Hole hearted

In Competition No. 2506 you were invited to submit a short story entitled ‘A Life With a Hole In It’.

In Competition No. 2506 you were invited to submit a short story entitled ‘A Life With a Hole In It’.
This is the title of a poem written by Philip Larkin in 1974, shortly after a move that plunged him into a black depression. It reeks of fury and disappointment: ‘Life is an immobile, locked/ Three-handed struggle between/ Your wants, the world’s for you, and (worse)/ The unbeatable slow machine/ That brings what you’ll get…’.
The entry this week was impressive, which cheered me up after Larkin’s doom and gloom. Top marks to you all for inventiveness, with special mentions to Bill Greenwell and Adrian Fry. The winners are printed below. They get £25 each, and the bonus fiver goes to Josephine Boyle.

I was made in an odd shape. To be accurate, I was cast in a strange mould.