Spectator competition winners: Halloween/ Occurs between/ The end of October/ And the start of not being sober: calendrical clerihews

Your latest challenge was to compose clerihews about any date in the calendar. I was very grateful recently to eagle-eyed John O’Byrne, who drew my attention to the fact that the closing date for Competition No. 3125 was not 20 November, as printed in the magazine, but 13 November. Even better, he did it in clerihew form:

The 20 November, Now that I remember, Is the closing date not for 3125 but 3126 — So herewith my quick fix!

Clerihews always go down well and this challenge netted a whopping entry. New Year’s Day, Shakespeare’s birthday, 9/11, the Fourth of July, Black Friday, April Fool’s Day, 5 November, Burns Night and Labour Day all featured, and thanks to Dominica Roberts I now know that the feast day of Saints Cyril and Methodius falls on 14 February. The winners below earn £8 per clerihew printed.

Adrian Fry 12th December: a chance to disMember those remoaning contrarians masquerading as parliamentarians.

Brian Allgar On April 2nd, Trump claimed to be the greatest President in history, but people reckoned His ludicrous boast would have been more Appropriate the day before.

Chris O’Carroll On 11 September, 2001, We barely knew what had begun, And we’re still not sure what will ensue Before some of us die or all of us do.

February 14 Has long been A day for pursuing erotic connection Via chocolate confection.

Robert Schechter On the Ides of March beneath an arch the words of the soothsayer proved valid upon the murder of the man for whom they named my favourite salad.

Brian Murdoch April 23rd this year Would have been an occasion to cheer, If Shakespeare were still alive.