Its that time again folks... when loins are girded and hopes and dreams are fresh and so full of promise...A beautiful time like the hour before doomed heros here the whistle and go 'over the top' into a hail of bullets or in the case of this Vegas Veteran..a hail of cards, bad beats and 21 pulling Blackjack dealers.
Summer in Vegas is here.. sun... poker ..gambling and general degeneracy beckons... Blonde loves to share so strap in and like a reaper at the side of a foggy motorway wait and see if the wheels come off..
As I write I sit resplendant in the Virgin Atlantic Club House at Gatters.. I can call it Gatters as i'm all posh today.. having discovered that if you say air miles to Virgin bookings they let you..just the once mind... to truly see how the other half live.
Now i do usually fly premium economy on long haul.... I find economy is akin to the labours of Hercules only in a tighter space with tasks hugely more difficult such as the chinese puzzle that is moving your dinner around the infants tray in front of you whilst Mr & Mrs 'This is the first time iv'e been to Vegas ' chatter to you without pause.
The journey turns into an ordeal rather than a means to an end. i can't ... unlike my usual travel companion the infamous Pizzled..AKA Gavin Kan... sleep on planes... pretty sure its an inbuilt defense mechanism as I know i will probably subject those within earshot to a symphony of snores that would rattle windows and wake the freshly deceased.
So i stump up and make the whole issue that more bearable, but today my friends is a red letter day.. first time in upper ever...
I get called sir..look round quickly to see who there talking to.. oh me?.. well I have maade an effort today. I usually fly comfy, which is shorts and some kind of sports t shirt, but today smart jeans and the heavenly soft Ralph Lauren Jumper my children pissed themselves at when i asked them what they thought..
'You look like an old man' chortles the eldest... I console myself with the knowledge her uni fund will soon be laying on a blackjack table in the Wynn.
Fear not concerned readers... you can take the Oi Oi boy out of North London but you cant make him not have the Addidas shorts ( the ones with the lining of course.. dont want any mouse out of the house incidents ) and the Under Armour shirt in his hand luggage. pretty sure somewhere over the Atlantic i will transform from sophisticated Cad about town into Euro 2016 supporter on the run from the rossers in Saint Etienne.
Interesting mix in the upper lounge... a few ' theres something that smells disgusting just below my nose ' mob to a few like me.. wide eyed and unbelieving that theres somewhere in an airport like this. I keep my boasts private and to you guys rather than announce it loudly to my mate at the other end of a mobile connection as my neighbour just has
..
So what lie ahead... Charlie Harper I hear you say ?.. your'e intrigued.. like a seemingly insignificant clue Miss Marple stumbles across... ah my friends..all as they say will be revealed..
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