermit the Frog: "What's wrong with your drummer? He seems a little crazed."
Sgt. Floyd Pepper (Animal's handler and bandmate): "He's just upset because he missed the Monet exhibit at the British Museum."
Animal: "RENOIR!! RENOIR!!"

Didn't meant to be lurking... I was fairly sure that was wrong...

*throws baton at Iroléguy*

...OK, not Irouléguy, someone else. But the reason I didn't take part is I have very little time on my hands! Someone else best do it.

[Tij] No, you do it. Unless you're not gonna be here to answer people's stuff..

Tuj] Sorry if I offended you - it was a joke, honest :) Do set one...
Projoy] Did you find anything one way or another?

FFS somebody start one.

Yeah, looks like Tuj has timed out.

I nominate Projoy

I'm pro Projoy as well.

Hm. Well, here's a hopefully pretty easy one, then, altho I'm interested to see how it responds to an attempt to pin it down deductively.

It's ABSTRACT with mainly ANIMAL connections (but there's arguably connections to the other two too).

Begins with P?

Yeh sorry guys, that was my point... I apologise for feigning so much offense Irouléguy :P
I'm very in-and-out at present, as you probably haven't noticed: hence 2 queries to the last one & not having been here since my last comment.

[Tuj] P, please, Bob? NO.

Is the ANIMAL in question human?

(sigh)

[Tuj] Human connection? YES, basically.
NB to all. I suspect there's going to be a few questions where true pedantry would insist on a YES AND NO answer. However, I intend to employ a bit of lassitude sometimes in order to give helpful answers.

Is it as basic as life itself?

Lassitude? Isn't that the state of being dog food? Did you mean latitude, or are you actually knackered? :-)

Oops. Yes. Latitude.
As basic as life itself? NO. Some silly people might say YES, but they are silly.

Is it something you could do in bed without help from others?

A human construct?

Tuj] No worries.

Somethihng you can do in bed alone? NO
Human construct? YES

Doesn't lassitude make you poo?

Is it a fictional 'human construct' (whatever that may be)

Is it an action?

Is it an art form?

Some people think farting is an art form, and so it is, but I didn't mean that.

[ISP] Fictional? NO
[Raak] An action? NO
[Rosie] An artform? YES

Is music involved?

This one's gonna go quickly, I think

[Lib] Music involved? YES

A musical?

Opera?

[Lib] A musical? OOOH. ALMOST. *muchos audience applause*
[Raak] Opera? OOOH. ALMOST. *muchos audience applause*
First one to the punch will nod this one in, I think.

The Musical?

Music?

Phantom of the opera?

[rab, Rosie] A touch more specific than music and a touch less than Phantom of the Opera, the words on the card are Musical Theatre, which I think is close enough for Lib to claim the victory. *passes baton to Lib in order to complete the circle of life before the parade passes by*

(Projoy) Quite so. No probs. :-)

Hello everybody. I've not done this before. Did I lurk a bit? Sorry! Hmmm. Let me think.... Right. An easy one for my first time, methinks. This one's Animal and Vegetable.

The Good Old British Sausage?

[Raak] Big Banger? No.

Is it edible?

Bigger than a toaster?

Alive?

[Irouléguy] Edible? Mmmmm. Yep! [Tuj] Bigger than a toaster? Not usually, but some would prefer it that way! [Rosie] Alive? Nah.

Hmmm, time to sign up for that basic HTML nightclass.

Begins with P?

Hahahaha!

Is the animal a specific animal (species)?

Might one eat this in a restaurant?

Opens HTML handbook....

[Tuj] No peas please. No.
[Irouléguy] Specific animal Yes.
[Raak] Rest-your-auntie? Not usually.

Is the animal a bird?

[Inkspot] Birdy song? No.

A pie of some kind?

Is this usually eaten cold?

[Rosie] Pied? No
[Irouléguy] Chilly? Not usually, but not uncommon either!

Is the animal part meat?

[Raak] Meaty goodness? Yes.

Shepherd's Pie?

er, except that fails on the "pie" technicality, doesn't it. Oh well.
Does it require significant preparation?

Is pastry involved?

Is just one type of vegetable involved?

[CdM] Significant preparation? Kinda depends on what you call significant. To a student the answer probably would be yes, as it takes more effort than putting water onto the pot noodle. To Gordon Ramsey then probably yes too, but his would be far too flouncey. To me and you, No.
[Raak] Puff? No pastry.
[Irouléguy] 5-a-Day? There is more than one type of vegetable.... *scratches chin, and hopes that isn't misleading....*

Did it originate in a particular part of the world?

[Inkspot] Original? Yes, I think so.

Pizza?

Is bread involved?

Chip Butty?

Fast food?

[Projoy] Pizza? No.
[Raak] Right said Fred? Yes! (Much applause from the audience)
[INJ] Chip butty Nah.
[rab] Speedy eats? Not so fast, No within traditional definitions although they have become a bit blurred.
You're all getting very warm...

Bacon sandwich?

*Apologises for lurking*

*hits Uncle Korky over the head with a nice bacon butty for winning having lurked* Well Done Guys. Uncle Korky has seized the victory. The words on the card are indeed A Bacon Sandwich. I was rather impressed at Raak's first guess, well done that man!

Oops!

OK - I'll reiterate my apologies! Hopefully this'll be easy enough to guess so that someone more appropriate can take over the reins quickly... This one's animal and vegetable.

Sausages?

[Projoy] Walls have ears? Nope.

Is the animal part alive?

Foodstuff?

Is the animal a specific animal (species)?

it was right lat time...

[Projoy] Livin' thing? Definitely not
[Lib] Munchable? Nope
[Irg] Particular genus? Not one specific one, no...

Elephant's foot umbrella stand?

[INJ] Leg of Nellie No - not a specific animal, remember? :-) (Although one or two audience members were heard to murmur at INJ's question...)

Larger than a toaster?

[Lib] On the appliance graph... Yes, definitely bigger than a toaster

A stuffed animal head mounted on a wall?

Is the animal part leather?

Does it involve an elephant?

Bigger than a phone box?

Is it something you wear?

[Irg] "Bagged that one at..." 'fraid not
[Raak] Tanning? Yes indeedy! (outbreak of audience applause)
[Lib] More Nellie? Unlikely in the extreme!
[Projoy] TARDIS-shaped? Bigger? Difficult to say, but I'd tend towards "No". Certainly not taller.
[Inkspot] Apparrel? No (although someone extremely pedantic might argue this one).

Is it intended for protection?

(The 'elephant's foot umbrella stand' used to be a common standby in early ISIHAC Word Disassociation games)

[INJ] Safe whatever? No (but this also might be argued by someone extremely pedantic). Didn't know that about the 'EFUS' - ta!

A wigwam?

[Projoy] Teepee-tastic? No. Surely wigwams are taller than telephone boxes?

Is the leather part in the form of straps, rather than hides stitched together?

Not the one I made at infant school :) Admittedly, that wasn't leather.

[Projoy] Bondage gear? No.
I'd be interested in reading your reports from Mrs Crazy Horse...

Is it a manufactured item?

[Inkspot] "Men have made these..." Indeed it is. (Burst of applause from audience)

Is the vegetable part wood?

[Raak] Wood? Yes (or equivalent). (More applause)

A whip?

[Irg] *k'tishhhh!* Nope.

Something you sit on?

A piece of furniture?

[Rosie] Seating? Yes! (Applause, some cheering)
[Lib] Furnishings? 'fraid not.

Saddle?

Pic-nic table with leather decorations?!?!

[irach] Saddle? Nope, but there're indications that things are getting warmer...
[Lib] Words fail me... How can I put this...? No, and I'm not convinced that I want to go on a picnic with you now... :-)

Some sort of sledge?

Is seating its primary function?

I was going to suggest a Throne. But I presume UK would have called it a piece of furniture.

A chesterfield?

Sorry misread that - let's try
a chariot?

A shooting stick?

[Projoy] Sister? No (although the audience did sense a positive shift in direction here)
[Lib] Reason why? I would not say that the seating aspect is the primary function, although (clue) I believe that it is an essential factor
[INJ] Boudicca?No (although the audience have again seized on something here)
[Rosie] Bang bang? Sorry - way off the mark.

Rickshaw?

A means of transport?

Do it got wheels?

[Inkspot] Rickshaw? Sorry, no
[Rosie] Transportation? Most definitely (copious applause from audience)
[Projoy] Dey go round 'n' round? No wheels here...

A water-borne craft?

[Inkspot] Splosh Certainly is! (some audience standing to applaud now)

A kayak?

A coracle?

A rowboat?

A scull?

*blatantly lurking * - a dinghy?

Lurking behind Chalky

The Kon-Tiki?

We have a winner!

Hats off to Irouléguy - the actual words on the card were "A Traditional Welsh Coracle", but he's close enough to merit the win in my opinion! Comiserations to everyone else!

Well, that was a half-lurk, at least - apologies to those who did the hard work. With my usual impeccable timing, I'm keyboardless most of tonight and tomorrow, so let's have an easy(ish) one - our next is MINERAL and VEGETABLE.

A manufactured item?

irach] A manufactured item? *animated discussion in the audience* The more useful answer is 'no'.

Tin of Baked Beans?

Kim] Tin of Baked Beans? No (though this might go well with it)

Maybe back online later tonight - sorry, folks

Is the mineral salt?

Food?

oven ready chips?

Was the debate about manufacturing because there is preparation involved?

Mashpertater?

Is the vegetable Antony Worrall-Thompson?

Larger than a can of coke?

irach] Is the mineral salt? *applause* Yes!
Raak] Food? No(though this might go well with it)<
Inkspot] oven ready chips? See above
CdM - Was the debate about manufacturing because there is preparation involved? *more applause* Yes!
Projoy - Mashpertater? I refer the honourable gentleman to my previous-but-one answer.
I Say, Porter! - Is the vegetable Antony Worrall-Thompson? No
Lib - Larger than a can of coke? This doesn't really have a size

Apologies for the delay - as a partial defence, I was delayed in The Doric Arch until closing time, so I was in the Morniverse in spirit.

Celery Salt?

Or is the vegetable pepper?

Projoy] Berry astute - salt and pepper it is. One lightly seasoned baton handed over...

OK, here's an ABSTRACT

Can you see it?

Visible? NO

Can it be perceived by the other four traditional senses?

Olfactable, Audible, Haptable, Linguable? NO

Er, having looked those up, I think I meant "olfactible, audible, tactible, gustable"

Truth?

Quid est veritas? NO

Is it a human construct?

Mathematical?

Human construct? YES
Numberish? NO

Is it a system of government?

Is it a British thing?

government? NO
British? NO, not exclusively

irach`

Solitude?

The absence of something?

Solitude? SORT OF *audience applause*
Absence of something? YES *more applause*

Have you lots your mind?

aargh. Sorry. That's wrong. I mean lost and not lots...

[Lib] No, I haven't since you ask. :)

Bereavement?

Bereavement? NO *more applause*

Death?

DEATH? NO

Widowhood?

Solipsism?

Widowhood? YES, the very word on the card. That went surprisingly quickly. Over to Rosie.

Well, that was a bit lucky, so here we go with something less grim, and it's MINERAL

Diamond?

(Lib) No, not as un-grim as that, I'm afraid.

Metallic?

Manufactured?

A particular element?

(Projoy) Not metallic, essentially.
(Lib) Manufactured would be rather an odd description, but, actually, YES.
(Irouléguy) Not an element.

Made by hand?

A liquid?

Extruded?

(Projoy) Partly hand-made, mostly not.
(Irouléguy) Not a liquid. *audience laughter*
(ISP) Not extruded. *further merriment*. Sorry about the audience; they're a cruel lot.

One specific thing?

Silly putty?

(Tuj) One specific thing? - Very much so.
(Raak) Very much not so.

Is it solid?

(Raak) YES- solid.

I think I should add that the subject also has an ABSTRACT quality, which maybe ought to have been in the original definition, otherwise this may take ages.

Fictional?

Oscar?

Bigger than a toaster?

(Projoy) It really exists.
(ISP) Not an Oscar.
(Tuj) If not it would have to be some toaster, so YES.

Are there many examples of it?

Do you own one?

Artwork? Sculpture?

(Projoy) There is but one.
(Lib) Erm, no. *audience hilarity*.
(ISP) Not art or sculpture.

Is it in Britain?

Is it outside?

The holy grail?

tourist attraction?

(Raak) YES - in Britain.
(Lib) *some thoughtful audience murmurs - some suppressed giggles* In the sense you ask, YES. Not the holy grail, though.
(ISP) Probably, in a very minor way.

An architectural construction?

Is it associated with Monty python? (Or am I very naughty girl?)

Stonehenge?

Some huge image carved out of the hillside somewhere?

On the coast?

(Raak) Not really architecture.
(ISP) Not Stonehenge or a man with a huge willy.
(Lib) NO, and I'D SAY YES :-)
(Projoy) On the coast? Not really ON it so much as . . .

The Coast?

The white cliffs of Dover?

Or a particular part of the British coast?

The Sands of Dee?

The Jurassic coast?

(Projoy 1) Not the coast itself.
(Lib) Not the White Cliffs.
(Projoy 2) Not The Coast anywhere.
(irach) Not the Sands of Dee.
(Irouléguy) Not the ~Jurassic coast.

You have all wandered into the outer regions of darkness where it is very cold. Look at the answer to Lib's second question. This is man-made.

A lighthouse?

(Inkspot) Not a lighthouse.

Made of stone?

A structure for sea defence?

A connection with transportation?

Chunnel?

Is it bigger than a standard ex-council three bed semi?

Projoy - YES, made of stone.
Raak - Not a sea defence.
Inkspot - YES, connected with transport *audience cheers*
ISP - Not the Chunnel, but *HUGE audience cheers*
Lib - Certainly is in one direction, maybe two.

Bah! Humber! Is it a bridge or similar construction?

The Seikan Tunnel?

[Raak] That's stretching the 'yes' for your earlier 'in Britain' question a bit far...

Is it a road?

Kim (lurking)

Is it a tunnel?

ISP - NO, not a bridge
Raak - See ISP's comment.
Chalky - NO, not a road.
Lurker Kim - YES, it's a tunnel.

Uncle Korky (lurking again)

Is it in England?

A railway tunnel?

The Severn Tunnel?

The Blackwall Tunnel?

The world's first passenger train tunnel, the 800-yard Tyler Hill Tunnel?

One of the tunnels which make up LU?

Lib1 - Half of it
UK lurker - YES
Chalky - Not the Blackwall Tunnel
Lib2 - Would I put up anything as arcane as that? 828 yds, BTW :-)
ISP - Not part of the tube.

But we have a winner, and it's RAAK, with the Severn Tunnel. Your go.

The next is primarily MINERAL, with a small ABSTRACT connection.

No, scratch that, the next one is ABSTRACT, with MINERAL connections, tenuously related to Rosie's one.

Actually, it's ABSTRACT and ANIMAL, with a MINERAL connection tenuously related to Rosie's one.

Iron horse?

Is it an organisation?

Shurely not Riddlesdown Tunnel?

An excavation?

[irach] Not an iron horse.
[Inkspot] Not an organisatsion.
[Rosie] Not Riddlesdown Tunnel.
[Rosie] Nor an excavation.

Is the mineral connection the River Severn?

[Irou] Not connected with the River Severn. The connection is more indirect.

Is there a railway connection?

[UK] No railway connection. BTW, the mineral connection is unlikely to be helpful in solving this.

Human construct?

Is the animal human?

[CdM] The mineral connection is.
[Kim] Yes, human.

Is this a space for the use of humans?

[Rosie] Not a space.

Are we talking more than one construct here...?

[UK] No: one mineral construction tenuously related to the actual answer.

Is there just one of these?

[I] Just one (of both the actual answer and the tenuously and completely unhelpfully related mineral construction).

Is this really as complicated as it seems?

Am I correct in assuming the term "construct" is not being used in the sense of an idea or invention but in this case simply means a structure?

A bus shelter, say, as opposed to anarcho-syndicalism.

[Chalky] Not at all complicated. Just an ABSTRACT ANIMAL that I expect everyone has heard of.
[Rosie] Yes: the unhelpfully distantly related mineral thingummy is a physical structure.

Was it built during the Victorian era?

[I] Um...[google]...no.

Does it commemorate an event?

[Inkspot] Not commemorative.

And to answer again the "human construct" question (a concept I'm not quite clear on), the ABSTRACT ANIMAL is a human creation.

[Inkspot] Oh, and the ABSTRACT ANIMAL was created in the Victorian era.