Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[77dave]

7pm. 6.55 gets you a seat

Bang on cue, thanks Jim!

I am up in Derbyshire tomorrow, due back south late afternoon, so I'll go nature-spotting @ Luton Hoo to kill an hour or so if need be.

Me, my camera, & Luton Hoo - the blondes are in for a right treat.

Can't believe this, you answered within minutes of my Post, Regards rung me within 2 minute ditto.

Care for the Elderly at its very best.

I have so much to post, but I need to sort some other stuff.

if your run flats arent running i could see if hinge can pick you up

[tikay]

7pm. 6.55 gets you a seat

Bang on cue, thanks Jim!

I am up in Derbyshire tomorrow, due back south late afternoon, so I'll go nature-spotting @ Luton Hoo to kill an hour or so if need be.

Me, my camera, & Luton Hoo - the blondes are in for a right treat.

Can't believe this, you answered within minutes of my Post, Regards rung me within 2 minute ditto.

Care for the Elderly at its very best.

I have so much to post, but I need to sort some other stuff.

if your run flats arent running i could see if hinge can pick you up

Lol, don't thnk that will ever happen.

Whatever happened to Bracket?

[77dave]

7pm. 6.55 gets you a seat

Bang on cue, thanks Jim!

I am up in Derbyshire tomorrow, due back south late afternoon, so I'll go nature-spotting @ Luton Hoo to kill an hour or so if need be.

Me, my camera, & Luton Hoo - the blondes are in for a right treat.

Can't believe this, you answered within minutes of my Post, Regards rung me within 2 minute ditto.

Care for the Elderly at its very best.

I have so much to post, but I need to sort some other stuff.

if your run flats arent running i could see if hinge can pick you up

Lol, don't thnk that will ever happen.

Whatever happened to Bracket?

hinge and bracket had a falling out, bracket was talking behind hinge's back

bracket was later banned for trying to poach players away to other games

[tikay]

7pm. 6.55 gets you a seat

Bang on cue, thanks Jim!

I am up in Derbyshire tomorrow, due back south late afternoon, so I'll go nature-spotting @ Luton Hoo to kill an hour or so if need be.

Me, my camera, & Luton Hoo - the blondes are in for a right treat.

Can't believe this, you answered within minutes of my Post, Regards rung me within 2 minute ditto.

Care for the Elderly at its very best.

I have so much to post, but I need to sort some other stuff.

if your run flats arent running i could see if hinge can pick you up

Lol, don't thnk that will ever happen.

Whatever happened to Bracket?

hinge and bracket had a falling out, bracket was talking behind hinge's back

bracket was later banned for trying to poach players away to other games

Banned? Strewth, I never knew that.

I respected his stud game, seriously nitty, but rarely lost money, from what I saw.  I got on with him just fine, actually, & we hooked up in Luton, Germany (I forget exactly where, Baden I think) & St Petersburg (the Taleon Palace Casino).

You can ask me how I got on in the Main Event in St Petersburg if you like...... happy days. Herbie would die for a Russian flag.

[RED-DOG]

 Blimey Tone, (I always wonder if it winds you up when I call you Tone) your diary has moved on apace during my big sleep. I intended to comment on your bird pic. It's a great effort. Both in frame and in focus.

Birds are really really hard to photograph.  So don't get discouraged.  Be pleased with your efforts.

The real secret is, get closer. My bird pics are improving mainly because I am sneaking the feeders nearer to the window.

[tikay]

Blimey Tone, (I always wonder if it winds you up when I call you Tone) your diary has moved on apace during my big sleep. I intended to comment on your bird pic. It's a great effort. Both in frame and in focus.

Birds are really really hard to photograph.  So don't get discouraged.  Be pleased with your efforts.

The real secret is, get closer. My bird pics are improving mainly because I am sneaking the feeders nearer to the window.

That's the hard bit for me. It's hard for a bird not to notice a near 14 stone lump, cursing as he struggles with lens covers & camera settings, trying to sneak closer.

I CAN get nice & close to the ducks & geese on the river though, as I have got some special food for them, & they approach right up close.

I walked across to the river side @ 5.30am this morning, camera in hand, like a new toy, it was lovely, but another photo fail. 

Enjoy your junket in Brussels.

[RED-DOG]

Cheers Tone.

[tikay]

Today is "Budget Day".

It used to be a monster media day, weeks of build up & excitement, but when they introduced Mini-Budgets & interim Budgets, it sort of diluted the real thing.

The newspapers - without exception - carried photos of the Chancellor holding up his battered red briefcase, containing the budget "secrets".

The Queen officially sees, & approves it, first.

There used to be an intense & lively betting market on how long the Chancellor's speech would last. How easily amused we were.

The Chancellor is allowed to consume alcohol in the House whilst delivering the speech, though for PC purposes, most drink water now.   

It is a formidably complex speech, filled with hundreds of complex financial proposals & committments, but the media, almost without exception, focus on the cost of beer, wine, cigarettes, & petrol duties, which must drive the Government nuts, given how much work, thought & planning goes into it.

Of course, everyone takes party lines in the ensuing debate, & the opposition seem obliged to attack it come what may, which is rather daft & pointless I always think. If the Opposition ever said "yes, the Government's idea are excellent", it would be assumed to be a level. The notion that they MUST disagree on Party lines is ridiculous.

Todays two naps (maximum bet, win double) are.....

1)  Cigarette duty UP

2)  The Opposition will decry & denounce the Budget as "bad for the country".

[tikay]

There was always a rush & clamour for Politicians to arrive at the House early on Budget Day, every seat was taken, & there was a sort of race to get the best seats.

Predominant in this was a chap called Sir Gerald Nabarro, aka Gerald David Nunes Nabarro. "Nunes", wtf?

He always arrived at silly am, 5.30 or whatever, to get his seat, & he made a point of being photographed.

He had one of those dreadfully ostentatious handlebar moustaches.

His career as an MP ended in the most peculiar way.

In 1971 he was charged with driving the wrong way round a roundabout, but he tried to claim that his Secretary was driving. (See, these type of scandals have been around for ages). This caused much hoohah, he suffered ill health during the trial, & he was eventually forced to stand down as an MP.

Which, you'd agree, is not that peculiar at all, & I'd agree.

The irony is that he survived a much earlier incident which, if it arose today, would probably lead to him being shot. And I do mean shot - proper shot.

8 years earlier, in 1963, on the BBC "Question Time" Show (how long has THAT been running?!) he said this, which is as far removed from acceptable as that clip Maureen Posted yesterday.

Brace yourself for this - which was said LIVE, on TV.

"How would you feel if your daughter wanted to marry a big buck nigger with the prospect of coffee-coloured grandchildren?",

And yes, he was a big ally of Sir Enoch Powell.

As an MP, he survived that without a spot of bother, but the driving offence was the thing that ruined him.

You can't make these things up.

Here's Sir Gerald (with the 'tache) alongside Lord Walker.


 

Click to see full-size image.

[tikay]

Had a wonderful surprise yesterday, when a friend, & veteran blonde, known to all of you, PM'd me out of the blue to send me a link.

We exchanged several PM's, & I noted he rarely Posted here now. He replied saying that he stopped posting during our dark days, he just reads blonde these days, but now enjoyed the current mood & tone much more. Amen to that.

I never pushed him to return, that would be quite wrong, but he'll return - or not - when he is good & ready, I hope.

The link he sent was tremendous - it was a series of BBC talk shows, being.....

"A collection of BBC programmes where celebrated interviewers try to get behind the public mask of some of the most influential figures of the 20th century."

Might not seem that exciting at first sight, but it is a sort of "Box Set", & includes several Desert Island Discs pieces, & interviews with....

Martin Luther King,

Muhammed Ali,

Lauren Bacall,

Ken Dodd (what?),

Brian Clough

Orson Welles

Paul J Getty

Peter Ustinov

...and many, many, more.

There are 40 or 50 in all, it is a veritable treasure trove of BBC golden moments. It's so good, you could wrap it up & give it to someone as a pressie, it really is.

The link is here.....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/collections/p00p2k2v/talk

I know that the Gentleman reads this & Tom's diary, & he says he enjoys the nature aspect of them. 

To him, special thanks.

[RED-DOG]

I bet he reads yours because I post on it.

[tikay]

For balance against that lovely PM I got yesterday, & in case you think I only mention "nice" PM's & Posts, I got this yesterday, too......


i cant wait for the day when this site gets shut down. ive got some rope for you tony and co

Incredible how poker messes with people's minds.

We no longer hear racist stuff Nabarro style, or homosexual bigotry such as Maureen showed us in that You Tube clip, but the internet has deffo spawned some weirdos, & given them a platform from which to spout their nonsense.

They don't mean it of course - of course they do not, & I did not find it in the least hurtful, which, a few years ago, I may have. I'm kind of used to it by now, & semi-immune. I do feel terribly sorry for them though, I really do.

Can you imagine getting your head screwed up that badly?

Were we ever like that as youngsters? (I'm assuming it came from a youngster). I wish I could empathise & say I was, but I cannot begin to imagine writing stuff like that to someone I don't even know.   

 

[tikay]

I bet he reads yours because I post on it.

I doubt he reads mine at all, just yours, but he was being polite!

When does your big do in Brussels start, then?

[AndrewT]

I bet he reads yours because I post on it.

It's the only reason I'm here.

[AlunB]

Whilst on good writers, writers that "flow", that write almost as they speak, it brings me to Neil Channing.

I don't hide my admiration for his company, he is such a great raconteur.

I attempted to lure him to post more on blonde last week, I think he'd be a huge asset here, & he did, but it all went oh so horribly wrong, I ended up with a bunch of deleted Posts - sheer gross unprompted insults - the Mods had their Sunday ruined, and 5 or 6 e-Mails & 2 phone calls to & from Neil in which I apologised to him several times. Sometimes forums are just so dreadful. To be fair, I did receive an apology, via PM, from one of those who had a wee pop at Neil, fair play to him, but the damage was done by then.

I was up at Luton for part of the time, too, trying to play some DC, so it all rather spoiled my evening, not to say Neil's. FFS.

Anyway, as I am nicking stuff from "pokerplayer.co.uk" here is Neils version of the same theme that Vicky wrote about - "What I've learned from poker".

Very restrained in the spam department by Neil's standards, too.

What I've Learned From PokerThe Black Belt Poker sensei on how poker has changed his life for the good, the bad and the downright weird.

…My view of the value of money was always f♣♠♥ed up. People think I’ve been involved in poker my entire life, but for most of my life poker was just a small part of all the gambling I was doing. When I was 16 years old I was a full-time gambler. When I was doing A-levels I remember leaving one exam after 45 minutes to go to the races. I didn’t go to college for one of the three years as I was going to the races every day. I somehow still got a degree.

…I am constantly getting people writing to me asking to be staked and they will say ‘I don’t really play online as my skills are in reading tells’. That is the biggest load of bullshit I’ve ever heard. The reason they can’t win online is because they have bad fundamentals.

…If you’re a cash player you don’t need to be the most talented player in the world to make a living. There is a guy called Rick who plays in the Vic every day. He’s one of my heroes of poker and is one of the biggest winners I know. He only ever plays £2/£5 and wins £400 most days and goes home. That’s f♥♠♣ing brilliant. He’s winning £100,000 a year sitting on his arse eating sandwiches. What he has got is masses of discipline and masses of patience and his fundamentals are outstanding.

…One guy I look up to is Vic stalwart Fred Carle. Fred is a 74-year-old guy who played seven-card stud for years in all the dodgy spielers in London. There was a massive rake in those games and he beat them all. If we started a £25/£50 game he would sit down with ten grand and be four-betting preflop. He’s a bit of a legend.

…Success breeds success. When James Akenhead made the final table of the WSOP that was a turning point, as other Brits thought, ‘I can do that’. A guy called Dominic Bourke who fi nished second to Daniel Negreanu in the 1998 pot-limit hold’em event was the first person I can remember having any kind of success at the World Series. That was quite inspirational to me. He was a Vic regular and a clever guy who I learned a lot from.

…When people ask me what is your best tip, I always say shorten your losing sessions and lengthen your winning ones. When things are going well press up.

…I literally can’t walk down the street without someone coming up to me and talking about poker. I was out having lunch in a quiet little restaurant and this guy came over and asked if I could sign a book for him. That kind of stuff is f♥♠♣ing weird. In 2001 to 2002 I made far more money from horse racing than I’ve ever made from poker in a year and nobody asked me for my autograph.

…There has always been this thing in poker where the higher-stakes players don’t talk to the people in the levels below them. I f♠♣♦ing hate that. I make a special effort to talk to people at the casino even though it’s not always good for my game.

 

Blimey Mr Kay, at least give us a courtesy link!

http://www.pokerplayer.co.uk/news/features/12181/victoria_coren.html

http://www.pokerplayer.co.uk/news/features/12217/neil_channing.html

Interestingly those are both very different article and give a fascinating tedious insight into how journamalising is done.

The first one was a set of questions sent via email that Vicky very kindly wrote answers to. So yes she did actually write that.

The second one was based on a very long, and hugely entertaining, phone interview with Mr Channing that was transcribed, edited down and written up by yours truly. That is the normal way these things are done. And will be how most of the other versions of these types of features you see are done in all mags and newspapers.