The Last CW Winner of 2011.

Firstly can I say that I hope you have all had a very merry Xmas and are now preparing for a very happy New Year.

Secondly I must thank OZ, Jay Dubya, Bearsy, Boadicea, El Dubya and Nym for a very difficult job as da judge. I was a shade disappointed to see no entry from Minty MBE but Xmas can be a very busy time after all.

In order of submission:

OZ,
A very spooky little tale which centred around one of the great British tragedies. Spellbinding and wonderfully penned. Another Brick in the Wall a valid choice even after the attempt at spoiling by a somewhat picky Jay Dubya. 🙂

Jay Dubya.
A whacky take on the ghost story as seen from the view of the dead and not the living. The only thing more ethereal than the plot was the choice of No1 which had us all stumped for a goodly while. When You Believe by that somebugger what won the F Factor or whateva. Your talent for the oblique shone through yet again chum with a highly humorous read.

Bearsy,
A cracking tale which underpinned the stubborness of human nature to accept the facts even when they are kicking you in the teeth. Couple that with your most excellent choice of choon, Land Down Under. Men at Work are one of my all time bestest bands. This was a stonking read with a sinister twist.

Boadicea,
The old dear who held promises so sacred that she hated to make them. What a wonderful character flaw. Cunning trick of making her a born again gasper, knowing my own particular penchant for the dreaded weed. Smoke gets in your eyes – The Platters 1958. A timeless classic. I loved the enigma of the gifts and half smoked ‘dufer’. (do for later)

El Dubya,
Thank you for the various offers of beneficiary effect should you be deemed El Supremo. They were very much appreciated. Your excellent tale had a touch of Cussler about it, you obviously have a deep nautical bent (in a nice way). I was taken with the detail and geographical precision. I had a hard time finding the UK No1 though. The only musical reference I could find was “Bobs-a-Dyin'” which was a line from the chorus of ‘Merchants Island’ neither of those was a UK chart topper I hope you will enlighten me forthwith.

Nym,

How bone chilling to think that I might experience a ghostly encounter whilst doing something as everyday as the food shopping. Poor ol’ Ronnie, forced to walk the earth in limbo until he discovered whether his effort on that fateful night may have borne fruit. You tied in that Band Aid staple so cleverly, perhaps remembering that both I and Zenrules are immense cryptic crossword fanatics, I got it straight away incidentally. The story finished on a warm note with Ronnie finally able to rest in peace knowing he had not deathly lived in vain. I loved it.

OK Drum roll please, here are the scores from the Noocassle panel.

The final winner of the Boadiceas Chariot Creative Writing competishun 2011 is…….

Boadicea!

I loved everything about the story, the old dears dislike of the bad mannered chaufeur, her Mrs Osborne like rebuffal of the assembled proles and desperate need to take her place in puffers corner, yet the wonderful idea that her beloved hubby comes along to usher her on to the afterlife, knowing that the promise must be honoured. A tour de force and an all round rivetting read. Congratulations.

To the runners up, it was ever so close guys. Thank you for giving me so much to think about.

Now shut them doors, an’ lets have a piss up. 🙂 “Jethro”