I feel a bit bad as three good beer boys and girls have entered photos for the contest but days after it has closed. I hope I was not unclear in some way. But I have to be firm and, really, it was in the rules - photos had to be in a week ago. So... sorry.

I don't feel really really bad, however, as I was overnight in central New York on a Yuletide treat buying expedition. Found the best hotel yet, ate a big steak, had a martini in the bar to celebrate the Orange winning and confirmed, once again, that Wegmans is a great place to buy beer. $9.49 for a cube of Sixpoint? A special on Saint Bernardus Christmas Ale? No wonder no one is opening up a CNY specialty beer shop to match the sort of outlets found in Ithaca, Rochester, Albany and now Watertown. But you can get a growler fill at a gas station, now. See that up there? Them's proof of craft as normal, them are.

But, as a result, I have left the photo evaluation computer program running a bit longer than expected - but as the working of the algorithms and matrices are straining the capacity of governors and coal scuttles I think it is all for the best. Want to do a proper job picking the champion of champions, right? Tomorrow. Tomorrow for sure. I love you, tomorrow. You're always a day away.

Did I mention I have to find a tree still?