The SCDA have just announced that they've had a grand total of 71 entries for their 2005 Playwriting Competition, the first such contest they've organised for over 40 years. Two of those 71 entries are mine, so according to my calculations I represent almost 3% of the field. With odds like that, I can't fail.

We're competing for a thousand pounds of Richard "I don't believe it" Wilson's money, and frankly with 'One Foot in the Grave' being repeated endlessly on UK Gold, he can afford it.

In addition, they claim that the 71 entries have come from 9 different countries. Even assuming that six of those are England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Wight, that still means a large proportion of the entries will have come from the likes of Andrey Eris, which cuts down the competition significantly.

On the downside, the winning plays will be performed in Dingwall in November, and I've no idea where that is.