Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

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How did I get on?

I nearly won. Well, if you take out the top half of the field, I won. They apparently don't pay out that far down at Walsall. Lol live pokerments and all that.

Some people apparently won't fold aces pre, even to a four bet from me. Incredible. They just see the two cards in front of them and don't pay a moment's consideration as to what I might have. Amateurs.

Yes, I remember festivals. They were the pinnacle for me back when I started. I used to look up to those £100/£200 players with admiration while I was playing the £20 rebuys.

Then the Broadway did a £1,000 main event with a guarantee of £100,000. Suffice it to say, it didn't go the way the organisers planned and that's the last we saw of the Broadway festivals. Shame, really, but entirely reasonable. They know their market at Broadway and it is low buy in freezouts with plenty of starting chips, with lots of cash games available. The Cardroom Manager (you doubtless remember him as being a very fast dealer - could suck out on you before you realised you were ahead) has done a grand job there.

I remember that, a ton of overlay, & it all got a bit unpleasant......

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QM2 (Queen Mary 2) was on a rare, & brief, visit to Southampton yesterday.

Due to berth at 0630 yesterday morning (delayed, arrived 0900) & remarkably, sail off again at 4.30pm. Amazing how they turn these things round so quickly & efficiently. 3,000 passengers need to disembark, then bunkering starts, off-loading old provisions, loading provisions for the next trip (imagine running out of loo roll, or eggs & bacon with 3,000 passengers on board), then 3,000 fresh passengers have  be processed through Customs & baggage, & get on board. That’s 7 times more passengers than an average Boeing 747 will carry. All in around 8 or 9 hours.

Amazingly, THREE giant Cruise Ships arrived yesterday morning, & were all due to sail in the afternoon tide @ 4.30pm. Guess they need “top of the tide”.

Hoping to catch a good view of QM2, booked a ferry to the Isle of Wight, & crucially, booked the return leg which set sail from East Cowes @ 4.30pm. EXACTLY the scheduled sailing time for the three giants which were due to leave Southampton.  The plan was that at some point in Southampton Water, would see one of those beauties, preferably QM2, @ close hand.

Sometimes, a plan comes together perfectly……

Look at that – all three, almost nose to tail, in a line – BOOM BOOM BOOOOOM

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Amazing!

They look as if they have virtually no draft at all.

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First out of the traps was the P & O Ventura.

HUGE, but hardly pretty, or with classical lines. That stern is the ugliest thing ever, but for sheer bulk, what a beauty.

Made me think of that Concordia thing, which tipped over recently, the sheer size of these things is breathtaking.

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Click to see full-size image.

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I love how you managed to get it all in the frame.

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Next up, Royal Caribbean’s “Adventure & Seas”, another absolute giant, but again, look at that ugly stern. Fit for purpose & space efficient, yes, classical lines, no.

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Click to see full-size image.

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...and finally, there she was. Beautiful, utterly beautiful.

Proper ship, that.

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Click to see full-size image.

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There was a really weird thing, too.

The IoW Ferry was packed, most had the same idea, get to see QM2 @ close hand.

Everyone was on the viewing deck, & we all waved.

And on each of those big ships, the passengers gathered on the viewing decks and did the same thing.

Why? I've no idea. I never waved, of course, I'm way too hard. I welled up a bit though, I truly did. Just people who have never met each other, waving at each other.

I can't really explain, but I bet Tom understands.

A happy end to a lovely day.

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I love how you managed to get it all in the frame.

There's always a first time, Tom.

Luckily, ships don't move quite so fast as aeroplanes. Bit slower, too. It helps.

[Rod Paradise]

As a kid I used to see the cruise ships docked in St Georges harbour every summer, and if you made friends with a tourist kid you'd sometimes get aboard to have a look at them. I remember there mainly being Cunards, I was on the Cunard Princess a few times.

Click to see full-size image.

They were massive, overshadowing the town, and they're small compared to the modern ones as well. Sadly the harbour can't take the modern giants & the town has suffered from the loss of tourist  money. It is still the first visiting point for yachts though, as they have to clear customs there.

Sadly the big cruise ships aren't the goldmine of tourism any more anyway. They organise their own trips, recommend the shops that give them a cut, and effectively guard their passengers' money like a pack of rottweilers.

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...and finally, there she was. Beautiful, utterly beautiful.

Click to see full-size image.

This is a fabulous pic. You should print it, put it in a frame and hang it in the hall.

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As a kid I used to see the cruise ships docked in St Georges harbour every summer, and if you made friends with a tourist kid you'd sometimes get aboard to have a look at them. I remember there mainly being Cunards, I was on the Cunard Princess a few times.

Click to see full-size image.

They were massive, overshadowing the town, and they're small compared to the modern ones as well. Sadly the harbour can't take the modern giants & the town has suffered from the loss of tourist  money. It is still the first visiting point for yachts though, as they have to clear customs there.

Sadly the big cruise ships aren't the goldmine of tourism any more anyway. They organise their own trips, recommend the shops that give them a cut, and effectively guard their passengers' money like a pack of rottweilers.

GREAT scene, Rod.

That white house, near the bow of the ship in the foreground, is gorgeous.

Only when they are in port can you grasp the sheer scale of the things.

Here's my "equivelant" photo from yesterday. Houses not quite so pretty, mind.....

This is "Ventura" drawfing the houses.

Click to see full-size image.

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Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

[Rod Paradise]

The white house is the old storekeepers house on Ordnance Island (now council offices) The island was made from the Ducking Stool & Gallows islands (yes they were named for their uses) as the landing and holding base for ammunition after the Gunpowder Plot (Bermuda version) where gunpowder was stolen for the Americans in the War of Independence. The island was also used as a submarine base in WWII.

There's a replica of the Deliverance which was shipwrecked leading to the settling of the islands on it, and this shot gives a great illustration of the size of the cruise ships:

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I've managed to lose a stone in a month, but it's good fun, & you don't have to starve.

This is my daily afters, or pudding as I saw it described on yesterday's wonderful Live Update by Tighty. No eating during 12 hour Live Updates, obviously.

I get pleasure from prepping it, too.

First, the succulent pineapple.....


 

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Next, the crisp red grapes.....

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Add a few strawbs......

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Finally, top it off with a 'nana.....

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Beautiful. HUGE feast, but it does the job a treat, as the second course, which follows the chicken breast, tinned toms with Oxo & Worcester Sauce concoction main course.