. . . And Now, Over to Elah'
Competitors were asked to imagine that a device had been given to radio sports commentators that enabled them to see events as they took place in the past. The usual prize was offered for an extract from such a commentary in the style of John Arlon or Rex Alston on any Old Testament incident.
Two Arlotts to every Alston, and I could 'hear' the authentic tones of both the com- mentators in nearly all the entries. No one made any play, though, with John Arlott's occasional habit of dropping the definite article, as in 'since war' and 'in slips.' 1 feet a catch may have been dropped here, though it was only to be expected that mas- culine characters and scenes of compara- tively violent action would be the ones to be chosen. Nearly half the commentaries came from the Valley of Elah. Next, numerically, came the reports from Mount Carmel on Elijah and the priests of Baal. `Their appeals have been consistently turned down,' observed Denis Young, while Pibwob drew attention to the fact that 'several of the original team of 450 have retired hurt.' Commentaries on the Flood came in a mere trickle, and 1 liked Granville Garley's 'The covers are off the Ark . . . and Noah is due for a change of luck; he's probably bagged more pairs recently than auy man alive. Out so far are one raven, one dove.'
A long short-list made selecting the win- ners more than usually difficult. It was pleasant to see many newcomers among the competitors and I assure all the runners-up that they came very close to a prize.
A prize of £1 13s. 4d. each to R. S. Stanier, Sir Norman Birkett and F. G. Hall. The runners-up are those already named plus G. M. Gregory, Miss A. A. Wollman, A. M. Sayers, G. R. Smith, Douglas Hawsbn, (3. J. Blundell, R. J. Hirst, E. C. Jenkins, Frank Pavry, H. A. C. Evans, A. W. Dicker and B. P. Hatton, whose type- writer, strangely enough, has the same idio- syncrasy as that of a better-known competitor.
PRIZES (a. S. STANIER) JOHN ARLOTE ON DANIEL, Cll. 3 . . while they're tuning up I'll try to give you some idea of the scene. Dominating every- thing like the gasometer at the Oval is the vast gold statue which Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up, every inch of sixty cubits high. And there's Nebuchadnezzar himself with that great black beard, which always reminds me of W. G. The sackbut-player's a great big fellow with a chest like a barrel, and we all like the look of the psalterist. Are you any good on the psaltery, Rex?'
'1 don't even know which end you blow, John.'
'He thinks you blow a psaltery. Well, well. But now they've all let fly. And it's a really amazing sight. The whole crowd has gone flat on its face like she rt-legs before a Denis Compton sweep. No, I'm wrong. Three of them are still standing up. I can see Shadrach there . . . and Meshach • . . and, yes, it's A bednego.'
(SIR NORMAN BIRKETT)
ISRAEL V. THE PHILISTINES, AS REPORTED BY JOHN ARLOTT . . . and here in the Valley of Elah we greet listeners from Dan and Beersheba with incredibly surprising and exciting news—the Philistines have utterly collapsed. One moment there was Goliath of Gatti, a big liurly man, standing about six cubits—wouldn't you say, Arthur?---with a sword as big as him- self, shouting swaggering challenges to Israel, and before you could say Gilbert Harding he
was flat on his face with a stone in his forehead, whirled like lightning from the sling of a ruddy-checked lad called David. And for an absolutely staggering climax, this lsraelitish lad took Goliath's sword and made a most powerful late cut, a kind of chop-stroke (wouldn't you describe it as a chop-stroke, Arthur?) and there was . .
(F. G. HALL)
REX ALSTON ON EXODUS, CH. 7-10 It is now hailing terribly hard, reminding us of the 1948 match at Old Trafford, and for the benefit of those who heard nothing earlier. here very quickly is the present position from Egypt where a very unfriendly sky looks down on a situation which doesn't yet tilt very much either way.
Pharaoh, a very hard-hearted Pharaoh, still has the struggling children of Israel .pinned down despite everything Moses' and Aaron have produced in the way of frogs, lice, flies, murrains and boils.
After this hail, Moses may include stingers in his- attack as there is still some bite left. Anything can happen in this Pest match.
That is all for now from Egypt. Before taking you over to Mount Ararat where John Snagge is waiting to give his impressions of the Flood, here is Julian Huxley to comment on the days' plagues.
Previous page
