The sun is shining:

[rex008]

When I was a student I worked at a pizza factory in Nottingham one summer holiday. Spreading stuff for 6 weeks. Mushrooms, pepperoni, you name it, I spread it . Frozen, often, so it was a bugger to do. The big excitement was when they opened the filled croissant line and we got to cut croissants in half for a couple of hours. Still, paid for my first PC, which was nice.

Oh, and yes, I've got a spare 14" portable that's been sitting around doing nothing for about 5 years, if you want it. PM me if so. Also, one of my home game friends is a Nottingham temp agent for casual labour, and he's a really good bloke, if you want me to put you in touch.

And well done on the cash - I've done DTD once a month or so since it opened and still haven't cashed yet. But then again, that's probably cos I'm a bit crap

[charmaine]

Was great to meet you taxi , hopefully see you again September 

[taximan007]

Thank you for all your kind words and encouragement, It means a lot and is much appreciated.

Saturday 10th May

The BIG day arrives, BB6, IF i had to come back to England I honestly couldn't have picked a better time to do it, The whole weekend was absolutely fantatstic, everybody was very kind and in their greetings and also the interest shown in my time in the Philippines. I thank TK for the introduction at the start of the tournament, most unexpected but a really nice gesture.

I would also like at this point to thank Bainn and Harmony for their generosity, again very much appreciated.

Played the tourney, nothing to write home about, finished i believe somewhere in the 70s, Congratulations to Jen on winning the event, playing inspired poker at the FT 
Went on to play a £20 SnG and scraped 3rd for £40, so then entered DTD's £50 tourney and again not very inspiring finishing around 50th, but all in all a bloody good day.

Having worked in catering for many years when younger I have to say the buffet provided by DTD was IMO, 1st class, superb value for the money, well done Rob and his team.

[ripple11]

Very interesting reading Taxi......glad to hear you've got yourself up and running.

 

[Harmony26]

It was great to meet you too, Taximan, after all this time. Having read your previous posts and hearing of the necessity to return to the UK it was brilliant timing that the Blonde Bash was on and we could all meet up. I am just really sorry that I have a real problem with my hearing at present, which did not make socialising very easy or relaxing.

This diary is also a good read and we are very glad things are slotting into place - congrats on getting yourself sorted - housed and employed.

We enjoyed too hearing of your experiences overseas and wish you well with all your future plans with Roxeanne - I am quite sure it won't be that long before you make them happen!

All the best,

B&H

[Delboy]

It was great to meet you too, Taximan, after all this time. Having read your previous posts and hearing of the necessity to return to the UK it was brilliant timing that the Blonde Bash was on and we could all meet up. I am just really sorry that I have a real problem with my hearing at present, which did not make socialising very easy or relaxing.

This diary is also a good read and we are very glad things are slotting into place - congrats on getting yourself sorted - housed and employed.

We enjoyed too hearing of your experiences overseas and wish you well with all your future plans with Roxeanne - I am quite sure it won't be that long before you make them happen!

All the best,

B&H

[Royal Flush]

I had no idea you were coming and by the time i had arrived i missed all the main mingling, shame to have missed you, gl with the settling back in!!

J+D

[Shogun112]

Tuesday 6th May and I land at Heathrow at 05.50 and it's a nice clear morning with the sun breaking through, must be a good omen me thinks.

Friday 9th May:
 suddenly we are down to 10!!!  and I am still there, albeit shortish in chips, but thats the norm for me, 9th place gets £120, I WANT it so badly, for what seems an eternity I feel physically sick as I KNOW I am going to bubble, then IT HAPPENS, a player on the other table gets knocked out and I am in the FINAL 9, on the button for the final table, goes 1 orbit, no hand, I even let my blinds go, so now I have about 8,000 chips, when the chip daddy puts in a preflop raise, I find AQ and push, he obviously calls which I want and turns over Ace 3, a 3 duly hits the river and I get the £120 I so badly wanted, I am so very very happy.

I was on the same final table. Was a pleasure to meet you and also the 2 other Blondes on the table from Scotland..!!  Great night..

[taximan007]

Sunday 11th May

Back to DTD, I have been invited to join "the ladies" for the heads up tournament as they are one short, how could I refuse such an offer. In my experience it's always been more fun playing with the ladies anyway   ; I also join them for the quiz.

Having not been to a BB before I have nothing to compare it with, but I have to say Ironsides Quiz IMO was very good, not obscure but certainly not easy. Well done Ironside gg wp. We finished 5/11 which I think is admirable.

Heads up tournament: We start off well with 2 of the ladies winning the 1st 2 matches, then it becomes 2-2 and I am the last game, we have been playing quite a while, good steady game, blinds 300-600, I am down to 1,100 chips and get it all in with KJ o/s when I am called by the monster that is 3 4 o/s flop comes A 2 J and the 5 duly falls on the turn and we are out in the 1st round, never mind it was fun.

£30 PLO Omaha, now I think this is a good price to play my 1st Live Omaha Tournament and hopefully hang around long enough to learn something about the game, and what could be better than to find I have the Grand Old Master sat at my table, none other than TK himself. To listen to his speech play was worth the entry fee alone.

Now I feel I get lucky, as we seem to have a passive table with everyone just calling, and I get lucky on the flops etc and get paid, even the great TK doesn't last as his Pocket Aces, Nut flush draw after the flop are no match for my flopped trips turning into a full house on the turn. (I am sure he said there was a bounty on him  ). Come the 1st break I have 17,000 in chips, way above the average. 2nd break I still have 17,000 chips and I am not sure if there was a 3rd break but I manage to make the FT with about 12,000 which is now shortish, so I move into my normal mode of trying to fold into the money, 7 get paid. I duly do this as 2 players get knocked out, then I have 66QQ flop comes 55J turn is a 6 my chips are now all in only to find I am behind to a higher flopped house, so I take 7th place for £66 and am more than happy. Well played to all involved it was really a great game to play. Congratulations to Paul whom I believe took it down, he was very short at one stage with 2 tables left.

[taximan007]

So my foray back into the UK live poker scene is over for the time being, if I never get to play another game at least I can say I have attended a Blonde bash, without doubt a great get together of really nice people having a fun/social weekend with some good and some dodgy poker being played along the way.

I have also played at DTD, certainly the best poker venue I have ever had the pleasure to visit and long may it continue it's popularity. Rob and his team have set the standards high, and its my belief they will do all they can to maintain them, Congratulations Rob you deserve every success.

To Tighty, Kev, Ginger, Ironside, Rod Paradise, RobertHM, ITB and anybody else that was involved in organising BB6 I say THANK YOU for such a fantastic event.

To ALL the people who attended I say THANK YOU for making me feel really welcome, your kind words and encouragement, you really did make me feel part of the "blonde family".

YOU ARE ALL GREAT PEOPLE

My week saw me play 7 tournaments, 1 Sit N Go, and 1 cash game with a total outlay of £300 + reg fees, I had a return of £291, I made THREE Final Tables so I have to be extremely happy with my results ( would have been nice to get a memento for the FT of the Omaha but I will survive ).

[taximan007]

Mon 12th May:

Back to normal after the weekends frivolity. 9am and I am in the agency to find out about todays work, if any. Mateyboy there says he is waiting to hear from the Pizza Factory, I tell him I will wait, and ask if there is anything else available? He tells me there is a Gas cylinder factory taking on, and people needed on the 2pm-10pm shift, that will do for me, and at 1.45pm I duly report for the shift.

Things seem to be a bit more organised here, and the manager actually takes time to explain things, and I get told that providing I am not a complete plank, I will be working there until I hear any different, so thats good. The lads on the floor seem to be a good crowd, so fingers crossed.


Mon 19th May:

Well, I'm still at the Gas cylinder factory, 1st week was OK, monotonous but enough to keep me busy, also managed to get a 6 hour overtime shift on the Saturday, so my pay packet on Friday should be reasonable. This week I am on days 6am-2pm which is OK as the buses run early, only downside I can see is I still don't have any money to go and play poker now I have the evenings to myself.

Mon 26th May:

This week on the night shift, 10pm-6am, things still seem to be going OK, last weeks pay was good enough to allow myself 2 luxuries, I bought an alarm clock radio from Argos for £3.49 so now I have some music to listen to in my room, and on Sunday I went to a pub in the town and had a roast beef lunch and a pint for £4.99 bargain.

The bank holiday weekend was pretty boring, 3 days off!!!! I went into the market square as the had 3 days of free live bands which was OK, but it was so bloody cold, I forgot how bad that easterly wind could be, I had a shirt and 2 coats on and still couldn't stand it for more than an hour. How soft I have got in my time away!!!!!

[taximan007]

Been back just over a month now, and it's like I have returned as a different person, finding myself doing things I would never have even thought of when I lived in England before. Using Public transport, Walking!!!! wtf is that? I've never walked in my adult life before!!! always used the car. I've joined the Library, it's a big building with lots of books, and computers, you can even read the daily newspapers for free, some people just come in to sit and sleep, why didn't I know such places existed before?.

I have always lived in villages and small towns, so deciding on giving a City a go is was a bit daunting to say the least. My 1st impression of Nottingham is that it appears to be very pleasant, the main city  centre is kept very clean and in some respects is picturesque, I live 15 minute walk into the city, and 5 minute walk to the riverside with loads of greenery, very peaceful indeed and you would never know you were in the middle of such a busy place.

Reading the local papers you would think Nottingham is the worst place in the world to live, for violent crime! but I guess every city suffers the same problem. I have to say I have not seen any trouble whatsoever, maybe I am just lucky.

Public transport: Absolutely fantastic, miss a bus another one within 10 minutes, ride around all day, on as many buses as you like for less than £1 per day!!! how good is that. I never thought I would say it, but I have no urge to buy a car whilst living here at all. I can ride on the tram to Asda to shop, takes 7 minutes each way and stops right outside.

The biggest downfall really is feeling the cold, but if that's as bad as it gets then I have nothing to worry about.

The saddest thing is not being with Roxanne, I really do miss her, and her family, but she is my goal, my inspiration to return, and I WILL succeed. We text each other every day, she has rung me on a few occasions for a chat, and we both end up intears, Roxanne, because she is missing me so much, Me, because she is calling from the bloody landline and its costing a fortune!!!! (joke).

Thank you all for bearing with me, whilst I write a few of my thoughts.

[charmaine]

Good to hear from you taxi 

[M3boy]

You are a true inspiration m8.

I wish you well.

[LLevan]

Good luck m8...............nice to hear updates from you and it looks like you are settling in well and prepared to go as far as is needed to reach your ultimate goal. Hopefully one day soon you will be able to be back with your soul mate on a permanent basis.