Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[tikay]

This Diary is now about 4 weeks behind, & I want to try & Update it now.

Truth to tell, a combination of things caused me to not Post - the first week, sheer workload, then things got a bit messy, & some stuff went down that really distressed me - badly. I can't really dicuss it openly, on here, but it was several things, all at the same time, with several parties, all of whom I care muchly about, & it encompassed business, Forum, & personal. As a result, I was blonde-AWOL for 10 days or more following the "epicentre" of the angst.

Some if it is now sorted, some of it rumbles on, & it still pains me.

It really got to me, badly. I don't know how to describe it really. It's somewhere between sheer anger at people's insensitivy to others, a continued amazement at what dreadful things people, empowered by the Internet, feel able to say, sadness, regret, slough of despond perhaps? Not depression, no, life is way too good, but something that really made me burn. But when someone pisses in the jacuzzi, it's a fat lot of good saying "sorry" the next day. It's too late now buddy.

I thought it would last a few days, but coals were heaped on the fire, & it went on & on. Some days I felt better, & thought it was behind me, then it returned. I still can't snap out of it, but it'll pass eventually. It might just be age-related grumpyness for all I know. I'm happy, don't get me wrong, happy as larry. But I'm angry, too, & I won't be forgiving in a hurry either.

I know I've upset several folks & lost a number of "friends" (A term which is used way too lightly imo). It is what it is. I talk to Tom 3 or 4 times a week, & just talking to him makes me feel better. He understands, he just does. How lucky was I to find him as a friend. I may have been unfairly rude to some folks, & if so, I apologise.

I'm ideal hermit materal actually, I could happily live alone & never speak to a soul again. That way, I don't have to deal with anyone, can't upset anyone, they can't upset me, & I actually enjoy my own company.

Anyways, I used the time well. I had some extremely awkward & delicate matters to address, blonde-related, which required achingly long e-Mails, with equally long rejoinders, rinse, repeat. But I fronted them all up, & sorted them all. For that, it's been good, because I dealt with them all, & I'm afraid I sometimes avoid confronting hot issues.

And being busy has been an absolute godsend. (Godsend?).

I can only begin to imagine how this Post will be construed, & probably misinterpreted. Too bad.

So, here we go here's the Update, minus the stuff I can't discuss on here. Don't worry, it'll all be in the book.

Warning - the "catch-up" is just factual, where I went, what I done, so it's not ideal reading material, but I just want to try & do it, because if I don't, the Diary will die, & I'd much regret that. If I buckle down, I could get up to date in a few days.

Look away now.

[kinboshi]

[tikay]

7th & 8th February, Walsall.

APAT weekend, combined with "In-Poker" on the sunday, so plenty to keep me busy.
.
Stayed both nights at The Village Hotel - that's really improved leaps & bounds, the Customer-Care is superb.

An odd thing was going off at The Village Hotel - the Dwarf Athletic Society were holding a mini get-together there. An amazing sight & I found myself staring a lot. Why do we do this? I don't know, but we do. There were over a hundred of them, all having a ball, not at all self-conscious, when we "regular folk" were, obviously, staring at them.

And there was humour too - in front of the Reception Desk, & Breakfast Bar, there were little "plinths" for the dwarves to stand on. Now THAT's Customer Care of the highest order.

And I learned that "dwarf" is an acceptable term, "stunted growth" is, too, but "midget" is 100% absolutely not on, it's VERY rude.

The  DAAUK (Dwarf Athletic Association of the United Kingdom) have the motto "Walk tall with short sprt". Neat!

Here's their website. What a wonderful thing - this would never have been possible in my day, or, dare I say, before the internet age, which, for all it's faults, makes communication so much easier.

http://www.daauk.org/

[EvilPie]

7th & 8th February, Walsall.

APAT weekend, combined with "In-Poker" on the sunday, so plenty to keep me busy.
.
Stayed both nights at The Village Hotel - that's really improved leaps & bounds, the Customer-Care is superb.

An odd thing was going off at The Village Hotel - the Dwarf Athletic Society were holding a mini get-together there. An amazing sight & I found myself staring a lot. Why do we do this? I don't know, but we do. There were over a hundred of them, all having a ball, not at all self-conscious, when we "regular folk" were, obviously, staring at them.

And there was humour too - in front of the Reception Desk, & Breakfast Bar, there were little "plinths" for the dwarves to stand on. Now THAT's Customer Care of the highest order.

And I learned that "dwarf" is an acceptable term, "stunted growth" is, too, but "midget" is 100% absolutely not on, it's VERY rude.

The  DAAUK (Dwarf Athletic Association of the United Kingdom) have the motto "Walk tall with short sprt". Neat!

Here's their website. What a wonderful thing - this would never have been possible in my day, or, dare I say, before the internet age, which, for all it's faults, makes communication so much easier.

http://www.daauk.org/

Midget is unacceptable whereas describing the event as a "mini" get together is perfectly pc.

Well done Tikay. Smiles all round.

[tikay]

The APAT weekend was seriously hectic, &, on this occasion, super-stressful. But we had a wonderful, & quite worthy, winner, who reminded me very much of Evil Pie, both in looks, demeanour (ever-smiling, win & lose with dignity), & playing style.

In-Poker's presence complicated things, because when folks have a TV camera on them, they seem to dwell up for longer. And folks who have had a drink do the same thing - you know how drunks always stand in the middle of the road & "dare" cars to run them over. The way the human mind works when under the influence is really very curious.

Day One finished at about 3am, & I was totally bushed, Day Two a lot earlier, & I was back at The Villlage - dwarf free now - quite early, before Midnight I think.

[tikay]

7th & 8th February, Walsall.

APAT weekend, combined with "In-Poker" on the sunday, so plenty to keep me busy.
.
Stayed both nights at The Village Hotel - that's really improved leaps & bounds, the Customer-Care is superb.

An odd thing was going off at The Village Hotel - the Dwarf Athletic Society were holding a mini get-together there. An amazing sight & I found myself staring a lot. Why do we do this? I don't know, but we do. There were over a hundred of them, all having a ball, not at all self-conscious, when we "regular folk" were, obviously, staring at them.

And there was humour too - in front of the Reception Desk, & Breakfast Bar, there were little "plinths" for the dwarves to stand on. Now THAT's Customer Care of the highest order.

And I learned that "dwarf" is an acceptable term, "stunted growth" is, too, but "midget" is 100% absolutely not on, it's VERY rude.

The  DAAUK (Dwarf Athletic Association of the United Kingdom) have the motto "Walk tall with short sprt". Neat!

Here's their website. What a wonderful thing - this would never have been possible in my day, or, dare I say, before the internet age, which, for all it's faults, makes communication so much easier.

http://www.daauk.org/

Midget is unacceptable whereas describing the event as a "mini" get together is perfectly pc.

Well done Tikay. Smiles all round.

OMG, I'm so sorry! Wow, one has to be so careful.

[tikay]

Monday 9th February.

Had to drive down from Walsall to Feltham on a grey & drizzly Monday morning, down the M6, M40, M25, & M3 - a dreadful drive, with the spray becoming a murky mist.

I'm totally addicted to Latte coffee, & that keeps me sane, keeps me happy & comfortable when I'm driving. I get obsessed about it, too - it has to be "just so ("Coffee Nation" is my preference) & I'll drive miles oiut of my way to get the right brand. Walsall to Feltham is a 3 Latte drive,so I was peeing all night.

Had a Vegas Telecon when I arrived at Feltham, the planning is well underway. I get along very well with Jeffrey Pollack, the WSOP Commissioner, & that helps open doors. I wrote to him about some stuff, & he said to all his Team "make sure you look after tikay, he's good for WSOP in Europe, da de da". This pleased me no end. I'v always been civil & respectful to him, & he to me, & now that's turned out to be really quite useful.

Did a Live Recording at 6pm - for TX on Tuesday - with Richard Orford. These are very efficiently made - it's a 1 hour recording, but it's done "as live", & take exactly - to the second - 1 hour to record. No retakes, no muck-ups, zoom, all the way. Orford is incredibly professional, right up there with Compo. Normally, it takes all day to make a 1 hour recording, so it's some feat, & a testimony to the Gallery Crew at Feltham.

A short break, then rehearsal, then we did the Live Show. Not my best performance, I kept bloody coughing, which is dreadful when you have a lapel microphone, & it's a Live Show. We had a stunning number of e-Mails though, always a sign that the Show has gone down well.

Finished about 0030 - we had a capacity 700 runners again, so the Show takes a little longer with 700 - but I was away from Feltham by 1am, & booked in to Jury's at Heathrow 10 minutes later. The Receptionist said "are you on TV?" which stroked my ego a bit, & I smiled. "Yes", I replied. "I thought so, because it's unusual to see a man of your age with make-up on". Sigh, I'd forgotten to remove it.

Jury's Heathrow looks nice from the exterior, but it's pretty naff inside. There is a shortage of "half-decent" hotels in Feltham - St Giles & Travelodge are both a bit iffy (bad locations mostly), & all the Heathrow Hotels are silly money, except Jury's, which is sbout £65, plus a tenner for the Car Park. You get what you pay for, I guess.

As I've been nice about Orford, I need to redress the balance, so here's a picture I know he'll cringe at. Also, a pic of Jeffrey Pollack, doing his Annual WSOP Intro.

[kinboshi]

7th & 8th February, Walsall.

APAT weekend, combined with "In-Poker" on the sunday, so plenty to keep me busy.
.
Stayed both nights at The Village Hotel - that's really improved leaps & bounds, the Customer-Care is superb.

An odd thing was going off at The Village Hotel - the Dwarf Athletic Society were holding a mini get-together there. An amazing sight & I found myself staring a lot. Why do we do this? I don't know, but we do. There were over a hundred of them, all having a ball, not at all self-conscious, when we "regular folk" were, obviously, staring at them.

And there was humour too - in front of the Reception Desk, & Breakfast Bar, there were little "plinths" for the dwarves to stand on. Now THAT's Customer Care of the highest order.

And I learned that "dwarf" is an acceptable term, "stunted growth" is, too, but "midget" is 100% absolutely not on, it's VERY rude.

The  DAAUK (Dwarf Athletic Association of the United Kingdom) have the motto "Walk tall with short sprt". Neat!

Here's their website. What a wonderful thing - this would never have been possible in my day, or, dare I say, before the internet age, which, for all it's faults, makes communication so much easier.

http://www.daauk.org/

Midget is unacceptable whereas describing the event as a "mini" get together is perfectly pc.

Well done Tikay. Smiles all round.

OMG, I'm so sorry! Wow, one has to be so careful.

Don't believe you anyway, I think it's a tall story.

[Colchester Kev]

Pollack looks like a young Karabiner i reckon

[Royal Flush]

Pollack looks like a young Karabiner i reckon

Imagine being an old Karabiner!

[tikay]

Pollack looks like a young Karabiner i reckon

Imagine being an old Karabiner!

A quick diversion, while we have Flushy's attention.

The crash of the BA 777 at Heathrow last year, due to icing in the fuel. The NTSA & AIB both issued reports on this yesterday, & Rolls Royce are urgently modifying all in-service engines.

Rolls say it will take a year to manufacture, test, & certify the defective part - a fuel heat exchanger I think. There have been TWO such incidents in the last 12 months. The aeroplanes will be allowed to continue to fly, in the interim.

The Times refers frequently to it being a well-known problem known as "rollback". What is this "rollback"?

[kinboshi]

Pollack looks like a young Karabiner i reckon

Imagine being an old Karabiner!

A quick diversion, while we have Flushy's attention.

The crash of the BA 777 at Heathrow last year, due to icing in the fuel. The NTSA & AIB both issued reports on this yesterday, & Rolls Royce are urgently modifying all in-service engines.

Rolls say it will take a year to manufacture, test, & certify the defective part - a fuel heat exchanger I think. There have been TWO such incidents in the last 12 months. The aeroplanes will be allowed to continue to fly, in the interim.

The Times refers frequently to it being a well-known problem known as "rollback". What is this "rollback"?

Is that what you do after you've lent money to Kellster?  As in trying to get your rollback?

[tikay]

Pollack looks like a young Karabiner i reckon

Imagine being an old Karabiner!

A quick diversion, while we have Flushy's attention.

The crash of the BA 777 at Heathrow last year, due to icing in the fuel. The NTSA & AIB both issued reports on this yesterday, & Rolls Royce are urgently modifying all in-service engines.

Rolls say it will take a year to manufacture, test, & certify the defective part - a fuel heat exchanger I think. There have been TWO such incidents in the last 12 months. The aeroplanes will be allowed to continue to fly, in the interim.

The Times refers frequently to it being a well-known problem known as "rollback". What is this "rollback"?

Is that what you do after you've lent money to Kellster?  As in trying to get your rollback?

I never lent money to Kellster, but some of my friends did (blondes, too) did. Big numbers, too, thousands. So let's hope he cashes big, pays his dues, & moves on. In that respect, good luck Kellster, if it gets his creditors off the hook.

We were all young once, & we've all made mistakes. He's young enough to sort himself out.

He PM'd me, you know, & asked why I was on a "one-man mission" to destroy him. One man?

Gotta pay your bills in life, or it catches up with you.

[GreekStein]

Wow he has audacity saying that.

He's on a one man mission to destroy himself

[tikay]

Just reverting back to the Sunday, at Walsall.

There was a guy playing cash, & he was, shall we say, a little "tired & distressed".

He got in a dispute, & refused to accept the Ruling.

Zac came over, & told me this guy demanded I arbitrate. WTF, it's nothing to do with me, I said.

But Zac insisted, "the blokes being arsey, he says he'll accept what you say, he says you are "a right guy"". Hmm.....

I go across, it's 4 card Omaha, there is about £450 in the middle.

"What's the problem?" I ask.

Liz is the Dealer - not much gets past her.

The guy, at showdown, turned over 1 card, for trips, saying "is that enough?".

"ALL your cards please" says Liz.

Now he turns over  2nd card, for the house. (Oppo had the Flush)

"ALL your cards please" says Liz.

Now a third card. Liz repeats.

Now, very very carefully, he turns over the 4th card. Liz spots it instantly - his 4th card is two cards - he has FIVE cards.

"Your hand is dead mate, sorry".

"It was the dealers fault" says he.

"Yes, but it's your reponsibility to declare 5 cards/misdeal, your hand is dead" I say.

"It was not my card, it was the bloke next to me's card".

"Your hand is dead, sorry".

"I never realised I had 5 cards".

"Your hand is dead fella, sorry. It's for Liz & Zac to rule, but that's my take".

With which, he ask for his share of the pot back.

"Sorry bud, you lose the lot".

With which, he scoops up the whole pot, & does a runner, right out of the Casino!

I'll spare you the rest of the story, except to say, he got banned from Grosvenor for life, & as he tried to drive away, after a long & unseemly hoohah, still "tired & distressed", the Police apprehended him, & breathalysed him.

All over a pot in poker.

The guy, when sober, is as nice a guy as you could wish to meet. And he knows he has a problem with alcohol. (He & I have "previous" as to alcohol, trust me). I actually feel sorry for him. But we are all accountable for our own actions. We all have weaknesses too - mine are ciggies, decadence, & sex. I can't begin to count how many Events I've seen marred by alcohol recently. In a way, I wish I was still a drinker, so I could understand, instead of getting arsey about it. But I gave up when I was 21, because I recognized that I was always making a tit of myself. It affects some folks in a lovely way - think of, say, Paul Parker, or Flushy, you'd pay to be in their company when they have had a few. Some just fall asleep, or projectile vomit. Others, though, just get in everyone's face. Ugh.

Anyway, he was all over the Forum's the next day, pictures and all. They called him "The Running Man", which tickled me. There's humour in everything, I suppose.