National Fever!

Forget, if you can for a moment, the sad number of horses who have died in pursuit of an essentially trivial sporting event. Once a year, the Grand National takes over British life for a few hours, leading to people who would never dream of visiting a betting shop stumbling over tiny pens and specialised slips for dummies. Every office has a sweepstake or two on the go.

The Burns household is no different and with the increasing cost of laying bets, we thought we'd try an innovation this year - our own Sweepstake using the BBC's handy print-out Sweepstake kit. The prizes are small, and only for first and second place, but here are the picks, pre-race.

Gordon - Cloudy Lane
Ugly Cat - Chelsea Harbour
Crazy Cats - Snowy Morning
Goldfish - Nowhere
Geoffrey - Comply or Die
Bill - Ollie Magern
Sergeant Blackberry - Stan
Bobby Dan - Black Appalachi
Rabbit - Hear the Echo
Jorge - Persists Leap
Douglas - My Will
Mike - Eurotrek
Mr Tickle - State of Play
Derek Jr. - Big Fella Thanks
Alex/Pierre - Mon Mome
Balikavalata - Silver Birch
Little H - Butlers Cabin
Brian - Offshore Account
The Mod Duck - Parsons Legacy
Gerald - Reveillez
Snowman - Fundamentalist
Horror Ora - Golden Flight
The Dog - L'Ami
Tigree - Battle Cry
Mads - Cornish Sett
Pingu - Fleet Street
Mario - Musica Bella
Moo - Can't Buy Time
Ugly Bear - Darkness
Flatcat - Irish Invader
Frank - Rambling Minster
Bear with no name - Southern Vic
Bradley Bear - Kilbigganblade
Rodney - Brooklyn Brownie
Tigger - Himalayan Trail
Laughing Red Nose - Arteea
Armadillo - Ceriam
Polly Piggy - Idle Talk
Sens Moose - Kalami
The Monkeys - Zabenz

(Typing that was a nightmare and apologies for any incorrect names!!)

Results and photos to follow ...