[Chris O'Carroll]

When I was exchanging messages with Vicky about the new ineligibility rule at the NS, she said something to the effect that people who wanted to share and discuss their entries could do so vial email without creating the "prior publication" situation to which she objected. Since the new password-protected private forum keeps entries out of public view, just as email communication would, I assume that she'll be fine with it. However, she has not yet said as much. I would feel that I was letting everyone down if I assured you that entries posted at "Deep Drills" are OK for submission to the magazine, and then that turned out not to be the case. So until I hear back from Vicky on this matter, I'll hold off on posting competition information in the new forum.

Competition No 4299 (set by Leonora Casement) called for piece of prose containing these dozen words: Luger, Jesuit, Aga, cumulonimbus, jealous (or jealousy), cool, Virgil, wing-easy, crimson, Artex, symptomatic and plod.

Basil Ransome-Davies not only confirmed the meaning of "wing-easy" for us, he also scored £25 for a winning entry, which I hope he'll post here. The other three winners are D.A. Prince, Christopher Hooton, and Jane Coy (Tesco vouchers). Adrian Fry and I are among the honorable menshes.

[basil ransome-davies]

Cigar smoke lay suspended like cumulonimbus over the wing easy chair upholstered in crimson leather.Like the Artex swirls on the ceiling and the Aga in the huge, little used kitchen, it was symptomatic of evolving nouveau-riche taste, decade by decade.
Bond regarded the scene with cool disdain.The gross, empurpled figure in the chair was pointing a Luger at him, historic weapon but an amateur's choice with its fallible toggle-lock mechanism, another clumsy attempt to be authentic.
'So, Mr Bond.You are cunning as a Jesuit–'
'Jealous, are we, Throckmorton?'
'–but really only a superior plod.'
'While you are a sub-standard megalomaniac.At least Blofeld had class.'
'Enough talk!'
He pressed the trigger, but only an embarrassing click emerged.Bond stroked his left cufflink and Throckmorton's head exploded.
'He should have used high-pressure ammunition,' murmured Bond.'But as Virgil has it, "Facilis decensus averni".'