Right.  Sorry to be awkward everyone, but here’s the thing:  we had a load of entries to the big FutureGov competition and as the newbie around here I was tasked with making one person’s lucky day and announcing them the winner right here.

But the winner I lovingly selected couldn’t make the date of the Politics Online conference  and no other entries grabbed me in the same ingenious way.

So I’ve consulted with the team, and we’ve decided to re-open the competition for one week.  That means you have until 5pm next Friday 6 March to make a real effort to convince us you should win this trip-of-a-lifetime.  To really clear on this one, I want to be challenged, entertained, moved, impressed, bowled over and generally wowed by the creativity, thought and passion that you’ve put into your 140 characters.  No, it’s not easy, but have you seen how amazing the prize is???

The rules are as before and you can re-enter if you like; new entries are also welcome.  Just one thing – you’d better be able to make the dates, so check that you’re free on April 20-21 2009.  That means checking with your partner, making sure you can get the time off, checking that work are OK with you entering a competition like this, and finding someone to look after the goldfish.

We’re also extending the entry criteria so it’s not just limited to people who work in the public sector – those of you that work with the public sector and in the not-for-profit sector are also welcome to join in the fun. This is about the future of gov after all!

So get cracking!  We can’t wait to be dazzled.