Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[tikay]

Amazingly, Tom spotted TWO muntjacs, just as they scurried into the undergrowth, startled by us.

I have only ever soon one before, on a Golf Course in Peterborough, & though we only got a fleeting glance, it was a big thrill for me.

They are incredibly small, not even the size of a big dog, but very shy, & skittish.

A great moment, I can't tell you how excited I was by it.

[AndrewT]

1 - That view from Richmond Park to St Pauls is protected - no one is allowed to build a tall building in between that blocks that view.

2 - Categorise the people you follow on Twitter and then you can read the updates from just one group - allows you to not get your feed clogged up with people whose tweets you don't want to read all of.

3 - Sky Poker must be rigged - I mean, look who won the Sky Roller on Thursday.

[tikay]

Probably a stoooopid question but, if you got the right specs/monocle, wouldn't your eye-hand co-ordination be OK? You might even be able to get a hand on your chips more regularly.

Any plans for the Eurovision tonight?

My eye-hand co-ordination was shite even BEFORE my eyes went downhill so badly! But I'm not going to give up on the "back-to-golf" dream.  Have you backed any somg? At what price? Will we all be rich tomorrow?

Eurovision tonight? Err, no, not the slightest interest. Who is going to win, how much have you bet, & will we all be rich tomorrow?

Even for money, can you really manage to endure watching Jedward for more than 2 seconds?

I expect we'll make Eurovision the non-poker theme for tonight's 865 Show - Orford is my partner tonight, & he'll be all over that sort of twaddle. I'll probably pretend to be old, grumpy, & curmudgeonly.

Anyway, go away, I have not finished with Luton Hoo yet.

[tikay]

1 - That view from Richmond Park to St Pauls is protected - no one is allowed to build a tall building in between that blocks that view.

2 - Categorise the people you follow on Twitter and then you can read the updates from just one group - allows you to not get your feed clogged up with people whose tweets you don't want to read all of.

3 - Sky Poker must be rigged - I mean, look who won the Sky Roller on Thursday.

Thanks Andrew.

1) Really? It must be some distance, too, 10, 12 miles?

2) Can you explain further (twitter) "categorise", please? I just cannot, & do not want, to read all the dross, but I do want to catch the good stuff. Please explain, using short words. I struggle to tie my shoelaces.

3) Hursty? JAKALLY? Your baby brother?

[AndrewT]

Yes it was baby bro taking advantage of the soft field (I didn't play).

You can create lists and then put people in each list. So, you might have one for people you actually know well, another for randoms, another for work/businessey type ones etc. Then you can just read updates from that list depending on what software you use. I use Tweetdeck but there are others as well.

[tikay]

Yes it was baby bro taking advantage of the soft field (I didn't play).

You can create lists and then put people in each list. So, you might have one for people you actually know well, another for randoms, another for work/businessey type ones etc. Then you can just read updates from that list depending on what software you use. I use Tweetdeck but there are others as well.

Excellent, thank you.

I use Hoot-Suite, I'm told Tweetcaster is good though. Presumably, you think Tweetdeck is best?

Sky-Roller - I wanted to play it, but I was trying to be very strict with myself, & do my day or two "off work" properly, & stay off the site as much as I could, to take a proper break & refresh myself. Sadly, it misssed the Guarantee, which I felt bad about, as I never "worked it", so I'll need to sweat it hard next week, or the G'tee will reduce. Well done UziLover, anyway, he plays good.

[AndrewT]

It's the first one I tried and does what I want - don't know about others.

[Karabiner]

When I first started playing golf I was a junior member at The Roehampton Club and at weekends juniors were not allowed to play until 3.30pm which basically meant not at all during the winter months so I used to spend my weekends in Richmond Park, not to enjoy the wildlife though.

They had two public golf courses there laid out side by side with the first hole of each course setting off in opposite directions, I think they were called the "red" and the "blue" or something similar.

When I wasn't out playing I used to hang about in the shed that served as a ramshackle pro's shop where I remember as though it were yesterday listening to the Cheltenham Gold Cup commentary on the radio when Arkle beat the reigning champion Mill House.

[tikay]

Back to Luton Hoo.

I took Tom to the Weir, but it was not "running". It drains a lake, which is presumably fed by a river, & with little rain of late, the weir was lifeless. Or so I thought....

At the bottom of the weir is a little pond, which then feeds a stream, the pond is a sort of settling pond, maybe 4 metres in diamater, roughly 2 feet deep, (that's it, in the photo below) & the water was crystal clear, & completely still.

As we arrive pond-side, Tom snap says "there will be trout in there".

"What?, why?, where, how do you know?"

"There will he trout in there, trust me".

He stands there, stock still, staring, while I wander off to admire & disturb a mallard & her young.

Suddenly, he says "there - look - a trout - and another".

I come running back, & there it was - a great big (or it seemed big, to me, maybe 15" to 18" long, & quite stout) trout, much bigger than I had imagined, then, moments later, another, right next to it.

I don't think I've ever seen trout in a river, or pond, before. Another wonderful moment.

The colouring was dull, sort of grey-brown, very disappointing, but Mr Expert said that's camaflouge - brown from above - they can't easily be seen against the pond bed - & light underneath, so predators beneath it can't see it against the light.

[tikay]

When I first started playing golf I was a junior member at The Roehampton Club and at weekends juniors were not allowed to play until 3.30pm which basically meant not at all during the winter months so I used to spend my weekends in Richmond Park, not to enjoy the wildlife though.

They had two public golf courses there laid out side by side with the first hole of each course setting off in opposite directions, I think they were called the "red" and the "blue" or something similar.

When I wasn't out playing I used to hang about in the shed that served as a ramshackle pro's shop where I remember as though it were yesterday listening to the Cheltenham Gold Cup commentary on the radio when Arkle beat the reigning champion Mill House.

That would be 1964 Ralph, I think. You are wearing well.

That year Arkle beat Mill House in an absolutely cracking race, & Mill House (who won the Gold Cup the year before, &, I think, the Whitbread) was never the same horse after. Mill House was pretty unlucky to live at the same time as Arkle, to be honest.

It's not possible to compare different generations of steeplechasers, or any racehorses really, but I smile to myself quietly when I hear about the annual "wonder-horses". Arkle was an extraordinary beast. We'll never know, & it really does not matter I suppose, but I doubt any of us have, or will, ever see a better steeplechaser, and for me, he was the best in my lifetime.

The best steeplechaser ever? My vote has to go to Dorothy Paget's Golden Miller, who won the Gold Cup no less than 5 years on the bounce! Golden Miller lived to the ripe old age of 30.

wiki says this of the dreaded Dorothy.....

"....She was considered a notoriously difficult owner, often phoning her trainer in the middle of the night. She famously, and very publicly fell out with Basil Briscoe after Golden Miller's repeated failure to win a second Grand National, despite it being very clear that the horse despised the Aintree course. She also threw a screaming fit at Fulke Walwyn after the trainer could 'only' deliver five winners of a six race card

However these rantings were as much dealing as she had with any man, claiming that the very sight of men made her physically sick. Some society commentators of the day noted that her deep hatred towards men may have been due to the fact that, despite her immense wealth, her plain, bordering on ugly looks and huge, at times 20 stone frame ensured that no man ever attempted to win her affections......"

She "went through" no less than 17 trainers!

Back to Luton Hoo - if you start me off on Arkle, & Golden Miller, then I'll drift to Brigadier Gerard, Park Top, Allez France, the Head family, Dahlia, Nelson Bunker Hunt & the silver price heist, Cecil-Boyd Rochfort (Henry Cecil's stepfather) Lester Piggott, Manny Mercer, da de da, I'll write all day & all night, that stuff is right up my street.

[tikay]

By the bye, the expression "get your betting boots on" was first termed, I believe, about Dorothy Paget, who used to famously wear wellies, & bet in absolutely stupendous amounts.

It was not unusual for Dorothy to wager £50k on a race - & this was in the 1930's.

[tikay]

Still not finished with Luton Hoo.....

But, before I continue, I'm playing Day 1e (Friday) of the DTD Grand Prix.

Anyway of finding out who else is playing that day?

[celtic]

Amazingly, Tom spotted TWO muntjacs, just as they scurried into the undergrowth, startled by us.

I have only ever soon one before, on a Golf Course in Peterborough, & though we only got a fleeting glance, it was a big thrill for me.

They are incredibly small, not even the size of a big dog, but very shy, & skittish.

A great moment, I can't tell you how excited I was by it.

I hit a muntjac at high speed in my car, about 10 years ago.

Made a right mess of the front of my car. Don't know how it was unfortunately, as it disappeared very quickly.

I thought that was a good sign that i couldn't see it, but then someone told me they go and hide, if they are going to die. Sigh.

[tikay]

Amazingly, Tom spotted TWO muntjacs, just as they scurried into the undergrowth, startled by us.

I have only ever soon one before, on a Golf Course in Peterborough, & though we only got a fleeting glance, it was a big thrill for me.

They are incredibly small, not even the size of a big dog, but very shy, & skittish.

A great moment, I can't tell you how excited I was by it.

I hit a muntjac at high speed in my car, about 10 years ago.

Made a right mess of the front of my car. Don't know how it was unfortunately, as it disappeared very quickly.

I thought that was a good sign that i couldn't see it, but then someone told me they go and hide, if they are going to die. Sigh.

That's horrible.

Was the damage to the car expensive to fix? You know, like, cheap? Or deer?

[celtic]

Wasn't too deer, not as deer as this one looks.