Travel prizes a-plenty at Scotland-France Press awards

SOME remarkable free holidays were the prizes being handed out last night, at an ceremony celebrating Scots media reporting of France.

As part of its France Meets the Media 2013 initiative, French tourism agency, Atout France, was in Glasgow last night to thank the Scottish Press for its coverage of French tourist destinations.

And the award winners’ list reads:

Best Article on General Information

Winner: Mark McGivern – Inspired? Join the Club, Daily Record

Runner-up: Iain Macwhirter – The French hills are alive, with a growing population, The Herald

Mark’s prize was a package trip to Hyères-les-Palmiers.

Best Article for Scotland-based Readers

Winner: Stephen McGinty – Nice way to find your muse, The Scotsman

Runner-up: Ginny Clark – See the light, SoS Spectrum magazine

Stephen won a package trip to Corsica and its luxury hotels.

Most Entertaining Article

Winner: Ron Mackenna – Southern Comforts, The Herald

Runner-up: Anna Burnside – Pretty Vacances, SoS Spectrum magazine

Ron received a package trip to Nice for the Hotel Windsor and Holiday Inn.

Meanwhile, two special prizes were awarded to Charles Fletcher – for ‘Here is a secret illuminated in one word: Metz’, which appeared in The Herald – and Keith Bruce – for ‘Leave the superlatives to the sportsmen. Art isn’t about coming first’, also in The Herald.

Charles won a package trip to the Loire Valley, while Keith is to stay at the Perouse and Windsor hotels in Nice.

The runners-up received bottles of Crémant de Bourgogne sparkling wine.