May 28 2011

Ghan Jury Prizes

All aboard for the Ghan Jury Prizes, where we hand out trinkets to the best five clues, in both the VIP (applied) and GP (kind) sections. Once more, I found it hard to separate wonderful from wondrous. In particular the VIP class for Katherine was a gala of greatness, a three-way tie my only escape.

So just because your name doesn’t crop up often, doesn’t mean your stuff wasn’t given lavish scrutiny, including newbie One Wheel – but in the end I tried to pick one winner per stop, and failed most times. So here they come down the track, the GP leg first:

PORT AUGUSTA (GP): Guru sat atop rock [SK creates a lama-like image. Though just as canny…]

PORT AUGUSTA (GP): Wine month – onto third glass [LR, hic. A humdinger too. Special mention to Mauve for his gold rush and RM’s sugar, tarnished by an iffy signpost]

COOBER PEDY (GP): Firm body peer developed [RK limbers up with style, sharing the limelight with…]

COOBER PEDY (GP): Proceed by oxygen circulation [Mauve gets down and physiognomic, with Honours. And a nod to Mr X, despite a redundant ‘a’.]

KULGERA (GP): Lastly, thank you all cluing here for DA. [dg tries a Stormy ploy, and succeeds. ]

ALICE SPRINGS (GP): Gore cools on polar cap calls [LR gets climactic and climatic in one go. Also loved RV’s slashing humour and Boniface’s malice. A general note: does Alice Todd = Alice Liddell = Alice in Chains? And lice is plural – ]

KATHERINE (GP): A female heir taken cruelly […by croc, dg? His anagram was just as sweet as…]

KATHERINE (GP): Roundabout near Keith [JD knows her geography, as Keith is a SA town, so keeping the story regional. A nod too to RV’s belt.]

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PORT AUGUSTA (VIP): Harbourmaster’s home? [SK staked his claim early, and kept his lofty ground all Storm. A deft clue.]

COOBER PEDY (VIP): Importing drug (dope), Corby is busted [When travelling, RK chooses to stay at the Bangkok Hilton. A dazzler. Almost as good is Boniface’s probe, so to speak.]

KULGERA (VIP): Regular experimentation turns a river into potassium [Again Mr X succumbs to a spare ‘a’, but the idea – and story – are ingenious. Mention also to LR, who was slightly ill-served by served as a sound signpost. Distributed? Circulated?]

ALICE SPRINGS (VIP): Special outcalls [A succinct sucker punch from RV. Just as evasive as…]

ALICE SPRINGS (VIP): Aligns prices around central setting [Mauve on the trading floor, gaining ground, with a seemly inclusion of the definition too.]

KATHERINE (VIP): Two cards, neither wild [This clue from RK, in tandem with LR’s polar cap, were the Storm’s best. So good I’m envious. But I must make a fuss over…]

KATHERINE (VIP): Bakery essentials: wear hairnet inside [LR looks good in snood. And just as handsome…]

KATHERINE (VIP): Take heroin, collapse and lose oxygen [Junkie chic from Mr X – three outstanding clues. With a running salute to Boniface’s Tarkine take, as well.]

Before we pull into Darwin, the land of porn and prawn, here are the final tallies. With 3 points for star billing, and a point per favourable mention, we see the echelon read like so: LR (10), RK (9), Mauve and Mr X (both 7), with SK and dg (both 6), and RV nearby on five. I dip my Casey Jones cap in sheer train enthusiasm. Some model clues in a five-star Storm. Next week, we enter the world of sound, with a real-life tangible prize up for grabs. More soon. Tune in Tuesday.

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