A CHRISTMAS surprise, a tale of bravery and a story about noises in the night proved to be a winning combination for three promising writers. The Hummingbird Centre, a cancer support centre near Bicester, threw down the gauntlet to Bicester’s budding writers to come up with original prose - and dozens responded to the challenge. Judges were given the difficult task to choose three winners after more than 60 people entered the Hummingbird Centre’s inaugural creative writing competition. Sophie Barnett, 10, won in the 15 and under category sponsored by Nicholsons with her piece titled The Christmas Surprise . She wrote a magical story for Christmas about going on a great adventure with the amazing, well-rounded character Tilly.