COMPETITION

No. 575: Musical chairs

Set by E. 0. Parrott: As Philidor observed in the SPECTATOR some weeks ago, chess contains a strong theatrical—not to say operatic—element. Competitors are asked to provide the lyrics for an operatic aria, duet, quartet or whatever for a patience player, chess players, a bridge or snakes and ladders four, or for players of any other well-known indoor game. Limit sixteen lines; entries, marked 'Competition No. 575', by 31 October.

No. 572: The winners

Trevor Grove reports: Besieging Austrian armies, as featured in the well-known alliterative poem which begins 'An Austrian army awfully arrayed' are hardly topical now. Competitors were asked to provide twelve lines from a similar alliterative poem on the pulling down of the Belfast barri- cades or the skirmish with the squatters at 144 Piccadilly. Ingenious alliterations in abundance, but too often at the expense of the metre. B. L. Howarth wins two guineas for his opening stanzas: Single soul suffrage, suddenly seething, Protestant pastor, prison-house pent, Weird welkin wild with whitish wisps wreathing, Bellicose Belfast by burning brands brent.

Sensible soldiers sanguinely standing, Taking their turns till toils terminate, Deftly, determined, dispersing, disbanding, Riotous rebels, rough, rash, reprobate.

and Adam Khan, who. wins, fire guineas for his engaging extract from a `squatsong';

... Invasion is 'In', I'm immensely impressed; Junkies jab jemmies, jeer juiciest jest, Kinky kids kiss, kipping kindly (kicks!

kicks!). Love-ins, lights, leisure, Life's lousiness licks. Madly mod minimaids merrily mating. Niceties normal not necessitating : Obstinate oldsters object, order out ; Pansy policemen portentously pout. Querulous, quarrelsome queues quickly quail.

Rank, rotten, Rachman-rich rentiers rail ; Squatters sling stones, singing soul-songs so

sad.

Transistors tuning together to Trad Five guineas to J. M. Crooks, also on the squat and displaying a rare talent for a final couplet : At an august address and an ancient abode. Bohemian Beatniks bawled: 'Bourgeois he blowed!'

`Come, closely co-habit!' cried comrades compelling, Dirty dozens descended, defiantly dwelling Encircled entirely—each exit entails Fresh fact-finding frenzy from featured

females— Gossip girls, gatecrashing, gloatingly gaze: `HIGH HIPPIES HIDDEN. HOT HASHISH HAZE.' Idlers' invading illegally irks

Justice: 'Jail Junkies, jail jobless, jail jerks. `Keep Knightsbridge knightly. Knaves, Kennington know.

`Let layabouts labour, let landlords lie low: Honourable mentions too to W. R. Sloan, P. W. R. Foot, V. R. Ormerod and M. Chisholm, and a guinea to Eileen Tulloch. whose closing (Belfast) couplet ran: `Knockabout kinsmen knifed ; kicking,

killed keenl\

Laws lost, lamented ; life lingered leanly '