Meet The Compers: Arthur Humphreys

Welcome to another edition of Meet The Compers! I’m super chuffed to be joined today by Arthur Humphreys, whose great photos and videos always make me laugh out loud when they pop up on my social media feeds. One of my favourite tips for comping is to have fun with it, be creative and original. Arthur is an expert in that department, and his refusal to take himself seriously has resulted in lots of prizes! 

As I write this introduction, Arthur is currently on his way to Turkey – a prize from On The Beach’s #NoTurkeyGoTurkey Christmas Instagram competition, which Arthur won with a photo of his ham Christmas dinner!

So Arthur, when did you first discover comping?

I was about 18 years old. My late Mum would get the Liverpool Daily Post and one day while flicking through it I spotted a postcard entry competition to win 2 nights at the Atlantic Tower Hotel, Liverpool. I was lucky enough to win, caught the bug and have been comping ever since – that’s 37 years! 

Where do you look for competitions and prize draws?

Years ago my only resources for comps were newspapers and magazines. As an apprentice at Hotpoint I would look through the newspapers of the fitters/electricians and this behaviour continued when I moved to Dinorwig Power Station. At both jobs if the paper went in the bin or paper pile I would rifle through for comps, especially token collects (the Daily Mail was good back then with their car and cottage prize draws!). But very few of my colleagues get newspapers these days and my habit of going to the day’s messroom looking for papers/magazines curtailed. My wife at the time would accompany me to WHSmith armed with pen and paper – I would look for comps in magazines and dictate the details for her to write down (I remember actually buying a small dictaphone in the 90s to do this too! – Di)

These days I use Facebook, instagram, Twitter and TikTok – being a bit of a lazy comper, I will enter from tags I get on social media rather than scrolling through a time line. I use Loquax mainly for magazine answers and the MoneySavingExpert ‘Competitons Time’ forum where I start on page 1 each day.

How much time do you dedicate to comping each day?

On a day off I can be in my comping chair all day, only leaving it for the loo and food! I go through the dailies first and anything I have bookmarked and my email is always open to check and delete the mail in my inbox. Those emails mount up! 

What’s your favourite prize, and why was it so special?

My good friend Tracey Redfern alerted me to an STA Travel comp in conjunction with Jack Wills clothing. My prize was a trip to South Africa for 4 including £500 spends, transfers, etc. – we paid for nothing! It was special because I took my niece Ceri and two of my nephews Dyfan and Rhys, who were all in their early 20s – it was great to spend time with them. In our lodge my nephew looked out of the window: ‘Uncle Arth I can see an ostrich! Uncle Arth I can see a zebra!’.  I told him to stop messing around, but sure enough I opened the lodge door and there they were!  We were taken on a nature reserve night safari in which one of the Jeep’s wheels went over the edge of the lake! Jeeez – I thought here I am, responsible for 3 others, and we’re being told to huddle together on one side of the Jeep so as not to be picked off by any stalking lions! 

What’s your favourite type of competition?

I love any comps that are food related! If there is a Deliveroo or Just Eat voucher to win, my happiness level goes up a notch. Close second are football tickets. Liverpool is my team but I would love to win an Arsenal experience so as to take my good childhood friend Greg to see the Gunners.

What would be your dream competition prize?

I would truly like to win a car. Having won holidays and small cash sums that lift the spirits, wining a car would definitely have me bouncing! 

Which winning competition entry are you most proud of?

Definitely the TikTok entry I did recently for Iceland Foods shouting ‘it’s Christmas’ in the style of Noddy Holder. I can hardly play the guitar or sing but with my sister’s help and a decorated hat I gave it a go – I thought at least I could shout ‘it’s Christmas’ if nothing else! I also added my badge ‘sleighed’ (Slade). I can’t win cookery comps with my creations so I’ll go for daft dressing up where I can. The thing is, years ago I would have been too reserved for such shenanigans and yet here I am!

@arty0072 #landofitschristmas @icelandfoods ♬ original sound – Arthur Humphreys

Do you have any strange comping stories to share?

An embarrassing win I had once was with LoveHoney, it was a Twitter retweet comp but why I entered is beyond me! I won’t go into detail but there were 3 winners of 3 adult items, anyway all the prizes came to me so that’s 9 items I had on my hands all at once. It felt like I was holding on to contraband and that the Police were going to raid me any minute. Tracey reminds me that the original prize went missing (I wonder who ended up with those…?). Anyway Tracey was over for a short break and I gave them to her to dispose of! She used them as Secret Santa gifts and almost got chucked off eBay for moving them on!

Comping has also landed me in a scary situation. I won a trip with Just Eat to Paris to see the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid in May 2022. It was a great trip and Just Eat treated us like kings but at the stadium it went a bit sour when access became difficult and the Police used tear gas at gate 11. We were queuing at gate 10 and got the gas overspray which was uncomfortable. And then to make things worse, Liverpool lost. 

Have you had a celebrity encounter as a result of a prize?

In 2022 I won a 4 night break in Manchester with Remington to see Manchester Utd train, including hospitality tickets for their match against Tottenham, a stadium tour – plus I met some of the ex-players – Mickey Thomas (fellow Welshman), Denis Irwin, Gary Pallister and Brian Robson, and had a team photo at the training ground. For a Liverpool supporter it felt I was a spy just waiting to get rumbled!

What are the best and worst things about comping?

The best thing is getting that winning email notification or direct message. In that moment it’s like all your comping efforts have come good and there is a pleasant feeling. The worst thing is banging in loads of entries but little comes back in way of wins. But even that can be a driver and spur you on. So for any compers going through dry spells all I can say is keep at it and the wins will come! 

Do you know any other compers in real life?

I have had the pleasure of meeting a few compers over the years – Tracey of course, Tony Vincent Martin, Debbie Jackson and Zoe Dennett (I nearly maimed both with a kite in Llandudno). And recently I bumped into Ali Humphreys (no relation) and Kate M Jones in the Co-op!

I love your daft videos and TikToks – what prizes have you won?

My most recent TikTok win was £100 Halfords gift voucher (We Buy Any Car week 1 winner).  Plus £500 with First Direct, £500 Iceland vouchers, £500 with Enourish soups (trying not to be eaten by a cannibal on a desert island!).

@arty0072 @renourish #imasouperstar ♬ Message In A Bottle – Live From River Plate Stadium, Buenos Aires – The Police

My favourite and silliest TikTok entry has to be my first ever TikTok – I dressed up as Barbara Windsor in Carry on Camping. It was filmed at Hideaway in the Hills near Barmouth in North Wales while camping. My sister Sue threw the mentos in an earlier filming attempt overarm hitting me hard in the mouth. Cut!! I laugh/smile every time I view it. The Bra on the fishing line! 

@arty0072 Carry on Mentos #yestofresh #mentosmeandyou @mentosuk ♬ original sound – Arthur Humphreys

And this video entry won me flights to Italy with Jet2 on Facebook…

Do you have any TikTok tips to share with other compers?

My main tip for TikTok (and also for other social platforms) is to make sure you leave brand names out of your entry. Having filmed my winning FirstDirect fishing entry I noticed brand names on my landing net, rod bag and fishing line, although I purposely put a fish emoji over the brand name on the waders. Luckily I got away with it, as I think the video wasn’t sharp enough to make out the brands (I did notice for this specific competition which I also won, that several of the best entries featured obvious brands and weren’t eligible to win! – Di). But I would recommend you leave as much branding out as possible apart from the actual promoter!

And talking of fishing, have you won many good fishing-related prizes?

I have won many fishing rods over the years, mainly with Sea Angler magazine online entries and the occasional premium phone call. The best prize rod I love to use is a Conoflex Cast & Snatch – I’m shocked at what they now fetch in good condition!

Finally, where can we follow you on social media?

On Twitter I’m @ath007, on Instagram I’m @ath007, and on TikTok I’m @arty0072!

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Thank you so much Arthur for joining me on SuperLucky – and good luck winning that car!

If you enjoyed this interview please do check out the other Meet The Compers Q&As here.

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