Just the job

In Competition No. 2537 you were invited to submit a poem entitled ‘The Song of the Chartered Accountant’. You were allowed to substitute an alternative profession.
I interpreted the word ‘profession’ loosely and was tempted by Mike Morrison’s personal shopper and touched by Martin Parker’s sexually frustrated retired flea-circus trainer, though they didn’t make the final line-up in the end.

Chartered accountants are traditionally described in shades of grey, and many of you went down that route. But leading the field this week is Basil Ransome-Davies, who gets the bonus fiver. I was won over by his portrayal of a pin-striped-suited wage slave’s hot-blooded alter ego. D.A. Prince’s bilious librarian’s contempt for the low-brow taste of her customers was also refreshingly off the beaten track, and she gets £25, along with the other worthy winners, printed below. It was a strong entry and commendations go to Mary Holtby, John Whitworth, Alanna Blake and Shirley Curran.