Sorry guys for the slow response and cheers for the welcome back.   The most disturbing thing is having Ledders say he watched the AA vKK v QQ as a 15 year old in his bedroom.  Surely you had better things to do.  ??   I don't want to know. 
Perhaps it might interest you all those years later to know what actually happened with that hand.   Over the course of a few weeks prior to the event I had played a lot around London casinos and had spent hours at the same table as Achilleas.  I felt I knew his game and he had a few tells.  As the had unfolded I was delighted to see Kings and made a small raise.  I then get repaised from QQ and when it gets to Achilleas he does his routine. The chip count is important as he had already lost about 1/3 of his chips and had about 65k left. If I remember I had opened for about 6k and was reraised for perhaps another 12k.  Once he pushes I am convinced he has AA.  The reason I took so long was to seem weak to the QQ. I needed to work out if i shoved would he call.  I only had 6k invested and I had about 90k in chips.  If I could get QQ to call then the side pot would be good enough to take the chance.  However I felt if I played he would fold.  Once I folded then it made his call easier as he was not at risk of going out.  Seems so long ago now and I think Achilleas has had a lot of more important issues in his life.
Hope to see you all on the tables some time.

Hi all.  It’s been years since I posted and have just returned to play a little poker this year.  Have had a good year so far chopping the 25/25 series in Portsmouth and final table of 25/25 in Luton.  Today I decided to try the G casino. Luton.   Arrived at 4.15 for a 4pm start.  Told I was ninth on the waiting list.  This is a 10k guarantee tournament yet only six dealers.  Now the end of the second level and over 25 people waiting and still only six dealers.  Where is the logic.  Rumour has it that they have the remaining dealers arriving at 6pm   What about the players. Maybe they should just put the event off until they have enough dealers.   
Rant aside it’s nice to be back. Can’t say I recognise more than two people in the room. 

Hi all,

You might have seen Rory McGrath, and friends doing a row up the Thames from London to Oxford on TV.  Anyway two friends and myself are going to follow their route covering some 92 miles over six days in aid of a children's charity.

I hope you don't mind if I post a link to our website here in case any of you want to either follow our progress and or donate to our charity. The site is www.tmiab.co.uk  and their is a link to justgiving who manage donations for us.  Anyway thanks for reading this post. 

classic reply Kev "bad beat"         on a serious note sorry to hear this.

Anyone playing tonight. Have not played for a couple of months so no idea of how many runners they get or if anything else is on.

What an interesting post.  My dad served with the UN sometime in the late sixties or early seventies. He still talks about how beautiful Famigusta looked from the hill side above the resort.

As an Irishman I understand somewhat of how Harry feels. He is a man who speaks only of things that concern him. Perhaps that is why he is seen by some as being so serious.  As for the rights and wrongs of the event, it is right that the organisations involved be made aware of the issues involved. It is a delicate matter which could easily become inflamed.
What I will say is that somewhere along the line some settlement will have to be made between the two countries. What these will be I don't know. Turkey's entry to the EU is probably the best opportunity for decades past or to come.  However again looking at what has happened in Northers Ireland it seems more important to me now, that their is lasting peace in the province than who governs.  The removal of the Turkish army from the area will probably take a long time. Reparations could take decades. In the meantime we all have to get on and allow each other to have opinions and beliefs without fear. I am sure Harry plays poker with many Turkish people who he would call friends. This is a subject bigger than us and will be solved by governments and finance.

God bless

To everyone a big thankyou.   We all have to go through this and I wanted so much to honour my mum.  It also made me think of all the times when I thought I was going to lose her.  I felt terrible for thinking she could leave us, and when she recovered I felt terrible for the suffering she went through. 

In the end as much as I love her I wouldn't change things. I miss her and I would love her to be here and to talk to her. But her suffering is over and if that means we suffer, it is a small price to pay. There is no right and wrong in our thoughts. Just an emptiness. 

Sorry again for the tone of my email but it hurts....

Denis 

Hi All,

I have no idea why I am doing this except to say that I wanted to go on record about what my mum meant to me. She died two weeks ago and I couldn't talk about it until now.  On the day of her funeral I said a few words about her and someone recorded them.  I thought I would just post my words here as a tribute to her and what she meant to me.


Mam was born in Cashel in 1929…  She was the second oldest of eleven children borne to Jack and Amy Whyte.  She grew up in Gortnakellis just outside Cashel.  In her early teens she had to leave school to help her mother with their large family.  She went to England and worked in hotels in Blackpool.
   
She met my dad John in 1956…  They got married in 1959 and this year would be their 50th wedding anniversary. They have two children my brother John and me.  We were brought up in Pearse Park on the Cashel road where they have lived all their lives. Both our parents worked hard all their life. My earliest memory of our mother was her working in McDermott’s fish and chip shop. She would peel potatoes in the morning and cook in the evening. At the same time she did house work for a number of families in the town. I never met anyone who would do what she did for us.   

During our growing up years our house always seemed to be full of Aunts, uncles and cousins. Our weekends were full of music, song and dance.  Sometimes to the annoyance of our neighbours.  The Kavanaghs  must have thought they were living next door to a ceili band. We would set up a bar under the stairs and listen to the singing and watch them all dancing.

In later years our mam worked for the sisters of charity. She would help to clean their house and cook the meals for the nuns. In later years she recounted a story of her first few days with the nuns.  On her first day she cooked lunch for them and all seemed to go fine. She came home and told us they liked her food and had eaten everything on their plates. On the second day she gave them a little more to make sure they were well fed. Again they cleared their plates. On the third day she made even more food than before. However when lunch finally finished a number of the nuns were unable to return to their teaching duties at the school. They had to go to bed as they were ill. Mam was really upset that her food was not good enough. It was at that moment that the reverend mother explained to my mam that as they were the sisters of charity it was a sin for them to leave any food.   

During the 1980s and 90s our mam and dad were well known in Munster for their exploits on the dance floor. They both loved it and would travel the country for a good set dance or waltzing competition. My dad thought he was best but she always reminded him that she had taught him.

Mam loved all her grand kids and great grand kids. You should also know she loved all of you to. Her neighbours in the Park. Her friends, and most importantly her family. She taught us so much growing up.  How to cook, how to make a bed and how to behave. We hope we haven't disappointed her.

  I never knew anyone who cared about money or possessions less. Her only concern was that her family were happy, healthy and loved each other. She should have been a nun. She is certainly a saint to us. We miss her and we will always love her. [/b]

How much did you and I drink in Turks and Caicos

Did devilfish really pay the girls wages

Can you sing better than I can dance

You have to go to bed with one of the following

The Camel, Dave Colclough or Barney Boatman.

Which one and why. ! ! !

I am pleased to report that I have today agreed to sell my shareholding to Flushy.  I am sure you will all welcome him with open arms. I would like to thank everyone else for their interest in my shareholding. As you know Flushy had first option with me on a gentlemans agreement. Today we agreed terms and the deal will be concluded over the next few weeks. I will not disclose the details of the deal, but I have stuck to my word and went with the best deal for Blonde and not the best deal for me financially. This deal now makes James the largest shareholder in Blonde...good job he is such a meek and mild mannered chap. Otherwise he might introduce things like "naked Tuesday" and  winner take all events.

Anyway I will continue to be an active member of the Blonde forum and will give any help I can if asked. Good luck to you all.

Denis 

Hi All,

Just to keep you all up to date with progress.  Since I opened the post I have had 12 people express interest in buying one or more shares.  I have also had four people / groups wanting to buy all my percentage.  I have spoken or emailed pretty much everyone interested. If I have missed anyone then please email me again.  Out of the four interested in all my shares I have said no to one group. Their interest was not in line with what is best for Blonde. i hope to conclude this ASAP as a drawn out affair helps no one.  If you have any questions then feel free to ring me on 07966 493232.

Hi again,

It is common Knowledge and Flushy has remarked that we have spoken about his involvement. As you would expect I will not say how much we spoke about but I would have made a loss on this deal. However as you have all said it would be the best deal for Blonde so both Flushy and I are keen to look at it. Overnight several others have expressed an interest in the shares. However Flushy has first refusal right now. He knows my position and his post confirms I am not trying to make anything out of this deal. God forbid anyone ever did anything for a profit. I love the site and the people. I just dint have the time anymore to do it justice.

Totalise I am bewildered as to why you are questioning my intentions in this matter. Perhaps I misunderstand your response. If so sorry.  When I got involved, I spent a great deal of time working with the guys. Indeed the numbers increased dramatically during that time.  I never received or asked for any return for my efforts. I was prepared to invest more money into the site but some of the other investors could not or would not do the same.  Is it now wrong that when I think the site would be better served by someone else that I should not at least try and recoup my investment.

As for the difficulties of a group scheme, the difficulties in organisation are simple enough. If a deal of that nature was to happen I would agree one price. That way everyone would have the same deal. It is then a simple matter of transfer of share certs.

Hi Jizzemm,

To answer your question re an increase in the number of shares. This would devalue the shares of those who currently own them. Also their are some seven shareholders I believe at the moment. Some of these have little or no interest in selling or devaluing their holding. As I explained being the largest shareholder and not putting any time into the site makes me a hindrance and not a help to Blonde. I am not looking to make a profit on this deal. It was never my intention, even at the outset. I got involved because I liked the site and the people. I still do. I was playing all the festival events and felt I could add something to the site. Things have changed for me since then and in fact I have played probably less than five events last year. I know the question of value seems difficult. I know what I paid for my stock and that sets the bar.
I can confirm that today I have received a number of enquiries for either the entire holding or to be part of the group scheme. I will email or speak to everyone over the next few days. If you want to be involved then just email me.

Totalise all I can say is I have only offered my shares to one person and I have not asked for a profit on my stock. In fact because of who it is I would make a loss, but he would be good for Blonde. If the right person makes an offer then I will do what's right. 

Hi again

Thanks for the first emails and your comments and questions on this thread.  To clear a few things up. For once in his 57 years on earth Kev is right. The value of the shares etc is not for open discussion. The reason is simple. it is a private matter for whoever buys them. As for how you value it again this is subjective. Ideally it is a combination of turnover and profit. However in this case it is not about what I receive ultimately. It is really about the fact that I add nothing to the site yet I am the largest shareholder.  

As for Boldies comment about a pool of you buying the shares...It has a lot going for it. Blonde needs more people to help Rich, Tikay and especially Kev.  I can see things like promotion and updates to name but two.  Anyway I will answer any questions I can on here and more private matters off line. 

Now off to talk to Spartacus