Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[Enut]

Afternoon Tikay, Essexphil and anyone else who may or may not know me....

Well we won the tennis, a close game, we lost the first set 6.4 (having been a break up), won the second 6.2 and then won the 10 point tie break decider 10.7. I didn't play very well but my partner played excellently, I'm thinking of buying him a rucksack so he will find it easier to carry me next time! It's always nice to beat two of the club coaches in the club tournament although these were youngsters (19 and 25ish) and will only get better, on the other hand my doubles partner is 35 and I'm 59 (and 'high mileage') and I will only get older, slower and worse, so I suspect it may be different if we play them again next year.

Tikay I suspect you are indeed confusing me with Tomgoodun, we were both in Vegas that year and I know he has played the SPT Brighton event. I am slightly younger and better looking though . Wouldn't it be great if he showed up here? I miss his updates on his family and I hope they are all doing well. I'm sure this little story will make you feel better anyway Tikay -  I went to my cousin's house yesterday evening to watch the boxing, my cousin told me that a few months ago his eldest son had asked if he was related to me, he knew he was related to my mum but didn't know if he was related to me! I've been his 'uncle Paul' all his life, he's 28! I can certainly forgive you not getting all my details spot on, you literally dealt with thousands of poker player over the years, and you're not my nephew!     

If you want to see a Heron get his comeuppance have a look for videos of otters and herons. Otters are lovely animals but too many have been released and they are spreading like wildfire. If they find their way to a lake near you then they will eat the fish first and then start on the birdlife, they are very much an apex predator in the UK and also protected so there is little you can other than otter fence your water and hope they don't get inside the fence. Otter v heron is not even a close match!

[EssexPhil]

Well done.

By way of contrast, here is my only tennis story.

Went to one of those Public Schools that was exceptional academically, but dreamed of having great Rugby players. And has a brilliant "old Boy" network. To pit that into a bit of context, it went co-ed shortly after I left. And the words of the School song was changed from "Floreat Pueri" (let the Boys flourish) to "Floreat discipuli" (let the Students flourish). Until the Girls led a campaign insisting it be changed back.

So-just before an Old Boys Day. I had had delusions of mediocrity on a Tennis Court. And an old Teacher asked if I fancied playing Doubles with a mate against 2 Girls-1 then a 6th Former, the other a former pupil.

Fortunately for me, I keep up to date with my old school. Didn't fancy playing against Sam Smith and Mandy Wainwright-then the British Numbers 1 and 2. Think they found 2 other mugs to get eviscerated

Tom Goodun. Lovely man. Met him and various of his family at SPT Brighton

[Rod Paradise]

Finally, on a sidenote to Monday's golf, Ralph offered us a Lion Bar to share between us, said it had been in his bag a year or more & had frozen/melted loads of times. Looked it too, had a sort of white bloom on it.

Well, I've not really eaten chocolate for 30 or 40 years but it was bloody lovely, I must say.

You should try one. A new product apparently.

Just makes me think of Caddyshack & laugh 

[Rod Paradise]

Re Clapton, as the occasional lefty visitor (formerly regular) I don't think he's suitable for Glastonbury & think he'd face a bit of opposition. He's made excuses for his rant, but never apologised. Even when making the excuses he still managed to say that Enoch Powell was the only politician suitable to run the country.

He stayed well away from politics until Covid when he became an antivaxxer, with reason I suppose as the vaccine is thought to have inflamed an autoimmune condition he has. But posing for pictures with Greg Abbott and other Trump accolytes doesn't do him any favours.

Rolling Stone did a long article about him back during Covid, which covers his issues fairly well IMO.

[Elliot]

He stayed well away from politics until Covid when he became an antivaxxer, with reason I suppose as the vaccine is thought to have inflamed an autoimmune condition he has. But posing for pictures with Greg Abbott and other Trump accolytes doesn't do him any favours.

He had one dose of (one of the various...) vaccine, and then a second later on and had a severe reaction to that, a really nasty reaction, and then just told what had happened to him. It's not quite the same as being an 'anti-vaxxer'. A lot of the thicker press went with that line though cuz that's what they do.

[Rod Paradise]

He stayed well away from politics until Covid when he became an antivaxxer, with reason I suppose as the vaccine is thought to have inflamed an autoimmune condition he has. But posing for pictures with Greg Abbott and other Trump accolytes doesn't do him any favours.

He had one dose of (one of the various...) vaccine, and then a second later on and had a severe reaction to that, a really nasty reaction, and then just told what had happened to him. It's not quite the same as being an 'anti-vaxxer'. A lot of the thicker press went with that line though cuz that's what they do.

He donated to an anti-vax group, released an anti-vax record, refused to perform where they were checking vax records, taking things a bit further than just telling what happened to him.

In the end it's everyone's personal choice whether they listen to him or not, I wasn't a huge fan anyway.

[Pokerpops]

He stayed well away from politics until Covid when he became an antivaxxer, with reason I suppose as the vaccine is thought to have inflamed an autoimmune condition he has. But posing for pictures with Greg Abbott and other Trump accolytes doesn't do him any favours.

He had one dose of (one of the various...) vaccine, and then a second later on and had a severe reaction to that, a really nasty reaction, and then just told what had happened to him. It's not quite the same as being an 'anti-vaxxer'. A lot of the thicker press went with that line though cuz that's what they do.

He donated to an anti-vax group, released an anti-vax record, refused to perform where they were checking vax records, taking things a bit further than just telling what happened to him.

In the end it's everyone's personal choice whether they listen to him or not, I wasn't a huge fan anyway.

I don’t agree with the political stance of a lot of musicians or comedians but that doesn’t stop me from appreciating them. I really appreciate what Clapton has done musically and it would take more than a 30yr old rant and an understandable aversion to a vaccine to make me deny myself the pleasure of listening to his work.

[RED-DOG]

I still listen to Gary Glitter.

[Kev B]

I still listen to Gary Glitter.

🤣🤣🤣

[EssexPhil]

Musicians should be judged primarily on their music.

A lot of music is inspired by the political leanings if their bands and/or songwriters. Left wing, right wing, pro-minorities, nationalistic, whatever. Similarly, it is always going to have more than its fair share of people with an unhealthy interest in young girls. When someone in their 40s/50s is releasing singles aimed at 12 year old girls, that is going to happen.

Gary Glitter. Love his music. Got quite a lot of it. Pioneer of the 2 drummer band. Inspiration for the likes of Adam & the Ants and Bow Wow Wow. The same newspapers who interviewed his very young girlfriend for years without saying a word were the ones to take the moral high ground later. Important to mention that no purchases/streams ever reward him financially.

I love Bob Vylan. Have done for years. Their chant about the IDF was just plain wrong. But we live in a mad world. Where we vilify people who say terrible stuff. While selling guns to people who do terrible stuff, and just watch the deaths piling up. Meanwhile, the Band's sterling work attacking toxic masculinity gets ignored

Clapton? I'm only 62, so I am far too young to appreciate him. But some far right views donkey's ago is not the reason he hasn't been at Glastonbury.

I'm an adult. I listen to people whose views I do not share. Because I learn far more from them than just listening to like-minded people.

Something that is happening less and less.