Christmas Competition

MJA 2000; 173: 672  

"Competition" has been a popular theme in 2000, and the Sydney Olympic and Paralympic Games brought out the competitive spirit in all of us. The MJA Christmas competition was no exception. The frenetic activity surrounding the Games may well have put time pressures on many of you, leaving little time to ponder over your most interesting x-rays, or leisure to create the literary masterpiece gestating in your mind all year. However, we thank those of you committed to sharing your talents on the excellent range of entries we received. First prize for the best snapshot went to John Taylor, from the US, whose astute recognition of the Real Eel will be rewarded with a bottle of Aussie wine.

However, the final counting of votes for the winner of the best Vignette showed strange parallels with the recent US presidential election. The painstaking manual count was conducted under tight electoral scrutineering. It was a close battle between Gordon Parker's "Would the pharmaceutical companies please mind their Ps and Qs, and their Xs, Ys and Zs", and Brian Fotheringham's "Alice in Blunderland". Parker was initially declared the victor by one vote. Alice, prematurely conceding defeat, was delighted when another vote arrived by mail, tipping the balance in favour of a draw. A mandatory recount was not required and authors will receive a bottle of liquid refreshment.

©MJA 2000
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