Whoah, the shed puns are getting worse. Sheds up? Heads up. Geddit? Okay, yeah, right. Could do better.

But let's not fret about the quality of the puns when the chance to win a Backstreets tour is on offer*. Yes, you could be the lucky person who joins me for a tour of the Backstreets of Partick and Glasgow’s West End with a stop for ice cream at the University Cafe and a pint at a salubrious establishment, along with the book and all the other bits and pieces that were in with your original pledge. You can even bring a friend along. Or two. And, you know what, I’ll throw in a six pack of Tunnock’s teacakes just for the squidgy joy of it. Man, the generosity.

Too good to be true, I hear you gasp (I have a vivid imaginiation). So where’s the catch? No catch but like any good competition there are terms and conditions. It will be open to SUPPORTERS only. So if you think you know your arty stuff and you haven't yet pledged...well, you know what you gotta do. All the correct entries received before the closing date (as yet undecided) will be put in a hat or other receptacle (also as yet undecided) and drawn by a neutral observer (likewise undecided but maybe the cat if she's willing to play along). There will be only one winner.

For the lovely people who have already pledged for the Backstreets tour, you can have an upgrade to two pints EACH (except for under 18s, Tommaso and Giacomo McClafferty) and a packet of Tunnock’s teacakes and something else that I haven’t thought of yet. See how professional this is. Hope you are all taking notes.

How's your knowledge of Caravaggio’s masterpieces? They come up in one form or another all the way through The Backstreets of Purgatory. Chapter titles, Finn’s musings on the pictures in his book, and as overt or covert tableaux throughout. That's what I'm going to quiz you on. Sometime. Soon. Very soon. Like over the weekend or something. 

TOOO exciting. I'm away for a lie down.

*like all my best ideas, this one was originally someone else’s. Check out Stevyn Colgan’s Agatha Christie competition over at his ‘A Murder to Die For’ page.