Holiday : Devon 2008

Went to Brixham in Devon Saturday 21st June for a week, so here is diary of our activities

Saturday 21st June

The day dawned dull and drizzly, which kept up for the whole journey down. We left around 10:30am but the run was surprisingly clear, except for a section around Stonehenge (I guess due to the Solstice being this morning!) so despite stopping a couple of times, we arrived at the bungalow around 3pm. First impressions of the immediate area was that of a council estate, but actually wasn't all that bad really. The bungalow was big and clean, but you could tell it was owned by an elderly lady.

By 4pm we were walking into Brixham town to see whats what. We are staying at the top of a hill on the outskirts of town, so is quite exhausting 20 minute walk, but amazing views on the way down. Our route takes us through a picturesque park as well. It is still drizzly and very windy, but quite refreshing after the journey. On arriving in the town, seems there is a trawler race, so the pubs are packed with drunk trawler men, who are also protecting about fuel costs (lucky us) ! We had a walk around, got cold and wet, so had a nice cup of tea in a cafe on the harbour front. Then decided to have Fish and Chip supper, which was most excellent :-) This gave us the energy to walk back up the hill to the bungalow, it certainly is a steep climb!

A short rest sees us fit and healthy enough to venture out again (back down the hill, again!) but this time to a pub for a drink or two..... enough lubrication to get us back up the hill (didn't seem so high or steep this time)

Sunday

Woke early and out by 9:30am ! Not raining, but still windy and cloudy (with Sunny spells) Walked around Battery Gardens after getting a paper and sat to have a nice read in the Sun whilst looking at Tor Bay below us. Walking round the headland found an isolated craggy cove, which was great, but very steep hill to climb back up for lunch back at the bungalow. Also managed to watch the French Grand Prix before going out for another walk where we found a beachy cove for future reference (not exactly sunbathing weather today) After a rest back at the bungalow, went out to find dinner. Tried the local pub, but they don't serve food after 4pm on Sundays (would have been OK any other day!) so ended up at the local Holiday Park where the restaurant was open to non-residents. Food was OK, but the main advantage was that we didn't have to climb a big hill to get back to the bungalow. Got back to the bungalow knackered by all the walking done so far, so just enough strength to watch Top Gear and a bit of footy

Monday

Up early again.... must be the Sea Gulls waking us up I think... also the bed is tiny double compared to what we are used to ! Out and about by 9:45am and went to Paignton Sea Front for a walk. Cloudy, cold and windy today, although starting to get Sunnier by the time we left around midday. Went onto Compton Castle and had a good look around, but not very big place so only there a couple of hours, so ended up at Totnes for a nice lunch by the river.

After lunch we walked up the high street (which is steep uphill climb!) going to the museum, buying an Ice Cream, finding a bear shop and going to the Castle before running out of time in the car park

Back at the bungalow feeling knackered again, but force ourselves walk into Brixham to find a pub for a drink. Walked back via the closest pub to our Bungalow before the hill climb to take away some of the pain of getting up that hill!

Tuesday

Up even earlier and out on the road by 9:15am heading for Kingswear. Parked the car at the top of a steep hill !! and walked down to get the ferry to Dartmouth and at the shops by 10am. Walked around a bit then stopped for elevenses This gave us the energy to walk to the Castle and have a good look around. Back into the town in time for lunch and found a lovely tea shop to stop in "The Singing Kettle Tea Shoppe" and had a nice lunch (albeit a little expensive, but certainly worth it)

After lunch we did the rest of the shops, couple of parks and nice views walking along the river, then went back on the ferry just in time to look in the Bear shop in Kingswear, so now have a new addition to our furry family (called Charlie so I'm told)

Once we had walked up the hill to get the car and got back to the Bungalow, we were knackered (again!) so drove to a local Carvery pub/restaurant... unfortunately it is curry night, so no nice roast turkey for dinner. The normal (non-curry) menu was OK, so had a decent enough dinner.

After dinner, had just enough left in the legs to have a walk along Paignton sea front before heading back.

Wednesday

There was a knock on the door at 7:30am as the fuel delivery man wanted access. We had been told about the delivery but was expected around 8:30am and he should have gone to the bungalow 4 doors down for access.... oh well, its Sunny spells but still very windy, so can make the most of an early start

Went to Berry Head to start off, which had Napoleonic/WW2 forts as well as lots of wildlife to see. The guillemot colony was incredibly noisy and there was a RSPB post where the very helpful lady had telescope and binoculars set up to allow anyone to take a closer look.

Then went to Coleton Fishacre which was spectacular art deco interior to the house and fantastic views around the gardens (up and down hills again!) before going back to base for a well earned cup of Tea and a quick snooze!

Around 3pm set off into Brixham for a long walk to Shoalstone Beach then back round to the Harbour (and back up the hill!) returning around 5:30pm for another well earned cup of tea.

It's been a long day, but with the local Weatherspoons pub firmly in our minds, we set off back into Brixham and had a decent meal in the pub. Only slight problem was the air con in the pub was set to super cold, so was glad I had my jumper with me!

After the meal we had a slow meander round the harbour to let the food digest, before fueling ourselves with a swift pint in the pub for the walk back up that hill

Thursday

Decided today is our "rest day" so are intending to spend the day at the beachy cove by the lifeboat station. Despite the sunny weather promised by the BBC the previous evening, it looks just as windy and cloudy as the previous days.... so decide to lay in bed until 9:30am. Didn't leave bungalow until 11am so got to the beach around 11:30am. Quite warm and sunny by now, but lots of clouds about. Leave beach around 1pm and go back to the bungalow for lunch. Then walk back down and get the first cream tea of the holiday. Get back to the beach, but actually around 4:15pm by now and no sign of the sun, so only stay half hour before walking back to get ready for dinner.

Decided to drive to Stoke Gabriel based on looking at the map (looked like it may be quaint and on the river), but the two pubs in the small town didn't appeal so ended up back at the Carvery pub we went to before. Unfortunately no carvery being served tonight, but did have a reasonable meal from the normal menu. As the weather is looking a bit like rain, decide to go back to base and walked down the local pub

Friday

Forecast is to be wet all day, although it looked kind of OK when we woke up. Still cloudy and windy, so decided to go into Brixham where we had a walk then a Fish & Chip lunch. Decided to come home early, so packed up and left around 1pm, arriving home by 5pm after an uneventful journey home

We both enjoyed the holiday and were glad we went, but both felt the hills on our legs ! It was a shame the weather wasn't better but didn't really have an impact on us, apart from making us decide to cut half day from the stay down in Devon on the Friday. Overall it was a good holiday and a nice rest. Certainly is a very beautiful part of the country and well worth seeing and experiencing

Poker : Annual Satellite 2008 : Semi Final result

With two men and two women, it had the hallmarks of a classic battle of the sexes. With three tight/passive players and a relative unknown in John, the pace from the start was "leisurely" By level 3 we were still looking for a hand with some action... so far there had been a lot of calling and checking.... John was even reading the newspaper, although it was a bit of a tell as he put it down when he got a good hand !!

Sure enough John puts the paper down and bets 200 pre-flop.... Karen and Steve call and the turn is 8-3-J. Everyone reverts to type and check, and also everyone checks the A on the turn. A J falls on the river and John bets the pot to take the largest pot of the night so far.

Karen's strategy for the game seems to be to see a lot of flops and make lots of minimum raises, but seems to be working now as she is taking a lot of small pots uncontested.

Bit of excitement when 9-T-Q flop comes, as Steve and Lynn start raising. The turn of 8 is followed by J on river, giving both the straight, but its checked down as they both are playing the board.... Steve had a 9 and Lynn the Q, but the split pot was quite large This is soon followed by more action after the 5-5-7 flop is checked, the A on the turn doesn't prevent Lynn from calling and the Q on the river really makes it hot up as Steve takes the 1500 pot from Lynn with A-Q to Lynns Q-7

Level 4 continues the action, as John has finished reading his paper and calls with everyone else for a family pot. Its checked down to the river and Johns pot bet of 500 takes it uncontested. He shows his K high bluff. Johns relatively low on chips now, but his more aggressive stance falls foul when Lynn goes all-in on the turn and shows a made flush and Johns drawing dead

At the break the chips levels are: Lynn 5700, Karen 4600, Steve 3800 and John 1900

Karen and Lynn start what becomes a game long battle, with Karen betting 500 into 1500 pt and taking it down., but before that develops we see Steve John and Lynn getting a A-K-A flop. John bets 500 into 600 pot but gets called the turn and river bring J-5 and John is all-in thinking his J is good for 2 pair, but Lynn has hit her straight and sends John packing

We are now at level 6, with Karen still min raising and lots of checking going on. Lynn checks Karens min raising but on the river Lynn puts in a strong 1000 bet on K-6-8-A-9 board. Karens turn to let go and Lynn takes a good pot. Soon after another Lynn/Karen pot evolves with Karen min-raising and Lynn calling. With the board J-5-9-3-K Lynn sticks 1000 into 2000 pot and takes down the pot again

The next level sees pressure on Steve with the short stack. Lynn bets 500 into 2000 pot and Steve calls. The 9 on the river gives it to Lynn, so Steve under more pressure now. Its then Karens turn to bet 1000 into a 2000 pot and pushes Lynn off the pot The last hand of this level sees Steve pushing all-in although its only for another 600. Lynn and Karen both call. The flop of Q-9-8 doesn't make Steve look happy, although the girls check down the turn and river of 2 and 3. Karen takes the 6000 pot, knocking out Steve and giving a 2:1 chip advantage to Lynn

Lynn has around 4500 chips left, so it's soon over as a couple of hands into level 8 sees unraised flop of 7-2-3 Karen bets out 2000 and Lynn calls all-in Lynn's A-K was ahead pre-flop but Karens 6-3 is ahead. The turn/river of 2 and Q don't help Lynn so we have our winner

It was a well fought game by all and although it was a steady start, it had moments of brilliance, aggression and thought

See you at the final table !

We did have a quick cash game afterwards, and one hand was hillarious. We were down to 4 players and blinds of 25/50. Bill folded and Sean immediately went all-in for 2050. There was no way I was calling, but needled Sean a little about how he overbet the pot and was only going to get called by someone way ahead. Lee in the Big Blind insta-called with pocket A's and Sean giggled as he showed his 7-2 off suit. The first card turned was another A, but a 7 gave Sean a miracle runner, runner out. The turn paired the board to give Lee the full house, and the 7 on the River gave Sean a consolation lesser Full House.

Poker : Home Tournament - halfway there....

Reflecting on the statistics for the first half of the season there are some interesting patterns emerging (You can see the spreadsheet at http://homepage.ntlworld.com/sceaga/Poker/poker_2008.xls)

Sean seems to like finishing 11th, Mick has one 8th place and four 7th places and Alex seems to love finishing 2nd :-)

The least consistent finisher seems to be Darren with a 1st and a 14th, although Roger is close behind on this measure (1st and 13th) with a gaggle of players with 9 place differences (including me!)

If we ignore the players who only played one game, the highest average finishing position is Andy at 3.8, with the next closest person being Derek with 5.2 (maybe Andy consciously talks his game down so much to lull us into a false sense of security!)

Poker : Home Tournament - June 2008

I was lucky to make the game this month... had it been the previous evening then I definitely wouldn't have made it as I was in bed with "Man Flu" but felt OK by the next afternoon (albeit maybe I shouldn't have bothered in the end :-) )

The game started off fairly briskly on my table (probably because Bill was on it !) although Bill managed to fold several winning hands in the first level, including what would have been four tens !! My play was not on top form but was also hampered by Bill calling down and hitting his hand. I managed to dodge his 7-3 when it hit trip 7's on the flop, and didn't push hard enough when I was ahead and ended up laying down a couple of hands by the river, so my chips were disappearing fast. Derek on the other table took his top up first, but I soon had to do the same. Even then my bad run continued and was down to around 900 chips. Luckily I hit A-K and went all in after a couple of callers and took a reasonable pot without having to play. I then got Q-Q and went all in again, this time Alex called me with K-J and didn't improve so I was back in the game with nearly 4000 chips

My memory is very woolly about the proceedings (due to the cold unfortunately) but by the break I was up to around 5000 chips, with Roger on around 6000 and the others slightly under chip average.

The restart started seeing some action on the other table, with Steve busting out first Sean (at least it wasn't after two hands...) then Steve W in quick succession. I was the lucky one to change tables, but was 2nd in chips to Steve (who had a huge stack) The first hand on the new table saw me with A-9 suited, so put in a standard raise. Derek quickly called behind me but the others folded. With flop of T-9-x I was hoping Derek had missed the flop and with the pot at 2300 put Derek all-in for his last 2200. As it turned out Derek had missed the flop but called with his A-J. I was a little disappointed to see a J on the turn and blank river, so was down to around 1500 chips. A few hands later I was down to 1000 and the blinds 500/300 I had to go for it, but on the other table Bill went out in 10th so I tried to hang on to make the top 8 for one point. Unfortunately my 9-3 on the big blind didn't hit the flop and had to fold to Andy's bet (he showed Pair so was the right choice) then the Small Blind saw me all in and taken out in 9th.

The final table started off with some technical problems with the tournament software, which was resolved when I realised I had managed to turn on the keyboard lock ! That's what a lack of Adrenalin does to you when you got a cold. The play was tense and cautious, as the blinds were starting to hurt most people. It took some time, but with the blinds at 1000/500 Darren found he had to go for it..... but Steve took him out ! Mick followed suit the next hand, but Simon taking the scalp.

Andy was getting some stick for moaning about not getting any picture cards (he had only got 4 all night apparently), but suddenly got an embarrassment of riches when he seemed to have nothing but pictures and was taking down some pots.

As we came into the last 20 minutes with blinds at 2000/1000 Derek was the next victim by Alex this time. The action died down a little and the chips were being passed around, but for the last few hands there was an explosion of activity as Roger came alive and hit some stonking hands. First took down Simon to get a large number of chips, then went all-in again on the next hand. Steve decided to call and Andy chose to stick in his remaining chips, despite having the option to play tournament strategy and let the others fight it out. As it turned out, Andy made the wrong choice, as Roger hit big and took both out, Andy being 4th by having less chips than Steve who took the 3rd place prize money.

With Roger a huge chip leader over Alex and two hands to play, it was all over. Roger took the deserved win and an sure Alex was happy to have seem Roger blitz the remaining players to promote him to 2nd.

Another exciting and enjoyable game, which leaves the leader board wide open at the half way point.

Andy (who never has any good hands or any good luck according to himself) is at the top of the leader board with 100% point's finish record (how did that happen !) but the top 8 are split by only 12 points, so a win could take anyone anywhere in the leader board, so all to play for and should be an exciting rest of season. The title can literally still go to anyone.... !

Travel: Visit to Stratford

Went to Stratford-upon-Avon Saturday, on the way to Nottingham..... had a nice walk about but was dismayed (well one of was) to find the Teddy Bear Museum has moved to Wimbledon !! Still managed to find a shop that sold bears, but also found a nice tea room for Tea & Cake :-)

We had a lovely weekend away, coming back Sunday. The cruise there and back at 60mph on the motorways did have one beneficial effect (other than me not getting ear ache :-) ) and that was achieving an incredible 48.75mpg in the Fiesta !!) Won't see that kind of fuel consumption when I'm on my own in the car I bet !!