So, after driving up Mount Loven this morning in spite of a red weather warning, we made it back to the apartment at a time that just happened to coincide with the 1305 at Huntingdon.

I got myself set in to watch the online stream:

Click to see full-size image.

As the old man watched them saddle up Bingo:

Click to see full-size image.

I got ready for the ride:

Click to see full-size image.

As Bingo took a leisure stroll around the parade ring:

Click to see full-size image.

Regrettably Bingo covered more yards on the way down than he did on the track, coming a cropper after taking the first a bit 'exuberantly'.

All part of the fun, of course, and Father tells me he would only have been making the four hour round trip to Huntingdon anyway.

Enjoy bigman.

I would love to say one's first experience at the racecourse as an owner is guaranteed to be special, but after a delightful lunch at The Fox Goes Free near Goodwood racecourse I (along with reprobate Etonian Toby) left upwards of a bag at Fontwell when Asian Prince first had a spin for my small share.

Will be fantastic fun though.

Very disappointed to miss Bingo's debut. My wife and I are taking a relaxing weekend to Kotor, Montenegro.

It's squarely out of season and the weather will be mixed, but when your costs for two are £80 flights, £45 car hire, £100 hotel and you find yourself here after a short flight....what's not to like?!

Click to see full-size image.

Good luck Keefus

Congratulations to you both!!

In running a calc on earnings ALONE vs. Commute time however you are ignoring the (admittedly less tangible) benefits working in such a job may deliver moving forward.

I completely get that people have a £x amount they are unhappy travelling for, but if you work in a set up where your earnings can increase considerably over time then turning down the commute day one can shift from being a rational, to an irrational, decision as you never realise the increased earnings.

On a similar note my old man explains very well the true 'cost' of playing poker in one's younger years. Naturally it can still be the right decision for some, but we both feel the variable people incorrectly calculate is not earnings now (let's say a poker pro can make £50k pa with minimal expenses Vs £25k pa with commute/time constraints etc, "it's a no brainier".) but rather over time as one fights to increase earnings in a shrinking, increasingly competitive marketplace Vs. being on a career 'track' that has natural increases over time.

The school (fees) point is hugely significant.

Fees alone for two children (day school only) will run you £25k. By the time that is from taxed income, even if 40% payer then you're in for £43k gross earnings on fees.

Hence the catchment area merry go round goes completely ballistic.

I would disagree with an earlier point on thread though re: current government policy sustaining house prices - if you look at tax changes to non-does (now CGT-able) and the coming changes on mortgage interest offset (will hit buy to let investors hard) I genuinely feel there's been a realisation that a slight cooling of the market is desirable.

1hr 8mins in, 1hr on the nose back. Usual caveats about the trains apply...

The thing with London commuting is that the housing market is just so very efficiently priced. There are no 'secrets' out there price/time wise.

Ultimately you have to make a really complex call on what will make you the happiest. The complexity is that this is different for different individuals, all of whom have their own internal order of....

- Commute time
- Commute comfort/crowding
- Facilities on commute
- Willingness for 'changes'
- Cost of commute
- Space at home
- Facilities near home
- Routes away from home to elsewhere
- Forecast appreciation in house prices in area
Etc.

The list is surely almost endless.

When buying I took what I thought was the 'perfect' decision, though naturally others may think I'm a mentalist.

I have a 6min cycle, trains every quarter hour and take 25-34mins, last train 0009, 3mim walk in town.

Doing this, as opposed to living in say Earlsfield (SW London) means for the same money as a two bed flat needing work I got a brand new three bed semi-detached. Incremental time cost is probably 20-25mins a day, which I see as being more than compensated by commute comfort and nicer home.

Horses for courses!!

You're cheering for a small man wearing these silks:

Click to see full-size image.

Riding a horse that looks like this:

Fri 1A - Noon - 9pm (pros and day offers)
Fri 1B - 6pm - 3am (busted pros, day offers and locals)
Sat 1C - 11am - 145pm (turbo) (tilted individuals listed above)
Sat Day 2 - 2pm - midnight
Sun Day 3 - Noon - close

Problem solved, non?

Something has been niggling away at me.

Last season some guy came up with the ingenious idea of buying a toy skeleton instead of a real one as it covered all specifications of the task. Suggsy ripped him a new one and fired him.

This season some guy came up with the ingenious idea of buying a toy boat instead of a real one as it covered all specifications of the task. Suggsy lauded him as the second coming.

Firstly, what's the difference? And, secondly, did this occur to anyone else?

The show is good entertainment but Sugar just makes shit up as he goes along and I don't like it.

Regards

Ric

Bumped into Felipe (said chap) in the Wharf a couple of weeks back. Said hello before I had clocked where I 'knew' him from.

#awkward

With you now, Keith.

VBOL

5% for Old Man Gascoigne please

More of a BT than a Stars transfer man if I'm honest. By which I mean, "I'll transfer the money". Please confirm details by PM.

If for a UK audience then...

Trickett - not even close for being  the number one pick - aspirational
Boatman - genuine legend. Been there. Done that. Kept the t-shirt.
Channing - paints an unrealistic, hopeful picture of what time at a table is.
Boeree - Liv, I'm so sorry to distil it down to this but "fit bird who can hold her own"
Coren - proves that poker isn't a single sex or single intellect game
Pleno - genuinely the best in the business. I could not be more impressed.
Ian Gascoigne - obviously. All bias aside he does not give two hoots and shows the less serious side of poker.
Rob Yong - has single handedly ensured the midterm longevity of UK poker. Plays better than anyone realises.

Play live exclusively, not even close.

You'rw probably 4/7 to get off and running for your current money if any good, which means if having a couple of cracks you should be going at it soon enough.

For context I have half a brain and zero poker talent so that is my benchmark. Don't get into ego wars, look for low variance plays and remember your ultimate goal is to grind to 4k. Infinitely easier live than online so suck up the boredom and grind it out.

Good luck!!