Come Round... and iron some tea towels!

This weekend's sunshine put me in a great mood and I get the funny feeling my comping mojo is BACK at last! I received my first LWE (long white envelope) for a while on Saturday - a week's Eurocamp holiday from a Nestlé text competition. I never seem to find the time to do many text comps but this one had 40 prizes so I decided to have a go at it. The great thing about this comp is that there are still two draws left, with 60 more holidays to be given away - 40 on 31st July and 20 on 31st December. To enter, text eurocamp to 88802 followed by a space then your name (space) house number (space) postcode - texts cost 50p! The holiday is a week for 4 adults, or 2 adults and up to 4 children, at any Eurocamp parc including ferry crossing from Dover to Calais (worth up to £1400!).

On Friday evening I took this snap of Ry enjoying tasty Yoomoo in the sunshine with his Happy Hopper cow... if you want to enter this Yoomoo comp, be quick! It ends on Wednesday - take a photo of you enjoying YooMoo, tag it #instamoo and #yoomoo and share on Instagram. Their favourite photo gets an iPod Shuffle and £30 YooMoo vouchers!

...and on Friday evening whilst cooking aubergine and paneer curry I did the can can for this fabulous Metro competition to win a cookery class for two with Raymond Blanc! To enter, Tweet a photo of you doing a creative can can to @metrouk before midnight TONIGHT! (29th May) - sorry, I didn't give you much notice for this one but with ten prizes up for grabs maybe you an squeeze a quickie in tonight!

Then on Saturday our usual monthly 'Notts about Comping' meeting was moved to my house and became a 'Come Round' Philips Perfectcare ironing party! This is my first involvement with Come Round, although I have heard good things from friends about their previous Sharwoods and Big Time Rush parties. They send you freebies in return for you hosting a party with at least ten friends - you have to send in photos and complete surveys afterwards. You also get set certain photo challenges and are encouraged to take as many daft photos as you can - as you can imagine this wasn't a problem for us compers! The 'freebies' in this case were a £250 iron and a £100 ironing board - along with cocktail mixers and Union Jack tea towels! A new iron has been on my wish list for ages so it was great timing...

Now, I'm not a big fan of ironing, but the Perfectcare iron was actually pretty amazing - you can leave it sitting on fabric for five minutes and it's clever enough not to burn... the fancy ironing board also had flaps for shirt shoulders (joy!) and a handy pocket for my iPhone - nice touch!

BEFORE

AFTER

AMAZED

DRUNK (not really, it was 10.30am!)

STEAMY

INSPECTION

COMPERS

Come Round and Philips are offering a night in the Savoy for their favourite review of the iron, so I've got something special up my wrinkle-free sleeve for that one - stay tuned!

A Right Royal Round-up!

Just like last year's Royal Wedding, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee is a fabulous excuse to get the bunting out, dress up, make some weird-looking red, white and blue food and generally have a right old laugh. And with the bonus of two Bank Holidays too - heaven!

For those of you who don't shy away from a bit of effort, this is a selection of quirky, fun and creative competitions - and your entry doesn't always need to be meticulously created and lovingly photographed, as many of the winners are picked at random too! There are a few of the dreaded voting competitions in here but a polite word in the promoter's ear (via Facebook message is the best) should warn them of the dangers and maybe encourage them to think again - or at least to include some additional Terms and Conditions which will help to make the competition fairer.


I'm not a fan of Like & Share comps, but as this is a caption comp and a great photo of Her Madge, I'll be giving it a go (there's also only one entry so far!) - win a £150 Ocado voucher from Give a Grad a Go by leaving your best caption for this photo. No closing date stated so be quick!

My Cake Decorating have sussed the way to keep the cheats out of their cake competition - you need to upload a photo of your creation NEXT to a piece of paper with your name written on! Sadly though - the most votes wins...and top spot already has almost 200! The winner gets a Jubilee hamper of Lakeland goodies worth £100. Enter on their Facebook App before 25 May 2012.

Here's a Jubilee recipe one - you could win a cookery class worth £250. A shortlist of 3 or 5(!) will be chosen and then voting is involved I'm afraid - read more on the Blink website and enter before 27 May 2012.

Now I'd love to win this one, because I would officially be Lady Di! Design a coat-of-arms and you could win a title of Lord, Lady or Laird - plus an iPad. The top 20 most popular get judged, but there are only 92 entries and the vote counts are low so you've just about got time to do it! Upload to the Don't Panic site before 27 May 2012.

Win a £100 Bar Tab at Apples and Pears Bar in London - upload your (original) Jubilee Cocktail recipe to their Facebook App to enter! Closes 30 May 2012.

If you live near Sidmouth, you could win £100 of Little Joules vouchers. Take a photo of your under-8 in a King or Queen outfit and email to marketing@fieldsofsidmouth.co.uk - six finalists will need to go to Monday's Child in Sidmouth on 5 June to be judged, and one boy and one girl will win the prizes (how upset will the others be - I wouldn't like to see that!). Read more details here and enter by 31 May 2012.

Mumsnet are giving away a Kitchenaid mixer in their Jubilee recipe competition for members - your recipe must involve Lyle's Golden Syrup and the winner will be chosen at random! Enter here before 31 May 2012.

Create a Jubilee Pinterest board (see this post if you're new to Pinterest) and you could win a Jubilee girl's dress plus a copy of 'The Queen's Knickers' book. Check out the I Love Gorgeous Pinterest page for more details - and Repin this image to get started! Closes 31 May 2012.

The Happy Egg Co want photos of your cakes inspired by Great Britain. The winner will get a Kitchenaid mixer, a cookery course and a year's supply of eggs. Read more here and send your photos to competitions@jamiemagazine.com by 1 June 2012.

This is a fab one from the Loughborough Echo - for their Jubilee Competition, you need to create a local landmark out of food! You would win a family ticket to the Eden Project including overnight accommodation and travel. Enter by emailing your photo to echofoodartcomp@golleyslater.co.uk - full details are on the Loughborough Echo website and the winning entry will be judged on creativity, artistic skill and community spirit. Closes 1 June 2012.

School age kids can design a Jubilee Party poster and win a £50 book token - read more at the Radiowaves site. I can't find any Terms and Conditions so not sure exactly what the age restrictions are! Enter by 1 June 2012.

Rewrite the first verse of the National Anthem using the word wine and you could win some 'patriotic goodies' from WineGifts4U on Facebook by 1 June 2012.

Upload a photo of your kids throwing their most regal pose on the Asda website, and you could bag £500 of Asda vouchers. They've even installed 70 thrones in Asda stores if you really want to put the effort in (although the winner is chosen at random!). Closes 3 June 2012.

Are you a jewellery designer? Upload a photo of a piece on the theme 'Best of British' and you could win a £50 Love2Shop voucher. Unfortunately, the most votes wins - but I imagine it will get limited entries so might be worth a go if that's where your talent lies! Read more at the Guild of Jewellery Designers website and enter before 5 June 2012.

Now, I know of at least one regular reader who's a motorbike nut! This is a great prize from London Bikers - a Union Jack helmet worth £640! To enter, email a photo of you, your bike, or something bike-related that shows national pride to jamie@bestbritishbloggers.co.uk - they will be judging on humour, originality and Jubilee-ness! Read more here - closes 5 June 2012.

Have you got a photo taken at a Toby Carvery? Well if you do, you have a GREAT chance of winning one of the 150 commemorative aprons they're giving away on their Facebook page! Upload your photo before 5 June 2012.

Crabbies are offering five winners a chance to get their face on a plate! Simply upload a photo here and add a bit of text and their five favourites will win - you can't upload a photo of anyone who looks under 25 though, so that's me out (ahem). Enter by 6 June 2012.

Tesco are giving away prizes weekly for Summer Street Party recipes. The grand prize is a Pastry & Puddings weekend course at Ashurton Cookery School plus B&B accommodation for Friday and Saturday night at Ashburton Court for two adults, and you can see the weekly prizes here. The prizes are awarded at random - upload your entry here. Final closing date is 6 June 2012.

Here's another Queenie caption comp from the Bentall Centre - win a £250 SWAG voucher! Enter on their Facebook App by 6 June 2012.

365 Electrical are giving away three Limited Edition Belling Centenary Built-in or free standing ovens - to enter, upload a photo of you with your royal-themed food to their Facebook App before 7 June 2012.

Win a cute Wedgwood tea set worth £665 if you happen to be in a London Park Plaza Hotel between 1-8 June 2012. Get someone to take a 'royal' photo of you and post it on their Facebook page or Tweet it to @ParkPlazaHotels. Read the full details here. If the prize is your cup of tea (groan), I definitely think it's worth going out of your way to enter this one - remember though, sometimes photos uploaded from Smartphones aren't set to 'Public' on Facebook so it might be safer to Tweet your entry!

Do you own a pair of Monster Slippers? If so, you could win a 3 course meal for four at Harry Ramsden's! Upload a photo of you wearing a pair of Monster Slippers to their Facebook page and the best will win - on the blog they suggest you could be doing something 'quintessentially British!' - if you're at a Jubilee party I reckon that would be a great photo opp! Enter by 11 June 2012.

Bart Spices want your Jubilee inspired creations! If yours is the best, you could win a baking master class with Edd Kimber (winner of the Great British Bake Off). He will choose his favourite and also award two runners up a hamper of Bart goodies. Upload a recipe and photo at www.bartoffers.com/jubilee before 12 June 2012.

Radley are giving away a fab prize of a stay at the Ritz, with Afternoon Tea and £200 to spend at the Radley store! To enter you need to take a photo of you enjoying a tea party with the Radley at Home range - as you can imagine this one will be VERY low entry (only 4 entries so far, just one of which is eligible to win!) so it might be worth you splashing out on a Jubilee treat! Enter here - closes 17 June 2012.

Upload your photos of the 1977 Silver Jubilee and one winner picked at random will win a year's subscription to Great British Life magazine - enter here by 1 July 2012.

Thomas Pink have an amazing prize up for grabs in their voting competition - BUT it doesn't close until 9 August 2012 so perhaps they'll change their mind and judge it. The T&Cs refer throughout to a prize draw with no reference to voting, but they do state clearly on the App that "entrants must own the copy rights to any images entered in the competition", which should hopefully discourage some cheats. To enter, upload a photo that captures the spirit of British Entertainment to their Facebook App. You can win tickets to A Midsummer Night's Dream in regents Park, a £1000 Thomas Pink gift card, a picnic hamper and limited edition British Entertainment book.

Keep an eye out for competitions in your local newspapers and on local websites too, especially kids ones - entry numbers are usually low! And remember to take lots of photos of your celebrations too, there's bound to be lots of Facebook photo comps that pop up in the week before the big event.

And finally, if you live near LETCHWORTH or BEDWORTH, pop down to Baker Brothers Diamonds - they have a champagne flute full of diamond in store. Guess how many are in there and win a night's stay at Hanbury Manor, plus other prizes.

I'll be adding a linky to this post so that more creative Jubilee comps can be added - feel free to add to it if you'd like to!

Cybher 2012: Running prize promotions on your blog

I was honoured when Sian To - @geekisnewchic - asked me to host a session on competitions at the ultimate female blogger event, Cybher. An unexpected bonus was that I was partnered with the girls at Spark and Fuse. I thought I knew a decent amount about running a prize promotion, but these girls taught me all about the legal side - and also best practice when it comes to making them fair. They also had plenty of interesting tales about crazy compers!

You can read a summary of the Spark and Fuse presentation on their blog here.

We were very tight on time at the event, so this post is an expansion of the points I covered in my ten minute slot. If you're running competitions and prize draws on your blog then I hope there are some useful ideas here for you. I believe promotions should be fun for both the blogger AND the entrant. They should have clear Terms and Conditions, be run fairly, and make good use of social media channels - and that's what my presentation is all about...

First of all: an introduction.
I'm Di Coke (yes, that's my real name!), I'm proud to be a comper and have been for 15 years now. I've won over £200,000 of prizes and more than 40 holidays. I'm passionate about my hobby and started writing a blog because I wanted to share my experiences and tips with others.

Here at SuperLucky, I list creative competitions, share my own comping stories, write about controversial promotions and offer advice to both compers and promoters. I have a readership that extends to America, Canada and Australia as very few bloggers write on this topic. Since last Summer I've been working as Social Media Manager for Accolade Publishing - I run the Facebook/Twitter pages for Compers News magazine and The PrizeFinder, and I also blog about competitions at the PrizeFinder. I also write a monthly column for Compers News about online promotions.

All about compers
The Good

• Compers have a lot of contacts - and not all of them are compers! Many of us do play by the rules and only have one Facebook account, so often we share information with more than just our comping friends - I have 1600 friends and 150 subscribers on Facebook, and most compers have 1000+ Twitter followers. Compers can be a powerful networking tool as they love to Share Facebook posts and Retweet (even if it's not a condition of entry!)
• Compers ARE consumers too - we do actually pay for things once in a while! If a company is memorable for their promotions and prizes then we are likely to remember and recommend them.
• The nicest compers are likely to give you feedback on the prize, and post a thankyou or photo on your blog or Facebook page.

The Bad

• Unfortunately a few compers can be greedy. Many are at home full-time, and will enter to win anything and everything regardless of whether they want it. They are often regular visitors - though not contributors - to the www.moneysavingexpert.com competition forum
• Some compers can enter hundreds of comps a day and as a result are likely to spend no time reading your blog (or indeed, any website they visit) - if an answer is required, they will usually have copied it from the MoneySavingExpert post.

The Ugly

• Try not to get on the wrong side of a comper - word spreads quickly on Facebook and Twitter and some of the more vocal compers will be happy to join the mob
• There are several private forums on Facebook where compers moan about promoters, and if a prize hasn’t arrived or isn’t what they expected, they will gang up to complain. Many will even go as far as complaining to the ASA, even for something that may seem trivial - so be on your guard!
• If you get a public complaint about a competition or prize, try your best to settle it quickly – and ideally privately. Don't delete Facebook posts and only block users from a page as a last resort.

A successful promotion will...

• raise awareness (and website/Facebook traffic) for the brand
• increase traffic and interaction on your blog
• result in positive feedback on social media channels
• reward a deserving entrant
• make your winner so happy they tell all their friends about your blog!

What can go wrong?

• People cheating - using multiple emails, profiles or Twitter accounts, or plagiarising others' photos or stories (see my post about cheats)
• A winner who doesn’t want the prize and swaps/sells it straight away
• No response to a winning email
• Complaints or negative feedback

How to get the best results

• Ask a question that requires an answer unique to the entrant. eg.
  - What would you spend the prize voucher on? (this will also send traffic to the brand website)
  - Why would you love to win this prize?
  - Write a poem about product/prize
  
• Use Rafflecopter - even though it's ugly, it will save you time and effort. Don’t overload your widget with options: daily tweets are considered spammy, and perhaps you could choose different options for each of your competitions for variety, rather than adding all of them to every giveaway you do. Think about the weighting of the entries - awarding 25 entries for blogging about the competition might be a good option to get fellow bloggers on board.
  
• DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT using a voting mechanic. Trust me, you'll end up in trouble.
  
• If you want compers to enter - and lots of traffic - list your comp on
  - Superlucky blog comp linkys (don't forget the closing date!)
  - Loquax
  - The Prizefinder
  - Money Saving Expert (note: you can't add your own comp, you need to hope that a comper will spot it and add it!)
  - Facebook competition groups, eg. Free Things and Competitions
  - Facebook pages relevant to the prize - OR tag the promoter in your status update.
  
• Use bit.ly to shorten and customise your link - for example, my current comp is bit.ly/PinterestWishlist - read my post on Using Bitly
  
• Try and use quirky, funny Tweets that will stand out in a Timeline rather than long-winded ones - people will be intrigued and click for more information!
  
• A Facebook page for your blog takes very little maintenance (all you need to do is use Networked Blogs to post automatically) but can be really great for spreading the word about your comps. Facebook is very visual, and interaction is greater if a status update is accompanied by a photo rather than just a link thumbnail. Use a photo of the prize (if you’ve got the software and time, add your blog name to it) and post it on your Facebook page along with a link to the competition. Compers can’t resist sharing a competition - even if it’s not actually a requirement of entry!

Take time over your Terms and Conditions

• If you don't want to see your prize end up on eBay or Swaps forums, you could add 'The prize is as stated and cannot be transferred, sold or exchanged.' - this may make compers think twice about whether they really want the prize.
  
• To keep cheats at bay - or at least to give you a reason to disqualify them - add 'One entry per person. No third party or automated entries'
  

When the competition is over

• Rafflecopter will choose a winner at random for you - make sure they HAVE done the required action, and do check that they haven't entered multiple times from the same IP address. If you're not using Rafflecopter, Random.org is the number generator of choice!
  
• Email the winner...and this is where the trouble usually starts! If your winner is a regular comper, the likelihood is that they get 500 emails a day and may miss yours. I recommend to compers that they should set up filters on their incoming mail - or at least search regularly - for the phrases 'Congratulations', 'You're a winner' or 'You have won'. As a subject header I would suggest putting "CONGRATULATIONS Di, you're a winner with Blah Blah blog!" so it stands out. IPM guidelines state that you should allow 28 days for a response, but 2 weeks is reasonable - include a line in your email saying 'Please respond with your postal address by (date) or another winner will be drawn'
• If you get no response from a winner, you can try and contact them via Facebook - put their email address into the Search box and if they used that address to register for Facebook, you will find their profile and can send them a private message. This works well for Rafflecopter winners, as most entrants use Facebook Login for the widget so you will have the correct email address for their Facebook account. Don't forget that messages from non-friends will go to their 'Other' inbox so they may not even spot them!
• Check they’re eligible for the prize (eg. a UK address) then you can announce their name on the blog and Facebook /Twitter. Let them know how the prizes will be sent - most winners will presume you’re the one posting them, when it’s usually the PR company. Make sure you add in the email ‘allow XX weeks for delivery’ just incase there’s a delay.
• Ask politely for feedback on the prize - you could ask the winner to Tweet or post a photo of the prize on Facebook - or ask the PR company to insert a comp slip asking the same.

Unusual and inspiring competitions

• Competitions are a great way to raise awareness about charities. Mummy Mummy Mum! ran an excellent competition for Operation Christmas Child last year - entrants had to fill a shoebox with toys and either blog about it or post to Facebook (although emailing it would get around the Facebook rule breaking!) before dropping it off at a local charity collection point
• Photo competitions - I ran a comp on the Prizefinder blog where entrants could email a photo and caption. I collated these into a Facebook album and chose a winner at random. This also works well for recipes.
• Video competitions are gaining popularity - ask people to make a video and either leave a YouTube link as a comment, or email a video to you which you can share on your blog or Facebook page.
  
• Appliances Online ran a series of competitions asking for kids drawing, photos or recipes. The downside was that they were restricted to bloggers - but it was a great idea, and a blog hop linky would be perfect for it! Be aware that if you’re JUDGING a winner (rather than picking at random), you should keep the entries private until the closing date so there's no advantage for those that entered first or last!
• Ask your entrants to comment on a certain topic and you could get useful feedback or content for future blog posts
• Ask your blog readers to Repin photos or posts on Pinterest as a method of entry - or even ask them to start their own board (see my current competition).

There are lots of rules and regulations surrounding promotions. You don't need to know them all, but it IS a good idea to get a standard set of Terms and Conditions set up that you can adapt for every promotion you run. Get those right and it will help to protect you if anything goes wrong! If you have any questions about running your prize promotion, you can contact me at di@superlucky.co.uk or the Spark and Fuse team at bright.sparks@sparkandfuse.com - I'm also happy to spread the word about your competitions so feel free to send me your links.

Finally, don't forget to enter my own Pinterest Competition - read all about it at http://www.superlucky.co.uk/2012/05/create-pinterest-prize-wishlist-and-win.html  - you can win a £50 prize of your choice from Amazon! (closes 15 June 2012)

Me & @petitmew after a few après-Cybher drinkies!

Create a Pinterest Prize Wishlist - and WIN!

One of the best pieces of advice I can give to a comper with limited time is to concentrate on the prizes you'd really love to win! There are thousands of competitions out there and there's no way we can enter ALL of them. Try to focus your energy and effort on winning your perfect prizes, whether that's a world cruise or a hamper of cheese. Every year I post my own wishlist here on my blog, but Pinterest gives us a fabulous opportunity to create a visual wishlist which can be an excellent inspiration - especially if you win one of the prizes on it!

And so... onto the exciting news! I'm encouraging you to enter my Pinterest Promotion, where you can win a prize of your choice from www.amazon.co.uk up to the value of £50 - hurrah!

If you're not yet on Pinterest, you can read all about how to get started on my blog post 'Pinteresting Prizes' - if you already use Facebook or Twitter then it shouldn't take too long to get to grips with it.

To enter, I would like you to sign up to Pinterest and create a board called Wishlist. Onto your board, Repin this image from my own board:

Then Pin (or Repin) at least ten prizes that you would love to win. They can be anything: objects, places, experiences, people you'd like to meet... use your imagination! Start off by searching Pinterest for photos to Repin, Pin from other websites, or even upload your own photos. You can see my own board at http://pinterest.com/dicoke/wishlist/

Now, here's the important thing - if you win my competition, you get a single prize of your choice from Amazon.co.uk to the value of £50. Your desired prize must be pinned from the Amazon site to your Wishlist board - add the hashtag #Amazonprize to the description when you Pin it so I can spot it (see my example Ukulele!)

To complete your entry, email a link to your Pinterest Board to pinterest@superlucky.co.uk before midnight on Friday 15 June 2012. I will choose a winner at random, notify them by email and arrange to deliver their chosen #Amazonprize! I would hope that, even if you don't win the prize, you will continue to add to your Wishlist and use it as a source of inspiration and motivation for your comping!

Terms and Conditions:
• This prize draw is open to UK residents aged 16 or over
• One entry per person
• The entrant must have a Pinterest account, create a 'Wishlist' board and pin to it:
- the 'Win' competition graphic
- a prize from the Amazon.co.uk website costing less than £50
- at least ten other prizes
• Entries must be received by email before midnight on 15 June 2012.
• A winner will be chosen at random and notified by 22 June 2012.

'Dam fine weekend!

I love the Eurostar! Ebbsfleet International station is less than 15 minutes drive from mum-in-law's house which means hubby and I can leave the boy with Nana while we head off on a weekend break to the continent... it's much more green than flying and so much more relaxing! Last weekend's trip to Amsterdam was my first night away from Ryland for six months so I was well prepared for a good night's sleep or two. Of course, I forgot that you need to get to bed early for that....duh.

I won my train tickets to Amsterdam in a creative comp on the Eurostar Facebook page last year, you had to suggest a fitting event for the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics. I suggested thousands of people dressed in coloured lycra suits making up the Tube map, standing in the middle of the Olympic Stadium. Then the music kicks in, and they all conga to the exits. Needless to say, thisparticular tiebreaker was inspired by a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, but someone must have liked it because I won! And boy will I be exited if this crazy conga actually HAPPENS on the big day...

Rob and I arrived in Amsterdam on Friday lunchtime after a change in Brussels, and went straight to the tip top Okura Hotel (I hugely dislike having to pay for such trivial things as a bed, but got a good deal online!) for a late lunch at the beautiful Serre restaurant:

Mackerel, beetroot...

Salmon, poached egg, hollandaise...

Stichelton, pear puree, balsamic vinegar (in a pipette!)

A bottle of wine ensured a good siesta so we were ready to take on the evening ahead - meeting up with some Nottingham friends - at Canvas bar. It was quite a sunset from the roof terrace...

A few beers were enjoyed and we ended up back at Steve's apartment eating guacamole, playing 'Draw Something' and listening to LPs of BBC Sound Effects.... and celebrating Sarah's 41st birthday!

Next day I had something unheard of - a lie-in until 10am - what the....? After a lazy brunch we checked out the FOAM Photography Museum and their excellent New York Times exhibition, then caught the ferry across from the station to the striking new Eye film museum. The angular building was the perfect location for a photoshoot for the ongoing Travel with Stabilo competition, where you upload photos of your Stabilo to win stationery goodies weekly, or the grand prize of a 500 Euro holiday voucher!

In front of EYE is a big 'I amsterdam' sign, so I popped my head through there for a photo with my Gem106 flag - our local East Midlands radio station is giving away a pair of flights to Paris or Amsterdam if you upload a photo of your Gem flag on holiday this month. Apply for your free flag here.

On Saturday night we had a couple of amazing martinis in the hotel bar before treating ourselves to an epic tasting menu at Ron Blaauw, a 2 Michelin starred restaurant. Because we also had the wines to accompany the meal, my memory of what we ate is a little fuzzy, but here are some nice photos. I particularly liked the four leaf clover made from basil; it was almost as if they knew I was Superlucky Di (Rob only got a three leaf clover on HIS plate...smirk!)

Aubergine, tarragon in eggshells

Langoustine, cucumber, basil, tomato

Snacks!

After dinner we tipsily made our way to the Blue Teahouse in the Vondelpark, where Steve (alias Can't Mix Won't Mix Allstars) was DJing to a room jam packed with people, playing REAL VINYL records (and also the occasional horse sound effect). Nice to hear the Beastie Boys, but I wasn't convinced by Dire Straits Steve!

I must admit I can't recall much of what happened after that, but I definitely remember not being in bed till 3am and my KG boots being covered in mud in the morning. Must have been a good night!

Sunday morning we took our hangovers home with us on the 10 'o' clock train home, leaving the rest of the Netherlands to prepare for their big Queen's Day party.

Thanks loads to Eurostar for our free tickets - we had a fantastic weekend! And if you like the sound of late night partying, check out the amazing Eurostar Facebook competition to win a weekend in Cologne, with 2 nights accommodation and the chance to hang out with Brandt Brauer Frick. Tell them all about your best festival or gig on Facebook to enter before Sunday 6 May!

Blog Comp Linky: June 2012

Welcome to my blog comp linky for competitions that are closing in JUNE 2012. If you're hosting a giveaway please add it to the list, including the prize and the closing date - and your blog name if you can fit it in! You can access this post and the JULY linky via the links on the right hand side bar.

Please note, competitions MUST be hosted on a blog and they should be open to UK entries. For advice on running blog comps check out my Cybher presentation summary.
If you want to enter these competitions but aren't sure how, check out my post on How to Enter a Blog Competition for advice!

Don't forget to add your blog giveaway to www.theprizefinder.com too!