Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[Dingdell]

So Mr Kendall very kindly offers to drive me to my hotel on Saturday night as I was carless and it was late, snowing and he was concerned for my safety. (What a nice chap).

Concerned that I shoudn't offend him by refusing I thanked him and waited, and waited and waited while he played cash, ordered food, waited for it to arrive, ate said food and then proceeded to play more poker.

Eventually he noticed my red rimmed eyes, profuse yawning and extreme tiredness and we left in a blizard into Notts city centre. Half an hour later we are still driving around the ring road (for the fourth time) trying to find the hotel. Admittedly the weather is bad and it's not great visability but we are managing to make polite ocnversation, and he manages not to swear as he gets flashed by a camera as he accidentally drives through a red light.

We go around the ring road again and we are now at the stage of stopping at all road signs to peer at them through the windscreen wipers, and almost always seem to then go the wrong way. The man who runs the burger bar at the bottom of the flyover is now on my christmas list as he waved to us on our third and fourth run past.

Managing to stop at the traffic lights this time we are sitting there waiting for them to change to green. I say to Tikay "It's a times like this you wish you had a sat nav."

He turns to me with an incredulous look on his face, the penny having just dropped. "Oh he says, I've got sat nav"

Oh how I laughed.....

But did you know the address? (Rhetorical). Or the PostCode? (ditto).

What a bloody nightmare Nottingham Town Centre's road system is!

You cant ask rhetorical questions that demand an answer...the answer is yes - it was at the bottom of my bag .

[KingPoker]

So Mr Kendall very kindly offers to drive me to my hotel on Saturday night as I was carless and it was late, snowing and he was concerned for my safety. (What a nice chap).

Concerned that I shoudn't offend him by refusing I thanked him and waited, and waited and waited while he played cash, ordered food, waited for it to arrive, ate said food and then proceeded to play more poker.

Eventually he noticed my red rimmed eyes, profuse yawning and extreme tiredness and we left in a blizard into Notts city centre. Half an hour later we are still driving around the ring road (for the fourth time) trying to find the hotel. Admittedly the weather is bad and it's not great visability but we are managing to make polite ocnversation, and he manages not to swear as he gets flashed by a camera as he accidentally drives through a red light.

We go around the ring road again and we are now at the stage of stopping at all road signs to peer at them through the windscreen wipers, and almost always seem to then go the wrong way. The man who runs the burger bar at the bottom of the flyover is now on my christmas list as he waved to us on our third and fourth run past.

Managing to stop at the traffic lights this time we are sitting there waiting for them to change to green. I say to Tikay "It's a times like this you wish you had a sat nav."

He turns to me with an incredulous look on his face, the penny having just dropped. "Oh he says, I've got sat nav"

Oh how I laughed.....

But did you know the address? (Rhetorical). Or the PostCode? (ditto).

What a bloody nightmare Nottingham Town Centre's road system is!

At least you got a ride (oooerr!) in a clean and tidy Beemer 

[Laxie]

And in a month's time the whole blinkin lot of us will be trying to find our way around the place.  At least we can wave to each other in the round about.   

[Dingdell]

And in a month's time the whole blinkin lot of us will be trying to find our way around the place.  At least we can wave to each other in the round about.   

Blonde convoy!

[tikay]

And in a month's time the whole blinkin lot of us will be trying to find our way around the place.  At least we can wave to each other in the round about.   

We passed the Burger Bar 4 times, & the Ice Rink 9 times, & never once could I (we?) find the bloody Victoria Centre, which is like, HUGE. Unbelievable. Took over an hour from DTD to the Vic Centre - about 3 miles, at 3am.

[DesD]

And in a month's time the whole blinkin lot of us will be trying to find our way around the place.  At least we can wave to each other in the round about.   

We passed the Burger Bar 4 times, & the Ice Rink 9 times, & never once could I (we?) find the bloody Victoria Centre, which is like, HUGE. Unbelievable. Took over an hour from DTD to the Vic Centre - about 3 miles, at 3am.

You have just gotta laugh at that....still no danger of going hungry in that car.....back seat takeaway.....Mmmmmm.....

[Laxie]

I'm thinking taxis are a good thing now.

[Dingdell]

And in a month's time the whole blinkin lot of us will be trying to find our way around the place.  At least we can wave to each other in the round about.   

We passed the Burger Bar 4 times, & the Ice Rink 9 times, & never once could I (we?) find the bloody Victoria Centre, which is like, HUGE. Unbelievable. Took over an hour from DTD to the Vic Centre - about 3 miles, at 3am.

You have just gotta laugh at that....still no danger of going hungry in that car.....back seat takeaway.....Mmmmmm.....

I think Tikay was trying to run out of petrol......

[tikay]

And in a month's time the whole blinkin lot of us will be trying to find our way around the place.  At least we can wave to each other in the round about.   

We passed the Burger Bar 4 times, & the Ice Rink 9 times, & never once could I (we?) find the bloody Victoria Centre, which is like, HUGE. Unbelievable. Took over an hour from DTD to the Vic Centre - about 3 miles, at 3am.

You have just gotta laugh at that....still no danger of going hungry in that car.....back seat takeaway.....Mmmmmm.....

Steady on Des, I cleaned it out. Would you believe I completely filled a full-size wheely-bin with crisp packets, cardboard coffee mugs & sandwich packs? I had to, for it's last Service. They valet it, see, so you can't send it there dirty, can you?

I just remembered, I'm 2,000 miles overdue for it's next service - I dread to look in the back, it must be half-full again. I think the accumulated deleterious matter in the back is the Service indicator. One wheely-bin full = 30,000 mile service.

[Longy]

And in a month's time the whole blinkin lot of us will be trying to find our way around the place.  At least we can wave to each other in the round about.   

We passed the Burger Bar 4 times, & the Ice Rink 9 times, & never once could I (we?) find the bloody Victoria Centre, which is like, HUGE. Unbelievable. Took over an hour from DTD to the Vic Centre - about 3 miles, at 3am.

Lol, how is this possible?

[Dingdell]

And in a month's time the whole blinkin lot of us will be trying to find our way around the place.  At least we can wave to each other in the round about.   

We passed the Burger Bar 4 times, & the Ice Rink 9 times, & never once could I (we?) find the bloody Victoria Centre, which is like, HUGE. Unbelievable. Took over an hour from DTD to the Vic Centre - about 3 miles, at 3am.

Lol, how is this possible?

At first it was funny.....seriously the burger man said he feels he knows Tikay so well he's going to call his next child after him.... (I may have made some of that up)

[tikay]

And in a month's time the whole blinkin lot of us will be trying to find our way around the place.  At least we can wave to each other in the round about.   

We passed the Burger Bar 4 times, & the Ice Rink 9 times, & never once could I (we?) find the bloody Victoria Centre, which is like, HUGE. Unbelievable. Took over an hour from DTD to the Vic Centre - about 3 miles, at 3am.

Lol, how is this possible?

Search me. And you know what? I first discovered the beauty of Nottingham in the seventies, when I was a sub-contractor on what was, at the time Europe's largest ever Shopping Centre & Car Pak - the Victoria Centre. And I played much of my snooker in the Lace Market, in John Singh's Club. (What a story John Singh & David Singh was!). And I stayed at the VERY Hotel that Dingdell was in hundreds of times over many years.

And I still could not find it. I bet we did 6 laps of the bloody Broadmarsh. There's a nightclub there, opposite the Broadmarch, by the Burger Bar, used to be called Barry Somebody or others - can't recall his name, but he owned The Vic Casino (Nottingham) many years ago, & a bunch of Betting Shops, & he was not a man to be messed with.

Perhaps someone can jog my memory now. The Hotel by The Vic is now a Hilton, but it used to be otherwise branded. Can anyone remind me what it used to be called? It had a "Guinness Clock" outside, too, anyone remember those?

[Longy]

And in a month's time the whole blinkin lot of us will be trying to find our way around the place.  At least we can wave to each other in the round about.   

We passed the Burger Bar 4 times, & the Ice Rink 9 times, & never once could I (we?) find the bloody Victoria Centre, which is like, HUGE. Unbelievable. Took over an hour from DTD to the Vic Centre - about 3 miles, at 3am.

Lol, how is this possible?

Search me. And you know what? I first discovered the beauty of Nottingham in the seventies, when I was a sub-contractor on what was, at the time Europe's largest ever Shopping Centre & Car Pak - the Victoria Centre. And I played much of my snooker in the Lace Market, in John Singh's Club. (What a story John Singh & David Singh was!). And I stayed at the VERY Hotel that Dingdell was in hundreds of times over many years.

And I still could not find it. I bet we did 6 laps of the bloody Broadmarsh. There's a nightclub there, opposite the Broadmarch, by the Burger Bar, used to be called Barry Somebody or others - can't recall his name, but he owned The Vic Casino (Nottingham) many years ago, & a bunch of Betting Shops, & he was not a man to be messed with.

Perhaps someone can jog my memory now. The Hotel by The Vic is now a Hilton, but it used to be otherwise branded. Can anyone remind me what it used to be called? It had a "Guinness Clock" outside, too, anyone remember those?

I know the burger van, oh too well. Though i hope you didn't have a burger from there, a good friend of mine found a stone in her burger one night.

Unfortunately that burger van is on the exact other side of the city centre from the vic centre.

[Karabiner]

And in a month's time the whole blinkin lot of us will be trying to find our way around the place.  At least we can wave to each other in the round about.   

We passed the Burger Bar 4 times, & the Ice Rink 9 times, & never once could I (we?) find the bloody Victoria Centre, which is like, HUGE. Unbelievable. Took over an hour from DTD to the Vic Centre - about 3 miles, at 3am.

Lol, how is this possible?

Search me. And you know what? I first discovered the beauty of Nottingham in the seventies, when I was a sub-contractor on what was, at the time Europe's largest ever Shopping Centre & Car Pak - the Victoria Centre. And I played much of my snooker in the Lace Market, in John Singh's Club. (What a story John Singh & David Singh was!). And I stayed at the VERY Hotel that Dingdell was in hundreds of times over many years.

And I still could not find it. I bet we did 6 laps of the bloody Broadmarsh. There's a nightclub there, opposite the Broadmarch, by the Burger Bar, used to be called Barry Somebody or others - can't recall his name, but he owned The Vic Casino (Nottingham) many years ago, & a bunch of Betting Shops, & he was not a man to be messed with.

Perhaps someone can jog my memory now. The Hotel by The Vic is now a Hilton, but it used to be otherwise branded. Can anyone remind me what it used to be called? It had a "Guinness Clock" outside, too, anyone remember those?

It was George Aitkin who owned the original "Victoria Club" before it was taken over by Stakis and moved to Maid Marion Way and he also had a string of betting shops, perhaps fifteen or twenty in and around Nottingham. He started off as a barrow-boy and then progressed to being in charge of controlling market pitches which he did with ruthless efficiency. Having attained a modicum of financial security he then sent both of his sons to Eton.

The nightclub to which you refer was owned by the guy who had all the amusement arcades and who's name escapes me for the moment.

[tikay]

And in a month's time the whole blinkin lot of us will be trying to find our way around the place.  At least we can wave to each other in the round about.   

We passed the Burger Bar 4 times, & the Ice Rink 9 times, & never once could I (we?) find the bloody Victoria Centre, which is like, HUGE. Unbelievable. Took over an hour from DTD to the Vic Centre - about 3 miles, at 3am.

Lol, how is this possible?

Search me. And you know what? I first discovered the beauty of Nottingham in the seventies, when I was a sub-contractor on what was, at the time Europe's largest ever Shopping Centre & Car Pak - the Victoria Centre. And I played much of my snooker in the Lace Market, in John Singh's Club. (What a story John Singh & David Singh was!). And I stayed at the VERY Hotel that Dingdell was in hundreds of times over many years.

And I still could not find it. I bet we did 6 laps of the bloody Broadmarsh. There's a nightclub there, opposite the Broadmarch, by the Burger Bar, used to be called Barry Somebody or others - can't recall his name, but he owned The Vic Casino (Nottingham) many years ago, & a bunch of Betting Shops, & he was not a man to be messed with.

Perhaps someone can jog my memory now. The Hotel by The Vic is now a Hilton, but it used to be otherwise branded. Can anyone remind me what it used to be called? It had a "Guinness Clock" outside, too, anyone remember those?

It was George Aitkin who owned the original "Victoria Club" before it was taken over by Stakis and moved to Maid Marion Way and he also had a string of betting shops, perhaps fifteen or twenty in and around Nottingham. He started off as a barrow-boy and then progressed to being in charge of controlling market pitches which he did with ruthless efficiency. Having attained a modicum of financial security he then sent both of his sons to Eton.

The nightclub to which you refer was owned by the guy who had all the amusement arcades and who's name escapes me for the moment.

Ahh, of course, yes, George Aitken. A legend. Nobody messed with George's money.

The Nightclub was deffo Barry somebody. Or something else somebody, but I think it was Barry.

Thanks Ralph. And the original name of what is now The Hilton?