h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'm beginning to get worried about these judges. Last time, they wanted us to defend the indefensible; this time they want us to unravel the seven deadly sins. I wonder where they're getting their inspiration from?

They are not asking for a straightforward article on one of the sins either. They've assigned us all a sin (I've got avarice) and asked us to 'write an EG-style Entry about someone who enacted the OPPOSITE trait to your sin and yet caused something bad to happen as a result.'
How convoluted is that?

So I started thinking about avarice and its opposites. Obvious opposites are generosity, open-handedness, carelessness with money. I could think of a few celebrities who are careless with money but most of them are as busy making it as spending.

On the other hand, there have been people who live austere and simple lives, giving up personal wealth, but tried to impose their standards on others. It was while thinking along these lines that I came up with the idea of writing about Osama bin Laden. Such an article should, at least, be interesting! So I started doing my research, on the BBC and Guardian websites, amongst others.

It then occurred to me that I knew of ordinary people whose generosity could cause them trouble. I have met parents who have tried to help their adult children pay their debts and got into financial problems themselves. I wondered if an article on these people would meet the bill better. I did some research, found an article on the Guardian's website and some debt advice on the website of the Citizens Advice Bureau.

So, I ended up with parts of two articles. The article on 'The Bank of Mum and Dad' was worthy but boring. The article on Osama bin Laden was a short biography, topped and tailed by pieces about sin. In the end, the latter won.

I look forward to reading it - soon, we hope!

Are you winning with yours?

I'm still working on it in stealth mode (using the Cancelled Entries function). But the updating problem I had at the weekend seems to have disappeared. I've just revealed the book and film I'm reading/ watched, to see if the name triggers the filter

It's almost ready, but I want to go over it with a fine tooth comb tonight to make sure there's not silly spleeing errors (or dates in the wrong format, or curly apostrophes )

I don't think you get points deducted for errors in GuideML.

At least, I hope not, because I'm a dunce at Guide ML

No of course not, but the darn thing's going to attract enough attention as it is - I'd rather make sure it was tidy before unleashing it

You know, I'd love to read your bank of Mum and Dad entry, if you ever get round to it!

Thanks, Beatrice.

I might get a chance to finish it, as I'm pretty sure I'll be heading out of the Stretcher next Thursday! It's been a great competition but terribly time-consuming.