Well, a competition I feared would be ignored attracted some cracking responses.
How, I asked, do you caption the following photograph? It was taken by Rob, all round good man and inspiration for this little contest (he suggested it, having snapped the hapless, lifeless magpie in his office car park) …
The replies – which can be seen in full by clicking here – were terrific:
* “The thought of another relegation battle has left me feeling a bit flat” (Eric Bowers).
* “For the start of the new season, this Mag took the phrase “You’ve got to hit the ground running” a bit too literally” – (Jonny M)
* Wake up Maggie I think I’ve got something to say to you. (Neil A)
* That’s right. Magpies have no chance of staying up! (Ian Clarkson)
But I couldn’t resist awarding first prize to Michael Stokes – who signs on here as Gringo Purves – for this piece of genius:
* …and don’t EVER try texting Andy Carroll’s girlfriend again!
Well done, Mike. CDs you may wish you’d never heard will be on their way. Now, since you are a teacher, get back to that marking – if it’s external exam papers, you’ll make enough to cover next season’s season ticket (right, Pete?).
Colin Randall