BtP Puzzle 2012 • the solution

Procol Harum

Beyond
the Pale

The very simple answer, and how the winners found it

First of all, it was not very hard to solve the daily questions – using the BtP search engine, searching 'Beyond the Pale' on Google, etc. Here they are again with only the correct answers remaining:

25 December	By what two initial letters is Procol Harum's 1970s' drummer best known?	1	B J
26 December	What is the correct spelling of the band's second name?	5	Harum, as is obvious from their record-sleeves
27 December	What drug, sometimes required by musicians, was reputedly invented in Wuppertal, where the 2013 Procol Harum convention will take place?	9	Not cocaine, but aspirin
28 December	What country has concert halls in Yokohama, Osaka, Tokyo and Nagoya?	10	Funnily enough Japan has!
29 December	Which of these has never been a correct mode of address for Procol Harum's Commander?	14	Sir Gary Brooker
30 December	Why do orchestras and bands so love to play in the Stadthalle at Wuppertal, Germany?	18	Because it boasts such fine acoustics
31 December	Complete this title of an ex-Procoler's recent solo album: 'Don't Forget your ...'	19	Alligator (on Angel Air records)
1 January 2013	Where were Procol Harum on Tuesday 31 July 2012?	23	In Alpharetta, with Yes
2 January	Whereabouts in the world is Wuppertal, where Procol's 2013 orchestral tour concludes with such magnificent parties and fun?	27	Near Hagen, Germany
3 January	When did Procol Harum go 'round and round and round and round again' during a 2012 concert?	28	At Westbury, on a revolving stage
4 January	Procol Harum played in Japan with Yumi Matsutoya: which of these statements did the BtP team believe was the explanation for her unusual first-name?	32	It is just short for ‘Yuming’

5 January

Which of these reasons explains Yumi's wish to collaborate with Procol Harum in 2012?

Admiration for Gary’s singing

Then it was just a matter of processing them.

You had to look at the answer to Question 1. BJ contains just two letters, B and J, and to move forward you had to make a choice. Say you picked B first.

B is the second letter of the alphabet. So, you proceeded to find the second letter of the next answer.

Harumasisobviousfromtheirrecordsleeves

Just counting along, you found it was A

That A, being the first letter of the alphabet, told you to select the first letter of the next answer: that was N.

Notcocainebutaspirin

N is the fourteenth letter of the alphabet. So, you proceeded to find the fourteenth letter of the next answer. Just counting along, you found it was J .

FunnilyenoughJapanhas

That J, being the tenth letter of the alphabet, told you to select the tenth letter of the next answer: that was O .

SirGaryBrooker

O is the fifteenth letter of the alphabet. So, you proceeded to find the fifteenth letter of the next answer. Just counting along, you found it was S

Becauseitboastssuchfineacoustics

S is the nineteenth letter of the alphabet. So, you proceeded to find the nineteenth letter of the next answer. Just counting along, you found it was R

AlligatoronAngelAirrecords

R is the eighteenth letter of the alphabet. So, you proceeded to find the eighteenth letter of the next answer. Just counting along, you found it was E

InAlpharettawithYes

E is the fifth letter of the alphabet. So, you proceeded to find the fifth letter of the next answer. Just counting along, you found it was H

NearHagenGermany

H is the eighth letter of the alphabet. So, you proceeded to find the eighth letter of the next answer. Just counting along, you found it was U

AtWestburyonarevolvingstage

U is the twenty-first letter of the alphabet. So, you proceeded to find the twenty-first letter of the next answer. Just counting along, you found it was N

ItisjustshortforYuming

N is the fourteenth letter of the alphabet. So, you proceeded to find the fourteenth letter of the next answer. Just counting along, you found it was G

AdmirationforGaryssinging

So what did you find? B+A+N+J+O+S R+E+H+U+N+G

Now you had to find an anagram of your letters ... mixing them up to find a real, single word. The clue was 'the name of a town where Procol Harum did not play in 2012'

Clearly, 'JOHANNESBURG'

Now you had to go through the same, logical process, counting carefully as before, starting with the J from 'BJ'.

J is the tenth letter of the alphabet. So, you proceeded to find the tenth letter of the next answer.

Harumasisobviousfromtheirrecordsleeves

Just counting along, you found it was O.

That O, being the fifteenth letter of the alphabet, told you to select the fifteenth letter of the next answer: that was S.

Notcocainebutaspirin

S is the ninteenth letter of the alphabet. So, you proceeded to find the nineteenth letter of the next answer. Just counting along, you found it was H

FunnilyenoughJapanhas

H is the eighth letter of the alphabet. So, you proceeded to find the eighth letter of the next answer. Just counting along, you found it was B

SirGaryBrooker

B is the second letter of the alphabet. So, you proceeded to find the second letter of the next answer. Just counting along, you found it was E

Becauseitboastssuchfineacoustics

E is the fifth letter of the alphabet. So, you proceeded to find the fifth letter of the next answer. Just counting along, you found it was G

AlligatoronAngelAirrecords

G is the seventh letter of the alphabet. So, you proceeded to find the seventh letter of the next answer. Just counting along, you found it was A

InAlpharettawithYes

That A, being the first letter of the alphabet, told you to select the first letter of the next answer: that was N.

NearHagenGermany

N is the fourteenth letter of the alphabet. So, you proceeded to find the fourteenth letter of the next answer. Just counting along, you found it was R

AtWestburyonarevolvingstage

R is the eighteenth letter of the alphabet. So, you proceeded to find the eighteenth letter of the next answer. Just counting along, you found it was U

ItisjustshortforYuming

U is the twenty-first letter of the alphabet. So, you proceeded to find the twenty-first letter of the next answer. Just counting along, you found it was N

AdmirationforGaryssinging

So what have you found?

J+O+S+H B+E+G+A+N R+U+N

Now you had to find an anagram of your letters ... mixing them up to find a real, single word. The clue was 'the name of a town where Procol Harum did not play in 2012'

Clearly – if improbably – it was 'JOHANNESBURG' once again

From there on it was plain sailing, relatively speaking. Back on the real puzzle page, near the bottom of the text, there was a link to click on, which brought up a little password dialogue.

Adding '12' (it was a clue!) to the two solution words, and writing them in lower-case letters, they became johannesburg12 and johannesburg12

One was your username; the other one your password. They were twelve letters each, plus the number 12 (more clues) and they took you to a new page where you might read a final instruction.

Here you had to find out the date on which Procol Harum were scheduled to play a gig in the town you used in the password / username

The Johannesburg gig was scheduled for 1 June 2012

Then you had to add up the digits of 01 06 2012

0+1+0+6+2+0+1+2 = the seemingly omnipresent 12 once again.

And you sent your answer – 12 being a two-digit number between 01 and 99 – by clicking here: webmaster@procolharum.com

[Of course you included your twelve-letter prize selection]

It was as easy as that!

Many thanks to the splendid Jane Clare from Perth, WA, who worked through all the clues and subsequent shenanigans, to verify their intelligibility.

2012 puzzle prizes | How to play | Winners

Procol Harum

Beyond the Pale

Christmas quizzes 2012/13

The very simple answer, and how the winners found it

Beyond
the Pale