Next week's competition

Have a go at our next caption-competition picture (above). Entries must reach us by Friday 29 November.

by emailto: captioncompetition@churchtimes.co.uk

by post (postcards only)to:  

Caption Competition
Church Times
3rd floor
Invicta House  
108-114 Golden Lane
London EC1Y 0TG

by fax to: 020 7490 7093 

Last week's competition

CHRISTMAS came early to the Church Times caption competition. Despite an effort by Richard Hough to keep things autumnal: "Fireworks are all very well but they show up much better at night", Daphne Foster was closer to the our readers' thinking: "I don't believe it! Surely that is a star in the east? Christmas seems to come earlier every year."

First, though, many readers recognised the Bishop of London and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster. "The Bishop kindly pointed out the tower where the Archbishop's predecessors were tortured" (Simon Jones); "And that's where we stuck his head up on a pike" (Richard Barnes); "Be of good comfort and play the man, Master Ridley" (Diana Jones); "Sorry mate, you've come to the wrong church. I think you want St Aloysius. Ten minutes on the 39 bus from over there" (David J. Nash); and "Is that a flying saucer coming in? Or your red hat?" (Michael Palmer).

Christopher Tookey chose to quote from the opening of Pilgrim's Progress: "Then said Evangelist, pointing with his finger over a very wide Field, 'Do you see yonder Wicket-gate?' The Man said, 'No.' Then said the other, 'Do you see yonder shining light?' He said, 'I think I do.'"

We had the inevitable play with gender: "Displaying their most colourful plumage, two male bishop birds at last spot a female" (Alison Rollin); "'Is it a bird, is it a. . .' 'No, Vincent, it's a bird, and she's carrying the apostolic succession'" (David Hill); and "Believe me, Bishop Wendy, the Invisibil- ity Cope is the height of fashion this Autumn" (Richard Barnes).

Then there were a few random entries, including three from Chris Coupe: "That's where you return the dressing up box to when we get changed", "Two crooks were finally caught on CCTV", and "Your cope seems to match those curtains". Also: "I told you what the choirboys would do with your car if you left it there" (Bill Scott); "I'm sure that girl's wearing Harmony hairspray, Your Grace" (Richard Strudwick); "The dove has landed on my cathedral, you will notice" (Adrian Noble); and "That way lies Southwark - we don't go there" (John Saxbee).

But after that, as Edward Mynors suggested, it was "Second star to the right and straight on till morning." Among the festive entries: "As the shepherds' costumes were missing, they decided to dress as magi" (Mary Crocker); "And there were bishops living in palaces near by discussing gay marriage and women bishops. An angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them but they were too busy to notice" (Vicky Lundberg); "Seeing a star in the east is one thing. Following it another" (Don Manley) "Now will you believe in Father Christmas?" (Clair Jaquiss); and "While they argued about which star to follow, the real shepherds got there first" (Michael Doe).

We've chosen two winning entries, one seasonal, one, well, perennial. The originators of both of whom will receive fairtrade chocolate, kindly donated by Divine (divinechocolate.com).