During July and August we are giving you the chance to win a copy of The Brewer’s Tale. To win, you need to answer the following question correctly:

Question: Which brewery was responsible for originally creating the bottled beers Don Jon, Lion Brown Ale and Lion Pale Ale?

Please submit your answer using the form below. We will close the competition on 31 August 2010 and choose a winner at random from all the entries. The winner will be contacted by email, the book sent out to them and their name will be published on the website in the following month's news. The decision of Merlin Unwin Books is final and no correspondence will be entered in to.

During May and June we gave you the chance to win a copy of The Pocket Guide to Matching the Hatch by answering the following question correctly:

Question: It is early June and you spot a beautiful yellow may dun struggling to free itself from the surface film of the  river. Do you tie on a:

           a)         Snow Shoe Spinner?
b)         Hare’s Ear F-fly?
c)         Sulpher Emerger?
d)         Parachute Hare’s Ear?

The correct answer was c) Sulpher Emerger. We had lots of entries for this competition and the winner was Karen Barrett from Bolton. Well done Karen, your copy of The Pocket Guide to Matching the Hatch has been sent to you.

During March and April we gave you the chance to win a copy of It Happened in Shropshire by answering all four of the following questions correctly:

Questions:

1. The longest river in Britain flows through Shropshire. Which river is it?
2. The first man to swim the English Channel is also from Shropshire. What is his name?
3. What year was the Battle of Shrewsbury?
4. The only jockey to receive a Knighthood (in 1953) was a Salopian. Can you name him?

The correct answers were as follows:

1. The River Severn
2. Captain Matthew Webb
3. 1403
4. Sir Gordon Richards

We had lots of entries for this competition and the winner was Theresa Murphy from Dorchester. Well done Theresa, your copy of It Happened in Shropshire has been sent to you.

During January and February we gave you the chance to win one of the remaining copies of Going Fishing by answering the following question:

Question: Negley Farson died in north Devon, but where was he born?

The correct answer is Plainfield, New Jersey, USA. The winner was Jeff Lyons from the Isle of Wight. Well done Jeff, your copy of Going Fishing has been sent to you.

During December we gave you a chance to try to win a copy of Advice from a Gamekeeper by John Cowan:

The question was: Name two tell-tale signs that would indicate to a gamekeeper that he has a feral cat hunting on his land.

Unfortunately we didn’t have a single correct answer, despite receiving lots of entries.

The correct answer is described on page 103 of Advice from a Gamekeeper as follows: Crows, jays, curlews and pheasants all give their alarm call, the crows banding together to mob the cat as it hunts its territory. The cat uses any available cover to traverse the ground using hedges to move from one wood to another. The keeper should always look for signs of a cat kill on his beat, the classic evidence being the skin of a rabbit having been peeled back and the flesh gnawed away.

This is the first time that we haven’t had a competition winner so we hope  the new year brings you more luck in the next competition.

During November we gave you a chance to try to win a copy of Apley Hall  by Norman Sharpe

The question was:  In which county is the former outstanding sporting estate Apley Hall?

The correct answer is Shropshire. The winner was Lucy Irving from County Fermanagh. Well done Lucy, your copy of Apley Hall has been sent to you.

During October we gave you a chance to try to win a copy of The Manual of a Traditinal Bacon Curer by Maynard Davies.

The question was: What are Savoury Ducks?

The correct answer is faggots. The winner was Debra Matthews from Pontrhydfendigaid. Well done Debra, your copy of Manual of a Traditional Bacon Curer has been sent to you.

During September we gave you a chance to try to win a copy of Percy’s Cookbook by Tina Bricknell-Webb.

The question was: In which English county is her hotel based?

The correct answer is Devon. The winner was Phil Darling from Stowmarket. Well done Phil, your copy of Percy’s Cookbook has been sent to you.

During July and August we gave three of you a chance to try to win a copy of the new paperback edition of And Miles to go Before I Sleep by Hugh Cran.

Question: Hugh Cran left Aberdeenshire, where he was working as a junior vet, to practice for the next 40 years in which African country? 

The correct answer is Kenya. We had a huge response to this competition and the three lucky winners are:

Marian Eames from Caernarfon
Joe Carter from Oxford
Robin Edwards from London

Well done to all three of you. Your copy of And Miles to go Before I Sleep has been sent to you.

During May & June we gave you a chance to try to win a copy of Peter O’Reilly’s 7th edition of Rivers of Ireland.

Question: What is the longest river in Ireland?

The correct answer is the River Shannon. We had great response to this competition and the winner was Michael O’Sullivan who lives in London. Well done Michael! Your copy of Rivers of Ireland has been sent to you.

During March and April we gave you a chance to try to win a copy of Innocent Victims by answering the following question:

Question: what do the initials ZNSPCA stand for?

The correct answer is the ‘Zimbabwe National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals'. We had an overwhelming response to this competition and the winner was Susan Eadie from Redditch in Worcestershire. Well done Susan! Your copy of Innocent Victims has been sent to you.

During January and February we offered you the chance to win a copy of Sean Frain’s Willie Irving, terrierman, huntsman & Lakelander by answering the following question:
 
Question: Willie Irving, the subject of Sean Frain’s book on the terrierman, huntsman and Lakelander, was the Master of which famous foxhound pack in 1926?

The correct answer is ‘The Melbreak Foxhounds’. The winner was David Barclay from Oldmeldrum in Aberdeenshire. Well done David! Your copy of Willie Irving has been sent to you.

During December we offered you the chance to win a copy of Chris Mann’s The Complete Illustrated Directory of Salmon Flies by answering the following question:
 
Question: When featuring the Munro Killer in his new Complete Illustrated Directory of Salmon Flies, which fly does Chris Mann claim is a cross between a Tosh and a Munro Killer?

The correct answer is ‘The Berthdee Munro’ which is a variant of the Munro Killer (a strong contender for the title 'Best Scottish Salmon Fly'). It is a noticeably darker fly than the standard and is a sound choice when a darker fly is needed. The winner was Phil Peck from Lincoln. Well done Phil! Your copy of the The Complete Illustrated Directory of Salmon Flies has been sent to you

During November we offered you the chance to win a copy of BB’s The Naturalist’s Bedside Book by answering the following question:
 
Question: Under what name did BB work as an illustrator?

The correct answer is Denys Watkins Pitchford. BB studied art in Paris and at The Royal College of Art in London, and for seventeen years he was art master at Rugby School. He was already illustrating books before he began to write under his pseudonym, 'BB'.

The winner was Jill Osborne from St Austell in Cornwall. Well done Jill! Your copy of The Naturalist’s Bedside Book has been sent to you.

During October we offered you the chance to win a copy of Roger Penwill’s Countryside Cartoon Joke Book by answering the following question:
 
Question: In the ‘Look Inside’ facility on the web, one of the cartoons suggests an ingenious recycling opportunity for loss-making sheep shearers – what is it?

The correct answer was ‘making pullovers to keep the sheep warm after shearing’.
The winner was John Teece from March in Cambridgeshire. Well done John! Your copy of the Countryside Cartoon Joke Book has been sent to you.

During September we offered you the chance to win a copy of Laurence Catlow’s That Strange Alchemy: Pheasants, Trout and a Middle-aged Man by answering the following question:
 
Question: Name one of the other three books by Catlow which has been published by Merlin Unwin Books.

You could have submitted any of the following titles as your answer:

Private Thoughts from Small Shoot
Once a Flyfisher
Confessions of a Shooting Fishing Man

The winner was Graham Lightly from Morpeth. Well done Graham! Your copy of That Strange Alchemy has been sent to you.

During May and June we offered you the chance to win a copy of Nature’s Playthings by answering the following question:
 
Question: Name two methods of hardening your conkers for battle?

In Nature’s Playthings, the author suggests soaking your conker in vinegar or baking for a little while in the oven. However, other suggestions we have received include coating your conker in nail varnish, soaking in salt water or vodka, storing in a dry place to use the following year, freezing overnight, covering in hairspray or superglue. Of course no one should try any of these methods as it isn’t considered ‘fair play’.

The winner was Ann McCutcheon from Livingston in West Lothian. Well done Anne! Your copy of Nature’s Playthings has been sent to you.

During March and April we offered you the chance to win a copy of our beautiful £30 full-colour hardback Vintage Guns for the Modern Shot by answering the following question:

Question: Which London firm of gun-makers is overwhelmingly associated with the name ‘Twelve Twenty’?

The correct answer is Charles Lancaster. The winner was Mark Hunt in Barnham. Well done Mark! Your copy of Vintage Guns for the Modern Shot has been sent to you.

During January and February we offered you the chance to win a copy of Featherwing & Hackle Flies for Salmon by answering the following question:

Question: The dingy but effective and versatile Kate McLaren was devised for which famous Scottish seatrout loch?

The correct answer is Loch Hope. The winner was Nicky Herbert in Cinderford. Well done Nicky! Your copy of Featherwing & Hackle Flies has been sent to you.