Evening all. A good strong field in the shortlist this week, but a worthy and convincing winner clearly emerged….

Reluctant Memsahib: My Big Toe Hurts

“I do not blog because I approach life with such rampant enthusiasm I cannot bear to let an unrecorded moment slip by; I do not blog because I think I lead an enviably fascinating life that everybody is just busting to read about.

I blog because I’m lonely.”

[read more….]

Nominated by MissyM

Our judges said:

“Depth without cloying, honesty without extreme discomfort.”

“A quiet desperation, thoughtfully expressed.”

Post of the Week was shortlisted on Friday (before he caught a plane) by Bob. Judging was carried out in a relatively orderly fashion by Lyle, Patita & by me, SwissToni, with the legendary Overnight Editor taking part as our Hall of Fame judge and with the invaluable assistance of YOU, the general readership.

Have you ever wanted to get involved in the judging of Post of the Week but have never really known how? It’s easy! Click here and all will be revealed!

The next Post Of The Week will be announced on Sunday evening.

Please note that nominations for next week cannot be accepted until then.

HOWEVER, we would like to invite you the reader to vote on these shortlisted posts, alongside our Post Of The Week Judges - which means YOU now all get a vote and can all play a part in choosing the Post of the Week. And we’d like you to do this every week too!

So, if you’d like to add your twopenny’s worth to the judging of the shortlisted posts, please pick your FIVE favourite posts from the list and award 5 points for your most favourite, 4 for the next best and so on. Then please email them to peacharse@yahoo.com by 6pm on Sunday evenings. Your votes will be totted up and put with our Judge’s votes and the winning post announced as usual on a Sunday night. Please note, we don’t want you to just pick ONE post that you think is great, but FIVE out of the list, and award them 5-1 points accordingly.

Please email if you have any queries, otherwise, happy reading.

And without further ado, yonder shortlist …

1. A Large Number of Small Experiences: Race-day psychosis

Holding the technique is hard work, but I’m concentrating on the music of the boat, the strength at the finish, the smooth (increasingly ragged) glide up the slide, water trickling off the blades, the splash of the catch, the deep growl of the drive.

Nominated by Badger and tpe

2. I Hate the Earth: Contraband

Is anyone that stupid to leave a kilo of drugs behind and not even come back for it? That, to me, is the only mystery. But it’s no secret that the previous owners were a cagey, middle aged, secretive and eager to leave couple who told my folks they were emigrating ’somewhere’ and left no forwarding address.

Nominated by Dandelion

3. Non-Working Monkey: Day 554: I Try To Rank Sweary Person-Descriptors

If someone hated me, I would want them to describe me as a cunt.

Nominated by Katy Newton

4. Reluctant Memsahib: My Big Toe Hurts

But I cannot talk to her about how desperately isolating I find this place.

That’d be unfair.

Nominated by MissyM

5. tasting rhubarb: Scaffolding

So now you can get up and do another day, what’s left of it, what’s left of you, the strings quivering and patterning in your head.

Nominated by Zinnia Cyclamen

6. Trailer Park Refugee: Meeting Survival 101

If you estimate salaries for all attendees, and factor in travel/support costs, it is always alarming. Today’s meeting, fairly high level muckety-mucks, was pricey…. almost 30 attendees, 8 hours, 20 traveled in for the event. Over $40,000. Yikes… makes the eyes water and the brain wander.

Nominated by Bob