Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[AndrewT]

One very kind blonde sent me a PM & explained how I could ease the pain. There really are some very kind & thoughtful souls around.

Are you referring to me sending you the link to Dignitas?

[tikay]

One very kind blonde sent me a PM & explained how I could ease the pain. There really are some very kind & thoughtful souls around.

Are you referring to me sending you the link to Dignitas?

Yes, you odious twerp.

Excellent work, as always, Mr T.

Pretty interesting subject that, actually, but probably not ideal blonde material. In short, I just hope I'm taken suddenly, no warning, ideally in the middle of the night. It would be so dreadful if it happened in a public place, with everybody seeing it, & fussing around. Or just slink away quietly & lay down to die, like elephants do, no fuss, job done.

[AndrewT]

It would be so dreadful if it happened in a public place

There's a joke here about you having already died many times whilst presenting on Sky Poker.

with everybody seeing it

Or maybe not.

[scotty77]

Just get into the habit of putting your phone into flight mode before you sleep.

Alarm will still work fine.

I hope the bad back wasn't caused by an Ice Skating accident?

[tikay]

Just get into the habit of putting your phone into flight mode before you sleep.

Alarm will still work fine.

I hope the bad back wasn't caused by an Ice Skating accident?

Very good, but no......

For those not in Show-Business, like Ryan & I.....


Big Sky, at Osterley, have built a WHOLE ICE RINK - proper job, ice & everything - to celebrate Christmas.

And every week, I have to record a little piece to camera about the UKPC, just for You Tube puff, & we generally do it here in Osterley. (Not next week though, we'll do that in Nottingham). 

And so the suggestion arose, inevitably. "He can do the piece whilst ice-skating, that'd look good". Quite so. I seem to recall it was at that exact moment that my back started giving me gip. Not as daft as I look, you know.

Good luck in Prague, Ryan.

[tikay]

I must tell you about a wonderful day I had recently, at the Dorchester Hotel.

It was graced by all the Beautiful People, & the Good & Great of Horse Racing. Amongst those present were Sir Terry Wogan, Sir Peter O'Sullivan, Lady Oaksey, Lord Harewood, Lord Channing, Frankie Dettori, Martin Pipe, Claire Baldwin, Graham Bradley, Sean Boyce, John McCririck, & more Lords & Lady Mucks than enough.

It was proper posh, & I felt extremely awkward. But I still treasured every minute of it.

I've never been to The Dorchester before, wow, it is super swish & posh.

Outside, guarding the entrance, it has THE most beautifully sited plane tree, been there since 1931.

Here it is in 1931, but it has filled out magnificently in the intervening 80 odd years.  It is, officially, one of "The Great Trees of London".

More about the occasion follows, shorlty, or when I find the time.

Click to see full-size image.

[tikay]

Meanwhile......

She never looked quite as self-assured & confident yesterday.

[tikay]

So, back at The Dorchester.

It began with a champagne reception, with 500 Guests mingling in an ante-room with dreadful acoustics, all talking at once. hubbub.

I felt dreadfully ill at ease, & awkward, but the people were SO very interesting. We sort of got ushered towards the Claire Baldwin set, which was rather exciting - I'm a big fan of her - but just as we got there, she turned & moved on. Bugger.

Anyway, then the meal began. Tables of 9, all laid out military style. All our names on a big seating map. The only person I knew on our table, Lord Channing excepted, was Olivia, from Sky Sports news. She pretended not to recognise me.


 

[tikay]

The meal was, surprisingly, quite edible.

First up was a starter, sort of pate stuff, though it had a posh name.

Then the Main, which was also very posh, but really it was meat & potatoes, very good too.

Afters was a sort of piece of cake.

Then cakes were delivered, including mince pies, the smallest cakes you ever saw - same size as a half-crown I'd say.

All the courses were teeny-weeny servings on a HUGE plate. Why do they do that big plate thing, I wonder?

The most fascinating thing, though, was the waiters & waitresses, & how they served each course.

As if by signal, FIVE of them arrived at once, at every table simultaneously, & spaced themselves around the circular tables, all exactly equidistant from each other, all holding two plates at exactly the same height & position - & there they stood, motionless, perfectly still & to attention......

There must have been a Chief Waiterer & the rest were underlings, as without any bodily movement, but with their eyes all loooking at the Chief one, they awaited the signal, a signal unspoken & unseen to the rest of us. And then, instantly, almost mechanically, every plate was placed on the table at the very same instant. To remove the plates after, rinse repeat.

How on earth, in this day & age, do they train people to perform like that? I'd have thought that impossible. It was like an Army drill, perfect in every way.

I'm actually not sure if I rather be posh, & served like that, or poor, & be a waiter, but with pride in my work.

Anyway, it was a wonderfully memorable day, & I must thank Lord Grumpy for the invite.

Fortunately, I never got into conversation with many folks, as once Lord G starts talking, opportunities to interject are far & few between.

The next day, back at home, it was back to Tesco chicken breasts & tinned toms. What a life I lead. 

[david3103]

Was it this Clare Baldwin? (sp)

Click to see full-size image.

She was the castaway on D I D today and the snippets I heard confirmed her as being a genuinely straightforward person. I'm looking forward to hearing the whole programme via podcast.

[tikay]

Was it this Clare Baldwin? (sp)

Click to see full-size image.

Ahh, a spelling correction.

Glad you enjoyed the tale, though. 

[tikay]

Whoops, I missed the Edit.

She is this week's subject on D-I-D? Wonderful news, thank you!

I make a point of catching the Sunday morning repeat, for some reason I much prefer that.

She is becoming TV Royalty, & I think she thoroughly deserves it. She really works hard to prepare her stuff, as did Sir Peter.

Quite a successful family, one way & another.

I never saw her in convo with Mr McCririck, interestingly. He is, it would appear by his apparel, currently appearing in Panto.

[bobAlike]

Great write up TIkay. I once attended a wedding at the Dorchester with the same ceremonial service, nice as a one off but a bit too regimented.

[tikay]

Great write up TIkay. I once attended a wedding at the Dorchester with the same ceremonial service, nice as a one off but a bit too regimented.

Ooh, that reminds me - are you still in Washington DC?

I am glad you Posted, as it made me think of something related to those photos you Posted.

BRB.....

[david3103]

Was it this Clare Baldwin? (sp)

Click to see full-size image.

Ahh, a spelling correction.

Glad you enjoyed the tale, though. 

I loved the tale.
Dinner being served that way makes it all an experience. There is something theatrical about it that heightens the pleasure.

I caught a programme on R4 recently where they talked with a psychologist about the way in which the utensils we use and the plates we eat from change our perception of the tastes.
Possibly this one, http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01lsts3