Part 2
of an article by Lynne Suzanne
Walking on the seafront on cold December
morning, my husband and I took a shortcut
through the amusement arcades in the pier,
where I spotted a television set and a pile
of entry forms.
Collecting one, we popped into the coffee
bar, whilst I filled in our name and address
details. As I popped my entry into the box,
I noticed that, unusually, people had to be
present for the prize draw, which was taking
place at 4pm that day.
Back home, just before 4pm, I told my
husband I’d walk back to the pier for the
prize draw. Looking out the window, it was
drizzling with rain, dark and cold. I nearly
didn’t bother. Then I thought, if others
think the same, just how many people would
attend the draw. That was enough to motivate
me. Donning my coat, I set off.
At 4pm, nine wet and bedraggled
individuals stood around the prize box. At
4.15pm, three gave up and went home. Ten
minutes later the manager arrived, placed
his hand in the prize box and drew out an
entry.
"Mrs X?", he called out. No
answer. "She’s not here?" he
queried, "’ll draw another. Mr
Y"’ He looked round expectantly. No
reply.
"Lynne Suzanne", he called.
"Yes, that’s me."
"Congratulations," he enthused,
"you’ve won a TV".
Now had I not bothered to turn out, I
wouldn’t have won. Sometimes Lady Luck
needs a helping hand or perhaps a push in
the right direction.
My second car, a Proton Persona, was
scooped by writing words on a postcard.
I discovered the competition quite by
accident. Driving in a neighbouring town, I
took a wrong turning and drove past a Proton
showroom. The `WIN A PROTON’ poster caught
my eye. The task was to find how many words
you could make from the car name.
This was a challenging task and great fun
to do. Adopting a systematic approach, I put
the initial letters into alphabetical order,
before waded my way through 20 volumes of a
dictionary to come up with 1,284 words.
It was more of a challenge trying to
write these on a postcard - but was achieved
by improvisation - a cut down cereal packet.
When I was presented with a beautiful
bouquet of flowers and my car keys, many
people said: ‘You’re lucky Lynne’. But
Lady Luck doesn’t play a hand in these
types of competitions. You just have to know
about the competition and take the time to
enter. You can do it too.
Before you can begin to win you need some
competitions to enter. You’ll find these
on A5 size entry forms in supermarkets and
high street stores. On bottle neck collars.
On packets and cans. Searching for entry
forms, you adopt Sherlock Holmes skills to
detect those elusive competitions, often
found tucked between freezer cabinets, on
top of dusty shelves or squashed between
tills, because the check out girl has
forgotten to put them on display.
Competitions have seasons too, so its
knowing when to visit certain outlets.
Magazines are packed with competitions,
to suit all interests and tastes. Your
specialist skill or hobby can win you
prizes. Photography competitions, fashion
design, even cooking up a recipe for
success. You just have to remember the
`compers’ maxim: `the harder to enter, the
easier to win’.
Part 3
© Copyright 1993-2005 Lynne Suzanne www.win-with-lynne.co.uk
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About the
author
Lynne Suzanne is a consultant, freelance
writer and author of
Win With Lynne Intaslogans, Pun-ch Lines! and
Win Your Fortune in Prizes.
FREE Win With Lynne - How to Win
Competitions guide.
www.win-with-lynne.co.uk
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