Competition: Odd job

In Competition No. 2720 you were invited to supply a piece of prose written by a well-known author working in an unlikely context.

Thanks to Brian Moore for drawing my attention to Samuel Beckett’s flirtation with a career in grocery trade journalism, as revealed in the great man’s recently published volume of letters: ‘I see advertised in to-day’s Irish Times an editorial vacancy on the staff of the RGDATA [Retail Grocery Dairy and Allied Trades-Association] Review at £300 per an. I think seriously of applying. Any experience of trade journalism would be so useful.’
    
It was a strong entry and I very much regretted not having space in the winning line-up for Gerard Benson, Shirley Curran and Adrian Fry. Those that did make the cut nab £25 each. W.J. Webster gets £30.

The game opened on a gropingly conversational note — scattered brisk exchanges, more or less robust, with neither side ‘holding the field’.