Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[Doobs]

congrats Tony and Merry Christmas all.

And you David.

Home with the family? The girls had a lovely day?

Had to take over all the cooking and we have all argued over monopoly.  They are back on their phones, as am I, wouldn't swap it.  Much better than last year anyway.  My eldest is a giant now, 14 and catching me up rapidly. 

Thought you would be seeing out your days somewhere isolated near the west coast of Scotland.  Love it up there, but would likely be miserable if I ever did it.   

Will I be seeing you in Vegas in June?   

[tikay]

congrats Tony and Merry Christmas all.

And you David.

Home with the family? The girls had a lovely day?

Had to take over all the cooking and we have all argued over monopoly.  They are back on their phones, as am I, wouldn't swap it.  Much better than last year anyway.  My eldest is a giant now, 14 and catching me up rapidly. 

Thought you would be seeing out your days somewhere isolated near the west coast of Scotland.  Love it up there, but would likely be miserable if I ever did it.   

Will I be seeing you in Vegas in June?   

Well that's the plan...

The COVID uncertainty is such a pain. Been to Vegas every summer since around 2003, & Gill has been with me the last 7 or 8 times. We love it to bits. So swerving it in '20 & '21 was a bit of a bugger really.

Watch this space I suppose, but it seems a bit optimistic right now.

Fingers crossed.

[Karabiner]

If I'd known you were local again I'd have invited you over.

I barely made a dent in the rib of beef and had a couple of spare Yorkshires - we'd have been scrapping over the roasties though..

[tikay]

Blimey Ralph, you've still got it, that looks gorgeous.

Just had my dinner actually. Somewhere between disaster & triumph.

[tikay]

And now, the best part of Xmas Day - the Boxing Day Test, live from Melbourne. Start delayed until midnight by rain. BT Sport coverage is utterly dreadful, but it's better than nothing.

Bloody love Test cricket. Shame we are shite at the mo.

[vegaslover]

Merry xmas TK
Great to read the updates about IRL stuff and to read you are doing well

[nirvana]

Hackney Marshes, London, 1951. 88 football pitches all in the same place.
The Home of Sunday League football.

What memories Boo.

There was a similar but smaller version at Wormwood Scrubs, right next to the prison, in fact that is where the Prison got it's name.

Hope you & the family are in good health & heart. We gotta go play some poker soon, right?

Click to see full-size image.

 

Merry Xmas all, remember both these places as places for sunday morning football as well as a  helluva trek to Clapham common, The scrubs was the most convenient for me travelling from Colindale.

Kicked around these places when I first moved to London in 1979, was a relief to then start playing at clubs with their own pitches a couple of years later

[nirvana]

And now, the best part of Xmas Day - the Boxing Day Test, live from Melbourne. Start delayed until midnight by rain. BT Sport coverage is utterly dreadful, but it's better than nothing.

Bloody love Test cricket. Shame we are shite at the mo.

Haha, stayed up excitedly to watch this. Something I love about looking at sunny Australia from a dark night here. Didn't take long for the shine to wear off, as per !

[doubleup]

happy xmas tikay and all

[Kid Grimsby]

 Hi Tony,

Great to see all the posts this morning after a full-on family Christmas Day, and moving back "up North" is a great move, less than
an hour to Leeds. The family has all been to DTD to play in a Friday night Bounty Hunter, and it was great for us all to get out together.

  As you know we play Redtooth Poker on a Sunday, and the tournament director is 40 in April, and what started as 8 people going to celebrate, it
has ballooned to around 20 and counting. Being of mature years Sue and are going as the advanced party on the 1st of April, to scout out the best
15 bars for an all day Urban Ramble, we've a list of just over 30 to reconnoitre.

We are staying in the Venetian as Sue wants to play in a few of their tournaments.

[Marky147]

Happy Xmas Tikay & all inhabitants itt 🍻

[KarmaDope]

Given your move back up North sir, can I tempt you in pulling on the blonde shirt one last time and play an APAT with us in the forum event at DTD?

[4KSuited]

Natterly was on Radio 5 Live’s Monday Night football show. Clearly not her first appearance, since it was obvious that all the presenters and guests were giving her plenty of respect for her knowledge and views on Burnley FC. Well played, Natterly....

She's very accomplished at that sort of thing. Writes a football column for the local newspaper - Lancashire Telegraph or somesuch - & does the Official Burnley FC Podcast, "No, Nay Never".

Here she is, giving it large. Dodgy accent, mind.







She's just back from Vegas, where she cashed in the Little One Drop. Still keeps in touch of course.


You OK mate?

Hi Tony

Sorry for the late reply - only just caught up with the thread today (on a quiet day at T5 - but yes, there are still a lot of nutters traveling long haul on NYE)

My year has been a little like yours, in terms of moving home (I moved a little further south, to Windsor, and enjoying my new surroundings) and shedding a few kilos - down from 75 to 72kgs - as a result of a better diet and more exercise.

Unlike you, I am now finally divorced (hence the move), and feel like a very heavy weight has been removed.... hmmm, maybe that’s the source of the weight loss? I still pass some time with BA at LHR, but as every day passes I feel more tempted to pack it all in. Maybe it’s because I haven’t traveled anywhere for over 2 years now. I had planned a trip to Ireland for a festival in Galway next month, but I think that’s going to be toast. However, I am desperate enough to carry out my plan to go to Vegas in April - mainly because it’s a timeshare week, and I need to replenish my wardrobe (my waist has shrunk).

Oh, and I managed to come down with Covid symptoms on the day after my booster in November. Of course I thought it was just a bad reaction, but decided to get a RFT done, only then to discover the bad news. I got away with a very mild version of it, and even got back to eating within a week - I can’t eat when I can’t taste anything...

Jeez, this feels like a big derail of your thread, but there’s quite a few other Blondes who know me irl but who won’t be totally up to date on all this news, but I’ll close it off here.

Delighted to read all your updates with all the good news. Here’s hoping we can all get together safely in 2022

[Tal]

https://www.nationalbadmintonmuseum.com/sir-george-thomas-a-legend-as-a-player-administrator-and-gentlemen/

Leonard Barden's chess column in today's Guardian refers in passing to Sir George. Thought you'd enjoy this rabbit hole.

[Tal]

Thought you might appreciate this, tikay.

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/nostalgia/birminghams-new-street-station-more-22963398.amp