The Smedley Family celebrate signing the contract for a Christmas 

Special of their smash hit TV show 'Life with the Smedleys'

The show is conceived, written and stars the Smedleys.

"We mooch around the house, making snacks, yawning, scratching

and watching TV - just like ordinary sad little people," explains

friendly, pipe-smoking Desmond Smedley. "Except of course we earn

an absolute fortune while we're doing it and we'll be recording the

'Traditional White Christmas Special' in early August because we're

in the Bahamas for the winter."  Their blockbuster paperback

'Smile with the Smedleys - the Wit and Wisdom' is still available

in larger branches of WH Smith.

Lady-boy poet Gary Chutney is forced to abandon his erotic

blockbuster 'Fifty Shades of Gay - Bum Slapping, Bondage 

and Binge Eating' after his agent fails to sell the idea to a publisher.

A rare photograph of the Bloomsbury Health & Beauty Nude
Gymnastics Display Team seen relaxing together at the Hampstead
Literary Games of 1927.  The Bloomsbury Belles were gold medallists,
famously coached by Leonard and Virginia Woolf.  Plans for a nude
 pageant as part of the closing ceremony at this year's Isle of Wight
Literary Festival have been abandoned due to
the unseasonably bad weather. 

It was a Surf 'n Turf match

One of the highlights of the Isle of Wight Literary Festival Games
was the grudge match between two veteran writing teams in the

Beach Volley Ball Death Match Final.  The Queens of Crime (left)

Agatha Thistle and Damaris Sennacherib secured a narrow victory

over the Grand Dames of Gothic Romance, Delilah Fortune-Green

and Samantha Chisel in the closing moments of the game when

Ms Chisel took a tumble and broke her hip flask.

Toby 'Tubby' Trubshaw, the popular Readers Digest 'Young Journalist 

of the Year' (see post for Wed 14th Dec 2011) is seen here relaxing

before his next big challenge in the semi-finals of the Junior Acrobatic 

Trampoline marathon at the Isle of Wight Literary Festival Games.

The Penguin Senior Editors Synchronised Swimming Team prepare

for the finals at the Isle of Wight Literary Festival Games following a 

gruelling qualifier against the Random House Bantam Book champions

"It's all about looking glamorous," their team captain told the Author.

"But you also need strength - and we're built like pocket battleships!"

The organisers of this year's Isle of Wight Literary Festival Games drew

their inspiration from the notorious Hampstead Literary Games
of 1927. There was a thrilling finish to the super-heavyweight boxing

 tournament that year when the veteran novelist Sabrina Honeywell
 collected the gold by delivering a punishing uppercut to her long-time
adversary Brenda Dugong, the literary critic of the Daily Mail.