Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[GreekStein]

And golf has such wonderful, weird & peculiar ways. Members had - HAD - to address me as Mr Captain (now they must call me Mr Past Captain

For someone who's never been called table Captain, even by your cat, that must have been quite nice.

I had the most dreadful of stammers until I was 20. OMG, the memory of the shame I felt for being an adolescent stammerer & stutterer sends shivers down my spine even now, but it sure builds character.

How did you get rid of it?

Also, loved the charity story. Nice touch.

[EvilPie]

I have begun the re-possession of my house from several years accumulation of tosh, & chanced across this photo.

I think I've always had a fine taste in bespoke Jackets, it's something one is born with.

Who decapitated that eagle ?

Show a little respect Mr S.

That's the famous Captain's Blazer, adorned as it is with the Eagle Crest of Ormonde Fields Golf Club aka Royal Ormonde.

I do so wish you had been present at my Captain's Day, what a day that is in a Club Golfer's life.

And golf has such wonderful, weird & peculiar ways. Members had - HAD - to address me as Mr Captain (now they must call me Mr Past Captain), there was a Captain's Chair/Throne in the Clubhouse - nobody else can sit in that! - & a Car Park Space specially marked & reserved, the ultimate golf status symbol. Even now, I bump into Members who call me Mr Kendall, though I'm never quite sure if their tongue is in their cheek. I rather hope it is, to be honest.

My Captain's year was punctured by illness which forced me to miss the last few months of the year, & I never returned. All a bit sad really, but my life has always been like that - I'm full on until the end, & once "that" moment arrives, I move on, never to be seen again. I did the same with snooker, & I daresay I'll do the same with poker one day. In fact, I can guarantee I will.

The whole Golf "chapter" in my life was engineered by John Kirkland (JNK), who thought it would make me more rounded as a person (not plump rounded, rounded rounded), & when I was made Captain he was as proud as anyone could ever be.

A golf Captain's year can be very expensive, you have to buy gifts & stuff for the Committee, & pay for prizes & stuff. The Captain pays for it personally, that's the tradition. JNK asked me what I planned to spend in my "year". "About £2,500" I told him. He gave me £5,000 there & then, & said "do it properly, but not excessively".

A Captain also, traditionally, supports a Charity, & I selected a local charity for a rare illness in which children do not physically grow, & they have associated behavioural problems. ("Retarded" would be the old-fashioned word, a word which so many cretinous dumbschmuck poker players find amusing). I gave them the whole £5,000 which JNK had given me, & limited my Captain's spending to a little over £1,000, so that was pretty neat really, all boxes neatly ticked.

In my Vice Captain & Captain's years I must have attended 130 or 140 formal golf dinners, ugh, they were horrendously stiff affairs. Tradition dictated everything. The Captain enters the formal Dining Room last, someone would announce "be upstanding for Mr Captain", who then sits down, & only then can everyone else sit down. And Grace - the Captain said Grace before every single meal. "For what we are about to receive, da de da de da, may we be truly grateful, Amen....."

After-Dinner Speeches, too. I wrote all my own, & I enjoyed writing them, & the oration of them, but in time, I just thought of a theme & some bullet points & done the whole thing off the cuff. I did them pretty well, too, I could "feel" if I had the audience just so. MUCH better that way, & it later served me well in a most unexpected way - in TV, of all things.

Who'd have thunk? I could neither read nor write until I was 13, & I had the most dreadful of stammers until I was 20. OMG, the memory of the shame I felt for being an adolescent stammerer & stutterer sends shivers down my spine even now, but it sure builds character.

Funny how things turn out, but I'd be lying if I said I were not quietly satisfied with how it all turned out, all things considered. Just wish I was not so bloody old, & the inevitable consequences of that.

PS - How did a one-line retort turn into that bunch of spiel?

Sure does........

You there this weekend Mr Past Captain? Hmmmmm....... I wonder if there's any lieage in that?

Sunday, yes, all being well. A private game in London tonight, Show tomorrow, DTD on Sunday probably, though I hear Luton have a decent Tourney too. But DTD almost certainly, & I'm meeting Thewy there as well.

Is "lieage" "mileage"?

And were you a stutterer & stammerer? Jeez, it is THE most God-awful thing.

At Junior School, they sussed that if I sung, I did not stutter. (It's true!). And in those days, in school class, if you wanted a wee, you had to put your hand up & ask. So I'd stick my hand up & then sing "Please Miss, I want to go to Wee". I never quite summoned the courage to heartily sing about bowel evacuations.

Will see you there then Mr Past Captain. Looking forward to it. I shall get your parking space ready.

Hmmm..... Yes mileage indeed. Don't know what happened there. Well done for picking it out.

Yes I was a stutterer and stammerer. It was horrible and to be honest I've still got a slight one now. There's just a few words that I struggle to put together in a particular order. It's strange really.

One sentence that I just can't say very well is "I'm an electrician". I have to say it very matter of factly, slowly and precisely. The other way around it is to start the sentence with a different word. "Me? I'm an electrician" for example. It's just a sentence that I struggle to get started. Weird.

[tikay]

And golf has such wonderful, weird & peculiar ways. Members had - HAD - to address me as Mr Captain (now they must call me Mr Past Captain

For someone who's never been called table Captain, even by your cat, that must have been quite nice.

I had the most dreadful of stammers until I was 20. OMG, the memory of the shame I felt for being an adolescent stammerer & stutterer sends shivers down my spine even now, but it sure builds character.

How did you get rid of it?

Also, loved the charity story. Nice touch.

Lol, but that was pre my Poker days.

Talking of "Table Captain", name me a WSOP Bracelet Winner who always announced upon arrival "Good Evening Ladies & Gentlemen, tonight I shall be your Table Captain". And what became of him?

[tikay]

And golf has such wonderful, weird & peculiar ways. Members had - HAD - to address me as Mr Captain (now they must call me Mr Past Captain

For someone who's never been called table Captain, even by your cat, that must have been quite nice.

I had the most dreadful of stammers until I was 20. OMG, the memory of the shame I felt for being an adolescent stammerer & stutterer sends shivers down my spine even now, but it sure builds character.

How did you get rid of it?

Also, loved the charity story. Nice touch.

It disappeared, quite literally (literally?) overnight, just like that. I was doing weight-training 3 or 4 times a week, which did my (non-existent) self-confidence a power of good, & one day I managed a bench-push of whatever - a PB - & I was so pleased with myself. The next morning, I had stopped stuttering - but it was days before I realised I had! It's like when someone shaves a tache off, you don't always notice. It just went. I can't begin to explain how much better life instantly became, but it was another decade or more before I had the confidence to speak to a girl.

My inability to read & write also cured itself, genuinely, overnight, though some years earlier. I just woke up one day & could read & write, what sort of a miracle was that? 3 months later, I won the School Spelling Bee. Funny how these things lodge in the memory as milestones in life.

I don't think I'm ready to discuss when I became cured of the bed-wetting yet.   Strangely, it was caused by exactly the same psychological problems & parental issues.

[tikay]

Respect to you Matt, I do know how dreadful that must have been. I cannot say I've noticed any trace of it now.

It's mental blocks, & weird how you cannot say "I'm an electrician" unless you take great care. Can you say "I'm a sparky" any easier?

[EvilPie]

Respect to you Matt, I do know how dreadful that must have been. I cannot say I've noticed any trace of it now.

It's mental blocks, & weird how you cannot say "I'm an electrician" unless you take great care. Can you say "I'm a sparky" any easier?

Lol yeah. That's one way around it but not everyone knows what it means

It's not a problem at all now. Like I say I can control it and there's only a few things that cause a problem. I hardly notice it myself unless someone asks what I do for a living. Damn careers advisors!!!!!!

I think it also helps that I'm quite a confident person so if I did stammer a little bit it wouldn't bother me. That makes it less likely that it'll happen in the first place.

[jakally]

I have lots to do this morning but seem to be getting distracted.............off for a while now, but keep writing Mr Kendall sir.
Fascinating stuff, I look forward to catching up later.

I was talking to someone I respect very much last night, who said they don't post on BP much now, as it's a place for the kidz.
I know where he's coming from but there seems to be lots of old fashioned, grown up topics and discussion in this bit of the forum, and not an ill mannered kid in sight.

[tikay]

Life - my life, anyway - is neatly divided into little compartments, & I don't like them to crossover.

Personal, blonde, Sky, APAT, etc.

If I could ever get them all to be tickity-boo at the same time it would be just wonderful, but it's rarely so. Usually blonde is the, err, thing in the woodpile.

The blonde issues have been well-chronicled for some time, so that box has not had many ticks lately, so there have been few days when the engine has fired cleanly on all 4 cylinders recently.

Yesterday was one of THE oddest days I can recall.

Something went off which ticked one box massively, & was devesatingly bad for another - & it was the same thing that caused those two contrasting emotions. Bitter-sweet if ever anything was.

The sweet bit will make the Poker Headlines very soon. The bitter bit will remain forever a secret.

[tikay]

I have lots to do this morning but seem to be getting distracted.............off for a while now, but keep writing Mr Kendall sir.Fascinating stuff, I look forward to catching up later.

I was talking to someone I respect very much last night, who said they don't post on BP much now, as it's a place for the kidz.
I know where he's coming from but there seems to be lots of old fashioned, grown up topics and discussion in this bit of the forum, and not an ill mannered kid in sight.

Behave Mr G, or I'll have you Banned. Again.....
.
For those not aware, Neil always addresses me, even at the poker table, as "Mr Kendall". He was a golfer at Ormonde, of course.

"Thank you for those chips Mr Kendall" is kinda odd, too.

[Longy]

And golf has such wonderful, weird & peculiar ways. Members had - HAD - to address me as Mr Captain (now they must call me Mr Past Captain

For someone who's never been called table Captain, even by your cat, that must have been quite nice.

I had the most dreadful of stammers until I was 20. OMG, the memory of the shame I felt for being an adolescent stammerer & stutterer sends shivers down my spine even now, but it sure builds character.

How did you get rid of it?

Also, loved the charity story. Nice touch.

Lol, but that was pre my Poker days.

Talking of "Table Captain", name me a WSOP Bracelet Winner who always announced upon arrival "Good Evening Ladies & Gentlemen, tonight I shall be your Table Captain". And what became of him?

Brian Wilson?

[tikay]

I have lots to do this morning but seem to be getting distracted.............off for a while now, but keep writing Mr Kendall sir.
Fascinating stuff, I look forward to catching up later.

I was talking to someone I respect very much last night, who said they don't post on BP much now, as it's a place for the kidz.
I know where he's coming from but there seems to be lots of old fashioned, grown up topics and discussion in this bit of the forum, and not an ill mannered kid in sight.

There is no reason why I, or anyone else, would not Post here because it's a place for "kidz". There is a correlation between not Posting or contributing because of ill-mannered & insensistive nonsense.

And if you saw some of the stuff the Mods have had to Delete recently, that'd make sense. It's positively disgusting, some of it, even allowing for the different senses of humour* that young & old have. And most of it came from "non-Kids". Physically, not mentally.

I'm really torn about this place, & the uttely classless & insensitive remarks we see daily. And the lovely stuff some peeps work hard to contribute. Read Chompy's Luton League thread - it epitomises blonde as I want it to be.

Bitter-sweet again, see?

[tikay]

And golf has such wonderful, weird & peculiar ways. Members had - HAD - to address me as Mr Captain (now they must call me Mr Past Captain

For someone who's never been called table Captain, even by your cat, that must have been quite nice.

I had the most dreadful of stammers until I was 20. OMG, the memory of the shame I felt for being an adolescent stammerer & stutterer sends shivers down my spine even now, but it sure builds character.

How did you get rid of it?

Also, loved the charity story. Nice touch.

Lol, but that was pre my Poker days.

Talking of "Table Captain", name me a WSOP Bracelet Winner who always announced upon arrival "Good Evening Ladies & Gentlemen, tonight I shall be your Table Captain". And what became of him?

Brian Wilson?

Correct. And well done for not answering my rather un-necessary supplementary.

[Longy]

And golf has such wonderful, weird & peculiar ways. Members had - HAD - to address me as Mr Captain (now they must call me Mr Past Captain

For someone who's never been called table Captain, even by your cat, that must have been quite nice.

I had the most dreadful of stammers until I was 20. OMG, the memory of the shame I felt for being an adolescent stammerer & stutterer sends shivers down my spine even now, but it sure builds character.

How did you get rid of it?

Also, loved the charity story. Nice touch.

Lol, but that was pre my Poker days.

Talking of "Table Captain", name me a WSOP Bracelet Winner who always announced upon arrival "Good Evening Ladies & Gentlemen, tonight I shall be your Table Captain". And what became of him?

Brian Wilson?

Correct. And well done for not answering my rather un-necessary supplementary.

I think it has been pretty well documented what happened to him so I left it. I am sure he is not the only one from that era on the poker circuit to go the same way.

[tikay]

And golf has such wonderful, weird & peculiar ways. Members had - HAD - to address me as Mr Captain (now they must call me Mr Past Captain

For someone who's never been called table Captain, even by your cat, that must have been quite nice.

I had the most dreadful of stammers until I was 20. OMG, the memory of the shame I felt for being an adolescent stammerer & stutterer sends shivers down my spine even now, but it sure builds character.

How did you get rid of it?

Also, loved the charity story. Nice touch.

Lol, but that was pre my Poker days.

Talking of "Table Captain", name me a WSOP Bracelet Winner who always announced upon arrival "Good Evening Ladies & Gentlemen, tonight I shall be your Table Captain". And what became of him?

Brian Wilson?

Correct. And well done for not answering my rather un-necessary supplementary.

I think it has been pretty well documented what happened to him so I left it. I am sure he is not the only one from that era on the poker circuit to go the same way.

Correct. That era? A lot more might - will - already have? - go that way soon, too.

I've never known the poker economy to be so debt-laden, so reliant on credit in it's various guises.

The world economy failed because of excess credit, Dubai followed, don't be surprised if Poker gets a black eye very soon. I've never known so many people in hock over poker, & in my little circle, I'm aware of several Bankruptcies, all gambling-related, this year alone. It's terribly sad, in my view, almost everyone wants to play beyond their means, & the game, & gambling generally, is so horrendously addictive.

And I'm not moralising here, as I've done some seriously daft gambling things down the years which I'm ashamed of. But now, at last, I've reached a calm & happy place in poker where I play for small-change, & I've never enjoyed the game so much, ever.

[Longy]

And golf has such wonderful, weird & peculiar ways. Members had - HAD - to address me as Mr Captain (now they must call me Mr Past Captain

For someone who's never been called table Captain, even by your cat, that must have been quite nice.

I had the most dreadful of stammers until I was 20. OMG, the memory of the shame I felt for being an adolescent stammerer & stutterer sends shivers down my spine even now, but it sure builds character.

How did you get rid of it?

Also, loved the charity story. Nice touch.

Lol, but that was pre my Poker days.

Talking of "Table Captain", name me a WSOP Bracelet Winner who always announced upon arrival "Good Evening Ladies & Gentlemen, tonight I shall be your Table Captain". And what became of him?

Brian Wilson?

Correct. And well done for not answering my rather un-necessary supplementary.

I think it has been pretty well documented what happened to him so I left it. I am sure he is not the only one from that era on the poker circuit to go the same way.

Correct. That era? A lot more might - will - already have? - go that way soon, too.

I've never known the poker economy to be so debt-laden, so reliant on credit in it's various guises.

The world economy failed because of excess credit, Dubai followed, don't be surprised if Poker gets a black eye very soon. I've never known so many people in hock over poker, & in my little circle, I'm aware of several Bankruptcies, all gambling-related, this year alone. It's terribly sad, in my view, almost everyone wants to play beyond their means, & the game, & gambling generally, is so horrendously addictive.

And I'm not moralising here, as I've done some seriously daft gambling things down the years which I'm ashamed of. But now, at last, I've reached a calm & happy place in poker where I play for small-change, & I've never enjoyed the game so much, ever.

Regarding era, he had some notable successes in 2005, in poker terms it is virtually the dark ages. The standard of play in those tournament and side games, is much higher now especially with the young internet generation coming through that a lot of the old school probably found their games inadequate to cope.

Of course people will go bust in the poker world all the time, for poker and other off the table reasons.