I'll put up the rules as soon as I can find them but they will be the same as before. However, you should aim to get your entries submitted to The Paddy One no late than seven days before the event...i.e. 12th May.

OK, get cracking......

Song-writing Competition - Rules

The annual Edinburgh Folk Club song-writing competition will be held at the Pleasance Cabaret Bar, 60 The Pleasance, Edinburgh on Wednesday May 19th 2010 at 8pm

All entries must be in the hands of the chair person (address below) not later than Wednesday 12th May 2010. Late entries will not be accepted. The words of the song, preferably typewritten, must be submitted. together with your name , full postal address, and contact telephone number. An email address would also be useful. It is helpful but not essential if the tune is also included. Please do not send cassettes.

The words of the song must be original, the tune, subject to the usual copyright restrictions, may be that of another song. Songs must be new, written within the past eighteen months, and have not previously been placed first, second or third in any competition.

The entrant may submit a maximum of two songs.

The entrant should either be present to perform the song or make their own arrangements for another singer to do so. The judges decision will, as far as is possible, be independent of the quality of the performance.

If so many entries are received that they cannot all be performed on the evening of the competition, the Club committee reserves the right to ask competitors to withdraw one of their two songs and/or to eliminate some songs prior to the competition.

The winner holds the competition cup for a year.

The winner will receive a cash prize of £100 and the second and third placed writers will receive £50 and £30 respectively.

There will also be a voting paper for the audience, and the writer of the song selected by the audience will receive an engraved tassie.

The judges reserve the right to make no award(s).

The entrant or their representative must be at the venue and make themselves known to the MC no later than 7:45pm.

Please send entries to:

Eberhard 'Paddy' Bort
Institute of Governance
University of Edinburgh
Chisholm House
High School Yards
1 Surgeon's Square
EDINBURGH
EH1 1LZ

or email to:

ebort@ed.ac.uk

DATA PROTECTION ACT: We hold the names and addresses of entrants in a computer file. If you are not willing for us so to do, please inform the Secretary.

I've also posted a copy of the rules on our My Space site and these can be located in a "blog" there.

http://www.myspace.com/edinburghfolkclub

I was hoping the change of date might deter a few people but we've already got more than enough entries. :-)

JAJ - you could at least pretend to be more enthusiatic about the Songwriting competition!!

PS I'll be there as usual.

Who were "they"?
The grumpy treasurer, the compere who lets his belly rumble, or the others. :-)

The main reason we don't have tickets as a raffle prize is that we don't have a raffle on the actual night of the competition. So, we give people a chance to win the tickets for our next concert a little earlier.

Unfortunately, there are fewer entrants this year and I'm sure the change of date was partly to blame but this wasn't deliberate. It had to do with our schedule. However, there will be plenty of songs as some singers will have an opportunity to submit two entries.

Incidentally, the competition was usually held in May until fairly recently.