Competition news

I never seem to come home with what I went out to buy. Nothing new in that, I once went out for a paper and came home with a piano!

The weather is totally different today and I intended to blip some heather. I came back via the gliding club and I just couldn’t resist a couple more shots with blue skies and cotton wool clouds. When I loaded today’s shots, I loved this one.

The sun has caused the lens to produce some really lovely artefacts, probably the only time ever this will happen for me, so its my blip☺

The heather will be better next week.

COMPETITION NEWS:

I’m afraid, that although I received most votes by fair and honest means in the competition, I did not win. I knew after the first day of voting this would be the case. Both my son Paul (an Internet data analyst) and myself, spotted a strange pattern of voting from one of the entries. I began a log and on the second day I notified the organisers. They promised to keep a close eye on the voting. I suggested they abandon the competition, but I can see why they could not do this.

During the night of last Tuesday/Wednesday, the votes for this entry increased by 40% and then ceased during the day. The closing time for voting was 9.00am Thursday morning. It seemed likely to me that a final assault on my vote would be launched during Thursday evening.

I ought to add that before becoming a dentist I was a maths teacher, working out statistics and probabilities is not difficult.

I spoke with the organisers and suggested they choose another method of impartial voting. This they did, and the voting was judged yesterday and a quite improbable winner was chosen, understandably.

I feel better for having raised the issue. I cannot abide cheating in any competitive event. It is of course possible the actual finalist had nothing to do with the irregularities in the voting, but the motive was clear.