douro water
 

That port really got your comic muse going, John. I once won a bottle of it from Captain Midnight (Charles Nevin) in the IoS, for pointing out that people generally use the Shakes quote 'more honour'd in the breach than the observance' ignorantly, thinking it means 'more breached than observed'. It doesn't.

So there.

Many thanks, John. Can't wait for Sydney!

Oops! I didn't mean to be messing with you. I just googled up the results and didn't happen to notice the year. I'm glad you won anyway so I wasn't setting you up for a disappointment.

No worries. Lucy called the entries 'lacklustre' & mine was rather insipid, but then it turned out to be a less interesting comp than it seemed.

Happy New Year.


bazza

Post numbering
 

Something seems to have gone wrong with the post numbering on this thread? That is to say, you make a new post but the number on the right doesn't change so progress towards a new star is blocked?

Ignore previous post! Must have been half asleep.

Jerome, you could have my stars, if I could transfer them to you.

Have you done your Christmas shopping for ’11?
Already? Don’t be daft, it’s Hogmanay.
PLAN AHEAD like me, my friend; I have all my
Presents gift-wrapped, tagged and stored away.
You mean to say you’ve got yourself a year ahead?
No wonder you look smug! I found it so
Easy and I never even left the house.
What? You bought the gifts online, then? No.
You haven’t ‘got’ it, have you? I recycled them,
Each naff, unwanted present that I got,
And swapped the lot around; I dished them out again –
Remembering, of course, WHO gave me WHAT.

these stars...
 

what do they actually signify?

You get one whenever you do a good job. Apparently, you've only done a good job once, while I have done a good job twice.